Datasets:

roofdancer

/

presummarized_wcep

like 0

"Allegations of drug-trafficking offenses should be judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets," a report released Thursday quotes human rights experts as saying. I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there.” And here’s another, from last Sunday, after United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime condemned Mr Duterte’s “apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.” “I do not want to insult you,” Duterte said. As he addressed troops at the country's Armed Forces Central Command Headquarters on August 5, Duterte recounted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the country, saying in Tagalog that he was feuding with U.S. The story’s spin was that the granddaughter was what the newspaper called “collateral damage” in the government’s crackdown on the drug menace and its Pied Pipers across the archipelago.

The death toll in Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs reaches 1,900 people killed.

Kurdish-aligned group in north Syria says targeted by Turkish warplanes KARKAMIS, Turkey, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A group allied to Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was bombarded by Turkish warplanes on Saturday, after Turkey's military launched an incursion this week into northern Syria against both Islamic State and Kurdish forces. In an ostensibly anti-jihadi operation, Turkish troops, supplemented by Turkish-trained Syrian rebels, thwarted Kurdish plans for territorial expansion on Wednesday by taking over Jarablus, a Syrian town Isis had held since July 2013. EUPHRATES U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone on Thursday that YPG fighters were retreating to the east side of the Euphrates, as Turkey has demanded, foreign ministry sources in Ankara said. Jets pounded Islamic State positions and tanks crossed the border this week, allowing the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army to gain control of the strategic town of Jarablus, state-run Anadolu news service reported Wednesday.

Turkey sends more tanks into northern Syria to continue its offensive against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd said on Wednesday it has set up a Cayman Islands-based fund that will buy mining projects as the Chinese state-owned copper producer sets its eyes on potential bargains as the commodities cycle bottoms. As China’s largest copper producer reported a 37.9 percent drop in profits due to weak metals prices, it said it had allocated $100 million through its subsidiaries to establish Valuestone Global Resources Fund I in the Cayman Islands with CCB International Asset Management Ltd, part of China Construction Bank Corp. By Aug. 4, the fund had $150 million in initial funding and was now open to domestic and foreign institutional investors. The aim is to get $300 million in total investment. Jiangxi didn’t identify what projects it was targeting, but said the fund will capture opportunities arising from low metals prices. While it is not unusual for banks and hedge funds to use investment arms to buy into mining projects, it is an unusual move for a Chinese government-owned producer and reflects the company’s global ambitions. “The focus is not to secure supply, it is rather how to make a profit at the bottom of this industry cycle,” analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong said. “Eventually Jiangxi Copper may participate in operating and investing… but they may ask the (private equity) fund to just flip it.” The fund may be able to cast its net wider than traditional private equity units, said Lau. Private equity funds have been on the hunt for deals for the past few years but have largely held back on purchases. However, Jiangxi’s fund could have greater capacity to develop projects since it is a major producer as well as a stakeholder offering operational know-how and could pay for the offtake, said Lau. Jiangxi Copper sources only 20 percent of its supply from its own mines. It has said its next step will be to focus on international acquisitions and Lau said the fund will help Jiangxi bolster its international M&A experience. Jiangxi has had limited success overseas with projects in Afghanistan and Peru, unlike peers such as China Moly and Minmetals. The Afghani project has been delayed after insurgent attacks that have also hampered nearby infrastructure builds. London Metal Exchange copper prices have fallen by more than quarter since May 2015 amid concerns about slowing demand from China, the world’s top commodities consumer, and are languishing at around $4,700 per tonne. For more on this story go to: https://www.pehub.com/2016/08/jiangxi-copper-targets-investors-with-300-mln-global-mining-fund-reuters/

Miners in the Philippines criticize the government after a crackdown on mining closed more nickel and copper mines.

Many of those killed or injured were holidaymakers in the four worst-hit towns - Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto, Arquata del Tronto and Accumoli - where seasonal visitors swell populations by up to tenfold the summer. USA TODAY NETWORK Rescuers clear debris while searching for earthquake victims in damaged buildings on Aug. 24, in Arquata del Tronto, Italy. Italy earthquake: Death toll hits 250 as survivors recount narrow escape Updated The death toll from the powerful earthquake in central Italy has reached 250, amid fears many more bodies remain buried in the rubble of devastated mountain villages. About 365 people injured in Wednesday's quake were hospitalised, the Civil Protection department said, adding that about 5,000 people, including police, firefighters, army troops and volunteers, were involved in post-quake operations. Meanwhile, a prosecutor in Rieti opened an investigation into possible culpable negligence over the collapse of two recently restored structures — a school in Amatrice and a bell tower in Accumoli, RAI-TV reported. Fabrizio Curcio, head of Italy’s civil protection agency, revised the death toll after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi earlier gave a toll of 120 dead and 368 injured.

The search continues for survivors in central Italy with the death toll now 241. An aftershock of 4.7 MMS hits further east in the province near Norcia.

The slayings were discovered on Thursday when police found two men and one woman lying in the driveway suffering from serious wounds with a crossbow lying nearby. Toronto police confirm there is a link between the three deaths involving a crossbow in east Toronto and a suspicious package found in the downtown area of the city. A man was taken into custody and police later evacuated a building over a suspicious package in a related incident, Detective Mike Carbone said, without giving further details. In the initial incident, police responding to a report of a stabbing to find three people who appeared to have been injured by crossbow bolts, said police spokesman David Hopkinson.

Three people are killed and two are injured after a crossbow attack in Scarborough, Toronto. A suspicious package was also found in another linked event.

Just days after the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics, Brazilian senators are about to decide whether to permanently remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, the climax of a months-long political battle that has laid bare deep polarization in Latin America’s largest nation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski was obliged to intervene and suspend the session after Senate President Renan Calheiros was unable to stop the arguments, in a sign that the build up to a final vote expected on Wednesday morning will be fraught with tensions. If the final vote, which is expected late Tuesday or in the early hours of Wednesday, goes against Rousseff it would confirm her vice president, Michel Temer, as Brazil’s new leader for the rest of her four-year term through 2018, ending 13 years of left-wing Workers Party rule. But before new elections could occur, both Rousseff and Temer would have to resign or be removed from office.

Brazil's Federal Senate begins the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

Story highlights Eleven police officers were killed, state media says Kurdish militants claim responsibility Turkey sent tanks into Syria on Wednesday Turkey-Syria border (CNN) An explosion at a police checkpoint Friday in southeastern Turkey killed 11 police officers and injured at least 78 people, the country's semiofficial Anadolu news agency reports. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that Kurdish militants were responsible for the attack on a checkpoint about 50 metres from a police station near the town of Cizre, in the mainly-Kurdish Şırnak province that borders Syria. Television footage showed black smoke rising from the mangled truck, while the three-story police station was gutted from the powerful explosion. The bombing in the town of Cizre was the latest in a series of attacks since a ceasefire with the PKK collapsed more than a year ago, and comes as Turkey tries to recover from a failed July 15 military coup. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said there was no doubt that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy, was responsible for the attack in Sirnak province, which borders Syria and Iraq. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Eight Turkish police officers are killed and 40 are injured in a bombing at a police checkpoint in the town of Cizre, with the PKK believed to be responsible.

By Albert Aji and Zeina Karam, Associated Press DARAYA, Syria — Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a long-besieged Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government following four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins. The surrender of the Daraya suburb, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. The capitulation by rebel forces in Daraya, an early bastion of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, provides another boost for his forces amid a stalemate in the fight for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late on Thursday, after four years of gruelling bombardment and a crippling siege that left the sprawling suburb in ruins. Around 700 gunmen are to be allowed safe passage to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken to temporary shelter in government-controlled Kisweh, south of Daraya. • August 25, 2016 Turkey: U.S. says Syria Kurds are pulling back in north Syria • August 24, 2016 Dobbs: Syrian boy is another symbol of the incalculable cost of war • August 23, 2016 Cartoons of the day: Syrian boy rescued in Aleppo • August 23, 2016 Turkey strikes Islamic State in Syria as tensions rise over border town The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time. Meanwhile, in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, had “achieved clarity” on a path toward restoring a truce in Syria, but details remained to be worked out. Russia accuses the U.S. of preventing strikes on terrorist groups out of concern that would mean targeting these rebels. Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummelled by government air strikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. DARAYA, Syria (AP) — Buses, ambulances and trucks lined up at the entrance of a long-blockaded Damascus suburb on Friday to evacuate rebels and civilians under a deal struck between the Syrian opposition forces and the government. An Associated Press journalist who entered the suburb from its northern entrance saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. In a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred, black smoke rose on the horizon – caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers. Syrian state news operator SANA reported that “a reconciliation agreement” had been struck in the city of Darayya on Thursday, a short 15-minute drive from the center of Damascus, “so as to empty it of arms and gunmen in preparation for the return of all state institutions and the inhabitants of the city.” Families now in the besieged suburb will be transferred to “temporary residency centers” while roughly 700 gunmen would be moved to the rebel-held province of Idlib after surrendering their medium and heavy weaponry to the Syrian government troops, Darayya’s mayor, Marwan Ubeid, was quoted as saying. “We are awaiting the heroes of Darayya, the courageous,” he added, saving his criticism for western powers that he said offered no support. Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests. Daraya is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition. Diaa said for the last eight months Daraya has been pounded with hundreds of barrel bombs, as the government attempted to storm it. In a statement, the U.N. said it was neither involved nor consulted about the evacuation plan, adding, “the world is watching.” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a small team of U.N. and Red Cross aid workers would travel to Daraya “to meet with all parties and identify the key issues for the civilians.” “We are using this lull in the fighting to get in and see what we can do and obviously see for ourselves what the situation is inside the city,” Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. “Four years and the United Nations couldn’t provide any humanitarian aid, except once.” The town became known as a centre for the opposition from the start of the uprising against Assad, which later turned into civil war. Meanwhile, activists in the town spoke of frequent bombings by government warplanes, including one they claimed took out the last remaining hospital in the suburb last week.

Following a ceasefire agreement with the government, Syrian rebels begin evacuating the war-torn suburb of Darayya, near Damascus, ending a four-year-long siege by government forces. Under the terms of surrender, the 8,000 civilians who reside in the suburb will be moved to regime-controlled areas while several hundred rebel fighters will be given passage to the Idlib Governorate.

Istanbul to inaugurate third bridge linking Europe with Asia ISTANBUL (AP) — Istanbul is inaugurating the third bridge spanning the Bosphorus Strait dividing the continents of Europe and Asia, in a ceremony to be attended by Turkish leadership and representatives of several nations. The Yavuz Sultan Selim, which runs from the Garipce area on Istanbul’s European side to the region of Poyrazkoy on the Asian side, is the third bridge to span the Bosphorus Strait and can withstand winds of 300 km an hour.

Turkey opens the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul, one of the world's biggest suspension bridges.

Singapore shrouded in smog as haze returns to SE Asia SINGAPORE -- Acrid smog blanketed Singapore Friday as the city-state was hit by the year's first major outbreak of haze, an annual crisis sparked by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. Singapore's air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels on Friday as winds blew smoke from fires on Sumatra, where millions of people are already affected by haze, across the city-state and into southern Malaysia. Every dry season, smoke from fires set to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia clouds the skies over much of the region, raising concern about public health and worrying tourist operators and airlines. Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) said the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) breached “very unhealthy” levels of 215 during the day. PSI levels above 100 are deemed unhealthy and people are advised to reduce vigorous outdoor activity. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said on its website that the number of "hotspots" on Sumatra -– which sits across the Malacca Strait from Singapore -– had increased in the past 48 hours.

Fires in Indonesia burn and blow smoke into Singapore, engulfing the city-state into darkness.

An explosion at a sports center in the southern Belgian town of Chimay early on Friday killed one person and wounded four others, two of them seriously, Belgium's Crisis Center said. Chimay police chief Pierre Maton said early on Friday that the blast was most likely “a gas explosion,” but an investigation into the cause was ongoing. The blast happened shortly after midnight at a complex known as Le Chalon in the southern municipality of Chimay, on the border with France. Several dozen police and firefighters attended the scene and the area had been cordoned off, but the damage was not as serious as initially feared. Windows were blown out of the two-storey building and one corner of the structure was badly damaged, but there was no major collapse. Chimay has a population of about 10,000 and is known for one of Belgium's most famous breweries.

An explosion at a sports centre in the Belgian town of Chimay kills one person and injures another four. A gas explosion is suspected to be the cause.

PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off. About 5,400 emergency workers, firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, helped by 50 sniffer dogs, continued to sift through piles of cement, rock and twisted metal, many pointing out that the last survivor from the L’Aquila quake was found 72 hours after it struck. In a first raft of emergency relief measures, Renzi cancelled residents’ taxes in and around the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, between 60 and 90 miles (95-145km) north-east of Rome. The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition. Hide Caption 30 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy The quake left this house in ruins in Arquata del Tronto. Hide Caption 20 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy An emergency services helicopter takes off in Amatrice as rescuers continue the search for survivors. More than 1,050 aftershocks have hit the area since the 6.2 magnitude quake early on Wednesday, bringing fresh damage to structures still standing. "We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble." The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. "British Embassy staff will continue working with local authorities regarding any further British nationals that may require our assistance." Hide Caption 41 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents search for victims in Amatrice. The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice. The 2,500-strong population of the medieval hilltop town, voted one of Italy’s most beautiful historic towns last year, was swollen with summer visitors, many from Rome, in anticipation of its popular annual food festival this weekend. Yesterday during the night it almost reached freezing, so people cannot be here for a long time." 'The earthquake was brutal' The Italian Council of Ministers approved a state of emergency Thursday for the regions affected by the earthquake, allocating 50 million euros (about $56.5 million) in funding, while the displaced took refuge in the camps. Italy’s older buildings are not obliged to conform to anti-seismic building codes, and experts estimate it could cost more than €90bn to reinforce all the country’s historic buildings. In May 2012, a pair of temblors killed dozens of people in northern Italy, while in April 2009, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit in the central L'Aquila region, leaving more than 300 people dead.

A state of emergency is declared in Italy following several strong earthquakes.

ASCOLI PICENO, Italy (AP) — The Latest on the Italian earthquake (all times local): Italian authorities say the death toll in an Italian earthquake has risen yet again as bodies continued to be recovered and now stands at 290. Residents of an Italian region devastated by an earthquake were rattled by a series of aftershocks overnight, the strongest measuring 4.2, as Italy began a day of national mourning on Saturday.

The official death toll rises to 278.

Striking miners in Bolivia armed with dynamite seized highways in a protest over mining laws and then kidnapped, possibly tortured and beat to death the county's deputy interior minister in a killing President Evo Morales characterized Friday as a "political conspiracy," officials say. Government Minister Carlos Romero called it a “cowardly and brutal killing” and asked that the miners turn over the body of his deputy, Rodolfo Illanes, who holds the formal title of vice minister of the interior regime. Deputy Minister Rodolfo Illanes, whose formal title is vice minister of the interior regime, had traveled Thursday to the scene of the violent protests in an effort to negotiate with the strikers who armed themselves with dynamite and seized several highways. Government Minister Carlos Romero on Thursday called it a “cowardly and brutal killing.” Earlier in the day, Romero had said that Illanes had been kidnapped and possibly tortured, but wasn’t able to confirm reports that he had been killed by the striking informal miners, who were demanding the right to associate with private companies, among other issues. Rodolf Illanes, deputy interior minister, had gone to talk to protesting workers on Thursday in Panduro, around 160km (100 miles) from the capital, La Paz, but was intercepted and kidnapped. The vast majority of miners in Bolivia, one of South America’s poorest countries, work in cooperatives, scraping a living producing silver, tin and zinc. The National Federation of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (Fencomin), once a strong ally of the leftwing president, Evo Morales, began what it said would be an indefinite protest after negotiations over mining legislation failed.

Bolivia's deputy interior minister, Rodolfo Illanes, is kidnapped and beaten to death by striking miners.

Czech police arrested a man after he attempted to drive his black Mercedes into the motorcade of visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Prague. Police stopped the car and arrested the armed man. Local reports claim that officers found a baton, a canister of tear gas, cement blocks, and handcuffs in the man’s black 4x4 Mercedes. The police said the suspect was in custody and that Merkel was not in danger. As per details, police have arrested an armed man in a black Mercedes, who allegedly tried to join Merkel’s motorcade in Prague. Merkel held talks Thursday with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and President Milos Zeman focused on the future of the European Union after Britain's June decision to leave the bloc.

An assassination attempt against Angela Merkel is foiled by Czech police.

Photo by Editha Caduaya/ Rappler DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Abu Sayyaf group has received a P50-million ransom payment for its Norwegian hostage, Kjartan Sekkingstad, but the group has not yet released him as it reportedly wants to get even "more" money, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday, August 25. They have ‘lobbyists’ in various countries in the West, who would try portraying Mr. Duterte’s good battle and noble efforts as ‘cruel’, ‘inhuman’ or they may continue propaganda claiming human rights are being violated in today’s Philippines.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte unintentionally reveals that a US$1 million ransom was given to the Abu Sayyaf terror group in exchange for a Norwegian hostage.

“This trial and this process has been exhausted beyond any conceivable exhaustive process.” During sentencing hearings in June, a clinical psychologist called as a defence witness told the court in Pretoria that Pistorius was “a broken man”. The multiple gold medal-winning Paralympian, serving six years for murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013, was not in court on Friday when the judge ruled that the state's petition had no reasonable prospects of success on appeal. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced the Paralympic gold medallist to six years behind bars in July for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, but the prosecution had said the decision was "shockingly lenient". Roux argued that Pistorius had been sentenced to an effective eight-year jail term if one considered the year Pistorius spent in prison for the culpable homicide conviction and time spent under correctional supervision from October last year until July this year when he was sentenced again for the murder conviction. "Any party who has to apply to the trial judge for permission to appeal and is unsuccessful, the option is open for them to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal," said Stephan Terblanche, a law professor at the University of South Africa. ‘The court failed to take into account that the accused fired four shots through the door and he never offered an acceptable explanation for having done so,’ Mr Nel told the hearing, adding, ‘there was a massive chasm between regret and remorse’. Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, by firing four bullets from a handgun through a closed toilet door in his luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

The Johannesburg High Court rejects an appeal against the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius.

A man wears a placard with the message, "Burkini = Liberty" outside the Conseil d'Etat after France's highest administrative court suspended a ban on full-body burkini swimsuits that has outraged Muslims and opened divisions within the government, pending a definitive ruling, in Paris, France, August 26, 2016. While rulings by the Council of State do set precedents, several mayors said they would not suspend their own bans and rights groups said they would bring them to courts, meaning more lawsuits are expected. Divisions have emerged in President Francois Hollande’s government over the bans, and protests have been held in London and Berlin by those defending women’s right to wear what they want on the beach.

The France Conseil d'État suspends Villeneuve-Loubet commune's ban on full-body burkini swimsuits.

By Wilfred Kajese (AFP) Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday warned that the Arab Spring style of protests would fall flat in Zimbabwe after police fired teargas and beat up protesters staging the latest of a string of highly charged demonstrations. The usually bustling pavements were clear of street hawkers while some shops were shut and stones, sticks and burning tyres were strewn across the streets. High court judge Hlekani Mwayera ordered the police and government "not to interfere, obstruct or stop the march" organised by 18 opposition parties including the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe People First formed this year by former vice president Joice Mujuru. The move to seek court backing came a day after police violently put down another march by opposition youths, firing tear gas and water cannon and beating them as they staged a protest against police brutality. Zimbabwe has seen a mounting tide of violent protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980. Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, has overseen an economic collapse that has caused food and cash shortages, with the country battling to pay public servants.

Police and protesters clash in Harare after a court ruled that protests against Robert Mugabe can continue.

Dark matter accounts for almost 85 percent mass of the observable universe and yet, we have never actually found the stuff outside of theories that prove it must exist. Even the visible disk of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, is believed to exist within a roughly spherical halo of dark matter that accounts for about 90 percent of the galaxy. In their search for the pervasive-yet-elusive particles of dark matter, astronomers have tried to find galaxies with much higher concentrations of the mysterious substance — it does not interact with visible matter at all, except through gravity, which is how scientists can theorize its existence. And while galaxies believed to be made up almost entirely of dark matter have been discovered before, they are usually quite small, such as VIRGOHI21 — about 50 million light-years away, it appears to contain no visible stars, has 99.9 percent dark matter and is about 10th the size of Milky Way. But now, a team of astronomers has found a galaxy that is comparable in size to ours but with a similar proportion of dark matter as VIRGOHI21. Named Dragonfly 44, it is about 300 million light-years away in the Coma constellation with an estimated mass of about 1 trillion times that of the sun. The discovery was made by astronomers from universities in the U.S. and Canada, who used the W.M. Keck Observatory and Gemini North telescope — both in Hawaii — for their observations. A paper, titled “A High Stellar Velocity Dispersion and ~100 Globular Clusters for the Ultra Diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44,” describing their findings was published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on Thursday. Pieter van Dokkum, an astronomer at Yale University and lead author of the paper, said in a statement: “Very soon after its discovery, we realized this galaxy had to be more than meets the eye. It has so few stars that it would quickly be ripped apart unless something was holding it together.” The researchers measured the velocities of stars in Dragonfly 44 using data from Keck over six nights. “Star velocities are an indication of the galaxy’s mass ... The faster the stars move, the more mass its galaxy will have,” according to the statement. The stars in Dragonfly 44 were observed to be moving much faster than was expected for a galaxy of its brightness, or rather, its lack of brightness. Roberto Abraham of the University of Toronto, co-author of the paper, said: “It means that Dragonfly 44 has a huge amount of unseen mass.” Observations from the Gemini North telescope showed that Dragonfly 44 has “a halo of spherical clusters of stars around the galaxy’s core, similar to the halo that surrounds our Milky Way galaxy.” Abraham said the team had no idea how galaxies like this could have formed. “The Gemini data show that a relatively large fraction of the stars is in the form of very compact clusters, and that is probably an important clue. But at the moment we’re just guessing.”

A newly-discovered galaxy known as Dragonfly 44 appears to be made up mostly of dark matter.

The government said it is investigating the attack, which took place in a rural part of Concepcion, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of capital Asuncion, in an area where the EPP is known to operate. Because of the manner in which it was done, we believe it was an attack by the known criminal group EPP,” he said, using the Spanish acronym for the Paraguayan People’s Army.

At least eight Paraguayan Army soldiers are killed in an ambush by suspected Paraguayan People's Army (EPP) insurgents, near the village of Arroyito, in northern Paraguay.

Yildirim also told a news conference that the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK was behind Friday's bombing of a police headquarters in Turkey's southeast, the latest in a string of attacks that the authorities have blamed on the group. Turkey clearing borders of militants to prevent more migrants - PM ISTANBUL, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Turkey aims to clear its borders of Islamic State and other militant groups to prevent a new flow of migrants and will continue operations until the nation's security is guaranteed, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday. Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes launched their first major incursion into Syria on Wednesday in support of Syrian rebels, in an operation president Tayyip Erdogan has said is aimed both at driving Islamic State away from the border area and preventing territorial gains by the YPG. ‘Turkey is in an intense fight against terrorist organisations … The PKK/YPG and Islamic State seized the July 15 coup attempt as an opportunity,’ Kurtulmus wrote. The government has blamed the failed coup on the supporters of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and has embarked on a sweeping crackdown on his followers. On Thursday, Kurdish rebels opened fire at security forces protecting a convoy carrying Turkey's main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the northeast, killing a soldier and wounding two others, officials said.

Suspected Kurdish militants fire rockets at Diyarbakır Airport in Diyarbakır, Turkey.

At least 16 migrants die in Moscow warehouse fire MOSCOW: At least 16 migrant workers mostly from Kyrgyzstan died in a fire that broke out at a Moscow warehouse early yesterday, Russian authorities said. The fire was caused by a faulty lamp on the first floor of the warehouse, where many flammable liquids and paper products were stored, and it spread quickly through an elevator shaft to the room where those who died were working, said Ilya Denisov, who heads the Moscow branch of the emergency services. Denisov said firefighters found the charred bodies of 16 workers and sent four injured workers to hospital, where one later died. Denisov, whose statements were carried by Russian news agencies, said the dead were all from Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, and were believed to be working legally in Russia.

A fire at a warehouse in Moscow, Russia, kills at least 17 people, all migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan. The Investigative Committee of Russia, which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, says a criminal inquiry has been launched.

Outgoing chief minister Adam Giles delivers a succinct obituary for his one-term government, which had its 2012 16-seat win cut to two seats This article is more than 3 years old This article is more than 3 years old It was a thumping. Adam Giles described it best, conceding defeat of his Country Liberal party government in a landslide election result in the Northern Territory. The win was called within two hours of polls closing, and just a handful of seats remained in doubt as the next chief minister, Michael Gunner, made his victory speech an hour later. Giles’s central desert seat of Braitling was one yet to be called. Northern Territory election: Adam Giles says he'll 'have a beer' if he loses Read more With more than half the votes counted the CLP had a swing against it of more than 18%. Labor did not pick all that up, gaining 6.4% on the last election. At the time of counting there was a bigger swing towards independents with 8.9%. All predictions had suggested an emphatic Labor victory after four years of an increasingly divisive and controversial term of government, but there were a lot of unknowns. Since the last election in 2012 boundaries had been redrawn and new seats created, and new laws for polling day had been introduced. Territorians had optional preferential voting for the first time, and more than 50,000 took the opportunity to vote early without an excuse. Exclusion zones around polling stations prevented anyone campaigning or handing out how-to-vote cards within 100m. The CLP had won government in 2012 with 16 seats to Labor’s eight, with a solitary independent on the crossbench, but after a series of scandals, fights, reshuffles and coups – both attempted and successful – the party was reduced to a minority of 12. Then on Saturday night that 12 became two. Maybe four at most. “Tonight no doubt is a landslide. It’s a thumping,” said Giles in Alice Springs. “Politically speaking tonight’s result is a lesson in disunity is death in politics. It’s a result of personality before the politics, it’s a lesson in looking after oneself rather than thinking about the people. that message has been heard loud and clear within the candidates and the party of the Country Liberals.” The CLP, the party which had held government for 27 straight years until 2001, would rebuild, he said. “We will remove the disagreements, we will remove the personalities of politics and we will come back bigger and better because one thing is for sure: Labor can’t manage the economy, Labor can’t manage law and order, hence one day in the future the NT will look on us to take leadership, albeit in a more concise, less personality-operated government”. With about 55% of the vote counted, Labor had 15 seats in the bag and another three predicted. The CLP had retained just two. Three independents had won, and it would likely be four. David Tollner, former treasurer and member for Fong Lim, who was not preselected for this election, predicted there would be more independents in parliament than CLP members. The official Labor event, held at the Waratahs sporting club on the outskirts of Darwin’s CBD, was full of Labor faithful as well as city and suburban candidates. Around the corner the CLP gathered in Cullen Bay. The food was better but the mood was sombre. The leader had remained in Alice Springs. Gunner entered the Labor room to shouts and chants of congratulations, and he walked a slow gauntlet of hugs and high-fives, but the audience’s attention waned during his speech and rarely a moment went by without people talking and others shushing them. In one resonating moment, Gunner spoke of his lifetime association with the NT. He is the first territory-born chief minister to be elected since self-governance in 1978. “A boy born in Alice Springs, who grew up in public housing Tennant Creek, who now stands here as chief minister of the Northern Territory,” he said. “In the Northern Territory you can dream big.” The crowd erupted. Gunner said he would work with the independents and CLP opposition, and pledged unity and consultation – two things the electorate had indicated were missing during the CLP term. “You all deserve access to us and we will govern for all Territorians. As Territorians we are stronger when we are united, and we are united in our determination to make our home a better place.” Lynne Walker, member for Nhulunbuy, told Guardian Australia she was humbled by her party’s victory, and excited that as deputy chief minister she would be representing remote and Indigenous Territorians. Northern Territory election: Michael Gunner claims victory for Labor – as it happened Read more The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, called Gunner early to congratulate him, and then formally sent out a public statement once the victory speech was over. “Territorians have punished the CLP for four years of scandal and controversy, and rewarded Labor for working hard and listening to people,” said Shorten. “Michael listened to Territorians and offered a positive plan for creating jobs, investing in people, and restoring trust and integrity in government. Territorians have responded to Labor’s plan, making the CLP government the first one-term government in the territory’s history.”

The opposition Australian Labor Party defeats the governing Country Liberal Party in a landslide, reducing the CLP to just two seats.

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (AP) — Muslim extremists supporting the Islamic State group have freed eight fellow militants in a daring attack that also allowed 15 other inmates to escape from a provincial jail in the southern Philippines. Police say about 20 heavily-armed fighters of the Maute militant group stormed the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi city before nightfall Saturday, disarmed the guards and rescued their eight comrades, including three women. The freed members of the Maute group were arrested on August 22 after soldiers manning an army checkpoint found improvised bombs and pistols in the van they were driving. Police said Sunday the eight militants were arrested by army troops and police when they were caught with a homemade mortar shell in a van in Lanao del Sur's Lumbayanague town.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants break free supporters from a Marawi jail in the Philippines.

HAVANA (AP) - The commander of Colombia’s biggest rebel movement said Sunday its fighters will permanently cease hostilities with the government beginning with the first minute of Monday, as a result of their peace accord ending one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez reflects on a peace deal after 52 years of conflict Under the terms of the agreement, the Farc (the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) will give up its armed struggle and join the legal political process. “We wish to express our clear and definite will for reconciliation,” said Jimenez, known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, in Havana. Image copyright PA Image caption Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, better known under his alias of Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, announced the start of the ceasefire in Havana Image copyright Twitter Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree earlier to halt military operations against the Farc, also from midnight. Colombia is expected to hold a national referendum Oct. 2 to give voters the chance to approve the deal for ending a half-century of political violence that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven more than 5 million people from their homes After the agreement is signed, FARC guerrillas are supposed to begin handing their weapons over to United Nations-sponsored monitors. BOGOTA: An historic ceasefire came into effect in Colombia, ending a 52-year war between FARC rebels and the government and taking a major step toward ending a conflict that has claimed more than 250,000 lives. In March Colombia announced the start of peace negotiations with the second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), but the rebels have yet to meet the government's precondition of releasing all of their hostages and stop all kidnapping.

The FARC orders all its fighters to observe a ceasefire from midnight local time (Monday 1 a.m. EDT).

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State has claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 15 people and injured 16 at a wedding party near the holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala late on Sunday. Five assailants including the suicide bomber attacked the celebration in Ain al-Tamr, west of Kerbala in southern Iraq, firing machine guns and throwing hand grenades, the police said. Lt. Gen. Qais al-Mohammedawi says five suicide bombers took part in the attack in the village of Ein Tamer on Monday, but that the other four were killed by security forces. The bombing is the first in the Kerbala region since Iraqi forces dislodged Islamic State militants from their stronghold in Falluja, 80 km (50 miles) north of city. The ultra-hardline Sunni group has been retreating since last year in the face of government forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition and Iranian-supported Shi'ite militias. But it remains in control of parts of northern and western Iraq and continues to claim bombings all over the country, targeting mainly Shi'ite districts and cities. A statement on the Amaq news agency that supports Islamic State said the attack was carried out by four of its suicide fighters against a "gathering of Shi'ites". Initial reports in local media late, citing security sources, blamed the killings on a dispute between two tribes at the wedding party. Islamic State claimed a truck bomb that killed at least 325 people in Baghdad's Karrada shopping street in July, the deadliest attack since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

A suicide bombing kills at least 15 people at a wedding in the southern Shiite city of Kerbala.

(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jumps into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. Thousands of migrants and refugees were rescued Monday morning from more than 20 boats by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO before transferring them to the Italian cost guards and others NGO vessels operating at the zone. Tens of thousands of Africans take the dangerous Mediterranean Sea route as a gateway to a better life in Europe, alongside those fleeing wars from Syria to Afghanistan. The main departure route for refugees from Africa has been Libya, according to the IOM , as migrants take advantage of the country's ongoing political chaos to escape over their mostly open borders.

The Spanish-based Proactiva Open Arms NGO rescues more than 700 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea about 17 miles north of Sabratha, Libya. The rescued, who are from Nigeria, are transferred to the Italian Coast Guard.

AMATRICE, Italy (Reuters) - Rescuers believe they have found more bodies buried deep in the rubble of the ruined town of Amatrice, five days after a devastating earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 290 people. Residents of the hill town estimated that up to 10 people were still missing and emergency services said they had located three corpses in Amatrice’s Hotel Roma, which, like much of the historic center, was wrecked by Wednesday’s quake. Deputy Mayor Gianluca Carloni said his uncle’s body had still not been recovered from the hotel, which was particularly busy at this time of year because of a food festival. “It is absolutely vital to finish as soon as possible this initial (search) phase to make sure that there are no more bodies under the rubble,” he said. Museums across Italy donated proceeds from their ticket sales on Sunday to help the rebuilding effort, while top flight soccer teams held a minute’s silence before their weekend matches out of respect for the victims. Pope Francis led prayers for the dead in his weekly address in St Peter’s Square in Rome, saying he wanted to go to the earthquake zone to bring comfort to the survivors. “Dear brothers and sisters, as soon as it is possible, I hope to come and visit you,” he said. Priests in the quake zone held their regular Sunday services in large tents. Amatrice’s municipal website said the town had 100 churches, but every one was damaged by the disaster and many would have to be demolished. FALLEN MASONRY With aftershocks continuing to rattle the region, including a magnitude 4.4 quake centered on the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno, residents were still struggling to absorb the disaster. A rescue worker and a dog search among debris following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca “It took me 20 years to get my house, and then, in just 10 seconds, it was gone, like so many others,” said Ascenzio Attenni, who lived in the hamlet of Sant’Angelo outside Amatrice, where eight people died. “We have to thank God that we are alive,” he said, before breaking down in tears. Rescue operations in most of the area were halted two days ago, but teams were still combing Amatrice, which is 105 km (65 miles) east of Rome. The fire service said it was trying to remove some of the fallen masonry at the Hotel Roma and create a safe path to retrieve the three bodies as soon as possible. The Civil Protection Department lowered the official death toll on Sunday to 290 from a previously given 291. A number of foreigners were among the dead, including 11 Romanians, the foreign ministry in Bucharest said. Many Romanians work in Italy and Bucharest said 14 of its nationals were still unaccounted for. Italy has promised to rebuild the shattered communities and has said it will learn from the mistakes following a similar earthquake in the nearby city of L’Aquila in 2009, where much of the center is still out of bounds. Slideshow (2 Images) The rebuilding effort was stalled following allegations that organized crime groups had muscled in to obtain lucrative contracts. Italy’s anti-mafia chief Franco Roberti said the experience of L’Aquila would serve well this time around, but warned that the government could not lower its guard. “The risks are there and it is pointless to pretend otherwise,” he told la Repubblica newspaper. “Post-quake reconstruction is always very appetising for criminal gangs and their business partners.”

Officials report the death toll is at least 290 people with at least 10 others still missing.

New Orleans Police Department spokeswoman Dawne Massey said in a statement early Sunday that department officials responded at 8:53 p.m. Saturday to a report that a Cessna aircraft carrying three people had crashed into Lake Ponchatrain near New Orleans Lakefront Airport. Louisiana State Police/Handout via Reuters St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference. "The bus driver lost control of the bus, struck a fire truck, veered across the right lane, striking other vehicles, then veered and struck three firefighters, who, all three, were thrown over the guardrail," Matey said.

A bus carrying volunteers crashes into emergency vehicles responding to an earlier accident near New Orleans killing two, including the St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief, and injuring 43 more.

MANILA, Philippines — On the day he was sworn into office, President Rodrigo Duterte went to a Manila slum and exhorted residents who knew any drug addicts to “go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.” Two months later, nearly 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users lay dead as morgues continue to fill up. The Philippine National Police began the show, which also features a puppet of police chief Ronald dela Rosa, in Manila schools this month, the latest step in the anti-drug drive of Duterte, nicknamed "the Punisher", who won the presidency in May based on a platform of wiping out narcotics.

The Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle condemns the extralegal killings and murders under Rodrigo Duterte.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s ruling Communist Party appointed a new senior official on Sunday to run Tibet, considered one of the country’s most politically sensitive positions due to periodic anti-Chinese unrest in the devoutly Buddhist Himalayan region. The official Xinhua news agency named Wu Yingjie as Tibet’s next party secretary. New leaders were also appointed in two other key provinces, part of a broad reshuffle ahead of an important party meeting next year. Wu has worked almost his entire career in Tibet, according to his official resume, having previously served as a deputy governor and propaganda chief, among other roles. Wu, like his predecessor Chen Quanguo, belongs to China’s majority Han Chinese ethnic group. Xinhua said Chen would be taking another position, without giving further details. Communist troops marched in and took control of Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a “peaceful liberation”. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against the Chinese. China says its rule has bought prosperity and stability, rejecting claims from Tibetan exiles and rights groups of widespread repression. Xinhua said new party bosses had also been appointed to serve in the strategically located southwestern province of Yunnan and the populous southern province of Hunan. In Yunnan, which sits of the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, Chen Hao replaced Li Jiheng, while in Hunan, Du Jiahao has assumed the party’s top job, Xinhua said. Both Chen and Du worked with President Xi Jinping when he ran China’s commercial capital, Shanghai, as its Communist Party chief for a year in 2007, according to their resumes. The party will hold a once-every-five-years congress next autumn where Xi is expected to further cement his hold on power by seeking to appoint close allies into the party’s ruling inner core, the politburo and the politburo standing committee. The year leading up to that will see Xi appoint more new people into major provincial and government positions, sources with ties to the leadership say. (Story refiles to fix typo in fourth paragraph, drops the word ‘rather’.)

Du Jiahao becomes Communist Party Secretary of Hunan, replacing Xu Shousheng.

Both sides in Gabon poll predict win as votes are counted LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Election officials compiled results in Gabon on Sunday as representatives of the incumbent president and his most prominent challenger predicted victory. Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya has said official results would be released around 1600 GMT on Tuesday and stressed it was “illegal to declare results before the relevant authorities do.” The head of the Pan-African Democracy Observatory, an NGO based in Togo, played down the significance of Ping’s declaration. Shortly after polling ended on Saturday, the president’s spokesman said, “Bongo will win… we are already on our way to a second mandate.” In his comments Sunday, Ping, 73 added, “as I speak, the trends show we have won.” Ping said alleged attempts by Bongo’s camp to commit fraud had been foiled and that “we will finally see off the regime.” Bongo, 57, has been in power since a disputed election held in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African country for 41 years.

Both President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his main challenger, former Foreign Minister Jean Ping, say they won yesterday's election for a seven-year term as president. Official results are expected Tuesday.

The test-flight of the indigenously-developed supersonic combustion ramjet engine took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 6 a.m. ISRO on Sunday successfully test-fired a newly-developed Scramjet Rocket Engine, DDNews reported. The Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sounding rocket (research rocket) with a solid booster carrying advanced scramjet engines, was successfully flight-tested from the launch pad of the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre, also known as Sriharikota Range (SHAR), at Sriharikota on Sunday. The space agency said with this flight, critical technologies such as ignition of air breathing engines at supersonic speed, holding the flame at supersonic speed, air intake mechanism and fuel injection systems have been successfully demonstrated. As a result, the amount of oxygen required to be carried on board would be reduced considerably as atmospheric oxygen is utilised to burn the fuel in the first stage. While conventional rocket engines need to carry both fuel and oxidiser on board for combustion to produce thrust, scramjet engines obtain oxygen from the atmosphere by compressing the incoming air before combustion at hypersonic speed. But as in the case of the successful test flight of a reusable vehicle, the first experimental flight using a scramjet engine is a technological demonstration of ISRO’s capability and will go a long way in redefining its position as one of the leading space agencies in the world. Once the second stage reached the desired conditions for engine “Start-up”, necessary actions were initiated to ignite the Scramjet engines and they functioned for about 5 seconds, it said adding that today’s ATV flight operations were based on a pre-programmed sequence.

The Indian Space agency ISRO successfully tests its Scramjet engines. Two scramjet engines were mounted alongside of a two-stage, solid fueled rocket called Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket. Scramjet engines were then ignited when ATV achieved a speed of Mach 6 (7350 km/hr) at an altitude of 20 km.

At least 15 bodies taken to Aden hospital after suicide bombing- hospital source ADEN, Aug 29 (Reuters) - At least 15 bodies were transferred to a hospital run by Medicins Sans Frontieres in the southern Yemen city of Aden on Monday, a source at the hospital said, after an attack on a building used by local militias. Related Coverage Islamic State claims Yemen suicide bombing, says about 60 militia recruits killed Witnesses said the suicide bomber entered the compound behind a truck that had brought breakfast for the conscripts, who had queued for the meal. A security source said the attack targeted a school compound where conscripts of the Popular Committees, forces allied to the internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, were gathered for breakfast.

The death toll of a suicide bombing in the southern Yemeni city of Aden rises to at least 71. Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility.

They discuss composition of all-party delegation that is to visit the State soon A day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for a panel of eminent persons to be sent to the Valley for a dialogue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the Kashmir situation with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh and BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday.

A curfew has ended in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir after 52 days of protest allowing for an all-party delegation to visit the state on Sunday.

US actor Gene Wilder, remembered by many for his lead role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died at the age of 83, his family confirmed. Our mane man bridles at new phone directory * Coronation Street creator Tony Warren dies * Everybody Loves Raymond star memorialised in NYC Wilder, whose best work came in collaborations with director-writer Mel Brooks and actor Richard Pryor, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, the family said in a statement. Wilder started his acting career on the stage, but millions knew him from his work in the movies, especially his collaborations with Mel Brooks on “The Producers,” ”Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” The last film — with Wilder playing a California-born descendant of the mad scientist, insisting that his name is pronounced “Frahn-ken-SHTEEN” — was co-written by Brooks and Wilder. “He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship.” With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in “Young Frankenstein” or bilking Broadway in “The Producers.” Brooks would call him “God’s perfect prey, the victim in all of us.” But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozy gunslinger in “Blazing Saddles” or the charming candy man in the children’s favorite “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” His craziest role: the therapist having an affair with a sheep in Woody Allen’s “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex.” He was close friends with Richard Pryor and their contrasting personas — Wilder uptight, Pryor loose — were ideal for comedy. They co-starred in four films: “Silver Streak,” ”Stir Crazy,” ”See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and “Another You.” And they created several memorable scenes, particularly when Pryor provided Wilder with directions on how to “act black” as they tried to avoid police in “Silver Streak.” In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks’ “The Producers.” He played the introverted Leo Bloom, an accountant who discovers the liberating joys of greed and corruption as he and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) conceive a Broadway flop titled “Springtime For Hitler” and plan to flee with the money raised for the show’s production. He returned briefly to television in the US with the sitcom “Something Wilder,” in 1994 and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.” • Gene Wilder still has twinkle in his eye 44 years after playing Willy Wonka Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 1933, he began acting at the age of eight when his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. He tried his hand briefly at a sitcom in 1994, “Something Wilder,” and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.” His professional debut came in Off Broadway’s “Roots” in 1961, followed by a stint on Broadway in Graham Greene’s comedy “The Complaisant Lover,” which won him a Clarence Derwent Award as promising newcomer. Before starring in “The Producers,” he had a small role as the hostage of gangsters in the 1967 classic “Bonnie and Clyde.” He peaked in the mid-1970s with the twin Brooks hits “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” He went on to write several screenplays and direct several films. They were married in 1984, and co-starred in two Wilder-penned films: “The Woman in Red” and “Haunted Honeymoon.” After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research and opened a support facility for cancer patients. I didn’t want to do ones where there’s just bombing and loud and swearing, so much swearing… can’t they just stop and talk instead of swearing?” Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991, and his daughter from a previous marriage, Katherine, from whom he was estranged.

Gene Wilder, known for his role as the title character in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and for his collaborations with Mel Brooks, dies at the age of 83.

Hurricane churns toward Hawaii; people stock up, board up HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Preparing for what could be the first hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii in years, residents on the Big Island are stocking up on food and water and seeking shelter for their animals. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center says a hurricane watch is in effect for the Big Island of Hawaii, warning major Hurricane Madeline could pass “dangerously close.” At 5 a.m. HST (11 a.m. EDT) Tuesday, Madeline was a powerful Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph). "Hopefully our roofs stay on, and our houses don't float way or get blown away," said Big Island resident Mitzi Bettencourt, who boarded up walls of glass windows at her brother's oceanfront home. She and her neighbors were stocking their pantries, stowing away lawn furniture and preparing for power outages. The weather service said it expects Madeline to slowly weaken as it encounters vertical wind shear but remain a “dangerous hurricane” as it passes just south of the island late Wednesday and early Thursday. The forecaster says Madeline is expected to pass just south of the Big Island early Thursday morning. But if the storm track shifts slightly to the north, the eye of the storm could pass over land. The last hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which hit Kauai Island, according to Chevalier. A second Pacific hurricane, called Lester, is still far from Hawaii, and it is expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it passes the state, Chevalier said. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Oahu on Thursday to give a keynote speech at the opening of the World Conservation Congress - a major meeting of thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists and policy makers. The White House is tracking the weather developments closely, but it doesn't anticipate changing Obama's schedule. The Latest on tropical weather systems (all times local): Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is closing some areas at the end of the day as a major hurricane hurtles west toward Hawaii Island. Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, urged residents to restock their emergency kits with a flashlight, fresh batteries, cash and first-aid supplies.

A hurricane watch is issued for the island of Hawaii as Hurricane Madeline approaches.

The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered. 'The ratio may sound low,' Tesh said, 'but when you consider the number of Aedes aegypti in a tropical urban community, it is likely high enough to allow some virus to persist, even when infected adult mosquitoes are killed.' In the meantime, efforts to curb Zika's spread in the city state, he said, hinged on all citizens using insect repellent and making sure there were no potential mosquito breeding areas around their residential areas. The ongoing Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.

The number of Zika virus infected in Singapore rises above 40.

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte wants his fiercest critic in the legislature, Senator Leila De Lima, to step down. "Dapat ka mag-resign (You should resign), you resign," said Duterte, addressing De Lima during a short speech on Monday, August 29, in Tacloban City. Duterte, who previously blasted De Lima for "immorality," said the lady senator would make a bad example for women.

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte calls on critic senator Leila de Lima to resign and "hang herself".

PRESIDENT Duterte said on Monday his bloody antidrug campaign that has left nearly 1,800 people dead does not amount to genocide, but that he’s ready to go to jail to defend his men from lawsuits. Mr. Duterte drew a line between the widespread killings sparked by his antidrug war and the brutality under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the atrocities committed by Islamic State group extremists. “Genocide? Who did I kill? I did not kill any child. I did not drop barrel [bombs] just likeal- Assad,” President Duterte said in a speech to mark the Philippines’s National Heroes’ day before war veterans, ambassadors and top officials. “I’m fighting…criminals.” Referring to Islamic State group militants, whom he called “idiots,” Mr. Duterte said, “I do not burn women because they refuse to have sex.” At least 1,779 drug suspects have been killed in President Duterte’s campaign, including 712 who were gunned down in clashes with the police, with the rest being slain in still-unclear circumstances, the national police chief told a Senate inquiry last week. At least 3.7 million Filipinos have become addicted to methamphetamine, a prohibited stimulant known locally as shabu, with about 600,000 drug users and dealers surrendering to authorities, Mr. Duterte said. Human-rights groups have expressed alarm over the spate of killings, and United Nations (UN)-appointed human-rights experts warned steps should be taken to halt the violence, adding that the government and law enforcers could be held responsible. “Claims to fight the illicit drug trade do not absolve the government from its international legal obligations and do not shield state actors or others from responsibility for illegal killings,” UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard said in a statement this month. The 71-year-old President Duterte built a name with his deadly crime-busting style as a longtime mayor of southern Davao City. He described his campaign against drugs as a harsh war that would involve the military because the problem has worsened into a crisis and claimed the lives of law enforcers. “We might still end up like the South American countries and their fractured governments. I am declaring war,” he told an audience at a national heroes’ cemetery on Monday, which included ambassadors, war veterans and security officials. The drug menace, he said, “has infected every nook and corner of this country involving generals, mayors, governors, barangay [village] captains” and policemen. Pressing his campaign, Mr. Duterte announced bounties of P2 million ($42,000) for information that would help the government identify any police officer protecting drugs syndicates. He repeated his pledge to defend the police and military, but warned law enforcers against conniving with criminals. “In the pursuit of law and order, pursuant to my directions, you do not have to worry about criminal liability,” he said. “I will go to the prison for you. I take full legal responsibility, you just do it according to the books.” “But for those in the government, the police, the corrupt police and the corrupt judges and the corrupt prosecutors, there will be a day of comeuppance, there will always be a day of reckoning,” Duterte said.

Duterte rejects claims that he is inciting genocide with his anti-drug campaign.

Nobody hurt in blast outside Brussels criminology institute BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian media say unidentified attackers have detonated a bomb outside Belgium's criminology institute in the capital, Brussels, but the building was empty and nobody was injured. “I cannot confirm that there was any bomb.” State broadcaster RTBF and other outlets reported that a car drove through a security barrier at the site about 2 a.m., followed by an explosion that caused significant damage to the facility on Brussels’ north side. Belgium's terror alert level remains high since bomb attacks on Brussels airport and the city's metro, claimed by so-called Islamic State, that killed 32 people in March.

Multiple individuals rammed a van into the entrance of the Brussels National Institute of Criminology building, setting its laboratories on fire. No casualties have been reported. At least five people are arrested.

According to Matthew Roberts, director of communications for the Arizona secretary of state, in late May, Arizona officials took the statewide voting registration system offline after the FBI alerted the Arizona Department of Administration that there was a credible cyber threat to the voter registration system. The Illinois hack, which shut down the Illinois voter registration for nearly two weeks, was covered by the news media when it happened in mid-July. The breaches are causing concern among election officials because of the voter personal information that could have been stolen, not because of any fear that an election could be stolen, law enforcement officials say. The FBI said Monday that it doesn't comment on specific alerts, but added that it routinely sends out advisories to private industry about signs of cyber threats that it comes across in its investigations. • August 15, 2016 Hotels in 10 states, including Colorado, and D.C. may have been hit by hackers Nonetheless, the revelation comes amid news that the FBI is investigating suspected foreign hacks of state election computer systems, and earlier this month warned states to be on the alert for intrusions. Entitled "Targeting Activity Against State Board of Election Systems," the alert stated that the FBI was investigating two computer attacks and listed eight IP addresses — unique numbers assigned to every computer and device using the internet — that were linked to the hacks. In July, officials in that state discovered the intrusion, in which hackers were able to retrieve voter records. In the Illinois case, officials were forced to shut down the state’s voter registration system for ten days in late July, after the hackers managed to download personal data on up to 200,000 state voters, Ken Menzel, the general counsel of the Illinois Board of Elections, said in an interview. Those concerns prompted Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to convene a conference call with state election officials on Aug. 15, in which he offered his department’s help to make state voting systems more secure, including providing federal cyber security experts to scan for vulnerabilities, according to a “readout” of the call released by the department. “Attempts should not be made to touch or ping the IP addresses directly.” “This is a big deal,” said Rich Barger, chief intelligence officer for ThreatConnect, a cybersecurity firm, who reviewed the FBI alert at the request of Yahoo News. The events in Arizona and Illinois sparked so much concern that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson spoke with state elections officials in a conference call on August 15, trying to assuage fears of a massive Election Day cyberattack and offering up federal experts who could visit election sites and make recommendations for security improvements. In that call, Johnson said that while DHS isn't aware of any particular cyber threat against election-related computers, it's "critically important" to make sure that election systems are secure amid a rapidly changing threat landscape, according to a DHS summary of the call. The Arizona Secretary of State's Office revealed news of the hack back in late June and early July, reporting that it was a serious attack, the FBI was investigating, and that no data had been stolen.

U.S. officials are investigating the hacking of election system databases in Illinois and Arizona. The FBI alerted all election officials nationwide about this issue earlier this month.

Fall from a tree may have caused death of 'Lucy' the famed fossil AUSTIN, Texas, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Lucy, one of the best known ancestors of humans to ever roam the earth, may have died after a fall from a tree, University of Texas researchers said on Monday after studying her 3.18-million-year-old fossilized remains. “It’s one thing for me to describe it in detail in paper, but it’s another thing to hold these things, to be able to print them out, look at them and put them together,” team leader John Kappelman, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of Texas at Austin told Nature . Once his team went looking for fractures in Lucy's skeleton that could have resulted from a devastating fall, they found loads: An ankle fracture known as a pilon, usually caused by falls or motor vehicle accidents; high-energy traumatic fractures to both knees; signs that bones in her legs dislocated and rammed up into the joints above them; a fracture to the first rib, which is well protected by the collar bone and usually not broken except in cases of traumatic impact. The injuries were consistent with those "caused by a fall from considerable height when the conscious victim stretched out an arm in an attempt to break the fall," according to the research from John Kappelman, a University of Texas anthropology and geological sciences professor, who consulted with Stephen Pearce, an orthopedic surgeon at Austin Bone and Joint Clinic. “These authors make no effort to test the alternative hypothesis that these cracks and other breaks were made during the processes of fossilization and erosion,” says Timothy White, a paleoanthropologist and professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. “If we didn’t see those arms sticking out, the argument we make might not be so powerful.” Kappelman’s research into Lucy’s demise began in 2008, when the Ethiopian government granted him 10 days to scan the preserved parts of her skeleton at the high-resolution CT lab at the University of Texas. Australopithecus afarensis displays both ape and human features, leading some paleoanthropologists to believe that Lucy probably spent time both in the trees and on the ground. The species, Australopithecus afarensis, meaning “southern Ape from Afar”, walked upright, but had long, strong arms and curved fingers, making Lucy more adept at life in the trees than modern humans. "Lucy was no longer simply a box of bones but in death became a real individual: a small, broken body lying helpless at the bottom of a tree."

Scientists from the University of Texas at Austin postulate that the hominin fossil Lucy (Dinkinesh) died due to a fall from a tree. Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, who is credited with discovering and naming Lucy, disagrees.

HARDAN, Iraq (AP) - Peering through binoculars, the young man watched as Islamic State terrorists gunned down the handcuffed men and then buried them with a waiting bulldozer. For six days he watched as the extremists filled one grave after another with his friends and relatives. Between them, the two scenes of horror on Sinjar mountain contain six burial sites and the bodies of more than 100 people, just a small fraction of the mass graves Islamic State extremists have scattered across Iraq and Syria. (Kurdish Mass Graves Directorate via AP) In exclusive interviews, photos and research, The Associated Press has documented and mapped 72 of the mass graves, the most comprehensive survey so far, with many more expected to be uncovered as the Islamic State group's territory shrinks. In Syria, the news agency has obtained locations for 17 mass graves, including one with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe all but exterminated when the extremists took over the tribe's region. Officials do not even guess the number of dead inside at least 16 of the Iraqi graves, mostly in territory too dangerous to excavate. In others, the estimates are based on memories of traumatized survivors, Islamic State propaganda and what can be gleaned from a cursory look at the ground. The Associated Press estimated the number of known victims as between 5,200 and more than 15,000, a figure the agency described as staggering. Sinjar mountain is dotted with mass graves, some in territory clawed back from IS after the group's onslaught against the Yazidi minority in August 2014; others in the deadly no man's land that has yet to be secured. On Sinjar Mountain, Rasho Qassim drives daily past the mass grave in Hardan that holds the bodies of his two sons. The road is in territory long since seized back, but the five sites are untouched, roped off and awaiting the money or the political will for excavation, as the evidence they contain is scoured away by the wind and baked by the sun. "We want to take them out of here. There are only bones left. But they said 'No, they have to stay there, a committee will come and exhume them later,'" said Qassim, standing at the edge of the flimsy fence surrounding one site, where his two sons are buried. But proving what United Nations officials and others have described as an ongoing genocide — and prosecuting those behind it — will be complicated as the graves deteriorate. “We see clear evidence of the intent to destroy the Yazidi people,” said Naomi Kikoler, who recently visited the region for the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. “There’s been virtually no effort to systematically document the crimes perpetrated, to preserve the evidence, and to ensure that mass graves are identified and protected.” Then there are the graves still out of reach. One site outside the Badoush prison in Iraq is believed to contained the bodies of 600 inmates killed by the militants in their summer 2014 rampage. A patch of scraped earth and tire tracks show the likely killing site, according to exclusive photos obtained by the imagery intelligence firm AllSource Analysis. According to survey report, smallest grave contained the remains of three bodies, and the largest one is believed to contain the remains of thousand victims. Through his binoculars, Arkan Qassem watched it all. His village, Gurmiz, is just up the slope from Hardan, giving a clear view over the plain below. When the jihadis swept over the area, everyone in Gurmiz fled up the mountaintop for refuge. Then Arkan and nine other men returned to their village with light weapons to try to defend their homes. The Islamic State targeted the Yazidis for slaughter because it considers them heretics. The first night, Arkan saw the militants line up a group of handcuffed men in the headlights of a bulldozer at an intersection, less than a kilometer (half mile) down the slope from Gurmiz. They gunned the men down, then the bulldozer plowed the earth over their bodies. Over six days, Arkan and his comrades watched helplessly as the fighters brought out three more groups of men — several dozen each, usually with hands bound — to the crossroads and killed them. Two years later, the 32-year-old has since returned home, living in an area dotted with mass graves. As documented by the aid group Yazda, which has mapped the Sinjar sites, the graves are in a rough pentagon flanking the crossroads, largely unprotected. "I have lots of people I know there, mostly friends and neighbors," he said. “This is a drop in the ocean of mass graves expected to be discovered in the future in Syria,” added the survey report.

Thousands of Yazidi are believed to be buried in 72 newly-discovered mass graves left by ISIL after the 2014 massacre.

A suspected suicide bomber on Tuesday crashed a car through the entrance of the Chinese Embassy in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek, detonating a bomb that killed the attacker and wounded three embassy employees. “This was a suicide bomber, three people got injured, they were hospitalized,” Zhenish Razakov, the country’s deputy prime minister, told journalists in a video that was released by a local news website.

A car bomb explodes near the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan, killing the perpetrator and injuring three.

Car bomb outside Somali President's Palace kills at least 10 By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU, Aug 30 (Reuters) - At least 10 people, including soldiers and civilians, were killed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Tuesday when a car bomb claimed by al Shabaab exploded outside the Presidential Palace and also damaged two nearby hotels, an official said. The blast partially destroyed two hotels, including one in which a meeting of security officials was underway, the government has said. The SYL and another hospitality facility, both located near the Presidential Palace, were partially destroyed by the blast, Major Mohamed Ali, a police officer, told Reuters. “The blast killed 10 (people) including soldiers and civilians and 30 others were wounded,” Ali said.Gunfire could be heard after the blast and a huge cloud of smoke rose above the palace, outside which were the remnants of the car and splattered blood, according to a Reuters witness. Al-Shabaab's Radio Andaluz said the Islamist group was behind the attack and their military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, claimed the attack had killed 15 soldiers and 'injured many others including a lawmaker'. Seeking to impose its own harsh form of Islam, al Shabaab, wants to topple the Western backed government in Mogadishu and also push out the 22,000-strong African Union mandated AMISOM peace keeping force backing it. The terrorists were pushed out of Mogadishu by the African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM in 2011 but have remained a serious threat, launching frequent attacks aimed at overthrowing the government. The al-Qaida-linked al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for several recent explosions in Mogadishu, including a car bomb and gun attack last week that killed 10 people at a popular beach restaurant in the capital.

A car bomb explodes outside the President of Somalia's compound in Mogadishu claiming at least ten people's lives. Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Islamic State says its spokesman killed in Syria -Amaq News BEIRUT, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of the jihadist group's longest-serving and most prominent leaders, has been killed in Aleppo in Syria, its Amaq News Agency reported on Tuesday in a statement distributed by the group's supporters. Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency reported that Adnani was killed “while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo.” Islamic State holds territory in the province of Aleppo, but not in the city where rebels are fighting Syrian government forces. He was a Syrian who was born in the northern province of Idlib and is believed to have been in his late 30s. Recent advances by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, and by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, have made inroads into Islamic State holdings in Aleppo province, cutting them off from the Turkish border and supply lines along it. In Washington, a U.S. defense official said in response to reports of al-Adnani’s death that a U.S. airstrike on Tuesday targeted “an ISIL senior leader” in the Syrian city of al-Bab, which is northeast of Aleppo. U.S. Department of State/REUTERS He had been the chief propagandist for the ultra-hardline jihadist group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says its official spokesman, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, has been killed in Syria's Aleppo Governorate. The group's statement, distributed by Amaq News Agency, did not say how al-Adnani was killed.

EU demands Apple pay Ireland up to 13 bln euros in tax BRUSSELS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators ordered Apple on Tuesday to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in taxes plus interest to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland was illegal state aid. "Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years," said Competition Commission Margrethe Vestager, whose crackdown on mainly U.S. multinationals has angered Washington which accuses Brussels of protectionism. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that a three-year investigation found Ireland granted such lavish tax breaks to Apple that the multinational's effective corporate tax rate on its European profits dropped from 1 percent in 2003 to a mere 0.005 percent in 2014. "Ireland's position remains that the full amount of tax was paid in this case and no state aid was provided," the government in Dublin said in a statement. We will appeal and we are confident the decision will be overturned.” The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, said he would seek approval from the Irish Cabinet to legally challenge the EU Commission’s ruling. Apple and Dublin said the U.S. company’s tax treatment was in line with Irish and European Union law and they would appeal the ruling, which is part of a drive against what the EU says are sweetheart tax deals that usually smaller states in the bloc offer multinational companies to lure jobs and investment. "Over the years, we received guidance from Irish tax authorities on how to comply correctly with Irish tax law — the same kind of guidance available to any company doing business there," Cook said in a letter posted on the company's website. While the EU isn't directly targeting that cash hoard, new tax cases filed by the EU could significantly reduce the revenue that the U.S. government could collect from it. “Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers.” Apple accused the EU executive body of engaging in efforts “to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process.” “The Commission’s case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money,” the company said in a statement.

The European Union orders Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland. A three-year investigation by the EU's competition commissioner concludes that Apple received "illegal state aid" from Ireland, the EU order that Apple pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion), and, in addition, also interest and unpaid taxes.

LONDON (AP) — Iceland's Meteorological Office says two earthquakes early Monday rocked the caldera of Katla, one of the country's largest volcanos. Its volcanos attracted international attention in April 2010, when ash from an eruption of its Eyjafjallajokull volcano grounded flights across Europe for days, disrupting travel for millions.

Numerous tremors rock the Katla volcano in Iceland prompting the government to raise the alarm level.

It is also one of Asia's cleanest cities but has a chronic problem with dengue fever, which is spread by the same Aedes mosquito that carries the Zika virus. The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has caused explosive outbreaks in the Americas and the Caribbean since late last year, poses a particular risk to pregnant women because it can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. It has been linked in Brazil to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains. The action comes ahead of a World Health Organization emergency meeting prompted by an outbreak of Zika in Singapore, which also led to travel warnings against the country being issued by nations such as Australia, Taiwan and the US. WHO has placed Thailand among countries with scattered Zika infection which also include Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, said Dr Amnuay, adding that Zika infection which used to affect 16 provinces has now reduced to six provinces without any new cases. The majority of those infected with Zika in Singapore were foreign workers, but the government has not disclosed their nationalities. Authorities inspected thousands of homes in seven parts of Singapore, including five foreign worker dormitories, spraying insecticide and removing potential mosquito breeding habitats.

Australia, South Korea and Taiwan issue travel advisories concerning Singapore after cases of Zika virus infection in the city-state passes 50.

Criticism by the U.S. government, U.N. rights experts and human rights groups over the drugs killings have provoked angry outbursts from Duterte, who, at one point, threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the U.N. Duterte said that the world body and the U.S. have failed to prevent genocidal killings in Africa and the Middle East but criticize his crackdown, which targets hardcore criminals who destroy Philippine society. The number of drug-related killings in the Philippines since Rodrigo Duterte became president two months ago on a pledge to wipe out the illegal drug trade has reached about 2,000, according to data released today. Asked if he would be willing to discuss human rights at his meeting with Obama on the sidelines of an East Asia summit on Sept. 6, Duterte told reporters: "Depends to what degree". "They must understand the problem first before we talk about human rights," Duterte told a news conference. I would insist, listen to me: this is what the problem is, then we can talk.” In a statement, the foreign ministry said the meeting would be an opportunity for the president to “communicate his advocacy to improve the peace and order situation in the country, especially towards eradicating the scourge of illicit drugs”. Police data released on Tuesday showed that the number of drug-related killings since Duterte took office now stands at around 2,000, nearly half of them in police operations and the rest in shootings by unidentified gunmen. Mr Duterte’s crackdown on drugs and some strongly worded criticism he has made of the US present a dilemma for Washington, which has been seeking to forge unity among allies and partners in Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China, especially in the strategic South China Sea.

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says he would not press on for China to abide by the South China Sea ruling but he might do so in the future.

North Korea has executed a vice premier for showing disrespect during a meeting presided over by leader Kim Jong Un, and banished two other officials for re-education, South Korea said Wednesday. Ri Yong Jin, a senior official in the education ministry -- possibly the minister -- was arrested for dozing off during a meeting with Kim and charged with corruption before being killed, the paper said. Jang, denounced as a “traitor for all ages”, was killed in December 2013 after being found guilty of treason and other crimes against the North Korean state. In January last year he executed General Pyon In Son, head of operations in the army, for disagreeing with him; and in May of that year he purged his defense minister Hyon Yong Chol for dozing off at a rally. The report of the execution, however, could not be verified as South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korea-related matters, has released no confirmation of the news.

Two North Korean officials are reportedly publicly executed by Kim Jong-un after they allegedly disobeyed orders: former agriculture minister Hwang Min for unsuitable policies and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry, for sleeping at a meeting with Kim, disrespect for the leader and corruption. They were allegedly executed by anti-aircraft artillery fire.

Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Bob Green had described the standoff between Brown and officers as “long and protracted.” The search was sparked by a call for help from a woman who said she had been threatened by the performer, police sources said, with officers first arriving at Brown’s home in the 5000 block of Corbin Avenue about 3 a.m. Tuesday. The call came in around 3 a.m., from outside the sprawling hillside property in the Tarzana neighborhood, police Lt. Chris Ramirez told reporters at the scene. He did not identify the woman who called, elaborate on the assistance she needed, or know if she was injured. Once at Mr Brown’s sprawling mansion, police officers were allegedly denied entry and had to wait for a judge to approve a search warrant before going inside to search for a weapon. Police Lt. Chris Ramirez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said police were transporting Brown from his home to downtown police headquarters where he would be formally booked. “I don’t sleep half the damn night I just wake up to all these ... helicopters, choppers is around, police out there at the gate,” Brown said on an Instagram video. I’m tired of f–king dealing with you all, y’all the worst gang in the world, the police, and I said it.” The LA Times reports officers made an attempt to enter Brown’s house but were turned away and told to obtain a search warrant. “When you get the warrant for whatever you need to do, you’re going to walk right up in here and you’re going to see nothing, you idiots,” he said in one Instagram video, posted to 30m followers. It was the latest run-in with the law for the Grammy winning Brown, who has been in repeated legal trouble since his felony conviction in the 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, ahead of the Grammys. Brown spent six years on probation after pleading guilty to attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

American singer Chris Brown is arrested on suspicion on assault with a deadly weapon following a lengthy stand-off with the Los Angeles Police Department.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela has arrested several opposition activists accused of plotting violence during an anti-government rally scheduled for Thursday, President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday, and opposition leaders slammed the arrests as intimidation. While Maduro accuses opposition parties of trying to reprise a 2002 putsch against Chavez, they say the government is carrying out a wave of repression to intimidate them before Thursday's marches that they have dubbed "Takeover of Caracas". CARACAS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities rounded up 25 opposition activists and supporters in the last two days amid plans for a massive protest against President Nicolas Maduro, a rights group said on Wednesday.

Venezuelan officials arrest several opposition activists, including Popular Will Party leaders, just days before Thursday's scheduled national protest against the rule of President Nicolás Maduro.

How The Catholic Church Documented Mother Teresa's 2 Miracles Enlarge this image toggle caption Bikas Das/AP Bikas Das/AP Hundreds of Catholics have been declared saints in recent decades, but few with the acclaim accorded Mother Teresa, set to be canonized by Pope Francis on Sunday, largely in recognition of her service to the poor in India. Mother Teresa moved to Calcutta, as it was known then, in 1929 Mother Teresa was born to ethnic Albanian parents on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia, and named Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu. The religious congregation she established in 1950, the Missionaries of Charity, now counts more than 4,500 religious sisters around the world. The canonisation will then be held Sunday in St Peter's Square in a ceremony set to draw tens of thousands of faithful to recognise the sainthood of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who died aged 87 in India in 1997. But Mother Teresa, one of the most recognisable faces of the 20th century, was put on the fast track to sainthood after dying of a heart attack on Sept. 5, 1997.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is to be canonized into sainthood after "proof" of two miracles.

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to continue talks on a territorial dispute over the Kurile islands, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Friday after talks between the two leaders.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans on increasing the spending for the Japan Self-Defense Force.

Image copyright RTÉ Image caption The Boeing 767-300 diverted to Shannon Airport in County Clare after the transatlantic turbulence Twelve people, including three children, have been injured on a transatlantic flight after it encountered "severe and unexpected turbulence". DUBLIN, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Fourteen passengers and two crew members were injured and taken to hospital on Wednesday after a United Airlines flight was forced to divert to Ireland's Shannon Airport due to a medical situation, the airport said. It made an emergency landing in the Republic of Ireland about 5.55am on Wednesday (local time), and 16 people were taken to hospital in Limerick, ITV reported. A statement from the airline said: “The aircraft diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland where it was met by medical personnel, “United Airlines is providing care and support to customers and crew of flight UA-880 which experienced severe and unexpected turbulence during a flight from Houston to London Heathrow today,” The Boeing 767-300 jet had 207 passengers and crew of 13 on board. It said 10 customers and two flight attendants were taken to University Hospital Limerick and a ll were discharged except for one flight attendant who received further treatment.

United Airlines Flight 880 makes an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in the Republic of Ireland due to "severe and unexpected turbulence". At least 12 people are hospitalized.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Nine people were killed when floods inundated an old people's home in Japan, police said on Wednesday, taking the death toll from a typhoon battering northern parts of the country to at least 11.Police found nine bodies on Wednesday in the nursing home in the town of Iwaizumi, in Iwate Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu, but it was not clear when their home was flooded.It was also not clear why people there had not been taken to safety before the storm struck. Footage on NHK showed the nursing home partially buried in mud, surrounded by debris apparently washed down in the swollen river. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a helicopter hovering over the building as rescuers tried to pluck other stranded residents to safety. Prefectural officials confirmed that nine bodies were found in the Ran Ran retirement home after the nearby Omoto river broke its banks. 'In Minamifurano town, the water level is still very high with a current, and rescue workers are using helicopters now to try to evacuate several people who are left on the roofs of their houses or their cars,' said Hokkaido official Terumi Kohan. Iwate prefecture, the hardest-hit by the typhoon, is one of the areas still rebuilding from the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, which left more than 18,000 people dead along Japan’s north-eastern coast.

At least two rivers break embankments, causing floods on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Operations are underway to rescue 400 stranded people. On Honshu Island, at least 11 people, including nine elderly from a nursing home, have died.

The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s top sustained winds rose from 75 mph in the afternoon to 80 mph by nightfall as the former tropical storm gained new fury as it bore down on the coast. Hurricane specialist Eric Blake works at the National Hurricane Center to track the path of Tropical Storm Hermine, which strengthened this morning and is expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast as a hurricane by by tomorrow on September 1, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding. In Leon County, home to the state capital of Tallahassee, more than 30,000 sandbags were distributed. "Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by nightfall today," the alert said. In Florida, Scott declared an emergency in 42 of the state's 67 counties in advance of an expected tropical storm that could make landfall on the north-central Gulf Coast between late Thursday and early Friday. Growing winds and driving rain from Hurricane Hermine lashed Florida’s northern Gulf Coast early on Friday as power outages left tens of thousands of households in the dark in what the state’s governor warned would be a potentially lethal storm.

The National Hurricane Center declares a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning from the Anclote River, north of Tampa, to Destin, Florida, near the Georgia border. Hermine, now at 45 mph (75 km), is expected to reach hurricane strength when it makes landfall Thursday afternoon. Florida Governor Rick Scott, with life-threatening flooding forecast, declares a state of emergency.

Troopers did not say how many people were in the two aircraft, but the Alaska National Guard said earlier that there were a total of five on board the planes. • Mid-air horror as part of plane's engine FALLS OFF while thousands of feet in the air Olmstead said the crash occurred about 6 miles northwest of Russian Mission, a remote community in the southwest of the state along the Yukon River. • Passenger 'speaking gibberish' forces plane into emergency landing after trying to open door mid-flight The Cessna belonged to Hageland Aviation Services, a regional airline, and the Piper was operated by Renfro's Alaskan Adventures, she added. Representatives of Hageland, which is operated by Ravn, Alaska, did not immediately respond with comment. An aviation company contacted the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at 11 a.m. and said they had lost radio contact with an aircraft and that it was overdue, she said. The crash scene covers a large area that is accessible only by helicopter, said Clint Johnson, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska division, and the cause is being investigated.

At least five people are killed after two small planes collide near Russian Mission, Alaska. Officials from the Alaska Army National Guard say the planes involved were a Cessna 208 Caravan and a Piper PA-18 Super Cub.

Next stop... #cuba #jetbluesofly Honor to be on the first commercial flight to cuba in over 50 years.. #worklife #humble #jetblue #florida Today is a historic day for the U.S. and Floridians especially.A Jetblue flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, made its way to Santa Clara, Cuba in the first regular passenger flight between the U.S. and Cuba in 50 years.Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was on the 9:45 a.m. flight. “So it just shows how in 55 years things have changed.” After landing in Santa Clara and receiving another ceremonial water canon shower from Cuban fire engines, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was the first to disembark. Maiden commercial flight from US to Cuba takes off Cuba and the United States took the latest step in their efforts to boost ties Wednesday when the first regular commercial flight from America to the communist-ruled island in more than 50 years took off.

The first commercial flight from the United States to Cuba since 1961 takes place as JetBlue Flight 387 lands in Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, after a 51-minute flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. JetBlue Flight 387 had 150 passengers, including United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.

US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses students at Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday (AP photo) NEW DELHI — US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Wednesday on China and the Philippines to abide by an international tribunal’s decision on the disputed South China Sea and said there was no military solution to the problem. "There clearly is a domestic political need in China to demonstrate strength on territorial issues, especially after the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in July, and this applies equally to Japan in the East China Sea as well as to the South China Sea," he said. “The United States continues to call on China and the Philippines to abide by the tribunal’s recent decision which is final and legally binding on both parties,” Kerry told a gathering of students in New Delhi. China’s activities in the sea have also drawn criticism from the United States, which says it seeks to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which $5 trillion in annual global trade passes. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on parts of the sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

The Philippines says it won't have bilateral talks with China until the Chinese stop all provocations in the South China Sea.

Earlier today it was reported by TMZ that the singer was being investigated on an allegation of criminal assault, after a woman claimed he threatened her with a gun while at an LA residence, prompting her to call 911. • Chris Brown slams police and insists he's innocent in expletive laden rant as officers surround his home "So I'm asleep half the damn night," he begins, "I just wake up, all these mother f****** helicopters is around, police out there at the gate." "I don't care y'all going to stay playing with me like I'm the villain out here, like I'm going crazy ... good luck when you get the warrant or whatever you need to do. Brown has been accused of everything from grabbing a cell phone to threatening paparazzi; he has done stints in rehab and has landed in jail for violating his probation. Mr Brown's lawyer tweeted that his client was later freed, adding that the accusations were "demonstrably false".The singer has several convictions for violence, including a 2009 assault on his then girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. In 2014, he spent almost three months in jail last year for violating his probation after allegedly hitting a man in Washington, D.C. A felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction carries a sentence of four years in county jail, along with a $10,000 fine.

Singer Chris Brown is released on a US$ 250,000 bail for an assault charge.

Most disingenuous was Andanar’s claim that President Duterte, in waging the drug war, is just fulfilling a campaign promise in the May 2016 elections. “The government is not spending a single centavo on these ads and TV stations are carrying them for free,” Andanar told reporters at an event in a Manila hotel. They must understand, this is a war and there are casualties,” Andanar said.

More than 2,000 people have reportedly died in the Philippine Drug War.

Brasilia, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, the culmination of a yearlong fight that paralyzed Latin America’s largest nation and exposed deep rifts among its people on everything from race relations to social spending. Brazil’s first female president was accused of breaking fiscal responsibility laws in her management of the federal budget. 'See you soon' Ms Rousseff lost the impeachment battle but won a separate Senate vote that had sought to ban her from public office for eight years. This follows secret recordings of Romero Juca, the majority leader of the senate and a key ally of Michel Temer (Ms Rousseff’s conservative former vice president), plotting to remove the president to halt the Lava Jato (car wash) investigation into kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras. Her conservative former vice president, Michel Temer, who has run the country since her suspension in May, will be sworn to serve out the remainder of her term through 2018. Temer, who has served as “interim” president since Rousseff was suspended in May, will now be granted full powers, but may nevertheless face an uphill battle to establish popularity and get the economy back on track.

President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff is removed from office by a vote of 61–20 in the Senate. Current Acting President Michel Temer will serve out the remainder of her term, which ends January 1, 2019.

Ping said two people were killed and 19 hurt in a raid against his headquarters early Thursday, and the national police chief told AFP that more than 200 people had been arrested across the city for looting. Violent protests raged in at least nine neighborhoods of the capital Libreville, two witnesses and a police source said on Thursday, a day after demonstrators set fire to the parliament building following the results announcement. The results of the presidential election -- which gave Bongo 49.8 percent to Ping's 48.23 percent (a gap of less than 6,000 votes) -- remain "provisional" until approved by the constitutional court. The opposition has described the election as fraudulent and called for voting results from each of Gabon's polling stations to be made public to ensure the credibility of overall outcome -- a demand echoed by the United States and European Union. Bongo took power in 2009 in a violence-marred election that followed the death of his father Omar Bongo, who had governed the oil-rich former French colony for 41 years.

Ali Bongo is re-elected President of Gabon.

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Myanmar on Tuesday that the world is very concerned about the tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who have been living for more than four years in camps in northern Rakhine state after fleeing violence from the Buddhist majority. By Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Antoni Slodkowski NAYPYITAW, Aug 30 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Myanmar to improve living conditions for its Rohingya Muslim minority on Tuesday, ahead of peace talks between leader Aung San Suu Kyi and many of the country's ethnic armed rebel groups. He added that if they had lived in the country for generations, all people in Myanmar should enjoy the same legal status and citizenship as everyone else. The peace talks are called Union Peace Conference -- 21st Century Panglong, a reference to the Panglong Agreement brokered in 1947 by Suu Kyi's late father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, in the town of Panglong, when Myanmar was still ruled by Britain. This week's peace summit has been dubbed the '21st Century Panglong' in reference to that deal, which fell apart after Suu Kyi's father was assassinated, but which remains the closest modern Myanmar has come to being a unified state. During a visit by Suu Kyi to Beijing earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to support Myanmar's peace process, comments that were widely perceived to be a boost for her new administration's attempts to bring the Wa into the peace process.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi holds historic peace talks to end decades of ethnic conflict in the country.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala has resigned, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, following a string of bombings that prompted public criticism and concerns about intelligence failures before last month’s failed coup. Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala attends a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo The prime minister did not give a reason for the resignation in his brief statement broadcast on Turkish television channels. But Turkey has faced a series of attacks blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants, and President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters in July that there had been clear intelligence failures in preventing last month’s failed coup attempt. The Interior Ministry portfolio has been filled by Labor Minister Suleyman Soylu, the prime minister said. Soylu said a day after the coup bid that it was clear “America is behind it”, though Erdogan’s spokesman later said he had spoken “in the heat of the moment”. A senior official told Reuters that some of the appointments Ala had made while in post had raised concerns, as well as “his inability to meet expectations in some areas, primarily security.” The interior minister has a high profile role in a nation seeking to stop foreigners crossing the southeastern frontier to join Islamic State in Syria. The minister is also on the front line of efforts to prevent militants infiltrating back into Turkey. In addition, Turkey has been battling an insurgency by the Kurdish militant group PKK that is seeking autonomy in the southeast of the country. The group has launched a series of attacks since a ceasefire broke down last year. The minister has been at the center of a campaign to root out sympathizers of the July 15 coup that sought to topple Erdogan and his government. “Erdogan expects a much more effective fight against Fethullah Gulen organization,” the senior official said, adding that “Soylu is one of the names Erdogan trusts the most.” The Turkish authorities have removed from public duties about 80,000 people suspected of having sympathies with the plotters and with a U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom officials accuse of masterminding the putsch. Earlier on Wednesday, the outgoing interior minister had released new figures about the number of people arrested in the Turkey’s crackdown against Islamic State militants. Ala said 865 people had been arrested since the start of 2016 alone, and more than half of those were foreigners. The new labor minister was named as Mehmet Muezzinoglu, a deputy chairman of Erdogan’s AK Party.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala resigns amid criticism over his handling of a string of ISIL and PKK terror attacks, and is replaced by Süleyman Soylu.

This study, published in the journal PeerJ, therefore provides new information on the origin, tempo and mode of evolution in this particular group of flying reptiles. This tiny pterosaur had a wingspan of just under 5 feet, according to the description of the new fossil published Tuesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science. 'It's rare to find pterosaur fossils at all because their skeletons were lightweight and easily damaged once they died, and the small ones are the rarest of all.

The fossil of a new species of pterosaur is discovered on Hornby Island, British Columbia in Canada.

Oldest fossils found in Greenland, from time Earth was like Mars OSLO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth has been found in rocks 3.7 billion years old in Greenland, raising chances of life on Mars aeons ago when both planets were similarly desolate, scientists said on Wednesday. Scientists have discovered the world’s oldest fossils — about 3.7 billion years old — which pushes back the previous record by 220 million years and captures the earliest history of our planet. Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago and the relative sophistication of stromatolites indicated that life had evolved quickly after a bombardment by asteroids ended about 4 billion years ago. "Stromatolites contain billions of bacteria ... they're making the equivalent of apartment complexes," said Martin Van Kranendonk, a co-author at the University of New South Wales who identified the previously oldest fossils, dating from 3.48 billion years ago. It points to a rapid emergence of life on Earth.” The one-to-four centimeter (0.4-1.6 inch) high Isua stromatolites—exposed after the melting of a snow patch in the Isua Greenstone Belt—matched other biological evidence on the evolution of the genetic code that placed the origins of life in a similar period, Nutman said. “Rather than speculating about potential early environments, for the first time we have rocks that we know record the conditions and environments that sustained early life,” said Prof. Bennett. Writing in the journal Nature, they said: 'The recognition of 3,700 million-years-old biogenic stromatolites within Isua dolomites indicates that near the start of the preserved sedimentary record, atmospheric CO2 was being sequestered by biological activity.

The oldest fossil (stromatolite) that had life is discovered in the melting snow at the Isua Greenstone Belt of Greenland.

Gabon opposition leader says two killed, many wounded after disputed vote LIBREVILLE, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Gabon opposition leader Jean Ping said on Thursday two people were killed and many wounded when the presidential guard and police attacked his party's headquarters overnight after an election narrowly won by President Ali Bongo. There are 19 people injured, some of them very seriously," said opposition presidential candidate Jean Ping, who was not at the party headquarters himself. On Boulevard Triomphal smoking barricades, torched buildings and blackened car chassis lay in testament to the wave of anger that swept over the city after Wednesday's announcement that President Ali Bongo had been reelected by the slimmest of margins.

Large explosions and gunfire are reported in the Gabonese capital Libreville as security forces clash with supporters of opposition presidential candidate Jean Ping protesting the election results indicating a narrow victory by President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The move sets the stage for a protracted dispute over the election, as President Ali Bongo Ondimba also has declared victory. The official election result, announced on Wednesday afternoon, gave Mr Bongo a second seven-year term with 49.8% of the vote to Mr Ping's 48.2% - a margin of 5,594 votes. The constitutional court must finalize provisional results, which came a day later than expected Around 1 a.m. Thursday, soldiers in green berets identifying them as the presidential guard shot live rounds during an attack on Ping's opposition headquarters, injuring at least 20 people, according to Paul Marie Gondjout, an opposition electoral representative who was there. The Boulevard Triomphal, home to Gabon's parliament, was covered in burnt-out cars and lined with torched buildings on Thursday, reports the AFP news agency. Gabon election: Bongo v Ping Image copyright Getty Images Mr Bongo took office in 2009 after an election marred by violence He succeeding his father Omar Bongo who had come to power in 1967 and was Africa's longest serving leader Veteran diplomat Mr Ping had served as chair of the African Union He had been a close ally of Omar Bongo and had been his foreign minister He had two children with Omar Bongo's daughter, Pascaline Mr Ping has called for voting figures from each polling station to be made public. European Union observers criticized what they called a "lack of transparency," and the EU called for electoral officials to publish results from all polling stations. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged political leaders and their supporters "to refrain from further acts that could undermine the peace and stability of the country."

Military helicopters bomb the headquarters of Union of Forces for Change, according to opposition leader Jean Ping, killing at least two people. Internet is also cut in the capital, Libreville.

Soldier killed in clash with Kurdish forces in Turkey ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's state-run news agency says one Turkish soldier was killed and one wounded after Kurdish militants shot at security forces during a military operation in the southeastern province of Siirt. Suspected cell member Yakub Sahin said in testimony to prosecutors that he was told that rallies in Suruc and Ankara were targeted because they were members there of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an outlawed group fighting the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy.

Turkish Armed Forces claims that it has killed three Kurdistan Workers' Party fighters in air strikes in southeastern Turkey near the borders with Iraq.

Korindo has already cleared more than 50,000 hectares (193 square miles) of tropical lowland forest for palm oil plantations in the remote provinces of Papua and Maluku, and at least 75,000 hectares are at "immediate risk" of being cleared, the report said. Mighty Southeast Asia director Bustar Maitar said plantation companies like Korindo compensate Papuan communities for clearing the forests that once provided them with food. "They get some compensation and they finish their money at markets.

A South Korean palm oil company is accused of causing the wildfires in Indonesia.

An explosion on the launch site of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is shown in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday (Reuters photo) MIAMI — An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on Thursday on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida during a test, destroying it along with its payload, but causing no injuries, the private space firm said. This spring, the company landed its first big Pentagon job — an $83 million contract from the Air Force to launch a global positioning system satellite from Cape Canaveral in 2018. “Per standard operating procedure, the pad was clear and there were no injuries.” Facebook was contracted to use the Amos-6 to provide broadband internet coverage for large parts of sub-Saharan Africa and other remote parts of the world as part of the social media giant’s Internet.org initiative.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explodes during a routine firing test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX say there were no injuries, but that an "anomaly" during the static fire test resulted in the loss of the rocket and the Israeli Amos-6 communication satellite it was carrying.

Evacuations were under way in New Zealand Friday after a tsunami warning was issued following a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck before dawn off the east coast of the North Island. The shallow tremor was estimated at a depth of around 30 kilometres (18 miles) off the coast, some 167 kilometres from Gisborne, according to the US Geological Survey said. Local civil defence officials said it was now safe for Gisborne residents to return, but advised them to stay away from beaches, streams and estuaries, saying the tsunami threat had not entirely lifted. New Zealand’s civil defence organisation, responsible for the nation’s emergency management, said it had issued “a tsunami potential threat advisory in all New Zealand coastal areas”. The biggest earthquakes in the world since 1900 1/10 Chile 1960 (Magnitude: 9.5) 2010 AFP 2/10 Great Alaska Earthquake 1964 (Magnitude: 9.2) 3/10 Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2004 (Magnitude: 9.1) 4/10 Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan 2011 (Magnitude: 9.0) 2011 IFRC 5/10 Kamchatka 1952 (Magnitude: 9.0) 6/10 Offshore Maule, Chile 2010 (Magnitude: 8.8) 2010 Getty Images 7/10 Off the Coast of Ecuador 1906 (Magnitude: 8.8) 8/10 Rat Islands, Alaska 1965 (Magnitude: 8.7) 9/10 Northern Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 (Magnitude: 8.6) 2005 Getty Images 10/10 Assam - Tibet 1950 (Magnitude: 8.6) 1/10 Chile 1960 (Magnitude: 9.5) 2010 AFP 2/10 Great Alaska Earthquake 1964 (Magnitude: 9.2) 3/10 Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2004 (Magnitude: 9.1) 4/10 Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan 2011 (Magnitude: 9.0) 2011 IFRC 5/10 Kamchatka 1952 (Magnitude: 9.0) 6/10 Offshore Maule, Chile 2010 (Magnitude: 8.8) 2010 Getty Images 7/10 Off the Coast of Ecuador 1906 (Magnitude: 8.8) 8/10 Rat Islands, Alaska 1965 (Magnitude: 8.7) 9/10 Northern Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 (Magnitude: 8.6) 2005 Getty Images 10/10 Assam - Tibet 1950 (Magnitude: 8.6) The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management and its scientific advisors were still assessing the severity of the tsunami threat.

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurs off the north east coast of North Island, New Zealand. A tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, and waves of 0.3m have been reported near Gisborne.

India confirms 13 of its nationals test positive for Zika in Singapore NEW DELHI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - India's foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that 13 of its nationals had tested positive for the Zika virus in Singapore, after an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease that at first affected three dozen workers on a construction site. "According to our mission in Singapore 13 Indian nationals have tested positive for Zika in Singapore," Vikas Swarup, spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, said in response to a Reuters inquiry. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

A pregnant woman is discovered to be infected by the Zika virus after cases jump to over 100 in Singapore.

‘I won’t ever be going to a top-four club because I’m not called Allardici, just Allardyce,’ said England’s manager during his time with West Ham. ‘I don’t see why some days after training the manager can’t say, ‘‘Right, I’ll see you at 9am tomorrow’’ and then that time is your own.’ Maybe Allardyce has discussed this issue with his captain. To many this was a surprise, Allardyce limiting his time with the team when it was felt he would use the opportunity of a week together to pump his philosophy into them. It’s not where I’m suited to, it’s just where I’ve been for most of the time.’ And now he has the chance to prove that.

Iranian-born Australian politician Sam Dastyari pledges his support for China's position in the dispute.

Hanoi has officially reacted to Phnom Penh’s request to “identify” and “take strong action against” Vietnamese nationals who purportedly left insulting comments on Cambodian Premier Hun Sen’s Facebook page, criticizing him for supporting Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea. In a written statement, Le Hai Binh, spokesman for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the personal opinions apparently posted by Vietnamese writers “do not reflect Vietnam’s stance.” “We ... do not support those who used freedom of speech to make personal insults and provocative attitude in order to drive a wedge between the peoples of the two countries,” the spokesperson said. Last week, the Cambodian government condemned the “verbal attacks” accusing Hun Sen of betraying his eastern neighbor as “immoral” and “highly offensive.” Huynh Ngoc Chenh, a Vietnamese media expert, said he was surprised by Vietnam’s response. “It shows the increased impact of social media — Facebook in particular — on the ruling authorities, especially the Vietnamese ones,” said Chenh, adding that even Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc was recently forced to publicly apologize after his motorcade swept through narrow Hoi An streets reserved for pedestrians, resulting in widespread rounds of condemnation on Facebook. Premier's response The Cambodian premier on Monday took to the social network to hit back at his South China Sea detractors, calling on Vietnam to respect Cambodian sovereignty and "[educate] their people not to bother me anymore." "Again, I want to reaffirm with you that I am not a Vietnamese puppet serving the benefits of Vietnamese country, and I’m also not a boss of Vietnam," the Cambodian leader posted. "I’m not asking Vietnam to serve Cambodian political interest either. The South China Sea conflict should [be resolved] ... peacefully by the Chinese and Vietnamese governments. It’s better than [resolving] it through war, as you’ve mentioned in your comment on my Facebook.” Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in the financial district of Makati, east of Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6, 2016. They called on China to respect the international arbitration ruling favoring the Philippines on the disputed group of islands in the South China Sea. Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in the financial district of Makati, east of Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6, 2016. Ou Virak, founder of the Phnom Penh-based Future Forum think tank, told VOA's Khmer service that although he agreed the criticism of his premier didn't reflect the stance of Vietnamese officials, he questioned Hun Sen's political prudence in personally responding to the slights of random internet users, let alone in the manner of a formal diplomatic statement. "I believe there are people who build the premier's Facebook page," he said. "If he does not like how people comment [on his posts], he can just ignore them." Vietnamese spokesperson Binh told VOA's Vietnamese service that the foreign ministry attaches importance to “friendly, neighborly and comprehensive relations with Cambodia,” and that it has "made efforts to maintain these ties for the common interests of two peoples.” Border dispute On Tuesday, Vietnam and Cambodia concluded closed-door discussions on a territorial border dispute, jointly agreeing to "seek international consultants to advise on ways to demarcate the border.” Var Kim Hong, leader of the Cambodian delegation, told reporters that the two sides “failed to reach an accord.” Tran Cong Truc, a former Vietnamese official in charge of border affairs who has repeatedly engaged with Cambodian counterparts, struck a slightly more optimistic tone. Var Kim Hong (R) shakes hands with Vietnamese Depu FILE - Chairman of Cambodia's border committee Var Kim Hong, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung before a meeting about the border between Cambodia and Vietnam in Phnom Penh, Aug. 29, 2016. FILE - Chairman of Cambodia's border committee Var Kim Hong, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung before a meeting about the border between Cambodia and Vietnam in Phnom Penh, Aug. 29, 2016. "Vietnam has shown its willingness to solve the border issue by agreeing to have a third party, especially France, joining in the demarcating process," he said, adding that France prepared the original map delineating the shared border during the colonial era. The head of the Cambodian delegation, however, said Phnom Penh observes the border with Vietnam as it was set in 1983, according to maps of Indochina — the former French colonial territory that now comprises Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Tensions have mounted in recent weeks as Phnom Penh has accused Hanoi of illegally digging ponds and building outposts inside Cambodian territory — assertions that Vietnam denies. This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Vietnamese and Khmer services. VOA's Ith Sothoeuth and Hul Reaksmey contributed reporting from Phnom Penh.

Cambodia and Vietnam fail to agree on a resolution regarding their border dispute.

“Burying the dictator in the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not heal our wounded country.” MANILA – Even as President Duterte said the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) is meant “to heal” the nation, his decision only opened an old wound, one that has to do with bringing the tyrant and his family to face punishment for their crimes against the people. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has weighed in on the issue of whether former President Ferdinand Marcos is a hero by submitting to the Supreme Court (SC) 54 pages of attachments to its Consolidated Comment including 11 documents supposedly showing that Marcos was recognized by the government as a soldier, war hero and Medal of Valor recipient. Roque had filed a bill proposing to change the name of the Libingan ng mga Bayani to “Libingan ng mga Bayani at mga Dating Pangulo” (Cemetery for Heroes and Former Presidents) as a means to prevent public unrest in wake of opposition from some sectors to the planned burial of Marcos’ remains at the Hero’s Cemetery. The sovereign Filipino people cannot and must not allow this unprincipled and opportunistic Congress to propose a revision to the Constitution at the behest of a constitutionally excluded authority. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, whose brother Hermon disappeared during Martial Law and was never found, said “far from being a hero, former President Ferdinand Marcos was a despot, an oppressor of the Filipino people, during the dark era of Martial Law.” “A Marcos hero’s burial would glorify a dictator, distort history, aggravate the injustice to human rights violation victims and their families and mock the heroism of desaparecidos (disappeared) and other victims of Marcos’ atrocities,” Lagman added. Bound by statutes Barry Guttierez, who represented Martial Law victims like former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, said Duterte was constitutionally bound by statutes that recognize the Marcos regime’s atrocities, such as Republic Act 10368 that gave reparations to human rights victims. Photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler MANILA, Philippines – Victims of horrifying acts of torture during Martial Law recounted their painful experiences before Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Wednesday, August 31.

Female victims of the martial law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos speak at the Philippine Supreme Court about how they endured torture during Marcos' regime.

PHNOM PENH, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Cambodia's Senate stripped an opposition senator of immunity from prosecution on Thursday, allowing a court to charge her over comments about Prime Minister Hun Sen amid increasing nervousness over speaking out against the government. "Today, we give the rights to the court to bring charges, the immunity was successfully stripped," Senate spokesman Mam Bunneang told reporters, adding that all 46 ruling Cambodian People's Party Senators voted in favour. Lany has been accused by Prime Minister Hun Sen of “slander” and “incitement” for allegedly suggesting he was involved in the murder of prominent political analyst Kem Ley.

The Parliament of Cambodia plans to strip political immunity for opposition politician Thak Lany of the Cambodia National Rescue Party alliance after she criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Story highlights Suicide bombers attack Peshawar and Mardan Friday morning 13 dead in Mardan, one killed on outskirts of Peshawar Peshawar, Pakistan (CNN) At least 14 people were killed Friday in the latest suicide attacks by a Pakistani Taliban splinter group targeting Christians and lawyers in the country, authorities say. Both attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of Pakistan's Tehreek-i Taliban (TTP) -- also known as the Pakistani Taliban -- which has killed scores of people in previous attacks targeting both groups in the country this year. In the city of Mardan, in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 13 people were killed and another 53 injured in an attack at the city's district courts Friday, District Police Officer Faisal Shehzad told CNN. The attacker threw a hand grenade at the court gates, then blew blew himself up after security prevented him from entering, Senior Police Superintendent Shafiullah Khan said. Four of those killed were lawyers, according to Amir Hussain, the president of the Mardan Bar Association. Read More

Islamic militants attack Christian sections of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving 13 dead in the city of Mardan.

Duterte, who was in Davao at the time of the attack but not near the market, told reporters before dawn Saturday that it was an act of terrorism, as he announced extra powers for the military under a “State of Lawless Violence.” At least 14 people were killed and another 67 were wounded in the explosion, police said. He said he had warned the public that there could be blowback from intensified government military operations against the pro-ISIS Islamist group Abu Sayyaf in Sulu province, where 8,000 troops deployed in recent weeks. An improvised explosive device caused the explosion, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding drug traffickers opposed to Duterte's war on crime or Islamic militants may have been responsible.

An explosion at a night market in Davao City, Philippines, kills at least 14 people and injures 60. President of the Philippines and former Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte was in the city at the time. Abu Sayyaf have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Samsung Elec says to halt Galaxy Note 7 sales on battery problem SEOUL, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday it will halt the sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and will prepare replacement devices for phones already sold after finding problems with the battery cell used. Koh Dong-jin, head of the South Korean company's smartphone business, expressed regret over the recall, which will affect markets including South Korea and the United States, at a news conference on Friday. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business, said customers who had already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones, regardless of when they purchased them. SECOND-HALF HOPES Samsung has said it aimed for the Note 7 to maintain strong sales momentum in the second half of the year against stiffening competition from the likes of Apple, which is widely expected to release its latest iPhone next week. He added that while phone combustions are unusual, "35 instances are 35 too many." Koh Dong-jin, head of the South Korean company’s smartphone business, declined to comment on how many phones needed to be replaced, but said Samsung had sold 2.5 million of the premium devices so far. The manufacturer plans to replace not only phones with faulty batteries sold to consumers, but also retailer inventories and units in transit. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety.” Customers’ reports of scorched phones prompted Samsung to conduct extra quality controlling tests and delay shipments of the Note 7s this week before the recall. Further roll-outs have occurred since in markets like China, where sales started just this week.

Samsung Electronics recalls all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that have fire-prone batteries, and halts sales in 10 markets. A Samsung official says phones with the problematic battery account for less than 0.1 percent of those sold.

The governors of Georgia and North Carolina on Thursday declared emergencies in affected regions. One homeless man was hit by a tree and died, Florida Governor Rick Scott said, but officials have not confirmed whether the death was storm-related. "This is one of the worst that we have seen in the city in a long time, and unfortunately, it is not over yet," Mayor Rick Kriseman of St. Petersburg, Florida, told reporters. The first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma more than a decade ago, Hermine came ashore early on Friday near St. Marks, Florida, 20 miles south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. Towns, cities and counties were hastily preparing shelters for people and pets and placing electric line repair crews on standby ahead of the storm. Residents of the Sandpiper Resort survey the rising water coming from the Gulf of Mexico into their neighborhood as winds and storm surge from Hurricane Hermine affect the area on Thursday, September 1, in Holmes Beach, Florida. The huge storm - which has knocked out power for more than 132,000 people - is then expected to push further into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast as a tropical storm, with the potential for heavy rain and flooding. Forecasters warned of "life-threatening" floods and flash floods there.

Residents of the American state of Florida prepare for the impact of Hurricane Hermine which is expected to make landfall today. A state of emergency has been declared in 51 of the 67 counties in the state.

Tropical storm and flooding watches and warnings were in effect along the Atlantic seaboard from South Carolina north to Rhode Island as the potentially life-threatening storm moved along a stretch inhabited by tens of millions of Americans. The storm was projected to creep north along the Carolina coast Friday night, then gather strength after moving offshore into the Atlantic on Saturday morning, possibly reaching near-hurricane intensity by late Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Labor Day weekend plans for thousands of vacationers who were headed to popular beach spots along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida's $89 billion tourism industry. Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, swept ashore early on Friday near the Gulf shore town of St. Marks, 20 miles (30 km) south of the capital of Tallahassee, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and churning up a devastating storm surge in coastal areas. Becker said localized flooding hit low-lying areas across the state, and there were widespread reports of "downed power lines, downed trees, trees on cars and some flooded cars," along with isolated incidents of tree-damaged homes. Governors Terry McAulliff of Virginia and Larry Hogan of Maryland declared states of emergency for coastal areas and warned of life-threatening storm surges. Overnight, Pasco County crews rescued more than a dozen people and brought them to shelters after their homes were flooded. Richard Jewett, 68, was rescued from his home in nearby New Port Richey, around 1.30am local time (5.30pm NZT) on Friday as emergency workers carried out a mandatory evacuation. "The canal started creeping up toward the house, and even though it wasn't high tide it looked like it was coming inside," Jewett said. One mobile home was virtually sliced in two by a fallen tree, but authorities had no reports of serious storm-related injuries or fatalities, Becker added. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday activated his state's emergency operations center and ordered officials to stockpile resources, including sandbags and generators. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said residents should avoid beach waters for fear of life-threatening riptides. Hurricane Hermine tore a path of destruction across Florida on Friday, leaving more than 253,000 homes and businesses without power, flooding low-lying areas and raising concerns about the spread of the Zika virus due to the massive pools of standing water left behind.

Hermine, as a Category 1 storm, kills one person and leaves a quarter-million others without electricity during its trek through Florida. Now a tropical storm over North Carolina, Hermine should re-strengthen when it moves into the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow. Tropical storm warnings and watches are issued from Georgia to Rhode Island.

Islam Karimov, who crushed all opposition in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan as its only president in a quarter-century of independence from the Soviet Union, has died of a stroke at age 78, the Uzbek government announced Friday. An honour guard stands near a portrait of Uzbek President Islam Karimov during a mourning ceremony following Karimov’s death, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday (Reuters photo) ALMATY — Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan for the past quarter of a century, was buried in his home city of Samarkand on Saturday, leaving behind a power vacuum in a nation that serves as a bulwark against militancy in Central Asia. At Tashkent airport, as the coffin was being loaded onto a plane bound for Samarkand, Karimov's wife, Tatiana, and his younger daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, stood at the foot of the aircraft steps. Image copyright AP Image caption Police could be seen guarding an area in Samarkand on Friday 'Immense pain' President Putin addressed his message to Uzbek senate leader Nigmatulla Yuldashev who, under the constitution, becomes acting president pending early elections.

President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan dies after 27 years in office.

The spraying occurred, Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward said, because four people in the county had developed Zika while traveling to areas of the world where the virus is actively circulating.

Over 3 million bees die in South Carolina after being exposed to pesticides intended for mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus.

In the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, 15 people were missing in Hoeryong City and several counties including Musan, Yonsa and Onsong and part of the Rason special economic zone also suffered "serious damage". The official KCNA news agency said flooding of the Tumen river, which forms a border with China, had damaged or destroyed 17,180 houses, and 44,000 people were left homeless in North Hamgyong province.

North Korea says that at least fifteen people are missing and thousands left homeless in the city of Hoeryong after the Tumen River floods.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A record-tying earthquake in the edge of Oklahoma’s key energy-producing areas rattled the Midwest from Illinois to the southwest part of Texas on Saturday, and likely will bring fresh attention to the practice of disposing oil and gas field wastewater deep underground. However, hard bedrock beneath the surface in north-central Oklahoma is likely the reason for less damage, Oklahoma Geological Survey geophysicist Jefferson Chang said, adding that the subsurface around Prague is softer. The declaration is also the first step toward seeking federal aid should it be necessary The damage is not as severe as the 2011 quake near Prague, Oklahoma, about 60 miles south of Pawnee, despite being the same magnitude and approximately the same depth. Geologists say damage is not likely in earthquakes below magnitude 4.0, however, some buildings suffered severe structural damage from the quake in Pawnee. Pawnee County Emergency Management Director Mark Randell said no buildings collapsed in the town of 2,200 about nine miles southeast of the epicenter, and there were no injuries, either. “Most of it’s brick and mortar, old buildings from the early 1900s.” Randell also said a man suffered a minor head injury when part of a fireplace fell on him as he protected a child. “But in harder rock, it won’t shake as much.” Pawnee furniture store owner Lee Wills told The Associated Press that he first thought it was a thunderstorm. (CNN) The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is telling operators to shut down 35 disposal wells that may have played a role in a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook at least six states Saturday, Gov. Fallin declares state of emergency in Pawnee County following earthquake Officials with the Pawnee County Emergency Management say buildings there suffered significant damage as the result of the earthquake. “We’re trying to do this as quickly as possible, but we have to follow the recommendations of the seismologists, who tell us everything going off at once can cause an [earthquake].” People in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago; Gilbert, Arizona; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tennessee; and Big Lake in southwest Texas, all reported feeling the earthquake. Saturday's quake was centered about 9 miles northwest of Pawnee, Oklahoma, which has a population of about 2,200. An increase in magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes in Oklahoma has been linked to underground disposal of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which since 2013 has asked wastewater-well owners to reduce disposal volumes in parts of the state, directed about 35 wells within an approximately 500-square-mile area around the epicenter to shut down within seven to 10 days because of previous connections between the injection of wastewater and earthquakes.

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes Pawnee, Oklahoma, tying the record for the strongest in state history. At least one person was injured.

When an earthquake struck Oklahoma on Saturday, one of the first steps state officials took was to shut down 37 of the state's 3,200 active disposal wells -- a move that drew national attention to the link between oil and gas drilling and earthquakes. No one was seriously injured in the Oklahoma quake, and investigations and cleanup has begun. Here's what you need to know. Disposal wells are used by oil and gas producers to get rid of wastewater from the drilling process. The wells push the wastewater deep underground, even deeper than where oil and gas are found. The wastewater mostly consists of a substance called brine -- a mix of water and chemicals that comes to the surface with oil and gas when they are pumped from the Earth. A small portion is also the water that's pumped underground in the modern hydraulic fracturing process, a drilling technique often referred to as fracking. The EPA says there are about 40,000 disposal wells nationwide. Did the disposal wells cause the earthquake? That is the concern. Oklahoma didn't have much of a history of earthquakes. But a big one struck in November 2011, causing injuries and leveling houses, and officials said in 2014 that earthquakes in the state have increased 5,000%. Scientists began looking into the role pumping liquid underground can play in seismic activity decades ago. And while much remains unknown, government scientists said in March that disposal wells have caused an increased risk for "induced" earthquakes in large areas of the country. There are about 4,200 total wells across the state and about 700 in a 15,000-square-mile "Area of Interest" created by the commission to address earthquakes in the area that includes the epicenter of Saturday's temblor near Pawnee. What's being done to stop it? Oklahoma regulators have been monitoring the wells for years. In January, the state began forcing 27 disposal wells to reduce their activity. That's also when Oklahoma dedicated $1.4 million to fund "research and response" efforts. Saturday's order that 37 wells shut down over the next 10 days marks the strongest action against disposal wells yet. Why are disposal wells used? The Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association said in April that producers would take "significant measures" to combat the earthquakes and promised to explore alternative disposal methods. But OKOGA president Chad Warmington said "underground wastewater disposal is currently the safest and most cost-effective way to dispose of produced water." Drillers also argue that recycling is more expensive, in part because they must pay to transport the wastewater to recycling facilities. Some drillers do recycle. For example, about 90% of wastewater in Pennsylvania is recycled. In Texas, drought has spurred an increase in recycling. But recycling has been slow to catch on in Oklahoma, and regulators have been criticized for not taking more aggressive action against disposal wells. What happens next? That's not clear. The quake, centered near Pawnee, rattled the state just after 8 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, tying a record set in 2011 for the strongest such tremor in Oklahoma history, according to the National Weather Service. Halting or slowing the use of disposal wells won't necessarily resolve the seismic issues. Scientists studying the issue told PBS in March that even if Oklahoma shuttered all its disposal wells, the wastewater that has already been pumped can continue to cause problems. And the ground is sensitive to sudden changes in disposal well pumping. In fact, Oklahoma regulators ordered the 37 wells offline over the course of 10 days for fear "that a large scale, sudden shutdown could cause an earthquake," according to authorities.

State officials order closure of three dozen wastewater disposal wells by oil and gas operators.

POTTSVILLE — The role women had in shaping Schuylkill County and beyond was the topic explored Wednesday at the Schuylkill County Historical Society. “Some of these women have done outstanding things,” JoAnn Chuba, a member of the society and curator of the event, said. Chuba and Peter Yasenchak, Ph.D., talked about women and the role they had in shaping society. Visitors were also free to look at the pictures, historical information and period outfits from years ago. Thomas Drogalis, executive director of the historical society, also spoke. “There is such a rich history here in Schuylkill County. Nothing to be ashamed of and certainly a lot of be proud of,” he said. Chuba had the idea after thinking women don’t get enough credit for the roles they have in history. When she thought of history in the county, her thoughts often went to men and their footprints in it. “I think women have been left out of history and they have a story to be told,” she said. She mentioned the first female baseball player, Lizzie Arlington, who grew up in Mahanoy City. She played her first baseball game in 1898. Perhaps more well known is Mary Twardzik or Mrs. T of Mrs. T’s Pierogies. “The company is the largest producer of the coal region food in the world,” Chuba said. Other firsts include Frances Zerbey Braun, an attorney and first woman member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Margaret Sillyman, the first woman postmistress. All women have contribute to history, Chuba said. Chuba invited Yasenchak to talk about his mother, Anna, who was married to a coal miner. She arrived on a boat from overseas in January 1900 to settle in Pennsylvania after her passage was paid by a relative in the United States. She went to live with a relative in Kingston. Yasenchak didn’t know her exact age at the time but reasoned she was about 15 or 16 years old. He described how life was hard for his mother but she was a resourceful woman. “My mother raised 11 children,” he said. She died at 105 years old. Lawrence Vinskie, 59, of MaryD, said hearing about Yasenchak’s mother reminded him of his grandmother, whom he lived with when he was growing up. He said she also was a very resourceful woman. Ginny Adams, 62, of Pottsville, also enjoyed the presentations. For example, she did not know about the woman who played sports or some of the “firsts” by women from the county. The exhibit will be open for viewing until early November at the historical society, 305 N. Centre St.

Governor Mary Fallin declares a state of emergency for Pawnee County.

Around 180 million people are claimed to be striking in India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic privatization plans. The strike is allegedly the largest in human history.

THE UNITED States, the United Kingdom and Australia on Saturday urged their citizens to take safety measures and avoid crowded areas following the explosion late Friday in a Davao City night market that killed at least 14 and wounded dozens. In an “Emergency Message for US Citizens,” the US Embassy in Manila reiterated a previous warning of an “ongoing threat of terrorist actions and violence against United States citizens and interests abroad, including the Philippines,” and said it had suspended official travel of embassy personnel to Mindanao. “The Embassy reminds US citizens of the importance of taking preventative measures to ensure their safety and security while traveling and residing in the Philippines,” it said. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised against all but essential travel to Mindanao, and “all travel to south-west Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of ongoing terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups.” “There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. There has been an increase in kidnapping of foreign nationals since late 2015. It’s likely that terrorist groups continue to plan kidnap operations against Western nationals in the region. You should remain vigilant at all times," said the British Embassy. Australian citizens traveling to the Philippines are advised to exercise a "high degree of caution" while those going to Eastern Mindanao may "reconsider [their] need to travel." Meanwhile, Singaporeans in the Philippines are cautioned to "exercise vigilance, and monitor the local news and instructions of the local authorities." The department also advised Australians to “reconsider” the need to travel to eastern Mindanao “due to the very high levels of violent crime and the high threat of terrorist attack and kidnapping.” It also warned its citizens “not to travel” to central and western Mindanao, including the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu archipelago and the southern Sulu Sea area “due to the very high threat of kidnapping, terrorist attack, violent crime and violent clashes between armed groups.” Sympathies Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely expressed her sympathy to Davaoeños.

In light of the attacks, the governments of Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States issue travel warnings against going to Mindanao, Philippines.

Smoke billows on Sunday from a location on the southern outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo after regime forces retook control of three military academies from rebel fighters (AFP photo) BEIRUT — Syrian government troops renewed the siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Sunday, as Washington and Moscow failed to reach a deal on stemming violence in the country's devastating war. State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying that troops have captured the Armament Academy and are “continuing their advance in the area to impose almost a total siege on the gunmen in Aleppo.” The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government troops captured the academy, adding that insurgents have launched a counteroffensive. BEIRUT, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured areas in southwestern Aleppo on Sunday which rebels seized last month, after heavy bombardments and repeated attempts to drive the insurgents back, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia, Iran and the powerful Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah, wants to recapture the whole of Aleppo, which was Syria’s biggest city when the conflict in the country broke out five years ago.

Syrian government forces advance around and encircle Aleppo in order to try and impose a siege.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption As the Pope declared Mother Teresa a saint, cheers rang out from the crowd of thousands in St Peter's Square Mother Teresa, revered for her work with the poor in India, has been proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican. Vatican City (AP) — Elevating the “saint of the gutters” to one of the Catholic Church’s highest honors, Pope Francis on Sunday praised Mother Teresa for her radical dedication to society’s outcasts and her courage in shaming world leaders for the “crimes of poverty they themselves created.” An estimated 120,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the canonization ceremony, less than half the number who turned out for her 2003 beatification. She made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created.” For the newly-sainted Teresa, he said, “mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.” She was an example to volunteers around the world, he said. “Mercy, forgiveness, good works: It is the heart of a mother for the poor.” While big, the crowd attending the canonization wasn’t even half of the 300,000 who turned out for Mother Teresa’s 2003 beatification celebrated by an ailing St. John Paul II. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A woman who said she experienced Mother Teresa's first "miracle" describes what happened Born in 1910 to ethnic Albanian parents, Agnese Gonxha Bojaxhiu grew up in what is now the Macedonian capital, Skopje, but was then part of the Ottoman Empire. Mother Teresa died in 1997 and was beatified - the first step towards becoming a saint - in 2003, after her first cure - of a woman with an ovarian tumour - was recognised by the Church. Born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Skopje -- then part of the Ottoman empire, now the capital of Macedonia -- she won the 1979 Nobel peace prize and was revered around the world as a beacon for the Christian values of self-sacrifice and charity.

Mother Teresa, known for working with the desperately poor, is canonized in a ceremony at the Vatican.

ADVERTISEMENT A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook Agusan del Sur on Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/04 Sept) – A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Talacogon in Agusan del Sur at 10:38 a.m. Sunday but there were no reports of deaths, injuries or damages to property. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was felt in neighboring areas, at Intensity 6 in Talacogon, La Paz and Rosario in Agusan del Sur; Intensity 5 in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur; Intensity 4 in the cities of Butuan and Tagum and in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur; Intensity 3 in the cities of Davao, Bislig in Surigao del Sur and Gingoog in Misamis Oriental, and in Balingoan and Balingasag towns also in Misamis Oriental. The earthquake, which is tectonic in origin, is expected to have caused damages and to have aftershocks. The agency updated its earlier report that the quake, which occurred at 10:38 a.m., was of 5.7 magnitude.

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Agusan del Sur province in Mindanao island.

Official: 36 dead in bus-tanker collision in Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says at least 36 passengers including women and children have been killed when their bus collided with a fuel tanker in southern Zabul province. (Last Updated On: September 4, 2016) At least 35 people were killed and 25 others wounded after a passenger bus crashed with a fuel tanker along a highway in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan on Sunday, local officials said.

At least 35 people are killed and 25 are injured after a bus crashes into a fuel tanker in Afghanistan's Zabul province.

Meanwhile, the Iwate Prefectural Government said Sunday two bodies have been newly found and identified in the town of Iwaizumi in the prefecture, hit hard by downpours caused by Typhoon Lionrock last week. The Self-Defense Forces used helicopters to help residents get to shelters as officials made efforts to prevent the town from being cut off again by a typhoon. As of Sunday, Namtheun was heading north toward Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said, noting that warnings for strong wind, heavy rain and floods had been issued for Kyushu. Lionrock became the first typhoon to land on the Pacific coast of Tohoku last Tuesday, dumping torrential rain over a wide area. Overflowing rivers wreaked havoc, stranding many communities in the largely agricultural northeast. Iwaizumi lost nine elderly people who were buried without warning in a care facility that was engulfed by floodwaters from a nearby river. Before Lionrock, two typhoons had claimed at least two lives in Japan's northeast.

The death toll in Japan from Typhoon Lionrock rises to 17 with several people still missing. Typhoon Namtheun is now threatening the main island of Kyushu.