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Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, gives good copy. Here’s a quote from his final election rally: “Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you. 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 U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime condemned Duterte’s “apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.” “I do not want to insult you,” Duterte said. (He only called them “stupid.”) “But maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that rude, we might just as well leave. So take us out of your organization. You have done nothing. Never. Except to criticize.” What upset Ban and the UNDOC is the fact that Duterte is having people murdered. Since he took office three months ago, some 900 “suspected drug-dealers” have been shot dead by police and civilian vigilantes acting in his name. None was found guilty by a court, and some, of course, were completely innocent. Duterte is not denying it or apologizing. Before he leaves office, he says, he’ll just give himself an amnesty: “Pardon given to Rodrigo Duterte for the crime of multiple murder, signed Rodrigo Duterte.” “The Punisher,” as he was known when he was mayor of Davao, is very serious about his “war on drugs.” He recently said he would kill his own children if they took drugs. But crime is not the Philippines’ biggest problem, and it’s not clear what else he is serious about. He talks vaguely about making the Philippines a federal country, but no details of his policies and plans have emerged. In fact, he has spent most of the time since his election down south in his Davao stronghold, not in Manila. But he does have a plan of sorts for what to do after he walks out of the U.N. He says he may ask China and African countries to walk out too and form a rival organization. He doesn’t know much about China or Africa, so maybe he thinks they would like to get together and defy the parts of the world where governments believe that killing people is wrong. “Duterte Harry” (another nickname) is very popular in the Philippines, but he is not really a threat to global order. The hundred million Filpinos will have to live with him for the next six years, but the U.N. is not doomed. In fact, it is doing better than most people give it credit for. One proof of this is the fact that the secretary general now has the right to criticize a member government merely for killing its own citizens. That’s not what it was designed for. When it was created in 1945, as the catastrophe of World War II was ending, its main goal was to prevent any more wars like that. The founders tried to give it the appearance of a broader moral force by signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, but that was mainly window-dressing. The U.N. was created by the great powers to prevent any government from launching another war of international aggression, not to make governments treat their own citizens better. In fact, each major power was effectively guaranteed the right to do whatever it wanted to its own citizens, so long as it did not attack the neighbors. In this, the new U.N. was just recognizing reality, for every great power was determined to preserve its own “sovereignty.” Even for smaller powers, the great powers could rarely agree on what kind of intervention was desirable, and who should do it. The U.N. has done well in its original task: It shares the credit with nuclear weapons for the fact that no great power has fought any other for the past 71 years. It has gradually moved into other areas like peacekeeping and promoting the rule of law in the world, but it never interferes inside the territory of the great powers. Even in smaller countries it almost never intervenes without the invitation of the local government. So when Duterte called the U.N. useless because “if you are really true to your mandate, you could have stopped all these wars and killings,” he was talking through his hat. Besides, he would never accept U.N. intervention in his own country to deal with an alleged crime wave. He’s just talking tough because he hates being criticized. It’s very unlikely that he will carry out his threat. The U.N. is the keystone in the structure of international law that, among many other things, deters China from settling its territorial dispute with the Philippines by force. Duterte is just a problem for the Philippines, not for the U.N. or the world. Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist and military historian whose articles are published in 45 countries.</s>Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, gives good copy. Here’s a quote from his final election rally: “Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you. 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. (He only called them “stupid.”) “But maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that rude, we might just as well leave. So take us out of your organisation. You have done nothing. Never. Except to criticise.” What upset Ban Ki-moon and the UNDOC is the fact that Duterte is having people murdered. Since he took office three months ago, some 900 “suspected drug-dealers” have been shot dead by police and civilian vigilantes acting in his name. None was found guilty by a court, and some, of course, were completely innocent. Duterte is not denying it or apologising. Before he leaves office, he says, he’ll just give himself an amnesty: “Pardon given to Rodrigo Duterte for the crime of multiple murder, signed Rodrigo Duterte.” “The Punisher,” as he was known when he was mayor of Davao, is very serious about his “war on drugs”: he recently said he would kill his own children if they took drugs. But crime is not the Philippines’ biggest problem, and it’s not clear what else he is serious about. He talks vaguely about making the Philippines a federal country, but no details of his policies and plans have emerged. In fact, he has spent most of the time since his election down south in his Davao stronghold, not in Manila. But he does have a plan of sorts for what to do after he walks out of the United Nations. He says he may ask China and African countries to walk out too and form a rival organization. He doesn’t know much about China or Africa, so maybe he thinks they would like to get together and defy the parts of the world where governments believe that killing people is wrong. “Duterte Harry” (another nickname) is very popular in the Philippines, but he is not really a threat to global order. The hundred million Filpinos will have to live with him for the next six years, but the United Nations is not doomed. In fact, it is doing better than most people give it credit for. One proof of this is the fact that the Secretary General now has the right to criticise a member government merely for killing its own citizens. That’s not what it was designed for. When it was created in 1945, as the catastrophe of the Second World War was ending, its main goal was to prevent any more wars like that. The founders tried to give it the appearance of a broader moral force by signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, but that was mainly window-dressing. The UN was created by the great powers to prevent any government from launching another war of international aggression, not to make governments treat their own citizens better. In fact, each major power was effectively guaranteed the right to do whatever it wanted to its own citizens, so long as it did not attack the neighbours. In this, the new UN was just recognizing reality, for every great power was determined to preserve its own “sovereignty.” Even for smaller powers, the great powers could rarely agree on what kind of intervention was desirable, and who should do it. The UN has done well in its original task: it shares the credit with nuclear weapons for the fact that no great power has fought any other for the past 71 years. It has gradually moved into other areas like peace-keeping and promoting the rule of law in the world, but it never interferes inside the territory of the great powers. Even in smaller countries it almost never intervenes without the invitation of the local government. So when Duterte called the UN useless because “if you are really true to your mandate, you could have stopped all these wars and killings,” he was talking through his hat. Besides, he would never accept UN intervention in his own country to deal with an alleged crime wave. He’s just talking tough because he hates being criticized. It’s very unlikely that he will carry out his threat. The UN is the keystone in the structure of international law that, among many other things, deters China from settling its territorial dispute with the Philippines by force. Rodrigo Duterte is just a problem for the Philippines, not for the UN or the world. Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.</s>"We are certainly not leaving the U.N.," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said. "As I've said, the statement of the president is a statement expressing profound disappointment and frustration, and it is not any statement that should indicate a threat to leave the United Nations." President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to leave the U.N. in a speech Sunday after receiving criticism of his approach to drug crime since taking office. The pugnacious new leader made the comments in Davao City, the southern Filipino city where he served as mayor for over two decades. "Maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," he said in English during the address. "If you are that insulting, son of a bitch, we should just leave," he said then in Tagalog, according to a translation by CNN affiliate CNN Philippines. "Take us out of your organization. You have done nothing anyway." He accused the U.N. of ignoring the plight of the country. "When were you here last time? Nothing. Never. Except to criticize." A brutal war on drugs in the Philippines A brutal war on drugs in the Philippines The comments come days after the U.N. urged Duterte's administration to step back from its violent approach to drug crime. The crackdown since Duterte took office in late June has seen over 650 police killings -- deaths Duterte and his top police officer, Roland Dela Rosa, say are justified self-defense killings -- alongside as many as 900 unexplained murders perpetrated by suspected vigilantes. Duterte has also publicly accused dozens of officials and politicians of being involved in the drug trade. A woman cradles her husband, next to a placard which reads "I'm a pusher," who was shot dead in Manila on July 23, 2016. Police patrol a shanty community at night during curfew on June 8, 2016 in Manila. Philippine police have been conducting frequent night raids and revived a curfew for minors that has not been enforced for years. Some 1,000 people whom authorities accused of being drug users and dealers take an oath before local authorities after turning themselves in in Tanauan, the Philippines, on July 18, 2016. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power on a promise to clamp down on drugs in a two-month crime blitz, encouraging police and even civilians to shoot drug dealers. The country has seen a surge in killings of suspected dealers. A man authorities accused of being a drug user is fingerprinted during the mass surrender of some 1,000 alleged drug users and pushers in the Philippine town of Tanauan, located about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Manila on July 18, 2016. A social worker gives counseling to those who have turned themselves in for drug-related crimes in the Philippines on July 18, 2016. A Philippine police forensic investigator displays packets of drugs and a hand gun found inside a shanty where members of a suspected drug syndicate were killed after a shootout with police on July 3, 2016. A suspected female member of a drug syndicate is presented by police in Manila on June 22, 2016. A gun, bullets, marked money and sachets of crystal meth are laid on a table after a drug raid in Manila on June 20, 2016. Police officers stand in formation before the start of "Oplan Rody" on June 1, 2016, a law enforcement operation named after President Duterte, whose nickname is Rody. The U.N. has condemned the approach. "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. "We call on the Philippines authorities to adopt with immediate effect the necessary measures to protect all persons from targeted killings and extrajudicial executions," the new U.N. Special Rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, said in the report. "Claims to fight 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." Invitation to investigate welcomed. Ready to "see for myself." https://t.co/K9BIZ3ZFKO — Dr Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) August 19, 2016 Duterte's undiplomatic style has landed him in hot water before. He recently insulted the US Ambassador to the Philippines, calling him a "gay son of a bitch," and prior to taking office used similarly colorful language to complain that Pope Francis' visit to the country had resulted in traffic jams. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. 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. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines. Duterte enjoys high levels of support among Filipinos, who he says are tired of the scourge of drugs. However, the new president's approach to drug crime is facing scrutiny within the country, with one of Duterte's most vocal opponents, Senator Leila de Lima, conducting an inquiry into the high numbers of drug-related deaths since he took office. The senator has called Dela Rosa to a senate hearing on the issue. Last week, in a speech to police officials, Duterte launched a deeply personal attack on de Lima, shocking many Filipinos. Duterte stands by his tactics, which he says are justified in ridding the country of drugs. "My orders are for the police to go out and hunt for criminals," he said. 'I tell them to arrest these criminals if they surrender peacefully, but kill them if they put up a violent struggle. I assume full responsibility for what happens."</s>Police records and data gathered by Al Jazeera show close to 6,000 killed since new president took office on June 30. This story was first published on August 25. Last updated on December 13. Police records show 5,882 people were killed across the country since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office on June 30. Of that number 2,041 drug suspects were killed during police operations from July 1 to December 6, while another 3,841 were killed by unknown gunmen from July 1 to November 30, according to a local website. Among the latest fatalities was a seven-year-old child on the island of Cebu, who was hit by a stray bullet on December 3, while unknown gunmen were chasing a teenage boy accused of selling drugs. Based on other sources collected by Al Jazeera, there have been an estimated 5,946 deaths. The number does not include cases still to be reported by police or news outlets in the provinces after December 6. Al Jazeera has gathered the information of 1,485 people who were killed and the cause of their deaths. Almost six months into the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, police records and data gathered by Al Jazeera show the death toll in his anti-drug war has almost reached 6,000. Despite the mounting toll, Duterte was quoted as saying on Monday that fewer people were being killed, adding "most of them have been finished off anyway, I am not kidding". On Tuesday, he announced the release of $20m to fund the medicine for patients undergoing drug rehabilitation. Recently, human rights groups and activists have denounced the Philippine leader for "steamrolling the rule of law". Top clerics of the Catholic Church have also stepped up criticism against Duterte's drug war policy, while expressing opposition to his plan to re-impose the death penalty on heinous crimes, including drug-related offences. INFOGRAPHIC: Who's liable for the mounting death toll? In August, Duterte hailed his anti-drug campaign saying of the three million suspected drug dependents in the country, 600,000 have turned themselves in to authorities. While saying it does not condone extra-judicial killings, the office of the president said the country should "seize the momentum" in its campaign against illegal drugs. Duterte took his oath as president on June 30 and has vowed to keep his campaign promise of solving the country's illegal drug problem, saying, "I don't care about human rights, believe me." As of December 13, an Al Jazeera investigation has collected information from 1,485 people who were killed across the country.</s>"We are certainly not leaving the U.N.," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said. "As I've said, the statement of the president is a statement expressing profound disappointment and frustration, and it is not any statement that should indicate a threat to leave the United Nations." President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to leave the U.N. in a speech Sunday after receiving criticism of his approach to drug crime since taking office. The pugnacious new leader made the comments in Davao City, the southern Filipino city where he served as mayor for over two decades. "Maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," he said in English during the address. "If you are that insulting, son of a bitch, we should just leave," he said then in Tagalog, according to a translation by CNN affiliate CNN Philippines. "Take us out of your organization. You have done nothing anyway." He accused the U.N. of ignoring the plight of the country. "When were you here last time? Nothing. Never. Except to criticize." A brutal war on drugs in the Philippines A brutal war on drugs in the Philippines The comments come days after the U.N. urged Duterte's administration to step back from its violent approach to drug crime. The crackdown since Duterte took office in late June has seen over 650 police killings -- deaths Duterte and his top police officer, Roland Dela Rosa, say are justified self-defense killings -- alongside as many as 900 unexplained murders perpetrated by suspected vigilantes. Duterte has also publicly accused dozens of officials and politicians of being involved in the drug trade. A woman cradles her husband, next to a placard which reads "I'm a pusher," who was shot dead in Manila on July 23, 2016. Police patrol a shanty community at night during curfew on June 8, 2016 in Manila. Philippine police have been conducting frequent night raids and revived a curfew for minors that has not been enforced for years. Some 1,000 people whom authorities accused of being drug users and dealers take an oath before local authorities after turning themselves in in Tanauan, the Philippines, on July 18, 2016. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte swept to power on a promise to clamp down on drugs in a two-month crime blitz, encouraging police and even civilians to shoot drug dealers. The country has seen a surge in killings of suspected dealers. A man authorities accused of being a drug user is fingerprinted during the mass surrender of some 1,000 alleged drug users and pushers in the Philippine town of Tanauan, located about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Manila on July 18, 2016. A social worker gives counseling to those who have turned themselves in for drug-related crimes in the Philippines on July 18, 2016. A Philippine police forensic investigator displays packets of drugs and a hand gun found inside a shanty where members of a suspected drug syndicate were killed after a shootout with police on July 3, 2016. A suspected female member of a drug syndicate is presented by police in Manila on June 22, 2016. A gun, bullets, marked money and sachets of crystal meth are laid on a table after a drug raid in Manila on June 20, 2016. Police officers stand in formation before the start of "Oplan Rody" on June 1, 2016, a law enforcement operation named after President Duterte, whose nickname is Rody. The U.N. has condemned the approach. "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. "We call on the Philippines authorities to adopt with immediate effect the necessary measures to protect all persons from targeted killings and extrajudicial executions," the new U.N. Special Rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, said in the report. "Claims to fight 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." Invitation to investigate welcomed. Ready to "see for myself." https://t.co/K9BIZ3ZFKO — Dr Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) August 19, 2016 Duterte's undiplomatic style has landed him in hot water before. He recently insulted the US Ambassador to the Philippines, calling him a "gay son of a bitch," and prior to taking office used similarly colorful language to complain that Pope Francis' visit to the country had resulted in traffic jams. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. 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. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show. Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things. Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines. Duterte enjoys high levels of support among Filipinos, who he says are tired of the scourge of drugs. However, the new president's approach to drug crime is facing scrutiny within the country, with one of Duterte's most vocal opponents, Senator Leila de Lima, conducting an inquiry into the high numbers of drug-related deaths since he took office. The senator has called Dela Rosa to a senate hearing on the issue. Last week, in a speech to police officials, Duterte launched a deeply personal attack on de Lima, shocking many Filipinos. Duterte stands by his tactics, which he says are justified in ridding the country of drugs. "My orders are for the police to go out and hunt for criminals," he said. 'I tell them to arrest these criminals if they surrender peacefully, but kill them if they put up a violent struggle. I assume full responsibility for what happens."</s>MANILA, Philippines (AP) — 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. Faced with criticism of his actions by rights activists, international bodies and outspoken Filipinos, including the top judge, Duterte has stuck to his guns and threatened to declare martial law if the Supreme Court meddles in his work. According to a survey early last month, he has the support of nearly 91 percent of Filipinos. The independent poll was done during his first week in office, and no new surveys have come out since then. National police chief Ronald dela Rosa told a Senate hearing this week that police have recorded more than 1,900 dead, including 756 suspected drug dealers and users who were gunned down after they resisted arrest. More than 1,000 other deaths are under investigation, and some of them may not be drug-related, he said. Jayeel Cornelio, a doctor of sociology and director of Ateneo de Manila University's Development Studies Program, said he suspects only a few of Duterte's supporters are disillusioned by the killings and his rhetoric because voters trust his campaign promise to crush drug criminals. They also find resonance in his cursing and no-holds-barred comments. Duterte's death threats against criminals, his promise to battle corruption, his anti-establishment rhetoric and gutter humor have enamored Filipinos living on the margins of society. He overwhelmingly won the election, mirroring public exasperation over the social ills he condemns. Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia has said the killings "may be a necessary evil in the pursuit of a greater good," a sentiment echoed by a deluge of comments by Duterte supporters in social media deriding his critics and defending the brutal war on drugs. "The killings are OK so there will be less criminals, drug pushers and drug addicts in our society," said Rex Alisoso, a 25-year-old cleaner in Manila. He said people have gotten used to the way Duterte talks and voted for him knowing his ways. Kim Labasan, a Manila shopkeeper, said she does not like Duterte's constant swearing, his "stepping on too many toes," and his decision to allow late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in the Heroes' Cemetery. But she supports the anti-drug war despite the rising death toll because, she said, she has personally seen the effects of drugs. Addicts in her hometown north of Manila have ended up with "poisoned brains" and even robbed her family's home. "A battle of moralities is being waged right now by this administration — before, if you were a human rights advocate you are a hero of the country, now you are seen as someone who can destroy the country," Cornelio said. He said that Duterte fosters "penal populism" — identifying a particular enemy, a criminal, and then hunting him down to death. Because the results are visible, tangible and people feel it, "it becomes more important than many other things to the ordinary person." Duterte has said drugs were destroying the country. In his State of the Nation Address last month, he said "human rights cannot be used as a shield or an excuse to destroy the country." He also lashed out at U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, calling him gay in derogatory terms, after he criticized Duterte's rape comments during the presidential campaign. He threatened to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations because of U.N. comments condemning extrajudicial killings, saying he did not "give a shit" about the consequences. The following day, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said the Philippines was not leaving the U.N. and Duterte made the comment only because he was tired, angry and frustrated. Phelim Kine, Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director, said Duterte "is streamrolling the rule of law and its advocates both at home and abroad." The killings suggest his aggressive rhetoric advocating extrajudicial solutions to criminality has found a receptive audience, Kine said. "His supporters are cheering him on, but wait till one of them is killed," said Ferdie Monasterio, a driver of a ride-sharing company who doesn't support Duterte. "He is no different from Marcos and it looks like he wants to establish a dictatorship." Cornelio said the death toll is not the clincher in turning public sentiment against Duterte, because a lot of people look at them as justified killings. He said that Dutere's first year in office will be crucial since he promised quick action. "I think the threshold has to do with the delivery of the promises," he said. "Are changes going to happen sooner or later? If they don't then, people will start getting disillusioned."</s>Improving the quality of life of the people is the better option than violence. MANILA – An urban poor group is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider its violent approach to end the proliferation of illegal drugs, especially in urban poor communities, by addressing the root causes of their impoverished conditions. In a statement, Kadamay said the proliferation of illegal drugs in urban poor communities is “symptomatic of the extreme poverty levels being experienced by the people, and as such, improving their quality of life is the better option than violence.” “Can the president conclusively say that violence and police operations are better solutions to the drug problem than raising the standards of living? With jobs, education and health services, most Filipinos will not need to turn to drugs or at the very least be able to afford the currently high cost of rehabilitation in the country,” Kadamay chairperson Gloria Arellano said. Nearly a thousand has been killed in the name of Duterte’s war against illegal drugs. Rights groups and church workers have assailed that those killed, for supposedly resisting arrest, belong to poor families. This week, an audio recording of a police operation in Pasay City surfaced in which pedicab driver Eric Sison amid police pursuit, was heard pleading “Ito po! Ito po! Susuko na ako” (Here I am! I will surrender) followed by a series of gunshots. The police said they are already conducting an investigation. In a television interview, one police officer claimed that voice heard in the audio recording was not that of the pedicab driver but of a police officer. But the pedicab driver’s family and neighbors described the shooting as “overkill.” Children most vulnerable in drug campaign The youngest casualty of the illegal drug campaign, as described in news reports, is five-year-old Danica May, a granddaughter of tricycle driver Maximo Garcia in Mayombo village, Pangasinan who surrendered to the police after learning he was listed in its drug watch. News reports said the Garcia family was having lunch on Aug. 23 when a man opened fired at their house, killing the child and wounding Garcia in the stomach. Garcia, 53, is recuperating in a hospital. Children rights group Salinlahi assailed Danica May’s killing, saying that children belonging to families without decent livelihood in urban poor communities are exposed to such violence. Salinlahi secretary general Kharlo Manano said, “We are one with the Duterte administration’s intention to eliminate illegal drugs in the country, but we should always consider the social context of poor children and their families. If the killings do not stop, more and more children will be caught in the middle of this bloody war.”</s>DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 Aug) — President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to leave the United Nations (UN) amid its criticisms on the current administration’s campaign against illegal drugs that allegedly shot up the cases of extrajudicial killings. He told an early morning press conference at the Malacañang of the South at the Department of Public Works and Highways 11 in Panacan that he might just decide to part ways with the UN and invite China and African countries to form a new organization. “So the next time you issue it, I do not want to insult you. But maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations,” Duterte said. He also criticized the international organization for not doing anything to help the country. “So take us out of your organization – you have done nothing here, anyway, also. When were you here the last time? Never. Except to criticize. You do…Food world? Where’s the food? There’s the world, but there is no food. World Hunger Organization, maybe,” he said. But Duterte said the country will only leave the UN if it would refund the Philippines with all its contributions and use the money to build more rehabilitation centers around the country. “The joke is on you. You have to refund me with these so many contributions that we have made all these years. Isauli ninyo contributions namin and we will go out. We contribute a certain amount for the maintenance of UN, right? Oh, you return the money to us and we will go out,” he said. He also asked the UN, “when have you done a good deed to my country?” The UN, an intergovernmental organization that promotes international cooperation, with 51 founding member states including the Philippines, was established on October 24, 1945 after World War II. A Filipino diplomat, Carlos P. Romulo, became President of the UN General Assembly from 1949 to 1950. Amid the criticisms on the extrajudicial killings, Duterte hit the UN for falling short of respect to him as the country’s chief executive. Duterte said that the UN must observe proper protocol by sending its representative to personally talk to him before the international organization issued a statement hitting him for the rising cases of extrajudicial killings when he assumed post on June 30. “You observe protocol because if you do that directly you are addressing yourself to me. Remember that I am – I do not like to say it because I wanted to be called Mayor still – I am the President of the sovereign,” he told. Duterte, who is known for his scathing words, was apparently irked with UN special rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and Dainius Puras’ pronouncements, and said, “ you have fallen short of the protocol for respect and you want me to respect you? You must be s**t. Do not criticize immediately.” He told the American UN representatives “bastos ka (you are rude)” and went on to say they could even do anything about the killings happening within their country. “Tell this American, show your respect first. Because sabihin ko, why are you Americans killing the black people there, shooting them down, when they are already on the ground? Answer that question, even if it is one, two, or three, it’s still human rights violations,” he said. Unfazed with UN’s call to end extrajudicial killings, the President said he is willing to meet with these the UN representatives to disprove their accusations. “Okay, you guys, you law expert of the United Nations, come here, come here and face me and make the accusations and I will show you the statistics and I will hold your finger and teach you how to count,” he said. Duterte told the UN to also look at the efforts of the government in protecting its people and not only the increasing number of criminals who were reportedly killed after resisting arrest. But the President said even the authorities could sometimes be killed in pursuing their fight against illegal drugs. “The other day I lost two soldiers who where assisting the police. This time it is the police, a day after. We lose about two policemen a day in connection with the drug campaign,” he said. Duterte said that he assumes full responsibility for the police drug operations that resulted to bloody combat with drug suspects. Duterte challenged to compare the current statistics on killings with the previous administration. “And I would ask him, compare it with the previous administration. Same deaths, but these are the innocent children being killed, raped, victims of hold-up and everything, this time, almost with the same number, but it is the criminals who are dying. You can hardly hear now of a student waylaid or a hold-up victim in a bus,” he said. He also hit Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for just “counting the dead criminals and never made a comparison of the dead victims, innocent people, law-abiding people being killed in the streets.” Duterte reiterated that he has obligation to protect the innocent, law-abiding citizens and “was never tasked by any law to protect the life of the criminals.” “I was never born to protect evil. I was born in this universe to suppress evil. I was not raised by my parents, I did not go to Roman Catholic schools and Ateneo and San Beda and talk how to protect the evil doers. I grew up and (was) taught by my parents to be on the side of fairness, to protect the good, and to take care of your country,” he said. He said that the drug menace is not just “epidemic but pandemic.” “So what am I supposed to do as a President? Empower the military and the police for after all they are there to protect the integrity and preserve the people of the Philippines,” he added. (Antonio L. Colina IV/ MindaNews)</s>Jaypee Bertes was bruised and battered, his arm broken. He had three bullets in him. He asked for a doctor. “He was leaning on the bars and had a hard time standing,” his widow Harra Kazuo told the senators of her husband and his father at the police station. “He had a difficult time speaking. That was the last time I saw them alive.” Bertes, a small-time drug dealer, and his father are now just two of a grim statistic – two of the 1,916 who have died in the Philippines police’s “war on drugs”, unleashed barely eight weeks ago, as new hard man president Rodrigo Duterte had promised during his election campaign “Shoot him and I’ll give you a medal,” Duterte had told police of dealing with the drug lords, suggesting the public get involved too. And they have taken his injunction to heart. Of the total dead, 756 were suspects killed by the unleashed police and 1,160 were killed “outside police operations”, many by vigilantes. How many were involved in drug pushing is unclear and there was undoubtedly some score settling by drug pushers too. According to the government, faced by a barrage of international and domestic criticism, the new tough policy is paying dividends – 600,000 plus of the country 3.7 million users have reportedly surrendered themselves to the police to avoid arrest. To little avail in Bertes’s case, as the seven-month-pregnant Kazuo this week told a committee of the senate to inquire into the killings. Wearing large sunglasses and partly covering her face with a shawl to protect her identity, she claimed he had been preparing to surrender to the police because he was afraid he would be killed. The police had beaten and threatened to shoot him if he did not hand over his drugs, but he had nothing to give them. They strip-searched their two-year- old daughter looking for drugs. When his father Renato Bertes arrived and demanded to see a warrant he was told simply by one officer “If you want, we can shoot you all here.” He too would die. Duterte, a controversial former mayor and prosecutor who rose to power after a landslide election victory in May, brought his local police chief Ronald dela Rosa with him from Davao to Manila to head the national force. In Davao, the Philippines’s second city, he had previously waged a similar “successful” campaign. Hundreds died. “We are not butchers,” dela Rosa told the sceptical senators. Duterte, a thin-skinned, Trump-like demagogue – though he hates the comparison and leans politically to the left – has lashed out at critics. In response to UN concerns Duterte threatened to pull the Philippines out of the international body. He has threatened to shut down the legislature if it hinders his plans and possible martial law. He warned Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno not to create “conflict” after she urged members of the judiciary linked by him to illegal drugs not to surrender without a warrant. Journalists have been told they are not protected from assassination And he has launched a bitter attack on former justice secretary, senator Leila de Lima, who instigated the senate hearings, accusing her while minister of having an affair with her driver/ bodyguard, who allegedly collected money from drug lords detained in Manila’s New Bilibid prison. She vigorously denies the charges. And, apparently aping Turkey’s Recep Erdogan, Duterte has now turned his fire on public servants, promising in his “campaign against corruption” to fire every official appointed by a previous president. Many weary Filipinos see in Duterte’s over-reach a replaying of their political system’s sorry history of autocratic and corrupt rulers. “To Filipinos, it’s just politics as usual – the manipulations of a game of thrones, so to speak,” says author Miguel Syjuco. He writes of a “deeply entrenched culture of impunity”. He recalls Ferdinand Marcos whose brutal and deeply corrupt legacy Duterte is seeking to revive with reburial of the dictator’s body with full honours . And former president Gloria Arroyo, who, despite facing charges of graft, has recently been named deputy speaker of congress, and former members of whose cabinet now comprise the majority of Duterte’s inner circle. It is likely that only international pressure will stay his hand. But the EU, for example, which in 2014 granted the Philippines, alone among Asean member-states, tariff- free access, is not taking a view yet. Franz Jessen, the head of the EU delegation, says: “Right now, we are looking at the developments. We are not making any conclusion about what would happen later on. We have to wait and see.” Last year EU exports to the Philippines rose 18 per cent to €6.8 billion.</s>Is the media serving justice to alleged victims of the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs? No, if we go by the headline of the banner story of the Thursday issue of another national broadsheet about a five-year-old girl being the “latest fatality” in the drug war. The headline made the story into a case of another drug-related killing, taking the police angle despite claims to the contrary by the family of the man who was shot in a Dagupan City incident, protesting against the police’s inclusion of his name in a drug watch list. 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. Yes, a “gunman” had supposedly targeted the grandfather but missed, and accidentally shot and killed the young girl. Although early in the narrative the story did not make a connection between the shooter and the old man, the account segued to the police chief of the northern city where the tragedy happened as having “theorized that drug dealers were behind the attack.” It was not clear from the story what the basis of the theory was. No detail was given about the local police chief’s comment, not even a qualifier saying the reporter made the necessary follow-up question about that drug-watch list and its basis, and if such question had received any reply. After all, it may not be a farfetched possibility that the assailant could have also just been trying to settle a personal score with the old man and that the shooting had nothing to do with illegal drugs at all? Authorities, however, had to first produce the attacker, but the story said nothing more about what happened with the suspect after the incident. The grandfather’s wife said her husband had never been involved in illegal drugs and feared that the “killers may come back for [him].” Well, the old man survived the shooting and the burden to prove his innocence now lies with him. In the event he is as clean as a whistle, as his wife portrays him to be, then the description of the girl being “collateral damage” collapses. If, on the other hand, the grandfather is guilty of any illegal drugs connection, then the entire sorry episode cannot be automatically blamed on the government’s war on drugs but on the individual shooter, as may or may not have been provoked by the victim himself. The local police chief referred to the attackers as “drug dealers.” The victim could have also been a drug user or a drug pusher even before the Duterte administration took over. Obviously, the headline of the story chose to side with the police description of the matter as a drug-related killing perpetrated by private participants in the illegal drugs trade, punching holes in the government crackdown on this crime as nothing more than a bloody foray to meet a deadline and everything about a drive against criminality gone berserk. There was this other story about a supposedly very young boy who was a heroin addict, according to Janet Cooke, the reporter who wrote the Pulitzer-winning piece for The Washington Post in 1981. Cooke said in her report “Jimmy” injected himself with heroin. Her editors believed her, but later faced with incontrovertible proof that she had fabricated the story, the paper was forced to return her prize. While the modern news media’s duty to report the facts now comes with the responsibility of connecting the dots for the readers, when faced with two conflicting sides in the same story, choosing to highlight the angle that favors one side without providing factual back-up for that choice could be as oppressive as hiding the truth itself.	The death toll in Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs reaches 1,900 people killed.
(CNN) More than 80 ISIS targets were attacked in the first hours of "Operation Euphrates Shield" early Wednesday, officials say, as Turkish armor and warplanes targeted a key ISIS-held town across its border with Syria. Jarablus is one of the few towns in northern Syria that ISIS still controls and is a critical location for supplies, money and fighters coming into ISIS-held areas. In recent months, much of Turkey's firepower has been directed at the Kurdish separatist PKK in southeastern Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq. It has also occasionally shelled ISIS positions in northern Syria, but its last-known airstrikes against ISIS were in November last year. Why is Turkey doing this now? Turkish authorities have been pressed into taking action against ISIS by the surge of suicide bombings in Turkey, as well as the terror group's use of safe houses and "informal" financial services on Turkish soil. "Daesh should be completely cleansed from our borders, and we are ready to do that," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS. Ankara may also have calculated that ISIS is especially vulnerable, after many of its remaining fighters fled Manbij, another key stronghold in Syria. The town was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces backed by the United States. ISIS' lines of communication and resupply have now been disrupted and it's taken heavy losses across northern Syria in recent months. But Turkey is anxious that ISIS' vulnerability could provide an opportunity for their "other" enemy in northern Syria -- the Kurdish YPG militia -- who have taken several villages near Jarablus recently. What does Turkey want to achieve? Turkey has several aims. One is to degrade ISIS in this area -- to push the threat it poses away from the Turkish border and make infiltration harder. Beyond that, Turkey wants this part of Syria to become part of its sphere of influence. If it can clear this area of ISIS, it plans to inject Syrian rebel groups that it supports, according to officials. Several hundred are currently massed on the border, according to the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights. The advantage for Turkey in putting its "own" groups into this part of Syria is to stop the Kurdish advance in its tracks. Ankara sees the YPG as a terrorist group indistinguishable from the PKK, which it battles on a daily basis in south-eastern Turkey. The Syrian Kurds have made no secret of their desire to expel ISIS and link the two regions of northern Syria they already control. They would then oversee much of Syria's border with Turkey. Hence the words of Erdogan Wednesday: "Turkey is determined that Syria retains its territorial integrity and will take matters into its own hands if required to protect that unity." How much is Turkey working with coalition partners? "We are working together with the coalition regarding air support," Cavusoglu said Wednesday. In addition, it's likely that the US is providing intelligence and targeting data to Turkish forces using unmanned aerial vehicles from the Incirlik air base. The US has long urged Turkey to become more involved in operations against ISIS in northern Syria, but relations have been strained by the crackdown following the coup attempt in Turkey last month and a surge of anti-US sentiment in Turkey. Cooperating in a substantial effort to weaken ISIS -- just as Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Ankara -- is one way to overcome a troubled few weeks. Additionally, in light of the sudden rapprochement between Erdogan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the US wants to reinforce its partnership with Turkey. The US is also sending a message to the Syrian Kurds, its most effective partner on the ground in this region: that American support is not a blank check and that they should not provoke the Turks by moving on Jarablus. Will Turkey will get sucked in further? If the aim of the operation is to expel ISIS from Jarablus and surrounding areas, it's unlikely to be achieved in days. Manbij took weeks to clear, despite a ground offensive and hundreds of US airstrikes. One problem is the risk of substantial civilian casualties. ISIS frequently uses civilians as human shields, preventing them from leaving urban areas, to make targeting more difficult. Perhaps the greatest risk is that this incursion on the ground will spill over into conflict with Kurdish forces. But the Kurds will realize that with their light, outmoded weaponry, they are no match for Turkish tanks. The US is likely encouraging the YPG -- to which it indirectly supplies weapons and training -- to stay out of this. Additionally, Syrian Kurdish sources say they believe Turkey would like nothing better than a pretext to go after the YPG. But if the Kurds don't return to the eastern banks of the Euphrates -- Turkey's "red line" -- the operation against ISIS could evolve into something very different -- perhaps a broader operation that also focuses on the YPG. Turkish public opinion is likely to support this operation, in light of recent attacks blamed on ISIS, so long as its scope and duration is defined. But in Damascus, the Assad regime has bitterly criticized it as a "blatant breach to its sovereignty." The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "substituting (ISIS) with other terrorist organizations backed directly by Turkey" is not "fighting terrorism."</s>BEIRUT (AP) — Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria say Turkish airstrikes have hit their bases near Jarablus, a town seized by Turkey-backed rebels earlier this week. The Jarablus Military Council says the airstrikes Saturday on their bases in Amarneh village marked an "unprecedented and dangerous escalation" and came after Turkish artillery shelled the positions the day before. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the airstrikes. Turkish officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Turkish troops head to the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to contain the expansion of Syria's Kurds in an area bordering Turkey .(AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal) The Jarablus Military Council is supported by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces. Turkey sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels capture Jarablus from the Islamic State group. The incursion was partly aimed at containing Kurdish-led forces. Turkey says the Kurds must withdraw to the east of the nearby Euphrates River. Turkish troops head to the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to contain the expansion of Syria's Kurds in an area bordering Turkey. (AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal) Turkish tanks head to the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to contain the expansion of Syria's Kurds in an area bordering Turkey. (AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal) Turkish ambulances return from the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to contain the expansion of Syria's Kurds in an area bordering Turkey. (AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal) A Turkish army tank stationed overlooks the Syrian border, in Karkamis, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016. Turkey on Wednesday sent tanks across the border to help Syrian rebels retake the key Islamic State-held town of Jarablus and to contain the expansion of Syria's Kurds in an area bordering Turkey.(AP Photo/Halit Onur Sandal)</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - A car bomb at a police headquarters in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast killed at least eleven and wounded dozens on Thursday, officials said, two days after Turkey launched an incursion against Islamic State and Kurdish terrorists in Syria. The state-run Anadolu news agency blamed the attack on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a terror group which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy and has been involved in almost daily clashes with security forces since a ceasefire collapsed more than a year ago. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Large plumes of smoke billowed from the site in Cizre, located in Turkey’s Sirnak province bordering both Syria and Iraq, footage on CNN Turk showed. The broadcaster said a dozen ambulances and two helicopters had been sent to the scene. Hospital sources initially told Reuters that nine people were killed and 64 wounded, but an official later said the toll was eight. It was not clear whether the casualties were civilians or police officers. Photographs broadcast by private channel NTV showed a large three-floor building reduced to its concrete shell, with no walls or windows, and surrounded by grey rubble. 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 Kurdish YPG militia. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died since the rebels took up arms in Turkey in 1984. Turkish troops fired on YPG terrorists in northern Syria on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Interior Minister Efkan Ala accused the PKK of attacking a convoy carrying the country’s main opposition party leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The government has blamed the PKK for a series of terror attacks this month in the southeast. The group has claimed responsibility for at least one attack on a police station.</s>Turkey has suffered a deadly bomb blast and an unprecedented threat by a Syrian group, as it faces an escalation of its battle with Kurdish militants. A truck bomb at a police headquarters in Cizre, in the Kurdish heartlands of the southeast, killed 11 people and wounded over 70 yesterday morning, in the latest indication that the Syrian conflict threatens to increase tensions within Turkey itself. The blast came just hours after a Syrian Kurdish group called for retaliation against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for sending Turkish forces into the country this week. 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. “Death to Erdogan and his mercenaries,” said a group known as the council of Aleppo, in a statement shared by the political arm of the Syrian Kurdish militias. “We call on all the national revolutionary forces in Syria and to its north to face this invasion and to intervene immediately. Jarablus and north Syria will be a graveyard for the murderous invader Erdogan and his mercenaries.” Control of Jarablus was a central goal of Kurdish militias in Syria, who had hoped to join two separate cantons they control in the north of the country and create a self-administered state along Turkey’s southern border. The Syrian Kurdish militia is closely linked to the PKK, an outlawed group that has waged a conflict for more than 30 years to win self-rule for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, a battle in which tens of thousands of people have died. Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a consultancy, warned Ankara’s decision to intervene militarily in Syria was likely to exacerbate its long-running tensions with the PKK and could invite further attacks from Isis. “This aggressive move will raise the stakes for Turkey’s involvement in Syria and introduces the risk of a further intervention to support rebel forces if they come under stress in the future,” he said. “In the meantime, Turkey’s exposure to Syria will increase domestic security risks and is likely to provoke retaliatory attacks by Isis and the PKK in Turkey.” The Turkey-backed rebels now intend to expand their corridor of influence, after the US pressured the Syrian Kurdish fighters to disperse from Manbij, a town they had helped liberate from Isis “The next step is Al Bab,” said Mohammad al Shamali, a vice-president with the Turkmen Council, a group of fighters backed by Turkey, and rivals of both Isis and the Kurdish militias. He was referring to an Isis controlled city about 20km from Aleppo.</s>KARKAMIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish troops fired on U.S.-backed Kurdish militia fighters in northern Syria on Thursday, highlighting the complications of an incursion meant to secure the border region against both Islamic State and Kurdish advances. Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus, one of Islamic State’s last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border, on Wednesday. But President Tayyip Erdogan and senior government officials have made clear the aim of “Operation Euphrates Shield” is as much about stopping the Kurdish YPG militia seizing territory and filling the void left by Islamic State as it is about eliminating the ultra-hardline Islamist group itself. A Turkish security source said the army shelled the People’s Protection Units (YPG) south of Jarablus. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu agency described the action as warning shots. Gunfire and explosions echoed around hills in the region on Thursday, a day after the incursion first began. Some of the blasts were triggered as Turkish security forces cleared mines and booby traps left by retreating Islamic State militants, according to Nuh Kocaaslan, the mayor of Karkamis, which sits just across the border from Jarablus. He said three Turkish-backed Syrian rebels were killed but no Turkish troops. Turkey, which has NATO’s second biggest armed forces, demanded that the YPG retreat to the east side of the Euphrates river within a week. The Kurdish militia had moved west of the river earlier this month as part of a U.S.-backed operation, now completed, to capture the city of Manbij from Islamic State. Ankara views the YPG as a threat because of its close links to Kurdish militants waging a three-decade-old insurgency on its own soil. It has been alarmed by the YPG’s gains in northern Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, fearing it could extend Kurdish control along Turkish borders and fuel the ambitions of Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. Turkey’s stance has put it at odds with Washington, which sees the YPG as a rare reliable ally on the ground in Syria, where Washington is trying to defeat Islamic State while also opposing President Bashar al-Assad’s government in a complex, multi-sided, five-year-old civil war. The Syrian Kurdish force is one of the most powerful militias in Syria and regarded as the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance formed last October to fight Islamic State. Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the Kurdish PYD party, the political arm of the YPG, wanted to unite Kurdish-controlled cantons east of Jarablus with those further west. “We cannot let this happen,” he said. “Islamic State should be completely cleansed, this is an absolute must. But it’s not enough for us ... The PYD and the YPG militia should not replace Islamic State there,” Isik told Turkish broadcaster NTV. 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. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State said the SDF had withdrawn across the Euphrates, doing so “to prepare for the eventual liberation” of Raqqa, the radical group’s stronghold which lies further east. Turkish army tanks make their way towards the Syrian border town of Jarablus, Syria August 24, 2016. Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office/Handout via REUTERS Isik said the retreat was not yet complete and Washington had given assurances that this would happen in the next week. “If the PYD does not retreat to east of the Euphrates, we have the right to do everything about it,” the minister said. The offensive is Turkey’s first major military operation since a failed July 15 coup shook confidence in its ability to step up the fight against Islamic State. It came four days after a suicide bomber suspected of links to the group killed 54 people at a wedding in the southeastern city of Gaziantep. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who met Erdogan during a trip to Turkey on Wednesday, said Turkey was ready to stay in Syria for as long as it takes to destroy the radical Islamist group. “I think there has been a gradual mind shift ... in Turkey, with the realization that ISIL is an existential threat to Turkey,” he told reporters during a visit to Sweden, using an acronym for the militant group. A Turkish official said the ground incursion had been in the works for more than two years but had been delayed by U.S. reservations, resistance from some Turkish commanders, and a stand-off with Russia which had made air cover impossible. Turkey had made the case more strongly to Washington over the past few months, had patched up relations with Russia, and had removed some of the Turkish commanders from their posts after finding they were involved in the coup attempt, paving the way for the operation to go ahead, the official said. The incursion comes at a testing time for Turkish-U.S. relations. Erdogan wants the United States to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for 17 years and whose religious movement Turkey blames for staging last month’s failed coup. Washington says it needs clear evidence of Gulen’s involvement and that it is a matter for the courts, a position that has sparked an outpouring of anti-Americanism from Turkey’s pro-government media. Gulen denies any role in the coup attempt. REBELS ADVANCE The sound of gunfire, audible from a hill on the Turkish side of the border overlooking Jarablus, rang out on Thursday and black smoke rose over the town. War planes flew overhead. A senior Turkish official said there were now more than 20 Turkish tanks inside Syria and that additional tanks and construction machinery would be sent in as required. A Reuters witness saw at least nine tanks enter on Thursday, and 10 more were waiting outside a military outpost on the Turkish side. “We need construction machinery to open up roads ... and we may need more in the days ahead. We also have armored personnel carriers that could be used on the Syrian side. We may put them into service as needed,” the official said. Erdogan said on Wednesday that Islamic State had been driven out of Jarablus and that it was now controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, who are largely Arab and Turkmen. “The myth that the YPG is the only effective force fighting Islamic State has collapsed,” Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter, reflecting Turkish frustration at how closely Washington has been working with the Kurdish militia. Slideshow (13 Images) Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish PYD, said on Wednesday that Turkey was entering a “quagmire” in Syria and faced defeat there like Islamic State. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the YPG, said the intervention was a “blatant aggression in Syrian internal affairs”. After seizing Jarablus, the Turkish-backed rebels have advanced up to 10 km (6 miles) south of the border town, rebel sources and a group monitoring the war said. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said Kurdish-backed forces opposed by Ankara had gained up to 8 km of ground northwards, apparently seeking to pre-empt advances by the rebels.</s>(CNN) More than 80 ISIS targets were attacked in the first hours of "Operation Euphrates Shield" early Wednesday, officials say, as Turkish armor and warplanes targeted a key ISIS-held town across its border with Syria. Jarablus is one of the few towns in northern Syria that ISIS still controls and is a critical location for supplies, money and fighters coming into ISIS-held areas. In recent months, much of Turkey's firepower has been directed at the Kurdish separatist PKK in southeastern Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq. It has also occasionally shelled ISIS positions in northern Syria, but its last-known airstrikes against ISIS were in November last year. Why is Turkey doing this now? Turkish authorities have been pressed into taking action against ISIS by the surge of suicide bombings in Turkey, as well as the terror group's use of safe houses and "informal" financial services on Turkish soil. "Daesh should be completely cleansed from our borders, and we are ready to do that," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS. Ankara may also have calculated that ISIS is especially vulnerable, after many of its remaining fighters fled Manbij, another key stronghold in Syria. The town was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces backed by the United States. ISIS' lines of communication and resupply have now been disrupted and it's taken heavy losses across northern Syria in recent months. But Turkey is anxious that ISIS' vulnerability could provide an opportunity for their "other" enemy in northern Syria -- the Kurdish YPG militia -- who have taken several villages near Jarablus recently. What does Turkey want to achieve? Turkey has several aims. One is to degrade ISIS in this area -- to push the threat it poses away from the Turkish border and make infiltration harder. Beyond that, Turkey wants this part of Syria to become part of its sphere of influence. If it can clear this area of ISIS, it plans to inject Syrian rebel groups that it supports, according to officials. Several hundred are currently massed on the border, according to the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights. The advantage for Turkey in putting its "own" groups into this part of Syria is to stop the Kurdish advance in its tracks. Ankara sees the YPG as a terrorist group indistinguishable from the PKK, which it battles on a daily basis in south-eastern Turkey. The Syrian Kurds have made no secret of their desire to expel ISIS and link the two regions of northern Syria they already control. They would then oversee much of Syria's border with Turkey. Hence the words of Erdogan Wednesday: "Turkey is determined that Syria retains its territorial integrity and will take matters into its own hands if required to protect that unity." How much is Turkey working with coalition partners? "We are working together with the coalition regarding air support," Cavusoglu said Wednesday. In addition, it's likely that the US is providing intelligence and targeting data to Turkish forces using unmanned aerial vehicles from the Incirlik air base. The US has long urged Turkey to become more involved in operations against ISIS in northern Syria, but relations have been strained by the crackdown following the coup attempt in Turkey last month and a surge of anti-US sentiment in Turkey. Cooperating in a substantial effort to weaken ISIS -- just as Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Ankara -- is one way to overcome a troubled few weeks. Additionally, in light of the sudden rapprochement between Erdogan and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, the US wants to reinforce its partnership with Turkey. The US is also sending a message to the Syrian Kurds, its most effective partner on the ground in this region: that American support is not a blank check and that they should not provoke the Turks by moving on Jarablus. Will Turkey will get sucked in further? If the aim of the operation is to expel ISIS from Jarablus and surrounding areas, it's unlikely to be achieved in days. Manbij took weeks to clear, despite a ground offensive and hundreds of US airstrikes. One problem is the risk of substantial civilian casualties. ISIS frequently uses civilians as human shields, preventing them from leaving urban areas, to make targeting more difficult. Perhaps the greatest risk is that this incursion on the ground will spill over into conflict with Kurdish forces. But the Kurds will realize that with their light, outmoded weaponry, they are no match for Turkish tanks. The US is likely encouraging the YPG -- to which it indirectly supplies weapons and training -- to stay out of this. Additionally, Syrian Kurdish sources say they believe Turkey would like nothing better than a pretext to go after the YPG. But if the Kurds don't return to the eastern banks of the Euphrates -- Turkey's "red line" -- the operation against ISIS could evolve into something very different -- perhaps a broader operation that also focuses on the YPG. Turkish public opinion is likely to support this operation, in light of recent attacks blamed on ISIS, so long as its scope and duration is defined. But in Damascus, the Assad regime has bitterly criticized it as a "blatant breach to its sovereignty." The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "substituting (ISIS) with other terrorist organizations backed directly by Turkey" is not "fighting terrorism."</s>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. Turkish officials had no immediate comment on the report which, if confirmed, would signal Turkey's action against Kurdish-aligned forces was being ratcheted up a notch. The Jarablus Military Council, a group that is part of the SDF, said jets hit positions near the strategic town of Jarablus. It reported civilian casualties and called the strike "a dangerous escalation". Early on Saturday, a Reuters witness in Karkamis, a Turkish town on the other side of the border from Syria's Jarablus, saw warplanes flying from Turkish air space into Syria and then heard several explosions. The identity of the planes was not clear. Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes entered Jarablus this week, seizing the frontier town that had been an Islamic State stronghold. The rebel force backed by Turkey were largely Arab and Turkmen. The Turkish campaign pre-empted action by Kurdish-backed forces which had sought to get to Jarablus first. But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials has made clear that the incursion is as much about pushing away Islamic State as it is about preventing Kurdish forces filling the void left as the Islamists withdraw. Turkey wants to stop Kurdish forces gaining control of a continuous stretch of territory along its southern border, which Ankara fears they could use to support the Kurdish militant group PKK that is fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil. The Jarablus Military Council said the village of al-Amarna, which lies a few km south of Jarablus, was hit. In response to the Turkish strike, it said: "If they do not attack our forces, then we will keep the border strip secure." The newly formed Jarablus Military Council has said it is made up by people from the area with the aim of capturing the town and the surrounding area from Islamic State militants. However, the Turkish-backed rebels seized Jarablus first. The Jarablus Military Council has aligned itself with the SDF, which encompasses several militias including Arabs and the Kurdish YPG group. The SDF is also backed by the United States, putting Ankara at odds with its NATO ally Washington in its engagement in Syria, where the multi-faceted conflict has raged for five years, creating complex rivalries and alliances. On Thursday, a day after Turkey began its cross-border offensive, Turkish troops fired on U.S.-backed YPG forces, which is part of the SDF. Turkey's state news agency described that salvo as warning shots. The use of Turkish warplanes against an SDF-aligned group would point to tougher action. A Reuters witness in Karkamis heard blasts and smoke rising from the nearby Syrian village of Kivircik. Several militias under the SDF banner pledged support to Jarablus Military Council after it reported the Turkish bombing. The Northern Sun Battalion, an SDF faction, said in a statement it was heading to "Jarablus fronts" to help the council against "threats made by factions belonging to Turkey". Tension has mounted in the past year between the Kurdish YPG force and its allies on one hand and Turkish-backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad on the other, in the Aleppo region. The two sides have clashed on several occasions. (Additional reporting by Ece Toksabey and Orhan Coskun in Ankara; writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Mark Heinrich)</s>KARKAMIS, Turkey — Turkey sent more tanks into northern Syria on Thursday and demanded Kurdish militia fighters retreat within a week as it seeks to secure the border region and drive back the Daesh terror group with its first major incursion into its neighbour. Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes on Wednesday entered Jarablus, one of Daesh’s last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border. Gunfire and explosions echoed around hills in the region on Thursday. Some of the blasts were triggered as Turkish security forces cleared mines and booby traps left by retreating Daesh militants, according to Nuh Kocaaslan, the mayor of Karkamis, which sits just across the border from Jarablus. Three Syrian rebels were killed during the operation to take Jarablus, one of them when he opened the door of a house rigged with explosives, Kocaaslan told reporters. There were no casualties among the Turkish troops. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and senior government officials have made clear the aim of “Operation Euphrates Shield” is as much about stopping the Kurdish YPG militia seizing territory and filling the void left by Daesh as about eliminating the radical group itself. Turkey, which has NATO’s second biggest armed forces, demanded that the YPG retreat to the east side of the Euphrates River within a week. The Kurdish militia had moved west of the river earlier this month as part of a US-backed operation, now completed, to capture the city of Manbij from Daesh. Ankara views the YPG as a threat because of its close links to Kurdish militants waging a three-decade-old insurgency on its own soil. It has been alarmed by the YPG’s gains in northern Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, fearing it could extend Kurdish control along Turkish borders and fuel the ambitions of Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. Turkey’s stance has put it at odds with Washington, which sees the YPG as a rare reliable ally on the ground in Syria, where Washington is trying to defeat Daesh while also opposing President Bashar Assad’s government in a complex, multi-sided five-year-old civil war. The Syrian Kurdish force is one of the most powerful militias in Syria and regarded as the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance formed last October to fight Daesh. Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said preventing the Kurdish PYD Party — the political arm of the YPG — from uniting Kurdish cantons east of Jarablus with those further west was a priority. “Daesh should be completely cleansed, this is an absolute must. But it’s not enough for us.... The PYD and the YPG militia should not replace Islamic State [Daesh] there,” Isik told Turkish broadcaster NTV. “The PYD’s biggest dream is to unify the western and eastern cantons. We cannot let this happen,” he said. US 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. A spokesman for the US-led coalition against Daesh also said the SDF had withdrawn across the Euphrates, doing so “to prepare for the eventual liberation” of Raqqa, the radical group’s stronghold in northern Syria, which is to the east. Isik said the retreat was not yet complete and Washington had given assurances that this would happen in the next week. “We are closely following this... If the PYD does not retreat to east of the Euphrates, we have the right to do everything about it,” he said. The offensive is Turkey’s first major military operation since a failed July 15 coup shook confidence in its ability to step up the fight against Daesh. It came four days after a suicide bomber suspected of links to the group killed 54 people at a wedding in the southeastern city of Gaziantep. US Vice President Joe Biden, who met Erdogan during a trip to Turkey on Wednesday, said Turkey was ready to stay in Syria for as long as it takes to destroy the radical Islamist group. “I think there has been a gradual mind shift... in Turkey, with the realisation that ISIL [Daesh] is an existential threat to Turkey,” he told reporters during a visit to Sweden. A Turkish official said the ground incursion had been in the works for more than two years but had been delayed by US reservations, resistance from some Turkish commanders, and a stand-off with Russia which had made air cover impossible. Turkey had made the case more strongly to Washington over the past few months, had patched up relations with Russia, and had removed some of the Turkish commanders from their posts after finding they were involved in the coup attempt, paving the way for the operation to go ahead, the official said. The incursion comes at a testing time for Turkish-US relations. Erdogan wants the United States to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for 17 years and whose religious movement Turkey blames for staging last month’s failed coup. Washington says it needs clear evidence of Gulen’s involvement and that it is a matter for the courts, a position that has sparked an outpouring of anti-Americanism from Turkey’s pro-government media. Gulen denies any role in the coup attempt. The sound of gunfire, audible from a hill on the Turkish side of the border overlooking Jarablus, rang out early on Thursday and a plume of black smoke rose over the town. Warplanes flew overhead. A senior Turkish official said there were now more than 20 Turkish tanks inside Syria and that additional tanks and construction machinery would be sent in as required. A Reuters witness saw at least nine tanks enter on Thursday, and 10 more were waiting outside a military outpost on the Turkish side. “We need construction machinery to open up roads... and we may need more in the days ahead. We also have armoured personnel carriers that could be used on the Syrian side. We may put them into service as needed,” the official said. Erdogan said on Wednesday that Daesh had been driven out of Jarablus and that it was now controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, who are largely Arab and Turkmen. “The myth that the YPG is the only effective force fighting Daesh has collapsed,” Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter, reflecting Turkish frustration at how closely Washington has been working with the Kurdish militia. Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish PYD, said on Wednesday that Turkey was entering a “quagmire” in Syria and faced defeat there like Daesh. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the YPG, said the intervention was a “blatant aggression in Syrian internal affairs”. After seizing Jarablus, the Turkish-backed rebels have advanced up to 10km south of the border town, rebel sources and a group monitoring the war said. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said Kurdish-backed forces opposed by Ankara had gained up to 8km of ground northwards, apparently seeking to pre-empt advances by the rebels.</s>Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yidirim on Friday denounced as a "bare-faced lie" suggestions in Western media that Ankara's military operation in Syria was singling out Kurdish people rather than jihadists. "They either know nothing about the world, or else their job is to report a bare-faced lie," Yildirim snarled when asked to comment on claims the operation was not targeting Islamic State (IS) jihadists but Kurds. He had been asked to respond to an article in German weekly Der Spiegel -- which frequently riles the Turkish authorities -- with the headline "Turkey's Syria operation -- IS is the pretext, the Kurds the target". Yildirim said: "Our soldiers' mission is to ensure our border security and the life and property of our citizens. The news apart from that is just a lie." "You tell lies that Turkey is weak in the fight against ISIS (IS) but when we save innocent lives from ISIS you go and write this," he fumed. Ankara has said it will act in the operation against the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People's Protection Units (YPG) militia who it accuses of seeking to carve out an autonomous region in northern Syria. Turkey regards the organisations as terror groups who represent neither the Kurdish nor the Syrian people. The YPG are allies of the United States in the fight against IS but Ankara argues this is a dangerous error.</s>Russia says a solution to Syria's 5 1/2-year-long war may be getting closer after relations improved with Turkey, a major backer of rebel groups fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "It's a very important moment," Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, said in an interview in Moscow Thursday. Turkey "is showing its interest in both the military and political sphere" in resolving the Syrian conflict and "when there's a constructive dialogue then of course it always helps the situation to develop in a positive way. It's a step in the right direction." Russia welcomes contact between Turkey and Iran as a "constructive contribution" to resolving the Syrian crisis, Zakharova said. "If we communicate with Turkey and Iran, why shouldn't Turkey and Iran talk to each other? Many in Washington don't like it, but it's an important element" in diplomatic discussions, she said. The thawing of relations between Russia and Turkey is taking place as the government in Ankara carries out its biggest military operation in Syria. Turkey is seeking to drive Islamic State militants away from its border and deter advances by Kurds allied with Turkish separatists. 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. A softening in Turkey's insistence on Assad's departure in any settlement of the war has narrowed differences with Russia, which has conducted air strikes in support of the Syrian leader since September. Turkey has also reached out to Iran, Assad's other main supporter. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara a few days after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg this month to repair relations that had been plunged into crisis when Turkey shot down a Russian military jet near the border with Syria in November. Russia "sees potential for it and Turkey and Iran to reach a compromise," said Irina Zvagelskaya, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Oriental Studies. "For Turkey, the only red line is the Kurds." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will discuss efforts to coordinate actions against terrorists in Syria when they meet in Geneva on Friday, Zakharova said. Russia and the U.S. have tried unsuccessfully so far to reach agreement on synchronizing air strikes against militants in Syria, a move that could revive efforts to end a war in which more than 280,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled to neighboring countries and Europe. "If we consider the Syrian settlement to be important then this is key -- it's a cornerstone of what is happening there" because "we need to destroy the terrorists," Zakharova said before leaving with Lavrov for Geneva. The U.S. targets "terrorists where there are no opposition members shielding them. Where they are being shielded under Washington's direction we have a problem." A "terrorist center remains" in these areas of Syria and "no one can deal with it because so-called moderate opposition groups are there," Zakharova said. The Turkish offensive aims to push Islamic State deeper into Syria and create a buffer zone against the Syrian Kurds if they attempt to move northward toward the border. It has produced a rare degree of unity between the U.S., Russia and Turkey, with a Russian Foreign Ministry official calling the action "timely," while the U.S. extended its cooperation. The U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds have been seeking to link enclaves they control by seizing major villages and towns from Islamic State along the border with Turkey. That alarmed Ankara, which fears the campaign will encourage restive Kurds in its east. Russia may have agreed not to object to a limited Turkish incursion into Syria in return for Turkey being more cooperative on a political settlement with Assad, according to Dmitri Trenin, head of the Carnegie Moscow Center. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said last week that a transition with Assad still in power is possible and he called the confrontation over the downed Russian warplane an "unnecessary crisis." Yildirim on Wednesday said Turkey will increase cooperation with Iran on Syria and fighting Turkish separatist Kurds. Demands for Assad to step down are unacceptable and "there can't be any preconditions in fighting against terrorism," Zakharova said. The presidency "is an important key to maintaining a strong fight against terrorists on the ground" in Syria, she said.	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).
</s>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/</s>There is hope for the big players in the mining industry, amid the crackdown launched by Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez versus irresponsible mining operations, with over 100 new projects being reviewed by the Duterte administration. In fact, Environment Undersecretary Mario Luis J. Jacinto said the ongoing mining audit—first thought to be Lopez’s way of curbing mining operations in the country—will eventually benefit large-scale miners who responsibly do business in the Philippines. Jacinto said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is now reviewing more than 100 mining applications that were put on hold by the Aquino administration. “We will, on the basis of existing operations, submit our policy recommendations and the directions to take [on the review of new applications]. On the basis of that, then a review of the permitting processes will have to be undertaken and then deliberate decision on how to proceed with it; what is allowed, what should be restricted will be put in place,” he said. In 2012 then-President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Executive Order (EO) 79 effectively putting on hold the processing of new mining projects until a new revenue-sharing measure has been put in place by Congress. “We have rich mineral resources, we have large ecosystem, so it is a fragile ecosystem. We have resources that are God-given, so we must make very deliberate decisions on how to best utilize them. And what will be the best land uses for all the areas,” Jacinto added. The applications for exploration, transport, export and all other mining-related permits including agreements, already reached “hundreds” since the moratorium was imposed, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official said. “We are now doing the assessment; we are waiting for the results of the audit first then we can take it from there,” Jacinto added. The government, through the DENR-MGB, is doing an audit on all mining operations in the country, which already led to the suspension of 10 large-scale mines. “We now expect to get the comments in the audit and the recommendations and then it should turn out to be a good jump-off point for industry monitoring,” Jacinto said. Data from Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) showed that the mining sector could infuse around $20 billion to $30 billion to the economy over the next five to 10 years with the inclusion of new projects. The group’s latest breakdown showed that the combined mining investments expected this year stands at $2.25 billion. The country is also anticipating projects with a combined value of $6 billion in 2017. In 2018 mining investments are expected to go as high as $14.75 billion. This year, the projects that are expected to be operational are those of Asiaticus Mining Corp. in Davao Oriental and Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. in Palawan. To be followed by Philex Mining Corp.’s Silangan project in Surigao del Norte, Nadecor’s Kingking project in Davao del Norte, the Balabag Gold-Silver project of TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., which are all expected to take off in 2017. In 2018 projects targeted for operation are the Tampakan Mine development of Sagitarius Mines in South Cotobato, the project of Intex Resources in Mindoro, the Masbate gold project of Philsaga Mining Corp., the nickel-mine project of San Miguel Corp., through Philnico in Surigao del Sur, and the Balatoc Mines project of Benguet Corp. As of now, the sole project expected in 2019 is the Far South East Gold project of Lepanto Mning Corp. in Benguet. Jacinto advised investors to make sure that they are compliant before investing in mining in the Philippines. “If you put in that kind of investment, then you also make sure that you are compliant. Because it is useless if you put that kind of investment and you are not compliant,” he said. There are four considerations for mining operations to continue in the Philippines under the Duterte administration, he said. “It should be technically feasible; it will be environmentally compliant, socially acceptable and financially viable. Any of the imperatives absent, then it means it is not time to mine,” he added. He said there are companies that existed for almost half a century and they have complied with the highest standard of mining, which other mining companies can emulate. The mining audit, he said, will be completed by the end of the month. The DENR chief, he said, will always have the final say whether a mining operation should continue or stop, based on the new mining audit criteria. Jacinto represented President Duterte in the ongoing Mining Philippines 2016 Conference and Exhibition in Pasay City. During his speech, Jacinto said, while news headlines over the past weeks highlighted alleged environmental violations of miners, suspensions of mining operations and show-cause orders, he sees the audit as “a blessing in disguise to responsible miners who have religiously followed and are compliant of mining and environmental laws, rules and regulations.” “Those who have clearly violated the terms and conditions of their contracts; taken shortcuts; largely ignored the adverse impact of their operations to their host communities; polluted waterways so essential to the productivity of farmers and fisherfolks; and threatened the very survival of people who should benefit from mining from these economic activities are the ones who have to face sanctions for their irresponsible acts,” he said. Jacinto’s remark referring to COMP participants as “responsible miners” receive loud applause from conference participants. “It was an excellent speech,” said Jose Leviste, president of OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. COMP Vice President for Legal and Policy Ronald Recidoro said apparently, “Jacinto knows the language of responsible miners.” COMP President Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez remains optimistic of the prospects of responsible miners under the Duterte administration. Romualdez, the president of Benguet Corp., assured Jacinto that the COMP will follow the law, and we will engage in responsible mining, using only the best practice available to ensure that our host communities and the environment will thrive under our care. “We are not afraid of the ongoing audit of the DENR. We welcome it! We welcome this purging of illegal and noncompliant mining operations. We have always operated under some of the strictest laws and we believe that if you cannot obey these laws, you should not be in this industry,” he said. However, he said the mining industry does not need a new law, adding that the existing mining law is one of the best in the world today, because it already integrates stringent rules on the environment and caring for the local communities. “What is needed is strict and fair enforcement of a stable policy regime that promotes the long term stewardship of our environment and natural resources,” he said. He said COMP has always maintained the highest standard of professionalism in the conduct of business. “As a highly regulated industry, we seriously follow the Mining Act and all regulatory rules of the DENR.” Romualdez said of the 21 member-companies of the COMP currently operating today, 17 have already secured ISO 14001 certification for their environmental management systems.</s>What do surging LME copper stocks say about China? Andy Home LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A wave of copper is currently washing up in London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses. Arrivals of metal have totalled 73,325 tonnes this week, lifting headline exchange inventory to 271,575 tonnes, the highest level since October last year. There's no big mystery as to where this metal is coming from. Surging arrivals at LME sheds in Singapore and South Korea have broadly corresponded to export flows out of China. And in part this is no more than a continuation of the stocks rebalancing that has been playing out for several months, a refilling of a depleted LME system from high inventories in China that accumulated earlier this year. But unlike the mini surge of LME arrivals in early June, there is no obvious bull-bear battle being waged across the front part of the London copper curve. If no-one is being forced to deliver metal against a short position, the alternative explanation would be that this is China pushing out surplus. If so, it would mean that copper oversupply, already clear to see at the raw materials stage of the supply chain, is finally starting to take manifest form in the refined metal arena. It's not unusual for LME copper stocks to trend higher during the dog-days of northern hemisphere summer as manufacturing activity drops a gear. And, conforming with that pattern, warranting of metal has taken place at a wide variety of LME good delivery points, including Hull in Britain, Bilbao in Spain and several U.S. locations. But the real stand-out has been the accelerated flows at Singapore, which has received almost 95,000 tonnes since the start of June, and South Korea, which has taken in 103,000 tonnes. Both countries have also featured prominently in China's export profile over the same period of time. Customs data shows exports of 89,000 tonnes to Singapore and 76,000 tonnes to South Korea since March, when China's exports first started accelerating. Between them Singapore and South Korea have accounted for almost 60 percent of all outbound flows. The correspondence between Chinese exports and LME arrivals isn't perfect (see the chart above) but the broad picture is one of metal leaving China and turning up in the most easily shippable LME locations. The question is whether this metal is being pushed or pulled. A mini-surge of copper arrivals in the LME system in early June bore all the hallmarks of a distress delivery by a short position holder facing a cash-date squeeze. What's noticeable about the current flood is that there is no similar tension in the LME spreads. True, the LME's market positioning reports show a dominant long holding between 50-80 percent of non-cancelled stocks and 40-50 percent of cash positions as of the close of business Wednesday. But ever since the bull-bear battle of early June the front part of the curve has been trading in benign contango. The cash-to-three months period traded as wide as $27 per tonne backwardation in late May. As of Thursday's close it was valued at $9 per tonne contango. The very front part of the curve, between cash and the September prime prompt on the 21st of the month has tightened up a little over the last couple of days but is still only quoted at level. Any pull on extra units to alleviate LME spread stress is currently weak, in other words. That's not to say there is no gravitational pull at all, rather it has been coming in the form of incentives offered by LME warehouse operators in the Asian region. That particular magnet, however, only really works if the incentives are competitive in terms of physical premiums, first and foremost in China itself. Which it seems they are. Premiums for delivery to China are trading at a soggy $45-50 per tonne over LME cash prices, according to LME broker Triland Metals. To put that figure into context, remember that Chilean producer Codelco's "benchmark" premium covering 2016 shipments to China was set at $98 per tonne. Nor is there any obvious indication of tightness within the mainland market, Triland again noting that the domestic premium structure is largely flat against front-month Shanghai Futures Exchange contracts. All of which tells us that the Chinese market right now seems very comfortably supplied, if not oversupplied, with physical refined copper units. To the point that LME warehouse operators can probably match if not better Chinese premiums, stimulating a physical arbitrage. So who is actually moving the material? Some of it seems to be coming from Chinese smelters themselves, or at least the handful that have clearance to export without paying the export duty. Modest exports to countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh have no obvious LME arbitrage significance since none of them host LME warehouses. But there is almost certainly a second stream of exports being shipped by merchants from China's bonded warehouse zones. Or maybe that should read "re-exports". Copper in bonded warehouses has not yet been subject to China's VAT and can turn around and head back out without any tax penalty, albeit showing up in the customs figures as bona fide "exports". So if China is pushing out surplus copper, or at least exerting a lesser magnetic pull than that offered by LME warehousers, what does it say about the health or otherwise of Chinese demand? Not as much as you might think. China's apparent consumption, a back-of-the-envelope calculation factoring in production, imports and visible stocks movements, jumped by 11 percent in the first half of this year. Not even the most exuberant bull would argue that real consumption growth was anywhere near that level. The spectrum of estimates is a wide one but the middle ground would be around three percent. The implication is that there has been significant stocks build, possibly on the mainland, possibly in bonded warehouses and most probably a combination of the two. China, in other words, is full of copper. And getting fuller, because the other dimension to this mass stocks relocation is China's own production of refined metal, up almost 10 percent in July and up by around eight percent over the year to date. That of course is a reflection of the oversupply in the raw materials market and the subsequent flow of concentrates into what is the world's largest smelting and refining base. Imports of concentrate have surged by 35 percent so far this year with the pace accelerating steadily over the last few months. The tension between this domestic production surge and the strength of import demand was ratcheted up over the first part of this year. We're now seeing it resolved in the form of higher exports and rising LME inventories. It is starting to look as if the copper surplus, so obvious in the concentrates market and yet so elusive in the refined market, is now finally taking concrete form in LME sheds in Singapore and South Korea.	Miners in the Philippines criticize the government after a crackdown on mining closed more nickel and copper mines.
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. As rescuers sifted through collapsed masonry in the search for survivors, questions mounted as to why there had been so many deaths so soon after the 2009 L'Aquila disaster, exposing Italy's vulnerability to earthquakes. "In Amatrice alone we are already over 200 deaths," said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of one of the worst-affected villages, suggesting the total number of victims could rise significantly. Amatrice normally has a population of around 2,500 but it was packed with visitors when the quake struck as people slept in the early hours of Wednesday. The fate of 28 of 32 guests staying in the village's Hotel Roma was still unclear. The Red Cross began shipping in food and water supplies for homeless residents. Among those who came to pick up emergency provisions were Maria Atrimala, 48, and her 15-year-old daughter. "We escaped by pure luck, the stairs of the house held and we ran, blindly in the dark and dust," she said with tears rolling down her face. "When we got out we could hear the cries of people still trapped and we helped those we could. "We were in L'Aquila when the earthquake struck there, and now this. We have friends, relatives that didn't make it. What the future holds I don't know." Sorry, this video has expired Video: Drone footage shows Amatrice earthquake devastation (ABC News) 'Nothing has ever been done' Although rescue workers were pessimistic about the chance of finding any more survivors, officials stressed that the last survivor in nearby L'Aquila in the 2009 quake was pulled from the rubble some 72 hours after it struck. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was chairing an emergency cabinet meeting on the crisis. "The objective is to rebuild and start again," he said, vowing lessons would be learned from L'Aquila, which still bears huge scars from the 2009 quake that left 300 people dead. After L'Aquila, the Civil Protection agency made almost 1 billion euros available for upgrading buildings in seismically-vulnerable areas. But the take-up of grants has been low, largely because of the cumbersome application process, according to critics. "Here in the middle of a seismic zone, nothing has ever been done," said Dario Nanni of the Italian Council of Architects. "It does not cost that much more when renovating a building to make it comply with earthquake standards. But less than 20 per cent of buildings do." Mr Nanni said the quake's impact had been increased by the widespread use of cement rather than wood beams. "These indestructible beams hit walls like a hammer and that is what made so many (houses) collapse." One building which was supposed to be quake-proof was the Romolo Capranica school in Amatrice, which collapsed on Wednesday. That was in sharp contrast to the oldest building in the town, the 13th-century Civic Tower, which was still standing Thursday, despite having been shaken sufficiently to detach its bell. The bell tower in nearby Accumoli did collapse, onto a quake-proofed house next door, killing a couple and their two toddlers. Local mayor Stefano Petrucci denied there had been negligence in the maintenance of the tower. "I don't want to get into a row about that now, we are already suffering too much," he said. AFP Topics: earthquake, italy First posted</s>CLOSE Rescuers cheered when the 10-year-old girl was safely pulled from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto. USA TODAY NETWORK Rescuers clear debris while searching for earthquake victims in damaged buildings on Aug. 24, in Arquata del Tronto, Italy. (Photo: Getty Images) AMATRICE, Italy — Work crews digging through rubble in quake-ravaged mountainous towns in central Italy found more bodies Thursday, bringing the death toll to at least 267. But they also found rare moments of joy when their frenzied, round-the-clock excavation freed survivors still trapped for more than a day beneath tons of rock and metal. “We just pulled a woman from the rubble," said Claudio Catanese, 32, a fireman and volunteer rescuer working in the hard hit town of Amatrice. "She was in good health, feeling fine, and just thirsty and hungry after 36 hours under rocks and dust. The first thing she did was ask for a glass of water." He said the work, nonstop, is hard, but critical. "You don’t sleep and your muscles hurt," Catanese said. "But when you save someone’s life, it fills you with new energy. There’s a great satisfaction in that." In Pescara del Tronto, firefighters plucked an 10-year-old girl named Giorgia from the rubble where she had been trapped for 16 hours. Rescuers said they were able to locate the area of Giorgia's room and started digging until they reached her. They also found the body of her sister, who was lying next to her, Italian news agency ANSA reported. Italy’s civil protection agency said early Thursday that at least 250 people were killed and at least 365 others hospitalized. A Spaniard and five Romanians were among the dead, according to their governments. If the death toll tops 300 it will be the deadliest earthquake in modern Italian history, surpassing the total from the 2009 quake in L’Aquilla. Most of the victims — 184 — were found in Amatrice, a picturesque medieval town of around 3,000 people. The 6.2-magnitude quake struck at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, sending tons of stone walls on many victims while they were sleeping. But rescue workers and civil protection officials said the death toll would have been worse if it hit during the day when many of the public buildings destroyed were occupied. In Amatrice, some people whose houses were built on a slant were especially lucky. They awoke from their sleep unscathed to find the outside wall of their building collapsed outward. "They've told us for years we should make our houses anti-seismic," said Gloria Nardo, 69, of Amatrice. "But how do you retrofit a brick house built in 1750? It's almost all gone now." The search efforts are focused around the isolated hilltop communities of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto where sniffer dogs, firefighters and paramedics were desperately searching for signs of life amid huge chunks of rock, cement and metal from collapsed homes and buildings. Thousands of rescuers are using heavy lifting equipment to sift through the rubble but many are also using their bare hands. At least one major bridge leading to Amatrice was compromised by the temblor and unable to support the weight of the heavy equipment needed to move big pieces of rock or walls. But volunteers were able to reinforce the bridge enough for the equipment to move within about 12 hours of the quake. One rescue operation was mounted at the Hotel Roma in Amatrice, where an annual spaghetti festival was scheduled this weekend to honor the town's signature bacon and tomato pasta sauce. Amatrice’s mayor initially said 70 guests were in the collapsed hotel, but rescue workers later cut the estimate in half after the owner said most guests had managed to escape. Firefighters’ spokesman Luca Cari said one body had been pulled out of the hotel just before dawn after five others were extracted earlier but searches continued there and elsewhere. CLOSE A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the center of Italy in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Before and after photos reveal the devastation. 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. Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited the quake-affected area Wednesday. He vowed to rebuild “and guarantee a reconstruction that will allow residents to live in these communities, to relaunch these beautiful towns that have a wonderful past that will never end.” Italy's civil protection agency said the first estimate for damage is about $11 billion. The nation’s culture ministry decreed that proceeds from public museums across Italy on Sunday will be dedicated to helping restore damaged buildings in the quake zone, the Associated Press reported. Several churches and other medieval-era buildings were damaged or destroyed. In a statement Thursday, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini urged Italians to go out in force Sunday to visit museums and Italy’s numerous archaeological sites “in a concrete sign of solidarity” with quake victims. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2bXODXW</s></s>Gain a global perspective on the US and go beyond with curated news and analysis from 600 journalists in 50+ countries covering politics, business, innovation, trends and more.</s>Rescuers search for survivors in Italy after earthquake</s>The death toll from the powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy on Wednesday has climbed to at least 247. 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. IMAGE: A man is rescued alive from the ruins following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters Rescuers were working through the night to pull survivors from the rubble and “won’t slow down”, Curcio told public broadcaster Rai. The quake also left a trail of destruction across several mountain villages packed with holidaymakers. Renzi said the disaster had caused “a pain without limits”, and insisted it was too early to begin a debate on what might have been done to prevent the disaster. “Today is the time for tears and emotion,” he said. IMAGE: A general view of Pescara del Tronto town destroyed by the earthquake. Photograph: Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images The earthquake flattened the town of Amatrice, where the mayor said residents were buried under debris and the town “isn’t here anymore.” The town traces back centuries, to the Roman era. Tourist Eve Read described what she felt. “My husband and I woke up, being shaken from side to side in the bed…and probably continued for 6 or 7 seconds after we had woken up,” Read said. Read and her family were not hurt, but their vacation home did suffer some damage, including a collapsed ceiling. IMAGE: A man walks through rubble following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. Photograph: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters A ten-year-old girl was pulled from the rubble after spending 17 hours trapped upside down in debris from the Italian earthquake. The child was hauled to safety by rescuers who shouted ‘she's alive’ as they carried her from the ruins of a building in the devastated central Italian town of Pescara del Tronto. Footage shows just the dust-covered legs of the youngster as emergency crews tried desperately to free her from the rubble. IMAGE: Rescuers walk through rubble following the earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. Photograph: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters One rescuer could be heard saying: “You can hear something under here. Quiet, quiet.” He then urged the child to wriggle free one rescue worker said: “Come on, Giulia, come on, Giulia. ... Watch your head.” Cheers broke out when she was pulled out. IMAGE: People cover themselves with blankets as they prepare to spend the night in the open following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy. Photograph: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters Chefs in Italy and around the world are using their talents, and Amatrice's signature dish, to help raise money for earthquake victims. Before Wednesday’s devastating, 6.2 magnitude earthquake, the Italian town was best known for spaghetti all Amatriciana, a tomato-based sauce that traditionally includes pork jowl, olive oil, white wine, chili and pecorino cheese. More than 600 restaurants are putting the pasta dish on their menus and have pledged to donate €2 (Rs 151) from each sale to the Italian Red Cross. IMAGE: A statue of the Virgin Lady stands outside a destroyed niche following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy. Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters Art experts fear numerous historic Italian buildings and their contents were damaged in Wednesday’s earthquake, across a region where almost every hilltop town and village has beautiful churches and monuments. The Dutch classicist David Rijser, an expert on the culture of Abruzzo, said there had been damage to the central region’s many churches, funeral monuments and museums. “It has been a true drama, there is a lot that has been lost,” he told Dutch radio. IMAGE: escuers clear debris while searching for victims in damaged buildings in Arquata del Tronto, Italy. Photograph: Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images Some of the greatest destruction was in Amatrice, which was voted one of Italy’s most beautiful towns last year and is celebrated for its Cento Chiese, 100 churches filled with frescoes, mosaics and sculptures. Half the facade of the 15th-century church of Sant Agostino has collapsed, taking with it the beautiful rose window. The courtyard of one of the town’s Renaissance palaces has been turned into a temporary morgue. The town clock in the 16th-century bell tower remains frozen at just after 3.36 am, the moment the earthquake struck.</s>AMATRICE, Italy—The death toll from a devastating earthquake in central Italy climbed to at least 250 on Thursday and could rise further with rescue teams working for a second day to try to find survivors under the rubble of flattened towns. The 6.2 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities 85 miles east of Rome early on Wednesday as people slept, destroying hundreds of homes. An army of emergency workers using sniffer dogs clambered over piles of debris trying to find anyone still buried beneath, while cranes removed huge slabs of fallen masonry and trucks full of rubble left the area every few minutes. On Thursday afternoon a violent aftershock measuring magnitude 4.3 sent rescuers fleeing from debris and stones that fell from the severely damaged bell tower of the 15th century church of St. Augustine in Amatrice. The jolt, which struck fear and panic in survivors, detached the church's facade, leaving it leaning dangerously over the main street where rescuers worked. The original earthquake was powerful enough to be felt in Bologna to the north and Naples to the south, both more than 135 miles from the epicenter. 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. That makes it harder to track the deaths. One Spaniard, five Romanians, and a number of other foreigners, some of them caregivers for the elderly, were believed to be among the dead, officials said. Aerial video taken by drones showed swathes of Amatrice, last year voted one of Italy's most beautiful historic towns, completely flattened. The town, known across Italy and beyond for a local pasta dish, had been filling up for the 50th edition of a popular food festival this weekend. The mayor said the bodies of 15-20 tourists were believed to be under the rubble of the town's Hotel Roma, which he said had about 32 guests when it collapsed on Wednesday morning. 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. Rescuers working with emergency lighting in the darkness overnight saved a 10-year-old girl, pulling her alive from the rubble where she had lain for about 15 hours. Many other children were not so lucky. A family of four, including two boys aged eight months and nine years, were buried when a church bell tower toppled into their house in nearby Accumoli. Local magistrates opened an investigation into whether there had been any negligence over the recently restored tower. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's cabinet was meeting on Thursday to decide emergency measures to help the affected communities. "Today is a day for tears, tomorrow we can talk of reconstruction," he told reporters late on Wednesday. The death toll appeared likely to rival or even surpass that from the last major earthquake to strike Italy, which killed more than 300 people in the central city of L'Aquila in 2009. While hopes of finding more people alive diminished by the hour, firefighters' spokesman Luca Cari recalled that survivors were found in L'Aquila up to 72 hours after that quake. Most of the damage was in the Lazio and Marche regions, with Lazio bearing the brunt of the devastation and the biggest toll. Neighbouring Umbria was also affected. All three regions are dotted with centuries-old buildings susceptible to earthquakes. Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. The country's most deadly earthquake since the start of the 20th century came in 1908, when an earthquake followed by a tsunami killed an estimated 80,000 people in the southern regions of Reggio Calabria and Sicily.	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.
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. No further details were provided. Earlier Thursday, police revealed that three people are dead, all of whom were found with apparent crossbow injuries, in the Scarborough area of Toronto on Thursday afternoon. A source with knowledge of the investigation said it's believed all three deceased are related, CBC News has learned. Police said the bodies of two men and a woman were found in a garage. Two people were found with no vital signs, and one person died after officers arrived, police confirmed. Toronto police were investigating a suspicious package on Queens Quay they say is linked to a deadly crime scene in Scarborough. (Marjorie April/CBC) "We have a lot of work to do," Det. Sgt. Mike Carbone said four hours into the police investigation. "We still have a ways to go." The identities of the victims are not being released until next of kin are notified, Carbone said. Paramedics said another man was taken to hospital with injuries that were not serious. "He was another victim," spokesman Evert Steenge revealed. Police have also confirmed that a 35-year-old male suspect, who has injuries, is being held in custody. Three people are dead, including at least one who was found with an apparent crossbow injury in Scarborough. 0:24 Police responded to a report of a stabbing at around 1 p.m. ET on Lawndale Road near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East, Const. David Hopkinson told CBC News. "Indications were that [a] person had been stabbed — their injuries were fairly serious," Hopkinson said. "When officers arrived, they found that person and two others suffering from injuries from what we believe to be a crossbow bolt." Police said a crossbow was found on the floor of the garage. "We don't have any idea with regards to why this may have happened," said Hopkinson. Scarborough crossbow deaths scene through neighbour's backyard <a href="https://t.co/2a0CtAYQpT">pic.twitter.com/2a0CtAYQpT</a> —@trevorjdunn Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said there were other "things" found in the area that could have been used as weapons. Neighbour Jerome Cruz told CBC News that he heard screams before things went silent and said it sounded like a fight in the garage. "It was going on for about five minutes — the screaming," he explained. "After that, all quiet." Cruz said he's lived in the area for the past two years and said the people who reside in the house where the incident took place are normally "very quiet." Neighbour near crossbow attack heard screams, then silence. <a href="https://t.co/1RwalICnsZ">pic.twitter.com/1RwalICnsZ</a> —@trevorjdunn "It was very strange to hear a big noise and screaming," Cruz said. "We are looking to speak to anyone that may have information," Hopkinson said. Nearby streets, including Knowlton Drive, Lockleven Drive and Glenda Road, are closed and the police homicide unit has taken over the investigation. A bolt is a crossbow projectile that is under 40.6 centimetres (16 inches) in length, according to A bolt is a crossbow projectile that is under 40.6 centimetres (16 inches) in length, according to Phillip Bednar of TenPoint Crossbow Technologies , adding that anything longer is considered an arrow. Dale Lounsbury, who sells crossbows at a sporting goods store in Waterloo, Ont., and owns one himself, said they can be dangerous due to their power and accuracy, but they are not suited to firing multiple shots in quick succession. "I can probably fire two shots a minute, maybe three," Lounsbury said. Unlike guns, no licence is required to buy or own a crossbow. Toronto Police on Lawndale Rd in Scarborough. 3 people dead. <a href="https://t.co/yiaoPxdoEf">pic.twitter.com/yiaoPxdoEf</a> —@trevorjdunn This isn't the first time a person has been killed by a crossbow bolt in the city. In December 2010, a man fired a bolt into his father's back at a Toronto Public Library branch before crushing the 52-year-old man's skull with a hammer. Zhou Fang was charged with first-degree murder but accepted a plea for second-degree murder after it was revealed that he was the victim of long-term abuse by his father. Fang, then 26, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012.</s>Jerome Cruz was gardening in the backyard when suddenly he heard a man “screaming and banging” at a neighbouring house. At the time, the 69-year-old had no idea three people were being brutally slain with a crossbow bolt. Nor could he know that in a bizarre twist, the triple murder in Scarborough would end up being linked to a suspicious package found downtown. “It was angry screaming,” Cruz recalled Thursday from his yard, which backs onto the yard of the Lawndale Rd. home where the murders unfolded. “It went on for about five minutes and then I heard another man trying to calm him down. He was saying, ‘Calm down, be quiet.’” With his view blocked by a shed, Cruz was unable to see the two men. But soon after he caught a glimpse of a woman running along the driveway at the side of the house. Within a few minutes, it got deathly “quiet,” but Cruz just figured the commotion had ended peacefully. “I thought maybe the young man was drunk or something and now everything was OK,” he said. But when his neighbourhood was soon filled with the flashing lights of emergency crews, Cruz knew something bad had happened. Toronto Police say they initially received a 911 call around 1 p.m. for a man bleeding heavily from a suspected stab wound on the residential street near Markham and Kingston Rds. “When our officers from 43 Division arrived, they found the lifeless bodies of three individuals,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone said at the scene. “They also took one person into custody.” A fourth victim was taken to hospital, he added. Carbone refused to reveal if there was any sort of relationship between those involved. Toronto EMS confirmed two men and one woman were killed and the fourth victim suffered only minor injuries. Carbone also refused to comment on reports a crossbow or bolts, the arrows fired from a crossbow, were involved in the killings. However, in the immediate aftermath of the murders, police said the victims suffered what appeared to be fatal injuries from a crossbow bolt. Police couldn’t say Thursday night whether the bolts were fired from a crossbow or used like a knife to stab the victims. About 90 minutes after the triple murder, cops received a call for a suspicious package inside a condo at Queens Quay and Lower Simcoe St. that is thought to be tied to the attack. Traffic was shut down in the area and 218 Queens Quay was evacuated while bomb disposal officers were called in. “We have cleared the package and there is no threat to public safety,” Supt. Bill Neadles said. “Homicide detectives have now taken over the scene.” While it’s unclear what was contained within the package, Carbone confirmed the downtown incident was tied to the Scarborough murders. “I’m not going to discuss what was found at the scene other than to say there is a link between our scene here and the one down on the Queens Quay,” he said. Residents of the Scarborough neighbourhood were stunned by the mayhem that occurred in their community. “This is a quiet area ... I’m very surprised by this,” Ragu Sangaramoorthy, 41, said. The family man, who rents a basement apartment two doors down from where the victims were found, recalled having seen three children, maybe 7 to 13, and a woman possibly in her 50s coming and going from the home at times. “I’m very upset because I have two kids,” Sangaramoorthy said. Another resident, Sadiya Haque, said her sense of shock and fear is based partly on the many unanswered questions. When it comes to buying a crossbow in Toronto or across Canada, it turns out that bigger is better, legally speaking. According to the Canadian Firearms Program as published by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, crossbows with an overall length of 500 mm or less are prohibited across the country. However, the program states that no licence or registration is required for crossbows longer than 500 mm and that Criminal Code provisions making it an offence to acquire a crossbow without a valid licence were never brought into force. Here are more guidelines for crossbows, according to Paul Hunkin, from Al Flaherty’s Outdoor Store on Dufferin St. in Toronto: — You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase one. — Crossbows may not be fired anywhere inside the boundaries of the City of Toronto. Different types of crossbows that are available in stores: — There are only two types: Prohibited and non-prohibited. — Prohibited are crossbows that are 500 mm in length or smaller, which can be held and fired with one hand, similar to a handgun. — Both are classified as “firearms” for legal purposes. Locations where crossbows are sold and how much they cost: — Retailers such as Al Flaherty’s, Canadian Tire, Sail, and Bass Pro Shops all sell a wide range of crossbows. — Prices range from around $400 to well over $1,000. — Commonly used for a wide variety of hunting. — The crossbow hunting seasons do not overlap rifle and shotgun seasons and typically run for a longer period, making them popular among hunters. — Moose, deer, bears, and sometimes turkeys are hunted with crossbows. -- In December 2010, 24-year-old Zhou Fang shot his father in the back with a crossbow then crushed his skill with a hammer, at a public library in Toronto's east end. -- In July, a Mission, B.C., father was charged with attacking his son who was shot in the forearm with a crossbow. -- In November 2007, a 26-year-old man was charged with murder and attempted murder after his mother was killed and father was injured by a crossbow in St-Cesaire, Que. -- In October 2002, a dairy farmer was shot in the back and injured with a crossbow in St.-Bonaventure. -- In August 1998, a man asleep in his Hamilton home was shot in the head and injured by a man who fired a crossbow. -- In 1998, Edward Stuart Walker shot a pregnant Stephanie Celestine Thomas with a crossbow, then stabbed her 46 times in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island. -- In September 1994, Yvon Gosselin was driven to a gravel pit near Terrace, B.C., where he was killed with two bolts from a crossbow. -- In May 1995, a man armed with a crossbow entered the Winnipeg Convention Centre shortly before then-prime minister Jean Chretien arrived to deliver a speech. The suspect was arrested. -- In January 1993, B.C. Institute of Technology student Silvia Leung, 22, bled to death in the campus parking lot in Burnaby after being hit in the shoulder by a crossbow. -- In November 1991, Ottawa lawyer Patricia Allen was killed with a crossbow by her estranged husband Colin McGregor.</s>The assailant used bolts, a shorter and thicker version of an arrow, police spokesman Officer David Hopkinson said. A 35-year-old man at the scene was treated for injuries and taken into custody. Police did not say what his connection to the victims might be. The incident occurred about 1 p.m. in the Scarborough neighborhood. Officers responding to a call found all three victims dead. About 90 minutes later, authorities heard from an unidentified caller about the package, Hopkinson said. Police discovered the package in downtown Toronto, but said it is "no longer a threat." It's unclear whether it was destroyed.</s>Three people have been killed in an attack involving a crossbow in Toronto on Thursday. 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. Two men and a woman were pronounced dead. “We don’t have any idea with regards to why this may have happened,” said Hopkinson. CTV News, citing emergency services, said two other people were seriously injured. An undentified man, 35, was taken into custody, police said. Television footage showed police tape surrounding part of a residential street in Scarborough, a suburban area east of the city’s downtown area. In 2010, a man shot his father in the back with a crossbow in a Toronto public library before smashing his skull with a hammer. Zhou Fang, who had suffered domestic abuse, was convicted of a lesser charge of second-degree murder.</s>TORONTO (AP) — A 35-year-old Toronto man is facing murder charges in the deaths of three people suffering from what appeared to be crossbow wounds. Brett Ryan is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths that shocked a quiet residential neighborhood in the city's east end. The slayings were discovered on Thursday. Police found two men and one woman lying in the driveway suffering from serious wounds with a crossbow lying nearby. The names of the victims have not released but an autopsy is scheduled. Ryan is due to appear in court Friday morning. Police said there was a link between the crossbow scene and a suspicious package investigation in a condo on Toronto's waterfront. The condo was evacuated as police cordoned off the area but the package was later cleared.</s>Man charged after three die in Toronto crossbow attack -police TORONTO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Toronto police have charged a man with three counts of first-degree murder after three people were killed in a crossbow attack on a quiet suburban street, police in Canada's largest city said on Friday. Brett Ryan, 35, was slated to appear in court later on Friday, police said. Two men and a woman died at the house in the city's east end on Thursday. Police responding to a stabbing found the three bleeding on the driveway outside a nearby garage. One of the victims made a 911 call before dying, according to a local newspaper report, and the suspect was also wounded.</s>A Toronto bank robber known as the “fake beard bandit” was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after three people were killed in a crossbow attack in the city’s east end, police in Canada’s largest city said on Friday. Brett Ryan (35) who appeared in court briefly on Friday, was arrested in 2008 for committing robberies in disguise, police said. He was charged with more than a dozen counts of robbery and later convicted. Two men and a woman died in the driveway of a house on Thursday. One of the people who was killed made a 911 emergency call before dying, according to a local newspaper report, which said the suspect had also been wounded. The police have not offered a reason for the killings nor have they identified the victims. Property records showed that the house where the three were killed was in the name of Susan and William Ryan, 66 and 65 years old, respectively. William Ryan died last year, local media reported. Brett Ryan had previously lived at the same house as Susan and William Ryan, according to government records that indicated bankruptcy proceedings had been initiated for him in 2010. He was jailed for three years and nine months in the bank robbery cases, according to court records. Court records showed that Ryan now lives at a condominium building near Toronto’s waterfront. That building was evacuated by police on Thursday due to a suspicious package. They said the incident was related to the east end deaths, but gave no details. Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States and fewer homicides. Crossbows that can be aimed and fired with one hand and crossbows with an overall length of 0.5m (19.7 inches) or less are prohibited, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The latest three deaths bring Toronto’s homicide count for this year to 47. The city had 56 homicides for 2015. In comparison, Chicago, which is similar in population, had at least 480 homicides in 2015. Ryan’s lawyer declined to comment. Ryan’s next scheduled court appearance is September 2nd.</s>A 35-year-old man has been arrested after three people were killed in an attack involving a crossbow in Toronto's east end on Thursday. Police responding to a call about a stabbing found two men and a woman who appeared to have been injured by a crossbow bolt, spokesman David Hopkinson said. All were pronounced dead. 'We don't have any idea with regards to why this may have happened,' said Hopkinson. A police source told CTV News that two bodies were discovered in the garage at the Scarborough home and the third was found in a driveway. Police say the man who placed the call to 911 is one of the deceased. Two other people were seriously injured. A 35-year-old man has been taken into custody. There are reportedly no other suspects outstanding. Television footage showed police tape surrounding part of a residential street near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East, a suburban area east of the city's downtown area. Resident Jerome Cruz told CTV News Channel that he heard someone screaming for several minutes before everything went silent. He also heard a commotion and what sounded like 'banging' in his neighbor's backyard.</s>A 35-year-old Toronto man is facing murder charges in the deaths of three people suffering from what appeared to be crossbow wounds. Brett Ryan is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths that shocked a quiet residential neighborhood in the city's east end. 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. All three died at the scene, according to CBC News. The names of the victims have not released but an autopsy is scheduled. Ryan is due to appear in court Friday morning. Police said there was a link between the crossbow scene and a suspicious package investigation in a condo on Toronto's waterfront. However, officials would not say what the link was between the package and the attack. The condo was evacuated as police cordoned off the area but the package was later cleared. Ryan was arrested in 2008 in relation to 14 bank robberies committed throughout Toronto and Durham Region, CP24 Go reported. At the time he wore a fake beard as a disguise and was called the 'fake beard bandit' by officials. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2009. Ryan was also listed as living at the address of the crime scene when he filed for bankruptcy in 2010, City News reported. 'We don't have any idea with regards to why this may have happened,' police spokesman David Hopkinson said. A police source told CTV News that two bodies were discovered in the garage at the Scarborough home and the third was found in a driveway. Police say the man who placed the call to 911 is one of the deceased. There are reportedly no other suspects outstanding. Television footage showed police tape surrounding part of a residential street near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East, a suburban area east of the city's downtown area. Resident Jerome Cruz told CTV News Channel that he heard someone screaming for several minutes before everything went silent. He also heard a commotion and what sounded like 'banging' in his neighbor's backyard.</s>WINNIPEG — Police are investigating after a scary incident right outside their headquarters. It happened around 1:00pm Friday afternoon and forced the closure of Graham Avenue between Smith Street and Fort Street. Garry was also closed as a precaution, but all have since re-opened. “There were some concerns upon initial examination with respect to the nature of the package.” Police say there’s no indication this suspicious package is tied to one that exploded outside the Law Courts on Wednesday. “We are not, by any means, linking these two incidents at this point. Nothing has detonated. There’s been no explosion. There are no injuries.” The Bomb Unit evacuated some buildings, but police tape started to come down around 2:30pm. Witnesses on scene say the suspicious packaged appeared to be a laptop case.	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.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s Senate began the trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday after a lengthy impeachment process that has paralyzed the politics of Latin America’s largest nation and is expected to culminate in her removal from office next week. The secretary of the Federal Senate reads the opening of the process during a final session of debate and voting on suspended President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment trial in Brasilia, Brazil August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Thursday’s session, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, heard witnesses for and against Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, who is charged with breaking budget laws. The leftist leader, whose popularity has been hammered by a deep recession and immense corruption scandal since she won reelection in 2014, will appear before the 81 senators on Monday to defend herself. Her opponents are confident they have more than the 54 votes needed to convict her. Authorities prepared barriers to contain demonstrations outside Brazil’s modernistic Congress building, but virtually no Rousseff supporters turned out, underscoring the isolation of the impeached president. 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. Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla, is charged with spending without congressional approval and manipulating government accounts to mask the extent of Brazil’s growing deficit in the run-up to her 2014 re-election. Her Senate supporters managed to discredit a key witness, a Federal Audit Court prosecutor who led the probe of Rousseff’s government, because he had taken part in an anti-Rousseff demonstration. Lewandowski ruled that Julio Marcelo de Oliveira could be questioned but his testimony would not count as proof, a development that is not expected to affect the outcome of a trial that is more political than judicial. A survey published by O Globo newspaper on Thursday showed that 52 senators were committed to voting to dismiss Rousseff, with only 19 supporting her and 10 undecided or not polled. Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and described efforts to oust her as a “coup.” She has refused to resign and said the accounting practices she is being put on trial for were also commonly used by previous governments. With unemployment above 11 percent, and dozens of politicians in her coalition implicated in a kickback scandal at state-led oil company Petrobras, the trial has become a test of Rousseff’s support. Polls show ordinary Brazilians are unconcerned by the alleged accounting irregularities but want Rousseff ousted in the hope the next government can better manage the economy. DAUNTING TASK If confirmed president by Rousseff’s ouster, Temer would face a daunting task: steering Latin America’s largest economy out of recession and plugging a budget deficit that has topped 10 percent of gross domestic product. In the unlikely case that she is acquitted, Rousseff would immediately return to office. Brazilian assets have rallied on prospects of a more market-friendly government, with the currency rising around 30 percent against the dollar this year. Still, investors and members of Temer’s fragile coalition are concerned he has yet to implement measures to control the deficit. Temer’s right-leaning government has sought to speed up the trial so he can set about restoring confidence in a once-booming economy and remove any doubts about his legitimacy. A draft budget for next year is not expected in Congress until Aug. 31, after the Senate votes, by which time Temer could have more political leverage to push through austerity measures. Investors are concerned Temer might give in to pressure for spending increases such as pay hikes for public employees, including the nation’s judges, a demand supported by Lewandowski. Temer has proposed a constitutional limit on spending and a broad reform of Brazil’s pension system to reverse a deteriorating fiscal outlook - moves applauded by credit rating agencies that last year stripped the country of its prized investment grade. “While we expect the current administration to have a better chance of getting these reforms through Congress than the previous government, there is still no clear support to approve these measures,” Moody’s Investors Service said in a client note. If Rousseff is removed, Temer must be sworn in by the Senate. He is then expected to address the nation before heading to the summit of the G20 group of leading economies in China on Sept. 4-5. Without the legal protection of her presidential status, Rousseff could find herself in court facing an investigation into whether she and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tried to obstruct the Petrobras corruption probe. Slideshow (6 Images) Even Rousseff’s Workers Party, hurt by corruption scandals and her dismal economic record, has distanced itself from her last-minute call for elections to resolve the political crisis. Yet party leader Lula came to her defense on Thursday. Speaking to workers in the city of Niteroi, Lula said Rousseff may have committed policy errors but she was an honest politician who had done nothing to warrant her removal. “What they’re doing is finding a way to take power without winning votes in an election,” he said. “Today is a shameful day. The senators have begun to rip up Brazil’s constitution.”</s>BRASILIA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The Senate impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff descended into a shouting match between her political supporters and opponents during its second day on Friday, forcing a two-hour halt in the proceedings. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, who is presiding over the final phase of a lengthy impeachment process that has paralysed Brazilian politics since December, suspended the session after Senate President Renan Calheiros was unable to stop the arguments. The trial resumed after lunch. Supporters and opponents of Rousseff shouted insults at each other in a tumultuous session that showed the buildup to a final vote expected on Wednesday morning will be fraught with tension. "This impeachment trial has become a loony bin," Calheiros said, appealing for calm. But Calheiros himself set off another argument by taking on Gleisi Hoffmann, a senator from Rousseff's Workers Party, for stating the Senate lacked moral authority to try the leftist president. He said Hoffmann did not have a leg to stand because he had helped the senator avoid corruption charges a month ago. The trial is expected to culminate in the removal of Rousseff from office, ending 13 years of left-wing Workers Party rule, and the confirmation of her vice president, Michel Temer, as president for the remainder of her term through 2018. Temer has been interim president since mid-May, when Rousseff was suspended after Congress decided it would continue the impeachment process that began in the lower house. Her opponents need 54 votes, or two-thirds of the 81-seat Senate, to convict her of breaking budget laws. A survey by the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper published on Friday found 54 senators backed her ouster and 18 opposed it, with 14 undecided or not saying. A deep recession and wide-ranging corruption scandal has caused Brazil's first female president's popularity to plummet since she won reelection in 2014. Polls show a majority of Brazilians want her gone. But polls also show that Temer has as little popular support as Rousseff and that the majority of Brazilians would like to see new elections called, an unlikely development. Few if any Rousseff supporters have shown up outside Brazil's Congress building to back her, underscoring the impeached president's isolation. Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship, is charged with spending without congressional approval and manipulating government accounts to mask the extent of the nation's growing deficit in the run-up to her reelection. Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and described efforts to oust her as a "coup" plotted by Temer and his political allies, many of whom are caught up in the huge kickback scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras that has engulfed much of Brazil's political and business class. If confirmed as president, Temer would face a daunting task: steering Latin America's largest economy out of recession and plugging a budget deficit that has topped 10 percent of gross domestic product. Temer will need to quickly demonstrate his commitment to cutting the budget deficit if he is to sustain investor optimism after a major rally in financial markets this year. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Lisa Von Ahn)</s>RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s Senate on Thursday began a trial to decide whether to permanently remove President Dilma Rousseff from office. While the formal accusations against Rousseff are related to her management of the federal budget, the leadership fight involves much more. The Associated Press explains how we got to this point and how the trial is likely to play out. How did we get here? Rousseff was re-elected to a second four-year term in October 2014. As the economy worsened, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in early 2015, with many demanding the ouster of Rousseff and her left-leaning Workers’ Party. Her foes in Congress introduced a measure last year to impeach and remove her. In April, the Chamber of Deputies approved it 367-137 and in May, the Senate voted 55-22 in favour. Rousseff was suspended and Vice-President Michel Temer became interim president. What is Rousseff accused of doing? Rousseff is accused of illegally shifting funds between government budgets. Opposition parties say that was to boost public spending and shore up support while masking the depths of deficits. Rousseff says other former presidents used similar accounting techniques. How will the trial unfold? Supreme Court chief justice Ricardo Lewandowski will preside as witnesses from both sides testify and senators cross-examine them. Rousseff is expected to testify on Monday. A vote is expected by the middle of next week. A supermajority – 54 of the 81 senators – is needed to convict her, which would result in her permanent removal from office. What do Rousseff’s supporters and opponents claim? Rousseff and her backers say impeachment is a “coup” by corrupt opposition lawmakers meant to derail investigations into into billions of dollars in kickbacks at the state oil company. They also argue that Brazil’s ruling class wants to end 13 years of leftist government. Opponents say Rousseff’s budget manoeuvrs aggravated the crisis in Latin America’s largest economy. What happens if she is convicted? A conviction would permanently remove Rousseff from the presidency and bar her from holding any office for eight years. Temer would serve out her term, which ends Dec. 21, 2018. If convicted, Rousseff will likely appeal to the country’s highest court. But previous appeals during the process have failed. What happens if she is absolved? If fewer than 54 senators vote to remove her, Rousseff would return to office. She’s promised that if that happens, she would let voters decide in a plebiscite whether they want early presidential elections. What do Brazilians want? Brazilians are soured on politicians in general; both Rousseff and Temer are very unpopular. A poll taken last month by Datafolha found that 62 per cent want new elections to solve the crisis. But before new elections could occur, both Rousseff and Temer would have to resign or be removed from office.</s>The Senate voted 59 to 21 Wednesday in favor of impeachment trial proceedings. The vote means Rousseff, who was suspended this year on allegations of breaking budget laws, will likely face trial later this month after the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. The Games end on August 21. The trial will take place in the Senate, presided over by the president of Brazil's Supreme Court. The impeachment trial would convict or acquit Rousseff of committing the crime of "fiscal irresponsibility" for authorizing public bank credits in the budget to cover up budget deficits. stepped in as acting President and will take over permanently if Rousseff is impeached. stepped in as acting President and will take over permanently if Rousseff is impeached. Vice President Michel Temer stepped in as acting President and will take over permanently if Rousseff is impeached. Rousseff, the country's first female President, has described her suspension as "a coup." "I'm the victim of a great injustice," she said in May. While she is accused of breaking budget laws, she maintains she did the same things previous Brazilian leaders have done. "I have made mistakes, but I have not committed any crimes. I am being judged unjustly, because I have followed the law to the letter," she said. Rousseff vowed to keep fighting efforts to impeach her, and called for her supporters to join her. "Destiny has reserved many challenges for me... Some of them seemed impossible to overcome. I have suffered from torture, I have suffered from sickness, and now I suffer from the pain of injustice," she said. "What is more painful now is injustice. I am victim of a political farce. But I won't give up. I look back and I see all we have accomplished. I look forward and I see all we still need to do."</s>BRASÍLIA: Angry quarrels erupted at suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial, while her key ally, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faced corruption charges on a day of turmoil for Latin America’s biggest country. Day two of Rousseff’s Senate trial in the capital Brasilia began with shouting matches that forced Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski to put the session on hold until tempers calmed. Senate President Renan Calheiros called the row, prompted by a Rousseff loyalist’s questioning of the notoriously corrupt Senate’s moral authority, “a demonstration of infinite stupidity.” Rousseff, 68, is accused of breaking the law by taking unauthorized state bank loans to cover up budgetary shortfalls during her 2014 re-election. She says the budgetary maneuvers were legal, describing herself as victim of a right-wing power grab after 13 years’ rule by her leftist Workers’ Party. Witnesses for the defense were called Friday following the trial’s opening day Thursday, when the case against Rousseff was presented. Rousseff herself is planning to testify Monday in a dramatic last-ditch attempt to save herself before senators vote — with analysts widely predicting her defeat. At stake is not just Rousseff’s fate, but that of the once mighty Workers’ Party. Its founder, Lula, faced his own mounting problems after police Friday filed a request for corruption and money laundering charges linking the influential ex-president to a vast embezzlement and bribery scheme at state oil company Petrobras. Lula’s lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins said Lula was innocent and targeted by a politically motivated case. “Once again there is an act that by a strange coincidence occurs at a politically important moment for the country,” he told a news conference in Sao Paulo. “That makes me think that this play, apart from being a fiction, has a clear political connotation.” Although prosecutors and a judge must still approve the recommendation for Lula to go to trial, the police filing represented another blow for a man seeing his lifelong project to build Brazil’s left put in peril. Adding to the drama, Lula was planning to travel from his home city of Sao Paulo to Brasilia to support Rousseff when she confronts her accusers in the Senate on Monday. Under current plans, a vote would then take place within 48 hours after the senators’ final speeches. A pro-impeachment vote would see Rousseff immediately removed from office. However, given the snail’s pace of the trial so far — with the first defense witness finishing only late afternoon Friday — it was not clear whether the schedule would change. Two thirds of the Senate — 54 of the 81 senators — must back impeachment to remove Rousseff from office. Her allies insist they can still sway a half dozen or so senators to prevent that happening, but analysts believe there is no appetite for allowing Rousseff to return to power. And opponents of the former leftist guerrilla say they have the votes in the bag. Senator Raimundo Lira, a strong backer of impeachment, told AFP that senators “have already made up their minds, and I don’t think there will be any change at the vote.” If Rousseff goes, Michel Temer — Rousseff’s former vice president turned bitter enemy — will be sworn in. He has already served as acting president since her suspension in May and moved quickly to shift Brazil away from the left, saying the country needs reform to rebuild its giant, crumbling economy. It shrank 3.8 percent in 2015 and is forecast to drop a further 3.3 percent this year, a historic recession. Inflation stands at around nine percent and unemployment at 11 percent. Temer is hardly more popular than Rousseff, however: a recent opinion poll found only 14 percent of Brazilians thought he was doing a good job. AFP</s>BRASÍLIA: Angry quarrels erupted at suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial Friday, while her key ally, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faced corruption charges on a day of turmoil for Latin America’s largest country. Day two of Rousseff’s Senate trial in the capital Brasilia began with shouting matches that forced Supreme Court Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski to put the session temporarily on hold until tempers calmed. Senate President Renan Calheiros called the row, prompted by a Rousseff loyalist’s questioning of the notoriously corrupt Senate’s moral authority, “a demonstration of infinite stupidity.” About two-thirds of the senators have current or past brushes with the law, according to corruption watchdog Transparencia Brasil. Rousseff, 68, is accused of breaking the law by taking unauthorized state bank loans to cover up budgetary shortfalls during her 2014 re-election. She says the budgetary maneuvers were legal, describing herself as victim of a right-wing power grab after 13 years’ rule by her leftist Workers’ Party. Witnesses for the defense were called Friday following the trial’s opening day Thursday, when the case against Rousseff was presented. One witness, economist Luiz Gonzaga Belluzo, insisted that Rousseff did not violate the law, and that ousting her would be “an attack on democracy.” The session ended at 0200 GMT Saturday, and is set to resume at 1300 GMT. Rousseff herself is planning to testify Monday in a dramatic last-ditch attempt to save herself before senators vote—with analysts widely predicting her defeat. Lula’s troubles deepen At stake is not just Rousseff’s fate, but that of the once mighty Workers’ Party. Its founder, Lula, faced his own mounting problems after police Friday filed a request for corruption and money laundering charges linking the influential ex-president to a vast embezzlement and bribery scheme at state oil company Petrobras. Lula’s lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins said Lula was innocent and targeted by a politically motivated case. “Once again there is an act that by a strange coincidence occurs at a politically important moment for the country,” he told a news conference in Sao Paulo. “That makes me think that this play, apart from being a fiction, has a clear political connotation.” Although prosecutors and a judge must still approve the recommendation for Lula to go to trial, the police filing represented another blow for a man seeing his lifelong project to build Brazil’s left put in peril. Adding to the drama, Lula was planning to travel from his home city of Sao Paulo to Brasilia to support Rousseff when she confronts her accusers in the Senate on Monday. Under current plans, a vote would then take place within 48 hours after the senators’ final speeches. A pro-impeachment vote would see Rousseff immediately removed from office. However, given the snail’s pace of the trial so far—with the first defense witness finishing only late afternoon Friday—it was not clear whether the schedule would change.</s>Defense witnesses to testify in trial of Brazil's president RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Senators in Brazil have begun a second day of deliberations in the trial of President Dilma Rousseff. Rousseff, in the middle of her second term, is accused of breaking fiscal rules in her management of the federal budget. She denies wrongdoing and argues that her enemies are carrying out a "coup d'etat." Witnesses for Rousseff's defense are expected to testify Friday. FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2015 file photo, a woman holds a sign that reads in Portuguese; "Dilma Out" during a demonstration in favor of the impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Just days after the Rio Olympics ended, Brazilian senators are now gearing up for a final decision on whether to permanently remove Rousseff from office. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File) Several days of debate, including an address by Rousseff on Monday, will culminate in a vote on whether to permanently remove her from office. The Senate voted in May to impeach and suspend her for up to 180 days while the trial could be prepared. Vice President Michel Temer took over in May. If Rousseff is removed, Temer will serve the rest of her term through 2018. FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2014 file photo, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff listens to a question during a re-election campaign news conference at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Just days after the Rio Olympics ended, Brazilian senators are now gearing up for a final decision on whether to permanently remove President Dilma Rousseff from office. The months-long leadership fight has brought to the surface deep polarization in Latin America's most populous nation, fueled by anger over endemic corruption and angst about an emerging economy that has gone from darling to depression amid its worst financial crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)</s>The impeachment trial of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in the Senate descended into a shouting match between her political supporters and opponents during its second day on Friday, forcing a halt in proceedings. 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. Lewandowski adjourned early for lunch and will restart the session at 1 p.m. local (1600 GMT)</s>RIO DE JANEIRO — The last medals have been handed out, the athletes have all gone home and the fireworks at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium are fading into memory. Now Brazil’s real drama begins. 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. The Aug. 5-21 Summer Games were a welcome distraction for many Brazilians angry over endemic corruption and an emerging economy that has gone from analysts’ darling to severe recession amid its worst financial crisis in decades. Street parties erupted when their beloved soccer team beat Germany to win gold, a measure of redemption after being humiliated 7-1 by the Germans in the World Cup semifinal two years ago. With the Olympic bash over, “we return to the divisions, to the fighting,” said Fabiano Angelico, a political consultant based in Sao Paulo. On Thursday, the Senate begins the final phase of the trial of Rousseff, who was suspended in May for allegedly breaking fiscal rules in managing the federal budget. Several days of deliberations, including an address to lawmakers by Rousseff herself, will culminate in a definitive vote expected early next week. Rousseff’s opponents argue that she used sleight of hand budgeting to mask the depth of government deficits and ultimately exacerbated the growing economic crisis, which has led to 10 per cent inflation, daily announcements of layoffs and repeated credit downgrades from ratings agencies. Brazil’s first female president denies any wrongdoing, pointing out that previous presidents used similar accounting measures. Rousseff alleges that something more nefarious is at play: a bloodless “coup” by corrupt legislators who want to oust her so they can water down a wide-ranging investigation into billions of dollars in kickbacks at the state oil company, Petrobras. A letter signed by 22 international artists and intellectuals was published Wednesday voicing support for Rousseff. Among them were actor Danny Glover, film director Oliver Stone, linguist Noam Chomsky, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, actor Viggo Mortensen and composer Brian Eno. “The legal basis for the ongoing impeachment is widely contested and there is compelling evidence showing that key promoters of the impeachment campaign are seeking to remove the president to stop the corruption investigations that they themselves are implicated in,” the letter said. But much of the alleged graft happened over the 13 years that Rousseff’s left-leaning Workers’ Party has been in power. Several businessmen and top politicians have been jailed, including some connected to Rousseff’s government, and a number of opposition officials are also in investigators’ sights. The probe has blown the lid off a political culture of corruption that spans the ideological spectrum: About 60 per cent of lawmakers in the Senate and lower house are being investigated for various crimes, many related to graft and the Petrobras scandal. Rousseff has never been personally implicated, but her detractors say she must have known what was happening and bears responsibility. She refused to block the investigations even as she paid a steep political price through her impeachment, saying it is a process that Brazil badly needs to go through. The interim government that stepped in for her has also been stung, with three Cabinet ministers forced to resign right after taking office due to corruption allegations. Acting President Michel Temer, who was Rousseff’s vice-president and is known as a behind-the-scenes dealmaker, has been fingered for alleged bribery by witnesses who have reached plea deals in the Petrobras case, although he has not been charged with any crime. The result has been widespread popular disgust and anger at both Rousseff and Temer: A national poll by Datafolha last month found that 62 per cent of respondents favoured holding new elections rather than keeping either one as president. Rousseff has promised to hold a referendum on whether to call new elections if she survives the Senate trial. But for that to happen, both she and Temer would have to resign or be removed. Temer, a 75-year-old career politician from the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, has shown no indication he would step down. He casts himself as a reluctant saviour who just wants to do what’s best for a divided country, and denies Rousseff’s accusations that he’s the ringleader in the push to oust her. If Rousseff is permanently removed, Temer would serve out the remainder of her term through 2018. “Michel wants to remain president, but he can’t show himself to be trying to do that,” Brasilia-based political consultant Alexandre Barros said. “It’s a complicated equation for everybody.” In any case, Rousseff’s odds of surviving the Senate trial appear slim. In May, 55 of the body’s 81 senators voted to impeach and suspend her — one more than the 54 it would take to kick her out for good. Since then Rousseff has embarked on a campaign to change their minds, hunkering down with supportive senators, tweeting regularly against the “coup,” holding rallies around the country and meeting with Brazilian and international media. Earlier this month, 59 senators voted to move forward with the trial.</s>RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - A trial against Brazil’s president turned into a yelling match and was temporarily suspended on Friday after the head of Senate declared “stupidity is endless” and sharply criticized a colleague who had questioned the body’s moral authority. The second day of the trial against President Dilma Rousseff got off to an edgy start when Senate President Renan Calheiros decided to bring up a comment made on Thursday by Sen. Gleisi Hoffmann, a member of Rousseff’s Workers’ Party. Hoffmann, who like many in the Senate and lower Chamber of Deputies is being investigated for corruption, had declared that “no one here” had the moral standing to judge Rousseff. “It can’t be that a senator is saying things like this,” said Calheiros, who later added: “I am very sad because this session is, above all, a statement that stupidity is endless.” In a bizarre and heated exchange with Hoffmann and other senators, Calheiros said he had asked the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court, not to raid Hoffmann’s home, apparently trying to make the point that federal lawmakers should not be persecuted arbitrarily. Only the high court can decide to investigate, arrest or prosecute federal lawmakers. Police are investigating whether Hoffmann and her husband received kickbacks from state oil company Petrobras in the form of campaign contributions. They deny wrongdoing. Calheiros’s comments provoked gasps of surprise in the Senate, and are likely to raise questions about his relationship with justices on the high court, who are supposed to be independent. With several senators shouting at once, Chief Justice Ricardo Lewandowski called for a five minute recess, then changed his mind and said the body would instead return after lunch. Witnesses for Rousseff’s defense were expected to testify Friday after the prosecution dominated Thursday’s session. Rousseff, in the middle of her second term, is accused of breaking fiscal rules in her management of the federal budget. She denies wrongdoing and argues that her enemies are carrying out a “coup d’état.” Several days of debate, including an address by Rousseff on Monday, will culminate in a vote on whether to permanently remove her from office. The Senate voted in May to impeach and suspend her for up to 180 days while the trial could be prepared. Vice President Michel Temer took over in May. If Rousseff is removed, Temer will serve the rest of her term through 2018.	Brazil's Federal Senate begins the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff.
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This is a copy of the WCEP-10 dataset, except the input source documents of its test split have been replaced by a dense retriever. The retrieval pipeline used:

query: The summary field of each example
corpus: The union of all documents in the train, validation and test splits
retriever: facebook/contriever-msmarco via PyTerrier with default settings
top-k strategy: "max", i.e. the number of documents retrieved, k, is set as the maximum number of documents seen across examples in this dataset, in this case k==10

Retrieval results on the train set:

Recall@100	Rprec	Precision@k	Recall@k
0.8590	0.6490	0.5967	0.6631

Retrieval results on the validation set:

Recall@100	Rprec	Precision@k	Recall@k
0.8578	0.6326	0.6040	0.6401

Retrieval results on the test set:

Recall@100	Rprec	Precision@k	Recall@k
0.8678	0.6631	0.6301	0.6740

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Number of rows:

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