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MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – In just the span of a few hours on Sunday, September 11, the government's Official Gazette posted a photo of Ferdinand Marcos on Facebook, edited the photo's caption, deleted the photo altogether, and then reposted the photo with a shorter caption. The changes were prompted by a barrage of comments from social media users, who accused the Philippine government of historical revisionism and downplaying the Martial Law era under Marcos, which saw rampant human rights abuses and corruption. The Official Gazette's photo was meant to be a tribute for the late dictator on his 99th birth anniversary. It featured a quote, taken from Marcos' inaugural address on December 30, 1965, that read: "There are many things we do not want about our world. Let us not just mourn them. Let us change them." It wasn't the quote, however, that angered social media users. It was the last part of the original caption, which read: "In 1972, he declared Martial Law to suppress a communist insurgency and secessionism in Mindanao. In 1986, Marcos stepped down from the presidency to avoid bloodshed during the uprising that came to be known as 'People Power.'" (READ: Martial Law 101: Things you should know)
After receiving negative comments, the Official Gazette then removed 3 words – "to avoid bloodshed." Facebook's Edit History feature showed the difference between the first and the second captions:
The post, however, continued to receive negative comments, with people pointing out that the government seemed to set aside the suffering of Filipinos under the Marcos regime. The Official Gazette then deleted the photo. It later reposted the same photo, but with a shorter caption. This shorter caption made no mention of Martial Law or of Marcos' ouster through the 1986 People Power Revolution. It merely said that the late strongman was "the longest-serving President of the country for almost 21 years." This triggered another flurry of comments from social media users. Very early on Monday, September 12, the caption was edited yet again. This time, the caption mentioned the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, and that Marcos "went to exile to the United States in 1986 at the height of the People Power Revolution." The latest caption ended by saying that Marcos was "succeeded by Corazon Cojuangco Aquino." Below is the latest Edit History comparing the most recent version of the caption with the one right before it. 'Not revising history'
On Sunday, shortly before midnight, the Official Gazette issued a statement, denying it committed historical revisionism. "The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines is the repository of government documents as stated by law. We are not in the business of revising history. We only convey what is documented in the official records," said the statement, attributed to Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Ramon Cualoping III. Cualoping added: "We continually update materials to keep it as historically accurate as possible. The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines is devoid of any political color and affiliations." The statement was met with more negative reactions, with Facebook users saying that the Official Gazette's photo caption was clearly "pro-Marcos" and "conveniently left out key info" about the dictatorship. Abuses, corruption
Marcos had cited the increasing threat of communism to justify the declaration of martial law. According to his diary entry for September 22, 1972, the alleged ambush of then defense secretary Juan Ponce Enrile made the "martial law proclamation a necessity." In 1986, however, Enrile himself disclosed that the supposed ambush was staged to justify Martial Law. (READ: Enrile's tale: Hypocrisy and contradictions)
According to Amnesty International, about 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed during Martial Law from 1972 to 1981. People deemed to be subversive were tortured by various means, including electrocution, water cure, and strangulation. (READ: Worse than death: Torture methods during martial law)
Various estimates also put the Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth at between $5 billion and $10 billion. The late dictator's son and namesake, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, has repeatedly said his family will not apologize for his father's rule. The Official Gazette's controversial Facebook post comes amid heated debate on whether or not Marcos should be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) – a battle that has reached all the way to the Supreme Court. – Rappler.com | The communication channel of the Philippine government is under scrutiny after an apparent whitewash and historical revisionism of the abuses of the Marcos dictatorship. |
The outgoing Miss America, Betty Cantrell,second left, reacts as she tries to put a Miss America sash on winner Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields during the Miss America 2017 pageant, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Atlantic City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Shields was crowned the new Miss America at the conclusion of the live finals Sunday night in Atlantic City. The 21-year-old, an early front-runner this week after winning a preliminary talent competition, topped a field of 52 contestants to nab the title. A senior at the University of Arkansas, Shields grabbed attention earlier this week with her jazz dance to They Just Keep Moving The Line from the series Smash. She became the new Miss America on a night where she referenced Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park in her introduction, performed a jazz dance routine and was cut off while responding to a question about her thoughts on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. She was asked what she thought of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton; she answered that while both Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have done a good job thus far, "They also need to watch what they're doing." The runners-up were as follows: Fourth runner-up, Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis; third runner-up, Miss Washington Alicia Cooper; second runner-up Miss New York Camille Sims; first runner up Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt. Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty, the first openly gay contestant in the history of the pageant, was not among the top 15 picked to advance during the pageant's nationally televised finale. The pageant from Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. “She understands the whole package.” During her 2017 reign, Shields, who is an art major at the University of Arkansas, will promote her platform of “Eat Better, Live Better.” The Miss America contest was started in 1921 as a bit of a marketing ploy — by a group of Atlantic City businessmen who created a week of festivities including the Atlantic City Bathing Beauty Contest as a way to extend the summer resort season past Labor Day. | The Miss America 2017 pageant is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Savvy Shields, currently Miss Arkansas, winning the event. |
The Latest: Lanes open after bus crash at Denver airport
DENVER (AP) — The Latest on the crash of a school bus at Denver International Airport (all times local):
Traffic is flowing at Denver International Airport after a school bus crash that killed the driver and injured 18 students and staff members forced the closure of a major passenger pickup area. An Adams County school bus driver who had just picked up members of the Legacy High School football team at Denver International Airport inexplicably Sunday afternoon circled back to the airport and crashed into a concrete pillar. The Latest: School bus driver dies in crash at airport
DENVER (AP) — The Latest on the crash of a school bus at Denver International Airport (all times local):
Denver police say the driver of a school bus that crashed at Denver International Airport died at the scene. (KMGH/THEDENVERCHANNEL.COM via AP)
Officials at Denver Health told KUSA TV station that they have five patients: two are in critical condition, two are in serious condition and one is in fair condition. Police have not released any information on the cause of the crash, which occurred at 4:08 p.m., and White said they don't know why the driver was returning to the airport after picking up the team. The driver's name and age have not been released. Adams 12 Five Star Schools says 15 students suffered minor injuries, with three staffers suffering more serious injuries because they were sitting toward the front of the bus. The Denver Post reports that the football team from Legacy played Chino High School on Friday night in California. The Adams 12 Five Star schools is a public district that serves suburbs north of Denver, including Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster. | Authorities find that the July 19 bus crash in Taiwan that killed 26 people was an intentional suicide by the bus driver. |
BEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) - China has appointed former Communist Party secretary of Hubei province Li Hongzhong as the new party chief for the strategic port city of Tianjin, days after announcing a corruption investigation into the northeastern city's former mayor. Dozens of senior people have been investigated or jailed since President Xi Jinping assumed power almost four years ago, vowing to go after corruption and warning, like others before, that the problem threatens the party’s grip on power. The party's graft-busting Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on Saturday that the mayor and acting party chief of Tianjin, 61-year-old Huang Xingguo, was suspected of "serious discipline breaches", a euphemism for corruption. Li, 60, has been appointed as Tianjin's party secretary, a post that outranks the mayor, and would no longer hold his positions in Hubei, the official Xinhua news agency said in a short article. Tianjin is an important port city about an hour’s drive from Beijing that has ambitions to become a financial hub for northern China. It is one of four conurbations - along with Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing - termed a municipality, giving it the same high status as a province. 'It's getting worse': China's liberal academics fear growing censorship Read more
In August last year, a series of massive explosions at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin killed about 170 people, sparking anger nationwide that it had been built so close to residential areas. Last month, the party announced it was investigating Yin Hailin, a long-time city planning official who became Tianjin's deputy mayor in 2012, also on suspicion of corruption. Huang's fall from grace appears to have come out of the blue. On Saturday, the official Tianjin Daily covered his visit to a middle school on its front page and praised teachers for their work. Critics have accused Xi of using the corruption campaign as a cover to root out political rivals, though he has denied this. Last year, a Chinese court jailed former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang for life for bribery, leaking state secrets and abuse of power. He was the most senior Chinese official to be ensnared in a graft probe since the party swept to power in 1949. | In China, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection places under investigation Tianjin mayor Huang Xingguo, who is also serving as acting Communist Party Secretary. |
ZAGREB, Croatia — The conservative Croatian Democratic Union won the most seats in parliamentary elections held in Croatia on Sunday, but the country looked set for long negotiations among potential coalition partners after voters once again declined to return a clear governing majority. The snap vote was called after the previous conservative-led coalition government collapsed in June, triggering the biggest political turmoil in the nation of 4.2 million people since it joined the European Union in 2013. Opinion polls suggest that neither the conservative Croatian Democratic Union, known as HDZ, nor the left-leaning Social Democrats and their People’s Coalition, will win enough votes to rule alone, though the leftist alliance has been projected taking a slight lead. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Andrej Plenkovic, left, leader of center-right HDZ party addresses the media and supporters at his party's headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia, early Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. | Voters in Croatia go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the conservative Croatian Democratic Union taking an early lead. |
Bardack, Clinton’s physician for more than a decade, said in her statement that the Democratic nominee’s cough was related to allergies and the pneumonia was diagnosed during an evaluation of the cough. The physician said Clinton has had an allergy-related cough, and that during a follow-up examination Friday, the candidate was diagnosed with pneumonia, put on antibiotics, advised to rest and modify her schedule. A video showed Clinton slumping and being held up by three people as she was helped into a van after the event, and her doctor said in a statement that Clinton had become overheated and dehydrated. “It’s a beautiful day in New York.”
Mrs. Clinton left in her motorcade without the group of reporters that is designated to travel with her in public. A campaign spokesman, Nick Merrill, indicated that she had returned to her Chappaqua, N.Y., residence sometime after 1 p.m., and Mrs. Clinton was not seen publicly the rest of the day. The most notable events in Clinton's medical record included deep vein thrombosis - or a blood clot, usually in the leg - in 1998 and 2009, a broken elbow in 2009 and a concussion in 2012. | Hillary Clinton's doctor says she is being treated for pneumonia and dehydration after the Democratic Party presidential candidate fell ill and abruptly left a ceremony in New York City honoring the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. |
Wawrinka beats Djokovic in four sets to win U.S. Open
Sept 11 (Reuters) - Third seed Stan Wawrinka rose to the occasion once again to beat top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-7(1) 6-4 7-5 6-3 and win the U.S. Open on Sunday for the third grand slam title of his career. I was suffering on the court.”
He also revealed that he was a mess in the locker room when he was going over match details beforehand with his coach, former tour player Magnus Norman. “It was never a dream because for me it was way too far.”
He said on the court during the trophy ceremony that he was “completely empty.” Wawrinka elaborated on that in his post-match news conference. Patrick McEnroe, commentating in the ESPN box, shared the cynical displeasure of most onlookers when the defending champion, who appeared to be cramping, was granted a dubious medical timeout to have his toes tended to midway through the fourth set, shortly after being broken. “We played almost four hours,” said Djokovic, “and I think I can speak in the name of Stan, as well: We both felt it.”
Wawrinka has won only five of his 24 career meetings against Djokovic, but has now beaten the 12-time major champion on the way to each of his own Grand Slam titles, including in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals and 2015 French Open final. But the only thing I was convinced with myself was my game was there.”
Wawrinka is unbeaten in his last 11 finals, going back to 2014. Stan Wawrinka’s tennis career has been a textbook study of persistence and patience, with his Grand Slam championship success delayed until age 28 and continuing into his 30s. And he did it Sunday by coming back against Djokovic, whose French Open title in June completed a career Grand Slam and made him only the third man — and first in nearly a half-century — to win four consecutive major tournaments. This was the first time since round one Djokovic had not been ahead in sets but more unnerving was that he had lost control, Wawrinka unleashing at will while his opponent was left protesting at his box and smiling in disbelief. US Open champion Stan Wawrinka says this year’s tournament at Flushing Meadows was the toughest Grand Slam of his career and that he accepted he would suffer in order to win in New York. I had to bring everything today.”
Djokovic paid tribute to his opponent after the match. “We know each other (for) many, many years, and I had the chance to practice many times with him and to play him on a big stage.”
With that Djokovic threw his left arm around Wawrinka’s shoulders, knowing which was more up to the task on this day. | In tennis, Swiss Stan Wawrinka defeats Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets to claim the 2016 US Open men's singles title. |
MADRID, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Nairo Quintana effectively clinched his first Tour of Spain title after holding off a series of Chris Froome attacks in Saturday's decisive mountain stage. Following custom, Froome did not challenge Quintana on the traditional ride into the Spanish capital on the 21st and final stage. Frenchman Pierre Latour (AG2R-La Mondiale) won the stage from a breakaway inspired by Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange), who succeeded in wresting overall third place from home favourite Alberto Contador and denying the Tinkoff team a podium place in their final Grand Tour. The Colombian has not officially won the race yet but Sunday's sprint stage is virtually a formality and the Movistar rider's time of five hours 23 minutes 44 seconds, which enabled him to finish 10th in stage 20, kept him ahead of Team Sky's Froome. Froome finished second at the Vuelta for a third time, after also coming close in 2011 and 2014. | In bicycle racing, the 71st edition of the Vuelta a España concludes with Nairo Quintana of Colombia winning the general classification. |
On Saturday, two people were killed in new protests in Kashmir, taking the death toll to 75 since protesters took to the streets following the killing of Burhan Wani, the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen group. The clashes with militants came as stone-pelting residents protesting against Indian rule of the region clashed with security forces in Pulwana and two other places in the southern Kashmir valley, leaving many injured, police said. | Clashes in Kashmir kill eight militants and a policeman. |
OTTAWA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Explorers have found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous 1845 Franklin expedition to Canada's Arctic Northwest Passage, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Monday. The Arctic Research Foundation, a private group that sent a vessel to help look for the ship, found it in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay earlier this month, a spokesman told the paper. In 1846 Sir John, born in Spilsby, hand-picked 128 officers and men and set out to find the Northwest Passage, the long-sought shortcut to Asia that supposedly ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific by way of the harsh, ice-choked Arctic. The latest discovery was made two years and a day after Canadian marine archeologists found the wreck of Erebus in the same area of eastern Queen Maud gulf where Inuit oral history had long said a large wooden ship sank. | The Arctic Research Foundation discovers the wreck of the Royal Navy's HMS Terror almost completely intact off the southern coast of King William Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 168 years after being abandoned during Franklin's lost expedition in 1848. |
ET (1545 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.38 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,157.83; the S&P 500 had gained 11.92 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,139.73 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 43.52 points, or 0.85 percent, to 5,169.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 32.02 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,127.02. Mainland China markets slumped: The composite closed down 1.88 percent, or 57.965 points, at 3,020.937 and the Shenzhen composite shed 2.659 percent, or 57.965 points, to 1,977.057. U.S. stocks pare losses, oil up as markets reassess central banks
NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S stock prices were slightly higher at midsession Monday after a Federal Reserve policymaker expressed caution about the need to raise U.S. interest rates, though European and Asian equities finished lower after the biggest fall on Wall Street since June on Friday. | Asian stock markets open lower following the fall in the Dow Jones amid speculations about the Federal Reserve's target interest rates. |
NEW YORK (AP) — The sugar industry began funding research that cast doubt on sugar's role in heart disease — in part by pointing the finger at fat — as early as the 1960s, according to an analysis of newly uncovered documents. The findings come from documents recently found by a researcher at the University of San Francisco, which show that scientists at the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF), known today as the Sugar Association, paid scientists to do a 1967 literature review that overlooked the role of sugar in heart disease. By November 2, Hickson had approved the latest draft as “quite what we had in mind.” The two-part review, concluding that the only change necessary to prevent heart disease was to reduce dietary fat intake, was published in the NEJM the following year, with no mention of the SRF’s participation. A 1967 literature review in The New England Journal of Medicine pointed to fat and cholesterol as the dietary culprits of heart disease, glossing over evidence from the 1950s that sugar was also linked to heart disease. SRF set an objective for the review, funded it and reviewed drafts before it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which did not require conflict of interest disclosure until 1984. Schmidt, Kearns and Glantz have done the science community "a great public service" by resurfacing the history of funded heart disease research, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, in an editorial accompanying the new paper in JAMA Internal Medicine. In recent years, the link between fat and heart disease has become a more contentious topic – a 2010 review of scientific studies of fat in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that “there is no convincing evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease”. | A researcher from the University of California, San Francisco discovers that the sugar industry may have manipulated studies about heart diseases. |
SEOUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Flooding from heavy rain in North Korea has killed 133 people in its northeast while 395 are missing, with many homes and critical infrastructure destroyed, a U.N. agency said on Monday. | The United Nations estimates that the death toll from severe flooding in North Korea reaches 133 with another 395 missing and tens of thousands homeless. |
Gosling, Stone spin modern twist on old Hollywood in 'La La Land'
TORONTO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - While intense dramas and true life stories have dominated this year's Toronto International Film Festival, a vibrant love story inspired by the golden age of Hollywood musicals has found a warm welcome. Following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and screenings at both Colorado's Telluride Film Festival and Toronto, "La La Land" is now on, if not at the top of, many critics lists of early Oscars favorites. Those are their voices, their feet.”
“La La Land,” Chazelle’s follow-up to his 2014 jazz drama “Whiplash,” will premiere Monday for a wider audience at the Toronto International Film Festival before distributor Lionsgate opens it in theaters starting Dec. 2. | The Piton de la Fournaise (Peak of the Furnace) shield volcano on France's Réunion island in the Indian Ocean erupts for the second time this year. It is one of the world's most active. |
Seven children were among 11 people who died when a horrific fire trapped them inside a one-story Memphis home early Monday morning. Pictures of the devastation showed the innards of the brick building torched. The outside of the house was left largely untouched. Metal bars remained over almost all the windows. Only one was broken open, by the fire crew that tried in vain to save the people inside. “I’ve never seen firemen cry, but they were bawling like babies when they brought the children out,” neighbor Shoundra Hampton told The Tennessean. Authorities said at a Monday morning news conference that nine people had died, but family members told reporters that 11 people perished. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined, though Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the blaze began in the living room. The home had only two doors, both in the front of the house, leaving the family without an escape route, FOX13 reported. Some of the victims had signs of smoke inhalation, while others had burns, Memphis Fire Services Director Gina Sweat said. Sweat said it was not clear if those inside tried to escape through the windows. Sweat said window bars present a danger for people trying to escape a house fire, though many window bars have releases that can open them from the inside. "They could have been simply overcome by smoke and never had an opportunity to escape," she said. A smoke detector was found in the building, but it was damaged and officials didn't immediately know if it was working at the time of the fire, Sweat said. The children who died ranged in age from 3 to 16 years old, The Tennessean reported. The four adults were Eloise Futrell, 61; Carol Collier, 56; Lakeisha Ward, 27; and an unidentified 18-year-old man. Collier lived in the house with her 6-year-old son, Alonzo, who died in the fire; Futrell, who was the grandmother of all seven children who died; and several friends, Collier’s sister, Mary Whitmore, told The Tennessean. "She always tried to help everybody," Whitmore said. "I can't believe this." Collier called 911, The Tennessean reported, but, by the time first responders arrived around 1:20 a.m., the residents were unable to escape the six-room dwelling. Officials said the blaze was the deadliest in Memphis since the 1920s. A total of 10 people died in house fires across all of Tennessee in 2015, authorities told FOX13. "They are all gone," Futrell's niece, Elisa Weathersby, told The Tennessean. "Our hearts are ripped in two." The Associated Press contributed to this report. | A house fire in Memphis kills at least 11 people. |
Duterte says he wants U.S. special forces out of southern Philippines
MANILA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces troops from a group of islands in the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners. Duterte's order came a week after he called US President Barack Obama "a son of a whore", causing Obama to cancel their scheduled bilateral meeting at a summit in Laos. Duterte did not specify when or how many Americans would be expelled but said the Philippines alignment with the West was at the root of the persistent Muslim insurgency. Another U.S. official said there were only a "handful" of special forces in the Mindanao acting in limited liaison roles. That's certainly something that the Filipino people are well aware of." If they see an American, they will really kill him.”
The Pentagon said it was aware of Duterte’s statements but had not been contacted by authorities on the issue. His comments were in sharp contrast to an initial explanation by Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella, who said the demand "reflects (Duterte's) new direction towards coursing an independent foreign policy. Duterte also criticized President Barack Obama for raising human rights concerns about the Philippine leader's bloody crackdown against drugs when the U.S. leader, he says, has not apologized for the American atrocities against local Muslims. | In response to criticism of his government's extrajudicial killings of 1,800 people since July, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte says that U.S. forces advising the Armed Forces of the Philippines against an Islamic insurgency in Mindanao are doing more harm than good and must leave the country, saying, ”I do not want a rift with America, but they have to go," during a speech in Manila. |
MANILA: The United Nations has said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has a “striking lack of understanding” of its human rights institutions in a rebuke over his crime war that has killed more than 3,000 people. 'I do not want a rift with America — but they have to go,' the Filipino president added. Carter insisted that the U.S. did not intend to be provocative and was “trying to tamp down tensions here.” But Gazmin said he expected that U.S. forces, “with their presence here, will deter uncalled-for actions by the Chinese.”
On Monday, Duterte said he wanted U.S. military forces out of the southern Philippines and blamed America for inflaming local Muslim insurgencies, in his first public statement opposing the presence of American troops in a part of the country. | In last week's meeting between Indonesian president Joko Widodo and Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, Widodo today says that Duterte allegedly said that he '(would) not interfere' in the execution of accused drug smuggler and Philippine national Mary Jane Veloso. However, today a Manila Bulletin article says that Manny Piñol, the Philippines Agriculture Secretary, states that Duterte actually asked for clemency for Veloso. |
In a protest in Barcelona, an estimated 800,000 people (370,000 in the government claim) demand secession from the Madrid-based Spanish government. |
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David Cameron quits as MP for Witney
May: 'I was proud to serve under David Cameron'
By-election to take place in Oxfordshire seat
'I'm at risk of becoming a diversion' says former PM
Why did he quit - and what will he do next? Mr Cameron told the chairman of his Conservative Association and constituency agent before making the announcement, which comes two months after he quit as prime minister on July 13th in the wake of defeat in the EU referendum. I wish him the very best for the future.”
The former PM had previously said he was “very keen to continue” as MP for Witney, which he has represented in the House of Commons since 2001, and said it was “very much my intention” to seek re-election in 2020. “As a former prime minister it is very difficult, I think, to sit as a backbencher and not be an enormous diversion and distraction from what the Government is doing.”
Asked if Mrs May’s plans to introduce a new wave of grammar schools was linked to his decision, he replied: “This decision has got nothing to do with any one individual issue. “I fully support Theresa May and have every confidence that Britain will thrive under her strong leadership.”
William Hague, one of Mr Cameron’s predecessors as Conservative leader, praised the decision, backing the assessment that former PMs can become a “diversion” while sitting on the backbenches. “I now look forward to a life outside of Westminster, but hope to continue to play a part in public service and to make a real and useful contribution to the country I love.”
Mr Cameron said it “isn’t really possible” to be a proper backbench MP as a former prime minister because his actions would become a “big distraction”. | Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron resigns as MP for Witney, triggering a by-election. |
ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Turkey has proof that mayors removed from two dozen Kurdish-run municipalities on Sunday had sent support to Kurdish militants and they should have been stripped of office sooner, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. | Turkish authorities remove two dozen elected Kurdish mayors in southeast Turkey. |
In May, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice determined that Eduardo Cunha, the former President of the Chamber of Deputies, a position equivalent to the Speaker of the House in the U.S., should have his term suspended. As speaker, Eduardo Cunha was the main driver behind the impeachment process that led to the Senate trying left-leaning President Dilma Rousseff and removing her from office last month. Lawmakers decided overwhelmingly that Cunha had lied during the investigation into corruption at Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras, and had hid millions of dollars in offshore accounts. But the issue before the Chamber of Deputies was only whether he lied about having secret banking accounts in Switzerland. By being voted out, Cunha loses partial immunity from prosecution offered to members of Congress and high-ranking politicians. | Eduardo Cunha, former President of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies loses his position as a Deputy following a vote of the Chamber as a result of a series of corruption scandals. |
Researchers have discovered a new species of parasitic flatworms inhabiting turtles and has named it Baracktrema obamai, detailing their work in a study published in The Journal of Parasitology. They “face incredible obstacles to complete their [life cycles] and must contend with the immune system of the host in order to mature and reproduce,” he said in a statement. Parasitologists are also of the belief that the turtle parasites could be the possible ancestors of the flatworms that are spreading the disease Schistosomiasis in developing countries and affecting millions of people. They have a common ancestor called George Frederick Toot, who lived in Middletown, Pennsylvania, between 1759 and 1815. “Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms.”
The turtle worm joins a long list of creatures named for Obama, which includes a lichen, an extinct lizard (the "obamadon"), a species of trapdoor spider and another parasite. Characterized by threadlike bodies, the parasite was most prominently observed in the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis), freshwater turtles and the Malaysian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis). | Baracktrema obamai, a new species of parasite is named after Barack Obama. |
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military struck artillery positions in Syria on Tuesday after a projectile from that country’s civil war hit the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, but denied a Syrian claim that Syrian forces shot down two Israeli aircraft. Story highlights Syria claims it shot down an Israeli warplane and drone near Israeli border Tuesday
But Israel says none of its aircraft were struck, calling the claim "completely false"
(CNN) The Israel Defense Forces have rejected Syrian military claims to have downed an Israeli warplane and drone over southwest Syria Tuesday morning as "completely false." Denying any of its aircraft had been lost, the Israeli military said in a statement: “Overnight two surface-to-air missiles were launched from Syria after the mission to target Syrian artillery positions. Last week, three projectiles landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights The Israeli strike on Syria came hours after a nationwide ceasefire , brokered by the United States and Russia, came into effect in the war-ravaged country. | Syria reports its air defense shot down an Israeli warplane that attacked a Syrian army position in al-Quneitra, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces say that missiles were fired at their aircraft but none hit. |
The district police said four suicide attackers infiltrated Khanpur and reached
SHIKARPUR – At least 13 people, including five cops, were injured after one of the two suicide bombers struck the Eid congregation in a Shikarpur mosque, police said Tuesday. Two other suicide bombers targeted a Shia mosque but they were stopped at the entrance by policemen, which led to one of the attackers to blow himself up while the other was arrested. "One policeman was killed and five others injured when their van was targeted," local police official Abdul Razaq told AFP. | Two attackers of Eid al-Adha prayers in an Imambargah at Shikapur district, Sindh, injure at least ten people including five policemen. One assailant blew himself up and authorities arrested the other one. |
Karachi: At least two policemen were killed in a roadside blast in the troubled Balochistan province while 13 people were injured in two separate suicide bombings during Eid prayers on Tuesday targeting minority Shias in Pakistan's relatively peaceful southern Sindh province. Two police officials were killed and 10 other injured in a blast near a police training centre on Quetta's Sariab road when militants targeted a police patrol vehicle in the area, police said. Rescue officials said two policemen were killed and five others injured in the attack that apparently targeted their van. Earlier in the day, at least three policemen were injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives while trying to enter Khanpur Imambargah in Shikarpur district of SIindh province as worshipers were offering Eid prayers. | A roadside blast in the Balochistan Province kills two policemen and injures eight people. |
In eastern Guangdong province, authorities ordered trawlers to return to harbour and fishermen to shelter on land from Meranti, which the official China News Service said could be the strongest typhoon to hit that part of China since 1969. One person died and 38 were injured in Taiwan, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said, as the typhoon hit the southern part of the island on Wednesday night. Meranti underwent rapid intensification Monday and Tuesday, growing from a Category 1 equivalent storm to a Category 5; the typhoon has maintained winds of 190 mph (305 kilometers per hour) for nearly 24 hours. TAIPEI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of homes lost power across Taiwan on Wednesday as Super Typhoon Meranti hit the island, a storm seen as the strongest in the world so far this year, forcing schools and businesses to close and flights to be cancelled. Companies and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities have closed and almost 1,500 residents have been evacuated, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said in a statement. Chinese meteorologists downgraded Meranti from a super typhoon to a tropical depression on Thursday afternoon and said they expect it to fade further as it moves north. | Taiwan issues land and sea warnings for Typhoon Meranti which is expected to hit tomorrow the southern part of the island. |
It added that the government had allowed U.N. agencies, the North Korean Red Cross and International Federation of the Red Crescent, along with private international aid groups to conduct a joint assessment of needs in the affected areas last week, but they were unable to access Musan and Yonsa. The floods along the Tumen River, which partially marks the border with China and Russia, tore through villages, washing away buildings and leaving thousands in urgent need of food and shelter. “The people there are in a very desperate situation.”
Staines was part of a group of 22 international and local staffers from 13 aid agencies stationed in Pyongyang who last week visited the northern city of Hoeryong, across the Tumen River from China. At least 100,000 people in Hoeryong City do not have safe drinking water, with up to 600,000 people in the affected area facing disruptions to their water supply, the Red Cross said. | The Red Cross warns that North Korea faces a "major, complex disaster" after recent floods kill scores of people and leave more than 100,000 homeless. |
SEOUL: A powerful 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit the southern region of South Korea Monday evening, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, following an earlier quake of 4.9-magnitude. | A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits near the Colombian city of Medellin. |
Story highlights One person killed, four injured in accident on Harmony of the Seas
Accident happened during lifeboat drill while ship docked in the south of France
(CNN) Investigators are trying to determine how a lifeboat fell during a training exercise on the world's largest cruise ship Tuesday, leaving one crew member dead and four others injured. A 42-year-old Philippines national died after the lifeboat fell about 33 feet (10 meters) during the exercise on board Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, which was docked in Marseille, France, Deputy Mayor Julien Ruas told CNN. One person has died and another four have been injured, two critically, after a lifeboat detached from the world's biggest cruise liner and reportedly plummeted 32 feet. A spokesperson for the company replied at the time: 'As always, Royal Caribbean's highest priority is to ensure the safety of all its guests and crew members and any final maintenance is being carried out in accordance with strict safety guidelines.' A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said in a statement: "We are sorry to share the sad news that a crew member aboard Harmony of the Seas has died of injuries suffered during a lifeboat drill conducted while docked at the port of Marseille, France. At 66 metres (217 feet), it is the widest cruise ship ever built, while its 362-metre length makes it 50 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. | One crew member of the MS Harmony of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, is killed and four other crew members are injured after a lifeboat fell on them during a training exercise on the ship that was docked in Marseille, France. |
The Health Ministry on Tuesday (Sept 13) reported two more cases of locally transmitted Zika infections in the central Philippine city of Iloilo, 600km south of the capital Manila. | The Department of Health of the Philippines discover an additional two cases of Zika virus infections bringing the total to eight. |
Hungary should be excluded from EU, Luxembourg For Min tells paper
BERLIN, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Hungary should be excluded from the European Union because of its tough anti-migrant policies, including erecting a razor-wire fence, which undermine the EU's values, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told the Germany's newspaper Die Welt on Tuesday. The EU could not tolerate such behaviour, and exclusion was "the only possibility to preserve the integrity and values of the European Union," Asselborn said, adding it would be helpful to change the rules to allow a county to be suspended without unanimous agreement. Asselborn was quoted Tuesday as saying: “Anyone who, like Hungary, builds fences against refugees from war or who violates press freedom and judicial independence should be excluded temporarily, or if necessary for ever, from the EU.” He argued it’s the only way to “preserve the cohesion and values of the European Union.”
Hungary is holding a government-sponsored referendum Oct. 2 seeking support for rejecting any future EU plan to resettle migrants among member states. He added that this is “the only way to preserve the cohesion and values of the EU.”
Asselborn expressed the view that if Hungary were to apply for EU membership today, then it would have no chance of being accepted. “Hungary is a European state, a member of the EU and Austria’s neighbor,” Kurz stressed, adding that "we need respect, so that peace in Europe in not endangered.”
“I can understand, looking at Hungary, that some people are increasingly impatient in Europe because of the constant squabbles between the European Commission and the Hungarian government. | Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn calls for Hungary to be expelled from the European Union for its treatment of migrants. |
Courtesy U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, ended her hunger strike on Tuesday after the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union said. This is all that I wanted – for them to let me be me.”
The army private formerly known as Bradley Manning revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identified as a woman. It ended on Tuesday when she received word that the military will provide treatment for her gender dysphoria, beginning with surgery recommended by her psychologist, according to the ACLU, which is representing Manning. A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks says she is ending a hunger strike because the Army has agreed to allow her to get medical treatment for her gender dysphoria. • Teen transgender Kim Kardashian lookalike who was born a boy returned to school after holidays as a girl
In a statement, Manning said: "I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing. I applaud them for that,” said Mannig, who attended Tasker Milward school in Pembrokeshire for four years. This is all that I wanted -- for them to let me be me," Manning said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the Pentagon in 2014 over Manning's medical treatment. In July, Manning tried to take her own life over what her representatives said was the government's denial of appropriate treatment for her gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person feels their physical gender is the opposite of the one he or she identifies with. "It is nonetheless troubling that the government continues to insist that they will enforce the male hair-length standards against her and subject her to a disciplinary board over administrative charges related to her suicide attempt in July, which was precipitated by the government's refusal to adequately treat her for gender dysphoria," Strangio said. In any case, I hope this sets a precedent for the thousands of trans people behind me hoping they will be given the treatment they need.”
Manning, who was arrested in 2010 as Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 in military court of leaking more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks. | Imprisoned former American Army intelligence analyst and transgender person Chelsea Manning, who is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, will have the military provide the costs of gender reassignment surgery. She was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a million classified or unclassified but sensitive military and diplomatic documents. |
"You know, maybe he got what he deserved," said Juan Laguna, 55, whose mother, Minerva Duprey, died in the inferno. "I'm not going to feel sad about it or anything. You know what? He had it coming to him." | The Cuban-born American arsonist who torched 87 people in March 1990 at The Bronx Happy Land fire, Julio González, dies in prison at the age of 61. |
National WATCH | Duterte accuses 'yellow' forces of using human rights to sow intrigue
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday virtually accused forces loyal to his predecessor of fanning "intrigues" against him by blaming him for the killings of nearly 3,000 people in his tough campaign on illegal drugs. He said these "Yellow" people, whom he did not name - but was obviously referring to certain people in the Liberal Party - could this early be laying the groundwork for his impeachment. For this, he said, he was prepared, adding that for his controversial campaign against crime and drugs, "I'm ready to lose my life, my honor and my presidency." He began his remarks after the swearing in of dozens of new government bureaucrats by swinging out again at the United States, calling the American leaders "hypocrites" for criticizing him for human rights violations while infringing on the rights of other people. He then showed his audience some of the photos he had used to shock delegates at the ASEAN-East Asia Summit in Laos last week, to illustrate America's history of violating human rights while assailing other countries' records. He held up photos of American soldiers standing over a pile of bodies in the Bud Dajo massacre in Sulu during the US pacification campaign in Mindanao. He reiterated that he never called Obama a "son of a bitch" but attacked him nonetheless for openly advising him in Laos to fight crime "the right way" and not short-circuit due process. Duterte lamented that Obama, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, "rode" on the human rights issues against him without bothering to get evidence that he had ordered the killings. Duterte and National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa have been saying that many of the killings since he took office July 1 were the result of rivalries between drug syndicates or vigilantes. Just about half of the 3,000 deaths are attributed to official police operations. "Sumakay itong si Obama. Sumakay si Ban Ki Moon. Dito sumakay. Alam mo kung kaninong laro ito? Yellow yan [This Obama and Mr. Ban rode on this human rights issue. You know who's fanning this intrigue and playing this? The yellow forces]." The Liberal Party is associated with the color yellow because the previous president, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and the middle-class forces associated with his family's democracy campaign in the 70s and 80s, have taken yellow as their signature color. In the past two weeks, Duterte has publicly excoriated an LP senator, the Senate's Justice committee chair Leila de Lima, for pushing a congressional inquiry into re extra-judicial killings that have marred his anti-drugs campaign. Duterte said Monday he won't back down in case the "yellow" forces are already paving the way for an impeachment case against him. It was an apparent reference to the conspiracy theory that made the rounds during the May 9 election campaign - when it became clear Duterte was headed for a landslide - that the LP will actively work to have Duterte impeached so their vice-presidential candidate, Leni Robredo, will assume the presidency. US special forces out
Meanwhile, Duterte declared at the same Palace occasion Monday that he would order the US special forces out of Mindanao, saying the south would never have peace for as long as the Americans are there. According to Duterte, intervention by the US and its allies has damaged so many countries around the world. "Kaya yung mga [That's why the US] special forces, they have to go. They have to go in Mindanao. Maraming mga puti doon [There are so many white people there], they have to go. I don't want to have a rift with America but they have to go." He added, "for as long as we stay with America we will not have peace." HERE'S JV ARCENA'S VIDEO REPORT: | Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte accuses the Liberal Party of former president Benigno Aquino III and their allies of orchestrating an impeachment complaint against him regarding his anti-drug campaign. |
The team studied nearly two-thirds of the world’s 6,000-plus languages using word lists covering about 100 shared basic concepts, checking to see if similar sounds kept cropping up. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, run counter to a long-held idea in linguistics and could complicate the work of researchers trying to trace the history and evolution of the world’s languages. “These sound symbolic patterns show up again and again across the world, independent of the geographical dispersal of humans and independent of language lineage,” said Morten Christiansen, professor of psychology at Cornell University. “There does seem to be something about the human condition that leads to these patterns. We don’t know what it is, but we know it's there,” added Mr. Christiansen, director of Cornell’s Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. Sifting through two-thirds of the world’s languages, scientists have discovered a strange pattern: Words with the same meanings in different languages often seem to share the same sounds — even when those two languages are completely unrelated. For example, words for 'I' are unlikely to include sounds involving u, p, b, t, s, r and l. 'You' is unlikely to include sounds involving u, o, p, t, d, q, s, r and l.
The words included pronouns, body parts and properties like small and full, verbs that describe motion and nouns that describe natural phenomena like star and fish. Strong association
Not all, but “a considerable proportion of the 100 basic vocabulary words have a strong association with specific kinds of human speech sounds,” said the study. Of course, plenty of languages share words that have similar sounds because they’re either “descended” from the same original language (such as Spanish “hospital” and French “hopital,” both of which arose from Latin) or because they’ve borrowed heavily (as English did after the French invaded in the Norman Conquest of 1066). The word for tongue was “likely to have ‘l’ – as in ‘langue’ in French. The 100 words in the study include things like nose, tongue, leaf and sand. Certainly, you might find related words within a language that sound alike – think glance, glimmer and glare in English, which all have to do with vision and begin with a “gl.” But that doesn’t mean you’d find the same “gl-” cluster across other languages as well. Blasi’s study shows that some of those shared characteristics between “sister” languages may not be inherited from a “mother” language; instead, they could have arisen independently, simply because humans tend to like certain sounds with certain words. | Researchers from the Americas and Europe discover that sounds in 40–100 basic vocabulary words in around 3,700 languages are similar. |
United States Anti-Doping chief Travis Tygart said: “It’s unthinkable that in the Olympic movement hackers would illegally obtain confidential medical information in an attempt to smear athletes to make it look as if they have done something wrong. WADA said in a statement that the Russian cyber-espionage group Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bears, had broken into its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database. “To those athletes that have been impacted, we regret that criminals have attempted to smear your reputations in this way; and, assure you that we are receiving intelligence and advice from the highest level law enforcement and IT security agencies that we are putting into action.”
Niggli said WADA had “no doubt that these ongoing attacks are being carried out in retaliation against the agency, and the global anti-doping system,” because of independent investigations that exposed state-sponsored doping in Russia. Director general Olivier Niggli said: “Wada deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act.”
The attacks are understood to have originated in Russia in the wake of the McLaren Report, which uncovered a state-sponsored doping programme and led to some competitors being banned from this summer’s Olympic Games and the blanket exclusion of the country’s athletes at the Paralympics. GENEVA -- Russian hackers broke into a World Anti-Doping Agency database and posted confidential medical data online Tuesday of some United States female athletes who competed at the Rio Olympics -- including gymnast Simone Biles, tennis players Serena and Venus Williams and basketball player Elena Delle Donne. The records were held by the World Anti-Doping Agency and relate to “therapeutic use exemptions” granted to certain athletes so they can take medication — prescribed by a doctor and verified by an independent panel — that would normally be banned because of its performance-enhancing qualities. ‘Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me.’
While more leaks may follow — and reopen the debate about the number of athletes who use banned substances under the therapeutic use system, WADA saw it on Tuesday as a blatant attempt to undermine the fight against drug cheats. “Such unfounded accusations don’t befit any organization, if they aren’t backed by substance.”
The International Olympic Committee said it “strongly condemns such methods which clearly aim at tarnishing the reputation of clean athletes.”
“The IOC can confirm however that the athletes mentioned did not violate any anti-doping rules during the Olympic Games Rio 2016,” the Olympic body said. In fact in each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication.”
Venus Williams said she was “disappointed” that her medical data has been “compromised by hackers and published without...permission”. "All TUEs granted under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program are for the legitimate therapeutic use of medications and are in no way indicative of doping or a breach of the anti-doping rules,'' International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty said in a statement. Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia.’
The US Anti-Doping Agency condemned the attempt to smear American athletes, with chief executive Travis Tygart branding them as ‘cowardly and despicable’. We will also disclose exclusive information about other national Olympic teams later.”
These most recent attacks follow an earlier attempt to find the address of Russian doping whistle-blower Yulia Stepanova, who is now living in hiding in the United States with her family. | The World Anti-Doping Agency reveals that Russian hackers broke into one of its databases and published confidential medical information on several prominent American female athletes who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics, among them, gymnast Simone Biles, tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, and basketball player Elena Delle Donne. The named individuals all received "therapeutic use exemptions" from WADA allowing them to use otherwise banned substances to treat documented medical conditions. |
Death toll rises to 25 in suicide bombing in Pakistan mosque - regional official
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The death toll in a suicide bombing in northwestern Pakistan on Friday rose to 25, a regional official said, with 30 wounded during the attack on a packed mosque.
"A portion of the mosque and veranda collapsed in the blast and fell on worshippers. We are still retrieving bodies and the injured from rubble of the mosque building," Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of Mohmand Agency, told Reuters.
The attack took place during Friday prayers in the village of Payee Khan, in the Mohmand Agency region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan. (Reporting by Jibran Ahman; writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Mike Collett-White) | The death toll of the September 2 bombing rises to 15. |
There were 41 cross-border attacks this year until the end of August with Niger bearing the brunt of the violence, including a raid on a military base near the southeastern town of Bosso in June in which at least 26 soldiers were killed. | Clashes near the village of Toumour in Niger's southeast Diffa Region kill at least 30 Boko Haram militants and five Niger Armed Forces soldiers. |
FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chemicals and healthcare group Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) is poised to announce the acquisition of U.S. seeds company Monsanto Co MON.N on Wednesday for more than $66 billion, clinching the biggest deal of the year, people familiar with the matter said. Bayer says it is paying Monsanto shareholders $128 per share, which represents a 44 percent premium over Monsanto’s closing price on May 9, the day before a proposed deal was announced. Antitrust experts have said regulators will likely demand the sale of some soybeans, cotton and canola seed assets as a condition for approving the deal. Bayer's move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world's second largest after Syngenta AG, with Monsanto's industry leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major tie-ups in the agrochemicals sector. Bayer’s bid to combine its crop chemicals business, the world’s second-largest after Syngenta AG SYNN.S, with Monsanto’s industry leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major consolidation moves in the agrochemical sector. | German chemicals company Bayer AG will announce that it has acquired American seeds company Monsanto Co. for US$66 billion. |
Tens of thousands of homes lost power across Taiwan on Wednesday as Super Typhoon Meranti hit the island, a storm seen as the strongest in the world so far this year, forcing schools and businesses to close and flights to be cancelled. Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau warned that the Category 5 storm would threaten several southern and eastern cities, including Kaohsiung and Hualien, with strong winds, torrential rain and flooding. "There's only been one other tropical system in modern history that was able to get to a strength of over 110 mph (180kph) and sustain that for over 24 hours," CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said. TAIPEI: Parts of Taiwan were brought to a standstill Wednesday as the strongest typhoon of the year skirted past the island’s southern tip, knocking out power for more than 180,000 households. ‘Its impact on Taiwan will peak all day today.’
Companies and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities have closed and almost 1,500 residents have been evacuated, the Central Emergency Operation Center said in a statement. School and work were cancelled for most eastern and southern counties, and the typhoon has knocked out power for more than 300,000 households. There are severe travel disruptions for the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend which starts Thursday, as over 300 domestic and international flights have been cancelled and trains running along the east coast have been halted. Meranti is expected to make landfall in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian on Thursday, where authorities were already cancelling train services and preparing to evacuate people, state media said. | Typhoon Meranti hits southern Taiwan with record breaking winds and heavy rains, disrupting transport and knocking out power to tens of thousands of people. |
Mercosur lays down ultimatum for Venezuela to meet membership terms
BRASILIA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The founding members of Mercosur will give Venezuela until Dec. 1 to meet its membership requirements or be suspended from the trade bloc, Brazil said on Tuesday, in the latest twist in a row that has exposed ideological divisions. “The presidency of Mercosur in the current semester will not be passed on to Venezuela, but rather exercised through coordination between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay,” read a joint statement by the four countries — Mercosur’s founding states — that Brazil released at dawn. But Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga recently said that among the requirements unmet by Venezuela are the protection of human rights and enactment of a law guaranteeing free movement by citizens of the member nations. | The South American trading bloc Mercosur threatens to suspend Venezuela if it does not protect human rights and enact a law guaranteeing the free movement of Mercosur citizens. The bloc sets a deadline of December 1, 2016, for Venezuela to comply with their requirements. |
Brazil prosecutors say Lula was 'general' of vast Petrobras graft scheme
SAO PAULO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors on Wednesday denounced former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the 'general' in command of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras aimed at keeping his leftist Workers Party in power. REUTERS/Jamil Bittar/File Photo
It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil’s most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro (PETR4.SA), as the company is officially known. Related Coverage Brazil prosecutors say Lula was 'general' of vast Petrobras graft scheme
Lula’s case will go before crusading anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro, who has jailed dozens of executives and others involved in the scheme. Lula, a charismatic former union leader who was a two-term president from 2003 to 2010, has separately been indicted by a court in Brasilia for obstruction of justice in a case related to an attempt to persuade a defendant in the Petrobras scandal not to turn state's witness. | Brazilian prosecutors file corruption charges against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife, Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva. Federal judge Sérgio Moro will preside over his case. |
U.S. senator wants Congress consulted on Myanmar sanctions -documents
WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Cory Gardner will introduce legislation on Wednesday, coinciding with the visit to Washington of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, that would require close consultation with Congress on lifting of any sanctions. Global Witness and other human rights groups have criticized Obama’s move as “a major setback for efforts to clean up Myanmar’s notoriously corrupt and abusive business environment.”
“Lifting restrictions before the new government’s reforms have borne fruit effectively invites US companies to do business with some of the worst figures from the country’s past,” it added. Suu Kyi said it was time to remove remaining sanctions, which have kept U.S. companies and banks leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets. “The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time,” he said, adding that the move would come “soon.”
“It is the right thing to do to ensure that the people of Burma see rewards for a new way of doing business,” he added. | The Obama administration plans to lift sanctions against Myanmar. |
Official: US sets goal to take in 110,000 refugees next year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will strive to take in 110,000 refugees from around the world in the coming year, a senior Obama administration official said Wednesday, in what would be a nearly 30 percent increase from the 85,000 allowed in over the previous year. Secretary of State John Kerry presented the new target of 110,000 in the 2017 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, up from 85,000 in 2016, during a closed session to members of the House and Senate judiciary committees on Tuesday, according to the newspaper. The White House has tried to emphasize that the refugee program is safe and doesn't pose a major threat to national security. The announcement comes two weeks after the U.S. announced it had met President Barack Obama's goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees despite early skepticism that it would reach its goal. Nearly five million Syrians have fled their country since war broke out in 2011, and the United States has committed to resettling 10,000 this year, an issue that has inflamed the 2016 presidential election race. | The Obama administration plans on increasing refugees admitted to the United States to 110,000. |
PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has presented the legislation to parliament which would allow a public vote to go ahead on February 11 next year asking the Australian public if they approve of the legalisation of same-sex marriage. But the opposition Labor Party said the government should simply make same sex marriage legal without a national vote, avoiding a vicious debate over LGBT rights and savings millions of dollars in election funding. | Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull plans to introduce a plebiscite on the legality of same-sex marriage in the country. |
As a lawyer, he has cautiously abstained from criticising the handling of UEFA’s affairs but this month he lost his temper when a Norwegian paper accused him of being “the (FIFA) president’s man” in the race, an allegation he attributed to his main rival, the Dutch Michael van Praag. “We have to speak and have dialogue with the clubs and I think it can be solved.”
Ceferin, who has been the head of the Football Association of Slovenia since 2011, takes on the remainder of Platini’s term of office, until 2019. The 61-year-old Frenchman has been banned from all football-related activities since December for receiving what Swiss investigators called a 'disloyal payment' from former FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2011, but was given special permission to say goodbye to his former colleagues by FIFA's ethics committee. “You are going to continue this beautiful mission without me, for reasons that I do not wish to come back on.”
FIFA’s ethics committee handed down an initial eight-year ban to both Blatter and Platini, who have always denied wrongdoing. | Members of European football's governing body, UEFA, elect Aleksander Čeferin, president of the Football Association of Slovenia since 2011, president of UEFA. Čeferin will serve the remainder of former UEFA president Michel Platini's term of office, until 2019, who was banned by the FIFA Ethics Committee for corruption last year. |
“After this morning’s heats I wasn’t sure if I would win but is just shows that anything is possible at the Paralympic Games,” said Wylie. | Iranian powerlifter Siamand Rahman cleared the bar at 310kg in the men's over 107kg, setting a new world Paralympic record and claiming his second consecutive Paralympic gold. |
In late 2013, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $1.9-billion to settle claims that it defrauded U.S. government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, America’s biggest providers of housing finance, into buying $14.2-billion in mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. “Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited,” the company said in a statement early Friday in Frankfurt. It described the proposed amount as an "opening position" put forward by the Justice Department in negotiations that were just beginning. The bank expects that they will lead to an outcome similar to those of peer banks which have settled at materially lower amounts.”
Germany’s largest lender confirmed that it had started negotiations with the justice department to settle civil claims the US may consider over the bank’s issuing and underwriting of residential mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007. The $14 billion is considered an “opening bid” that could go “much lower,” according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the figure shortly before Deutsche Bank issued its statement. In 2013, JPMorgan Chase & Co ( ) agreed to pay $13 billion to settle allegations by the U.S. authorities that it overstated the quality of mortgages it was selling to investors in the run-up to the 2008-2009 financial crisis. | The Obama administration through the U.S. Justice Department seeks a fine of $14 billion against Deutsche Bank in regards to mortgage securities. |
WASHINGTON – The White House is lifting economic sanctions and restoring trade benefits to former pariah state Myanmar, officials said Wednesday, as Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner and now the nation's de facto leader, met with President Barack Obama. Ahead of Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit, Human Rights Watch said the sanctions targeted military officials, and “shouldn’t be fully lifted until the democratic transition is irreversible.”
Ms Suu Kyi, who as opposition leader was kept under house arrest for 15 years, led her National League for Democracy party to victory in Myanmar’s first openly contested election for decades in November 2015. “In some ways it is a risk, it as much a political risk as an economic risk, because there are those who believe it is not yet time for us to remove the sanctions, but we think that it is time now for our people to depend on themselves, to go forward with the help of our friends,” Suu Kyi said of the decision. Suu Kyi says that lifting sanctions entails some political and economic risk, but adds, “It is time now for our people to depend on themselves.”
Obama aide Ben Rhodes says the so-called “national emergency” with respect to Myanmar that authorizes the sanctions will be terminated in the “coming days.” | Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi asks U.S. businesses to invest in Myanmar after Barack Obama agrees to lift U.S. sanctions. |
Pakistan train crash kills at least six, injures more than 150 - Geo TV
ISLAMABAD, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A Karachi-bound express train collided with a freight train in Pakistan's central Punjab region early on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring more than 150, Geo TV said. In the mean time, 14-Down Awam express, that had left Multan fifteen minutes after the goods train, hit the stationary goods train, he added. TV footage showed rescue officials working around crumpled and overturned bogies in the darkness. | The Awam Express train collides with a freight train near the Pakistani city of Multan killing at least six people and injuring another 150. |
Police rule out attack as cause of Bali boat explosion
BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police said Friday there is no indication that a terror attack was the cause of a tourist boat explosion in Bali that killed two people and injured about 20 others. Authorities said the woman killed on the boat, which was heading for the nearby holiday island of Gili Trawangan, was a foreigner but that they were verifying her identity before releasing more details. A total of 23 foreign tourists were injured in the blast on the boat, which was also carrying nationals from countries including Britain, France, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. The speedboat, which was carrying four crew, had just left Padang Bai port in Bali on Thursday morning en route to the holiday island of Gili Trawangan when the blast occurred. “The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed,” local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told Agence-France Presse, adding the vessel had been about 200 meters (yards) from the port. | An explosion on a tourist speed boat kills two people and injures 20 others shortly after departing from the Indonesian port of Padangbai in Karangasem, Bali. |
The European Union extends the asset freeze and travel ban against 146 persons and 37 entities, including close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, by six months until 15 March 2017 for the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. |
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Following the 1993 bombing of Davao’s San Pedro cathedral, in which seven were killed and more than 150 wounded, Matubato said Duterte ordered them to carry out grenade attacks on mosques in the city. | A former militiaman claims while testifying at a hearing by the Philippine Senate that President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte ordered the deaths of criminals and political opponents, allegedly Leila de Lima, critic and journalist Juan Pala, and unidentified Filipino Muslims in 1993, while he was mayor of Davao City. The witness also revealed that Duterte's son Paolo may also have been involved in the murders as an accomplice to his father. |
Key events in case of black woman found dead in Texas jail
HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — The family of Sandra Bland, a Chicago-area black woman who died in a Texas jail cell after a contentious traffic stop last summer, has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $1.9 million, according to the family's attorney. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County Jail, run by the local sheriff, will pay the family of Sandra Bland, Chicago-based lawyer Cannon Lambert said in an interview. Attorney Cannon Lambert said the settlement includes a provision that the Waller County Jail have a 24-hour nurse or emergency medical technician on duty, told KTRK-TV of Houston reported Thursday. — July 22: A Bland family attorney says an ex-guard told him in a deposition that he falsified jail log entries by noting he'd checked on Bland in the hour before she was found dead in her cell. Critics said race was a factor in her being pulled over while driving, and for her arrest, which they said was sparked by the trooper escalating tensions. The Texas Department of Public Safety said it had not settled litigation regarding Bland and was not a party to any agreements between the plaintiffs and Waller County defendants. Bland, 28, was pulled over in her car on July 10 by then- state trooper Brian Encinia for failing to signal a lane change in Waller County, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. — July 31, 2015: Department of Public Safety personnel records show Encinia was once cautioned about "unprofessional conduct" in a 2014 incident while he was still a probationary trooper. | Texas authorities agree to pay $1.9 million to the family of Sandra Bland, the woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, in July 2015. A grand jury did not issue an indictment. |
(Photo illustration: Yahoo News, photos: Brendan McDermid/Reuters, U.S. House)
A new bipartisan report by the House Intelligence Committee depicts former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden as a “serial exaggerator and fabricator” who only began downloading highly classified documents after being reprimanded over a “workplace spat” with his bosses. “Rather than avail himself of the many lawful avenues to express legal, moral, or ethical qualms with U.S. intelligence activities, Mr. Snowden stole 1.5 million classified documents from National Security Agency networks.”
The Republican-led committee released a three-page unclassified summary of its two-year bipartisan examination of how Snowden was able to remove the documents from secure NSA networks, what the documents contained and the damage their removal caused to U.S. national security. Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi has said “there is no question his actions have inflicted serious harms on our national security.”
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House intelligence committee, said Snowden betrayed his colleagues and his country. Ben Wizner, Snowden’s attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, blasted the report, saying it was an attempt to discredit a “genuine American hero.”
“After years of investigation, the committee still can’t point to any remotely credible evidence that Snowden’s disclosures caused harm,” Wizner said. Snowden’s attorney denounced the committee’s report, released on the eve of the opening of the movie “Snowden,” and called him a “genuine American hero.”
Separately, all members of the committee sent a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama on Thursday urging him not to pardon Snowden. “The majority of what he took has to do with military secrets and defense secrets,” Schiff said in an interview Thursday for C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers.” ”I think that’s very much at odds with the narrative that he wants to tell that he is a whistleblower.”
Snowden was an NSA contract employee when he took the documents and leaked them to journalists who revealed massive domestic surveillance programs begun in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi has said “there is no question his actions have inflicted serious harms on our national security.”
The committee report says that he was a “disgruntled employee who had frequent conflicts with his managers.”
Publicly revealing classified information does not qualify someone as a whistleblower, the report said. Even by a conservative estimate, it says, “the U.S. Government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and will eventually spend billions, to attempt to mitigate the damage Snowden caused.” Disputing Snowden’s contention that he was a whistleblower, the committee said that it “found no evidence that Snowden took any official effort to express concerns about U.S. intelligence activities — legal, moral, or otherwise, noting that he never took his purported concerns about government surveillance to any oversight officials within the U.S. Government, despite numerous avenues for him to do so.” (Snowden has said that he knew that any such protests over highly classified programs would have been shut down before they saw the light of day.) | The U.S. House Intelligence Committee releases a summary of its two-year investigation into former NSA contractor Edward Snowden which downplays his alleged status as a whistleblower while acknowledging "tremendous damage to national security" as a result of the classified documents he stole. |
TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday elected a former cabinet minister as its first female leader on Thursday, following a last-minute hiccup when she was found to hold dual citizenship in violation of Japanese law. Born to a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, the 48-year-old Renho is the first person of mixed-ethnic heritage to lead a big political party in Japan, and has sought to cast herself as a voice for the country’s younger generation. The Japan NewsThe Democratic Party on Thursday elected acting party chief Renho as its new president with the majority support of its rank and file, making her the first woman to lead the DP. Renho is one of a handful of women to grab the spotlight lately in Japan's male-dominated corridors of power, along with hawkish Defence Minister Tomomi Inada and Yuriko Koike, a former defence minister who is now Tokyo's first female governor. | Japan's Democratic Party elects Sha Renhō as President. The House of Councillors member becomes the first female to head the opposition party. |
Story highlights Space lab precursor to a 20-ton space station
China pressing ahead with ambitious space plans
Hong Kong (CNN) China is set to launch a second space lab into orbit Thursday, a crucial step in Beijing's ambition to have a permanent space presence. The country's second space lab, the Tiangong-2 -- or Heavenly Palace-2 -- blasted off Thursday night from the Gobi desert and is expected to operate for at least two years, the latest stage of the Asia's giant's ambitious space programme. China to launch second space lab module, another manned mission
BEIJING, Sept 14 (Reuters) - China will launch its second experimental space laboratory late on Thursday and another manned space mission next month, the government said, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia. | The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launches the Tiangong-2 space laboratory from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia. |
"The Friday prayer was in progress at the mosque when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the main room killing at least 16 worshippers and wounding 35 others," a senior tribal administration official told AFP. The incident took place on Friday afternoon as scores of people had gathered in a mosque for Friday prayers in a remote village in the Mohmand Agency, north of Peshawar. The attack took place at one of the biggest mosques in Mohmand Agency, a district in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas north of Peshawar, said Naveed Akbar, assistant administrator for the agency. Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, condemned the bombing and said “attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.”
The military says security is improving, with recorded “terrorist incidents” dropping from 128 in 2013 to 74 last year - but Islamist extremists continue to stage major attacks. In pictures: Pakistan hospital attack 1/10 A man reacts after his relative was killed in a bomb blast in restive Quetta EPA 2/10 Residents light candles to honour victims of the blast in Quetta during a candellight vigil in Peshawar Reuters 3/10 People carry the coffin of a victim of suicide bomb attack at a hospital for burial in Quetta REUTERS 4/10 Pakistani victims injured in a suicide bombing are treated at a hospital in Quetta AFP/Getty Images 5/10 A lawyer who was injured in a bomb blast wait to receive medical treatment in restive Quetta EPA 6/10 A doctor treats an injured lawyer at the scene of a bomb blast in restive Quetta EPA 7/10 People comfort a man mourning the death of a family member who was killed in suicide bombing, at a funeral in Quetta AP 8/10 People transfer an injured man from the blast site in Quetta Rex Features 9/10 Pakistani security officials and lawyers gather around the bodies of victims killed in a bomb explosion at a government hospital premises in Quetta AFP/Getty Images 10/10 The scene following a bomb blast outside a hospital in Quetta Naseer Ahmed/Reuters 1/10 A man reacts after his relative was killed in a bomb blast in restive Quetta EPA 2/10 Residents light candles to honour victims of the blast in Quetta during a candellight vigil in Peshawar Reuters 3/10 People carry the coffin of a victim of suicide bomb attack at a hospital for burial in Quetta REUTERS 4/10 Pakistani victims injured in a suicide bombing are treated at a hospital in Quetta AFP/Getty Images 5/10 A lawyer who was injured in a bomb blast wait to receive medical treatment in restive Quetta EPA 6/10 A doctor treats an injured lawyer at the scene of a bomb blast in restive Quetta EPA 7/10 People comfort a man mourning the death of a family member who was killed in suicide bombing, at a funeral in Quetta AP 8/10 People transfer an injured man from the blast site in Quetta Rex Features 9/10 Pakistani security officials and lawyers gather around the bodies of victims killed in a bomb explosion at a government hospital premises in Quetta AFP/Getty Images 10/10 The scene following a bomb blast outside a hospital in Quetta Naseer Ahmed/Reuters
Friday's bombing came a day after a woman was killed by a grenade in Lower Mohmand Agency when militants attacked a pro-government tribal elder's home. | A suicide bombing at a mosque in Mohmand Agency kills at least 28 people and injures 31 others. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims the responsibility. |
In Xiamen province, China, at least seven people had been reported dead on Friday afternoon, while another nine were missing, after heavy rain and wind from typhoon Meranti smashed windows, uprooted trees and destroyed an 800-year-old bridge. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. Images shared by state news media showed power lines and destroyed vehicles downed on streets in the coastal city of Xiamen. The typhoon killed one person and injured 38 on Taiwan where people were on Friday preparing for another, Typhoon Malakas, which was forecast to bring heavy rain on Saturday. | Typhoon Meranti hits mainland China and Taiwan killing at least eight people and destroying 1,600 houses. |
AFTERMATH. Photo by Aeron Mayor
CAGAYAN, Philippines – Batanes province has been placed under a state of calamity due to the onslaught of Typhoon Ferdie (Meranti). Norma Talosig, chief of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in Cagayan Valley region, confirmed to Rappler on Friday, September 16, that the provincial board declared the province under a state of calamity on Thursday, September 15. The declaration follows the recommendation of the provincial disaster management agency, according to Talosig. Governor Marilou Cayco said on Friday that the declaration will allow the provincial government to "immediately respond to the restoration needs of some facilities which were greatly affected by strong the typhoon and to enable quick response and service delivery to the affected families." Cayco said the provincial government will prioritize families whose houses were totally damaged by strong winds. On Thursday, Batanes Representative Henedina Abad said the province was "heavily" damaged by Ferdie. Abad said the province still had no power supply, and the communication lines in the towns of Basco, Itbayat, and Mahatao had been cut. “Our communities at the moment do not have access to water or electricity, and communication across the province is difficult to establish,” Abad said, adding that there was also great damage in agriculture and infrastructure. She said she's "thankful" that there were no casualties reported. Talosig, meanwhile, reported 50 houses were totally damaged while 100 were partially damaged. The buildings of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Technical Education Development Authority (TESDA), Basco Central School, Batanes National High School, Provincial Capitol building and Sto Domingo Church also suffered damages. 'No help yet'
In a Facebook post, Rachel Ponce, Abad's aide who is a resident of Itbayat, pleaded for help as they have yet to contact some towns. Ponce lamented the lack of media coverage on the aftermath of Ferdie in Batanes, saying the damage had left some town islands isolated. "Nakakalungkot na [sobra ang] media coverage [sa] Senate samantalang ang mga kahilyan (kababayan) sa Itbayat eh nagiiyak na sa pag aalala sa Itbayat Island," Ponce said. (It is saddening that the Senate is receiving a huge media coverage while our countrymen in Itbayat are crying and worried of what had happened to our families in Itbayat Island.) "Ilang araw na kaming walang naririnig na communication sa kanila. We are so worried. We just want to know if there are casualties, kung buhay pa ba sila? Sa Itbayat kasi ang eye ng typhoon. The last text we received eh nilipad na yung mga bubong, nag evacuate na sa mga may concrete houses ang mga iba. Binaha na daw po sa plaza. First time po na nangyari yun," Ponce added. (We have not received any communication from them for days. We just want to know if there are casualties, or if they are still alive. The eye of the typhoon passed through Itbayat. The last text we received is that their roofs were blown away and that they are already evacuating to those with concrete houses. Our plaza was flooded and that never happened before.) Ponce said they "badly" need attention because Batanes had never experienced a typhoon of such strength until then. She said that since the C130 could not land in Itbayat, they are requesting a helicopter for the town. "We do not have a voice. Kahit aerial view lang po, kahit ibagsak niyo na lang po yung satellite phone and relief goods (Reach Itbayat even if it's only an aerial view, or even if you just drop a satellite phone and relief goods,) she said. The regional disaster management agency said it is set to fly to Basco on Saturday via a C-130 plane. The agency will assess the damage of the typhoon and to deliver relief goods. The team supposedly fled to Batanes on Thursday but they were not given clearance due to the bad weather. – Rappler.com | The storm cuts power and communications in the Philippine province of Batanes as it undergoes a "state of calamity." |
Japan would also be giving military aid to countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam as it increases its role in the contested waters of the South China Sea, Inada said Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC,
Inada also welcomed the US's plan to allocate 60% of its Navy and Air Force assets to the Asia Pacific region by 2020. | The Obama administration agrees to have the United States Armed Forces assist Japan on conducting joint patrols in the South China Sea. |
A hacker who allegedly infiltrated the computer systems of the FBI, the American Missile Defence Agency and Nasa is to be extradited to the US where he might face up to 99 years in jail if convicted – despite a British court hearing he has Asperger’s and may kill himself in prison. American authorities have been fighting for the 31-year-old, who lives with his parents near Newmarket in Suffolk, to face trial over charges of cyber-hacking, which his lawyers say could mean a sentence of up to 99 years in prison if found guilty. • Security services lose fight to force alleged cyber hacker to hand over his secret passwords
Mr Love stood in the dock, wearing a purple sash as a belt, as district judge Nina Tempia ruled he can be extradited to the US, where he could face the possibility of three separate trials in different jurisdictions. Ten days ago, Mr Love himself told a BBC interviewer: “If I went into a US prison, I don't think I'd leave again.”
But, in a case with strong echoes of hacker and Asperger’s sufferer Gary McKinnon’s ten-year fight against extradition, District Judge Nina Tempia told Westminster Magistrates’ Court: “I am going to extradite Mr Love.”
The McKinnon case had ended in 2012 when Theresa May, who was then Home Secretary, blocked Mr McKinnon’s extradition, saying he was a suicide risk. Image copyright PA Image caption Lauri Love spoke to members of the press outside Westminster Magistrates' Court before the hearing
Mr Love's lawyers said he could face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of the hacking offences. The case was considered to be the first substantive test of the “forum bar”, which was introduced by Theresa May when she was home secretary to allow courts to block extradition if it is in the interests of justice to have a person tried in Britain instead. The computer science graduate’s father Rev Alexander Love, who himself works with vulnerable prisoners at risk of suicide, told Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London he feared his son might take his own life. “It is my belief that it is not fair or just that a boy who has mental health issues can be taken away from his family, who are his support network, merely to satisfy the desire of the Americans, to exact what I feel is vengeance on him.”
Outside court Mr Love’s solicitor Karen Todner said they were “extremely disappointed” with the decision. She pledged to appeal against the decision, initially at the high court and, if necessary, to the supreme court and eventually the European court of human rights in Strasbourg. | The United Kingdom agrees to allow alleged hacker Lauri Love to be extradited to the United States. |
Philippines Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay made the comments after a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington Thursday, during which he described the US relationship with the Philippines as cooperative and symbiotic. This article is more than 2 years old
This article is more than 2 years old
The Philippines cannot “forever be the little brown brothers of America”, the country’s top diplomat has said, making it clear the country will not accept foreign criticism for a deadly crackdown on drugs. But he added: “You do not go to the Philippines and say, ‘I’m going to give you something, I’m going to help you develop and I’m going to help you grow but these are the checklists that you must comply with. | In response to American criticism of the Duterte regime, Filipino foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay says the Philippines cannot remain as the "little brown brother" of the United States. |
Ciampi spent 14 years as governor of the Bank of Italy and later served as a treasury minister, a role in which he was the principal architect of Italy’s adoption of the euro as one of the founder members of the single currency. Ciampi, who also served as Italian prime minister and head of the country’s central bank, was a ”generous, just, and visionary man” committed to anti-fascism and fundamental democratic values, she wrote. | Former Prime Minister and President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dies at the age of 95. |
UK's anti-EU party elects new leader as Brexit talisman Farage steps aside
BOURNEMOUTH, England, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Britain's anti-European Union UK Independence Party elected deputy chairwoman Diane James its new leader on Friday to replace Brexit talisman Nigel Farage who stepped down after helping to win the referendum on EU membership in June. James, currently a member of the European parliament, was announced as the party's new head at its annual conference in the southern English coastal town of Bournemouth after a ballot of UKIP's 40,000 members. A former business analyst with a long career the healthcare sector, James has pledged to ensure the government delivers an exit from the EU that meets the demands of UKIP voters: namely tighter immigration controls and more free trade. | Members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) elect Diane James as their new leader. |
Hofstra University’s debate stage will be set for only the two major-party candidates later this month, as the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced Friday it has excluded Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The decision means Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will be the only two candidates on the stage on September 26, and Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, their respective running mates, will be the only participants on October 4. The commission’s criteria for participation will be reapplied to all candidates before the second and third presidential debates, scheduled Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis and Oct. 19 at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 15 percent mark is problematic because the CPD draws that average from five national polls conducted by traditional media outlets that often restrict themselves to head-to-head match-ups between Trump and Clinton, leaving Johnson and Stein out. There will be actions you can take with us at Hofstra that do not risk arrest.”
The campaign said it is “organizing nonviolent civil resistance training for this.”
Johnson said in a statement that: “I would say I’m surprised that the CPD has chosen to exclude me from the first debate, but I’m not.”
The commission was a private organization created by the Republican and Democratic parties “for the clear purpose of taking control of the only nationally televised presidential debates voters will see,” Johnson said. | The Commission on Presidential Debates officially announces the invitation of Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton, and GOP nominee Donald Trump, to the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on September 26. However, third party candidates, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, have not met the criteria, and will not be participants in the debate. |
President Assad’s Political and media adviser Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban told RT, “None of the facts on the ground show that what happened was a mistake or a coincidence.”
US-led coalition jets bombed Syrian government forces’ positions near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, killing troops and “paving the way” for ISIS militants to launch their offensive, according to Syria’s official news agency
Shaaban said: “The moment the American planes struck the Syrian army, the terrorists came from the same side that the Americans struck, and occupied the place [that] the Syrian army was in. The air strike killed Syrian soldiers who had been preparing for an attack against ISIS, and was “conclusive evidence” that the U.S. and its allies support the terrorist group, the Syrian army said in a statement
Sixty-two Syrian soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the US-led coalition, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said, citing information received from the Syrian General Command. “If this airstrike was carried out due to an error in the coordinates of the targetm it is a direct consequence of US side’s unwillingless to coordinate its actions against terrorist groups with Russia,” the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman emphasized. | The United States acknowledges that its warplanes may have hit a Syrian Army position near Deir ez-Zor Airport in eastern Syria, while conducting an operation against ISIL, killing more than 60 Syrian troops. |
Russia says U.S. refuses to share Syria truce deal with UN council
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that a U.N. Security Council endorsement of a Syria ceasefire deal between Moscow and Washington appeared unlikely because the United States does not want to share the documents detailing the agreement with the 15-member body. | The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) holds an emergency session to discuss the U.S. airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor. |
The Indonesians were set free just hours after the same group notorious for kidnappings, beheadings and extortion released Norwegian captive Kjartan Sekkingstad, who met President Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City on Sunday evening. A bearded and bedraggled Kjartan Sekkingstad was released Saturday on a remote southern island after what analysts said was almost certainly a payment in the thousands of dollars after the Abu Sayyaf demanded millions. Military chief Gen. Ricardo Visaya warned the militants to release their other captives, including a Dutch birdwatcher and Indonesian and Malaysian tugboat crewmen, “or suffer annihilation.”
While Duterte has pursued peace talks with Misuari’s group and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, he has ordered the military to destroy the Abu Sayyaf, a smaller but more brutal band that the president says aims to establish an Islamic state or caliphate. Sekkingstad was kidnapped from a marina on southern Samal Island on Sept. 21, 2015, with Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall and Hall’s Filipino girlfriend, Marites Flor, sparking a massive land and sea search by Philippine forces. His sibling was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf from a tourist resort in September 2015, alongside a Filipina who has been freed, and the two Canadians who were beheaded in April and June. | Abu Sayyaf frees a Norwegian hostage for a ransom of ₱30 million (US$638,000) and releases three kidnapped Indonesians from Sabah. |
NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities are looking for a naturalized Afghanistan citizen for questioning in a weekend explosion in a Manhattan neighborhood that injured 29 people as the governor conceded Monday that investigators could no longer rule out international terrorism. She wouldn’t provide further details, but a government official and a law enforcement official who were briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that five people in the car were being questioned at an FBI building in Manhattan. Cellphones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Police spokesman J. Peter Donald said on Twitter that the explosion happened at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday on West 23rd Street, which is a major thoroughfare with many restaurants. Hillary Clinton says she has been briefed “about the bombings in New York and New Jersey and the attack in Minnesota.”
She says the nation needs to support its first responders and “pray for the victims.”
“We have to let this investigation unfold,” she said. “This is a bomb.”
Caldwell reported from Washington. | A bombing occurs in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan injuring 29 people. |
Image copyright EPA Image caption Theresa May met European Council president Donald Tusk last week in London
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to trigger the formal process of leaving the European Union early next year, according to a top EU official. EU's Tusk: May indicated could trigger Brexit talks in Jan-Feb
BRATISLAVA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled that she could be ready to launch formal Brexit negotiations in January or February next year, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday, citing a recent talk with May. At the same time, it is not possible for these negotiations to damage our interests.”
Speaking earlier, Mr Tusk told European leaders the UK’s referendum result was due to “failures” of British politicians. “She declared that it's almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year, but it's quite likely that they will be ready maybe in January, maybe in February, next year.”
He admitted Britain’s vote to leave was a “sad moment” for Europe, but said Brexit negotiations must prioritise the interests of the countries that remain members of the EU and “not the leaving country”, Sky News reported. Tusk said following an EU summit held without Britain that he had met recently with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who told him it was not going to happen as soon as many EU leaders had hoped after the June 23 referendum to leave the EU. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the same news conference that Britain could not achieve full access to the EU market that it would ideally like if it closed off free immigration for EU citizens: "I cannot see any possibility of compromising on that very issue," he said. Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, said: 'Unless we feel a guarantee that these people are equal, we will veto any agreement between the EU and Britain.' | President of the European Council Donald Tusk states that the UK could begin its formal process of withdrawing from the European Union early next year, after a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May last week. |
It appears only around a dozen heads of state from the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement made it to the meeting held on the Caribbean island of Margarita, just off Venezuela's coast, in a blow for a government keen to bolster its international legitimacy. Yet the turnout from the 120-nation Cold War-era bloc has paled compared with past meetings, including the previous summit in Iran in 2012, attended by some 35 heads of state. Maduro revels in support from Zimbabwe, Iran as critics decry failed summit
MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reveled in support from leftist allies during a summit of a Cold War-era bloc that wrapped up on Sunday, but critics pilloried him for hosting unpopular leaders such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and for failing to draw many world leaders. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
But the low turnout after months of shuttle diplomacy handing out invitations is likely to embolden Maduro's opponents, who are pushing for a recall referendum to remove him from office before his term ends in 2019. | Around ten heads of state attend the 17th Non-aligned Movement summit in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, including Evo Morales of Bolivia, Raúl Castro of Cuba, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro. |
“IT ain’t no sin if you crack a few laws now and then, just so long as you don’t break any.” That was how the Sandiganbayan concluded its decision junking the remaining corruption case against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) project involving the Chinese multinational company ZTE Corporation. Arroyo, together with her husband former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and former Commission on Election chair Benjamin Abalos, was charged with two counts of graft for allowing the NBN-ZTE deal to push through despite not going through the proper process. Our courts have not allowed themselves to be swayed by public opinion or perception,” the lawyer said in a statement. As a matter of fact, there was no evidence introduced on who made the payment,” the ruling read. “Even assuming arguendo [for the sake of argument]that the NBN contract is admissible, and assuming further that it became effective and was never cancelled, the prosecution failed to prove that it is grossly and manifestly disadvantageous to the Government,” it said. Arroyo was charged with one count each of violation of Section 3 (g) and 3 (i) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Section 7 (d) of RA 6713 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees in connection with the NBN deal, which was allegedly overpriced by more than 50 percent of its actual cost of $130 million. | The Sandiganbayan court clears former Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the national broadband corruption scandal. |
READ MORE: Officer ‘severely injured’ after possible machete incident at northeast Calgary mall Saturday: Police
Hughson said ASIRT has good surveillance video of the events that unfolded inside the Sears store. A police news release was unclear as to whether the suspect was wounded by a bullet only saying he was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. Just after 2 p.m. Saturday, a Calgary police officer shot a 20-year-old, machete-wielding assailant at the Sears in Marlborough Mall, after the perpetrator slashed the officer, who endured severe and significant injury. “She had very little involvement in the incident,” Hughson said, adding it’s not clear what her relationship with the suspect is. Hughson has Edmonton investigators in Calgary helping out the local ASIRT team as the province’s police watchdog has a look at the Marlborough Mall incident as well as another unrelated incident occurred just an hour earlier. | An unidentified suspect chases people with a machete outside the Malborough CTrain station in Calgary, Alberta and injures 2 inside the nearby Marlborough Mall, including a police officer. The injured officer shoots the suspect who remains in critical condition. |
Belgium reports first case of euthanasia for a minor
BRUSSELS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A minor has been euthanised in Belgium in what is the first application of rules adopted by the country in 2014 allowing doctor-assisted death for children of all ages, the head of the national committee for euthanasia said on Saturday. Jacqueline Herremans, head of the Belgian Association for the Right to Die with Dignity and a member of Belgium’s federal euthanasia commission, confirmed to RTBF television that such a statement had been made. Wim Distelmans, who chairs Belgium's Federal Control and Evaluation Committee on Euthanasia, told Reuters that the minor was 17 and that a local doctor had reported the case to his committee last week, but he gave no other details. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg permit euthanasia and assisted suicide
Switzerland permits assisted suicide if the person assisting acts unselfishly
Colombia permits euthanasia
California last year joined the US states of Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana in permitting assisted dying
Canada passed laws allowing doctor-assisted dying in June of this year
How old must the patient be? It is the only country that allows children of any age to undergo euthanasia, as long as they are able to make rational decisions and are in the last stages of an incurable disease
A terminally ill child has become the first minor to be euthanised in Belgium since age restrictions on such mercy killings in the country were lifted in 2014, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The Belgian amendment, which was passed after heated debate — notably over the meaning of a required “capacity of discernment” — offers the possibility of euthanasia to children “in a hopeless medical situation of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and which will cause death in the short term“. Any request for euthanasia must be made by the minor, be studied by a team of doctors and an independent psychiatrist or psychologist, and have parental consent. Competent patients aged between 12 and 16 may also qualify, but only if their parent or guardian consents. | A local doctor in Belgium grants euthanasia to a terminally-ill minor, marking the first case of such procedure performed since the 2014 removal of age restrictions. |
The cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad has died following a crash in the men’s C4/C5 road race at the Rio Paralympics, Iran’s national Paralympic committee has announced. The International Paralympic Committee said Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, suffered cardiac arrest after the incident on a "mountainous stretch" of circuit. Mr Golbarnezhad received emergency treatment on the course and suffered cardiac arrest while he was being transported to a Rio hospital, where he died. Bahman Golbarnezhad (left, chasing South Africa's Dane Wilson) in action earlier in Saturday's race
IPC president Sir Philip Craven said: "This is truly heartbreaking news and the thoughts and condolences of the whole Paralympic movement are with Bahman's family, friends, and team-mates as well as the whole of the National Paralympic Committee of Iran. The IPC said it believes this is the first death in a Paralympics and officials said the cause of the crash, which remains unclear, was being investigated. According to the IPC, Golbarnezhad was involved in a crash at around 10:35 local time on the first section of the Grumari loop, a mountainous stretch of the course, on a curved descent. He received treatment at the scene and was in the process of being taken to the athlete hospital when he suffered cardiac arrest. The cause of the crash was not clear, and officials said it was being investigated. “The Paralympic family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy, which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games.”
The Iranian flag has been lowered to half-mast in the athletes' village and Mr Golbarnezhad's family, who are in Iran, were informed this afternoon, according to the IPC. The Iranian flag was lowered to half-staff in the Paralympic Village, and at the venue where Iran faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in a men’s sitting volleyball final on Sunday. The Iranian flag has been lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village and a period of silence will be observed during Sunday's closing ceremony. “This is very sad news for sport and for the Paralympic movement.” Carlos Nuzman, head of the Rio Olympic organizing committee, said in a statement. “Our hearts and prayers are with Bahman's family, his team-mates and all the people of Iran.”
Saturday's race was won by Daniel Abraham of Holland, with Brazil's Lauro Chaman second and Andrea Tarlao of Italy third. Golbarnezhad was 14th in the time-trial on Wednesday and also competed at the London 2012 Paralympics. He lost his left leg in a land mine explosion and took up the sport in 2002, competing in events for athletes with lower limb impairments or amputations. Bahman Golbarnezhad was competing at his second Paralympics
An Iranian Para-cyclist has died after a crash during the men's C4-5 road race at the Rio Paralympics. On Wednesday, he finished 14th in a time trial. | Iranian Para-cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad dies after being involved in a crash during the men's C4-5 road race. |
India accused Pakistan of being behind Sunday’s separatist attack on an army base near their disputed frontier that killed 17 soldiers, in one of the most deadly attacks in Kashmir in a quarter-century-old insurgency.Four commando-style gunmen, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, burst into the brigade headquarters in Uri at 5:30 a.m. (midnight GMT) and were killed after a three-hour gunfight, a senior Indian army officer said. Four rebels were killed as the soldiers returned gunfire after the surprise assault before dawn on the base, located near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Twenty-eight injured soldiers were airlifted to a military hospital in the region's main city of Srinagar, four of them in critical condition, an army officer said. The four assailants, who also threw grenades that caused tents and temporary shelters to catch fire at the army brigade headquarters at Uri, were killed in a gun battle with security forces that lasted six hours, authorities said. Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, the director of military operations, said he contacted his Pakistani counterpart to convey “serious concerns.”
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh was more pointed, saying on Twitter: “Pakistan is a terrorist state, and it should be identified and isolated as such.”
Pakistan denied involvement in the attack, which came amid escalating violence in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Image copyright @narendramodi Image caption Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attacks on Twitter
But Mr Singh said on Twitter that "there are definite and conclusive indications that the perpetrators of Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped". In an even stronger response, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: “Pakistan is a terrorist state and should be identified and isolated as such.”
Pakistan rejected allegations that it was involved. No one has so far claimed responsibility, but Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was disappointed with "Pakistan's continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups". India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between them. The raid came as tensions were already running high in India’s only Muslim-majority region, which has faced more than two months of protests following the July 8 killing of the commander of another Pakistan-based separatist group. He had informed his Pakistani counterpart of his findings, which linked the attack on Uri to a similar raid in January on an Indian Air Force base in Punjab that India also blames on Jaish-e-Mohammed. India regularly accuses its arch-rival Pakistan of arming and sending rebels across the heavily militarised border that divides Kashmir between the two countries, to launch attacks on its forces. | Four Jaish-e-Mohammed militants attack an Indian Army base near the Pakistan border with at least 17 soldiers and four militants killed. |
Islamic State, Pakistani Taliban faction say kill three soldiers in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Three Pakistani soldiers were killed in an ambush in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Sunday, militants said, in an attack for which both Islamic State and a Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility. The gunmen struck in Garhi Sohbat Khan on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, attacking a private vehicle carrying the three soldiers, said Shaukat Khan, a senior police officer. The attackers used handguns to target the soldiers, who were returning from a military dairy farm after fetching milk for officers, Khan said. Ahsanullah Ahsan, spokesman for the group, said in a statement that the three soldiers were targeted by the group to avenge the “military’s animosity with mosques.”
Islamic militants have been involved in multiple such attacks in and around the provincial capital surrounded by lawless tribal regions. Dad Mohammad, another area police officer, said the incident was second of the nature in this area — which is close to Mohmand tribal region. Last week gunmen shot and killed a prominent physician who was instrumental in anti-polio campaigns, he said. The Mohmand tribal region had been a longtime hotbed for Islamic militants and the Pakistani army has carried out several operations to eliminate militant hideouts. But the militants have repeatedly struck back. Last Friday, a suicide bomber killed 36 worshippers in a mosque during weekly prayers in the Ambar area of Mohmand. Jamaatul Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Taliban, claimed responsibility for that attack. | Two gunmen kill three Pakistani Army soldiers near the city of Peshawar. |
US air raid on Syrian army post sparks Russia tension
Earlier in the day, Syrian state news agency SANA reported that government troops had regained territory in the eastern province lost to fighters affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) "as a result of the American aircraft aggression". Media reports, quoting ISIS news affiliate al-Amaq, said, “A fighter jet belonging to the Syrian forces was downed by ISIS in Deir al-Zour.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, “The pilot of the Syrian fighter jet died, indicating that the plane was shot down in Tharde Mount area southern Deir Ezzor air base.”
The Observatory had earlier reported of intense air strikes during the last 24 near Deir ez-Zor. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict now in its sixth year, said the pilot of the MiG Syrian warplane was killed. | Amaq News Agency claims ISIL is responsible for shooting down a Syrian Air Force fighter jet over Deir ez-Zor. The London-based SOHR says the MiG pilot was killed. |
Key points: Dozens of Syrian soldiers dead in US-led strike
Defence Department says Australian jets were involved but would never intentionally target Syrian military
UN Security Council holds emergency meeting at Russia's request, US criticises "grandstanding"
Between 62 and 83 Syrian soldiers who had been fighting IS militants were reportedly killed in the air strikes around the Deir al-Zor military airport in Syria's east. The IS-linked Amaq news agency said coalition strikes also hit Islamic State positions around the airport, while there were also reports of Russian planes bombing Islamic State targets..
Situation worsening, says Russian general
Russian military officials meanwhile lashed out at both the United States and mainstream rebels over the ceasefire struck last week in Geneva. Australian aircraft were among a group of international planes taking part in an operation near Dayr Az Zawr when Russian officials advised the targets may have been Syrian military personnel, a statement said on Sunday. The Australian Department of Defense said in a statement on Sunday that it will cooperate fully with the review of the incident by the alliance, asserting that while Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit, nor would it provide support for ISIS, offering condolences to the families of the victims of the attack. “Defence offers its condolences to the families of any Syrian personnel killed or wounded in this incident,” the ministry said on Sunday. | Australia's Department of Defence acknowledges its participation "among a number of international aircraft" in the Deir ez-Zor air raid. It says it would "never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh (ISIS)" and offers its condolences. |
LOS ANGELES — “Game of Thrones” conquered the Emmy kingdom Sunday, honored as top drama for the second consecutive year and becoming the most honored prime-time TV series ever on a night of surprises and sharp political jabs. The HBO series already has nine statuettes from last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys, which mainly reward behind-the-scenes personnel, giving it a total haul over the years of 35 -- more than any other drama series. That gives it a total haul over the years of 38 — more than any other narrative series since the first Television Academy prize-giving in 1949, overtaking the haul of 37 won by long-running comedy “Frasier.”
But it went down to the wire, as “Thrones” drew a blank in the acting categories, despite being a hot favorite and having multiple nominees, and only set the record with the last prize of the night. Three of its stars — Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Maisie Williams — dominated the betting in the supporting actress category, but the statuette went to Maggie Smith of “Downton Abbey.”
Peter Dinklage missed out on a supporting actor trophy, as did co-star Kit Harington, the category’s favorite, with Ben Mendelsohn picking up the prize for “Bloodline.”
“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” already picking up several awards, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus has won her fifth consecutive Emmy in the comedy actress category. Its victory for best limited series is seen as the surest thing of the night while Sarah Paulson and Courtney B. Vance are expected to be rewarded for their acclaimed portrayals of sparring attorneys Marcia Clark and Johnnie Cochran. The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, the television drama based on the murder trial of OJ Simpson, was named outstanding limited series, while Sarah Paulson, Courtney B Vance and Sterling K Brown won awards for their roles in the show. Rami Malek was a first time winner as he took home the coveted Outstanding Actor in a Drama gong for his role in Mr. Robot’ star Rami Malek leads with 8/11 odds.”
And in the best actress in a comedy category, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is going for her fifth consecutive Emmy for her role as the hapless acting president on HBO’s “Veep.”
In the battle of the networks, perennial favorite HBO leads the nominations, though with a reduced tally from last year. | The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards is held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with Game of Thrones winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, Veep winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story winning the Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series. |
They were up for 24 total awards and walked away with 12 at Sunday night’s 2016 Emmy awards in Los Angeles for a total of 38 now, breaking a record set by the also very past successful sitcom Frasier with a total haul of 37 Emmys. Game of Thrones could well make history at this year's Emmy awards by becoming the biggest award-winning show since the awards ceremony began; the show has so far clocked up 35 wins over six series - picking up nine wins at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys, which encompasses many of the technical awards - already making it the biggest-winning dramas series of all time. | Game of Thrones wins three Emmy Awards to become the most successful narrative series of all time beating the record previously held by Frasier. |
At least 12 dead in Thailand as tourist boat capsizes, dozens missing
BANGKOK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - At least 12 people have died and dozens are missing in Thailand after a boat carrying 150 Thai Muslims capsized in the ancient tourist city of Ayutthaya, officials said on Sunday. “Fourteen people are still in hospital,” he said, adding “the rescue operation resumed this morning to find those missing.”
No foreigners were believed to be among the dead. Some people were still missing after the accident, which occurred when the boat was involved in a collision Sunday afternoon, but it was not immediately clear how many. | A tourist boat carrying about 150 people capsizes on the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, killing at least 12 people with dozens missing. |
MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Russia's parliamentary election (all times local):
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the ruling United Russia party, which early results show is winning in the parliamentary election, has produced a good result. If these exit polls are correct then it would suggest that the balance of forces in the new Duma will be very similar to that of the outgoing Duma, though the nationalist Liberal Democrat party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky seem to have gained ground at the expense of the two left wing parties, the Communist Party and A Just Russia. Anxious to avoid a repeat of 2011’s street protests, Kremlin officials have tried to assure Russians that the vote will be the cleanest in the country’s modern history. | Russian voters head to the polls to elect all 450 MPs to the 7th State Duma of the Russian Federation. Exit polls show the governing United Russia party with a comfortable lead. |
BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on state elections in Berlin (all times local):
Exit polls show the Social Democrats and Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party emerged from Berlin state elections as the strongest two parties, but lost enough support they won't be able to continue a coalition government together. Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won only 17.5 percent — its worst post-war result in the city, before or after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall — likely spelling the end of its term as junior coalition partner to the Social Democrats (SPD), who won around 22 percent. But jubilant AfD leaders, including the party’s top candidate for Berlin Georg Pazderski, said they were confident they had found a winning election formula – tapping into public concern over migration and the consequences for German domestic security. Without enough support for the governing SPD-CDU "grand coalition" to continue, the most likely new governing alliance appeared to be a combination of the SPD, Greens and Left party. | Voters head to the polls in Berlin, Germany, to elect members to the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. Latest polling indicates the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) are expected to make strong gains. |
RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Iranian cyclist Sarafraz Bahman Golbarnezhad has died after crashing in the C4-5 event at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, the first such death at the games since they began in 1960, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has said. Bahman Golbarnezhad, 48, fell during the event and died of his injuries despite an attempt to take him to the hospital for treatment, officials said. The Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast in the Paralympic Village, while the Paralympic flag was to be at half mast during Sunday's sitting volleyball gold-medal match between Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina. | The 2016 Summer Paralympic Games close in Rio de Janeiro. |
• Police in America release picture of Ahmad Rahami who is wanted in connection with explosion in New York
Police described the explosion on Saturday in New York and a stabbing attack in Minnesota on Saturday that injured nine people as acts of terrorism. The man who the police said sowed terror across two states, setting off bombs in Manhattan and on the Jersey Shore and touching off a furious manhunt, was tracked down on Monday morning sleeping in the dank doorway of a neighborhood bar and taken into custody after being wounded in a gun battle with officers. A search in Elizabeth, New Jersey is underway, and Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage tells CNN it is "definitely related to the Chelsea incident." | Linden, New Jersey police shoot and arrest Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspected perpetrator. Two police officers are reportedly injured. |
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. air strike killed as many as eight Afghan policemen outside the embattled provincial capital of Uruzgan province, Afghan officials said on Monday, as security forces, supported by U.S. strikes, battle resurgent Taliban militants. Local highway police commander Haji Rahimullah said the attacks hit a police checkpoint on the main highway near Uruzgan’s provincial capital of Tirin Kot, killing a police officer in the first strike and, in a second run, at least seven more officers who responded to the scene. The first attack killed our colleagues and while we were trying to pull-out our colleagues from the check post than another attack happened.”
The US military command in Kabul has confirmed its warplanes conducted an airstrike in the area, but said those targeted were “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to” Afghan national security forces. Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said the strikes targeted “individuals firing on, and posing a threat to, our Afghan partners.”
“We don’t have any further information on who those individuals might have been or why they were attacking ANDSF (Afghan national defense and security forces),” Cleveland said. “U.S., coalition and Afghan forces have the right to self-defense, and in this case were responding to an immediate threat.”
The Afghan forces have taken on the primary responsibility for fighting the Taliban, who have waged a 15-year war against the Western-backed Kabul government. Afghan forces have primary responsibility for their country’s security in the fight against the 15-year Taliban insurgency, but U.S forces are authorized to conduct strikes to prevent strategic losses as well as to protect the Afghans and their allies, such as international advisers. | Afghan officials say yesterday's U.S. airstrikes killed up to eight Afghan policemen in Lashkar Gah, Uruzgan. |
The government earlier said that at least 17 had died in the violence in Kinshasa ahead of a planned opposition rally, but had warned that the death toll could rise. It also called on people to gather on Tuesday “to keep up without hesitation the demands made today.”
The rally, which the authorities cancelled, had been called to demand the resignation of President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2001. Some view the election delay as a way for him to prolong his rule beyond the end of his mandate in late December, as he is able to stay in power in the event there is no election to choose a successor. A fringe opposition group has been meeting with the government in a bid to organise a schedule for elections, but veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi has refused to participate in the talks which are due to end on Saturday. | A Democratic Republic of the Congo protest calling for the resignation of President Joseph Kabila turns violent in Kinshasa, leaving at least 17 people dead, including three police officers. Opposition groups say that 50 people died. |
Image copyright EPA/SYRIAN RED CRESENT Image caption The 31 trucks were pictured earlier preparing to set off to deliver aid
A convoy of aid trucks has been hit by an air strike near the Syrian city of Aleppo, reports say, hours after the military declared the current cessation of violence was over. The UN said at least 18 trucks in the 31-vehicle convoy were destroyed late on Monday en route to deliver humanitarian assistance to the hard-to-reach town of Orum al-Kubra. Syrian or Russian warplanes bombed aid trucks near Aleppo late on Monday after a week-long ceasefire ended, killing 12 people, including Red Crescent workers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and opposition activists said. A local resident told Reuters by phone that the trucks had been hit by around five missiles while parked in a centre belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent in Urm al-Kubra. The Observatory reported at least 40 strikes in and around Aleppo since the truce ended, and said some 32 people had been killed in all. | Hours after the Syrian military declares the end of the ceasefire, an airstrike hits a convoy of United Nations OCHA aid trucks near the town of Urum al-Kubra, in the Aleppo Governorate, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that at least 12 people have been killed. |
The court has declared Bangladesh as the rightful owner of the funds, totaling $15 million, Ricardo Paras III, chief state counsel of the Philippines’ Department of Justice, said while reading a copy of the court’s ruling to a Reuters reporter. Unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh central bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in early February, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in Manila. During a Philippine Senate hearing into the heist which ended in May, a casino junket operator claimed to have received $35 million of the stolen funds but only returned $15 million. It is not clear what happened to the remainder of the money. Bangladesh had to file a petition staking its claim to the money before it could be turned over to them. “(The) court ordered the release of the cash now in the BSP vault in favor of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” Paras told Reuters. Bangladesh is also seeking to recover another $2.7 million frozen by the Philippines’ casino regulator. | A court in the Philippines orders the central bank to return US$15 million back to Bangladesh. |
The roughly 500-foot (152- meter) section of pipe that will serve as the bypass is now complete, and the company expects that will allow it to restart the main gasoline line, Colonial Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker told The Associated Press. State Emergency Response Team activates JIC re: impacts to NC from #ColonialPipeline leak https://t.co/FywdSjP5un pic.twitter.com/OkzhcgYikP — NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) September 19, 2016
The North Carolina Emergency Response Team activated a Joint Information Center to coordinate release of information regarding impacts from the leak. “This executive order will help protect our motorists from excessive gas prices and ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel that is essential for the health, safety and economic well-being of businesses, consumers and visitors in North Carolina.”
Officials believe six states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Alabama — are all facing possible shortages due to the spill. A section of the Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Houston to New York, has been closed since Sept. 9 after a spill of roughly 250,000 gallons was discovered in rural Shelby County, Ala. It could have flowed down through Alabama and into the Mobile Bay.”
The leak was discovered Friday when a mining inspector detected a strong odor of gasoline at a mining property in a remote area of Shelby County, about 30 miles south of Birmingham. “Most of the damage has been to the pipeline itself and to the people who need gas for their cars.”
Over the weekend, drivers in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas faced longer lines at the gas pumps and, in some cases, dry pumps. | The U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia declare a state of emergency over gas shortages as a result of the Colonial pipeline leak in Shelby County, Alabama. |
Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech to graduating students Monday that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party should speak politely and make a positive gesture if they want to ease tensions. In response to the government actions, Kem Sokha said last week that the party is considering calling for nationwide protests. | Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen says that he will continue his campaign against protests from the Cambodian opposition while Kem Sokha of the Cambodian National Rescue Party vows to remain as their leader. |
READ MORE:
* DR Congo clashes leave 17 dead
* Nigeria gripped with 'catastrophic' famine
* At least 21 Hutus killed in 'alarming' east Congo violence
* UN warns Congo campaign against Rwandan rebels will take time
* Up to 80 people killed by rebels in Congo
Overnight, several people were killed when security forces burned down the headquarters of the main opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), and attacked buildings of other opposition parties, HRW Africa researcher for the New York-based group, Ida Sawyer, said. At least two burnt bodies could be seen in the fire-ravaged offices of the main opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), while two other people were burnt alive and one person injured, they said. Congo's government spokesman, Lambert Mende, condemned the burning of opposition party buildings as well as attacks on other buildings, including two ruling party buildings and a school, by opposition protesters. The fresh violence came after a bloody day on Monday during which opposition groups said more than 50 people had died in protests calling for Kabila's resignation. Kabila's mandate ends on December 20 and although the constitution bans him from running for a third term, he has made no effort to schedule elections which would be practically impossible to organise in the vast country before the year is up. The fire - a criminal act - started between 2am and 4am on Monday (1200-1300 NZ time), said opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi, a UDPS official and son of veteran opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi, who lost to Kabila in a 2011 presidential run-off after five decades of active involvement in Congolese politics. | A day after street violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between protesters opposed to President Joseph Kabila and security forces left at least 44 dead, armed men in military uniforms burn down the headquarters of the main opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) in Kinshasa, DR Congo, killing at least two people. |
NEW YORK — Angelina Jolie Pitt has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, bringing an end to one of the world's most star-studded, tabloid-generating romances. TMZ reports that the actress filed papers on Monday citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and asking for physical custody of the couple's six children. "This decision was made for the health of the family," Robert Offer, an attorney for Jolie told CNN in a statement Tuesday. Offer said the decision to divorce was made “for the health of the family.”
The couple has six children together: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. They went public with their relationship a year later but only tied the knot on August 23, 2014 in a surprise ceremony at the their French estate. Pitt's first marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston ended in 2005 as a result of his relationship with Jolie, who he met when the two worked on the 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Since Mr And Mrs Smith, the couple have appeared on screen together in By The Sea, a film written and directed by Jolie and produced by Pitt, in which they played a glamorous couple whose marriage is in crisis. | Citing irreconcilable differences, Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt and seeks full custody of their six children. The couple married in 2014 and had been in a relationship since 2005. |
A U.N.-backed government is now trying to establish itself from Tripoli, but it has failed to win endorsement from the east. Six killed in military helicopter crash in east Libya - source
BENGHAZI, Libya Sept 20 (Reuters) - Six people were killed when a military helicopter operated by armed forces loyal to Libya's eastern government crashed late on Monday, a military source said. The Libyan news portal al-Wasat quoted Col. Al-Safi al-Sanini as saying that the MI8 helicopter was on an official mission to Ras Lanuf oil terminal, once of three such facilities captured by Hifter's forces last week. | An Mi-8 transport helicopter crashes near the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, killing at least six people. |
Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee/TNS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Tribune News Service) — A pilot from Beale Air Force Base was killed and a second was injured Tuesday after a U-2 spy plane, one of the most famous aircraft of the Cold War era, crashed Tuesday morning near the Sutter Buttes. BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the crash of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane in California (all times local):
A senior officer at Beale Air Force Base says military personnel recovering the two pilots who ejected from a stricken U-2 spy plane found that both their parachutes had deployed. Another pilot who survived sustained injuries that are not life-threatening and is now recovering in good condition at a local medical facility, base officials said. The aircraft, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, crashed in the Sutter Buttes, a mountain range about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Sacramento. Officers from Beale Air Force Base and from the Air Force Safety Center, which oversee all inspection and safety functions for the Air Force, will seek to identify “the root cause” of the crash, Keith Wright, a spokesman for the safety center, told The Sacramento Bee. “I am confident that the U-2 squadrons here and the U-2 squadrons around the world are going to come off the mat stronger than they were before.”
The U-2 “Dragon Lady” is a surveillance and reconnaissance plane capable of flying above 70,000 feet (21,336 meters), an extremely high altitude that’s twice as high as a typical commercial airliner flies. “I would match the safety and maintenance record of the U-2 with any of the apparatus the Air Force flies.”
The Beale air base, about 45 miles north of Sacramento, is home to America's fleet of high-altitude spy planes. The spy plane crashed into a parking lot outside the offices of the Oroville Mercury Register, killing the pilot and a woman on the ground. | A United States Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft crashes in Northern California, shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base, killing one pilot and injuring another. |
Total number of Zika infections in Singapore rises to 381
SINGAPORE — Singapore confirmed 12 new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection over the weekend, bringing the total number of Zika infections in the city state to 381, according to the update of National Environment Agency (NEA) on Monday. The first case of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in Singapore was detected on Aug. 27, and the first case of pregnant woman with Zika was reported on August 31. June 16, 2016: CDC reports six Zika-infected babies in the US
June 15, 2016: Babies born to women with Zika late in pregnancy fare better
June 2, 2016: Case report questions whether Zika can be transmitted by kissing
May 31, 2016: Baby born in N.J. with Zika-related microcephaly
A baby girl was born with "significant microcephaly" at Hackensack University Medical Center. | Authorities diagnose six more cases of the Zika virus in the provinces of Cebu and Iloilo in the Visayas and Laguna province near Metro Manila, Philippines. |
BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's 28 member states on Tuesday accepted Bosnia's membership application, taking a step forward in what is certain to be a long process that Sarajevo hopes will eventually give it a place in the bloc. EU nations on Tuesday ordered the European Commission to establish whether Bosnia has earned candidate status, a process that could take a year. A senior Slovak foreign ministry official, Ivan Korcok, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said "this is a good day for Bosnia, but for us as well. We are showing that the enlargement strategy and approach to the aspiring countries works." The Commission will send a questionnaire asking for answers to thousands of queries on the country's suitability to join the EU. It will assess Bosnia's economy, the state of democracy in the country, its adherence to the rule of law and human rights, and its ability to respect the obligations of membership. Bosnia's complex political system and the on-going quarrels between its Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats have prevented the country from moving faster and catching up with neighbouring countries on the EU path. While it accepted the application, the EU states called on Bosnia to continue "socio-economic reforms (and) reforms in the area of rule of law and public administration." Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic said the acceptance of the country's application constituted a "historic moment for the European path and European future of Bosnia-Herzegovina." "This is really some of the most positive news for Bosnia-Herzegovina ... especially for young people," he said. | The European Union's 28 member states formally accept Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership application. The European Commission (EC) will now determine whether Bosnia meets the criteria to join the union, a process that is expected to take a year. |
Obama, in final UN speech, calls for world course correction
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama conceded Tuesday that the United States and other world powers have limited ability to solve the most profound challenges facing the world, while calling for a "course correction" for globalization to ensure that nations don't retreat into a more sharply divided world. Obama, in his final speech to the U.N. General Assembly, acknowledged that the extremist and sectarian violence wreaking havoc in the Middle East and elsewhere "will not be quickly reversed." But I do believe we have to be honest about the nature of these conflicts, and our international community must continue to work with those who seek to build rather than to destroy. | In his final speech as President of the United States to the United Nations General Assembly, Barack Obama calls for a renewed commitment to collaborative efforts in facing many of the challenges confronting “an integrated world” community. |