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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. “So take us out of your organization – you have done nothing here, anyway, also. 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. He also criticized the international organization for not doing anything to help the country. 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.</s>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. 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." "Take us out of your organization. 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 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. "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. Duterte has said drugs were destroying the country. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, calling him gay in derogatory terms, after he criticized Duterte's rape comments during the presidential campaign. He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). 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.

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

Kurdish-aligned group in north Syria says targeted by Turkish warplanes KARKAMIS, Turkey, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A group allied to Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was bombarded by Turkish warplanes on Saturday, after Turkey's military launched an incursion this week into northern Syria against both Islamic State and Kurdish forces. 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. 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. 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.</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."

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).

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

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.

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. “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. 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. Toronto EMS confirmed two men and one woman were killed and the fourth victim suffered only minor injuries. “We don’t have any idea with regards to why this may have happened,” said Hopkinson. “They also took one person into custody.” A fourth victim was taken to hospital, he added.</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. 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. 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. Brett Ryan, 35, was slated to appear in court later on Friday, police said. The condo was evacuated as police cordoned off the area but the package was later cleared.

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, 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 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. 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. 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. Few if any Rousseff supporters have shown up outside Brazil's Congress building to back her, underscoring the impeached president's isolation.</s>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. 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. 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. 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. Witnesses for the defense were called Friday following the trial’s opening day Thursday, when the case against Rousseff was presented. 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. But before new elections could occur, both Rousseff and Temer would have to resign or be removed from office. 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.

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

ANKARA/KARKAMIS, Turkey, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A suicide truck bombing at a police headquarters in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast killed at least 11 and wounded dozens on Friday, two days after Turkey launched an incursion against Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters in Syria. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that Kurdish militants were responsible for the attack on a checkpoint about 50 metres from a police station near the town of Cizre, in the mainly-Kurdish Şırnak province that borders Syria. Television footage showed black smoke rising from the mangled truck, while the three-story police station was gutted from the powerful explosion. The broadcaster said a dozen ambulances and two helicopters had been sent to the scene. The bombing in the town of Cizre was the latest in a series of attacks since a ceasefire with the PKK collapsed more than a year ago, and comes as Turkey tries to recover from a failed July 15 military coup. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said there was no doubt that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy, was responsible for the attack in Sirnak province, which borders Syria and Iraq. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Last week Erdogan accused followers of a U.S.-based Islamic cleric he blames for the July 15 coup attempt of being complicit in attacks by Kurdish militants. The government has blamed the failed coup on the supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen and has embarked on a sweeping crackdown on his followers. On Thursday, Kurdish rebels opened fire at security forces protecting a convoy of vehicles carrying Turkey’s main opposition party leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in the north-east, killing a soldier and wounding two others, officials said.</s>Story highlights Eleven police officers were killed, state media says Kurdish militants claim responsibility Turkey sent tanks into Syria on Wednesday Turkey-Syria border (CNN) An explosion at a police checkpoint Friday in southeastern Turkey killed 11 police officers and injured at least 78 people, the country's semiofficial Anadolu news agency reports. Attackers detonated a bomb-laden truck near the checkpoint in Cizre, Anadolu reported, citing the governor's officer in the province of Sirnak. The injured included 75 officers and three civilians, Anadolu reported. Four of the injured were in critical condition, Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag told CNN Turk. The armed wing of the the PKK -- a militant Kurdish group that's labeled a terror group by many in the international community -- took credit Friday for the attack. In an online statement, it promised to give more details Saturday on what it called a "comprehensive action took place to kill dozens of policemen by our brave team in Cizre."

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

By Albert Aji and Zeina Karam, Associated Press DARAYA, Syria — Syrian rebels and their families began evacuating a long-besieged Damascus suburb Friday as part of an agreement reached with the government following four years of grueling airstrikes and siege that left the suburb in ruins. The surrender of the Daraya suburb, which became an early symbol of the nascent uprising against President Bashar Assad, marks a success for his government, removing a persistent threat only a few miles from his seat of power. The capitulation by rebel forces in Daraya, an early bastion of the uprising against President Bashar Assad, provides another boost for his forces amid a stalemate in the fight for Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. Daraya’s rebels agreed to evacuate in a deal late on Thursday, after four years of gruelling bombardment and a crippling siege that left the sprawling suburb in ruins. Around 700 gunmen are to be allowed safe passage to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib, while some 4,000 civilians will be taken to temporary shelter in government-controlled Kisweh, south of Daraya. • August 25, 2016 Turkey: U.S. says Syria Kurds are pulling back in north Syria • August 24, 2016 Dobbs: Syrian boy is another symbol of the incalculable cost of war • August 23, 2016 Cartoons of the day: Syrian boy rescued in Aleppo • August 23, 2016 Turkey strikes Islamic State in Syria as tensions rise over border town The suburb has been besieged and blockaded by government forces, with only one food delivery by the United Nations allowed to reach the district during this time. It has been held by a coalition of ultraconservative Islamic militias, including the Martyrs of Islam Brigade. As the first white government bus carrying evacuees emerged from Daraya carrying mostly women and children, Syrian Army soldiers swarmed the vehicle, shouting pro-Assad slogans. Meanwhile, in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, had “achieved clarity” on a path toward restoring a truce in Syria, but details remained to be worked out. The talks center on proposals to share intelligence and coordinate militarily with Russia against the Islamic State extremist group and the al-Qaida branch in Syria and Iraq. Russia accuses the U.S. of preventing strikes on terrorist groups out of concern that would mean targeting these rebels. The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday that Russia has agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire there and he's waiting to hear if rebels will do the same. Located just southwest of Damascus, Daraya has been pummelled by government air strikes, barrel bombs and fighting over the years. In August 2012, around 400 people were killed over several days in a killing spree by troops and pro-government militiamen who stormed the suburb after heavy fighting and days of shelling, according to opposition activists. DARAYA, Syria (AP) — Buses, ambulances and trucks lined up at the entrance of a long-blockaded Damascus suburb on Friday to evacuate rebels and civilians under a deal struck between the Syrian opposition forces and the government. An Associated Press journalist who entered the suburb from its northern entrance saw a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred. A group of uniformed soldiers celebrated, shouting pro-Syria slogans and flashing victory signs. In a landscape of severely damaged and deserted buildings, some of them charred, black smoke rose on the horizon – caused by the rebels burning their belongings before evacuating, according to Syrian army soldiers. Footage posted on the internet by a member of the Daraya local council shows a small group of a few dozen people milling about in a street lined with destroyed buildings. Surrounded by some meager belongings, they appear to be waiting to be evacuated. Women in full face cover are seen sitting on pieces of rubble while bearded men walk about. Under the deal, the government is to allow safe exit to hundreds of gunmen and their families out of Daraya and let them head to the opposition-held northern province of Idlib. Around 4,000 civilians will be taken to a shelter in Kesweh, south of Daraya. “Idlib will be their graveyard,” said a Syrian army soldier. “This is a precious moment for every Syrian,” he added. The soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Daraya, which lies in the western Ghouta region, saw some of the first demonstrations against Assad after the uprising against his family rule began in March 2011, during which residents took to the streets, sometimes pictured carrying red and white roses to reflect the peaceful nature of their protests. Daraya is the latest rebel-held area to surrender to government troops following years of siege. Opposition activists and human rights groups accuse the government of using siege and starvation tactics to force surrender by the opposition. Buses, ambulances and trucks have lined up at the entrance of a long-blockaded Damascus suburb to evacuate rebels and civilians under a deal struck between Syrian opposition forces and the government of President Bashar Assad. It was followed by truces and cease-fires in Babila, Yalda, Barzeh around the Syrian capital — all deals that swung heavily in the government’s favor and pacified the region. Daraya provided a stark example of the price of rebuffing truce overtures. For years, government helicopters conducted a brutal aerial campaign, pounding the suburb with barrel bombs — large containers packed with fuel, explosives and scraps of metal. Diaa said for the last eight months Daraya has been pounded with hundreds of barrel bombs, as the government attempted to storm it. Last December, Syrian rebels evacuated the last district they controlled in the central city of Homs, a major symbol of the uprising, after a siege that lasted almost three years. Rebels there also headed to Idlib, handing the government a significant victory in central Syria. The U.N.’s humanitarian chief, Stephen O’Brien, told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that severe food shortages were forcing some people in Daraya to eat grass. Residents had described burning plastic material to make fuel. Daraya-based opposition activist Hussam Ayash said residents were “trying to absorb the shock” of suddenly having to leave. In a statement, the U.N. said it was neither involved nor consulted about the evacuation plan, adding, “the world is watching.” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a small team of U.N. and Red Cross aid workers would travel to Daraya “to meet with all parties and identify the key issues for the civilians.” “We are using this lull in the fighting to get in and see what we can do and obviously see for ourselves what the situation is inside the city,” Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. “We are being forced to leave, but our condition has deteriorated to the point of being unbearable,” he said, ahead of the evacuations. “We withstood for four years but we couldn’t any longer,” he said, choking on his words. Residents said the situation became unbearable after the town’s remaining field hospital was bombed and destroyed last week. The government had in recent months also encroached on the town’s agricultural farms — the only source of food for the local population, which he estimated at 8,000 people. Information for this article was contributed by Albert Aji, Zeina Karam, Sarah El Deeb, Jamey Keaten and Matthew Lee of The Associated Press and by Nick Wadhams and Henry Meyer of Bloomberg News.</s>The besieged Syrian town of Darayya, a symbol of the rebellion against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is to be taken over by government forces after the last rebel fighters agreed to hand over their weapons and leave. The surrender and evacuation of the Damascus suburb after a brutal four-year siege is a devastating blow to opposition morale and a long-sought prize for Assad. The U.N.’s Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, issued a statement Friday saying, “The situation regarding Darayya [was] extremely grave.” “It is tragic that repeated appeals to lift the siege of Darayya, besieged since November 2012, and cease the fighting have never been heeded,” said Mistura, adding that he was “made aware of the agreement to evacuate the civilians and fighters” overnight. In August 2012, Darayya was the site of what U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said was “an appalling and brutal” massacre that killed more than 200 people, many of them civilians, after fierce clashes forced rebel fighters to withdraw to the suburb’s outskirts. They stormed in to make house-to-house searches, and left hundreds dead in one of the worst killing sprees of the war. But on Friday Daraya’s long defiance came to an end and the city finally surrendered to the regime troops who have besieged it since 2012.

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

The news stories that flooded front pages in the wake of Hurricane Irene late last month focused mostly on surging rivers, torn-up homes, downed trees, and the fate of New York City. But one story in particular caught my attention: the state of Vermont lost several of its historic covered bridges, those pleasant reminders of a bucolic North American past, beloved by so many-including, as of only recently, me. Just hours before Irene slammed into the Eastern Seaboard, my girlfriend and I were driving aimlessly around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, filling to the brim our box of vacation memories, already bursting at the seams with scenes of sunrise in coastal Maryland and rainy hours whiled away in the American rooms of the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. Partly on whim, partly because of fond childhood memories, and partly because it just seemed like a good way to organize the morning, we decided to see as many of Lancaster County's famed covered bridges as possible. By noon, when the rain started falling, I was hooked. The architectural impetus for covering a bridge has less to do with beauty than with sheer practicality. In the northeastern states and provinces of the U.S. and Canada, the arrival of the industrial revolution in the 19th century caused a massive population explosion, and a corresponding need to bridge the terrain's many rivers and streams in order to allow the free movement of people and goods across the land. Bridges made of stone, as those in Europe generally were, didn't make sense in North America, because violent temperature swings meant that the bridges would freeze and thaw and require maintenance every year. To build them instead with wood, plentiful anywhere in the Northeast, made sense. To then protect those wooden bridges with walls and a ceiling-after builders realized that such shelter would prolong a wooden bridge's lifespan tenfold, to nearly a century-made even more sense. While the existence of covered bridges can be traced back almost 3,000 years to ancient Babylon, they reached their architectural apex, and surely their greatest numbers, in 19th century North America. In Quebec alone, over a thousand covered bridges were built during the century and a half they were in vogue. But by the 1950s, stronger building materials had been developed, making it no longer necessary for builders to cover bridges in order to extend their lives and ensure that construction of new spans would be a worthy investment. Residents of towns with covered bridges were suddenly embarrassed by them, thinking the wooden structures evidence of backwardness compared to the modern steel bridges of which neighbouring towns could boast. Many bridges were demolished in the decades between when they stopped being built and the time, not so long ago, that people began to realize how special the remaining covered bridges were, and actively moved to preserve them. After that morning in Lancaster County, I began researching covered bridges, and found that there were nearly 100 still standing in the province of Quebec. I resolved that at the first opportunity I would head into the countryside to see some of them. With only minimal coaxing, I convinced two friends, Sam and Jack, to join me for a recent Sunday drive. Neither had any prior experience with covered bridges, but both are enthusiastic and willing to thoroughly immerse themselves in new things. I did sense some initial skepticism about my new obsession, though, so my friends proved an interesting experiment for observing how excitement steadily begins to grow in a bridge-hunting initiate. So how do you find Quebec's covered bridges? It's surprisingly easy. My new favourite website, www.coveredbridgemap.com, imposes the locations of Quebec's surviving ponts couverts on Google maps; by zooming in closely, you can carefully trace a route from bridge to bridge and back home. I drew up a short plan of action, including whatever historical and expository information I could find online for each of the bridges, and had Sam, acting as navigator in the passenger seat, read the directions as we went along. After getting slightly lost in Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge, we rounded the last curve on a small dirt road and, to whoops and hollers (disproportionately mine, I admit), finally pulled up to examine our first bridge. Sam read from a brief history of the town and the bridge that I'd pulled off a local website. Built in 1884, the Des Rivières Covered B ridge is painted barn-red, the typical uniform for most North American spans. The interior is dark, all wood, weak light shining thinly through cracks in the walls and from the far end, like a short tunnel. The floor of the bridge consists of dusty wooden slats, some more stable than others, with noticeable grooves from one entrance of the bridge to the other, where vehicles have worn down the wood over the last century. Small spare boards thrust into spaces where the wall beams fall just short of their intended marks makes the construction feel spontaneous. Through a small cut-out window in one of the walls, you can watch the stream humming along, dipping below some willow trees on the bank, and disappearing from view - precisely what you would have seen in the same spot more than 125 years ago. We returned to the car, opened some lawn chairs from my trunk, and enjoyed thick slices of mango in the sun. Inside one of the next bridges we saw, someone had spray-painted in orange block letters: "VIVE L'AMOUR!" However vandalous, such an inscription is appropriate enough: another name for a covered bridge is a "kissing bridge," because young couples back in the day used the darkness of the bridge to cloak whatever heinous things young couples used to do. Even today, the dark interiors of most covered bridges continue to host the conjoined signatures of lovers past. I should probably admit that there's a bridge somewhere in Lancaster County sporting a careful engraving from my own set of Honda keys. The last stop on our route, the Balthazar Bridge in Brigham Township, was, as Jack declared, "the finale." Built in 1932, it spans a section of the Yamaska River that features a brief section of Class 3 rapids, as we learned from a group of kayakers who had just arrived from somewhere upstream. We stood on the bank throwing large sticks into the current, admiring how the water flowed smoothly over the rocks before forking around a small island and disappearing around the bend. Quebec's covered bridges, unlike New York's, don't have signs that say you can be fined $1 for driving over the bridge faster than a walk, but the idea, I think, is implicit. Ready to return to Montreal, I slowly coaxed my car over the precarious wooden slats and onto the other side, where, along the riverbank, a dozen cows sat fatly in the grass, mooing and chewing in the shade. "Oh shit, oh my God, oh shit!" So a woman cries-literally, cries-in a video that has circulated around the Internet in recent weeks, showing the collapse of her beloved Bartonsville Covered Bridge in Vermont into the raging waters of the Williams River below. The video is really sad: a few locals stand around in Hurricane Irene's fierce rains, watching the bridge-as if at the deathbed of an old friend, as if by standing guard they might prevent the inevitable. Suddenly, the bridge, built in 1870 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, crumbles into the water and is promptly swept away. While efforts have already been launched to eventually restore the Bartonsville to its proper place and glory, another YouTube video, showing the crumpled-up remains of the bridge where it washed up downstream, makes success seem unlikely. But maybe it's not even so obvious that covered bridges should be preserved at all. "Preservation is transformation," notes Roger McCain, a professor at Drexel University who has done some academic work on the economics of historical preservation, and runs an amateur website on covered bridges. If a bridge still exists with only a fraction of its original wood, is it still the same bridge? McCain believes that sometimes it doesn't even matter. "If you want to preserve something that's attractive and picturesque and lends distinction to your community, because it's either been there for a long or there once was something very much like that was there for a long time, then it makes perfectly good sense to maintain them," he says. Covered bridges can be pleasing to look at even if their historic aura is only a façade. Unfortunately, President Barack Obama has chosen this inauspicious year to "consolidate" 55 highway- and bridge-related programs in the U.S. Department of Transportation into just five stream-lined categories. That means that projects previously funded by the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program will now have to compete for funds against other, admittedly more forward-looking projects under the department's new "Livability" goal. Other programs folded into this awkward category include "Recreational Trails" and "Safe Routes to School." The question begs itself: what politician would vote to divert funds from that latter program to maintain a covered bridge only a few romantics care about? Imagine the TV ad: "Barack Obama wants America's schoolchildren to plunge helplessly off cliffs. Is that change Virginia can believe in?" All the same, Professor McCain believes the impact of the federal preservation program being cut won't be nearly as destructive to the bridges as the recent floods. Besides, he says, it's really a decision local communities will have to make on their own. "A little federal money might encourage a local community to do more than they would do otherwise," he said. "But federal involvement in local issues is always political, and we can't make the whole world a museum." Sam, Jack, and I managed to get slightly lost again trying to find the highway, and were all late for various appointments we had in Montreal later in the afternoon. That didn't really matter. A day out in the country left us refreshed and fortified against whatever aggravations big-city life always promises to have in store. Perhaps even more than finding the bridges themselves, the joy, as ever, was in the hunt. Navigating unknown terrain, meeting unknown characters, turning one another on to good songs and interesting clouds - we agreed that while looking for covered bridges isn't necessarily the only way to see Quebec's countryside, it's as good an excuse as any to get out of the city on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Theoretically, you can just decide to go for an aimless drive in the country on a Sunday afternoon, but realistically, you never will. There's nothing specifically profound about the points on that map of covered bridges in Quebec. It's all about the connections you make in between.</s>Istanbul to inaugurate third bridge linking Europe with Asia ISTANBUL (AP) — Istanbul is inaugurating the third bridge spanning the Bosphorus Strait dividing the continents of Europe and Asia, in a ceremony to be attended by Turkish leadership and representatives of several nations. The Yavuz Sultan Selim, which runs from the Garipce area on Istanbul’s European side to the region of Poyrazkoy on the Asian side, is the third bridge to span the Bosphorus Strait and can withstand winds of 300 km an hour. The ceremony will also be attended by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Mustafa Akinci, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov as well as other senior officials from Pakistan, Georgia and Serbia. According to Turkish officials, it is estimated that the “longest suspension bridge to have a railway system” in the world will save $1.75 billion annually in terms of cutting travel times and reducing energy costs. The government guarantees the firms will receive, as a minimum, the toll income from 135,000 cars a day, though the actual number expected to use the bridge is expected to be higher. The bridge is 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) long, 59 meters wide and boasts eight road lanes as well as two rail lines.

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

Singapore shrouded in smog as haze returns to SE Asia SINGAPORE -- Acrid smog blanketed Singapore Friday as the city-state was hit by the year's first major outbreak of haze, an annual crisis sparked by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia. Singapore's air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels on Friday as winds blew smoke from fires on Sumatra, where millions of people are already affected by haze, across the city-state and into southern Malaysia. Last year's haze outbreak was among the worst in memory, shrouding Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Thailand in acrid smoke. The blazes are started illegally to clear land, typically for palm oil and pulpwood plantations, and Indonesia has faced intense criticism from its neighbours over its failure to halt the annual smog outbreaks. National police chief Tito Karnavian said Friday that 85 people have been arrested this year for starting fires. Its environment agency doesn't give a health warning with the limited duration index, but on a 24-hour basis it says levels above 100 are unhealthy and above 200 very unhealthy. PSI levels above 100 are deemed unhealthy and people are advised to reduce vigorous outdoor activity. Singapore last September closed schools and distributed protective face masks as the air pollution index soared to hazardous levels following three weeks of being cloaked in smoke from Indonesia's nearby Sumatra island. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said on its website that the number of "hotspots" on Sumatra -– which sits across the Malacca Strait from Singapore -– had increased in the past 48 hours. However there were far fewer fires than at the peak of last year’s crisis, when hundreds burned out of control.</s>SINGAPORE/JAKARTA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Air pollution in Singapore rose to the "unhealthy" level on Friday as acrid smoke drifted over the island from fires on Indonesia's Sumatra island, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said. Every dry season, smoke from fires set to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia clouds the skies over much of the region, raising concern about public health and worrying tourist operators and airlines. The 24-hour Pollution Standards Index (PSI), which Singapore's NEA uses as a benchmark, rose as high as 105 in the afternoon. A level above 100 is considered "unhealthy". The NEA said it planned a "daily haze advisory" as "a burning smell and slight haze were experienced over many areas" in Singapore. Indonesia has been criticised by its northern neighbours and green groups for failing to end the annual fires, which were estimated to cost Southeast Asia's largest economy $16 billion in 2015, and left more than half a million Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has increased government efforts to tackle the haze, with police doubling numbers of fire-related arrests this year. "Forest and land fires in the Riau area are increasing," Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said in a statement on Friday, referring to aerial surveillance of 67 hotspots and smoke from the area drifting eastward over Singapore. "The smoke billowing from the hotspot locations is quite dense," Nugroho said, adding that 7,200 personnel and several aircraft had been deployed to stop the Riau fires. Pollution levels in neighbouring Malaysia were normal on Friday. Singapore has pushed Indonesia for information on companies suspected of causing pollution, some of which are listed on Singapore's stock exchange. A forest campaigner for the environmental group Greenpeace Indonesia, Yuyun Indradi, said the government was struggling to enforce laws to prevent the drainage of peatland for plantations and the setting of fires to clear land. "It has become a challenge for the government to enforce accountability among concession holders, to enforce its directives on blocking canals, and push companies to take part in efforts to restore peatland and prevent fires," Indradi said. "Now is the time for the government to answer this challenge. It is in the law." Greenpeace said, according to its satellite information, there were 138 fires across Indonesia on Friday. (Reporting by Marius Zaharia and Fathin Ungku in SINGAPORE and Fergus Jensen in JAKARTA; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

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

An explosion at a sports center in the southern Belgian town of Chimay early on Friday killed one person and wounded four others, two of them seriously, Belgium's Crisis Center said. "It is probably a gas explosion," an official at the agency told Reuters, adding that there was no indication of it being a militant attack. Local media reported the blast occurred just after midnight local time, 6 p.m. ET, at a sports center known as Le Chalon in Chimay, close to the French border, when five people were still inside the building. Part of the building was destroyed. Belgium and France, along with the rest of Europe, have been on high alert after ISIS-attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year.</s>CHIMAY, Belgium (AP) - One person was killed and at least four were injured in Belgium in an accidental explosion at a sports center near the French border. Chimay police chief Pierre Maton said early on Friday that the blast was most likely “a gas explosion,” but an investigation into the cause was ongoing. The blast happened shortly after midnight at a complex known as Le Chalon in the southern municipality of Chimay, on the border with France. Several dozen police and firefighters attended the scene and the area had been cordoned off, but the damage was not as serious as initially feared. Windows were blown out of the two-storey building and one corner of the structure was badly damaged, but there was no major collapse. Firefighters were on the scene early Friday morning clearing the rubble and securing the building. Police said they believed they have retrieved all the people from the rubble. Chimay has a population of about 10,000 and is known for one of Belgium's most famous breweries.

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

(CNN) The scale of damage from Wednesday's earthquake that shook central Italy is becoming clearer as rescue workers continue to dig through rubble to find survivors. Hide Caption 33 of 50 Photos: Earthquake strikes central Italy Residents take in the damage in Amatrice. Here's a look at the devastation by the numbers: 250: Latest death toll, which is expected to rise It's hard to quantify exactly how many people are still missing or hurt, as many remote towns attract seasonal visitors. In a first raft of emergency relief measures, Renzi cancelled residents’ taxes in and around the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara del Tronto, between 60 and 90 miles (95-145km) north-east of Rome. A photo posted by Lauren Moorhouse (@lomoorhouse) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:08am PDT Giampiero Antonetti of the civil protection agency in the Abruzzo region said that teams were trying to relocate people out of the camps as the weather in the mountainous area cools. In May 2012, a pair of temblors killed dozens of people in northern Italy, while in April 2009, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit in the central L'Aquila region, leaving more than 300 people dead.</s>PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off. Three days after the quake struck the mountainous heart of the country, sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour the town of Amatrice, which was levelled in the disaster, but there was no sign of life beneath the debris. Mayor Sergio Pirozzi said around 15 people, including some children and the local baker, had not been accounted for. "Only a miracle can bring our friends back alive from the rubble, but we are still digging because many are missing," town mayor Sergio Pirozzi told reporters, saying, around 15 people, including some children, had not been accounted for. But in nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the missing had been accounted for. READ MORE: * Why Italy's earthquake was like Christchurch * Hamilton kindy teacher loses family in Italy earthquake * 'Voices under the rubble' as Italy searches for survivors * New Zealanders in Italy share experiences of earthquake * Drone captures extent of damage in quake-hit Italian town Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno. A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners. The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, and 40 of them were in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009. Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up by emergency services close to their flattened communities. The government has promised to rebuild the region, but some local people feared that would never happen. "I'm afraid our village and others like it will just die. Most people don't live here year round anyway. In the winter time the towns are virtually empty," said Salvatore Petrucci, 77, who lived in the nearby small village of Trisunga. "There are still aftershocks preceded by booms and, for those of us who have just lived through an earthquake, it has a great effect, particularly psychologically," she said. More than 1,050 aftershocks have hit the area since the 6.2 magnitude quake early on Wednesday, bringing fresh damage to structures still standing. By Friday, most of the outlying communities were quiet and empty, buildings lying in crumpled mounds, the innards of private homes exposed to the skies and belongings scattered in the debris. "We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto. "We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble." The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. The British embassy in Rome declined to comment on reports that three Britons, including a 14-year-old boy had died. The area is popular with holidaymakers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing. Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were residents in the country. The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice. "I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper. Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine. "Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Pirozzi, who urged youngsters not to leave the area, saying that would mean the end of their community. "No night can last so long that the sun never rises again. I am convinced that Amatrice will rise again. We owe it to the (218) people who died here." Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros (NZ$77.4 million) for the relief work. He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defences against earthquakes that regularly batter the country. "We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday. Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation. This latest disaster represents a major political challenge for Renzi, who has been in office for two years. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised for what was perceived to be a botched response to the L'Aquila calamity. Renzi called for national unity and declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said. Most of the buildings in the Amatrice area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction. Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged. Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster.

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

ASCOLI PICENO, Italy (AP) — The Latest on the Italian earthquake (all times local): Italian authorities say the death toll in an Italian earthquake has risen yet again as bodies continued to be recovered and now stands at 290. Residents of an Italian region devastated by an earthquake were rattled by a series of aftershocks overnight, the strongest measuring 4.2, as Italy began a day of national mourning on Saturday.</s>The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) confirms on Friday the death of yet other two Romanian nationals in the Italian earthquake, the death toll thus reaching eight. “According to the last information, the MAE regretfully announces that following the earthquake of 24 August in Italy, two other deaths of Romanian nationals were confirmed. The current number of the Romanians’ death toll in Italy tragedy is eight,” the MAE specifies. Considering the complexity of the necessary actions to manage the situation, out of the minister’s order a consular mobile team with the MAE Rapid Reaction Unit trained to intervene from the very debut of the tragedy will take off for Rome, urgently, on Saturday morning to back the mobile teams of the Romanian Embassy in Rome and of the General Consulate of Romania in Bologna, which are already on the spot, the source adds. As for the information regarding the missing Romanian citizens, the number under the MAE attention reaches 19. The attempts to identifying them are under way, as checking are permanently covered in coordination with the Italian competent authorities. The MAE reminds that the affected Romanians can request consular assistance by dialling: (0039) 06 835 233 58, (0039) 06 835 233 56 for the Romanian Embassy; and (0039) 051 5872120, (0039) 051 5872209 for the Consular Office in Bologna; calls will be redirected to the Call and Support Centre for Romanian Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken by call centre operators around the clock. The ministry also extends heartfelt condolence to the families of the Romanian citizens killed in this tragedy and continues to provide full assistance. The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) confirms on Friday the death of yet other two Romanian nationals in the Italian earthquake, the death toll thus reaching eight. “According to the last information, the MAE regretfully announces that following the earthquake of 24 August in Italy, two other deaths of Romanian nationals were confirmed. The current number of the Romanians’ death toll in Italy tragedy is eight,” the MAE specifies. Considering the complexity of the necessary actions to manage the situation, out of the minister’s order a consular mobile team with the MAE Rapid Reaction Unit trained to intervene from the very debut of the tragedy will take off for Rome, urgently, on Saturday morning to back the mobile teams of the Romanian Embassy in Rome and of the General Consulate of Romania in Bologna, which are already on the spot, the source adds. As for the information regarding the missing Romanian citizens, the number under the MAE attention reaches 19. The attempts to identifying them are under way, as checking are permanently covered in coordination with the Italian competent authorities. The MAE reminds that the affected Romanians can request consular assistance by dialling: (0039) 06 835 233 58, (0039) 06 835 233 56 for the Romanian Embassy; and (0039) 051 5872120, (0039) 051 5872209 for the Consular Office in Bologna; calls will be redirected to the Call and Support Centre for Romanian Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken by call centre operators around the clock. The ministry also extends heartfelt condolence to the families of the Romanian citizens killed in this tragedy and continues to provide full assistance.

The official death toll rises to 278.

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian Deputy Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes was beaten to death after he was kidnapped by striking mine workers on Thursday, the government said, and up to 100 people have been arrested as authorities vowed to punish those responsible. “At this present time, all the indications are that our deputy minister Rodolfo Illanes has been brutally and cowardly assassinated,” minister of government Carlos Romero said in broadcast comments. Five people, including a leader representing miners, were arrested Friday in relation to the killing. Two workers were killed on Wednesday after being shot by police, and the government said 17 police officers had been wounded. The National Federation of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (Fencomin), once a strong ally of the leftwing president, Evo Morales, began what it said would be an indefinite protest after negotiations over mining legislation failed. Protesters have been demanding more mining concessions with less stringent environmental rules, the right to work for private companies, and greater union representation.</s>Striking miners in Bolivia armed with dynamite seized highways in a protest over mining laws and then kidnapped, possibly tortured and beat to death the county's deputy interior minister in a killing President Evo Morales characterized Friday as a "political conspiracy," officials say. Government Minister Carlos Romero called it a “cowardly and brutal killing” and asked that the miners turn over the body of his deputy, Rodolfo Illanes, who holds the formal title of vice minister of the interior regime. Deputy Minister Rodolfo Illanes, whose formal title is vice minister of the interior regime, had traveled Thursday to the scene of the violent protests in an effort to negotiate with the strikers who armed themselves with dynamite and seized several highways. Government Minister Carlos Romero on Thursday called it a “cowardly and brutal killing.” Earlier in the day, Romero had said that Illanes had been kidnapped and possibly tortured, but wasn’t able to confirm reports that he had been killed by the striking informal miners, who were demanding the right to associate with private companies, among other issues. The fatal beating follows the killings of two protesters in clashes with police, deaths that likely escalated tensions in the strike. Illanes had gone to Panduro, 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of the La Paz, to open a dialogue with the striking miners, who have blockaded a highway there since Monday. Thousands of passengers and vehicles are stranded on roads blocked by the strikers. Officials say he was taken hostage by the miners on Thursday morning. At midday Thursday, Mr. Illanes said on his Twitter account, “My health is fine, my family can be calm.” There are reports the Mr. Illanes had heart problems. Bolivia’s informal or artisan miners number about 100,000 and work in self-managed cooperatives. They want to be able to associate with private companies, but are currently prohibited from doing so. The government argues that if they associate with multinational companies, they will no longer be cooperatives. The National Federation of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia, strong allies of Morales when metal prices were high, was organized in the 1980s amid growing unemployment in the sector that followed the closure of state mines.

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

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview on Saturday that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives had “underestimated” the challenge of integrating a record migrant influx. Czech police arrested a man after he attempted to drive his black Mercedes into the motorcade of visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Prague. Police spokesperson said that the suspect did not stop his car despite warning. Local reports claim that officers found a baton, a canister of tear gas, cement blocks, and handcuffs in the man’s black 4x4 Mercedes. British media said that Merkel was on her way to Prime Minister’s house in Prague, when a suspected black car entered in her convoy.</s>Armed Czech police fired at a suspect driving a large SUV as it attempted to ram German Chancellor Angela Merkel's motorcade. Merkel was on a visit to Prague when the man tried to break through a security cordon forcing local police to act. Officers fired at the SUV which stopped. While searching the vehicle, officers recovered handcuffs, tear gas and concrete cubes, according to local media. A man attempted to attack the motorcade of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured here with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, right, as she made her way between Prague's airport and the nation's parliament building as part of her one-day working visit Protesters were waiting yesterday outside the Czech parliament building to boo Merkel Merkel, right, held talks with Sobotka, left, during the one-day working visit to Prague The man was driving a black Mercedes SUV when he tried to attack. Police spokesman Jozef Bocan said: '[The man] attempted to join the motorcade as it moved between Prague airport and Czech government headquarters.' Bocan stressed that at no stage had Chancellor Merkel been in any danger. He said: 'While attempting to join the motorcade, he tried to run down police securing the road. The suspect acted alone. He was not armed, but items found in the car could easily have been used as weapons, particularly some cement cubes.' At the same time, protesters held highly offensive banners featuring the German chancellor Merkel spoke with Czech officials about Britain's decision to leave the European Union Bocan revealed officers had been forced to open fire to subdue the suspect who is now under arrest. Merkel held talks Thursday with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and President Milos Zeman focused on the future of the European Union after Britain's June decision to leave the bloc.

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

When he was campaigning in the President election, naive and ignorant media around the world were competing in tarnishing has image In their wrong prophecy, Rodrigo Duterte was not going to win. There had been dozens of ill-motivated propaganda against him. But we, in Weekly Blitz never got puzzled or misled at all. We knew, patriotic and peace-loving people of Philippine will definitely vote for Mr. Duterte. Because they were tired of the chaotic and corruption plagued democracy. They were tired of bandits like Ferdinand Marcos and his Successors. Filipinos were tired of rampant corruption of politicians, civil servants and members of law enforcement agencies. They were tired of massive spread of narcotics and drugs, which were destroying the society, especially younger generation. Filipinos knew how the local casinos were becoming safe haven of illegal money. How millions and billions of black money were entering Philippines, while the poor were becoming poorer. jobless people were almost compelled in joining drug rackets just for the sake of earning few Pesos for survival. Even bank executives like Maia Santos Deguito had to join hands with international money thieves, may be for a better or ‘comfortable’ future. We do think, Maia Deguito is just a small fry in the stealing of USD 81 million from Bangladesh Bank. There are big fishes inside the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and casinos in Philippine. We strongly believe, more ‘cats’ will be out of the bag soon. Special thanks to The Inquirer newspaper for exposing this story. People ask, will President Rodrigo Duterte be the Mahathir Mohamad of Philippine? With confidence we can say- yes he will be. We also hope, the communist guerrillas will sit for a peaceful settlement as insurgencies won’t bring anything good to them. They should look into the world history to know insurgencies of LTTE (in Sri Lanka) or IRA (in Ireland) had to finally get defeated and eliminated. If communist guerrillas think they have path of destruction and terror and help President Duterte in transforming Philippine as the land of prosperity, peace and smile. President Duterte’s noble battle against corruption, drug & crime is no easy task. Because those evil forces might have used a part of their evil money in buying politicians, rights groups, media and civil-military administration. They have ‘lobbyists’ in various countries in the West, who would try portraying Mr. Duterte’s good battle and noble efforts as ‘cruel’, ‘inhuman’ or they may continue propaganda claiming human rights are being violated in today’s Philippines. They may hire media to show pictures of spouses of drug peddlers crying on the street hugging dead body. But, of course, there are media who wont be purchased and they will support president Rodrigo Duterte and his noble mission. The Philippine authorities need as much information they can as to how drugs (such as ice pill, yaba or meth) are entering the country. Through which route and methods. They also need information on corrupt individuals and trails of their wealth. Weekly Blitz, as an investigative newspaper will continue to look for such information through its contacts around the world and will publish. We call upon everyone to send us information on corruption, black money, drugs, terrorists, militants etc. We always shall keep our sources undisclosed. We also welcome scoops, data and documents from Wikileaks, IFIJ and everyone else around the world. Blitz, as a newspaper shall continue to support genuine statesman and courageous leaders like President Rodrigo Duterte and other. Keep eyes on Weekly Blitz for unbiased, unmolested and exclusive reports and analysis. Please LIKE us @ Facebook and Twitter.</s>Photo by Editha Caduaya/ Rappler DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Abu Sayyaf group has received a P50-million ransom payment for its Norwegian hostage, Kjartan Sekkingstad, but the group has not yet released him as it reportedly wants to get even "more" money, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday, August 25.

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

“This trial and this process has been exhausted beyond any conceivable exhaustive process.” During sentencing hearings in June, a clinical psychologist called as a defence witness told the court in Pretoria that Pistorius was “a broken man”. The multiple gold medal-winning Paralympian, serving six years for murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013, was not in court on Friday when the judge ruled that the state's petition had no reasonable prospects of success on appeal. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced the Paralympic gold medallist to six years behind bars in July for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, but the prosecution had said the decision was "shockingly lenient". Thokozile Masipa -- the same judge who imposed the punishment on the Paralympic athlete last month -- said she was not persuaded there was a "reasonable prospect of success on appeal". Roux argued that Pistorius had been sentenced to an effective eight-year jail term if one considered the year Pistorius spent in prison for the culpable homicide conviction and time spent under correctional supervision from October last year until July this year when he was sentenced again for the murder conviction. "Any party who has to apply to the trial judge for permission to appeal and is unsuccessful, the option is open for them to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal," said Stephan Terblanche, a law professor at the University of South Africa. "His remorse and or prospects of rehabilitating could not be tested," Nel argued before Masipa's ruling, referring to Pistorius' decision not to testify at the sentencing hearings. Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, by firing four bullets from a handgun through a closed toilet door in his luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, on Valentine’s Day in 2013.</s>A legal challenge to Oscar Pistorius’s ‘shockingly too lenient’ six-year jail term for murdering Reeva Steenkamp was today rejected for having ‘no reasonable prospects of success’. A Pistorius family source greeted the news ‘with great relief’ and welcomed the judge’s ‘humanity’ after accusing prosecutors of having ‘a personal vendetta’ against the shamed athlete. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel spent almost an hour arguing against ‘the injustice’ of Pistorius’ prison sentence in the latest round of legal wrangling in pursuit of the runner, which was described as ‘ego driven and unprofessional’ by one of the Blade Runner’s relatives. Mr Nel told Judge Thokozile Masipa that she had misdirected herself in law by handing down a punishment that was less than half of South Africa’s prescribed minimum 15-year sentence for murder. The 29 year-old track star, who was treated for injuries to his wrists two weeks ago in what prison sources claimed was a self-harming incident in his cell, was not in court for the 80 minute hearing. Judge Masipa, who presided over the paralympian’s trial, took a little over an hour to decide that the state’s case was not worthy of referring to her superiors in South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal as there would be ‘little chance’ of senior judges arriving at a different punishment for Pistorius. A relative of the runner’s told MailOnline, ‘Judge Masipa is not a sissy, thank god. She can stand up to Nel. She knows the case, she knows the law. She is a serious legal mind and won’t be bullied into changing it.’ Although today’s result will bring some relief to Pistorius and his family, the state may still petition a higher court over the matter. Mr Nel, known as the ‘pitbull’ for his confrontational style of questioning witnesses, told the judge that he had found six ‘misdirections’ in her sentencing of Pistorius for the 2013 murder of Reeva, which resulted in a punishment that ‘induces a sense of shock.’ The prosecutor told the court that the judge had over-emphasised the athlete’s disability, sense of vulnerability and given undue weight to his expression of remorse and led to a ‘disturbingly disproportionate’ punishment. ‘The court failed to take into account that the accused fired four shots through the door and he never offered an acceptable explanation for having done so,’ Mr Nel told the hearing, adding, ‘there was a massive chasm between regret and remorse’. Mr Nel told proceedings that the judge had ignored a string of aggravating factors about the murder of ‘an innocent, defenceless woman’. He said the court should have started at the minimum murder sentence of 15 years when considering its punishment of Pistorius. ‘This induces a state of shock,’ he told the court, bluntly. ‘The deceased died in a horrendous way. That is what bothers Mr Steenkamp [her father].’ Mr Nel concluded his 55 minute argument by stating that Pistorius’ punishment had to be challenged as it set a dangerous precedent for future murder cases. Neither family was in court for the hearing. Reeva’s uncle, Mike Steenkamp, said he was ‘not surprised’ at the judge’s ruling. 'It would be impossible for the judge to allow this to back again to the appeal court. I think Barry and June are resigned to the fact that this is the end of the road in this case. 'We didnt think that it had much chance of success from the start. But we have always gone along with whatever the state thought was the right thing to do. ‘The Reeva Steenkamp Foundation is now up and running and the family are just wanting to devote all our energies to that now, and leave this legal matter behind us. 'We move forward in Reeva’s memory and to do good things for other women, that’s what we need to be doing now, not this.’ Today’s hearing was the State’s second challenge of a ruling by Judge Masipa. It first appealed her finding that Pistorius was guilty of manslaughter, for which she sentenced him for five years in jail. Last year, the judge’s manslaughter verdict was overturned on appeal – but when Pistorius appeared again in her court for sentencing for the more serious crime, Judge Masipa increased his term by just one more year. A family source told MailOnline the athlete was ‘anxious’ about the proceedings, and was convinced Mr Nel was motivated by a personal grudge against him. ‘It’s a personal thing, a vendetta, Nel is driven by his ego, it’s not right or professional the way that he keeps coming back to this again and again. It clearly has to be personal now, ‘ he said. Barry Roux, Pistorius’ defence lawyer, echoed the family’s sentiments when arguing against the application to appeal, telling the court ‘enough is enough’. ‘I see a lot of prejudice against the accused coming from the state,’ Mr Roux said firmly, glancing at his opponent across the High Court in Pretoria. He said the state’s application was an ‘insult’ to the court the state, and their argument did not justify using his client as ‘a ping pong ball’ being sent back and forth between the court houses of South Africa. Prosecutors had an attitude of ‘punish him, punish him, punish him’ towards Pistorius, the sprinter’s lawyer said. ‘This case has been exhausted beyond the point of exhaustion,’ Mr Roux said, asserting that a higher court would not ‘come to a different finding’ on punishment for his client. South Africa’s City Press newspaper reported earlier this month that Pistorius had been put on suicide watch following an incident in his cell which had left him needing hospital treatment for injuries to his wrists. Prison officials told City Press newspaper that the athlete was under 24-hour monitoring, with increased cell visits by warders. Pistorius’ brother Carl denied it was a suicide bid, as sources had claimed. The incident coincided with the first day of competition in the Rio Olympic Games, almost three weeks ago. Inside sources told the paper that razor blades were found in the disgraced athlete's cell, and that his wrist injuries, described as 'severe', were self-inflicted. The double-amputee, who is being held at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria, had told prison officials he sustained the injuries sliding on his wet cell floor, while moving around on his stumps. According to the newspaper, the injury occurred soon after he had an altercation with prison officials over medication prescribed by state doctors. The Paralympian had refused to take the medication, saying it was 'toxic' and demanded to be given medication prescribed by his private doctor. He alleged that the prison official wanted to kill him and demanded to be transferred to another jail. Warders also raided his cell and found a pair a scissors, prescription drugs and 'toxic pills'. The National Prosecuting Authority said after the judgment, which surprised many legal observers, that it was ‘considering the options’ left available to take the matter further.

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

A man wears a placard with the message, "Burkini = Liberty" outside the Conseil d'Etat after France's highest administrative court suspended a ban on full-body burkini swimsuits that has outraged Muslims and opened divisions within the government, pending a definitive ruling, in Paris, France, August 26, 2016. While rulings by the Council of State do set precedents, several mayors said they would not suspend their own bans and rights groups said they would bring them to courts, meaning more lawsuits are expected. Divisions have emerged in President Francois Hollande’s government over the bans, and protests have been held in London and Berlin by those defending women’s right to wear what they want on the beach. Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice as she removed a long-sleeved top.</s>(CNN) Mayors do not have the right to ban burkinis, France's highest administrative court ruled Friday. The Council of State's ruling suspends a ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, and could affect cities around the country that have prohibited the full-length swimsuit. More than 30 French towns have banned burkinis , which cover the whole body except for the face, hands and feet. Officials say the ban on the burkini -- worn mostly by Muslim women -- was a response to growing terror concerns Human rights activists argue that such measures are illegal, and that pushes to outlaw the garment are Islamophobic. Authorities in Nice say the officers were simply exercising their duties. Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi denounced the photos, saying they put the officers in danger. "I condemn these unacceptable provocations," he said. In London, demonstrators created a makeshift beach Thursday outside the French Embassy for a "Wear what you want beach party." Jenny Dawkins, a Church of England priest, told CNN she joined the protest after seeing a photo of the incident in Nice. "I think it's a frightening image," she said. "I find it quite chilling to see an image of a woman surrounded by men with guns being told to take her clothes off." In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban wearing in public the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes. And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously enforced secularism.

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

Zimbabwe's opposition supporters set up a burning barricade as they clash with police during a protest for electoral reforms in Harare on August 26, 2016. By Wilfred Kajese (AFP) Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday warned that the Arab Spring style of protests would fall flat in Zimbabwe after police fired teargas and beat up protesters staging the latest of a string of highly charged demonstrations. The violence came a day after a High Court judge had ordered police "not to interfere (with), obstruct or stop the march". Dozens of police blocked off the site of an opposition rally to demand electoral reforms before 2018 when 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African country for decades, will seek re-election. An AFP correspondent saw armed police firing tear gas and water cannon at protesters gathered on the fringes of Harare's central business district while waiting for the court ruling to allow the march to go ahead. The protesters responded to the clampdown by throwing stones at the police while some set tyres ablaze and others pulled down the sign for a street named after Mugabe. Some people caught up in the melee, including children going to an agricultural show nearby, ran for shelter in the magistrate's court building while riot police pursued the demonstrators and threatened journalists covering the rally. The usually bustling pavements were clear of street hawkers while some shops were shut and stones, sticks and burning tyres were strewn across the streets. The opposition protesters also clashed with supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party who had refused to clear their street stalls. The ZANU-PF youths hurled stones at the opposition activists but were overpowered and their market stalls were set on fire. High court judge Hlekani Mwayera ordered the police and government "not to interfere, obstruct or stop the march" organised by 18 opposition parties including the Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the Zimbabwe People First formed this year by former vice president Joice Mujuru. Opposition leaders gave a news conference where they condemned the brutal repression of the protest and vowed to increase pressure on Mugabe's regime. "If that was meant to cow us from demonstrating, I want to say we are going to do the same next week Friday," former Mugabe ally and ex-cabinet minister Didymus Mutasa told reporters. Protests "will continue until the day we vote," said Mutasa, a former top member of ZANU-PF who is now a senior member of Mujuru's party. "We have had enough of ZANU-PF misrule." Tsvangirai said the public would not be easily calmed. "The people's anger is very deep. Authorities said the had arrested 67 people, and lawyers said one of them was a journalist. "Today's brutal suppression of the people will not stop them from exercising their rights." Tsvangirai said the regime was in its "sunset hour", warning that efforts to suppress the protests would backfire. "Citizens are like a spring: the more they are suppressed, the greater the rebound," he said. Charles Laurie, an analyst with Verisk Maplecroft in London, agreed that the government was on the verge of losing control. "The government is nearing a tipping point in its ability to control a population long used to violence and hardship, and who now have little to lose in putting themselves at risk in forcing political concessions," he told AFP. The move to seek court backing came a day after police violently put down another march by opposition youths, firing tear gas and water cannon and beating them as they staged a protest against police brutality. Police had tried to "discourage" Friday's march, saying the anticipated crowd of around 150,000 would disrupt business and traffic. Several foreign diplomatic missions based in Harare called on the authorities to ensure that basic human rights and freedoms are respected during policing. The Australian embassy issued a statement expressing concern over the recent unrest, saying the use of violence was "not acceptable under any circumstance." And the Canadian embassy also said it was "increasingly concerned with reports of violence and human rights violations in response to public protest" while the Australian mission said the use of violence was "not acceptable under any circumstance". Former cabinet minister Didymus Mutasa, spokesman for the National Electoral Reform Agenda which groups political parties pushing for the reforms, said the march was to demand free and fair elections. Zimbabwe's last elections in 2013 were won by Mugabe in a vote the opposition said was rigged. Home Affairs Minister Ignatious Chombo warned on Thursday that the government would clamp down heavily on what it termed "Western-sponsored" protests seeking "regime change". Zimbabwe has seen a mounting tide of violent protests in recent weeks, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980. Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, has overseen an economic collapse that has caused food and cash shortages, with the country battling to pay public servants.</s>

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

Dark matter accounts for almost 85 percent mass of the observable universe and yet, we have never actually found the stuff outside of theories that prove it must exist. Even the visible disk of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, is believed to exist within a roughly spherical halo of dark matter that accounts for about 90 percent of the galaxy. In their search for the pervasive-yet-elusive particles of dark matter, astronomers have tried to find galaxies with much higher concentrations of the mysterious substance — it does not interact with visible matter at all, except through gravity, which is how scientists can theorize its existence. And while galaxies believed to be made up almost entirely of dark matter have been discovered before, they are usually quite small, such as VIRGOHI21 — about 50 million light-years away, it appears to contain no visible stars, has 99.9 percent dark matter and is about 10th the size of Milky Way. But now, a team of astronomers has found a galaxy that is comparable in size to ours but with a similar proportion of dark matter as VIRGOHI21. Named Dragonfly 44, it is about 300 million light-years away in the Coma constellation with an estimated mass of about 1 trillion times that of the sun. The discovery was made by astronomers from universities in the U.S. and Canada, who used the W.M. Keck Observatory and Gemini North telescope — both in Hawaii — for their observations. A paper, titled “A High Stellar Velocity Dispersion and ~100 Globular Clusters for the Ultra Diffuse Galaxy Dragonfly 44,” describing their findings was published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters on Thursday. Pieter van Dokkum, an astronomer at Yale University and lead author of the paper, said in a statement: “Very soon after its discovery, we realized this galaxy had to be more than meets the eye. It has so few stars that it would quickly be ripped apart unless something was holding it together.” The researchers measured the velocities of stars in Dragonfly 44 using data from Keck over six nights. “Star velocities are an indication of the galaxy’s mass ... The faster the stars move, the more mass its galaxy will have,” according to the statement. The stars in Dragonfly 44 were observed to be moving much faster than was expected for a galaxy of its brightness, or rather, its lack of brightness. Roberto Abraham of the University of Toronto, co-author of the paper, said: “It means that Dragonfly 44 has a huge amount of unseen mass.” Observations from the Gemini North telescope showed that Dragonfly 44 has “a halo of spherical clusters of stars around the galaxy’s core, similar to the halo that surrounds our Milky Way galaxy.” Abraham said the team had no idea how galaxies like this could have formed. “The Gemini data show that a relatively large fraction of the stars is in the form of very compact clusters, and that is probably an important clue. But at the moment we’re just guessing.”</s>But don't cue "Star Wars' " Imperial March theme music or Darth Vader breathing just yet (even if the closeup image looks like a slightly creepy emoji). Although it's massive and mysterious, Dragonfly 44 is really just misunderstood. Dragonfly 44 went unnoticed until last year because, when regarding the darkness of space, this galaxy resembles a virtually indistinguishable blob. But by looking at it with some of the world's most powerful telescopes, including the Dragonfly telescope array designed and built by study authors Pieter van Dokkum and Roberto Abraham, researchers realized something else. It is named for the telescope that found it. Dragonfly 44 is an incredibly large but diffuse and dim galaxy. Encircling its core is a halo made up of clusters of stars, much like what we see in the Milky Way. But this galaxy is only 0.1% stars. The Milky Way has more than a hundred times that. The researchers knew that something had to be holding those few stars in place. "We knew as soon as we discovered the galaxy that it would be so tenuous if it was just made up of stars and no dark matter, that it would quickly disrupt and disappear," said van Dokkum, lead study author and Yale University astronomer. A huge amount of gravity was working to hold those stars in place, and once researchers used star velocity to measure how much mass the galaxy contained, they realized that the other 99.9% is dark matter. To put this in perspective, Dragonfly 44 is comparable in size to the Milky Way, which is 100,000 light-years wide. Mostly it is just unseen because it is cloaked in darkness. "It's very exciting because we thought we had sort of figured out what the relationship is between galaxies and dark matter," van Dokkum said. "This discovery turns that on its head. Now, you can have a hundred times fewer stars in the galaxy with the same amount of dark matter as the Milky Way. That was entirely unexpected, and that means that there is something missing in our description of galaxy formations, and there are physics that we don't yet understand in that process." This newly observed galaxy could hold the secrets to understanding dark matter, the hypothesized ingredient that makes up 90% of the universe. Given the fact that we know next to nothing about it, this find could open the door to our discovery and understanding of the mysterious building block. "One of the things we are after are finding galaxies like this that are even closer to us, ideally 30 or 50 million light-years away so we could study them in detail," van Dokkum said. "We could be looking for the dark matter particle itself. Currently, people are looking at tiny dwarf galaxies that circle the Milky Way to search for the dark matter particle with X-ray and UV telescopes, but nothing has been found yet. These galaxies are a million times more massive, so we have a higher chance of detecting a dark matter signal if we find one close enough to us. "But dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries in science. We don't even know if it is a particle or not. It's a bunch of steps from where we are now. For us, it's finding the best candidates. It would be incredibly exciting if it helps the search in that way." The invention and building of the Dragonfly telescope came out of a dinner conversation between the two men, that led to a bet in 2011. It has grown from one lens in a parking lot to an array of 48 lenses with a coating that enables them to do special imaging of these faint galaxies. Abraham, a professor of astronomy at the University of Toronto, is credited with putting the telescope together. Van Dokkum also has a background in photography, which enabled him to help with selecting the lenses. As it happens, in his spare time, he uses his photography skills to capture images of the underappreciated dragonfly. He calls it a "strange confluence of work and hobby," considering the name of the galaxy and telescope. See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. Using their Dragonfly telescope, van Dokkum and Abraham will continue their research by surveying a random large batch of the sky rather than targeting of particular galaxies or groups of galaxies, as they had been doing. "We built this telescope to try to uncover what's out there," van Dokkum said. "What other things have we missed that are right above us?"

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

Aug 28 (Gracenote) - Results and standings from the Paraguayan championship matches on Sunday Saturday, August 27 Guarani 1 General Diaz 0 Rubio Nu 0 Nacional A. 0 Standings P W D L F A Pts 1 Guarani 9 6 1 2 8 6 19 ------------------------- 2 Olimpia 8 5 3 0 13 4 18 3 Sol de America 7 4 1 2 14 9 13 4 Sportivo Luqueno 8 3 3 2 9 9 12 5 Libertad 8 3 2 3 10 9 11 6 Deportivo Capiata 8 3 2 3 7 12 11 7 Cerro Porteno 8 2 3 3 14 11 9 8 Rubio Nu 8 2 3 3 8 8 9 9 General Diaz 9 2 3 4 7 9 9 10 General Caballero 8 1 5 2 7 8 8 11 Nacional A. 9 1 3 5 10 16 6 12 River Plate 8 1 3 4 6 12 6 1: Copa Libertadores Next Fixtures (GMT): Sunday, August 28 Olimpia v Libertad (2110) River Plate v Cerro Porteno (2320) Monday, August 29 General Caballero v Sol de America (2230) Tuesday, August 30 Sportivo Luqueno v Deportivo Capiata (0030)</s>The government said it is investigating the attack, which took place in a rural part of Concepcion, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of capital Asuncion, in an area where the EPP is known to operate. Because of the manner in which it was done, we believe it was an attack by the known criminal group EPP,” he said, using the Spanish acronym for the Paraguayan People’s Army.

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

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Kurdish militant suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint near a police station in southeast Turkey on Friday, killing at least 11 police officers and wounding 78 other people, the prime minister said. The attack struck the checkpoint 50 yards from a main police station near the town of Cizre, in the mainly-Kurdish Sirnak province that borders Syria, the Anadolu Agency reported. Rebels linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party claimed the attack -- the latest in a string of bombings by the group targeting police or military vehicles and facilities. In a statement on the website of the Workers' Party's military wing, the militant group said the Cizre attack was in retaliation for jailed Workers' Party leader Abdullah Ocalan's "isolation" on a prison island off Istanbul. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed the death toll, saying it was a suicide attack carried out with an explosives-laden truck. He vowed to "destroy the terrorists." "No terrorist organization can take the Turkish Republic hostage," he told reporters in Istanbul. "We will give these scoundrels every response they deserve." Television footage showed black smoke rising from the mangled truck and the three-story police station gutted from the explosion. The three-story police station was gutted from the powerful explosion. According to the Sirnak governor's office, three of those wounded in Friday's attack were civilians. The Health Ministry sent 12 ambulances and two helicopters to the site. Violence between the PKK and the security forces resumed last year, after the collapse of a fragile two-year peace process between the government and the militant group. Cizre was placed under 24-hour curfew for several weeks earlier this year, as the security forces launched operations to root out Kurdish militants. At the same time, Turkey has been afflicted by deadly attacks blamed on Islamic State militants, including a suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in southeast Turkey last week that killed 54 people, and an attack on Istanbul's main airport in June that killed 44 people. The operation aims to help Syrian rebels retake Jarablus, a key Islamic State-held border town, and to contain the expansion of Syrian Kurdish militias linked to the Workers' Party. Since hostilities with the Workers' Party resumed last summer, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of Workers' Party militants have been killed, according to the Anadolu Agency. A Turkish human rights group said scores of civilians were killed in the operations. The Workers' Party is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies. The attacks on police come as the country is still reeling from a violent coup attempt on July 15 that killed at least 270 people. The government has blamed the failed coup on the supporters of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and has embarked on a sweeping crackdown on his followers. On Thursday, Kurdish rebels opened fire at security forces protecting a convoy carrying Turkey's main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the northeast, killing a soldier and wounding two others, officials said.</s>Yildirim also told a news conference that the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK was behind Friday’s bombing of a police headquarters in Turkey’s southeast, the latest in a string of attacks that the authorities have blamed on the group. A suicide truck bombing at a police headquarters in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast killed at least 11 and wounded dozens on Friday, two days after Turkey launched an incursion against Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters in Syria.

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

At least 16 migrants die in Moscow warehouse fire MOSCOW: At least 16 migrant workers mostly from Kyrgyzstan died in a fire that broke out at a Moscow warehouse early yesterday, Russian authorities said. The fire was caused by a faulty lamp on the first floor of the warehouse, where many flammable liquids and paper products were stored, and it spread quickly through an elevator shaft to the room where those who died were working, said Ilya Denisov, who heads the Moscow branch of the emergency services. Denisov said firefighters found the charred bodies of 16 workers and sent four injured workers to hospital, where one later died. Denisov, whose statements were carried by Russian news agencies, said the dead were all from Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, and were believed to be working legally in Russia.</s>A fire in a warehouse at a Moscow printing works killed at least 17 people on Saturday morning, an Emergencies Ministry official told Rossiya-24 TV station. The TV station said the people, who lived and worked at the depot, were mostly from former Soviet Union countries. Ilya Denisov, an emergencies ministry official, told Rossiya-24 TV station a malfunctioning lamp caused the fire. READ MORE: * Fire breaks out at Siberian coal mine with 50 miners underground: reports * Four killed after explosions, gunfire in anti-terror raid in St Petersburg, Russia * Dozens dead in Russian hospital fire Lax fire safety standards have often been blamed for such incidents in Russia. In January, 12 people died in a fire in a Moscow clothing factory.

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

Outgoing chief minister Adam Giles delivers a succinct obituary for his one-term government, which had its 2012 16-seat win cut to two seats This article is more than 3 years old This article is more than 3 years old It was a thumping. Adam Giles described it best, conceding defeat of his Country Liberal party government in a landslide election result in the Northern Territory. The win was called within two hours of polls closing, and just a handful of seats remained in doubt as the next chief minister, Michael Gunner, made his victory speech an hour later. Giles’s central desert seat of Braitling was one yet to be called. Northern Territory election: Adam Giles says he'll 'have a beer' if he loses Read more With more than half the votes counted the CLP had a swing against it of more than 18%. Labor did not pick all that up, gaining 6.4% on the last election. At the time of counting there was a bigger swing towards independents with 8.9%. All predictions had suggested an emphatic Labor victory after four years of an increasingly divisive and controversial term of government, but there were a lot of unknowns. Since the last election in 2012 boundaries had been redrawn and new seats created, and new laws for polling day had been introduced. Territorians had optional preferential voting for the first time, and more than 50,000 took the opportunity to vote early without an excuse. Exclusion zones around polling stations prevented anyone campaigning or handing out how-to-vote cards within 100m. The CLP had won government in 2012 with 16 seats to Labor’s eight, with a solitary independent on the crossbench, but after a series of scandals, fights, reshuffles and coups – both attempted and successful – the party was reduced to a minority of 12. Then on Saturday night that 12 became two. Maybe four at most. “Tonight no doubt is a landslide. It’s a thumping,” said Giles in Alice Springs. “Politically speaking tonight’s result is a lesson in disunity is death in politics. It’s a result of personality before the politics, it’s a lesson in looking after oneself rather than thinking about the people. that message has been heard loud and clear within the candidates and the party of the Country Liberals.” The CLP, the party which had held government for 27 straight years until 2001, would rebuild, he said. “We will remove the disagreements, we will remove the personalities of politics and we will come back bigger and better because one thing is for sure: Labor can’t manage the economy, Labor can’t manage law and order, hence one day in the future the NT will look on us to take leadership, albeit in a more concise, less personality-operated government”. With about 55% of the vote counted, Labor had 15 seats in the bag and another three predicted. The CLP had retained just two. Three independents had won, and it would likely be four. David Tollner, former treasurer and member for Fong Lim, who was not preselected for this election, predicted there would be more independents in parliament than CLP members. The official Labor event, held at the Waratahs sporting club on the outskirts of Darwin’s CBD, was full of Labor faithful as well as city and suburban candidates. Around the corner the CLP gathered in Cullen Bay. The food was better but the mood was sombre. The leader had remained in Alice Springs. Gunner entered the Labor room to shouts and chants of congratulations, and he walked a slow gauntlet of hugs and high-fives, but the audience’s attention waned during his speech and rarely a moment went by without people talking and others shushing them. In one resonating moment, Gunner spoke of his lifetime association with the NT. He is the first territory-born chief minister to be elected since self-governance in 1978. “A boy born in Alice Springs, who grew up in public housing Tennant Creek, who now stands here as chief minister of the Northern Territory,” he said. “In the Northern Territory you can dream big.” The crowd erupted. Gunner said he would work with the independents and CLP opposition, and pledged unity and consultation – two things the electorate had indicated were missing during the CLP term. “You all deserve access to us and we will govern for all Territorians. As Territorians we are stronger when we are united, and we are united in our determination to make our home a better place.” Lynne Walker, member for Nhulunbuy, told Guardian Australia she was humbled by her party’s victory, and excited that as deputy chief minister she would be representing remote and Indigenous Territorians. Northern Territory election: Michael Gunner claims victory for Labor – as it happened Read more The federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten, called Gunner early to congratulate him, and then formally sent out a public statement once the victory speech was over. “Territorians have punished the CLP for four years of scandal and controversy, and rewarded Labor for working hard and listening to people,” said Shorten. “Michael listened to Territorians and offered a positive plan for creating jobs, investing in people, and restoring trust and integrity in government. Territorians have responded to Labor’s plan, making the CLP government the first one-term government in the territory’s history.”</s>The outcome of the Northern Territory election has been labelled as extraordinary as Labor goes from being a minority to having a landslide victory. Northern Territory Labor leader Michael Gunner blames the 'chaotic' four years under the scandal-plagued Country Liberal party for the win and promises to live up to the voters' expectations. 'Every single Territorian, thank you for the trust that you have placed in Labor,' he told party supporters following the election on Saturday. 'It is a privilege to stand here today as a servant of the public and as the new chief minister of the NT.' The Labor party could have as many as 18 MPs in the 25-seat parliament, according to the predictions of the ABC election website. The party has already won 15 seats. The CLP, which went into Saturday's election with 11, may end up with only two, while independents could take the remaining three or four seats. Mr Gunner said Territorians were 'good people who deserve good governance and that's what we will give them.' 'They have rejected the chaos of the last four years and they have chosen to place their trust in Labor,' he said. He vowed Labor would provide restore confidence in the Northern Territory. 'We have got a plan to deliver certainty in the NT and to restore confidence in the NT,' 'There is a cost to chaos and there is a reward for stability.' However, he said he would work with the CLP and independents because 'they are not our enemies. They are Territorians and I will work with them.' The win is of historical importance for the party as Labor has only held power in the state for two terms since 1974 - they were consecutive terms from 2001- 2012. The CLP regained power in the 2012 election - and prior to the 2001 election they held it for close to three decades.

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

Metro Manila, Philippines (CNN) In an unassuming Quezon City neighborhood, across from a municipal library and around the corner from a police station stands the local jail. A short ride from Manila -- depending on traffic -- the jail isn't an imposing building, or even a particularly large one. Its total floor area is a shade over 30,000 square feet. More than 4,000 inmates -- and counting -- live cheek by jowl in what has to be one of the most densely populated corners of the Philippines. With thousands of arrests made since the beginning of June in the war on drugs, the population of inmates keeps growing. With thousands of arrests made since the beginning of June in the war on drugs, the population of inmates keeps growing. At the beginning of the year, just under 3,600 were incarcerated. In the seven weeks since President Duterte took office, that number has risen to 4,053. At the beginning of the year, just under 3,600 were incarcerated. In the seven weeks since President Duterte took office, that number has risen to 4,053. Many inmates could go home but can't afford the bail, which can be as low as 4,000 to 6,000 pesos ($86 to $129). Many inmates could go home but can't afford the bail, which can be as low as 4,000 to 6,000 pesos ($86 to $129). A rigorous search of those coming in keeps the amount of contraband to a minimum, says the jail's senior inspector. But it's still a jail, he shrugs, suggesting that drugs and other illegal goods do find their way in. A rigorous search of those coming in keeps the amount of contraband to a minimum, says the jail's senior inspector. But it's still a jail, he shrugs, suggesting that drugs and other illegal goods do find their way in. "The food is terrible," says one inmate. "And it's hard to find a space to sleep, especially when it rains." "The food is terrible," says one inmate. "And it's hard to find a space to sleep, especially when it rains." Critics say this overcrowding is a predictable effect of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. Critics say this overcrowding is a predictable effect of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. It's always been packed, guards say, but recently the number of inmates has spiked. It's always been packed, guards say, but recently the number of inmates has spiked. Inmate Ramon Go, who acts as "mayor" for some of the jail's dorms, has been incarcerated for 16 years. He's currently awaiting the verdict of his murder trial, which happened two and a half years ago. Inmate Ramon Go, who acts as "mayor" for some of the jail's dorms, has been incarcerated for 16 years. He's currently awaiting the verdict of his murder trial, which happened two and a half years ago. Originally built in 1953, the country's jail authority suggests it is safe for 800 inmates -- a shade of its current numbers. By U.N. standards, it is fit for 200 inmates. Originally built in 1953, the country's jail authority suggests it is safe for 800 inmates -- a shade of its current numbers. By U.N. standards, it is fit for 200 inmates. Quezon City jail, just outside the capital Manila, is home to over 4,000 inmates. Quezon City jail, just outside the capital Manila, is home to over 4,000 inmates. It's always been packed, guards say, but recently the number of inmates has spiked. Conditions inside are astounding. Every available space is crammed with yellow T-shirted humanity. The men here -- and almost 60% are in for drug offenses -- spend the days sitting, squatting and standing in the unrelenting, suffocating Manila heat. Their numbers are climbing relentlessly. At the beginning of the year, a little under 3,600 were incarcerated. In the seven weeks since Duterte took office and charged his No. 1 cop, Ronald Dela Rosa, with cleaning up the country, that number has risen to 4,053. The Quezon City Jail was built in 1953, originally to house 800 people, according to the country's Bureau of Jail Management and Penology standards. The United Nations says it should house no more than 278. There are only 20 guards assigned to the mass of incarcerated men, some of whom have been living behind these walls for years without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. Dela Rosa earlier told CNN that the criminals in the jails and prisons would just have to squeeze in, gesturing by pulling in his shoulders and arms. Inmates are woken at 5 a.m. before undergoing a head count -- no easy task when you have 4,000-plus men crammed into crumbling, ramshackle cells. 'Safer in here than out on the streets' Alex Beltran, a 29-year-old temp worker, has been here for a month and blames Duterte's crackdown for his imprisonment. "The food is terrible," he says. "And it's hard to find a space to sleep, especially when it rains." Life inside is "harder for the new guys," he says. Fellow inmate Romeo Payhoi, 38, is another newcomer, and while he says he was scared coming in, it hasn't been as bad as he anticipated, just cramped and lacking any privacy. At any rate, he adds, he feels "safer in here than out on the streets," where "the cops could kill you." Many who come into the system are already affiliated with gangs, like Sique-sique Sputnik (935 members incarcerated in the jail), Commando (386), Bahala Na gang (874) and Batang City Jail (740). Around a quarter of those inside the jail have no affiliation. These gangs hold considerable sway inside, and each run sections to which their members naturally gravitate. Colorful murals on the walls proclaim territory, although guards say that out of sheer necessity there is a de facto truce between the groups. Many inmates could go home but can't afford the bail, which can be as low as 4,000 to 6,000 pesos ($86 to $129), according to Joey Doguiles, the jail's senior inspector and chief of operations. A top police chief, when asked what officials did to prepare for the crackdown, said the threat from drugs was so great that there was no time to expand the facility. That would have to come later. Outside the jail as many as 700 relatives of inmates wait patiently in the still morning air to go in to see their brothers, husbands and sons. They'll be waiting for hours before adding to the crush inside -- one guard says that there isn't a specific visiting room; visitors mingle with prisoners, marked with ink stamp to denote their freedom. A rigorous search of those coming from the outside keeps the amount of contraband to a minimum, Doguiles says. But it's still a jail, he shrugs, suggesting that drugs and other illegal goods do find their way in. The main drug here -- as it is across the Philippines -- is shabu, the local name for meth. Bunks stacked at least three high Inside the dormitories -- affectionately called barangays, a Filipino name for neighborhoods -- the men are left to their own devices to find somewhere to sleep. Towels, threadbare curtains and even chipped plywood boards are put up to maintain some semblance of privacy, but it's impossible in such a cramped space. In one room there are 85 inmates in a 200-square foot space. Another one, bigger but not by much, holds 131. It's designed for 30. Bunks are stacked at least three high, and inmates have even crawled under these rickety structures to find a sleeping spot. One sleeps, cocooned, in a hammock suspended from the ceiling. And they don't even have the comfort of knowing that this is a temporary situation. The court system here works at a snail's pace. Ameena-Tara Jance visits six days a week to see her husband, who's been here for six years and counting. He's recovering from a mild stroke, and she says that in the heat some have been known to keel over and die. Her husband is due for another hearing in October, but they both feel there's no end in sight. "There's no justice," she says. The "mayor" of the second-floor dorms, Ramon Go -- an inmate responsible for marshaling and supervising around 900 of his fellow prisoners -- has been there for 16 years. He's one of the few who's had his trial -- on murder charges -- after a police raid led to a cop's shooting death. He was tried 2½ years ago -- after almost a decade and a half of waiting -- and is still stuck inside the walls of the jail in Quezon City, waiting for the verdict to come in. With thousands of arrests made since the beginning of June in the war on drugs, the population of inmates keeps growing. It's an endless wait, made keener by the fact that the inmates can't know when they might regain their freedom. So they wait, watching daily as more caught up in the crackdown are processed and attempt to eke out a space, and a life, in a jail already breaking at the seams.</s>CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (AP) — Muslim extremists supporting the Islamic State group have freed eight fellow militants in a daring attack that also allowed 15 other inmates to escape from a provincial jail in the southern Philippines. Police say about 20 heavily-armed fighters of the Maute militant group stormed the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi city before nightfall Saturday, disarmed the guards and rescued their eight comrades, including three women. Police said Sunday the eight militants were arrested by army troops and police when they were caught with a homemade mortar shell in a van in Lanao del Sur's Lumbayanague town. Several armed groups in the Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS, although the country's military says there is no evidence of active co-operation with foreign militants.

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

HAVANA (AP) - The commander of Colombia’s biggest rebel movement said Sunday its fighters will permanently cease hostilities with the government beginning with the first minute of Monday, as a result of their peace accord ending one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), made the announcement in Havana, where the two sides negotiated for four years before announcing the peace deal Wednesday. “Never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war,” said Londono, who is also known as Timoshenko. “All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past.” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced on Friday that his military would cease attacks on the FARC beginning Monday. Colombia is expected to hold a national referendum Oct. 2 to give voters the chance to approve the deal for ending a half-century of political violence that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven more than 5 million people from their homes After the agreement is signed, FARC guerrillas are supposed to begin handing their weapons over to United Nations-sponsored monitors. Under the 297-page accord, Farc guerrillas are supposed to turn over their weapons within six months after the deal is formally signed. In return, the Farc’s still unnamed future political movement will be given a minimum 10 congressional seats — five in the lower house, five in the senate — for two legislative periods. In addition, 16 lower house seats will be created for grassroots activists in rural areas traditionally neglected by the state and in which existing political parties will be banned from running candidates. Critics of the peace process contend that will further boost the rebels’ post-conflict political power. After 2026, both arrangements would end and the former rebels would have to demonstrate their political strength at the ballot box. Not all hostilities are ending under the deal with the FARC. The much-smaller National Liberation Army remains active in Colombia, although it is pursuing its own peace deal with the government.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez reflects on a peace deal after 52 years of conflict Under the terms of the agreement, the Farc (the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) will give up its armed struggle and join the legal political process. BOGOTA: An historic ceasefire came into effect in Colombia, ending a 52-year war between FARC rebels and the government and taking a major step toward ending a conflict that has claimed more than 250,000 lives. The full ceasefire ordered by President Juan Manuel Santos and the head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Timoleon Jimenez, began at midnight (0500 GMT). “I order all our commanders and units and each one of our combatants to definitively cease fire and hostilities against the Colombian state from midnight tonight” top FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez said in a declaration before the media in Cuba, where peace talks were held. Image copyright PA Image caption Farc leader Rodrigo Londono, better known under his alias of Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, announced the start of the ceasefire in Havana Image copyright Twitter Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree earlier to halt military operations against the Farc, also from midnight. Santos wrote on Twitter: “The end of the conflict has arrived!” The FARC declared a unilateral ceasefire in July 2015. But Sunday night's ceasefire is the first in which both sides have committed to a definitive end to the fighting. “The ceasefire is really one more seal on the end of the conflict,” said Carlos Alfonso Velazquez, a security expert at the University of La Sabana. But the definitive ceasefire was supposed to come into force the day after the final peace agreement was signed by President Santos and the leader of the Farc, Timoleon Jimenez - an event expected in Cartagena at the end of September. The ceasefire and definitive end of hostilities will be followed by a six-month demobilization process. From Monday, the FARC's estimated 7,500 fighters will start heading to collection points to give up their weapons under UN supervision. Guerrillas who refuse to demobilize and disarm "will be pursued with all the strength of the state forces," Santos told El Espectador newspaper. Before the demobilization, the FARC will convene its leaders and troops one last time before transforming into “a legal political movement,” according to a statement published on Saturday. To end the war with the FARC for good, Colombians must now vote in an October 2 referendum on the peace accord hammered out in nearly four years of talks in Cuba. “The plebiscite will grant the political legitimacy that is needed.” He said the exact question that will be posed to voters in the referendum would be announced “in the coming days.” “We are on the verge of perhaps the most important political decision of our lives,” Santos said in a speech on Saturday. The territorial and ideological conflict has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups and gangs. It is historic in that - finally - it brings to an end more than 50 years of conflict which left an estimated 260,000 people dead and millions internally displaced. In March Colombia announced the start of peace negotiations with the second largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), but the rebels have yet to meet the government's precondition of releasing all of their hostages and stop all kidnapping. But with the country's biggest rebel group, the FARC, ordering a definitive ceasefire, the conflict appears to be reaching an end. “To the soldiers, naval personnel and air force pilots, police and state security and intelligence agencies, we wish to express our clear and definite will for reconciliation,” said Jimenez, known by the nom-de-guerre Timochenko, in Havana. "All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past," he said. “Today more than ever we regret that so much death and pain has been caused by the war. Today more than ever we wish to embrace (the military and police) as compatriots and start to work together for a new Colombia.” AFP

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

(CNN) ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 15 people and injured 16 others at a wedding late Sunday in the central Iraqi city of Karbala. Lt. Gen. Qais al-Mohammedawi says five suicide bombers took part in the attack in the village of Ein Tamer on Monday, but that the other four were killed by security forces. Karbala is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Baghdad and is one of the holiest cities for Shiite Muslims.</s>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State has claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 15 people and injured 16 at a wedding party near the holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala late on Sunday. Five assailants including the suicide bomber attacked the celebration in Ain al-Tamr, west of Kerbala in southern Iraq, firing machine guns and throwing hand grenades, the police said. All the attackers were killed by security forces. The bombing is the first in the Kerbala region since Iraqi forces dislodged Islamic State militants from their stronghold in Falluja, 80 km (50 miles) north of city. The ultra-hardline Sunni group has been retreating since last year in the face of government forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition and Iranian-supported Shi'ite militias. But it remains in control of parts of northern and western Iraq and continues to claim bombings all over the country, targeting mainly Shi'ite districts and cities. A statement on the Amaq news agency that supports Islamic State said the attack was carried out by four of its suicide fighters against a "gathering of Shi'ites". Initial reports in local media late, citing security sources, blamed the killings on a dispute between two tribes at the wedding party. Islamic State claimed a truck bomb that killed at least 325 people in Baghdad's Karrada shopping street in July, the deadliest attack since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

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

(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jumps into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. UPDATE: The 5 day old babies have been transferred for a medevac to Italy, On the same day, MSF, Proactiva Open Arms and crews from the Italian Coast Guard rescued more than 3,000 migrants off the coast of Libya. A five-day-old baby was among those rescued along with other infants and was airlifted to an Italian hospital, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which took part in operations.</s>By Emilio Morenatti, The Associated Press OFF THE COAST OF LIBYA — Italian naval ships and vessels from non-government groups rescued thousands of migrants off the Libyan coast Monday, the latest surge in desperate attempts to flee to Europe driven by war, poverty and human traffickers. The dramatic operation took place just 13 miles north of the town of Sabratha, Libya. Groups such as Proactiva Open Arms and Doctors Without Borders helped take on 3,000 people who had been traveling in about 20 small wooden boats. Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia cheered as the rescue boats arrived, with some jumping into the water and swimming toward them while others carefully carried babies onto the rescue ships. Their boats too weak and technically unequipped for a voyage across the stretch of the Mediterranean to the shores of Italy, the migrants had set off with a bit of gasoline in the crowded vessels, hoping to make it at least 15-20 miles out to sea and reach awaiting rescuers. Tens of thousands of Africans take the dangerous Mediterranean Sea route as a gateway to a better life in Europe, alongside those fleeing wars from Syria to Afghanistan. Libya’s chaos and lack of border controls have made it into a transit route. Since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy, the country has sunk into lawlessness, facing myriad militias vying for influence and an emerging Islamic State affiliate. In June, the European Union expanded its anti-smuggling operation in the central Mediterranean to include training Libyan coastal and naval forces.

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

Death toll in Yemen war rises to at least 10,000-UN SANAA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The death toll in Yemen's 18-month-old civil war stands at about 10,000, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator said on Tuesday, an increase from estimates of more than 6,000 cited by officials and aid workers for much of 2016. Jamie McGoldrick told a new conference in the Yemeni capital that the new figure was based on official information provided by medical facilities in Yemen. He said he believed the toll might be even higher since some areas had no medical facilities, and relatives there often buried loved ones directly. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, writing by Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclean)</s>AMATRICE, Italy (Reuters) - Rescuers believe they have found more bodies buried deep in the rubble of the ruined town of Amatrice, five days after a devastating earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 290 people. Residents of the hill town estimated that up to 10 people were still missing and emergency services said they had located three corpses in Amatrice’s Hotel Roma, which, like much of the historic center, was wrecked by Wednesday’s quake. Deputy Mayor Gianluca Carloni said his uncle’s body had still not been recovered from the hotel, which was particularly busy at this time of year because of a food festival. “It is absolutely vital to finish as soon as possible this initial (search) phase to make sure that there are no more bodies under the rubble,” he said. Museums across Italy donated proceeds from their ticket sales on Sunday to help the rebuilding effort, while top flight soccer teams held a minute’s silence before their weekend matches out of respect for the victims. Pope Francis led prayers for the dead in his weekly address in St Peter’s Square in Rome, saying he wanted to go to the earthquake zone to bring comfort to the survivors. “Dear brothers and sisters, as soon as it is possible, I hope to come and visit you,” he said. Priests in the quake zone held their regular Sunday services in large tents. Amatrice’s municipal website said the town had 100 churches, but every one was damaged by the disaster and many would have to be demolished. FALLEN MASONRY With aftershocks continuing to rattle the region, including a magnitude 4.4 quake centered on the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno, residents were still struggling to absorb the disaster. A rescue worker and a dog search among debris following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca “It took me 20 years to get my house, and then, in just 10 seconds, it was gone, like so many others,” said Ascenzio Attenni, who lived in the hamlet of Sant’Angelo outside Amatrice, where eight people died. “We have to thank God that we are alive,” he said, before breaking down in tears. Rescue operations in most of the area were halted two days ago, but teams were still combing Amatrice, which is 105 km (65 miles) east of Rome. The fire service said it was trying to remove some of the fallen masonry at the Hotel Roma and create a safe path to retrieve the three bodies as soon as possible. The Civil Protection Department lowered the official death toll on Sunday to 290 from a previously given 291. A number of foreigners were among the dead, including 11 Romanians, the foreign ministry in Bucharest said. Many Romanians work in Italy and Bucharest said 14 of its nationals were still unaccounted for. Italy has promised to rebuild the shattered communities and has said it will learn from the mistakes following a similar earthquake in the nearby city of L’Aquila in 2009, where much of the center is still out of bounds. Slideshow (2 Images) The rebuilding effort was stalled following allegations that organized crime groups had muscled in to obtain lucrative contracts. Italy’s anti-mafia chief Franco Roberti said the experience of L’Aquila would serve well this time around, but warned that the government could not lower its guard. “The risks are there and it is pointless to pretend otherwise,” he told la Repubblica newspaper. “Post-quake reconstruction is always very appetising for criminal gangs and their business partners.”

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

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana State Police say an out-of-control bus carrying flood recovery volunteers hit a fire truck and firefighters who had responded to an earlier wreck, killing two people and injuring dozens. Louisiana State Police/Handout via Reuters St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference. "The bus driver lost control of the bus, struck a fire truck, veered across the right lane, striking other vehicles, then veered and struck three firefighters, who, all three, were thrown over the guardrail," Matey said. Rodriguez, who was also treated at a hospital, will be booked into the St. John the Baptist Correctional Center and charged with two counts of negligent homicide, reckless operation, and having no driver's license, Matey said. The firefighters and state police troopers were on scene to investigate when the bus, also out of control, slammed into the fire truck and a Toyota Camry, Matey said. The bus driver, identified as 37-year-old Denis Amaya Rodriguez, was in custody on suspicion of multiple violations, NBC News reported, citing Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey. The Silverado contained three adults and two children, all of Kenner, Louisiana, who were taken to local hospitals with minor or moderate injuries, as were at least 24 passengers on the bus, police said.</s>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials say one person has been rescued and crews are searching for at least one more after a small plane crashed into a lake near a New Orleans airport. NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune, WWL-TV and WBRZ-TV report that Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene Saturday night after the aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the Seabrook Bridge near Lakefront Airport. The airport is located adjacent to Lake Ponchatrain, about 10 miles northeast of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Coast Guard officials say the Cessna training flight crashed about 8:30 p.m. The person rescued was transferred to a New Orleans hospital in unknown condition. No further details were immediately available.

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

MANILA, Philippines — On the day he was sworn into office, President Rodrigo Duterte went to a Manila slum and exhorted residents who knew any drug addicts to “go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.” Two months later, nearly 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users lay dead as morgues continue to fill up. 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. Addict risks everything in Duterte’s drug war – ‘It’s scary because I could be next’ MANILA: Pedicab driver Reyjin dives into a neighbor’s house for a quick meth fix, fearful of taking a bullet to the head in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs but unable to quit. “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. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, calling him gay in derogatory terms, after he criticized Duterte’s rape comments during the presidential campaign.</s>Duterte takes war on drugs to the stage MANILA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Philippine police, heavily criticised by rights groups for killing hundreds of drug dealers and users, are using a comedy puppet of Rodrigo Duterte to get the president's war on drugs message across to Manila school children. More than 1,900 people have been killed, according to police figures, in the anti-drug drive since Duterte came to power with the president saying there would be no let up in the fight during a National Heroes Day speech on Monday. Duterte, who won a May election on a promise to wipe out drugs and dealers, last month named about 160 officials, judges, police and soldiers who he said were protecting drug traffickers or selling drugs in their communities. The United States, a close ally of the Philippines, said last week it was "deeply concerned" about the reports of extra-judicial drug killings and it urged Duterte's government to ensure that law-enforcement efforts "comply with its human rights obligation". Duterte's crackdown on drugs and some strongly worded criticism he has made of the United States present a dilemma for Washington, which has been seeking to forge unity among allies and partners in Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China, especially in the strategic South China Sea. Two U.N. human rights experts recently urged the Philippines to stop extra-judicial killings, drawing a furious response from Duterte, who threatened to pull h is country out of the United Nations. The Philippine National Police began the show, which also features a puppet of police chief Ronald dela Rosa, in Manila schools this month, the latest step in the anti-drug drive of Duterte, nicknamed "the Punisher", who won the presidency in May based on a platform of wiping out narcotics. His foreign minister later rowed back on the threat. (Reporting by Peter Blaza and Ronn Bautista; Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s ruling Communist Party appointed a new senior official on Sunday to run Tibet, considered one of the country’s most politically sensitive positions due to periodic anti-Chinese unrest in the devoutly Buddhist Himalayan region. The official Xinhua news agency named Wu Yingjie as Tibet’s next party secretary. New leaders were also appointed in two other key provinces, part of a broad reshuffle ahead of an important party meeting next year. Wu has worked almost his entire career in Tibet, according to his official resume, having previously served as a deputy governor and propaganda chief, among other roles. Wu, like his predecessor Chen Quanguo, belongs to China’s majority Han Chinese ethnic group. Xinhua said Chen would be taking another position, without giving further details. Communist troops marched in and took control of Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a “peaceful liberation”. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against the Chinese. China says its rule has bought prosperity and stability, rejecting claims from Tibetan exiles and rights groups of widespread repression. Xinhua said new party bosses had also been appointed to serve in the strategically located southwestern province of Yunnan and the populous southern province of Hunan. In Yunnan, which sits of the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, Chen Hao replaced Li Jiheng, while in Hunan, Du Jiahao has assumed the party’s top job, Xinhua said. Both Chen and Du worked with President Xi Jinping when he ran China’s commercial capital, Shanghai, as its Communist Party chief for a year in 2007, according to their resumes. The party will hold a once-every-five-years congress next autumn where Xi is expected to further cement his hold on power by seeking to appoint close allies into the party’s ruling inner core, the politburo and the politburo standing committee. The year leading up to that will see Xi appoint more new people into major provincial and government positions, sources with ties to the leadership say. (Story refiles to fix typo in fourth paragraph, drops the word ‘rather’.)</s>The Chinese Communist leadership has reshuffled senior posts in key regions after its annual closed-door meeting in the seaside town of Beidaihe, putting a new cadre in control in the politically sensitive region of Tibet, as well as Yunnan and Hunan. Wu Yingjie has been named as Tibet’s next Communist Party secretary, the official Xinhua news agency reported, while his predecessor Chen Quanguo is reportedly on his way to the restive region of Xinjiang in the far west. Both men belong to the majority Han Chinese ethnic group. In both Tibet and Xinjiang, members of local ethnic groups, the Tibetans and the Uighurs respectively, chafe against rule by the Han. Mr Wu (59) has been deputy party chief in the Himalayan region since 2011, and has been based there since 1974. He worked on farms and at a power plant there before doing his university degree in the provincial capital Lhasa. His appointment comes ahead of a key party congress next year, which takes place once every five years, during which President Xi Jinping will further cement his hold on power. It marks the end of his first five-year period in office and the retirement of some of his political rivals from the seven-man Standing Committee of the Politburo. Mr Xi is expected to put his allies into key positions on both the 25-person Politburo and the Standing Committee at the meeting. Beijing has run Tibet with a firm hand since People’s Liberation Army troops marched into the overwhelmingly Buddhist Himalayan region in 1950. The Chinese say they were liberating the Tibetan serfs from a theocracy until the god-king Dalai Lama fled into exile in India after a failed uprising in 1959, and they accuse the Dalai Lama of agitating for independence from there. Tibet has seen sporadic outbreaks of violence and nearly 150 people have set themselves on fire since 2009 in acts of self-immolation to protest rule by Beijing and calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. Beijing says it is bringing prosperity to a traditionally impoverished area and rejects claims by Tibetan exile groups of widespread repression. State media has also been giving high profile of late to public appearances by the 11th Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, the second most powerful figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama chose a six-year-old child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, to be the 11th Panchen Lama, after the 10th Panchen Lama died in 1989. However, Gyaltsen Norbu, who was also six years of age, was imposed by Beijing, and the young Gedhun disappeared and has not been seen since. Xinhua said that Du Jiahao had replaced Xu Shousheng as secretary of the Hunan party, while Chen Hao had replaced Li Jiheng as party secretary in Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

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

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Supporters of Gabon’s President Ali Bongo and his chief rival both said on Sunday they were set to win a presidential election that poses the most serious challenge yet to the Bongo family’s half-century rule in the tiny, oil-rich nation. Official results are not due out until Tuesday and some voters voiced fears of a repeat of the violence seen after a disputed 2009 election. “The day of glory has arrived and we are preparing as you can see to celebrate victory,” Ping, 73, said shortly after voting in Martine Oulabou school, in the capital Libreville. Bongo, 57, who first won election after his father Omar died in 2009 after 42 years in office, has benefited from being the incumbent in a country with a patronage system lubricated by oil largesse. Shortly after polling ended on Saturday, the president’s spokesman said, “Bongo will win… we are already on our way to a second mandate.” In his comments Sunday, Ping, 73 added, “as I speak, the trends show we have won.” Ping said alleged attempts by Bongo’s camp to commit fraud had been foiled and that “we will finally see off the regime.” Bongo, 57, has been in power since a disputed election held in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African country for 41 years. Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya has said official results would be released around 1600 GMT on Tuesday and stressed it was “illegal to declare results before the relevant authorities do.” The head of the Pan-African Democracy Observatory, an NGO based in Togo, played down the significance of Ping’s declaration.</s>Gabon opposition candidate calls on President Bongo to "acknowledge his defeat" LIBREVILLE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Gabon opposition candidate Jean Ping on Monday called on President Ali Bongo to "acknowledge his defeat" in a weekend presidential election, telling reporters in the capital Libreville that unofficial tallies give him a clear edge. Both sides in Gabon poll predict win as votes are counted LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Election officials compiled results in Gabon on Sunday as representatives of the incumbent president and his most prominent challenger predicted victory. Bongo, 57, has been in power since a disputed election held in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African country for 41 years.

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

The test-flight of the indigenously-developed supersonic combustion ramjet engine took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 6 a.m. ISRO on Sunday successfully test-fired a newly-developed Scramjet Rocket Engine, DDNews reported. The Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sounding rocket (research rocket) with a solid booster carrying advanced scramjet engines, was successfully flight-tested from the launch pad of the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre, also known as Sriharikota Range (SHAR), at Sriharikota on Sunday. The space agency said with this flight, critical technologies such as ignition of air breathing engines at supersonic speed, holding the flame at supersonic speed, air intake mechanism and fuel injection systems have been successfully demonstrated. As a result, the amount of oxygen required to be carried on board would be reduced considerably as atmospheric oxygen is utilised to burn the fuel in the first stage. While conventional rocket engines need to carry both fuel and oxidiser on board for combustion to produce thrust, scramjet engines obtain oxygen from the atmosphere by compressing the incoming air before combustion at hypersonic speed. Once the second stage reached the desired conditions for engine “Start-up”, necessary actions were initiated to ignite the Scramjet engines and they functioned for about 5 seconds, it said adding that today’s ATV flight operations were based on a pre-programmed sequence.</s>The Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested its scramjet engine on Sunday in Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The rocket took off at 6 am after reports confirmed that the wind speeds were conducive for the launch. The scramjet engine, used only during the atmospheric phase of the rocket’s flight, will help in bringing down the launch cost by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel. Meanwhile, the launch of the Indian weather satellite, INSAT-3DR, which was slated for Sunday has now been postponed to September 8. Queried about the change in launch plan Krishnan said: "While carrying out the tests there was a technical issue found with a satellite component. It has been sorted out now and hence the delay." He said the GSLV rocket that would carry the weather satellite INSAT-3DR is fully assembled. The weather satellite will be mounted on to the rocket in three to four days. According to officials, the ISRO will launch ScatSat -- a weather monitoring and forecasting satellite -- with polar satellite launch vehicle end of next month. The Indian satellite will be a co-passenger to an Algerian satellite. Both the satellites will be put into different orbits. So the fourth engine of the rocket will be switched off after ejecting ScatSat first. Then after a gap of around 30 minutes, the engine will be switched on and put the Algerian satellite into its intended orbit.

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

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A suicide attacker set off a massive car bomb in Yemen's southern city of Aden on Monday, killing at least 45 pro-government troops who had been preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen's north, officials said. “Some recruits were buried under rubble when a roof collapsed after the blast,” officials further said, adding, “Medical sources could not immediately verify whether all those killed in the attack were army recruits or had some other persons as well.” Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its hospital in Aden had received 45 dead and at least 60 wounded following the explosion.</s>ADEN, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 45 people when he drove a car laden with explosives into a compound run by local militias in Aden on Monday, Medecins Sans Frontieres said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the southern Yemeni port city. Related Coverage Islamic State claims Yemen suicide bombing, says about 60 militia recruits killed Witnesses said the suicide bomber entered the compound behind a truck that had brought breakfast for the conscripts, who had queued for the meal. A security source said the attack targeted a school compound where conscripts of the Popular Committees, forces allied to the internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, were gathered for breakfast. The blast rocked the area and sent debris flying, sending residents fleeing, one witness said. Slideshow (5 Images) Hadi’s supporters, who accuse former President Ali Abdullah Saleh of using Islamist militants to target the internationally-recognized president, have launched a series of raids in recent weeks to try to stem the violence, seizing dozens of people suspected of involvement in attacks across the city.

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

They discuss composition of all-party delegation that is to visit the State soon A day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for a panel of eminent persons to be sent to the Valley for a dialogue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the Kashmir situation with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh and BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the gravity of the situation and sought to reach out by saying that each person who dies in the Valley is “one of our people”, there needs to be an actionable checklist to demonstrate the sincerity of the outreach.</s>Indian officials lift curfew from most of Kashmir SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Authorities on Monday lifted a curfew imposed in most parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir as part of a 52-day security lockdown, although most shops and businesses remained closed due to an ongoing strike called to protest Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region. The curfew, a series of communication blackouts and a tightening crackdown have failed to stop some of the largest protests against Indian rule in recent years, triggered by the killing of a popular rebel commander on July 8. India and Pakistan have fought three conflicts over the Muslim-majority region, which Pakistan believes should have been included inside its territory when the subcontinent became independent from Britain in 1947.

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

The frizzy-haired actor was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Mel Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in “Young Frankenstein” or bilking Broadway in “The Producers.” But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozy sheriff in “Blazing Saddles” and as the charming candy man in the children’s favorite “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” In this April 9, 2008 file photo, actor Gene Wilder listens as he is introduced to receive the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Culture and Tourism at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. Wilder, who starred in such film classics as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Young Frankenstein" has died. His father was a Russian emigre, his mother was of Polish descent. Our mane man bridles at new phone directory * Coronation Street creator Tony Warren dies * Everybody Loves Raymond star memorialised in NYC Wilder, whose best work came in collaborations with director-writer Mel Brooks and actor Richard Pryor, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, the family said in a statement. With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in "Young Frankenstein" or bilking Broadway in "The Producers." Gene Wilder, whose kinky curls and startling blue eyes brought a frantic air to roles in the movies Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, died on Monday at the age of 83, his family said.</s>The comic actor, who was twice Oscar nominated, for his role in “The Producers” and for co-penning “Young Frankenstein” with Mel Brooks, usually portrayed a neurotic who veered between total hysteria and dewy-eyed tenderness. Wilder was 83. Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. “He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world,” Walker-Pearlman said. Wilder started his acting career on the stage, but millions knew him from his work in the movies, especially his collaborations with Mel Brooks on “The Producers,” ”Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” The last film — with Wilder playing a California-born descendant of the mad scientist, insisting that his name is pronounced “Frahn-ken-SHTEEN” — was co-written by Brooks and Wilder. “Gene Wilder, one of the truly great talents of our time, is gone,” Brooks wrote in a statement Monday. “He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship.” With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in “Young Frankenstein” or bilking Broadway in “The Producers.” Brooks would call him “God’s perfect prey, the victim in all of us.” But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozy gunslinger in “Blazing Saddles” or the charming candy man in the children’s favorite “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” His craziest role: the therapist having an affair with a sheep in Woody Allen’s “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex.” He was close friends with Richard Pryor and their contrasting personas — Wilder uptight, Pryor loose — were ideal for comedy. They co-starred in four films: “Silver Streak,” ”Stir Crazy,” ”See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and “Another You.” And they created several memorable scenes, particularly when Pryor provided Wilder with directions on how to “act black” as they tried to avoid police in “Silver Streak.” In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks’ “The Producers.” He played the introverted Leo Bloom, an accountant who discovers the liberating joys of greed and corruption as he and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) conceive a Broadway flop titled “Springtime For Hitler” and plan to flee with the money raised for the show’s production. Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka, are CLINICS on comic acting. Wilder would work in only a handful more TV and film projects, including one last comedy with Pryor, 1991’s Another You. I think I can be in the movies.” In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks’ “The Producers.” He played the introverted Leo Bloom, an accountant who discovers the liberating joys of greed and corruption as he and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) conceive a Broadway flop titled “Springtime For Hitler” and plan to flee with the money raised for the show’s production. Matthew Broderick played Wilder’s role in the 2001 Broadway stage revival of the show. Wilder and Brooks never collaborated in any significant way after Young Frankenstein. The 1963 play Mother Courage and Her Children paired him with Anne Bancroft and brought him into the orbit of her then-boyfriend Mel Brooks. He returned briefly to television in the US with the sitcom “Something Wilder,” in 1994 and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.” • Gene Wilder still has twinkle in his eye 44 years after playing Willy Wonka Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 1933, he began acting at the age of eight when his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. When he returned to the U.S. he taught fencing and did other odd jobs while studying with Herbert Berghof’s HB Studio and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. Four years later, in 1967, and a few months after he’d made his film debut in Bonnie and Clyde, Wilder starred in Brooks’s The Producers. He tried his hand briefly at a sitcom in 1994, “Something Wilder,” and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.” His professional debut came in Off Broadway’s “Roots” in 1961, followed by a stint on Broadway in Graham Greene’s comedy “The Complaisant Lover,” which won him a Clarence Derwent Award as promising newcomer. The former Jerome Silberman marked his return with a new name: Gene, depending on the source, chosen either in honor of a Thomas Wolfe character or his late mother, Jeanne; Wilder, for the author Thornton Wilder. His performance in the 1963 production of Brecht’s “Mother Courage” was seen by Mel Brooks, whose future wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring in the production; a friendship with Brooks would lead to some of Wilder’s most successful film work. Before starring in “The Producers,” he had a small role as the hostage of gangsters in the 1967 classic “Bonnie and Clyde.” He peaked in the mid-1970s with the twin Brooks hits “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” He went on to write several screenplays and direct several films. They were married in 1984, and co-starred in two Wilder-penned films: “The Woman in Red” and “Haunted Honeymoon.” After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research and opened a support facility for cancer patients. I didn’t want to do ones where there’s just bombing and loud and swearing, so much swearing… can’t they just stop and talk instead of swearing?” Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991, and his daughter from a previous marriage, Katherine, from whom he was estranged.

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

The Latest on tropical weather systems (all times local): Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is closing some areas at the end of the day as a major hurricane hurtles west toward Hawaii Island. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center says a hurricane watch is in effect for the Big Island of Hawaii, warning major Hurricane Madeline could pass “dangerously close.” At 5 a.m. HST (11 a.m. EDT) Tuesday, Madeline was a powerful Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph). The center adds that the storm is centered about 445 miles (715 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii, and moving west at 10 mph (17 kph). The weather service said it expects Madeline to slowly weaken as it encounters vertical wind shear but remain a “dangerous hurricane” as it passes just south of the island late Wednesday and early Thursday. The hurricane is forecast to have maximum sustained winds of 105 mph Wednesday morning and 80 mph Thursday morning. Hurricane Lester was 1,275 miles east of Hilo as of 11 a.m. with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. The depression’s maximum sustained winds remain near 35 mph (55 kph) Tuesday morning but forecasters say it could become a tropical storm later in the day.</s>Hurricane churns toward Hawaii; people stock up, board up HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Preparing for what could be the first hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii in years, residents on the Big Island are stocking up on food and water and seeking shelter for their animals. The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning as the major Category 2 storm dubbed Madeline hurtled west toward the island, urging residents to rush through preparations to protect themselves and their property and expect hurricane conditions within the next 36 hours. "Hopefully our roofs stay on, and our houses don't float way or get blown away," said Big Island resident Mitzi Bettencourt, who boarded up walls of glass windows at her brother's oceanfront home. "It's like, 'Oh my God, are we going to get flattened or what?'" " Bettencourt, who lives in a subdivision called Kapoho Vacationland, manages several vacation rental properties and has her own home to worry about, which sits a few blocks from the ocean. She and her neighbors were stocking their pantries, stowing away lawn furniture and preparing for power outages. "If they're not prepared now, they should get prepared fast," said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the weather service. Hurricane Madeline, which was downgraded from Category 3 to 2 Tuesday, was weakening as it approached the islands. Madeline is expected to weaken but likely to remain a hurricane as it passes the state, meteorologist Chevy Chevalier said Tuesday. Forecasters are expecting Madeline to pass just south of the Big Island around 2 a.m. Thursday. But if the storm track shifts slightly to the north, the eye of the storm could pass over land. The last hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which hit Kauai Island, according to Chevalier. A second Pacific hurricane, called Lester, is still far from Hawaii, and it is expected to weaken to a tropical storm as it passes the state, Chevalier said. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Oahu on Thursday to give a keynote speech at the opening of the World Conservation Congress - a major meeting of thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists and policy makers. The White House is tracking the weather developments closely, but it doesn't anticipate changing Obama's schedule. The islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai were under a tropical storm watch, but there were no alerts for Oahu or Kauai. On the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closing some areas Tuesday, and park officials planned for the coastal lava viewing area to close by Wednesday morning. Some camping areas were closing, but guests staying at Kilauea Military Camp and Volcano House were allowed to shelter in place. Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, urged residents to restock their emergency kits with a flashlight, fresh batteries, cash and first-aid supplies. It recommended that residents create evacuation plans and secure outdoor furniture. Hawaiian Airlines said customers holding tickets to or from Hawaii's Big Island from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 would be allowed a one-time reservation change without a fee.

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

Everything you need to know about Zika Everything you need to know about Zika 01:42 Everything you need to know about Zika No country is immune from a potential outbreak, as long as the mosquitoes capable of spreading the virus -- Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus -- live there. The Zika (ZEE'-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 - its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered. 'The ratio may sound low,' Tesh said, 'but when you consider the number of Aedes aegypti in a tropical urban community, it is likely high enough to allow some virus to persist, even when infected adult mosquitoes are killed.' "In Singapore, many people live in densely packed apartment blocks so it's easy for high numbers of people to get infected even if there are only a few mosquitoes flying around," explained Ooi. In the meantime, efforts to curb Zika's spread in the city state, he said, hinged on all citizens using insect repellent and making sure there were no potential mosquito breeding areas around their residential areas. The ongoing Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.</s>Washington, DC - Researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) recently identified compounds that potentially can be used to inhibit Zika virus replication and reduce its ability to kill brain cells. These compounds now can be studied by the broader research community to help combat the Zika public health crisis. NCATS is part of the National Institutes of Health. Using NCATS’ drug repurposing screening robots, researchers identified two classes of compounds effective against Zika: one is antiviral, and the other prevents Zika-related brain cell death. The compounds include emricasan, an investigational drug currently being evaluated in a clinical trial to reduce liver injury and fibrosis, and niclosamide, a U. S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for use in humans to treat worm infections. In addition, the researchers identified nine cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors. CDK usually is involved in regulation of cellular processes as well as normal brain development, but the Zika virus can negatively affect this process. NCATS’ work was a collaborative effort with Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, (JHU) and Florida State University, Tallahassee, (FSU), and the study results were published in the August 29 issue of Nature Medicine. The NCATS screening effort builds on the initial research by JHU and FSU scientists, who discovered that the Zika virus infects brain cells early in development. Infection by the Zika virus may be related to fetal microcephaly, an abnormally small head resulting from an underdeveloped and/or damaged brain. The Zika virus has been reported in 60 countries and territories worldwide; currently, there are no vaccines or effective drug treatments. The virus is spread primarily through bites from infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and in addition, can be transmitted from mother to child and through sexual contact. It also is associated with neurological diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome in infected adults. “The Zika virus poses a global health threat,” said Anton Simeonov, Ph.D., NCATS scientific director. “While we await the development of effective vaccines, which can take a significant amount of time, our identification of repurposed small molecule compounds may accelerate the translational process of finding a potential therapy.” NCATS researcher Wei Zheng, Ph.D., and his team led the drug repurposing screen to test three strains of Zika: Asian, African and Puerto Rican. The scientists first developed an assay (test) using caspase 3, a protein that causes brain cell death when infected by the virus. The next step was screening 6,000 FDA-approved and investigational compounds, which resulted in the identification of more than 100 promising compounds. The team then evaluated the protective effect of these compounds in brain cells after Zika virus infection. Three lead compounds, emiracsan, niclosamide and a CDK inhibitor known as PHA-690509, were identified as reducing neuronal cell death caused by Zika virus infection. These compounds were effective either in inhibiting the replication of Zika or in preventing the virus from killing brain cells. For example, emricasan prevents cell death, and niclosamide and the nine CDK inhibitors stop the virus’ replication. The team also found that emricasan, when combined with one of the CDK inhibitors, prevented both cell death and virus replication. In addition, the team noted that the CDK inhibitors may be useful in treating non-pregnant patients who face an increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome and other conditions sparked by Zika infection. The researchers cautioned, however, that the use of emricasan and niclosamide during pregnancy for Zika infection will need to be evaluated in pre-clinical toxicology studies and clinical trials. “Using the NCATS drug repurposing platform for emerging infectious diseases can help rapidly identify potential treatments for urgent needs such as the Zika virus,” Zheng said. “While identifying promising compounds is a first step, our goal at NCATS is to facilitate the translation of these findings for evaluation in the clinic. The release of all the compound screening data in this publication and in the public PubChem database opens the door to the research community to do just that.” NCATS’ screening effort enabled the broader research team to quickly translate their earlier discoveries toward work to develop treatments for Zika virus infection. JHU is working on a mouse model to study the neuroprotective effects of the compounds identified from the screen and studying the mechanism of action of the lead compounds. FSU is testing the efficacy of these compounds in a Zika virus mouse model and is also studying the mechanism of action of the lead compounds. In addition to NCATS, FSU and JHU, the research was supported by Emory University, Atlanta; the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, Columbia; NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke through grants NS048271 and NS095348, NS047344 and NS097206; and NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases through grant AI119530.

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

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte wants his fiercest critic in the legislature, Senator Leila De Lima, to step down. "If I were De Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I will hang myself. Your life, as well as the innermost of your core as a female, is being serialized everyday,” Duterte said when interviewed in Samar where he visited the wake of PO1 Gary Cabaguing, who was killed during an anti-drug operation. Yesterday, the President said de Lima should resign from her Senate post because she is no role model for women. "Dapat ka mag-resign (You should resign), you resign," said Duterte, addressing De Lima during a short speech on Monday, August 29, in Tacloban City. Wala kang ipakita…anong ipapakita mo sa mga babae (You have nothing to show. What are you showing women, 'Follow me,' you will say?) Duterte, who previously blasted De Lima for "immorality," said the lady senator would make a bad example for women. You build the nation on the bones of your countrymen?” he added. I won’t have any respect left for myself if I do that,” the senator added. Sotto refused to disclose details of the complaint but in an interview last week, the senator hinted that some of the issues raised by the complainant were based on the allegations of President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly on her alleged involvement in illegal drug operations and immorality.</s>Philippines senator vows to press on in battle with 'The Punisher' MANILA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A Philippines senator who is leading an inquiry into the spate of killings unleashed by President Rodrigo Duterte's 'war on drugs' has vowed to press on despite bizarre accusations and insults raining on her from the country's leader. Leila de Lima told Reuters on Monday she has no fears for her own life because it would be clear who was to blame if anything happened to her, but she has been warned by people close to Duterte to stop questioning the extra-judicial killings. "Some of my closest friends, some of my family are pleading with me 'you better stop already, stop it, stop it, keep quiet or just quit so they leave you alone'. But I cannot do that," the 57-year-old lawyer and politician said in her Senate office. More than 1,900 people have been killed in Duterte's war on drugs since he came to power two months ago, according to police figures. Police say the toll of about 36 people a day is a result of drug dealers resisting arrest or gang feuds. De Lima set up a Senate inquiry into the killings and held the first two hearings last week. On Thursday, Duterte accused de Lima of taking bribes from jailed drug lords. He has also said she is having an affair with her driver and at a news conference declared she was "finished". On Monday he attacked her again, saying de Lima had lost face as a woman and that if he were her he would hang himself. "What they are doing to me is even worse than death. The honour, especially my womanhood, my reputation," said de Lima, who denies all the allegations Duterte has made against her. Duterte, sometimes known as 'The Punisher', won a May election on a promise to wipe out drugs and dealers. But there has been an outcry from human rights groups over the sheer number of deaths that followed Duterte's victory and over his incendiary rhetoric, which they say encourages police to feel they can kill with impunity. There have been cases when police officers have killed suspected drug dealers who were in handcuffs and in custody, civil rights lawyers have said. There have also been hundreds of killings by anonymous gunmen. De Lima said witnesses had told her about one case involving a group of men dressed as civilians and wearing masks. "From all indications, based on the account of those who witnessed it, those were actually police," she said. "Are these death squads? Who are they, and under whose direction are they doing that?" She said despite Duterte's promises to go after drug syndicates and kingpins, it is mostly the poor who are dying. "The ones being targeted are the powerless, the voiceless, the defenceless, because they are so poor. Where is the justice there, there's so much injustice," she said. She said her Senate committee, which is due to hold another hearing on Thursday, was seeking facts - but it had no power to accuse or pursue any individual. De Lima is hoping the hearings will speed the passage of legislation that has been stuck in Congress that would make extra-judicial killing a special crime with harsh penalties. She also wants to bolster the independent Commission on Human Rights (CHR) so it has more capacity to investigate violations. De Lima said that the CHR and the police's internal affairs service were both overwhelmed and could only do so much, and a climate of fear meant people were reluctant to speak out. "It's only the president who can stop all of this," she said. "I call this madness really." (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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

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

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

Five held over fire at Brussels criminology institute - prosecutors BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Five people were being held and questioned on Monday over a fire at Brussels' criminology institute, a spokeswoman for the city's prosecutors said. She said there was "sensitive material" inside the laboratories, but it is not yet clear what if anything was destroyed in the fire. Forensic analysis linked to criminal cases is carried out at the site, but while it is not the only laboratory of its kind linked to the police, it is the most important forensic test centre in Belgium. It goes without saying that several individuals may have wanted to destroy evidence related to their legal cases," Ms Van Wymersch added.</s>Nobody hurt in blast outside Brussels criminology institute BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian media say unidentified attackers have detonated a bomb outside Belgium's criminology institute in the capital, Brussels, but the building was empty and nobody was injured. “I cannot confirm that there was any bomb.” State broadcaster RTBF and other outlets reported that a car drove through a security barrier at the site about 2 a.m., followed by an explosion that caused significant damage to the facility on Brussels’ north side. No casualties were reported Brussels airport and metro were the targets of an Islamic State bomb attack that killed 32 people in March.

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

Although The Washington Post reported that Roberts attributed the database breach directly to a Russian hacker, when pressed by CNN, he said that the Arizona secretary of state's office learned of Russian involvement from internal IT and cyber security staff. In Illinois, hackers accessed a database for the Illinois Board of Elections, compromising up to 200,000 personal voter records according to Ken Menzel, General Counsel for the board. The FBI is investigating the hack, which initially occurred in late June and was discovered in July. It was first reported by Yahoo . SPRINGFIELD (AP) — Illinois elections officials are confident no voter data were compromised this summer when a hacker was able to see information on about 200,000 registered voters. The Illinois database included voters' names, addresses, sex and birthdays in addition to other information. Menzel says the Illinois system's hacker was able to get information that could include driver's license or portions of Social Security numbers. The database is comprised of records for 15 million individuals and is 10 years old. Not all outdated information has been purged, according to Menzel, so some of those records likely include information for deceased voters or those who have subsequently moved. According to Matthew Roberts, Director of Communications for the Arizona Secretary of State, in late May, Arizona officials took the statewide voting registration system offline after the FBI alerted the Arizona Department of Administration that there was a credible cyber threat to the voter registration system. When they took the system offline to review any vulnerabilities, they discovered that a county election official's username and password had been posted online publicly. It's believed that a worker may have inadvertently downloaded a virus which exposed the username and password. In this instance, the username and password information posted would only give individuals access to a localized, county version of the voting registration system, and not the entire state-wide system. Roberts says there is no evidence that any data within the system was compromised and there was no evidence of malware present in the database. The breaches are causing concern among election officials because of the voter personal information that could have been stolen, not because of any fear that an election could be stolen, law enforcement officials say. States have a variety of systems -- some better than others -- but the voting machines and tabulating systems are generally not connected to the internet, which would be the vulnerability hackers would use to compromise the electoral system. The Department of Homeland Security is unaware of any specific credible threat to the electoral systems, according to a law enforcement official. Election databases are attractive targets to hackers because they contain personal information that can be cobbled together with other data to help criminals steal money. Illinois officials say it's been a challenge to identify everyone whose records were compromised as they have to sort through the 109 jurisdictions that may have been affected. According to Menzel, they are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to figure out who was responsible. Menzel says the board is not concerned about the integrity of the voting system and does not expect the breach to impact the upcoming general election. Illinois voting machines are not connected to the internet in any way, according to Menzel. Most voters in Illinois use an optical scan ballot but some jurisdictions do have touch screen machines to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. In some large counties, such as Cook County, at the end of the voting day, early unofficial voting results are reported back and sent via cell phone signal but they have encryption protection. Arizona largely uses paper ballots and also has touch screen machines.</s>“We believe it’s kind of serious, and we’re investigating.” The bulletin does not identify the states in question, but sources familiar with the document say it refers to the targeting by suspected foreign hackers of voter registration databases in Arizona and Illinois. Matt Roberts, spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan, said media outlets around the world was calling to find out what was going on, but that the story was actually old news. Malicious software was downloaded onto a Maricopa County Elections Department computer, where it apparently recorded the keystrokes of the computer user and gleaned the user's password-protected login information. Hackers could conceivably use intrusions into voter registration databases to delete names from voter registration lists, although in most states, voters can request provisional ballots at the polls, allowing time for discrepancies to be resolved, an official of the National Association of Secretaries of State told Yahoo News. The FBI warning, contained in a “flash” alert from the FBI’s Cyber Division, a copy of which was obtained by Yahoo News, comes amid heightened concerns among U.S. intelligence officials about the possibility of cyberintrusions, potentially by Russian state-sponsored hackers, aimed at disrupting the November elections. The Illinois hack, which shut down the Illinois voter registration for nearly two weeks, was covered by the news media when it happened in mid-July. The Arizona Secretary of State's Office revealed news of the hack back in late June and early July, reporting that it was a serious attack, the FBI was investigating, and that no data had been stolen. But three days after that call, the FBI Cyber Division issued a potentially more disturbing warning, entitled “Targeting Activity Against State Board of Election Systems.” The alert, labeled as restricted for “NEED TO KNOW recipients,” disclosed that the bureau was investigating cyberintrusions against two state election websites this summer, including one that resulted in the “exfiltration,” or theft, of voter registration data. The FBI said Monday that it doesn't comment on specific alerts, but added that it routinely sends out advisories to private industry about signs of cyber threats that it comes across in its investigations. The FBI did not respond to detailed questions about the alert, saying in a statement only that such bulletins are provided “to help systems administrators guard against the actions of persistent cyber criminals.” Menzel, the Illinois election official, said that in a recent briefing, FBI agents confirmed to him that the perpetrators were believed to be foreign hackers, although they were not identified by country. That’s where the real potential is for any sort of meddling in the election.” And James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, has told Congress that ma­nipu­la­tion or deletion of data is the next big cyber threat–”the next push on the envelope.” But Tom Hicks, chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, an agency set up by Congress after the 2000 Florida recount to maintain election integrity, said he is confident that states have sufficient safeguards in place to ensure efforts at ma­nipu­la­tion will be unsuccesful. Also, he said, in general the voting systems themselves “are not hooked up to the Internet” and so “there’s not going to be any ma­nipu­la­tion of data.” Nonetheless, more than 30 states have some provisions for online voting, primarily for voters living overseas of serving in the military. “We believe that online voting, especially online voting in large scale, introduces great risk into the election system by threatening voters’ expectations of confidentiality, accountability and security of their votes and provides an avenue for malicious actors to manipulate the voting results,” Neil Jenkins, an official in the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, Some private-sector researchers say some of the information released by the FBI points to a potential Russian link, but they caution that their work is preliminary. “Attempts should not be made to touch or ping the IP addresses directly.” “This is a big deal,” said Rich Barger, chief intelligence officer for ThreatConnect, a cybersecurity firm, who reviewed the FBI alert at the request of Yahoo News. He also said the method of attack on one of the state election systems — including the types of tools used by the hackers to scan for vulnerabilities and exploit them — appear to resemble methods used in other suspected Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks, including one just this month on the World Anti-Doping Agency. Those concerns prompted Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to convene a conference call with state election officials on Aug. 15, in which he offered his department’s help to make state voting systems more secure, including providing federal cyber security experts to scan for vulnerabilities, according to a “readout” of the call released by the department. In that call, Johnson said that while DHS isn't aware of any particular cyber threat against election-related computers, it's "critically important" to make sure that election systems are secure amid a rapidly changing threat landscape, according to a DHS summary of the call. The Arizona attack was more limited, involving malicious software that was introduced into its voter registration system but no successful exfiltration of data, a state official said.

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