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USA news: POLITICAL 100 articles, created at 2016-10-03 12:08

1 Paris gunmen rob Kardashian West of millions in jewelry Kim Kardashian West w as unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint of more than $10 million w orth of jew elry inside a private Paris residence Sunday night, police officials said. 2016-10-03 04:44 2KB www.heraldonline.com (17.99/18)

2 Colombians reject deal to end 52-year FARC rebel war Colombians narrow ly rejected a peace deal w ith Marxist guerrillas in a referendum on Sunday, plunging the nation into uncertainty. 2016-10-03 02:45 6KB www.cnbc.com (9.99/18)

3 Powerful Hurricane Matthew a threat to Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Vulnerable Haiti braced for flash floods and violent w inds from the extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew as the pow erful storm kept on a path early Monday aiming at the hemisphere's poorest country. ... 2016-10-03 04:59 816Bytes article.wn.com (7.99/18)

4 Kanye West ends NYC performance early due to "family emergency" Video from the concert in Queens show s the singer abruptly ending his performance 2016-10-03 02:10 1KB www.cbsnews.com (6.69/18)

5 Did Donald Trump evade taxes for 18 years? A damning report claims that Donald Trump might have exploited his $916 million losses in 1995 to evade taxation 2016-10-02 23:26 2KB www.mid-day.com

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6 A Look at What Colombia Referendum Result May Mean The national referendum in Colombia voted dow n the government's peace deal w ith leftist rebels less than a w eek after President Juan Manuel Santos signed the historic accord before an audience that included several heads of 2016-10-03 00:21 3KB abcnews.go.com (3.48/18) state and the United Nations secretary-general. Here's a look at the...

7 New Jersey Train Engineer Says He Can't Remember Crash The engineer at the helm of a train that smashed into a New Jersey commuter rail terminal, killing a w oman and injuring more than 100 others, told federal investigators he w as going only 10 mph as he approached the station, but (3.12/18) has no memory of the crash... 2016-10-03 00:34 4KB abcnews.go.com

8 AP PHOTOS: Victims of Pakistan's 'honor' killings ISLAMABAD (AP) — Tasleem w as just 18 years old w hen her brother shot her in the head. Her crime w as marrying a man of her choice, considered a betrayal of a family's honor among many in Pakistan w ho live by... 2016-10-03 04:59 722Bytes article.wn.com (2.30/18)

9 UK Treasury Chief Warns of Turbulence Amid Brexit Talks Britain's Treasury chief, Philip Hammond, has w arned of turbulence in the coming years as the country negotiates its exit from the European Union. Hammond told the BBC on Monday that Britain w ill face a couple of years, or longer, of 2016-10-03 04:17 1KB abcnews.go.com (2.21/18) uncertainty as Britain goes through the process of...

10 Pittsburgh Steelers' Le'Veon Bell outshines Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles in dueling returns PITTSBURGH -- Le'Veon Bell came back for Pittsburgh. Jamaal Charles came back for Kansas City. 2016-10-03 01:55

(2.09/18) 3KB www.upi.com

11 Quotations in the News "I w on't give up. 'll continue search for peace until the last moment of my mandate. " - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, in the w ake of a stunning referendum defeat... 2016-10-03 04:52 2KB article.wn.com

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12 Strike disrupts operations at Freeport's mine in Indonesia The U. S. ow ner of a gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia that is among the largest in the w orld says its operations 2016-10-03 05:00 626Bytes article.wn.com

(2.06/18) 13 Turkey: 15 Turkish-backed rebels killed in fighting with IS ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish military officials say 15 Syrian opposition fighters have been killed in an ongoing battle w ith Islamic State militants in nort... 2016-10-03 04:28 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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14 AP PHOTOS: Editor Selections From the Past Week in Asia Images from Asia: Duterte raises the rhetoric over his anti-crime w ar, comparing it to Hitler and the Holocaust; India says it carried out "surgical strikes" against militants across the frontier dividing Kashmir betw een India and Pakistan... 2016-10-03 03:44 826Bytes article.wn.com (2.06/18)

15 Attorney General Lynch announcing grants for new officers Attorney General Loretta Lynch is announcing Justice Department grants Monday to help police departments across the country hire new officers. 2016-10-03 03:38 3KB www.thenewstribune.com (2.06/18)

16 Protests to continue over fatal police shooting of Ohio teen A group calling for an independent investigation after an Ohio officer fatally shot a 13-year-old boy w hile investigating a 2016-10-03 01:49 680Bytes article.wn.com

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17 Georgia Nicols horoscopes for Oct. 3, 2016 We have the “all clear” today to shop and do business. The Moon is in Scorpio... 2016-10-03 01:00 4KB chicago.suntimes.com

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18 Trial opens for suspects in killing Russian opposition chief A Moscow military court is beginning to hear the case of five people accused of involvement in the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. 2016-10-03 04:43 1KB www.heraldonline.com

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19 A timeline of Colombia's conflict with largest rebel group Key developments in the half-century of hostilities betw een Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel movement: --- —May 1964: Rebel leader Manuel Marulanda, alias "Tirofijo," founds Revolutionary Armed Forces of... 2016-10-03 01:50 821Bytes article.wn.com (1.32/18)

20 Student from Homewood killed in shooting at N. Carolina party Alisia Dieudonne, 19, of Homew ood, Illinois, w as a student at North Carolina A&T State University. She w as fatally shot at an off-campus party. 2016-10-02 23:04 2KB chicago.suntimes.com

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21 Supreme Court: Some noteworthy cases coming up in new term Some notew orthy cases the Supreme Court w ill hear in its new term that begins Monday: 2016-10-03 03:38 3KB www.charlotteobserver.com

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22 Afghan refugees in Pakistan feel heat of rising regional tensions By James Mackenzie and Mirw ais Harooni KABUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) - For Samihullah, a tailor from a family of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the first indication t... 2016-10-03 04:15 6KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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(1.08/18) 23 Afghanistan Seeks $3B in Aid as Corruption Concerns Persist Afghanistan's leaders w ill head to Brussels this w eek, seeking billions of dollars in aid as the country confronts an increasingly pow erful Taliban insurgency and pervasive corruption. President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah hope to secure pledges totaling about $3... 2016-10-03 02:06 5KB abcnews.go.com

24 Vietnam Seizes Over 300 Kilograms of Elephant Tusks Vietnamese authorities say they've seized 309 kilograms (682 pounds) of elephant tusks illegally imported from Nigeria. A customs official says the tusks w ere seized at Hanoi's airport on Saturday. She said Monday that the 2016-10-03 00:38 1KB abcnews.go.com (1.08/18) cargo had been declared as glass. She spoke on condition of... 25 Lacson on Duterte apology: It should be his last President Rodrigo Duterte’s apology to the Jew ish community for mentioning Nazi leader Adolf Hitler w hile talking about his w ar on drugs should be his last, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on 2016-10-03 04:40 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net (1.06/18)

26 Britain's Hammond promises new economic plan to handle Brexit turbulence By William James , England, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Britain needs a new fiscal plan to navigate economic

(1.06/18) turbulence caused by Britain's vote to leave the... 2016-10-03 03:49 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

27 Germany to press U. S. to reduce Iran sanctions - Economy Minister TEHRAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel promised on Monday to remind the United States of its commitment to reduce sanctions against... 2016-10-03 03:21 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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28 UK's Hammond says will treat investment spending differently BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct 3 (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday he w anted to treat investment spending differently from day-to-... 2016-10-03 03:45 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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29 Brussels may scrap royal visit after Duterte ‘Hitler’ remarks Brussels is now thinking tw ice w hether or not to push through w ith its scheduled royal visit to the Philippines next year, according to a report by The Brussels Times. The report came after 2016-10-02 23:25 2KB globalnation.inquirer.net (1.05/18)

30 New Trump International hotel in D. C. vandalized with Black Lives Matter sayings

(1.05/18) WASHINGTON (WUSA9) - The new ly constructed Trump International Hotel in Northw est Washington, D. C., w as vandalized Saturday afternoon w ith Black Lives Matter sayings, Metropolitan Police said. 2016-10-02 23:24 1KB rssfeeds.usatoday.com

31 Greek factory activity shrinks in September as output, orders drop - PMI ATHENS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Activity in Greece's manufacturing sector shrank again in September after expanding in August, as production and new orders dropped... 2016-10-03 04:00 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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32 Conservative conference: Pound falls as City faces up to hard Brexit - Politics live

(1.03/18) Rolling coverage of all the developments at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, including Philip Hammond’s speech 2016-10-03 03:26 7KB www.theguardian.com

33 China regulators fine OSI Group $3.6M in 2014 meat scandal Shanghai regulators have fined former McDonald's and KFC China supplier OSI Group's local units more than $3.6 2016-10-03 04:43 1KB (1.02/18) million for selling expired meat in a fast food safety scandal that erupted tw o years ago. www.heraldonline.com

34 The Latest: Airstrikes damage Syria's highly secure hospital The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local): 2016-10-03 04:43 2KB www.heraldonline.com

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35 Russian intelligence says it detained Ukrainian spy suspect The Russian intelligence agency FSB said on Monday it has arrested a Ukrainian journalist w ho is suspected of spying in Russia. 2016-10-03 04:29 2KB www.heraldonline.com

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36 WikiLeaks scraps event where they were 'due to release information about Hillary Clinton' Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has abandoned plans to appear at the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in (1.02/18) to celebrate his organisation's tenth anniversary. 2016-10-03 04:26 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

37 Women in Poland Strike to Protest Proposal for Abortion Ban Polish w omen are w aging a nationw ide strike to protest a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion, w ith w orkers and students boycotting their jobs and classes and housew ives refusing to do housew ork. Some 2016-10-03 04:09 1KB abcnews.go.com (1.02/18) businesses and restaurants are also closed on w hat is being called "Black... 38 Scoop: Nate Parker addresses sexual assault charges on ‘60 Minutes’ Nate Parker has broken his silence over a 2001 sexual-assault trial, saying he does not feel remorse about the events in question. “I don’t feel guilty,” the filmmaker and star … Nate Parker has broken his silence over a 2001 2016-10-03 04:00 3KB www.sfexaminer.com (1.02/18) sexual-assault trial, saying he...

39 Toyota unveils robot baby in Japan Toyota Motor Corp on Monday unveiled a doe-eyed palm-sized robot, dubbed Kirobo Mini, designed as a synthetic baby companion in Japan, w here plummeting birth rates have left many w omen childless. Toyota's non-automotive venture aims to tap a demographic trend that has put... 2016-10-03 03:47 1KB article.wn.com (1.02/18)

40 In Clinton’s path to the White House, Ohio isn’t a must-win WASHINGTON (AP) — When Hillary Clinton arrives in Ohio Monday, it w ill be her first appearance in the Midw estern battleground in a month. While Clinton w as aw ay, Republican rival Donald Trump show ed strength in Ohio… 2016-10-03 03:37 1KB wtop.com

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41 Theresa May pledges to trigger Article 50 by end of March – video highlights

(1.02/18) Speaking at the first day of the Conservative party conference on Sunday in Birmingham, the prime minister says Brexit negotiations w ill mainly focus on immigration and on w ithdraw ing from the jurisdiction of the European court of justice. 2016-10-03 03:07 1KB www.theguardian.com

42 Japan police probe 48 suspicious deaths after poisoning of two elderly patients

(1.02/18) Tw o men died in a Yokohama hospital after being fed a chemical through IV drips, prompting an investigation into other cases 2016-10-03 02:46 3KB www.theguardian.com

43 Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on Oct 3 PRAGUE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Here are new s stories, press reports and events to w atch w hich may affect Czech financial markets on Monday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech R... 2016-10-03 02:44 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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44 52 confirmed dead in stampede at Ethiopia religious event BISHOFTU, Ethiopia — Dozens of people w ere crushed to death Sunday in a stampede after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a massive religious festival, w itnesses said. The Oromia regional government confirmed the death toll at 52. ... 2016-10-03 01:34 945Bytes article.wn.com (1.02/18)

45 Dutch journalist killed by sniper in Libya Sniper fatally shot the Dutch photojournalist in the Libyan city of Sirte, ISIS' last bastion in the chaos-w racked North African country 2016-10-03 00:43 4KB www.cbsnews.com (1.02/18)

46 Chinese cities curb property purchases as Wang fans fears of housing bubble

(1.02/18) Local governments rushed out a flurry of property market cooling measures, amid w orries about the "biggest bubble in history. " 2016-10-03 00:40 5KB www.cnbc.com

47 India fully prepared for escalation with Pakistan: Manohar Parrikar Amid heightened tension betw een India and Pakistan, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said the country w as 2016-10-03 00:32 4KB www.mid-day.com

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48 PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Oct 3 SOFIA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian new spapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for... 2016-10-03 03:24 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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49 Japan's Nikkei rises on relief over Deutsche, Kawasaki Heavy drops TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Monday as global risk asset markets took heart from easing concerns over the health of Deutsche Bank, trigge... 2016-10-03 02:08 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

(1.00/18) 50 'Study, Pray, Vote,' Pope Tells Americans Ahead of Elections Pope Francis on Sunday (02/10) advised US Catholics w ho feel they are torn betw een tw o imperfect candidates for president to study and pray before they vote and to make sure to follow their conscience. ... 2016-10-03 01:40 823Bytes article.wn.com (1.00/18)

51 United Nations Calls on Countries to Close Down Legal Ivory Trade The United Nations on Sunday (02/10) called for the shutdow n of all legal domestic ivory markets as it looks to combat poaching and put pressure on countries that continue to trade in elephant tusks. ... 2016-10-03 01:40 802Bytes article.wn.com (1.00/18)

52 India ratifies Paris climate agreement on Gandhi’s birthday The Paris climate agreement, the w orld’s strongest effort yet to try to curb the pace of climate change, sped even closer tow ard becoming active as India, the planet’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, formally joined the accord Sunday. ... 2016-10-03 01:34 891Bytes article.wn.com (0.06/18)

53 80% of data in Chinese clinical trials fabricated Contact WND (Science Alert) A Chinese government investigation has revealed that more than 80 percent of the data used in

(0.04/18) clinical trials of new pharmaceutical drugs have been “fabricated”. The report uncovered fraudulent behaviour at almost every level, and show ed that some pharmaceutical companies had hidden or deleted... 2016-10-03 00:07 1KB www.wnd.com

54 Pope Francis praises religious tolerance in Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan — Pope Francis praised Azerbaijan on Sunday as a for a w orld divided by violent extremism, sidestepping criticism of the government for the sake of encouraging religious tolerance in an often- volatile region w here Catholics are a minority. ... 2016-10-03 01:34 909Bytes article.wn.com (0.03/18)

55 Nitish Katara, Manoj-Babli: 5 honour killing cases that shocked India With the Supreme Court aw arding a 25-year jail term to Vikas Yadav and cousin Vishal in the sensational Nitish Katara murder case, w e take a look at shocking instances of honour killings in India 2016-10-03 04:49 4KB www.mid- day.com (0.01/18)

56 Hungarians vote to reject migrant quotas, but turnout to low to be valid Almost all Hungarians w ho voted in Sunday's referendum rejected the European Union's migrant quotas but turnout w as too low to make the poll valid, frustrating Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hopes of a clear victory w ith w hich to challenge Brussels... 2016-10-03 04:17 843Bytes article.wn.com (0.01/18)

57 BRIEF-ITE Group says attempted coup in Turkey negatively impacts business Oct 3 (Reuters) - ITE Group Plc : * Update for year ended 30 September 2016, prior to entering its close period and

(0.01/18) ahead of its preliminary results announce... 2016-10-03 03:27 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

58 New Zealand stable in chase of improbable 376 KOLKATA, India (AP) — New Zealand dismissed India for 236 in the morning session Monday and then reached 55 w ithout loss at lunch on the penultimate day, cha... 2016-10-03 02:46 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk (0.01/18)

59 Cheaper DOJ settlement for Deutsche won't remove worries about European banks

(0.01/18) The fragile state of European banks w ill continue to w eigh on market confident, experts say, even if Deutsche Bank manages to settle its DOJ case. 2016-10-03 02:10 4KB www.cnbc.com

60 ATP Tour singles standings Oct 3 (Gracenote) - Standings from the ATP Tour singles Points 1 (1) Novak Djokovic(Serbia) 14040 2 (2) Andy Murray(Britain) 9345 3 (3) Stanislas Waw rinka(Sw ... 2016-10-02 23:19 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

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61 Kolkata: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane sweep Eden Gardens India's Test captain Virat Kohli, BCCI President Anurag Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma among others sw ept the stands at the Eden Gardens as part of the Sw achh Bharat Abhiyan on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2016-10-02 23:08 992Bytes www.mid-day.com (0.01/18) 62 Asian stocks mostly higher, China and Korea markets closed Asian stocks mostly higher, China and Korea markets closed Associated Press - 3 October 2016 02:56-04:00 New s Topics: Business, General new s, Stock prices, Currency markets, Japanese yen, Stock indices and averages, Business confidence, Stock markets, Leading... 2016-10-03 04:56 1KB article.wn.com

63 When May wanted to skip crucial vote to watch 007 movie British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that w hen she w as the Home Secretary in 2012 she had sought permission from party w hips to skip a crucial vote in Parliament to attend 2016-10-03 04:55 788Bytes article.wn.com

64 Critical to monitor babies' health after Zika, but how long? More federal money finally is available to fight Zika even as the new s w orsens. Babies w ho at first seem to have escaped the virus' devastating hallmark defect — an abnormally... 2016-10-03 04:52 724Bytes article.wn.com

65 Bachelorette Australia 2016 contestant Ryan says he was 'devastated' after his last relationship...as he, Courtney and Matt open up about their heartache Bachelorette contestants Ryan Palk, Courtney Dober and Matt Dunne have opened up about their past experiences w ith heartache. 2016-10-03 04:46 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

66 The nation's weather Weather Underground Forecast for Monday, October 03, 2016 2016-10-03 04:39 2KB www.heraldonline.com

67 Sturgeon says British PM May does not care about Scotland over Brexit EDINBURGH, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Theresa May of ignoring Scots over Britain's exit from the European Union after... 2016-10-03 04:38 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

68 P Diddy's son Quincy lands his first fashion campaign The 25-year-old, from New York, has been snapped up to model boohooMAN's AW16 capsule collection - and looks seriously cool in the shoot. 2016-10-03 04:33 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

69 Heston Blumenthal packs on PDA session with new girlfriend Stephanie Gouveia The 50-year-old chef seemed enthralled by the French real estate broker, embracing her passionately before sw ooping in for a smooch as they headed to dinner at the Chiltern Firehouse. 2016-10-03 04:32 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

70 No cover-up in new narco list, Bato assures Amid reports of infighting among government agencies validating the new drug list of President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa assured 2016-10-03 04:28 3KB newsinfo.inquirer.net

71 Duterte should moderate his language amid criticisms, says Gordon Sen. Richard Gordon said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte should moderate his language amid the criticisms he is getting from international media on his deadly w ar on 2016-10-03 04:23 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net

72 Thailand considers Zika tests for all pregnant women Thailand is considering testing all pregnant w omen for Zika, the health ministry said Monday, follow ing confirmation last w eek of its first know n cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size, linked to the Zika virus... 2016-10-03 04:17 791Bytes article.wn.com

73 Motor racing-Fortunate Rosberg moves closer to maiden title By Abhishek Takle SEPANG, Malaysia, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Third place in the Malaysian Grand Prix w as not w hat Nico Rosberg w as hoping to savour, but it must hav... 2016-10-03 04:06 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

74 Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama To Talk Climate Change Oscar-w inner Leonardo DiCaprio w as due at the White House Monday to discuss climate change w ith President Barack Obama before the screening of the actor's new documentary on the devastating effects of... 2016-10-03 04:04 717Bytes article.wn.com

75 The San Francisco Examiner As I w rite this, I can’t help but sw itch back and forth from Tw itter to Facebook and back again to my article. It is really distracting, and is preventing me … As I w rite this, I can’t help but sw itch back and forth from Tw itter to... 2016-10-03 04:00 5KB www.sfexaminer.com 76 Voters will consider measure to create elected SF public advocate position Got a problem at City Hall? Let the public advocate solve it. That’s w hat supporters of Proposition H hope w ill happen if San Francisco voters approve a measure Nov. 8 … Got a problem at City Hall? Let the public advocate solve it. That’s w hat... 2016-10-03 04:00 4KB www.sfexaminer.com

77 ‘Igme’ exits PAR Typhoon “Igme” (international name: Chaba) has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the state w eather bureau said. As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Igme w as located 725 kilometers 2016-10-03 03:54 1KB newsinfo.inquirer.net

78 Majority floor leader advises Duterte: Less talk, more work Less talk, more w ork. This w as the unsolicited advice of majority floor leader congressman Rudy Fariñas on Monday w hen asked about his advice to President Rodrigo Duterte amid the backlash on 2016-10-03 03:49 4KB newsinfo.inquirer.net

79 The Bachelorette's Georgia Love is in a 'secret' relationship with policeman Nick Grubb Georgia Love is reportedly in a relationship w ith policeman Nick Grubb and promised to return to him after filming w rapped on The Bachelorette. 2016-10-03 03:44 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

80 India police detain pigeon with threatening Modi note Indian police said Monday they have taken a pigeon into custody after it w as found carrying a w arning note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi near the nation's heavily militarised border w ith Pakistan. 2016-10-03 03:40 2KB www.digitaljournal.com

81 Donald Trump invites Nigel Farage to next presidential debate Nigel Farage is set to attend the next US presidential debate at the invitation of Donald Trump. The former Ukip leader, w ho has been informally advising the... 2016-10-03 03:35 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

82 VIEWERS' GUIDE: Low-key VP candidates take debate spotlight We interrupt this year's slugfest betw een Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to bring you their understudies: tw o low - key, middle-aged guys. 2016-10-03 03:33 5KB www.thenewstribune.com

83 Insured crabs, tea help China's farmers avoid extreme weather losses By Coco Liu HONG KONG, Oct 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Ma Rongda, a tea grow er for nearly 30 years, know s how badly his business can be affected by extr... 2016-10-03 03:33 7KB www.dailymail.co.uk

84 President Obama, the Ultimate Tourist, Ticks Down His Bucket List Perhaps more than his predecessors, Mr. Obama has seized the opportunity as the w orld’s most pow erful leader to see the w orld’s most amazing sights. 2016-10-03 03:30 7KB www.nytimes.com

85 Florida’s Changing Latino Population Veers From G. O. P. For decades, being Latino in Florida almost alw ays meant being Republican. But the demographic mix is changing, and many now register as Democrats or independents. 2016-10-03 03:30 13KB www.nytimes.com

86 Indian-Pakistan families fear border shutdown Mohammad Iftakar w aits w ith sw eets and gifts at the Wagah border crossing, a lifeline for families violently separated during the founding of India and Pakis... 2016-10-03 03:30 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

87 MTN credit rating cut to junk on Nigeria woes S&P Global has low ered MTN Group’s credit rating amid Nigeria’s recent dow ngrade, sparking more challenges for the mobile netw ork in the West African country. 2016-10-03 03:28 1KB www.fin24.com

88 From the church so small its congregation sits outside to the chapel balanced half way down a cliff: Britain's tiniest - and loveliest - places of worship A new book, Tiny Churches, by intrepid traveller Dixe Wills, explores the fascinating and varied histories of 60 of the country's most diminutive churches. 2016-10-03 03:21 1KB www.dailymail.co.uk

89 Zimbabwe, Namibia to push for ivory trade Southern African countries w ill Monday fight for permission to sell their ivory stockpiles, as an international w ildlife conference debates how best to regulate the often illegal trade and protect Africa's elephants. 2016-10-03 03:20 3KB www.digitaljournal.com 90 flaunts her cleavage in low-cut top before lip filler session Katie Price w as seen treating herself to a pampering session in on Friday, stopping off at Mac Aesthetics salon for some much needed rest and relaxation. 2016-10-03 03:18 4KB www.dailymail.co.uk

91 We'll come back stronger in Japan, vows Mercedes boss Mercedes are "beating themselves up" about Lew is Hamilton's dramatic Malaysian Grand Prix engine failure but have vow ed to come back stronger in Japan this w ... 2016-10-03 03:15 3KB www.dailymail.co.uk

92 9 killed in rain-related incidents in Marathwada The retreating monsoon has claimed nine lives in Marathw ada region of Maharashtra w ith five killed in flash floods, officials said on Monday 2016-10-03 03:13 1KB www.mid-day.com

93 Economic monitor: Asian markets’ thwarted third quarter thrust Asian stock markets w ith the big exception of China’s A shares, dow n 10% on the MSCI index in dollar terms, w ere all positive though September, roughly in line w ith the 15% global composite increas… 2016-10-03 03:11 6KB atimes.com

94 Sebastian asks for transfer to NBP maximum security compound READ: NBP riot: Drug lord killed; 4 wounded High-profile inmate and alleged government asset Jaybee Sebastian has requested that he be transferred from Building 14 back to the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison 2016-10-03 03:09 2KB newsinfo.inquirer.net

95 rabbi says antisemitism growing in Northern Ireland The rabbi noted, how ever, that the bulk of Belfast residents have been "w arm and w elcoming" and have reached out to support the Jew ish community. 2016-10-03 03:05 2KB www.jpost.com

96 School bonds used to be as controversial as mom and apple pie. Not anymore under Gov. Jerry Brown It’s a sign of our contentious times and California’s contrarian governor that people are even bickering over routine state school construction bonds. 2016-10-03 03:05 6KB www.latimes.com

97 Oct. 3-4: Looking Through the Lens, Katrina Goldsaito, Sir Robert Penrose, Yusef/Cat Stevens, Citizen Josh, Corey Smith MONDAY, OCT. 3 Looking Through the Lens: Subtitled “The Glory of San Francisco Opera, Past and Present” the free exhibit features 135 photographs from the Edw ard Paul Braby San Francisco … MONDAY, OCT. 3 Looking Through the Lens: Subtitled “The Glory of San... 2016-10-03 03:01 5KB www.sfexaminer.com

98 Hailey Baldwin gets glam for L'Oreal bash in Paris The French cosmetics brand shared a glam video of the IMG Model - w ho turns 20 next month - dancing at the Paris Fashion Week party 2016-10-03 02:58 2KB www.dailymail.co.uk

99 Philip Hammond set to distance himself from George Osborne: "Times change" Douglas Alexander: How the Lib Dems did coalition wrong The Chancellor speaks to the Tory party conference today. 2016-10-03 10:43 8KB www.newstatesman.com

100 Mystery story: A lost teenager in Pa., a dead woman in Texas, a stolen identify from Washington state In opposite corners of the country, tw o families w ere on flip sides of the same mystery. One, in Texas, had lost a w ife to suicide in 2010, then learned that she w as not w ho she claimed. The other, in the Philadelphia suburbs,... 2016-10-03 02:51 8KB www.post-gazette.com Articles

USA news: POLITICAL 100 articles, created at 2016-10-03 12:08

1 /100 Paris gunmen rob Kardashian West of millions in jewelry (17.99/18) Kim Kardashian West was unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint of more than $10 million worth of jewelry inside a private Paris residence Sunday night, police officials said.

A spokeswoman for Kardashian West said the reality TV star was "badly shaken but physically unharmed" after masked men dressed as police officers also tied her up in the flat's bathroom before fleeing the scene.

Paris police official said five armed, masked men, who were still at large, stole a jewelry box containing valuables worth 6 million euros ($6.7 million) as well as a ring worth 4 million euros.

The two officials confirmed Kardashian West escaped uninjured and that an investigation was underway. They were not authorized to be publicly named speaking about ongoing investigations.

Police said the robbers tied up Kardashian West and locked her in the bathroom before escaping on bikes.

Kanye West was performing at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York at the time. He abruptly ended his set Sunday night after telling his fans had a family emergency.

"I'm sorry, family emergency I have to stop the show," West told the audience.

Kardashian West has been in Paris for fashion week. She attended the Givenchy show Sunday evening.

She was also ambushed last week by a serial celebrity accoster who attempted to assault her as she was entering a restaurant. Kardashian West was also attacked outside of a Paris fashion week show in 2014. She wasn't hurt in either incident.

Paris has been a special place for Kardashian West and her husband, who spent the weekend there before marrying in Florence in May of 2014.

She was staying at a residence near Paris' Madeleine church. Police said the thieves entered the building after the concierge let them in. Handcuffed and at gunpoint, he then led them to the starlet's flat.

It's unclear whether the couple's two children, 3-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint, were with Kardashian West when the robbery happened. Police said the actress' family was placed under police protection at the George V hotel after the incident.

Kim Kardashian Robbed In Kim Kardashian West held Kany e West rushes of f Kim Kardashian robbed at Kim Kardashian robbed of Paris, Millions Stolen, Say at gunpoint in Paris, stage to wif e Kim gunpoint in Paris hotel millions by Paris gunmen Police spokesperson say s Kardashian's aid af ter Paris article.wn.com .co.uk article.wn.com cbsnews.com gunpoint robbery dailymail.co.uk

Kim Kardashian hold during Kim Kardashian robbed in Kim Kardashian Held Up at gunpoint in Paris residence Paris, millions stolen: police Gunpoint in Paris Hotel headlinenewstoday.net dailymail.co.uk Room variety.com

2016-10-03 04:44 By ANGELA www.heraldonline.com

2 /100 Colombians reject deal to end 52-year FARC rebel war (9.99/18) Colombians narrowly rejected a peace deal with Marxist guerrillas in a referendum on Sunday, plunging the nation into uncertainty and dashing President Juan Manuel Santos' painstakingly negotiated plan to end the 52-year war.

The surprise victory for the "no" camp poured cold water on international joy, from the White House to the Vatican, at what had seemed to be the end of the longest-running conflict in the Americas.

The "no" camp won by 50.21 percent to 49.78 percent. Voter turnout was only 37 percent, perhaps partly owing to torrential rain through the country.

Both sides in the war immediately sought to reassure the world they would try to revive their peace plan.

Santos, 65, said a ceasefire already negotiated would remain in place. He vowed to sit down on Monday with the victorious "no" camp to discuss the way forward, and send his chief negotiator back to Cuba to meet with FARC rebel leaders.

"I will not give up, I will keep seeking peace until the last day of my term because that is the way to leave a better nation for our children," said Santos, who cannot seek re-election when his second term ends in August 2018.

The commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, known by his nom de guerre, Timochenko, gave a similar message from Havana, where peace negotiations have taken place over the last four years.

"The FARC reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future," said Timochenko, whose real name is Rodrigo Londono. "To the Colombian people who dream of peace, count on us, peace will triumph. "

Santos recently said a "no" vote would mean a return to war, and opinion polls had predicted he would win comfortably.

Traditionally conservative Colombian voters, in favor of peace in principle but unhappy at perceived soft treatment for the guerrillas, confounded those forecasts.

Opponents of the pact believed it was too lenient on the FARC rebels by allowing them to re-enter society, form a political party and escape jail sentences.

"I voted no. I don't want to teach my children that everything can be forgiven," said Bogota engineer Alejandro Jaramillo, 35.

Opponents want a renegotiation of the deal with rebel leaders serving jail time and receiving no free seats in Congress.

"We all want peace, no one wants violence," said influential former president Alvaro Uribe who led the "No" campaign. "We insist on corrections so there is respect for the constitution... We want to contribute to a national accord and be heard. "

"No" voters appeared to have been more highly motivated on Sunday. And some Colombians may have felt pressured to tell pollsters they were voting for peace despite private doubts.

Regions still riven by the conflict, including poor areas along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, voted resoundingly in favor of the deal, but formerly violent interior regions pacified during the Uribe presidency backed the "no" camp.

The rebels, whose numbers were halved to about 7,000 in recent years because of a U. S.-backed military offensive, had agreed to turn in weapons and fight for power at the ballot box instead.

Under the accord, the FARC, which began as a peasant revolt in 1964, would have been able to compete in the 2018 presidential and legislative elections and have 10 unelected congressional seats guaranteed through 2026.

It would also have given up its role in the lucrative illegal drug trade and taken part in reforming rural Colombia.

But controversially, many rebel leaders who ordered killings, bombings and displacements would have had to appear before a special tribunal that could sentence them to alternative punishments like clearing landmines.

For decades, the FARC bankrolled the longest-running conflict in the Americas through the illegal drug trade, kidnapping and extortion. Battles between the guerrillas, paramilitaries, drug gangs and the army raged in the countryside and there were atrocities committed on all sides.

The conflict took more than 220,000 lives and displaced millions of people. At one stage, the FARC was positioned close to the capital and the state was on the verge of collapse.

Supporters of the peace deal were stunned by the plebiscite result.

"How sad. It seems Colombia has forgotten about the cruelty of war, our deaths, our injured, our mutilated, our victims and the suffering we've all lived through with this war," said Adriana Rivera, 43, a philosophy professor standing tearfully at the hotel of the "yes" campaign.

The vote was a disaster for Santos, who had hoped to turn his focus quickly to other matters including possible talks with the smaller ELN rebel group, a much-needed tax reform and other economic measures to compensate for a drop in oil income.

The government had hoped peace would lead to a boom in investment by commodities investors, in gold mines, oil and agriculture in Latin America's fourth-largest economy.

After Sunday's vote, companies will be rethinking the situation.

Although the "no" camp has broached the idea of fresh talks, the FARC has said no group sits at a negotiating table to agree to jail time.

"Today will be remembered by history as the moment Colombia turned its back on what could have been the end of a war that for more than 50 years devastated millions of lives," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director for rights group Amnesty International. "Even though it was imperfect, the accord was a sure path to peace and justice. "

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AP News in Brief at 12:04 Colombia’s Brexit moment Colombians appear to reject Colombia’s leader to push Colombia in Unchartered a.m. EDT as politicians misjudge peace deal by razor-thin ahead on peace af ter shock Territory With Peace Deal's article.wn.com popular anger at Farc margin, major shock f or war- def eat Def eat amnesty torn country article.wn.com abcnews.go.com theguardian.com article.wn.com

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2016-10-03 02:45 CNBC www.cnbc.com

3 /100 Powerful Hurricane Matthew a threat to Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba (7.99/18) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Vulnerable Haiti braced for flash floods and violent winds from the extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm kept on a path early Monday aiming at the hemisphere's poorest country. ...

Matthew strengthens into The Latest: Major hurricane Hurricane Matthew a threat Category 5 hurricane in a threat to Haiti, Jamaica, to Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba Caribbean Cuba article.wn.com mynorthwest.com article.wn.com Hurricane Matthew's threat Hurricane Matthew closes in The Latest: Major Hurricane Hurricane Matthew: 'Lif e- Hurricane Matthew f ears to Haiti grows, some resist on Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba a Threat to Haiti, Jamaica, threatening f lash f loods and grow in Haiti shelters rssfeeds.usatoday.com Cuba mudslides' expected newhampshire.com dailymail.co.uk abcnews.go.com cnn.com

2016-10-03 04:59 system article.wn.com

4 /100 Kanye West ends NYC performance early due to "family emergency" (6.69/18) Last Updated Oct 2, 2016 10:38 PM EDT

FLUSHING, N. Y. -- Kanye West ended his performance in New York City early Sunday evening due to a “family emergency.”

The Meadows, the festival in Queens where West was performing, confirmed on Twitter that he left early due to an emergency, without further explanation.

Due to an emergency, Kanye West had to end his performance early. Please get home safely.

Several videos posted to Twitter showed West abruptly ending the show.

“I’m sorry there’s a family emergency I have to stop the show,” West said quickly, before the lights went out on stage.

@CNN @MTV @TMZ Kanye stopping mid show due to family emergency wtf pic.twitter.com/LYr2d8CsQC

Many took to Twitter following the sudden exit of West, expressing confusion and frustration.

Kanye West appears with a 30 min delay cuts show halftime citing family emergency during #Meadows set. Why am I skeptical?

Kanye came on 33 minutes late, then after 50 minutes stopped show due to "family emergency" #meadows

Mass exodus and tears at the meadows. kanye left because of family emergency #kanye

Kanye really just stopped in the middle of a song said "family emergency" and dipped

It is currently unclear what caused West to exit the concert early.

West is married to Kim Kardashian West. Together they have two children.

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Kany e West stops NYC concert due to ‘f amily emergency ’ wtop.com 2016-10-03 02:10 CBS News www.cbsnews.com

5 /100 Did Donald Trump evade taxes for 18 years? (4.66/18) In 1995, Trump’s business losses could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for 18 years. Pic/AP

Washington: Donald Trump, who has vehemently refused to release his tax records, finally came under pressure yesterday after a damning report by the New York Times suggested the billionaire could have avoided paying taxes for nearly two decades, a development that may hurt his presidential bid.

The revelations, that he declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax return which might have allowed him to dodge paying income tax for up to 18 years, threatened to put the 70-year-old tycoon’s tax records at the centre of the presidential campaign.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that his taxes are under federal audit, though there is no legal reason why a person under audit cannot make tax records public.

“The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, derived from the financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan,” the NYT report said. The Trump campaign, responding to the news report, said his return was obtained illegally by the Times.

“What is happening now with the FBI and Department of Justice on Hillary Clinton’s emails and server, are worse than what took place in the administration of Richard Nixon — and far more illegal,” it said.

“Mr Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for president and he is the only one that knows how to fix it,” the campaign added.

In its statement, the Trump campaign said the Republican nominee has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in other taxes, but did not address the federal tax issues raised by the report.

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Donald Trump may not hav e 9 Times Donald Trump paid tax f or 18 y ears, say s Complained About Taxes report nytimes.com article.wn.com

2016-10-02 23:26 By Agencies www.mid-day.com

6 /100 A Look at What Colombia Referendum Result May Mean (3.48/18) The national referendum in Colombia voted down the government's peace deal with leftist rebels less than a week after President Juan Manuel Santos signed the historic accord before an audience that included several heads of state and the United Nations secretary-general. Here's a look at the results and what lies ahead:

———

WHAT HAPPENED? Opinion polls had predicted the "yes" vote would win by an almost two-to-one margin. But with almost all ballots counted, 50.2 percent of Colombians who voted Sunday opposed the deal and 49.8 percent favored it. That was a difference of less than 57,000 votes out 13 million ballots.

———

HURRICANE MATTHEW?

Turnout was always expected to be low, around the 40 percent seen in recent congressional elections. But it was even lower, around 25 percent, in several states along the Caribbean coast that favored the accord by large margins due to heavy rainfall caused by Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean.

———

WHAT'S NEXT?

Opponents of the accord, led by powerful former President Alvaro Uribe, said if the accord failed to pass the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia should return to the negotiating table. Opponents specifically want to renegotiate provisions that would spare jail time for rebels who confess their crimes and give the FARC 10 seats in congress through 2026. Santos says he will send his negotiators to Cuba to confer with FARC leaders. He also says he will consult with opponents of the accord. The FARC, who never wanted the referendum in the first place, has reiterated its commitment to finding peace, without saying if it will renegotiate. Both Santos and the FARC say the accord as negotiated is the best one possible for Colombia.

———

WILL FIGHTING RESUME?

The FARC have made clear they want to abandon their half-century armed struggle. For now, a bilateral cease-fire remains in place and neither side is interested in a return to hostilities.

———

PRESIDENT'S FUTURE:

This is major blow to Santos, who staked his entire presidency on bringing an end to a conflict that has killed 220,000 people and left almost 8 million displaced.

A look at what Colombia Colombia’s leader to push Colombia’s Leader Vows to ref erendum result may ahead on peace af ter shock Push Ahead With Peace mean def eat Ef f orts Af ter Shock Def eat charlotteobserver.com article.wn.com article.wn.com

2016-10-03 00:21 By abcnews.go.com

7 /100 New Jersey Train Engineer Says He Can't Remember Crash (3.12/18) The engineer at the helm of a train that smashed into a New Jersey commuter rail terminal, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 others, told federal investigators he was going only 10 mph as he approached the station, but has has no memory of the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The statements from the engineer, Thomas Gallagher, came as investigators learned that an event data recorder that was supposed to record the New Jersey Transit train's speed and braking information wasn't functioning, according to NTSB vice chair T. Bella Dinh-Zarr. Investigators haven't been able to extract a second data recorder, located in the cab control car in the front of the train, because it is under a collapsed section of the train station's roof. "It's likely that it's a newer event data recorder in the lead passenger car, the controlling car, so we're hopeful that will have information that will be functioning," Dinh-Zarr said at a Sunday news conference. "We'll just hope that the front event data recorder was working. "

Federal regulations require commuter trains to have a working recorder in the lead car, according to Jim Southworth, the NTSB's lead investigator for the crash.

The regulations also require the recorders to be inspected every year. It was unclear when the recorders in the train were last inspected.

Gallagher told investigators that he was fully rested and that the train was operating properly Thursday morning before it crashed into the Hoboken Terminal. Killed was Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, who had paused her legal career, leaving the software company SAP in Brazil after her husband got a job with an international liquor company. More than 100 others were injured.

The 48-year-old train engineer told federal investigators that he remembered blowing the train's horn and looking at the speedometer as he pulled into the station and said the train was going 10 mph, Dinh-Zarr said. But, Gallagher told the investigators that he had no memory of the crash and only remembered waking up on the floor of the engineer's cab, she said.

Officials said they hoped to be able to gain access to the front of the train in the coming days.

The signals on the tracks leading to the train terminal appeared to working normally and officials who performed a walking inspection of the track found nothing that would have affected the train's performance, the NTSB said. Investigators also obtained video from other trains in the station, but found nothing of value, Dinh-Zarr told reporters.

Months before Thursday's deadly train crash, federal rail officials found dozens of violations during an audit that focused on NJ Transit's safety and operations, a U. S. official told The Associated Press.

The official, who was familiar with the Federal Railroad Administration audit, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.

The audit was launched after the federal regulatory agency noticed an uptick in rail incident and found "dozens of safety violations" that needed to be fixed immediately, the official said. The commuter rail agency was fined as a result of the audit.

A spokesman for NJ Transit hasn't responded to requests for comment.

Since 2011, NJ Transit trains have been involved in more than 150 accidents that caused more than $4.8 million in damage to tracks or equipment's and has paid more than $500,000 to settle safety violations, according to federal data.

Information from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that NJ Transit has settled 183 safety violations — ranging from employee drug and alcohol use to violations of railroad operating rules or practices, since Jan. 1, 2011.

———

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in Philadelphia and Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton contributed to this report.

New Jersey train engineer New Jersey was not ready New Jersey train engineer say s he can't remember to handle the Hoboken train say s he can’t remember crash crash crash mynorthwest.com nypost.com wtop.com

2016-10-03 00:34 By abcnews.go.com

8 /100 AP PHOTOS: Victims of Pakistan's 'honor' killings (2.30/18) ISLAMABAD (AP) — Tasleem was just 18 years old when her brother shot her in the head. Her crime was marrying a man of her choice, considered a betrayal of a family's honor among many in Pakistan who live by... "I had to:" Inside the mind of AP PHOTOS: Victims of “I had to:” Inside the mind of an 'honor' killer in Pakistan Pakistan’s ‘honor’ killings an ‘honor’ killer in Pakistan article.wn.com article.wn.com article.wn.com

'I had to': Inside the mind of PICTURED: Victims of "I Had to:" Inside the Mind an 'honour' killer in Pakistan Pakistan's 'honor' killings of an 'Honor' Killer in article.wn.com dailymail.co.uk Pakistan abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 04:59 system article.wn.com

9 /100 UK Treasury Chief Warns of Turbulence Amid Brexit Talks (2.21/18) Britain's Treasury chief, Philip Hammond, has warned of turbulence in the coming years as the country negotiates its exit from the European Union.

Hammond told the BBC on Monday that Britain will face a couple of years, or longer, of uncertainty as Britain goes through the process of leaving the 28-nation trading bloc.

In comments made before he addresses the Conservative Party conference, Hammond said that during this period, "we need to support the economy. "

Hammond's remarks came a day after Prime Minister Theresa May set a timetable for Britain's exit. The pound has fallen 0.5 percent on the news to $1.2859 as May's comments suggested the country was on track for a so-called "hard Brexit ," in which Britain loses the possibility of continuing close ties to the bloc.

UK Treasury chief warns of UK f aces economic turbulence amid Brexit talks turbulence during Brexit cbs46.com process: Hammond article.wn.com

2016-10-03 04:17 By abcnews.go.com

10 /100 Pittsburgh Steelers' Le'Veon Bell outshines Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles in dueling returns (2.09/18) PITTSBURGH -- Le'Veon Bell came back for Pittsburgh. Jamaal Charles came back for Kansas City.

Maybe this should have been called the Return Game for two of the NFL's best running backs.

However, there weren't many happy returns for the Chiefs, who, despite welcoming back Charles for the first time since he tore an ACL on Oct. 11, 2015, were 43-14 losers to the Steelers on Sunday night.

Charles had one carry for 6 yards in the first quarter, then wasn't seen again until Knile Davis' possible concussion forced him back into the game after the Steelers took a 36-0 lead. A rainy night with the opponent up by five scores wasn't conducive for a player returning from a serious knee injury, and Charles finished with two carries for 7 yards.

"He's a unique player with a tremendous skill set," Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith said. "Obviously, to get him back in the mix and get him worked in more and more, it will only help us. "

The Chiefs wanted to ease him back, but not this way.

"Right from the get-go, we weren't playing the way we normally do," Kansas City coach Andy Reid said.

But Bell did. Challenged by coach Mike Tomlin during practice to become even more multidimensional than he was previously, Bell ran 18 times for 144 yards -- with a long of 44 yards -- and also had five catches for 34 yards in his first game in one year and one day.

"Le'Veon is one of the best in the world at what he does," Tomlin said. "His presence is always significant, because he does so many things well. We challenged him intellectually this week, and he delivered. "

Bell was much more of a factor for the Steelers than Charles was for the Chiefs -- although it was Ben Roethlisberger 's four first-half touchdown passes that were the difference for Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger ended with five TD passes, the fifth such game of his career.

Bell -- No. 2 in the NFL in rushing in 2014 -- tore a medial collateral ligament on Oct. 1, 2015, and was lost for the rest of the season, then was suspended for the first three games of this season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

"Ben made the right plays to get me in the open field," Bell said. "I felt great. ... I didn't feel rusty at all. I couldn't wait to get back out there. ... I did some blocking, and once I started to get carries, it felt normal. "

Bell certainly looked like the running back who ran for more than 1,300 yards in 2014. However, he looked different, too -- sometimes lining up outside, as a wide receiver, so DeAngelo Williams could get some carries, too, after running for 258 yards in the first three weeks.

"You saw what all we could do with him," Roethlisberger said of Bell. "It's a compliment to him. ... We asked him to do a lot. Not just be a running back and run the ball, but we put him in motion, we put him at wide receiver, we threw screens to him. We did a lot. And that's the confidence and the faith we have in him. "

The Latest: Steelers cruising Bell quickly returns to f orm Pittsburgh Steelers ride Ben to v ictory ov er Chief s as Steelers thrash Chief s Roethlisberger's 5 TDs to cbs46.com article.wn.com rout of Kansas City Chief s upi.com

2016-10-03 01:55 www.upi.com

11 /100 Quotations in the News (2.07/18) The latest on Colombia's referendum on an agreement to end a half-century of armed conflict (all times local): 9:25 p.m. Colombia's powerful former President Alvaro Uribe...

The latest on Colombia's referendum on an agreement to end a half-century of armed conflict (all times local): 7:15 p.m. Colombia's president says he will consult with the...

After a stunning referendum defeat for a peace deal with leftist rebels, Colombians are asking what comes next for their war-torn country, which like Britain following the ...

Voters in Colombia have blasted all hopes for a peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. In contradictory...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombians rejected a peace deal with leftist rebels by a razor-thin margin in a national referendum Sunday, scuttling years of painstaking ...

(CNN)A narrow win for Colombia's opponents to a government peace deal with FARC rebels has thrown the country into disarray, leading one journalist to starkly declare, "Nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow. " Likened to the fallout from the United Kingdom's "Brexit" referendum, the vote's unexpected failure has left the Colombian political classes reeling and unsure how...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The latest on Colombia's referendum on an agreement to end a half-century of armed conflict (all times local): 6:55 p.m. The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is reiterating the rebel group's willingness to continue working toward peace following what appears to be a national referendum's shocking rejection of its accord with the...

BOGOTA, Colombia — Voters rejected a peace deal with leftist rebels by a razor-thin margin in a national referendum Sunday, delivering a major setback to President Juan Manuel Santos, who vowed to keep a cease-fire in place and not give up his campaign to end a half-century of war. With more than 99 percent of polling stations reporting, 50.2 percent of ballots opposed the ...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Voters rejected a peace deal with leftist rebels by a razor-thin margin in a national referendum Sunday, delivering a major setback to President Juan Manuel Santos, who vowed to keep a cease-fire in place and not give up his campaign to end a half-century of war. With more than 99 percent of polling stations reporting, 50.2 percent of ballots opposed the ...

Colombia's Santos, FARC Colombia in unchartered scramble to rev iv e peace territory with peace deal’s af ter shock v ote def eat article.wn.com wtop.com

2016-10-03 04:52 system article.wn.com

12 /100 Strike disrupts operations at Freeport's mine in Indonesia (2.06/18) The U. S. owner of a gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia that is among the largest in the world says its operations have been disrupted by a days-long strike.

Strike Disrupts Operations Workers strike at US miner at Freeport's Mine in Freeport's Indonesia site Indonesia dailymail.co.uk abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 05:00 system article.wn.com

13 /100 Turkey: 15 Turkish-backed rebels killed in fighting with IS (2.06/18) ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish military officials say 15 Syrian opposition fighters have been killed in an ongoing battle with Islamic State militants in northern Syria. The officials also say that about 35 Syrian rebels have been wounded in the fighting, which seeks to capture seven residential districts south of the town of al-Rai. According to a statement emailed Monday, "intense" clashes had taken place in the regions of Boztepe, Hardanah and Turkmen Bari. The statement says the casualties took place over the last 24 hours. Turkey sent troops and tanks into Syria in August to help Syrian rebels re-take IS strongholds near the border and curb the advance of Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara accuses of links with Turkey's outlawed Kurdish rebels. Turkish officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Turkey : 15 Turkish-Backed Turkish military say s 15 Rebels Killed in Fighting rebels killed in clashes in With IS Sy ria abcnews.go.com article.wn.com

2016-10-03 04:28 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

14 /100 AP PHOTOS: Editor Selections From the Past Week in Asia (2.06/18) Images from Asia: Duterte raises the rhetoric over his anti-crime war, comparing it to Hitler and the Holocaust; India says it carried out "surgical strikes" against militants across the frontier dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan...

AP PHOTOS: Editor PICTURED: Editor selections f rom the past selections f rom the past week in Asia week in Asia charlotteobserver.com dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:44 system article.wn.com

15 /100 Attorney General Lynch announcing grants for new officers (2.06/18) Attorney General Loretta Lynch is announcing Justice Department grants Monday to help police departments across the country hire new officers.

The $119 million in funding is being announced in Dallas, site of a sniper ambush in July that left five officers dead, at the start of National Community Policing Week. Other events planned for the week include a town hall discussion on diversity in law enforcement and an awards ceremony, both in Washington.

The goal is to highlight the need for strong relationships between communities and law enforcement, an especially urgent Justice Department priority in light of a months-long stretch of high-profile slayings of both police officers and citizens in not only Dallas but in communities including Baton Rouge, Charlotte and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

"The recent events we've seen, particularly this summer, have raised the visibility of this issue beyond just the communities that have traditionally felt impacted by it," Lynch said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The grants, provided by the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, are being awarded to 184 law enforcement agencies and are intended to create or preserve more than 900 positions. Almost all of the jobs will be new hires, though the grants will allow some officers to either be rehired or protected from being laid off.

Dallas, which Lynch said already has a strong community policing model, is scheduled to receive $3.1 million to hire 25 new officers.

While in Dallas, Lynch is scheduled to participate in a community policing youth forum on Monday and will join Mayor Mike Rawlings for an evening in the community on Tuesday.

"It's been tremendously heartening that Dallas has stuck together through all of that," Lynch said.

"I thought frankly it was just a tragic irony that in a community where you had police officers who were making sure that the protest went forward as planned and as authorized, that's the city that someone chose to come to and try to sow dissension," she added.

The recipients of the grants include large cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Louisville and Charlotte, but also much smaller agencies in Biddeford, Maine, Twin Falls, Idaho and Carlisle, Iowa.

Lynch said there's broad agreement, including among protesters, about the need for an effective and responsive police department that keeps the community safe. But she said there's a simultaneous demand from the public for departments that are accountable and transparent about their decisions.

"There's a hunger out there in so many communities, particularly minority communities, for a positive relationship with law enforcement," she said. Attorney General Ly nch Justice Dept. to announce Announcing Grants f or New grants f or hiring of new Of f icers of f icers abcnews.go.com mynorthwest.com

2016-10-03 03:38 By ERIC www.thenewstribune.com

16 /100 Protests to continue over fatal police shooting of Ohio teen (2.06/18) A group calling for an independent investigation after an Ohio officer fatally shot a 13-year-old boy while investigating a reported armed robbery is returning to downtown Columbus to protest.

Protests in Los Angeles Protesters gather in Los af ter police shooting of Angeles ov er f atal police armed teen shooting upi.com cbs46.com

2016-10-03 01:49 system article.wn.com

17 /100 Georgia Nicols horoscopes for Oct. 3, 2016 (2.06/18) We have the “all clear” today to shop and do business. The Moon is in Scorpio.

This is an excellent day for financial discussions and negotiations. In particular, discussions about other people’s money or how to share things with other people like inheritances, taxes, debt and shared property will be favorable to you. You will come out smelling like a rose!

All your negotiations with others will be quite pleasant today. Nevertheless, you will have to go more than halfway when meeting others because the Moon is opposite your sign today. When the Moon is opposite your sign, you always have to give a little extra. In two weeks, when the Moon is in your sign, you win!

Enjoy relations with co-workers and bosses today because people feel warmhearted and congenial. In fact, someone in a position of authority might feel sympathetic to you. (Possibly, vice versa.) This is a good day to ask for help from others because they will probably agree. Timing is everything.

Not only is this a wonderful day for a date or any kind of romantic get-together, it’s also a lovely day to enjoy the arts, sports events and playful activities with children. In fact, you will feel particularly softhearted with children and concerned for their welfare.

You might want to shop for something for a redecorating project for your home today. If so, you could go overboard buying something elegant and irresistible. Family discussions will be mutually sympathetic and warmhearted. This is a good day to entertain at home.

All your discussions with others will be warm and friendly today. That’s why this is a good day to meet with siblings, relatives and neighbors to discuss anything that has been sensitive or important on your agenda. People are cooperative and sympathetic today, and that is half the battle.

If spending money today, you will be tempted to buy luxurious, elegant items. And who appreciates beauty more than you? (Libra is the sign that has domain over haute couture and high fashion.) You love beautiful things! Nevertheless, watch your pennies today because nothing is for free.

This is a lovely day for Scorpio! The Moon is in your sign lined up with fair Venus and dancing with Neptune. You will be successful in all your dealings with others because your charm and diplomacy will disarm anyone. This is a great day to buy wardrobe items, but be careful of going overboard! Solitude in beautiful surroundings will delight you today because you feel the need for some peace and quiet. This is a very popular time for you and you need to take a moment to quietly regenerate and restore your energy so that you can continue to dazzle everyone. No?

A discussion with a friend, perhaps a female acquaintance, will be mutually sympathetic today. Your concerns are genuine, which is why you will listen with sympathy and interest. Perhaps this discussion will work the other way? Who knows?

Relations with bosses and people in authority are mutually sympathetic today. In fact, they are so cozy, some of you might strike up a flirtation with your boss. Others will ask for your creative input and advice on something.

Because your appreciation of beauty is aroused today, give yourself a chance to enjoy beautiful places. Visit parks, museums, galleries and beautiful boutiques. You will love gorgeous, architectural buildings. You will also love beautiful ideas.

Singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani (1969) shares your birthday today. You respect knowledge. You are attractive, imaginative, calm and composed. You have a creative spirit and strong values. People love your wit and charm. Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves this year because this is the year you’ve been waiting for. Expect a major change, perhaps as significant as what occurred around 2006. It’s time to test your future!

UPI Almanac f or Monday , Editorial Cartoon: Oct. 3, Oct. 3, 2016 2016 upi.com newhampshire.com

2016-10-03 01:00 Georgia Nicols chicago.suntimes.com

18 /100 Trial opens for suspects in killing Russian opposition chief (2.04/18) A Moscow military court is beginning to hear the case of five people accused of involvement in the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

Nemtsov was shot late at night in February 2015 as he and a companion walked across a bridge near the Kremlin. The brutality so close to the center of Russian power both frightened and angered supporters of the beleaguered opposition.

Five suspects, all of them Chechens, faced the court in Moscow on Monday as the hearings began. The suspected triggerman served as an officer in the security forces of the Moscow-backed Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The official probe has failed to identify those who ordered the killing, and Russian opposition activists have criticized the Kremlin for failing to track down the mastermind.

Boris Nemtsov murder trial Trial Opens f or Suspects in to begin in Moscow Killing Russian Opposition bbc.co.uk Chief abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 04:43 The Associated www.heraldonline.com

19 /100 A timeline of Colombia's conflict with largest rebel group (1.32/18) Key developments in the half-century of hostilities between Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel movement: --- —May 1964: Rebel leader Manuel Marulanda, alias "Tirofijo," founds Revolutionary Armed Forces of... Colombia rejects deal to end A look at Colombia's half - A Look at Colombia's Half - FARC conf lict: What century -long rebel conf lict Century -Long Rebel Conf lict happens next? article.wn.com abcnews.go.com article.wn.com

A Timeline of Colombia's FARC rebel treaty rejected Conf lict With Largest Rebel by v ote in Colombia Group article.wn.com abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 01:50 system article.wn.com

20 /100 Student from Homewood killed in shooting at N. Carolina party (1.29/18) GREENSBORO, N. C. — Two North Carolina university students who were shot and killed at a party were innocent bystanders when a fight broke out, authorities said Sunday.

Greensboro Police Cpl. M. D. Matthews told the News & Record of Greensboro that there was no evidence that the two North Carolina A&T State University students who died were part of a fight that broke out Sunday morning.

A Greensboro Police news release named the victims as Alisia Dieudonne, 19, of Homewood, Illinois, and Amhad Campbell, 21, of Kittrell, North Carolina.

Officers responded about 2:10 a.m. Sunday to a reported disturbance at a Greensboro home located off-campus, Matthews said. Police located Dieudonne and Campbell, who were shot inside the residence.

The student who held the party, 20-year-old Nicholas Jeffers, says he told everyone to leave when a fight broke out. Another fight started outside, and he heard three shots fired, he said.

“I’m stunned because it didn’t have to go this far,” Jeffers said.

Jeffers, who was friends with the two students who died, said neither knew about the first fight until he told them moments before someone fired the shots that killed both of them.

Greensboro Police Capt. Nathaniel Davis said witnesses have cooperated with police who have yet to determine a suspect, the weapon used or the number of guests at the party.

“This is a really sad day,” Davis said. “We’re just hoping people will come forward with information.”

Jeffers said he invited a small group of friends over to his apartment after leaving a party across town. As the night went on, “hundreds of people” showed up, and he said he later learned someone posted on social media that he was having a party.

2 students killed at North Carolina party article.wn.com

2016-10-02 23:04 Associated Press chicago.suntimes.com

21 /100 Supreme Court: Some noteworthy cases coming up in new term (1.14/18) Some noteworthy cases the Supreme Court will hear in its new term that begins Monday:

Church-state separation: A Missouri church is challenging its exclusion from a state program that reimburses groups for installing rubberized surfaces on playgrounds. The Trinity Lutheran Church's application for a grant was highly rated, but state officials said a provision of the Missouri Constitution bars them from giving public money to a church.

Disparaging trademarks: The Obama administration is defending the decision to deny trademark protection to an Asian-American band called the Slants because the term is offensive to Asians. A lower court struck down the part of federal law on which the decision was based and the outcome of the case also could affect the Washington Redskins football team in its fight to preserve lucrative trademark protection.

Texas death penalty appeals: Two inmates on Texas' death row are seeking to have their death sentences overturned. Inmate Duane Buck, who is African-American, contends his lawyers failed him by calling as an expert witness a psychologist who testified that black people were more likely to commit violence. Inmate Bobby Moore argues that he is ineligible to be executed because he is intellectually disabled. Moore says Texas courts used outdated standards to reject his claim.

Insider trading: The court will consider a disagreement between lower courts about how to evaluate whether people are illegally benefiting from trading on information from corporate insiders.

Redistricting: Cases from North Carolina and Virginia focus on lawsuits from African-Americans who complain that Republican-led legislatures improperly concentrated Democratic-leaning black voters in some districts to limit their influence in others, ensuring the election of more Republicans.

Citizenship: A man who is facing deportation claims he can't be removed from the U. S. because he was a citizen at birth. He is challenging an unusual provision of U. S. law that applies to children born outside the country to one parent who is an American and one who is not. The law makes it easier for children whose mother is a citizen to become citizens themselves.

---

Two appeals that have been filed but not yet acted on also could be heard this term:

Transgender rights: A Virginia school district is appealing a lower court ruling requiring it to allow a transgender boy to use the boys' bathroom at his high school. The Supreme Court has put the ruling on hold, pending its decision on whether to hear the case.

Voter ID: Texas is asking the high court to overturn a lower court ruling that found that the state's 2011 law requiring photo identification to vote discriminated against minorities and the poor. Appeals in voter ID cases from North Carolina and Wisconsin also could reach the court, but the justices will not confront the issue until after the November elections.

Editorial: A Crippled Supreme Court’s New Term article.wn.com

2016-10-03 03:38 The Associated www.charlotteobserver.com

22 /100 Afghan refugees in Pakistan feel heat of rising regional tensions (1.08/18) By James Mackenzie and Mirwais Harooni KABUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) - For Samihullah, a tailor from a family of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the first indication that it might be time to leave the country was the insults levelled at him in the bazaar. Born to refugee parents in the northern Pakistani town of Mansehra, he never gained citizenship but was always considered an Afghan, something which began to count against him as local resentment grew over Afghanistan's deepening ties with India. Many Pakistanis view India as their enemy at the best of times, and that attitude has hardened in recent months as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals have risen. "Afghans used to be called 'Kabuli' in Pakistan, but now Pakistanis call them 'Hindus' because we signed economic agreements with India," said Samihullah, who, like many Afghans, goes by one name. Married with two wives, one Afghan and one Pakistani, the 32-year-old is among thousands of people who have gone to Afghanistan and are housed temporarily in a refugee centre near Kabul. Even before the latest clashes between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in the disputed Kashmir region, the climate was more hostile. "They were telling us, we chose India's friendship so we should go to India. We were hiding in our shops and homes to avoid being arrested," Samihullah said. After almost 40 years of war in Afghanistan, Pakistan has some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the United Nations refugee agency. More than a million others are estimated to live there unregistered. Islamabad, which announced new repatriation plans last year, has stepped up pressure to send people back and numbers have risen sharply in recent months as Afghan-Indian relations strengthened and those between India and Pakistan soured. "These people were our guests, we kept them in our house. Afghanistan should be grateful to us," said a Pakistani army official based in the southern city of Quetta. "Instead it... has become buddies with India, it's like stabbing us in the back. " The treatment Samihullah and others at the reception centre complain of reflects how quickly diplomatic tensions can affect refugees, many of whom must start again from scratch. "These returnees are coming back after more than three decades in exile," said Maya Ameratunga, director of UNHCR's Country office in Kabul. "It will take a big adjustment. " The United Nations provides $400 a person in emergency help as well as medical and other assistance, but international funds are drying up in the face of a series of global crises. Longer term reintegration into a country many never knew as home may be difficult. "Some people are able to go to live with relatives, but others may not have that possibility. So unfortunately what we are seeing is people becoming displaced," Ameratunga said. "HONOUR AND DIGNITY" Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan have long been clouded by mutual accusations that militant extremists find shelter on the other side of the border. But Pakistani officials deny there has been systematic harassment of Afghans living in Pakistan and say their country has demonstrated great generosity to the refugee population, despite severe economic problems of its own. "We want them to return home in peace with honour and dignity," said Akhtar Munir, spokesman at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, adding that there was no connection between the repatriation of Afghan refugees and India. He said Pakistani police had clear instructions not to harass registered refugees, but added that some Afghans living illegally in Pakistan were involved in crime, and action against criminals should not be seen as mistreatment of refugees. The spike in the number of returnees has, however, moved in step with escalating friction between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which flared into brief clashes at the Torkham border crossing in June. A series of economic and political accords with India in recent months and the fanfare around the completion of the Indian-financed Salma dam in western Afghanistan in June has also weighed on relations. According to UNHCR figures, the number of assisted returns jumped from 1,433 in June to 11,416 in July and 60,743 in August. More than 90,000 have been returned to Afghanistan so far this year, almost all from Pakistan, and the number is expected to pass 220,000 for the year. Although repatriation is not compulsory, many Afghans say life in Pakistan has become so uncomfortable they feel they have little choice. Even in areas like Baluchistan in the south, where authorities have long taken a more lenient view of refugees than in the northwest frontier areas, attitudes have changed, particularly in the wake of recent attacks. "My son was stopped at a checkpoint and an officer tore up his Afghan citizenship card," said Bibi Shireen, who moved to Quetta from the southern Afghan city of Kandahar 30 years ago. "Now he has no identification and we're scared he could get picked up any day now and sent away because he isn't registered," she said. Previously, Afghan refugees did not need visas or passports to cross the porous frontier. This has now changed, a step Pakistan says is needed to ensure control of militant extremists on both sides of the border. Despite the problems, many returnees say they are not unhappy to be back, though they need help with food and shelter as harsh winter months approach. "We did our best over the past 20 years but could not make a living," said Sheer Banu Ahmadzai, a burqa-veiled mother who left her home in the northern province of Baghlan as a child. "I hope we have the chance to make a living in our own country. " (Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik in QUETTA; Editing by Mike Collett-White)

Political tensions squeeze Af ghans in Pakistan article.wn.com

2016-10-03 04:15 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

23 /100 Afghanistan Seeks $3B in Aid as Corruption Concerns Persist (1.08/18) Afghanistan's leaders will head to Brussels this week, seeking billions of dollars in aid as the country confronts an increasingly powerful Taliban insurgency and pervasive corruption.

President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah hope to secure pledges totaling about $3 billion a year at the conference, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Afghanistan already receives about $5 billion a year, mostly from the United States, to cover defense costs. The last donor conference, in Tokyo in 2012, secured $4 billion in annual subsidies for development.

Afghanistan has been mired in war for decades. At the height of the 15-year U. S. and NATO intervention, billions of dollars flowed into the country, creating a false economy with growth in the double-digits. But the drawdown of troops in 2014 led many aid workers and international agencies to depart or scale back their operations, causing the economy to all but collapse. Officials estimate up to 50 percent unemployment. Deteriorating security deters foreign investment in key fields such as mining and infrastructure, and drives the country's youth onto the migrant trail to Europe in search of opportunities. Ghani will nevertheless argue that progress has been made since Tokyo regarding corruption and judicial and electoral reform.

"Afghanistan is no longer just receiving a blank check, this time we have to make sure the support we are receiving goes to the right places, in the right hands, and there is mutual accountability on both sides, Afghanistan and the donors," said Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Abdullah.

Afghanistan's illicit production of poppies for heroin, worth about $3 billion a year, has served as a cash cow for the insurgents and spawned a corruption epidemic. The anti-corruption group Transparency International consistently ranks Afghanistan among the top three most corrupt countries, alongside Somalia and North Korea.

"Corruption used to be a shame in this county, but now all the things it brings are a badge of pride," said analyst Haroun Mir, referring to officials who flaunt expensive watches and cars, and live in huge marble houses known as "poppy palaces" despite receiving official salaries of a few thousand dollars a month.

The average income for Afghanistan's estimated 30 million people, most of whom are illiterate farmers, is less than $1,000 a year.

Speaking in Washington last week, U. S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson said Afghanistan relies on donors for around 70 percent of its budget. He said international donors in Brussels are expected to pledge $3 billion a year in development funds through 2020.

He insisted progress has been made since 2012, with government revenue collection growing last year by 20 percent to around $1.8 billion, improved regulations against money laundering and a reduction in illegal procurements for defense and police.

"Much remains to be done on the anti-corruption agenda, but the government is making headway. More than 600 judges, 20 percent of prosecutors, and 25 percent of customs officials, who were either unqualified or corrupt, have been removed from their positions over the past year," Olson said.

Despite the incremental improvements, however, corruption remains one of Afghanistan's most intransigent problems, and is regularly cited by ordinary people in opinion polls as one of their main concerns, along with security.

In a report published last month, John Sopko, the U. S. official in charge of monitoring reconstruction, said that over the last 15 years corruption "grew so pervasive that it ultimately threatened the security and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan. " Sopko said the Afghan body charged with leading anti-corruption efforts was ineffective in getting officials to declare assets.

Afghanistan's own Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee has criticized the government for not offering enough on anti-corruption in its framework for Brussels. It called for specifics on tackling corruption in investment, asset registration by officials, civil service and justice reform, and the country's "deeply compromised" mining sector.

The Taliban also noted the corrupting impact of the donors' cash contribution since they were pushed from power in 2001, saying aid money had failed to bring "any meaningful change into the lives of the ordinary citizens. "

The conference, co-hosted by Kabul and the European Union , will be attended by over 70 nations and 30 international agencies and non-government organizations. U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the U. N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon are also due to attend.

Af ghanistan seeks $3B in aid as corruption concerns persist article.wn.com

2016-10-03 02:06 By abcnews.go.com

24 /100 Vietnam Seizes Over 300 Kilograms of Elephant Tusks (1.08/18) Vietnamese authorities say they've seized 309 kilograms (682 pounds) of elephant tusks illegally imported from Nigeria.

A customs official says the tusks were seized at Hanoi's airport on Saturday. She said Monday that the cargo had been declared as glass. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. Wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said in a statement Sunday, " Illegal trade in ivory continues to be a major threat to the survival of elephant populations in Africa. "

It said, "Traffickers continue to move ivory into and through Vietnam , and this seizure highlights the country's role in the illegal ivory trade. "

Elephant tusks are used as jewelry and home decorations in Vietnam, which bans hunting of its dwindling population of elephants.

Vietnam seizes ov er 300 kilograms of elephant tusks article.wn.com

2016-10-03 00:38 By abcnews.go.com

25 /100 Lacson on Duterte apology: It should be his last (1.06/18) President Rodrigo Duterte’s apology to the Jewish community for mentioning Nazi leader Adolf Hitler while talking about his war on drugs should be his last, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Monday.

READ: Duterte says sorry to Jews

“Well, dapat lang, dapat lang (it’s appropriate),” Lacson told reporters when sought for comment on Duterte’s apology.

“Alam mo, dapat bawasan na yung pagso-sorry. Mag ingat na lang sya sa sasabihin kasi nakakasawa rin yung makarinig ng sorry parang nawawala na yung value ng pagso-sorry (You know, he should lessen making apologies. He should just be careful in what he says because it’s tiring to apologize over and over again),” he said.

Lacson said there was no point of saying sorry if the President would say something the following day and apologize for it again.

“How many times has he said sorry already? Marami-rami na rin e, so kelangan last na sigurong pag so-sorry yun. Mag ingat na lang sya sa sasabihin (There have been a lot of times so it’s should be his last apology. He should just be careful in what he says),” the senator said.

Duterte found an ally in Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II, who said the people were just giving too much attention to international audience.

“Sa tingin ko masyado tayong nag o-over react, masyado tayong nagpo focus sa (I think we are just overreacting and focus too much on) international audience,” Honasan said in a separate interview.

“Hintayin natin (Let us wait) how the public statements of the President are translated from the ground,” he said, adding that he agreed with the President’s stand that the Philippines should have an independent foreign policy.

Duterte came under fire after saying over the weekend that he would be happy to slaughter three million drug addicts in the Philippines, noting how Hitler had also murdered millions of Jews. RAM

READ: Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler

FULL TEXT: Duterte’s Philippines: Duterte MassKara speech, including apologizes f or Hitler remarks apology rss.cnn.com newsinfo.inquirer.net 2016-10-03 04:40 Maila Ager newsinfo.inquirer.net

26 /100 Britain's Hammond promises new economic plan to handle Brexit turbulence (1.06/18) By William James BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Britain needs a new fiscal plan to navigate economic turbulence caused by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday, stressing the need to balance spending cuts with infrastructure investment. On Sunday, Prime Minister Theresa May told the Conservative Party annual conference she would formally trigger the EU exit by the end of March next year, at which point Britain will enter into an initial two-year negotiating period. Speaking ahead of his conference speech, Hammond said data from the first half of the year showed the economy was running at "eight out of 10", but that business and consumer confidence could suffer during the long Brexit process. "We must expect some turbulence as we go through this negotiating process," Hammond told BBC television. "There will be a period of a couple of years or perhaps even longer when businesses are uncertain about the final state of our relationship with the European Union and during that period we need to support the economy. " He reiterated his decision to push back the government's target to turn its 4 percent 2015/16 budget deficit - among the biggest of the world's rich economies - into a surplus by 2020. He has yet to set a new target date. In his speech due later on Monday, Hammond is due to say that while budgetary discipline remains crucial for the country, there is also a need to invest in building a fairer economy. "The British people elected us on a promise to restore fiscal discipline, and that is exactly what we are going to do," he will say according to extracts from the text of his speech provided by his office. "But we will do it in a pragmatic way that reflects the new circumstances we face... A new plan for the new circumstances Britain faces. " Last week, official data showed Britain's giant services sector grew strongly in July, giving the clearest sign to date that the economy has not suffered a major slowdown after the EU referendum. Hammond will promise to deliver a "clear, credible fiscal framework" to reassure investors that he will continue to bring down the deficit by controlling public spending while also focusing on investment needed for long-term growth. "We need to keep the lid on day to day spending, we need to make government more streamlined and efficient but I do think there is a case that we should look at very carefully for targeted high value investment in our economic infrastructure," he told BBC radio. "In the short term it supports the economy, supports jobs, supports economic growth and in the long term it helps to make Britain more productive. " Hammond's full fiscal plan is due to be delivered on Nov.23. He has previously played down expectations of a surge in public spending to offset any economic hit from the Brexit vote, but said he could fund modest infrastructure projects if needed. In the first sign of how he intends to use his new-found fiscal flexibility, he will set out on Monday a new 2 billion-pound ($2.58 billion) borrowing plan to help address a long-term housing shortage. ($1 = 0.7744 pounds) (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Andrew Heavens)

UK f aces economic UK f aces economic turbulence during Brexit turbulence during Brexit process: Hammond process - Hammond article.wn.com dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:49 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

27 /100 Germany to press U. S. to reduce Iran sanctions - Economy Minister (1.06/18) TEHRAN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel promised on Monday to remind the United States of its commitment to reduce sanctions against Iran, as he courted business ties during a two-day trip to the Islamic State. Speaking at the opening of an economic forum, Gabriel said Germany wanted to "remind the United States of the commitment to get to an effective dismantling of sanctions". Iran's Deputy Economy Minister Mohammad Khazaei said 10 economic agreements would be signed on the sidelines of Gabriel's visit. "I hope that this will smooth the way between both countries," he said. Gabriel has gone to Iran with a plane-load of industry executives. Remaining U. S. sanctions and political concerns have so far held back a hoped-for business boom between the two countries. (Reporting by Gernot Heller; Writing by Caroline Copley; Editing by Alison Williams)

Germany wants to support Germany wants to support Iran with its ref orms: Iran with its ref orms - Economy Minister Economy Minister article.wn.com dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:21 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

28 /100 UK's Hammond says will treat investment spending differently (1.05/18) BIRMINGHAM, England, Oct 3 (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday he wanted to treat investment spending differently from day-to-day spending, underscoring his different approach to the public finances to that of his predecessor George Osborne. "I want to make a clear distinction between everyday spending and investment in the kind of infrastructure that will raise Britain's growth potential in the future, because growing this economy, ensuring that we're creating the jobs and the economic wealth in the future is the way to secure Britain's future prosperity," Hammond said in an interview on LBC radio. Osborne, who was replaced by Hammond in July following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, had aimed to turn the country's overall budget deficit, including investment spending, into a surplus by the end of the decade. Hammond has previously said he will take longer to meet that target and he has also suggested that he plans to announce "modest" spending on infrastructure projects when he delivers his first budget plans in November. He told LBC that he remained in favour of Britain's High-Speed 2 railway project, which will connect cities in the country's north and central regions with London. (Writing by William Schomberg, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)

UK f aces economic UK gov t should consider turbulence during Brexit targeted inf rastructure process: Hammond inv estment -Hammond article.wn.com dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:45 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

29 /100 Brussels may scrap royal visit after Duterte ‘Hitler’ remarks (1.05/18) Brussels is now thinking twice whether or not to push through with its scheduled royal visit to the Philippines next year, according to a report by The Brussels Times.

The report came after President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial remarks that drew parallels with Adolf Hitler’s killing of Jews during the Holocaust and his repeated tirades against the European Union and the United Nations on the issue of human rights amid his administration’s bloody war on drugs.

Brussels State Secretary for External Trade Cécile Jodogne told La Libre Belgique that “it will be difficult to ensure” that the trade mission to be supposedly led by Princess Astrid to the Philippines in May 2017 would go ahead.

The report said Jodogne sent an email to the Agency for External Trade’s partners on Friday requesting for an emergency meeting “to discuss whether the royal visit to the Philippines should still go ahead.”

“I will ask for the visit to be moved to a different country. If Federal authorities and the two other regions don’t agree, Brussels will not send a political representative. I’m not saying no-one should go to the Philippines at all, but the problem right now is timing,” she was quoted as saying.

Duterte on Friday said he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts in the Philippines by himself in the same way that Hitler had murdered millions of Jews before and during the Second World War.

READ: Duterte ‘Hitler’ talk reaps international censure

“If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have …,” Duterte told reporters in Davao City upon arriving from an official visit to Vietnam, before pausing and pointing to himself.

The President’s remarks drew a barrage of condemnation from the United Nations, German and Israeli governments, the Pentagon and international rights groups.

Duterte on Sunday apologized to the Jewish community for his remarks, saying he did not intend to derogate their history. RAM/rga

READ: Duterte apologizes to Jews for Hitler remark Philippines: Duterte apologizes f or Hitler remarks rss.cnn.com

2016-10-02 23:25 Yuji Vincent globalnation.inquirer.net

30 /100 New Trump International hotel in D. C. vandalized with Black Lives Matter sayings (1.05/18) Embed

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WASHINGTON (WUSA9) - The newly constructed Trump International Hotel in Northwest Washington, D. C., was vandalized Saturday afternoon with Black Lives Matter sayings , Metropolitan Police said.

Police received a call around 4 p.m. Saturday for a report of destruction of property in the 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. When they arrived, they found the words "Black Lives Matter" and "No justice" and "Peace" canceled out with a red circle and slash.

The suspect, allegedly a man in a yellow shirt and blue hat, was caught on video spray-painting the words "Black Lives Matter" on the side entrance of the hotel along 12th Street, police said.

AprilDRyan on Twitter

Donald Trump's new hotel in DC got tagged earlier today... #nojusticenopeace #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/qGbALAoS9o

Donald Trump's 263-room hotel had a soft opening in September , replacing the Postmaster General's building. Trump's company received a 60-year lease by the federal government in a deal to restore the landmark building. Its official opening is set for late October, and the Trump family is expected to attend.

Police have not apprehended the suspect and ask anyone with information to contact 202-727-9099.

Donald Trump's Hotel Trump's new DC hotel Vandalized With Spray - v andalised with spray - Painted Graf f iti painted graf f iti article.wn.com article.wn.com

2016-10-02 23:24 Mallory Hughes rssfeeds.usatoday.com

31 /100 Greek factory activity shrinks in September as output, orders drop - PMI (1.03/18) ATHENS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Activity in Greece's manufacturing sector shrank again in September after expanding in August, as production and new orders dropped, a survey showed on Monday. Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index for manufacturing, which accounts for about 10 percent of the Greek economy, fell to 49.2 points last month from 50.4 in August. Readings below 50 denote contractions in activity. Output declined at a mild rate after marginal growth in August, with some producers blaming tight liquidity and shortages of raw materials. "The performance during September followed the trend of inconsistency that has so far defined 2016," said IHS Markit economist Samuel Agass. The intake of new orders shrank in September with export business also weakening after two months of growth. "Although the headline PMI was not as weak as this time last year, there was still too little to encourage the sector, with all signs pointing toward a more severe slowdown during the final quarter of the year," Agass said. On the jobs front, manufacturers continued to hire more people for the fourth successive month, although the rate of job growth slowed to the lowest level in those four months. Intensifying cost pressures for the sixth straight month did not deter firms from further reducing factory gate prices. - Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and customers need to apply to Markit for a licence. To subscribe to the full data, click on the link below: http://www.markit.com/Contact- Us For further information, please phone Markit on +44 20 7260 2454 or email [email protected] (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Pakistan inf lation rises to Growth in German f actory Spanish f actory activ ity Dutch manuf acturing 3.88 pct in September - activ ity hits 3-month high in grows in Sept at f astest rate activ ity expands steadily in statistics bureau Sept - PMI since April - PMI September - PMI dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 04:00 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

32 /100 Conservative conference: Pound falls as City faces up to hard Brexit - Politics live (1.03/18) Brexit worries have pushed the pound back towards the 31-year lows plumbed in the aftermath of June’s referendum.

Sterling has lost over half a cent in early trading, dropping to £1.2902 against the US dollar. That’s the lowest level in seven weeks.

That follows yesterday’s surprise news that article 50 will be triggered within six months.

Traders are also reacting to Theresa May’s declaration that she wants a clean break from the European Union , with full control of immigration and an end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

This is being interpreted as leading to a ‘hard Brexit’, in which Britain would also leave the singe market - meaning significant disruption for the City.

There is more here, on my business live blog.

Q: The remainers trust you. But they worry you are not close to Theresa May. She did not name you as a Brexit minister yesterday.

Hammond says he is not a Brexit minister.

But he and May are looking for the best deal for UK workers.

And that’s it. I will post a summary shortly.

Q: What will happen about immigration? Sajid Javid said last week the UK would still need to let in European builders.

Hammond says the key point is to get control.

Once the UK takes back control, it will be for us to decide if we bring people in.

Q: But working-class families won’t want to hear that we have control, but we are letting in exactly the same number of migrants as before. Will you stop people coming?

Hammond says there is a large cohort of EU citizens in the UK. He hopes they will stay.

This is about future migration, he says.

It will be for the British parliament and government to decide immigration levels.

Q: You could borrow a great deal now, if you sort out borrowing in the long term.

Hammond says the data suggests the economy is in robust health. He says he wants to create a framework that allows the government to respond if growth starts to slow down.

Q: Growth might slow because Theresa May said, in terms yesterday, the UK will not be in the single market.

Hammond says the UK will be trying to get the greatest degree of access to the single market.

Q: Zimbabwe has access to the single market. So does Afghanistan.

Hammond says he is talking about access without tariffs and quotas. European countries make more stuff that gets exported to the UK than we make for them. So there is an interest in getting a reciprocal deal.

Q: The IFS says leaving the EU could cut GDP by 4%.

Hammond says forecasts do predict that leaving the EU will hit economic growth.

But that is spread over 15 years.

Q: And you are saying that is true.

Hammond says that is the central forecast of forecasters.

But the government can try to “head off” those outcomes.

Q: Has Brexit created a problem for business?

Hammond says businesses are uncertain. When they are uncertain, they delay decisions. If the government did not intervene, that uncertainty would affect growth and jobs.

Q: So will you borrow to invest?

Hammond says there is a distinction in his mind between borrowing to invest, and day-to-day spending. He thinks there is a case for targeted, high-value investment in infrastructure. That creates jobs in the short term, and helps the economy in the long term.

Q: You sound like Ed Balls.

Hammond says he hopes he sounds like a Conservative pragmatist.

Q: But what Labour said turns out to be right.

No, says Hammond. He says Labour was proposing some “ludicrous” policies at its conference last week, like excessive borrowing.

Nick Robinson is interviewing Philip Hammond.

Q: National debt is £1.6tr. This is not the time to say austerity is over.

Hammond says public spending has to be controlled. But circumstances have changed. The Brexit vote, and the slowing of the world economy, have created a difference. Inevitably there will be further slowing of the economy. So there has to be space to support the economy.

Q: Will you set a new target?

Hammond says the 2020 target has gone. But that does not mean he will not operate within a framework. Debt is still eye-watering. The markets need to know there is a plan.

Almost all papers are splashing on Theresa May’s speech yesterday.

The conservative, pro-Brexit papers are very enthusiastic.

Other papers are more measured.

Even the Morning Star has splashed on the Tory conference.

And the prize for the most ingenious headline goes to the Metro - although it’s a shame it is wrong.

(May said the UK would trigger article 50 by the end of March. March is not April. No doubt someone in the Metro office tried to explain that to the editor, but why let the truth get in the way of a good headline.) Monday tends to be Treasury day at both the Labour and the Tory conference and today’s sessions in Birmingham are both headlined “an economy that works for everyone”. The key speaker is Philip Hammond , the chancellor, who is up just before lunchtime.

Hammond will say that he is abandoning George Osborne’s plan to get the budget back into surplus by 2020. He will say:

Actually, Osborne himself abandoned his own budget surplus timetable after the EU referendum vote, because Brexit is likely to lead to lower growth, so in this respect Hammond is just re-announcing an Osborne policy. But so far, in the advance coverage of what Hammond will be saying, that nuance seems to have been missed.

Here is our preview story of Hammond’s speech.

And here is an excerpt.

Hammond will be on the Today programme shortly. I will be covering his interview live.

Here is the agenda for the day.

10.30am: Economy session, with speeches from Greg Clark, the business secretary, Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, Chris Grayling, the transport secretary and Philip Hammond , the chancellor.

2.30pm: Economy session, with speeches from Karen Bradley, the culture secretary, Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary

If you want to follow or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments below the line but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time. Alternatively you could post a question to me on Twitter.

Pound f alls as Theresa May sets Brexit routine date headlinenewstoday.net

2016-10-03 03:26 Andrew Sparrow www.theguardian.com

33 /100 China regulators fine OSI Group $3.6M in 2014 meat scandal (1.02/18) Shanghai regulators have fined former McDonald's and KFC China supplier OSI Group's local units more than $3.6 million for selling expired meat in a fast food safety scandal that erupted two years ago.

The Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration said in a notice posted on its website Monday that district market regulators fined Shanghai Husi Food about 17 million yuan ($2.5 million).

Husi parent OSI Group's China office was hit with a separate fine of 7.3 million yuan ($1.1 million).

The penalties come after a Shanghai court ruled in February that two local units of Aurora, Illinois-based OSI sold out-of-date chicken and beef. The court had earlier fined the subsidiaries 2.4 million yuan and sentenced 10 employees to prison, including an Australian citizen. China Regulators Fine OSI Group $3.6M in 2014 Meat Scandal abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 04:43 The Associated www.heraldonline.com

34 /100 The Latest: Airstrikes damage Syria's highly secure hospital (1.02/18) The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):

11:40 a.m.

A relief group and Syrian opposition monitors say airstrikes have damaged and put of service one of the country's most secure hospitals, which had been dug into a mountain.

The International Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, or UOSSM, says the Dr. Hasan Al-Araj — also known as "Cave Hospital" and located in the central province of Hama — was struck twice on Sunday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that Russian warplanes carried out the attacks that hit the hospital near the central village of Kfar Zeita, adding that it's one of the largest hospitals in rebel-held areas of the country.

UOSSM said there were minor injuries from the attack.

Syrian and Russian warplanes have been blamed for a series of attacks that have damaged hospitals and clinics in rebel-held parts of Syria, mostly in the northern city Aleppo.

---

11 a.m.

Turkish military officials say 15 Syrian opposition fighters have been killed in an ongoing battle with Islamic State militants in northern Syria.

The officials also say that about 35 Syrian rebels have been wounded in the fighting, which seeks to capture seven residential districts south of the town of al-Rai. According to a statement emailed Monday, "intense" clashes had taken place in the regions of Boztepe, Hardanah and Turkmen Bari.

The statement says the casualties took place over the last 24 hours.

Turkey sent troops and tanks into Syria in August to help Syrian rebels re-take IS strongholds near the border and curb the advance of Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara accuses of links with Turkey's outlawed Kurdish rebels.

Turkish officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Latest: Airstrikes Damage Sy ria's Highly Secure Hospital abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 04:43 The Associated www.heraldonline.com

35 /100 Russian intelligence says it detained Ukrainian spy suspect (1.02/18) The Russian intelligence agency FSB said on Monday it has arrested a Ukrainian journalist who is suspected of spying in Russia.

The FSB claimed in a statement that Roman Sushchenko is an officer with the Ukrainian military intelligence who has been collecting information about the Russian Armed Forces.

The arrest, confirmed by a Moscow court on Monday, comes amid an almost complete breakdown in relations between the two neighbors, triggered by Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The reporter's employer, Ukrinform, said early on Monday that Sushchenko has been working for it since 2002 and was based in Paris the past couple of years. Ukrinform said Sushchenko was in Moscow last week on vacation and disappeared on Friday before surfacing in a Moscow jail.

The FSB said Sushchenko, whom it referred to as a colonel, was "intentionally" collecting sensitive information about the Russian army and the National Guard and is expected to face charges of espionage.

"All the accusations of 'spying' against Roman Sushchenko, a journalist with an impeccable reputation spanning over many years who was accredited in one of the most influential European countries, can only be described as Russia's yet another flagrant and unlawful act against Ukrainian nationals," the news agency said in a statement.

Reports of the journalist's arrest first leaked in the early hours on Monday when a group of human rights activists on a routine inspection around the Lefortovo prison encountered a man in a prison cell who said he was detained on suspicions of espionage.

A Russian state news television station on Monday showed images of a disheveled Sushchenko being led by masked men to an interrogation room.

Russian Intelligence Say s It Detained Ukrainian Spy Suspect abcnews.go.com

2016-10-03 04:29 The Associated www.heraldonline.com

36 /100 WikiLeaks scraps event where they were 'due to release information about Hillary Clinton' (1.02/18) Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has cancelled a planned appearance to mark the 10th anniversary of the organisation from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London over security fears. Assange had been planning to give a public address amid claims he was about to dump damaging information relating to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on the internet. Instead, Assange, who is wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning in connection with an alleged rape, will speak via video link to an event in Berlin. Donald Trump supporter Roger Stone claimed the new Wikileaks revelations will destroy Clinton's campaign. However, according to Heat Street , the planned 'October Surprise' has been cancelled over fears for Assange's safety. An anniversary party in Berlin on Tuesday will commemorate the 2006 registration of the domain name wikileaks.org. WikiLeaks launched in January 2007, with Assange saying it would use encryption and a censorship-proof website to protect sources and publicise secret information. The site has since published more than 10 million leaked documents. It first caught the world's attention when it released manuals for prison guards at Guantanamo Bay. But it really hit its stride in 2010, unveiling logs of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a video showing a US helicopter crew mowing down a group of unarmed civilians - including two journalists - in Baghdad. That same year it also published a cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies around the world, deeply embarrassing Washington. In an interview with Der Spiegel over the weekend, Assange said: 'The most important single collection of material we have published is the US diplomatic cable series.' But 2010 also saw grave blows to the organisation. Assange was accused of having sex with a woman while she was asleep after the two met at a Stockholm conference. The white-haired WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the London embassy of Ecuador - which granted him political asylum in 2012 after he lost a legal battle to block his extradition to Sweden. The 45-year-old has always maintained the allegations are false and has refused to travel to Stockholm for questioning due to concerns that Sweden will hand him over to the US to stand trial for espionage. Wikileaks has been accused of allowing foreign powers to influence November's presidential election by publishing information which may have been gathered by Russian hackers. He said: 'We're not going to start censoring our publications because there is a US election. Our role is to publish. We believe in what we're doing. The attacks only make us stronger.' WikiLeaks cancels Assange’s liv e balcony appearance ov er ‘security concerns’ — RT News rt.com

2016-10-03 04:26 Darren Boyle www.dailymail.co.uk

37 /100 Women in Poland Strike to Protest Proposal for Abortion Ban (1.02/18) Polish women are waging a nationwide strike to protest a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion , with workers and students boycotting their jobs and classes and housewives refusing to do housework.

Some businesses and restaurants are also closed on what is being called "Black Monday," an expression of outrage against a proposal to further restrict an abortion law that is already one of the most limited in Europe. Street protests are also planned.

It wasn't clear early Monday morning how widespread participation would be, and whether it would be limited to big city liberals or also find support in smaller towns and rural areas, which tend to be much more conservative.

Monday's strikes and protests follow a protest Saturday by thousands in front of parliament.

Women in Poland strike to protest proposal f or abortion ban dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 04:09 By abcnews.go.com

38 /100 Scoop: Nate Parker addresses sexual assault charges on ‘60 Minutes’ (1.02/18) Nate Parker has broken his silence over a 2001 sexual-assault trial, saying he does not feel remorse about the events in question.

“I don’t feel guilty,” the filmmaker and star of “The Birth of a Nation” told Anderson Cooper in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday.

Parker was accused and acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman in 1999 while he was a student at Penn State University. Parker said it was consensual sex. “Birth” co-writer Jean Celestin was convicted; the ruling was overturned on appeal.

In a clip released by CBS, Parker says that he was devastated by the news, which broke earlier this summer, that the alleged victim had committed suicide several years ago; he added that he does view the events differently now.

“As a Christian man being in that situation, yeah sure, I’m 36 years old right now and my faith is very important to me,” he said, when asked if he felt he did anything morally wrong. “Looking back through that lens, I definitely feel like it’s not the lens I had when I was 19 years old.”

Parker did the sit-down as part of what has been at times an awkward publicity tour for his Nat Turner slave-revolt movie, which arrives in theaters next Friday. Parker and distributor Fox Searchlight have struggled to keep the focus on the film as questions about the incident have continued to surface.

On Thursday those allegations again bubbled up when the sister of the alleged victim penned a column in Variety saying she did not forgive Parker.

“I think Nate Parker and Jean Celestin knew this would come up. I think they thought that they could get away with exploiting my sister again,” she wrote. “When she was 18 years old and incapacitated, Nate Parker and Jean Celestin had power over her. They abused that power, and they continue to wield that power to this day.”

San Francisco Performances honored retiring founder Ruth Felt at a star-studded concert and gala Friday at the Herbst Theatre featuring composers Philip Glass and Jake Heggie, violinists Jennifer Koh and Regina Carter, vocalists Luciana Souza and Sasha Cooke and jazz men Marcus Shelby, Edward Simon and Sean Jones.

Leaving the prominent arts presenting organization after 37 years (in the capable hands of Melanie Smith), Felt charmed her adoring audience, mentioning that she was wearing the same dress and shoes she wore to SFP’s 20th anniversary bash … an indicator of the sound fiscal management, among many fine attributes, that made her such a great success.

Singer Ashlee Simpson is 32. … Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer of Red Hot Chili Peppers is 37. … Actress Lena Headey is 43. … Actress Neve Campbell is 43. … Singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac is 67. … Magician Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy is 72. … Singer Chubby Checker is 75.

Nate Parker doesn't apologize on '60 Minutes': 'I was v indicated' rssfeeds.usatoday.com

2016-10-03 04:00 By Wire www.sfexaminer.com

39 /100 Toyota unveils robot baby in Japan (1.02/18) Toyota Motor Corp on Monday unveiled a doe-eyed palm-sized robot, dubbed Kirobo Mini , designed as a synthetic baby companion in Japan , where plummeting birth rates have left many women childless.

Toy ota unv eils robot baby to tug at maternal instinct in aging Japan dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:47 gpriyanka article.wn.com

40 /100 In Clinton’s path to the White House, Ohio isn’t a must-win (1.02/18) WASHINGTON (AP) — When Hillary Clinton arrives in Ohio Monday, it will be her first appearance in the Midwestern battleground in a month.

While Clinton was away, Republican rival Donald Trump showed strength in Ohio public opinion polls, buoyed by his appeal with the state’s white working- class voters.

In another blow for Democrats, party groups have cut funding for Senate candidate Ted Strickland, the former Ohio governor who has struggled in a race that was once expected to be among the most competitive in the nation.

In previous election years, any sign of shakiness in Ohio would have a campaign on edge. But Democrats’ increasing reliance on minority voters to win presidential elections has opened new avenues to the White House for Clinton, and turned Ohio into a less essential state. comments

See how 20 designers recreated a $10.8 million home in the District's Wesley Heights/Berkley neighborhood - this year's DC Design House. In Clinton's path to the White House, Ohio isn't a must-win article.wn.com

2016-10-03 03:37 JULIE PACE wtop.com

41 /100 Theresa May pledges to trigger Article 50 by end of March – video highlights (1.02/18) Speaking at the first day of the Conservative party conference on Sunday in Birmingham, the prime minister says Brexit negotiations will mainly focus on immigration and on withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the European court of justice. In what seems to be a choice towards a “hard Brexit”, May pledges to trigger article 50 before the end of March

Britain's May say s to trigger EU div orce by end of March dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:07 Source: ITN www.theguardian.com

42 /100 Japan police probe 48 suspicious deaths after poisoning of two elderly patients (1.02/18) Police in Japan are investigating the suspicious deaths of 48 elderly patients at the same hospital after autopsies on two of them revealed they had been poisoned by intravenous drips laced with a chemical found in disinfectant.

The murder investigation initially focused on two men who died within days of each other in the middle of last month. Both had been poisoned, and a tiny hole was found in an IV drip administered to one of them.

The investigation has widened to include 46 other people who have died since the beginning of July, all of whom were being treated on the same floor of Ogatsu hospital in Yokohama as the two murdered men, according to Kyodo.

Last week staff found puncture marks in 10 of about 50 unused drip bags stored near the nurses’ station on the same floor.

Police have yet to publicly identify a suspect or establish a motive but on Monday, Kyodo quoted unnamed sources close to the investigation saying that the two recent deaths were likely to have been caused by someone with medical expertise who was connected with the hospital.

Nobuo Yamaki and Sozo Nishikawa, both 88, died during a three-day public holiday in mid-September when the 85-bed hospital was lightly staffed. The hospital said its entrance was locked and the building guarded throughout the night.

Autopsies determined that the Yamaki and Nishikawa had been poisoned with a chemical used in a disinfectant found at the nurses station.

Hospital staff were slow to make any connection between the deaths because the facility treats a large number of elderly and terminally ill patients, according to local media. But one was quoted as saying that pneumonia or other hospital-acquired infections had been ruled out as the cause of the unusually large number of deaths.

“We see many people pass away due to the nature of this hospital, but had the impression that the number of those dying was increasing a little,” a hospital official told Kyodo.

Police have conceded that they are unlikely to establish the cause of death in every case since many of the bodies have already been cremated.

The investigation comes two months after Satoshi Uematsu, a former care worker, killed 19 residents at a care centre for the disabled and injured 27 other patients and staff in Japan’s worst mass killing since the second world war.

Uematsu, a 26-year-old former employee of the facility near Tokyo, had earlier written to the speaker of the lower house of Japan’s parliament demanding that the government permit euthanasia for people with disabilities.

After his arrest, he reportedly told police: “It is better that disabled people disappear.”

Serial killer suspected of killing 48 elderly patients at hospital independent.ie

2016-10-03 02:46 Justin McCurry www.theguardian.com

43 /100 Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on Oct 3 (1.02/18) PRAGUE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial markets on Monday. ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours) ======ECONOMIC DATA======Real-time economic data releases...... Summary of economic data and forecasts...... Recently released economic data...... Previous stories on Czech data...... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/2E/events-overview ======NEWS======CEZ: Czech utility CEZ decided not to bid for French group EDF's Polish assets, it said on Monday. Story: Related stories: AVAST: Avast Software, maker of the world's most popular computer antivirus programme, will need a year to absorb its $1.3 billion buy of rival AVG but may seek further acquisitions before an expected flotation, its chief executive said in an interview. Story: Related stories: EPH: Vattenfall completed the sale of its German lignite business to the Czech energy group EPH and its financial partner PPF Investments. Story: Related stories: NWR: Miner NWR says shareholder requests general meeting to resolve to place NWR into liquidation. Story: Related stories: HUNGARY: Almost all Hungarians who voted in Sunday's referendum rejected the European Union's migrant quotas but turnout was too low to make the poll valid, frustrating Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hopes of a clear victory with which to challenge Brussels. Story: Related stories: CEE MARKETS: Central European assets declined on Friday due to concerns over Deutsche Bank and a weekend referendum in Hungary about the EU's migrant quotas. Story: Related stories: ======PRESS DIGEST======REAL ESTATE: CS Nemovitostní Fond bought City Tower office building, the tallest in Prague, from PPF Real Estate Holding for 4.4 billion crowns. Pravo, page 15 (Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.) For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX For updates on CEE currencies TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets Prague Newsroom: +420 224 190 477 E-mail: [email protected] (Reporting by Prague Newsroom)

Slov ak Republic - Factors Poland - Factors to Watch Romania - Factors to watch To Watch on Oct 3 Oct 3 on Oct. 3 dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 02:44 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

44 /100 52 confirmed dead in stampede at Ethiopia religious event (1.02/18) BISHOFTU, Ethiopia — Dozens of people were crushed to death Sunday in a stampede after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse an anti-government protest that grew out of a massive religious festival, witnesses said. The Oromia regional government confirmed the death toll at 52. ...

At least 52 conf irmed dead in stampede at Ethiopia religious ev ent news24.com

2016-10-03 01:34 system article.wn.com

45 /100 Dutch journalist killed by sniper in Libya (1.02/18) AMSTERDAM -- A sniper fatally shot a Dutch photojournalist on Sunday in the Libyan city of Sirte, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS ) last bastion in the chaos-wracked North African country.

Jeroen Oerlemans was killed while accompanying mine-clearing teams in the part of the city that has been freed from ISIS control, according to fellow journalist Joanie de Rijke, who was reporting with him for the Belgian publication Knack.

The Dutch ambassador to Libya, Eric Strating, tweeted:

“Rest in Peace. Your photographs of #Sirte #Libya and other places will live on forever.”

Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in a statement that

“Oerlemans is a journalist who kept going where others stopped. Driven to put the news into pictures in the world’s hotspots. It is profoundly sad that he has now paid the ultimate price for this.”

Oerlemans, 45, is survived by his wife and three small children, according to Eike den Hertog of the Beeldunie photo agency.

Oerlemans had been scheduled to return home Monday.

He was wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, “so he was protected,” and was clearly identifiable as a journalist, de Rijke, the journalist traveling with him, told Dutch national broadcaster NOS.

“But it doesn’t matter to IS, of course. They shoot at everything and everybody,” she said.

Oerlemans was hit in the side, in an opening in the vest, and the shot reached his heart, de Rijke said after seeing her colleague’s body in the morgue.

She said it’s unclear whether he was targeted or whether it was an accidental hit, since there were crowds of people crossing back and forth at the same time.

“We were standing on the frontline,” she said.

“There was heavy fighting going on,” and active IS snipers in the area.

De Rijke insisted that Oerlemans and the other journalists currently in Sirte “didn’t take any bigger risks than all the others.”

“There were other people who were constantly crossing that street,” she told NOS. “He had the bad luck to get hit. Brutal bad luck.”

Den Hertog of the photo agecy mourned the loss of a friend and powerful photographer who “managed to capture what he wanted to say in pictures.”

“He wasn’t a cowboy. He was prudent, and very smart,” den Hertog said.

Oerlemans was abducted and wounded in Syria in 2012 with

British photographer John Cantlie, and freed a week later. Cantlie was later abducted again, and is believed to remain in captivity.

Oerlemans had covered wars in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya and the journey of migrants to Europe. Oerlemans studied photojournalism at the

London College of Communication, according to his Facebook account.

It is especially difficult and dangerous for journalists to work in Libya, in chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Much of the country is ruled by a patchwork of local and tribal militias.

Militias from Misrata have recently driven IS militants out of most of Sirte, their last urban stronghold, with the help of U. S. airstrikes.

Oerlemans is the third journalist to be killed in Libya this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“The death of Jeroen Oerlemans is a reminder that those who bring us images and video from the frontlines often pay the heaviest price,” CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney said in a statement.

Dutch journalist killed by ISIS sniper while reporting in Liby a's Sirte article.wn.com

2016-10-03 00:43 AP www.cbsnews.com

46 /100 Chinese cities curb property purchases as Wang fans fears of housing bubble (1.02/18) Local governments in China announced a flurry of property market cooling measures over the weekend, seeking to douse fears about a real estate bubble.

Several cities tightened rules for home purchases, starting with capital city Beijing on Friday, which increased the down payment required on real estate purchases.

First-time buyers must now have a downpayment equivalent to 35 percent of the purchase price, up from 30 percent, while buyers of a second property will have to put down at least half of the selling price.

Residents of the inland city of Zhengzhou who already own two properties, as well non-residents who own one in the city, will now only be able to buy homes larger than 180 square meters, according to a notice posted on the local government's website late on Saturday.

The moves come after China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, told CNN that the country's property sector was in the "biggest bubble in history," noting that it was difficult for Beijing to avoid fanning overheated markets in some cities while stimulating broader economic growth.

"I don't see a good solution to this problem," he said. "The government has come up with all sorts of measures - limiting purchase or credit - but none have worked. "

In Chengdu, the capital of southwest Sichuan province, which is renowned for its panda breeding program , prospective buyers will be allowed to purchase just one property in certain city districts, while those buying a second property will need to place a down payment of no less than 40 percent of the purchase price, the local government said.

The tier 2 eastern city of Jinan said on Sunday that residents who already owned three properties could not buy more; it also increased down payment requirements for those buying their first home to 30 percent from 20 percent, among other measures detailed in a document on the government's website.

Meanwhile, the neighboring city of Tianjin said it would stop people who do not have the local residence permit from buying a second property in the city's downtown area.

The measures come ahead of Chinese national holidays this week, and a week after data showed that average new home prices in China's 70 major cities rose 9.2 percent in August from a year earlier, accelerating from a 7.9 percent increase in July.

The official survey from the National Bureau of Statistics also showed that new home prices rose 1.5 percent in August from July. Some cities, however, showed signs of overheating.

Shanghai and Beijing rose 31.2 percent and 23.5 percent on-year, respectively, while prices in second tier cities Xiamen and Hefei recorded the biggest gains, of 43.8 percent and 40.3 percent respectively, from a year ago.

Some cities were quicker in reacting to the competitive property market.

Last week, housing authorities in Hangzhou, the former G-20 host city and capital of the eastern province of Zhejiang, announced they would suspend a housing policy that encouraged home buying by giving non-resident buyers local household permits. Hangzhou also increased the minimum down payment ratio by 10 percent for second-time home buyers who still have unpaid housing loans.

It was a sharp contrast from six months ago, when Hangzhou announced that it would give migrant Chinese families local household permits, to encourage them to buy homes in the city's four counties. Home prices in Hangzhou rose 22 percent on average in August year-on-year, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

The city's property fever was captured on a viral surveillance video that showed buyers breaking down doors to snap up units of a newly-launched property on September 24.

Observers are divided over whether the furious property price gains will be harmful

Some analysts have told CNBC recently that there was froth primarily in first-tier cities, although lower-tier cities were still registering relatively slow growth in prices.

Sean Yokota, SEB Bank's Asia strategy head, told CNBC's " The Rundown " last week that prices were near flat in many cities.

"The big cities (like) Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, do have a bubble forming because of how much the prices have increased, but if you just look at it in aggregate for the entire country, the third tier cities and below still have prices only rising about 1 or 2 percent," Yokota said. "So I think there are pockets but in aggregate, it's still got some way to go. "

However, MCM Partners Ryan Roberts told CNBC's " Street Signs " on Monday that the exuberance was concerning and that the rush to invest in property appeared to be a case of investors moving from one asset class to another.

"Looking at the prices increase in the lower tier cities is more worrying as most markets aren't as liquid; it's looks a bit like desperation," he said, noting that the property market started moving up after Asian markets crashed last year .

Four cities in China restrict property purchases dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 00:40 CNBC with www.cnbc.com

47 /100 India fully prepared for escalation with Pakistan: Manohar Parrikar (1.02/18) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. File pic

New Delhi: Amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said the country was "fully prepared for any escalation". "We are fully prepared for any escalation. My mother used to say if you go to the forest hunting for a rabbit, be prepared to face the tiger as well," Parrikar told CNN NEWS18 channel in an interview aired on Sunday.

The situation has been tense on the Line of Control (LoC) after the September 18 terrorist attack on an Indian army base camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian retaliation on the terrorist launch pads through cross-border "surgical strikes" early on September 29. However, Parrikar refused to say anything beyond what Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen. Ranbir Singh said on the surgical strikes.

"I would only say that it was successful operation. I would not comment beyond the stated official position because it's a very sensitive security matter... The DGMO has already given all the details in his statement," Parrikar said. On India's relations with China in the light of China's proximity to Pakistan, Parrikar said that a country's closeness to a particular nation does not stop it from having relations with other nations, and that India's relations with China have improved over the years.

"We are concerned about (certain) issues, but I think our relations with China are better today. The border management is better. We are employing more confidence building measures," he said. He added that China's refusal to acknowledge remarks made by the Pakistani media that China would side with Pakistan in case of a tussle with India is a diplomatic victory for India. "China's statement (that they do not know of any senior government functionary pledging support to Pakistan) is a victory for our diplomacy vis-a-vis China," Parrikar said. The minister said that thanks to its diplomatic efforts, India now has more international support against terrorism and all major powers of the world know that "terrorism is flowing out of one country".

"Our Prime Minister made all efforts to build relations with Pakistan," he said. Asked if India is now beefing up security around military camps and equipment, the minister said that security is also a "mindset". "I think security is a mindset. The equipment and apparatus has to be there but it is also a mindset. For example, while driving a car some people anticipate danger and escape safely. Some people do not anticipate danger and meet with an accident," Parrikar said.

"We are trying to sensitise the commanders and troops so that security improves, while providing all the requisite infrastructure," the minister added. On the removal of the brigade commander of Uri camp, Parrikar said it was the army chief's decision. "I think it was the decision of the army chief because perhaps he must have found some lapses, or at least he wants to investigate some apparent lapses in terrorists' entry to the camp," he said.

He said for an impartial enquiry, the person being investigated cannot be allowed to remain in a position of power. Pointing at the apparent lack of vigil at the Uri camp that probably provided terrorist a chance to enter the army camp, and not the lack of infrastructure as was pointed out by some, Parrikar said: "If two cars meet with an accident, it has to the fault of one of the drivers. It is very rare that an accident occurs due to axle failure. "

India buy s Raf ales and now Pakistan has to catch up atimes.com

2016-10-03 00:32 By IANS www.mid-day.com

48 /100 PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Oct 3 (1.00/18) SOFIA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- About 300 Bulgarians protested against a refugee centre in the southern city of Harmanli, close to the border with Turkey, demanding its closure. (Trud, Telegraph) CAPITAL DAILY - About 73,000 Russians and 30 Russian companies have purchased real estate in Bulgaria in the past 10 years, mainly along the Black Sea coast, property registry showed. -- Commercial banks' profits exceeded 1 billion levs ($574.42 million) in the first eight months of the year, some 320 million more than a year ago, central bank data showed.(Capital Daily, Sega, 24 Chasa) -- Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov warned Sofia might withdraw its 110-strong troops from Afghanistan if Kabul declines to accept back Afghani migrants. (24 Chasa, Standart) ($1 = 1.7409 leva)

Slov ak Republic - Factors To Watch on Oct 3 dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:24 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

49 /100 Japan's Nikkei rises on relief over Deutsche, Kawasaki Heavy drops (1.00/18) TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose on Monday as global risk asset markets took heart from easing concerns over the health of Deutsche Bank, triggering a relief bounce in financial sector shares. The Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 16,598.67 points after losing 1.5 percent on Friday. The broader Topix gained 0.6 percent to 1,330.72 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 added 0.6 percent to 11,915.33. One of the biggest decliners was Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, which fell 11 percent after it nearly halved its operating profit forecast for the year through March 2017, citing a stronger yen and a decline in profitability from its shipbuilding business. ($1 = 101.3500 yen) (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Kim Coghill) Superlong JGB y ields dip af ter BOJ reduces buy ing only slightly dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 02:08 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

50 /100 'Study, Pray, Vote,' Pope Tells Americans Ahead of Elections (1.00/18) Pope Francis on Sunday (02/10) advised US Catholics who feel they are torn between two imperfect candidates for president to study and pray before they vote and to make sure to follow their conscience. ...

Pope Francis on US elections: There are dif f iculties with one and the other article.wn.com

2016-10-03 01:40 system article.wn.com

51 /100 United Nations Calls on Countries to Close Down Legal Ivory Trade (1.00/18) The United Nations on Sunday (02/10) called for the shutdown of all legal domestic ivory markets as it looks to combat poaching and put pressure on countries that continue to trade in elephant tusks. ...

More Than 100 Nations Say the Legal Iv ory Trade Must End article.wn.com

2016-10-03 01:40 system article.wn.com

52 /100 India ratifies Paris climate agreement on Gandhi’s birthday (0.06/18) The Paris climate agreement, the world’s strongest effort yet to try to curb the pace of climate change, sped even closer toward becoming active as India, the planet’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, formally joined the accord Sunday. ...

UN chief Ban Ki-moon welcomes India joining Paris climate deal article.wn.com

2016-10-03 01:34 system article.wn.com

53 /100 80% of data in Chinese clinical trials fabricated Contact WND (0.04/18) (Science Alert) A Chinese government investigation has revealed that more than 80 percent of the data used in clinical trials of new pharmaceutical drugs have been “fabricated”.

The report uncovered fraudulent behaviour at almost every level, and showed that some pharmaceutical companies had hidden or deleted records of potentially adverse side effects, and tampered with data that didn’t meet their desired outcomes.

In light of the findings, 80 percent of current drug applications, which were awaiting approval for mass production, have now been cancelled.

Saudi Arabia switches to 'Western' calendar Contact WND wnd.com

2016-10-03 00:07 www.wnd.com

54 /100 Pope Francis praises religious tolerance in Azerbaijan (0.03/18) BAKU, Azerbaijan — Pope Francis praised Azerbaijan on Sunday as a model for a world divided by violent extremism, sidestepping criticism of the government for the sake of encouraging religious tolerance in an often-volatile region where Catholics are a minority. ...

Pope Francis on US Pope Francis draws line elections: There are between trans ministry and dif f iculties with one and the 'indoctrination' other article.wn.com article.wn.com

2016-10-03 01:34 system article.wn.com

55 /100 Nitish Katara, Manoj-Babli: 5 honour killing cases that shocked India (0.01/18) With the Supreme Court awarding a 25-year jail term to Vikas Yadav and cousin Vishal in the sensational Nitish Katara murder case, we take a look at shocking instances of honour killings in India.

Nitish Katara killing: In February 2002, Nitish Katara was abducted and murdered by politician DP Yadav's son Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav for having intimate relations with Vikas Yadav's sister Bharti. The Yadavs never approved of the relationship between the two, and Katara received threats several times. On February 17, Nitish and Bharti attended a common friend's wedding, where Yadav’s brother, Vikas, and a cousin were present. From there, Katara was taken for a drive by Yadav's brothers, and did not return. Three days later, Katara's body was found near a highway. He had been battered to death with a hammer, and then set aflame.

Also Read: SC awards 25-year jail term to Vikas Yadav in Nitish Katara murder case

Manoj-Babli case: Manoj and Babli, from Karora village in Kaithal district, were brutally murdered by Babli's relatives in June 2007. The cruel act was carried out on the orders of a khap panchayat, for marrying in the same gotra. On June 23, two decomposed bodies were found from Barwala branch canal in Hissar. Further investigations led to shocking details. According to reports, the couple was asked to accept each other as brother and sister. They refused, and then were forcefully fed pesticides. They were then strangled to death, and the bodies were thrown in the canal.

Bhavna Yadav death: In November 2014, a 21-year-old Delhi University student Bhavna Yadav was strangled to death by her parents, just three days after her marriage, because she tied the knot against her parents’ wishes. Bhavna was allegedly killed by her father Jagmohan Yadav and mother Savitri Yadav at her house in south-west Delhi's Dwarka North. According to reports, after killing their daughter, the parents took the body to Alwar in Rajasthan, and set it on fire. Bhavna had married 24-year-old Abhishekh Seth on November 12 against the wishes of her family members.

Dalit hacked to death: In March 2016, a young Dalit man was hacked to death for marrying an upper caste girl, who herself narrowly survived the brutal assault in a Tamil Nadu town. Sankar had married Kausalya, 19, who is from the politically influential Thevar community. CCTV visuals showed about six men attack Sankar, a third year engineering student, with sickles and machetes when he and Kausalya were walking on a crowded street. The killers apparently came on two motorcycles and appeared to have been shadowing the couple. Before escaping, the killers also thrashed the young woman, leaving her badly wounded. But she miraculously survived.

Father rapes, kills pregnant teenager: In November 2013, a father and another man were arrested for raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl. The girl had eloped to Uttan with a boy of her village in Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Her father, Ramesh Rajbhar, tracked her down and brought her to his friend’s house in Dachkulpada, where both tried to convince her to leave the boy. When she flatly refused, the duo forcibly took her to an isolated forest area, where they raped the girl before strangulating her to death with her own dupatta.

SC awards 25-y ear jail term to Vikas Yadav in Nitish Katara murder case mid-day.com

2016-10-03 04:49 By mid www.mid-day.com

56 /100 Hungarians vote to reject migrant quotas, but turnout to low to be valid (0.01/18) Almost all Hungarians who voted in Sunday's referendum rejected the European Union's migrant quotas but turnout was too low to make the poll valid, frustrating Prime Minister Viktor Orban's hopes of a clear victory with which to challenge Brussels...

A Low Turnout Has Inv alidated Hungary ’s Ballot on E.U. Ref ugee Quotas article.wn.com

2016-10-03 04:17 system article.wn.com

57 /100 BRIEF-ITE Group says attempted coup in Turkey negatively impacts business (0.01/18) Oct 3 (Reuters) - ITE Group Plc : * Update for year ended 30 September 2016, prior to entering its close period and ahead of its preliminary results announcement on 29 November 2016. * Revenues in three month period to 30 September 2016 were circa 23 mln stg (2015: 23 mln stg) * Group's performance in Q4 was broadly in line with management expectations * As expected, on a like-for-like basis revenues are down by 8 pct, as impact of difficult economic conditions in our core markets continue to be reflected in our results. * Group has benefited from sterling weakness since June on translation of overseas revenues * Attempted coup in Turkey in July has negatively impacted our September events in region. * Management expectations for full year remain unchanged with revenues for fy 2016 expected to be circa 133 mln stg (2015: 136 mln stg). * Improvement in relations between russia and turkey is a positive development but we do not expect to see benefits of this to materialise until 2018. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 80 6749 1136) ITE say s Q4 bookings hurt by Turkey coup attempt dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 03:27 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

58 /100 New Zealand stable in chase of improbable 376 (0.01/18) KOLKATA, India (AP) — New Zealand dismissed India for 236 in the morning session Monday and then reached 55 without loss at lunch on the penultimate day, chasing an improbable victory target of 376 to level the three-match series with a test remaining. Tom Latham, unbeaten on 31, and Martin Guptill, 24 not out, combined for New Zealand's best opening stand of the series, batting for just under an hour before the interval. Guptill survived a confident appeal for lbw in the 8th over when the New Zealand total was 16. Earlier, Trent Boult (3-38) and Neil Wagner (1-45) finished off India's second innings in 76.5 overs. Wriddhiman Saha was unbeaten on 58, his second half century of the match, and shared a 36-run stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (23) as the Indian tail once again frustrated the Black Caps. India had a convincing win in the first test and has the upper hand in the second despite failing to take an early wicket. The highest winning fourth-innings total at Eden Gardens is 120-2 by India against South Africa in 2004-05.

Openers giv e New Zealand solid start in chase of 376 dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-03 02:46 Associated Press www.dailymail.co.uk

59 /100 Cheaper DOJ settlement for Deutsche won't remove worries about European banks (0.01/18) A Deutsche Bank settlement with the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) won't solve the bigger issue at hand - the fragile state of European banks, analysts told CNBC on Monday.

Confidence in the German bank was shaken last week, with its share prices gyrating over fears Deutsche may not withstand the impact of a $14 billion settlement to end a mortgage-backed securities mis-selling case.

On Friday, Deutsche Bank's U. S.-listed shares jumped 15 percent after the AFP wire cited a source as saying the bank may be nearing a $5.4 billion settlement with the DOJ, a big discount on the original penalty suggested by the DOJ. CNBC has not independently confirmed the report.

But Richard Jerram, chief economist at the Bank of Singapore, told CNBC's " The Rundown " that even if a settlement averted further panic over Deutsche's financial stability, there was an underlying issue that would continue to undermine confidence.

"They can reach a deal where it's $4 billion or $5 billion, which, based on precedence, I guess is the ball park," Jerram said, referring to the size of settlements reached in similar cases by other banks. "But, of course, you still have this problem of big overcapacity in the German banking system, and the lack of profitability,"

The European banking sector has struggled to bolster investor confidence, with banks in Italy plagued by non-performing loans estimated to be worth 360 billion euros ($404.50 billion) in total.

Meanwhile, German lender Commerzbank on Thursday announced a structural overhaul that included cutting 7,300 jobs and halting dividends in the hope of increasing profits.

"The European Union banking sector is going to continue to be weak, whilst their profitability is being hit on two sides, by requirements for higher capital levels and with their margins being impacted by negative rates," Angus Nicholson, a market analyst at spreadbettor IG, told CNBC by email.

This weakness meant it "doesn't take much to raise systemic concerns," Nicholson explained.

Most market commentators quickly pointed out that Deutsche Bank's issues were not similar to those faced by Lehman Brothers prior to its collapse in 2008 - an event that heralded the Global Financial Crisis. Market confident in Lehman was wiped out, as began to occur with Deutsche Bank, but Lehman also had big solvency problems , which Deutsche, although heavily indebted, does not.

"Deutsche Bank is much bigger [than Lehman] and much more systemic," Jerram said.

Ashish Goyal, head of emerging markets equity at NN Investment Partners in Singapore, told CNBC's " Capital Connection " there were two worrying aspects about the German bank.

"One is, [Deutsche Bank] doesn't have a lot of spare capital. Two, it still holds a very large - among the largest - holdings of Level 3 securities, which a lot of people have doubts about what the true value, true exposure there is," Goyal said, adding the bank's future was crucial to the entire global financial sector.

Level 3 securities are very illiquid assets that can't be given a fair value by usual market pricing processes.

Deutsche Bank said in quarterly earnings presentation that as of June 30 it had $6.17 billion in litigation reserves, and CEO Cryan has sought to play down market concerns, telling staff on Friday that the bank met all current capital requirements.

"Our bank has become subject to speculation. Ongoing rumors are causing significant swings in our stock price," he wrote to employees.

"It is our task now to prevent distorted perception from further interrupting our daily business. Trust is the foundation of banking. Some forces in the markets are currently trying to damage this trust. "

Experts have said that if Deutsche Bank did suffer liquidity problems, there was little prospect the German government would give the company emergency funding, nor would it pressure Deutsche's bondholders to write off their losses in order to save the company - known as a "bail in. "

"It's difficult for the Germans, having pressured the Italians not to have state aid for their banks, pressuring to have a bail in," Jerram said.

Liv e: Hopes of Deutsche Bank settlement deal with US DOJ f ade cnbc.com

2016-10-03 02:10 Saheli Roy www.cnbc.com

60 /100 ATP Tour singles standings (0.01/18) Oct 3 (Gracenote) - Standings from the ATP Tour singles Points 1 (1) Novak Djokovic(Serbia) 14040 2 (2) Andy Murray(Britain) 9345 3 (3) Stanislas Wawrinka(Switzerland) 6365 4 (4) Rafa Nadal(Spain) 4940 5 (5) Kei Nishikori(Japan) 4875 6 (6) Milos Raonic(Canada) 4510 7 (7) Roger Federer(Switzerland) 3730 8 (8) Gael Monfils(France) 3545 9 (9) Tomas Berdych(Czech Republic) 3470 10 (10) Dominic Thiem(Austria) 3295 11 (11) Marin Cilic(Croatia) 2885 12 (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(France) 2625 13 (12) David Ferrer(Spain) 2455 14 (14) David Goffin(Belgium) 2390 15 (15) Nick Kyrgios(Australia) 2050 16 (16) Lucas Pouille(France) 2036 17 (18) Richard Gasquet(France) 2030 18 (17) Roberto Bautista(Spain) 1950 19 (19) Pablo Cuevas(Uruguay) 1745 20 (21) Grigor Dimitrov(Bulgaria) 1735 21 (20) Ivo Karlovic(Croatia) 1705 22 (22) Bernard Tomic(Australia) 1680 23 (23) Steve Johnson(U. S.) 1670 24 (24) Alexander Zverev(Germany) 1655 25 (25) Jack Sock(U. S.) 1585 26 (26) John Isner(U. S.) 1555 27 (31) Albert Ramos(Spain) 1470 28 (27) Feliciano Lopez(Spain) 1420 29 (28) Sam Querrey(U. S.) 1400 30 (29) Gilles Simon(France) 1360 31 (30) Philipp Kohlschreiber(Germany) 1350 32 (32) Viktor Troicki(Serbia) 1340 33 (33) Martin Klizan(Slovakia) 1265 34 (34) Joao Sousa(Portugal) 1190 35 (36) Marcos Baghdatis(Cyprus) 1185 36 (37) Gilles Muller(Luxembourg) 1175 37 (38) Benoit Paire(France) 1170 38 (39) Pablo Carreno(Spain) 1145 39 (35) Paolo Lorenzi(Italy) 1145 40 (40) Nicolas Mahut(France) 1083 41 (45) Kevin Anderson(South Africa) 1030 42 (42) Borna Coric(Croatia) 1025 43 (43) Fabio Fognini(Italy) 1020 44 (44) Marcel Granollers(Spain) 1009 45 (46) Andrey Kuznetsov(Russia) 985 46 (47) Fernando Verdasco(Spain) 975 47 (41) Federico Delbonis(Argentina) 975 48 (48) Nicolas Almagro(Spain) 974 49 (49) Illya Marchenko(Ukraine) 880 50 (55) Malek Jaziri(Tunisia) 878 51 (51) Mikhail Youzhny(Russia) 875 52 (52) Jiri Vesely(Czech Republic) 863 53 (53) Stephane Robert(France) 849 54 (54) Kyle Edmund(Britain) 843 55 (101) Karen Khachanov(Russia) 839 56 (56) Daniel Evans(Britain) 823 57 (50) Guido Pella(Argentina) 821 58 (58) Taylor Fritz(U. S.) 819 59 (59) Alexandr Dolgopolov(Ukraine) 815 60 (60) Florian Mayer(Germany) 813 61 (65) Robin Haase(Netherlands) 805 62 (61) Gastao Elias(Portugal) 801 63 (63) Lu Yen-Hsun(Taiwan) 793 64 (62) Adrian Mannarino(France) 791 65 (67) Dustin Brown(Germany) 778 66 (64) Juan Martin Del Potro(Argentina) 770 67 (81) Thomaz Bellucci(Brazil) 765 68 (66) John Millman(Australia) 760 69 (69) Dudi Sela(Israel) 746 70 (70) Diego Schwartzman(Argentina) 743 71 (68) Paul-Henri Mathieu(France) 736 72 (71) Horacio Zeballos(Argentina) 726 73 (57) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(Spain) 715 74 (92) Facundo Bagnis(Argentina) 711 75 (72) Carlos Berlocq(Argentina) 708 76 (73) Dusan Lajovic(Serbia) 706 77 (74) Damir Dzumhur(Bosnia and Herzegovina) 704 78 (75) Jeremy Chardy(France) 690 79 (77) Inigo Cervantes(Spain) 685 80 (78) Ricardas Berankis(Lithuania) 685 81 (79) Donald Young(U. S.) 682 82 (76) Victor Estrella(Dominican Republic) 679 83 (107) Pierre-Hugues Herbert(France) 675 84 (82) Aljaz Bedene(Britain) 675 85 (83) Adam Pavlasek(Czech Republic) 662 86 (85) Lukas Rosol(Czech Republic) 655 87 (86) Gerald Melzer(Austria) 655 88 (80) Mikhail Kukushkin(Kazakhstan) 654 89 (93) Juan Monaco(Argentina) 650 90 (87) Thiago Monteiro(Brazil) 649 91 (89) Taro Daniel(Japan) 647 92 (88) Yuichi Sugita(Japan) 642 93 (90) Ivan Dodig(Croatia) 642 94 (94) Andreas Seppi(Italy) 630 95 (95) Evgeny Donskoy(Russia) 623 96 (97) Yoshihito Nishioka(Japan) 618 97 (98) Jordan Thompson(Australia) 613 98 (99) Jared Donaldson(U. S.) 611 99 (96) Konstantin Kravchuk(Russia) 597 100 (102) Renzo Olivo(Argentina) 595

WTA Tour singles standings dailymail.co.uk

2016-10-02 23:19 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

61 /100 Kolkata: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane sweep Eden Gardens (0.01/18) India's Test captain Virat Kohli, BCCI President Anurag Thakur, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma among others yesterday swept the stands at the Eden Gardens as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Kolkata Test: All Rohit Sharma missed was a century mid-day.com

2016-10-02 23:08 By A www.mid-day.com

62 /100 Asian stocks mostly higher, China and Korea markets closed Asian stocks mostly higher, China and Korea markets closed Associated Press - 3 October 2016 02:56-04:00 News Topics: Business, General news, Stock prices, Currency markets, Japanese yen, Stock indices and averages, Business confidence, Stock markets, Leading economic indicators, Economy, Financial markets People, Places and Companies: Japan, China, East Asia, Germany, United States Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2016-10-03 04:56 system article.wn.com

63 /100 When May wanted to skip crucial vote to watch 007 movie British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that when she was the Home Secretary in 2012 she had sought permission from party whips to skip a crucial vote in Parliament to attend the premier of James Bond movie ‘ Skyfall ’ but was denied.

2016-10-03 04:55 system article.wn.com

64 /100 Critical to monitor babies' health after Zika, but how long? More federal money finally is available to fight Zika even as the news worsens. Babies who at first seem to have escaped the virus' devastating hallmark defect — an abnormally...

2016-10-03 04:52 system article.wn.com

65 /100 Bachelorette Australia 2016 contestant Ryan says he was 'devastated' after his last relationship...as he, Courtney and Matt open up about their heartache They are currently competing against each other in the bid to win the heart of Georgia Love. Now, Bachelorette contestants Ryan Palk, Courtney Dober and Matt Dunne open up about their past experiences with heartache. Speaking to Woman's Day magazine, Ryan admitted he was left 'devastated' after his ex-girlfriend decided to end their relationship due to long distance. He told the glossy magazine: 'My ex broke up with me because of distance. I wanted to keep it going - it was devastating.' The confession revealing Ryan is open to a long distance relationship may be a good sign for Georgia as she lives in Tasmania and he resides in Western Australia. The sailing coach's co-contestant Matt also admitted to the publication he was left torn after ending his romance with a Canadian woman while overseas because he felt homesick. 'I fell in love with a girl in Canada but I wanted to come home,' he revealed, adding: 'That was the hardest decision ever.' Show favourite and yellow rose receiver Courtney also opened up about his private heartache after his five year romance suddenly came to an end earlier this year. He explained he felt broken after the relationship came to an end in January and decided to use The Bachelorette as an opportunity to 'help me recover'. During a single date with Georgia last week, Courtney revealed he was ready to find love again. 'I can't wait to fall in love again, you know? I want to go to that next stage,' he confessed to her after admitting he has only ever had one girlfriend. 'I want to find that person who I can be on that level with and start to really build the foundations of a solid future.'

2016-10-03 04:46 Bianca La www.dailymail.co.uk

66 /100 The nation's weather Weather Underground Forecast for Monday, October 03, 2016

A robust area of low pressure will impact the western third of the country on Monday, while the tail end of a cold front affects the Southeast.

A low pressure system will push eastward from the Great Basin to the northern high Plains. This system, combined with a cold frontal boundary, will initiate rain and embedded thunderstorms from the Intermountain West to the Plains. Temperatures will drop 10 to 20 degrees below normal west of the frontal boundary. This cool air mass will support high elevation snow showers in the Wasatch, the central Rockies and the northern Rockies. Locally heavy snow will be possible along favorable mountain slopes in southeast Idaho, central Montana and northwest Wyoming. Just to the west, a Pacific system will approach the Northwest. This system will usher light to moderate rain across parts of northern California, Oregon and Washington. High elevation snow showers will be possible in the northern Sierra Nevada.

Meanwhile, a low pressure area will push quickly eastward over the western Atlantic. Showers and isolated thunderstorms will trail this system over parts of the northern Mid-Atlantic and New England. A cold frontal boundary associated with this system will extend southwestward over the western Atlantic and the Southeast. Thunderstorms will develop along and near this frontal boundary across Florida and southern Georgia on Monday. A dry and pleasant weather pattern can be expected over most of the Midwest and the Deep South.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday have ranged from a morning low of 15 degrees at Lakeview AWS, Ore. to a high of 93 degrees at Tampa Macdill AFB, Fla.

2016-10-03 04:39 By WEATHER www.heraldonline.com

67 /100 Sturgeon says British PM May does not care about Scotland over Brexit EDINBURGH, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Theresa May of ignoring Scots over Britain's exit from the European Union after the British Prime Minister indicated that Scotland will not have a veto. Sturgeon, whose nationalist party is not ruling out a new Scottish independence vote, said on Twitter that May was "going out of her way to say Scotland's voice and interests don't matter". "Strange approach from someone who wants to keep (the) UK together," Sturgeon said. May, who says she will trigger the process to leave the EU by March, has said Scotland's concerns will be taken into account. When asked directly if Scotland could have a veto over Brexit, she told the BBC: "The United Kingdom will have a position in the negotiations and we, as a United Kingdom government, will be negotiating with the European Union. " Scotland, one of the United Kingdom's four constituent parts, overwhelmingly voted to stick with the EU in June but England and Wales voted out. The United Kingdom's devolved parliaments could complicate or slow an EU withdrawal as their remit over such a major change is unclear and there is a convention for giving the assemblies a say on matters that concern them. British government lawyers have argued there is no need to have the agreement of Britain's devolved parliaments in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales for Brexit. The lawyers argue such assemblies do not have any "competence" over foreign affairs which they say is for the UK government to decide. A spokesman for the Scottish government said on Sunday that it was unlikely Scotland would approve legislation that does not guarantee access to the EU's single market for goods and services, but it is not clear what say Scotland will have in the process. (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden)

2016-10-03 04:38 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

68 /100 P Diddy's son Quincy lands his first fashion campaign With P Diddy as a father and the Kardashian sisters as his best pals, it was only a matter of time before Quincy Brown made his foray into fashion. The 25-year-old, from New York, has been snapped up to model boohooMAN's AW16 capsule collection - and looks seriously cool in the shoot. Quincy, who is also a recording artist like his multi-millionaire father, models long overcoats, bomber jackets and streetwear designs in the fashion shoot. The e-tailer say the collection is inspired by urban, hip hop culture, with elements of old English gent; making Quincy the perfect brand representative. Quincy, who is the biological son of Al B. Sure!, was adopted by Sean Combs while he was in a long term relationship with his mother, actress Kim Porter. He sparked rumours he was dating Kourtney Kardashian in June when they were spotted leaving a GQ party together. He runs with a seriously cool crowd, including the Jenner sisters and Karrueche Tran. This is by no means his first foray into fashion; he walked in Gaborone Fashion Weekend in Botswana in 2012, as well as in Naomi Campbell's Ebola awareness show at New York Fashion week in 2015. He has also directed a music video for Elle Winter's song No Words and signed his own record deal with Bad Boy/Epic Records. The fledgling entrepreneur also has his own watch line called Chalk by Quincy, a range of denims and a start-up tech company. 2016-10-03 04:33 Bianca London www.dailymail.co.uk

69 /100 Heston Blumenthal packs on PDA session with new girlfriend Stephanie Gouveia He's more used to cooking up a storm in the kitchen. But Heston Blumenthal turned up the temperature in public during a date night with beautiful new girlfriend Stephanie Gouveia. The chef, 50, seemed enthralled by the French real estate broker, embracing her passionately before swooping in for a smooch as they headed to dinner at London's Chiltern Firehouse. Scroll down for video Heston, who owns three top restaurants in London- one of which has three Michelin stars and was voted No. 1 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2005, looked dapper in an all-black ensemble. Dressed in black chinos and a V-neck black T-shirt, he completed his ensemble with a stylish overcoat. Wearing his trademark statement rimmed glasses he gazed at his new flame lovingly. Stephanie mirrored her beau's smart casual style in navy blue trousers, a black jumper and a smart bag. Carrying a smart briefcase-style bag, she added height with chunky platform boots. Giving Heston, who still appeared to be sporting a band on his ring finger, she beamed as they posed for pictures. Heston split with his wife of 22 years in 2011, though they have taken a while to make it official. Heston, who shares three children with his ex wife Zanna, started a romance with American actress turned cookery writer Suzanne Pirret following the separation. Suzanne once declared: ‘Food and sex. Two of my favourite things, and the most powerful of all human drives. Best one after the other in either order, I’m not picky.’ Despite the duo moving in together, their romance ended last year. When the chef confirmed his separation from Zanna, he admitted that the stress of work and turning the Blumenthal name into a multi- million-pound empire had taken its toll on their 22-year marriage.

2016-10-03 04:32 Jessica Rach www.dailymail.co.uk

70 /100 No cover-up in new narco list, Bato assures Amid reports of infighting among government agencies validating the new drug list of President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa assured that not one official involved in drugs will be spared and removed from the list.

President Duterte on Sunday revealed that the reason behind the delay in his announcement of the names on the list was the fight among the members of the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) while the list is undergoing revalidation.

Dela Rosa, in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday, confirmed this but assured at the same time that there will be no cover-up in the release of names.

“Yes, there are some issues like that. Nagbabanggaan ‘yung source so, ‘yung iba ito bina-validate niya, ‘yung isa naman i-invalidate. So kailangang i-fine-tune muna ni President ‘yung listahan na yan (The sources would butt heads, so some would validate something, but another would invalidate it. So the President needs to fine-tune this list first),” Dela Rosa said.

“Wala naman sigurong cover-up because we are one in this war on drugs (There’s no cover-up because we are one in this war on drugs),” he added.

The police chief, a seasoned intelligence officer, said conflict among the members of the intelligence community is only “normal.”

“That’s normal. Mechanics ‘yan ng (intelligence) community meron talagang nagbabanggaan (Conflict is part of the intelligence community’s mechanics). Not for any reason kundi talagang fluid ‘yung situation,” he said.

The infighting could even “make everyone involved in this war on drugs united,” Dela Rosa added.

The new list reportedly includes 1,000 names of policemen, judges, congressmen, mayors and other local officials involved in the illegal drug trade.

Duterte said the PNP, NBI, PDEA and the Department of Interior and Local Government are still conducting thorough revalidation before he publicly announces the names.

“May mga loopholes kaya you need to plug the loopholes by being united. Otherwise, kung hindi kami magkaisa, kalat kalat ‘yung efforts ninyo. Kaya si Presidente na mismo ang nag-spearhead sa gyera natin para united kaming lahat. All government agencies magkakaisa kaming lahat,” he said.

(There are loopholes, so you need to plug the loopholes by being united. Otherwise, if there’s no unity, the efforts will be all over the place. That’s why the President himself spearheads the war on drugs so that we are all united. All government agencies are coming together as one.) JE/rga

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2016-10-03 04:28 Julliane Love newsinfo.inquirer.net

71 /100 Duterte should moderate his language amid criticisms, says Gordon Sen. Richard Gordon said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte should moderate his language amid the criticisms he is getting from international media on his deadly war on drugs.

Speaking at the resumption of the Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings in the government war on drugs, Gordon, chair of the justice committee, underscored the need for the police to continue investigating the deaths of drug suspects who were killed by unidentified assailants as the country is facing much criticism in the government’s war on drugs.

There are 3,000 drug suspects killed since the government started its anti-drug campaign and 2,000 are considered deaths under investigaton.

Gordon also said that President Duterte also has tendency to react strongly to the reprimands he receives and gets into trouble with his statements.

“I’m a senator. I can say that. I’m a friend but he can get angry with me and I cannot do anything about it but we have to protect the country from bad statements and the President has the duty to be a statesman,” Gordon said.

READ: President Duterte, statesman

Gordon said Duterte “must not be heard saying bad words” as he noted the country might as well have a new tourism slogan and that is “Welcome PI or Wow PI.”

He said he hoped the Chief Executive would hear what he said.

Addressing Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald Bato dela Rosa, Gordon also asked why the United Nations was not fuming at the United States where in one city, Chicago, where US President Barack Obama has lived, there were killings of 545 people compared to the 3,000 deaths in the Philippines. RAM/rga

2016-10-03 04:23 Christine O newsinfo.inquirer.net

72 /100 Thailand considers Zika tests for all pregnant women Thailand is considering testing all pregnant women for Zika, the health ministry said Monday, following confirmation last week of its first known cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size, linked to the Zika virus...

2016-10-03 04:17 system article.wn.com

73 /100 Motor racing-Fortunate Rosberg moves closer to maiden title By Abhishek Takle SEPANG, Malaysia, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Third place in the Malaysian Grand Prix was not what Nico Rosberg was hoping to savour, but it must have tasted sweeter than the champagne he drank out of Daniel Ricciardo's boot as the German inched closer to his maiden Formula One title. Rosberg went into Sunday's race with an eight-point advantage over Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the overall standings. He looked set to leave with a five-point deficit and a fourth-placed finish after being spun around and dropped to the back of the field by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at the start. Instead, Rosberg came away with a podium and a lead of 23 points over Hamilton after the Briton's hopes of a 50th career win literary went up in smoke, as well as fire, 16 laps from the end. "Well, it doesn't feel like a win because it's only third place and today was a tough day," said Rosberg on the podium after sharing in race-winner Ricciardo's now trademark 'shoey' podium celebrations and playfully pulling a sour face. "Of course I'm happy with the comeback... I definitely didn't think that was going to be possible. " Rosberg surged to a 43-point lead over Hamilton early in the season until a lacklustre middle part of the campaign allowed the Briton to overturn it and head into into the August summer break with a 19-point advantage. Rosberg, who won the opening four races this year, has been the man in form since racing resumed, igniting a fresh streak of three successive victories. A fourth-straight win on Sunday appeared unlikely, however, even before his spin, with Hamilton back in the groove and Rosberg acknowledged the helping hand luck had given him. "Listen, I'm doing my race and I'm fighting my way from last and I want to get as high as possible," the German, who also escaped unscathed after brushing bodywork with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and hung on to third despite a 10-second time penalty for it. "Now, of course it's a good thing for me that I've got more points and that's it. There's no hiding that fact. " Rosberg will continue to hold the points advantage over Hamilton even if he finishes second to the Briton in three of the remaining five races. Hobbled by reliability problems while fighting for the title in 2014, the 31-year-old is still taking it race by race. "I'm not going to start thinking like that," he said. "I want to win the races, that's it. " (Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

2016-10-03 04:06 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

74 /100 Leonardo DiCaprio, Barack Obama To Talk Climate Change Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio was due at the White House Monday to discuss climate change with President Barack Obama before the screening of the actor's new documentary on the devastating effects of...

2016-10-03 04:04 system article.wn.com

75 /100 The San Francisco Examiner As I write this, I can’t help but switch back and forth from Twitter to Facebook and back again to my article. It is really distracting, and is preventing me from being as productive as I would like to be. I have considered quitting social media for a little while, but haven’t had the guts to do it. Maybe it is because I don’t want to miss out (FOMO), or because I don’t want to lose touch with people who clearly do not have my phone number.

Ironically enough, at the apex of me wasting time on social media, I met up with an old friend of mine who actually quit social media. As a startup founder, I am not sure how she does it. So I took a page out of her book and learned what it was like on the other side.

Since late June she has escaped all forms of social media except for Snapchat, which I clearly find interesting. She believes it is, ‘the most authentic form of social media.” She posits that she has young followers who look up to her, hence the reason to stay on. Besides spending about 30 minutes a week on Snapchat she lives by her code to eliminate all other forms of social media.

The first thing she mentioned as an advantage is that she has gotten to a very healthy place with herself. Having your phone go off every other second was exacerbating her ADHD and causing anxiety merely checking it. After her company went through some growing pains, she needed to wear many more hats than she already did, which caused her to get off social and get on her responsibilities as a founder.

Being on social media as a founder, she felt like she was being watched and judged for everything she posted, which caused a great deal of stress. She knew that it was negatively affecting her mental and physical health to have to manage so many things, so she ended up cutting social out. As a result, she has gotten back about 4 hours of her day. Sounds crazy right? With that 4 hours, she was able to focus on her job and the people who mattered most to her, without thinking about things that were happening on social media when she wasn’t on it. Most importantly, she learned that social media was not her social life. “Instead of congratulating you in real life, they are congratulating you with a like, heart or retweet,” she said. “But it normally isn’t real … true friendship is not based off of social affirmation.” If a friend of hers did not have her cell phone number, they were not able to contact her once she left the socialsphere. It was that easy to see who her real friends were.

It was also an advantage to her dating life. Without being able to look someone up on social media, you can’t see their “social life,” and therefore cannot pass judgment upon them before meeting them. It requires people who are dating to get to know someone because it is not out there on social media. Guys have to text instead of connecting on social. “People use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as marketing channels,” she said. “Guys would have the opportunity to like something you posted instead of actually reaching out.” And what if you weren’t feeling that great? Most people still curate a positive outlook and holistic image online, because it is more attractive.

While there are many reasons to get off social, there are some disadvantages that are important to note. When there were horrendous tragedies this summer like the murder of Philando Castile and Alton B. Sterling, she had no idea. Because she was getting all of her news from social media, she had to switch it up and start to read mainstream media. “I didn’t want to miss something so profound it affects people who are important to me,” she said.

Without seeing how the world was reacting to the news, she took a lot of things personally that were discussed on social. Because she wasn’t present for those conversations and opinions, she was too sensitized from being in her own world, that she needed to start having conversations about what was going on in the world with her peers.

The most important thing I came to realize from all of this, while I ignore the string of messages I am getting right now on Facebook, is that my life could truly benefit from taking a break once in a while. I need to get used to addressing my FOMO and not being afraid of finding out who is not a true friend. Most of all I want to feel like other things are worth my time as well.

She considers getting off social as the, “ultimate productivity hack,” and recommends we all try. “Life isn’t boring off of social media,” she said. “It is far more entertaining and real than you would ever imagine.”

With a background in journalism, Melissa Eisenberg has been working in the tech industry for eight years, currently leading the SF FashTech community.

2016-10-03 04:00 By Melissa www.sfexaminer.com

76 /100 Voters will consider measure to create elected SF public advocate position Got a problem at City Hall? Let the public advocate solve it.

That’s what supporters of Proposition H hope will happen if San Francisco voters approve a measure Nov. 8 that would create The City’s first elected public advocate position.

San Francisco’s more progressive politicians and their allies argue the post is a necessary new watchdog position at City Hall. But opponents, the more moderate allies of Mayor Ed Lee, contend the measure creates an unnecessary new position.

The public advocate would appoint the director of the Office of Citizen Complaints, which investigates allegations of police misconduct; have subpoena power; introduce legislation at the Board of Supervisors; contract with outside, independent experts; investigate contracts and city departments; and handle some whistleblower complaints.

Supporters say the public advocate position is the right check and balance for City Hall, where the mayor holds much of the power.

And the mayor’s allies are spending big bucks to defeat Prop. H and three other progressive “reform” measures that would effectively further strip power from the mayor.

Some $841,000 was raised by a committee against the four progressive measures being run by the mayor’s top aide Tony Winnicker, who is also on leave, according to last week’s campaign finance filings. That includes the recent contributions of $100,000 from registered Republican Diane “Dede” Wilsey, the embattled head of the Fine Arts Museum, and $100,000 from real estate executive George Manus.

“They’ve released the hounds, apparently,” said Jon Golinger, who is running the Prop. H campaign and has raised $52,000. Golinger said anti-public advocate campaign backers fear “true independent oversight” and want to protect the administration.

Winnicker defended the contributions. “These propositions are so costly and damaging to our city, they have attracted a coalition of organized labor and business, Democrats and independents to oppose them,” Winnicker said. New York City has a public advocate — a post currently held by Letitia James, the successor to Bill de Blasio, who went on to become the mayor of the Big Apple.

So, supporters say, why not create the position in San Francisco?

“It’s been very successful in the cities that it operates in,” said Tom Ammiano, a former Assemblymember and supervisor, during a recent San Francisco Examiner editorial board meeting. “We looked at New York for most of our guidance.”

Even though members of the Board of Supervisors are tasked with responding to residents’ concerns and there is a City Controller that audits city departments, supporters insist the post is not a duplicative function, but a new and vital one.

But critics maintain the position is redundant.

“The last thing San Francisco needs is yet another career politician with a six-figure salary and a costly bloated staff,” Winnicker said. He added that a public advocate is nothing more than an attempt to have a “shadow mayor.”

Should voters pass Prop. H, an election for the post would likely occur at the June 2018 election. The position is for two four-year terms.

The measure requires a staffing of four people, including the public advocate, which would cost between $600,000 and $800,000 annually. The measure also recommends a larger staff, which the City Controller has estimated would cost an additional $2.8 million to $3.5 million.

Supervisor David Campos, who introduced the measure, said the public advocate would provide a proper “check on that system” of a strong mayor.

Campos, who is termed out of office this year, has faced criticism of only trying to create a job for himself. While he hasn’t ruled out a run for the office, he noted the measure is most of all about sound policy.

Ammiano said the mayor’s allies can try to use “word play” to blast the measure, but doing that “side steps the inefficiencies that we do see, and the injustices that we do see.”

2016-10-03 04:00 By Joshua www.sfexaminer.com

77 /100 ‘Igme’ exits PAR Typhoon “Igme” (international name: Chaba) has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the state weather bureau said.

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Igme was located 725 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. The typhoon was heading towards Japan.

Igme will bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains within its 600-kilometer diameter.

It packed maximum sustained winds of up to 175 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 20 kph, Pagasa said. RAM/rga

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2016-10-03 03:54 Frances Mangosing newsinfo.inquirer.net

78 /100 Majority floor leader advises Duterte: Less talk, more work Less talk, more work.

This was the unsolicited advice of majority floor leader congressman Rudy Fariñas on Monday when asked about his advice to President Rodrigo Duterte amid the backlash on the latter’s controversial remarks in comparing the administration’s war on drugs to the Holocaust. Now that all eyes of the domestic and international community are trained toward every action of the President, the Ilocos Norte representative advised the President to watch his words and focus instead on work.

“If you’re asking me, I will advise the President na huwag na kayo magsalita. Magtrabaho na lang kayo, para mas maganda po siguro. Like I said, he wants to accommodate you (the media), nandun din policy niya to speak to the people,” Farinas said.

(If you’re asking me, I will advise the President not to talk. Just work, so it’ll be better. Like I said, he wants to accommodate you—the media—so it’s his policy to speak to the people.)

Farinas said Duterte only maintained his style as long-term Davao City mayor of projecting a “tough image” in threatening criminals, and of being accommodating to the media.

The Ilocos Norte representative pleaded to the public to give the President some time to adjust to his new job at being the President.

“Sanay din siya sa media. Nahihirapan siya sa transition that he speaks for the country and everything he says is watched by the whole world (He’s used to the media. He’s having a hard time in his transition where he speaks for the country and everything he says is watched by the whole world),” Farinas said.

“Si Presidente, bago pa lang na presidente. Sana mapagbigyan ng time naman; tulungan natin (The President is new at being President. Let’s give him time; let’s help him),” Farinas added.

READ: Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler | Heil Digong?

Farinas also asked the public to be more understanding of the 71-year old Chief Executive as he finds a difficult time to change his old habits.

“Ang maganda po dito, siya pinili ng taumbayan, ganun na style niya sa campaign… To change a 71-year-old, you can’t change overnight… Inaamin naman niya (if nagkakamali siya). I’m sure he’s trying also. Pero mahirap naman magbago nang bigla-bigla,” Farinas said.

(What’s good here is that he was the one chosen by the people, and that’s his style in his campaign… To change a 71- year-old, you can’t change overnight… He admits it when he makes a mistake. I’m sure he’s trying also. But it’s difficult to change out of a sudden.)

On Friday, Duterte likened his administration’s war on drugs to Hitler’s genocide against Jews.

Duterte said he would be happy to slaughter three million drug dependents like how Hitler ordered six million Jews killed. READ: FULL TEXT + VIDEO: ‘I’d be happy to slaughter them all’ | Duterte ‘Hitler’ talk reaps international censure

Duterte received flak from the Jewish and the rest of the international community for his off the cuff statement.

Malacañang said Duterte only made an “oblique deflection” to the way he had been compared to Hitler, the label of which according to the Palace Duterte strongly rejects. Duterte has apologized for his statement. JE/rga

READ: Palace clarifies Duterte Hitler reference: PH recognizes Jews’ tragedy | Duterte says sorry to Jews

2016-10-03 03:49 Marc Jayson newsinfo.inquirer.net

79 /100 The Bachelorette's Georgia Love is in a 'secret' relationship with policeman Nick Grubb Since her debut on The Bachelorette last month, Georgia Love has made it known she is on a quest to find love. But it seems the 27-year-old reality TV star has already found her one and only away from the cameras. According to New Idea , the ex-news reporter formed a relationship with policeman Nick Grubb and promised to return to him after filming wrapped on the dating show. Scroll down for video 'She promised that what he would see on TV would be an act and that her heart belonged to him,' an insider told the publication. 'They both knew it wasn't ideal, but she had always wanted to be famous so Nick agreed to support her dreams.' To add fuel to the speculation, Daily Mail Australia can reveal Nick and Georgia are friends on Facebook. The Tasmanian Detective also remains friends with the Bachelorette's sister, Katie. But while New Idea report the pair remain in a relationship, they have explained trouble began to brew between Georgia and Nick after he watched her kissing the contestants on The Bachelorette. The publication have claimed Nick has refused to answer Georgia's calls and texts since the show debuted last month. 'This time, she has been the one left devastated,' a friend of the pair told. On Monday evening, Georgia told Daily Mail Australia the reports were 'completely false and fabricated'. 'There is absolutely no truth to the claim that I am in a relationship with Nick Grubb as an article published in New Idea infers. It is completely false and fabricated,' the statement read. 'There is no secret pact nor has there been secret messages. Nick and I went on a few dates early this year and even though a relationship did not develop, we have remained friends.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Nick for comment. The latest string of reports comes months after reports Georgia was in a relationship with Nick when she was approached to apply for the reality program in May. In June, New Idea claimed the handsome cop was 'absolutely heartbroken' according to close friends, who also revealed Georgia referred to him as 'The One'.

2016-10-03 03:44 Bianca La www.dailymail.co.uk

80 /100 India police detain pigeon with threatening Modi note Indian police said Monday they have taken a pigeon into custody after it was found carrying a warning note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi near the nation's heavily militarised border with Pakistan.

Border Security Force (BSF) officers found the bird at Pathankot in the northern state of Punjab, where Pakistan-based militants launched a deadly attack on an airforce base in January.

"We took it into custody last evening," Pathankot police inspector Rakesh Kumar told AFP by telephone.

"The BSF found it with a note in Urdu saying something like 'Modi, we're not the same people from 1971. Now each and every child is ready to fight against India'," Kumar said.

The neigbours fought their third and last full-blown war in 1971.

The note was apparently signed by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) "so we are investigating the matter very seriously", Kumar said.

It is not the first time birds have become embroiled in the often deadly decades-old rivalry between the two nuclear-armed nations.

But it comes as tensions escalate over a raid on an Indian army base in Kashmir two weeks ago that New Delhi blamed on the same militant group held responsible for the attacks in January.

Last week, India's military hit militants across the de-facto border dividing disputed Kashmir, in a rare move that sparked fury from Islamabad.

Two balloons were also recently found in Punjab with similar messages addressed to Modi in Urdu.

Last year, Indian police seized a pigeon on suspicion it was being used for espionage by Pakistan and also X-rayed it to check for any spy camera, transmitter or hidden chip.

In 2013, Indian security forces found a dead falcon fitted with a small camera, and in 2010 another pigeon was detained over spying fears.

2016-10-03 03:40 www.digitaljournal.com

81 /100 Donald Trump invites Nigel Farage to next presidential debate Nigel Farage is set to attend the next US presidential debate at the invitation of Donald Trump. The former Ukip leader, who has been informally advising the Republican candidate, is expected to be in the audience at the second election clash, which is being held next Sunday. Mr Farage, who spoke at a rally for the controversial presidential hopeful in August, has warned Mr Trump not to "get in a cat fight" with rival Hillary Clinton. In an interview with American news channel CNN, he said: "Don't let her get under your skin. "Whatever abuse she throws at you, ignore her. Don't defend yourself. There's no point. There isn't time. " Mr Farage said the Republican should "talk to people sitting at home in their living rooms". "Don't get involved in a catfight with Hillary. " Mr Farage said voters " want change" in the November election. He added: "I think that Trump is being portrayed in the British press as misogynistic and almost racist, and that's what people haven't liked very much. "We are exactly 100 days on from the big Brexit vote that happened here in the United Kingdom and the reason Brexit happened was a very large number of people who had not voted in previous elections, or in some cases had never voted in their lives, went out to vote against the establishment. "I think the appeal that Trump has got in America is to say: 'Look, we have got this stranglehold for the last couple of decades of big banks, big businesses and big politics who may have done well for themselves but they haven't bettered your lives.'"

2016-10-03 03:35 Press Association www.dailymail.co.uk

82 /100 VIEWERS' GUIDE: Low-key VP candidates take debate spotlight We interrupt this year's slugfest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to bring you their understudies: two low- key, middle-aged guys.

Tuesday night's vice presidential debate between Republican Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia pits a former radio host who's described himself as "Rush Limbaugh on decaf" against a harmonica-playing former missionary whose aw-shucks style has spawned a thousand dad jokes.

Barring the unexpected, their 90-minute faceoff is unlikely to alter the trajectory of the presidential race.

But don't hit the snooze button just yet. Debate history suggests there still is the potential for some memorable moments.

Some things to watch for in Tuesday's debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.

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SAY WHO?

Pence and Kaine have campaigned full tilt for more than two months now, but plenty of people still don't have a feel for them. In a recent Associated Press-GfK poll, more than half of registered voters said they didn't know enough about Kaine to venture an opinion about him, and about 44 percent said the same for Pence. This is their big moment to show they're qualified to be next in line to the president.

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SCOUT MOTTO

Trump may disdain traditional debate prep, but Kaine and Pence both have embraced the Scout motto: Be prepared. Each must be ready to defend his own record, skewer his opponent and do the same for the top of the ticket.

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THE MISSION

Pence and Kaine have to decide whether to focus more on one another or on Trump and Clinton. Watch how they toggle between the two tasks. Look for Pence, who calls Clinton "the most dishonest person ever to seek the presidency," to zero in on lines of attack that Trump hardly touched in the first debate, such as questions about whether Clinton played favorites as secretary of state with donors to the Clinton Foundation. Kaine will try to act as a character witness for Clinton and go after Trump, of whom the senator says his "only recognized passion in his life has been for himself. "

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DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE

Pence will have the added herculean task of explaining away the steady stream of insults, barbs and inflammatory comments delivered by his running mate, including the latest contretemps over a beauty queen whom Trump has shamed for gaining weight. Pence has had plenty of practice in recent weeks. Expect him to employ a strategy of praising Trump for his unscripted style as a "bold truth teller" without arguing the merits of the GOP nominee's specific comments. ---

THREADING THE NEEDLE

Both candidates may need to navigate areas where they have policy differences with their running mates; Pence more so than Kaine. Pence, for example, says it's clear that human activity is affecting the climate while Trump has called global warming a hoax. Kaine holds that U. S. military operations against the Islamic State group have not been properly approved by Congress, a point of disagreement with Clinton.

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AMEN CORNER

Expect both Pence, an evangelical, and Kaine, a former Catholic missionary, to showcase their religious backgrounds in an effort to appeal to different constituencies. Pence likes to say of himself: "I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican — in that order. " Kaine often brings up his time as a missionary in Honduras, working in a few lines of Spanish along the way to reach out to Hispanics.

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TOO CLEVER?

Past vice presidential debates have provided some memorable lines. Republican Bob Dole's cutting quip in 1976 about all the Americans killed in "Democrat wars" did him no good. Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 putdown of Republican Dan Quayle with his "You're no Jack Kennedy" line still singes. Third-party candidate James Stockdale's rambling 1992 opening questions of "Who am I? Why am I here? " captured a candidate who was clearly out of his element. Four years ago, Vice President Joe Biden's denunciations of Republican Paul Ryan's budget math as "a bunch of malarkey" showed considerably more spark than did President Barack Obama's leaden performance against rival Mitt Romney in the leadoff debate.

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MODERATION

CBS News' Elaine Quijano will be under the microscope as moderator, especially since Trump has complained that NBC's Lester Holt, the moderator of last week's debate, was too tough on him.

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Associated Press writers Kathleen Ronayne in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

2016-10-03 03:33 By NANCY www.thenewstribune.com

83 /100 Insured crabs, tea help China's farmers avoid extreme weather losses By Coco Liu HONG KONG, Oct 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Ma Rongda, a tea grower for nearly 30 years, knows how badly his business can be affected by extreme weather. But when heavy snow and cold hit his tea garden earlier this year, Ma was not as worried as he used to be. "I bought insurance for my tea plantations," he explained. For an annual premium of some 7,000 yuan ($1,050), the 46-year-old received compensation of more than 220,000 yuan ($32,950) - enough to cover all of his production costs last year. This is the second year that Ma and his fellow farmers in eastern China's Anji County have had access to insurance. Before that, no policies were available for Chinese tea growers looking to secure their crops. As erratic weather has become the new norm in China, insurance policies against losses from extreme weather have emerged in a wide range of agricultural businesses, from beekeeping to cattle ranching to seaweed farming. Many are proving hugely popular, thanks in part to cut-rate prices made possible by government subsidies. Chinese officials say the number of buyers of agriculture-related insurance has more than tripled in the country between 2007 and 2015, while the area of farmland covered by insurance has quintupled. The fast expansion of insurance is just one thing China is doing to reduce what it sees as a growing risks related to extreme weather and other climate change impacts. The country now requires infrastructure construction companies to take climate change impacts into consideration when planning new projects. It has also developed early warning systems for extreme weather events and taken up popular communications tools - such as Weibo, China's version of Twitter - to send out typhoon alerts. Disaster statistics show why. Over the last 20 years, one out of two people affected by weather-related disasters has been Chinese, according to the United Nations. Chinese government statistics show that floods, droughts, typhoons and other natural disasters have caused annual economic losses of 200 billion yuan ($30 billion) a year, on average, since the 1990s. Chinese farmers, whose harvests rely on good weather, have been among those hit the hardest. 'REALLY STRANGE' WEATHER Ma, the tea grower in Anji County, for instance, had already lost last year's harvest to extreme cold when freezing temperatures hit his plantations again this year, withering the tea leaves. "The weather is now getting really strange," Ma said in a telephone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "We used to experience extreme cold weather once every three years. But in 2016 alone, we suffered from (both) heavy snows and cold waves. It was a double whammy. " The insurance he now buys - introduced last year - gives farmers an automatic payout for losses, without a visit from an insurance claims adjuster, when the recorded temperature drops to minus 0.5 degrees Celsius during the harvesting season. With Chinese policymakers promoting market-oriented solutions to help cope with climate change, 65 percent of the insurance premium is being covered by government subsidies, making the new service appealing to cost-conscious farmers. Concerns over extreme weather drove Ma to buy insurance for all his tea land as soon as the service became available in 2015 - and he has encouraged many others to do the same, he said. According to the Anji White Tea Association, the scale of insured tea plantations increased from 600 hectares in 2015 to nearly 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) this year. PICC Property and Casualty Co. Ltd., which designed the insurance for tea growers, has rolled out 39 insurance products aimed at helping Chinese farmers handle an increase in climate shocks. Other insurance firms also have come up innovative policies, both in design and the way they are sold. Shanghai-based Anxin Agricultural Insurance Co. Ltd., for one, recently teamed up with Taobao, a popular Chinese e-commerce site, to sell insurance against crop failures caused by strong winds. Farmers can buy the insurance online and claim it based on meteorological data, which enables the company to serve farmers whose villages do not have any insurance agents. INSURED CRABS There are also growing efforts to create insurance services for climate-related damages that are hard to measure. Suzhou, a city west of Shanghai, is a major production hub for Chinese mitten crabs, a burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws and that is an autumn delicacy in eastern China. But since heat waves have begun happening more frequently in Suzhou, farmers have complained that their mitten crabs - and their wallets - have reduced in size. Although traditional agricultural insurance covers the loss of crab production, insurance agents and crab growers often argue over the amount of compensations, said Lu Jihui, a spokesman for China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd. That's because high temperature isn't the only cause of smaller crabs, making it challenging to measure the actual damages. To eliminate the disputes, China Pacific Insurance has designed a new product that directly links the rate of compensation with temperature peaks - and avoids time- consuming, labor-intensive damage assessments. China's new climate-related insurance services, however, often depend on heavy government subsidies. While the central government and local authorities have opened their wallets to support pilot programs, it remains unknown to which extent they can continue the financial assistance. There is also a problem with some farmers still hesitating to buy insurance, despite the benefits, insurance companies say. However, this is expected to change as more extreme weather events hit. One case in point is Suzhou, where extremely hot weather persisted for more than 20 days this summer. "Many crab growers in my village failed to break even this year, because of the adverse impact of high temperatures," said Shen Wenrong, a 48-year-old crab grower. Shen said his crabs were also only two-thirds normal size, but he stayed profitable in part because the insurance compensation offset some losses. Now "many of my neighbors plan to buy climate insurance next year," Shen said. (Reporting by Coco Liu; editing by Laurie Goering :; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)

2016-10-03 03:33 Reuters www.dailymail.co.uk

84 /100 President Obama, the Ultimate Tourist, Ticks Down His Bucket List WASHINGTON — Snorkeling in the crystal-blue Pacific waters off Midway Island. Check. Strolling through the enigmatic columns of Stonehenge. Check. Visiting the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica, the pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China. Check, check and check.

It turns out that traveling the globe on Air Force One can do wonders for your tourism bucket list.

President Obama has spent most of his travel time the past eight years on official duties: countless fund- raisers, state visits to foreign capitals, pep rallies with American troops, policy announcements and never-ending summit meetings in hotel ballrooms the world over.

But maybe more than any of his predecessors, Mr. Obama has also seized the opportunity to become the ultimate tourist, methodically setting aside time to marvel at the world’s most spectacular sights, seemingly soaking up every experience. (Want proof? Watch the episode of “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” in which the president joins the host in eating some salmon already munched on by a bear.)

“It’s a Jeffersonian impulse. He’s intellectually curious,” said Jon Meacham , a presidential historian, who compared Mr. Obama’s penchant for sightseeing to Thomas Jefferson’s travels through France from 1784 to 1789, though that was before Jefferson became president.

“He’s trying to do something that’s incredibly difficult,” Mr. Meacham said of Mr. Obama. “He’s trying to replenish his intellectual capital in a job that really just demands expenditure of that resource.” Not all presidents are eager tourists. President George W. Bush was impatient when it came to seeing the sights. In 2002, Mr. Bush spent only 30 minutes at the Great Wall of China. It took him the same amount of time to visit the National Archives of Canada , where he gazed at portraits of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. One White House aide told a reporter in 2004 that Mr. Bush liked a clean, tight schedule.

President Bill Clinton was by all accounts more willing to squeeze in tourist stops, even if it meant late-night visits before early-morning departures. On a visit to Madrid, Mr. Clinton toured the Prado , Spain’s national art museum, at 11 p.m.

President George Bush was well traveled while in office but less of a tourist than Mr. Obama, said Mr. Meacham, who recently finished a biography of the senior Mr. Bush. If he had some free time, “he was going to set up a game of wallyball at Camp David,” Mr. Meacham said. “He would order up spur-of-the-moment horseshoe tournaments.”

Aides of Mr. Obama’s say he has been relentless in urging them to schedule stops in places that give him a chance to do some sightseeing. In Rome to meet the new pope in 2014, Mr. Obama also took a private guided tour through the Colosseum. After four days of Mideast peace negotiations in 2013, the president played tourist at Petra in Jordan, viewing the 2,000-year-old ruins carved into sandstone cliffs.

And in 2014, at the end of a three-day trip to Estonia and a NATO summit meeting in Wales, Mr. Obama hopped in a motorcade for a short drive to the monoliths at Stonehenge, where he had a leisurely walk. He declared the site “spectacular” and “a special place” before telling reporters, “Knocked it off the bucket list!”

Mr. Obama’s travels — along with his frequent golf outings and summertime visits to Martha’s Vineyard — have generated some criticism, especially from Republicans who question the value of the trips and the cost to taxpayers.

Judicial Watch , a conservative watchdog group, has used Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits to try to get information about the cost of the president’s travel. The group claims that Mr. Obama’s travel, official and personal, has cost taxpayers about $80 million.

Of course, the exact cost of the president’s sightseeing is unknowable because it is mixed in with the overall efforts required to protect and support the American leader no matter where on the globe he finds himself. The infrastructure of the modern presidency always accompanies the Oval Office occupant, whether he or she is on official duties or vacation.

The president’s aides point out that previous presidents have always traveled with the same security and administrative needs. And they insist that most of Mr. Obama’s personal tourism serves important diplomatic purposes. Eating in a noodle shop in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain for his CNN program, they say, helped deliver the president’s hope for a deeper relationship between the people of the two nations. And the Obamas’ dinner date in a restaurant in Cuba helped cement the image of a new kind of relationship between Washington and Havana, two longtime adversaries.

“These moments allow the president to highlight issues he cares about by experiencing them firsthand,” said Liz Allen, the deputy White House communications director. “Seeing a melting glacier in Alaska or walking the trails of our national parks really drives home the impact of climate change and importance of conserving our lands and waters.”

“And when traveling overseas,” she added, “getting off the beaten path to visit a cultural landmark further deepens ties in that country.”

The demands of the presidency sometimes get in the way of Mr. Obama’s sightseeing. The president skipped a planned stop at the Taj Mahal after the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in early 2015 forced him to cut short a visit to India. Despite taking several trips to Southeast Asia, Mr. Obama has never been able to persuade his handlers to get him to Angkor Wat , a complex of magnificent temples in Cambodia.

“The president was quite disappointed to not have an opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal on his last visit to India,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said after the schedule change in India. “I wish I could promise — I think the president wishes I could promise — that he would have an opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal before the end of his presidency, but I’m not sure that will happen.”

And one of the biggest boxes on his tourism list is likely to remain unchecked during the remainder of his presidency: zipping across the frozen tundra of Antarctica, on a snowmobile that might be called Snow Force One. Top aides say he has been wanting to visit for years, but no trip there is on the schedule.

Still, there is no question that the presidency has given Mr. Obama extraordinary access to people, places and experiences that most others do not have.

“Jefferson had this incredible sense of curiosity. He wanted to be a kind of conveyor belt of culture,” Mr. Meacham said. “He saw tourism as, I suspect, the way the president does: widening the aperture of experience and learning as much as possible.”

2016-10-03 03:30 MICHAEL D www.nytimes.com

85 /100 Florida’s Changing Latino Population Veers From G. O. P. MIAMI — For decades, being Latino in Florida almost always meant being Republican. Miami was the undisputed capital of Cuban exiles who had fled the Communist government — they were most of the state’s Latinos — and by the 1980s a large majority had registered with the Republican Party.

But a glimpse at the state voter rolls these days, where the names Samuel Del Valle, Maria Flores and Oswaldo Muñoz all appear as Democrats or independents, makes clear how much has changed in one of the nation’s most important swing states, one that will be important for Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump in November.

In March, Mr. Del Valle, newly arrived from Puerto Rico, stood in front of a voter registration table, staring at the four relatively unfamiliar choices in front of him: Florida Democratic Party , Republican Party of Florida, No Party Affiliation, Minor Party.

Back home, major political parties go by different names and their differences hinge on the island’s status as an American commonwealth: Should Puerto Rico seek statehood, remain a commonwealth or opt for independence from the United States? But here, he had a new choice to make.

“I chose Democrat,” said Mr. Del Valle, 34, who lives in St. Cloud, in the Orlando area, and who represents one big reason Florida’s Latinos are no longer a predictably Republican vote: the fast-growing Puerto Rican population.

When Ms. Flores, the American-born daughter of Cuban refugees, arrived at her new junior high school in Miami from New Orleans three decades ago, the city’s Cubanía — its Cuban sensibility — jolted her.

But she adapted quickly. Spanglish soon became her third language. She mastered the Cuban greeting — an air kiss doled out as abundantly as, well, air, even if you just met the person. Then, at 18, she participated in another Miami Cuban rite of passage: She registered to vote as a Republican.

“My parents were Republican, and they were happy with it,” Ms. Flores said in her living room, the smell of rice and beans floating in from the kitchen.

But in 2008, Ms. Flores, 43, a legal secretary and single mother, did what was once unthinkable. She re-registered as a Democrat, another sign Republican candidates can no longer count on Florida’s Latinos.

From his offices in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Mr. Muñoz, an entrepreneur from Venezuela, commands an empire of newspapers and websites that stretches across Florida to Panama and Spain. Mr. Muñoz, 64, is one of the Latin American immigrants who have contributed to the diversity and growth of Doral, which is now 80 percent Latino. Many, like Mr. Muñoz, arrived with means, while others started with nothing, drawn by the pull of American opportunity.

When he came here two decades ago, Doral was a warren of cargo warehouses. But as Venezuelans fled the economic depredations of a socialist president, Hugo Chávez , and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, Mr. Muñoz gained readers for his publications, which are known as El Venezolano. A restaurant serving arepas, Venezuela’s signature corn pancakes, became a social center of Doral.

Cubans, Colombians and Dominicans also moved in, building walled, palm-lined golf course communities. More than 200 companies based their headquarters in Doral. And Mr. Muñoz sold lots of ads.

In his columns, Mr. Muñoz rails against the leftist government that has reduced Venezuelans to hunger. But in regard to American politics, Mr. Muñoz, a naturalized citizen, is a registered independent who votes Democratic — yet another reason the vote in Florida may be so competitive.

Ten years ago, Republicans had a registration edge among the state’s Latinos — 37 percent were Republicans, 33 percent were Democrats and 28 percent independents, according to official figures. This year, the party lags among Latinos, with 26 percent registered as Republicans, 37 percent as Democrats and 35 percent as independents. And the independents increasingly lean Democratic, particularly among new immigrants and Puerto Ricans.

“The Hispanic vote in Florida was reliably conservative and now is becoming reliably Democrat,” said Fernand R. Amandi, a pollster who has extensively surveyed Latinos in this crucial swing state whose 29 electoral votes are very much up for grabs, and could determine the outcome of the presidential race.

Still, much remains up in the air. Strong Latino candidates who are Republicans, like Senator Marco Rubio , still command loyal votes. And in Miami, Representative Carlos Curbelo, a Cuban-American Republican, and Joe Garcia, a Cuban-American Democrat, are in close duel in which Mr. Garcia is trying to retake the congressional seat Mr. Curbelo won from him two years ago. There are few places in America where Latino voting power is as fluid as in Florida. Here are three snapshots.

MIAMI — Ms. Flores was never enamored of politics. But the more she heard her bosses, a group of lawyers, talk, the more she realized she had a kinship with Democrats on issues that affected her. As with so many people who switch parties, her decision was also driven by the top of the ticket, Barack Obama, in 2008.

“I was a single mom with two kids, and he represented change, and helping people like me, and equality,” she said.

She worried about getting laid off. She worried about how she could afford to get her son a car and pay for college. Yet, she said, the Republican Party didn’t speak to her. Instead, it fumed about abortion and religious rights and immigration. “It was ‘God says this and God says that,’” she said.

Her father and son, in different ways, are moving in similar directions.

Her father, Rolando Bocos, a former yacht builder who once served five years in a Cuban prison after the government charged his brother with carrying a weapon, is no Democrat. “I think they are Communists,” Mr. Bocos said. But now, he will not vote for Republicans, either. “It doesn’t matter Republican, Democrat, to me anymore,” said Mr. Bocos, 77. At his age, he said, “I’m only interested in Medicare and Social Security.” He said he would not vote this year.

Ms. Flores’s 21-year-old son, Alex, a student at Florida International University, drifted toward the Democrats because of social issues — gay rights (his godfather and some of his cousins are gay), religious tolerance, female empowerment. “I knew which side fit my moral compass,” he said. Last year, he became president of the university’s College Democrats.

Ms. Flores laughed at the unexpected turn in her life. “It’s funny that I came to Miami and became a Democrat.”

DORAL, Fla. — The transformation of Doral reflects the broader changes across South Florida. Cuban-Americans no longer dominate, but are now part of a Hispanic mix that includes a wave of immigrants from Latin America. Although many Venezuelans, Colombians and Brazilians have escaped leftist politics at home, once they become Americans they typically become Democrats.

Their voting power is limited, but growing. Many immigrants in Doral have not been here long enough to become naturalized, so there are only about 20,000 registered voters among 56,000 residents. But the trend away from Republican dominance is clear: 29 percent are Democrats and 46 percent are registered as independents. Only 24 percent are Republicans.

Mr. Muñoz said Cubans have welcomed Venezuelans to Miami, seeing in them a similar exile experience. The feeling is mutual. “We live close to their pain, so we understand it,” he said.

But there are differences. Venezuelans reject anything that reminds them of Mr. Chávez’s authoritarian rule, but they still favor the expansive government role in health care and education that Democrats support. Many Venezuelans are suspicious of the back-room politics they see in the entrenched Miami Republican establishment.

Unlike Cuban exiles, who benefit from special entry to the United States, Venezuelans — and other Latin immigrants — have no easy path. Some Doral residents are undocumented.

“We are immigrants, and we will always be immigrants,” Mr. Muñoz said.

This year’s race for mayor of Doral reflects the changes. The incumbent, Luigi Boria, is a self-made businessman from Venezuela. A registered independent, he is a Republican in practice and a conservative Christian pastor whose priority has been to promote and bring order to the city’s frenetic growth.

He is facing a challenge from Sandra Ruiz, a Democrat and popular Mexican-American councilwoman who moved here years ago from San Diego. She zips around town in a car decorated with her photograph. Ms. Ruiz says Mr. Boria is too partial to developers and has failed to include lower-income residents in city programs.

Even though Mr. Boria is a compatriot, Mr. Muñoz and his newspapers are supporting Ms. Ruiz. Warily recalling Mr. Chavez’s multiterm rule in Venezuela, he thinks one term for Mr. Boria is enough.

But in Doral — as among Florida Latinos overall — the person pushing Latinos toward the Democrats this year is the Republican nominee, Mr. Trump. The owner of a golf course here, Mr. Trump persuaded Doral to host the Miss Universe beauty pageant in January 2015. The taxpayers ended up paying $1.1 million to Mr. Trump’s organization, Mr. Boria confirmed. But the exposure was a boon to local businesses, and Mr. Boria proposed giving Mr. Trump a key to the city.

But when Mr. Trump began his campaign last year attacking Mexican immigrants as criminals, it cast a shadow on Doral. Ms. Ruiz was offended.

“I felt Doral lost the city’s entire investment the moment he opened his mouth regarding Hispanics,” Ms. Ruiz said.

The feeling of insult was heightened after Mr. Trump waged a relentless Twitter assault on Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe who is Venezuelan, whose story was highlighted by Mrs. Clinton last week’s presidential debate. Mr. Trump called her “disgusting” because she had gained weight after her pageant victory.

In an interview in Mr. Muñoz’s publications, Ms. Machado, who became an American citizen this year, exhorted Latino voters to learn from her experience: “We can’t risk having such a violent, bad-tempered, macho person as Trump as our president.”

Mr. Muñoz explained that Mr. Trump, although a Republican, reminds him and many other Venezuelans of their leftist nemesis, Mr. Chávez. “It’s his arrogance, his intolerance, the way he insults people who disagree with him,” Mr. Muñoz said.

ST. CLOUD, Fla. — When Samuel Del Valle became a Democrat, he joined a huge influx of American citizens streaming into Central Florida — Puerto Ricans, who are helping reshape the party’s political identity. Their growing presence along the state’s Interstate 4 corridor is a chief reason Florida’s Latino vote has veered away from Republicans.

For Mr. Del Valle, a teacher and college graduate, the choice this election season is easy. He liked the Clintons. He also liked President Obama. He even liked Jeb Bush , but Mr. Bush dropped out of the race. Ultimately, though, he knew enough about the Democratic Party to know it spoke his language, he said.

“They are super on minorities, and women and gays,” said Mr. Del Valle as his wife, Verónica Rivera, unloaded boxes inside the small apartment they rented recently in St. Cloud. “They support the Arabs, the Indians, the Latinos — all of us are different and have different cultures.”

For the Republican Party, though, the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have fled the island’s economic collapse remain within reach. Like many Latinos, they tend to hold conservative values; new to the mainland and without strong partisan preconceptions, they are open to Republican ideas in ways that Puerto Ricans in the North are not. With the right candidate, Puerto Ricans here are open to Republican courtship.

Despite the Latino firestorm over Mr. Trump and his talk of border walls, Mr. Del Valle says he finds traces of redemption in him.

“I like some Republican ideas,” he said. The party, he added, stands for patriotism, law and order, discipline in government and a strong military. These ideas are appealing to many Puerto Ricans who have confronted high murder rates and deep-rooted government corruption, but who also boast high levels of military service.

“Trump does mention things that are true,” Mr. Del Valle said. “It’s a big border and people are coming illegally.”

So far, though, that is not enough to sway Puerto Rican voters. Their growing alliance with Democrats is strongly rooted in the candidates’ words and attitudes, and the signals they send about whether Latinos are welcome here as equals.

“I see myself as a Latino who wants to contribute to the United States,” Mr. Del Valle said. “And the Democrats are saying things that I want to hear about Latinos.”

2016-10-03 03:30 By www.nytimes.com

86 /100 Indian-Pakistan families fear border shutdown Mohammad Iftakar waits with sweets and gifts at the Wagah border crossing, a lifeline for families violently separated during the founding of India and Pakistan, fearful of dangerous new divisions as hostilities flare once again. Like many other Indians, he has extended family on both sides of the frontier and travels regularly between the nations that were divided after independence from Britain in 1947. He worries authorities might close the main border crossing at Wagah in India's northern Punjab state, leaving families like his in limbo, after New Delhi said it had conducted military strikes inside Pakistan. "There are some agencies and jihadi groups in Pakistan that don't want peace, but all of the other people are like us," said Iftakar, who was travelling with his wife and two sons and carrying bags loaded with sweets and gifts. "They (Pakistanis) love us and they too want close relations between our two countries," he said, before clearing customs and making the short walk to the border crossing. The wealthy farming state of Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan at partition, becoming the epicentre of the violence in which at least a million people were killed as Hindus fleeing the newly formed Pakistan clashed with Muslims moving the opposite way. Iftakar, whose wife Aarafa is from Pakistan, nervously remembers when India shut the border in 2001 after Pakistani militants staged a deadly attack on the parliament building in New Delhi. The Wagah crossing itself is famous for its colourful "flag lowering" ceremony, that draws huge cheering crowds on both sides of the border post each sunset to see the display of military preening and pageantry. The ceremony was briefly closed to the public on the Indian side after the strikes in disputed Kashmir to the north of Punjab, which have led to a spike in tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. - 'We are the same' - India says it has no desire for a further escalation in the situation, but has nevertheless ordered thousands of villagers to move away from the border in Punjab. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence seven decades ago. Last week's strikes followed a deadly assault on one of India's army bases in Kashmir that Delhi blamed on Pakistan- based militants. Islamabad has dismissed India's claim to have conducted surgical strikes across the border as an "illusion", insisting any such incursions would be impossible. At the customs hall, not far from India's Sikh holy city of Amritsar and a short distance from Pakistan's Lahore, Ghulam Ali said he feared the regional tensions would further delay a reunion with his wife. "Our families have lived in the same region for generations," the 40-year-old Muslim told AFP. Since marrying his Pakistani wife two years ago, he has been trying without success to secure a visa for her to live with him in India's Rajasthan. Instead, Ali, who works as a milk supplier, makes frequent visits across the border to see his wife and son. "What some in Pakistan are doing is wrong of course," he said. "But I hope that the governments, particularly our government, ensures that people like us, who have families across the border, don't have problems travelling and meeting each other. " "We are the same people. " The road leading to Wagah is normally choked with auto rickshaws and taxis. But it has been largely deserted in recent days, with many tea stalls and other roadside eateries shut. Mohammad Shahid, whose mother and sister were heading to a relative's wedding in Lahore, said he too hoped for a quick thawing of hostilities. "I hope the governments sit and talk with each other," he said. "We haven't experienced such tension between the countries in a while. "

2016-10-03 03:30 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

87 /100 MTN credit rating cut to junk on Nigeria woes MTN. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)

Johannesburg - S&P Global has lowered MTN Group’s credit rating amid Nigeria’s recent downgrade, sparking more challenges for the mobile network in the West African country.

Last month, S&P lowered its long-term ratings on Nigeria to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ amid weak growth dynamics in that country. S&P, though, said that the outlook for the Nigerian economy is stable.

But the downgrade further represents increased risk for the MTN Group as Nigeria is the mobile network’s biggest operation, said the company in a statement on Monday.

“On review of MTN’s ratings, S&P lowered the group’s long-term corporate credit rating to 'BB+' from 'BBB-' as well as its South Africa national scale rating to 'zaA+' from 'zaAA’, outlook stable,” said MTN.

“S&P also lowered its issuer rating on the group's existing senior unsecured debt to 'BB+' from 'BBB-', Outlook Stable. S&P maintains a cap of two notches above the blended sovereign rating of Nigeria and South Africa which is currently 'BB-',” said the company.

This is just the latest challenge for MTN in Nigeria.

Last month, lawmakers in Nigeria accused MTN of illegally moving around R190bn out of the country.

And last year, Nigerian regulators also fined MTN $3.9bn for failing to disconnect around 5 million unregistered SIM cards.

However, earlier this year MTN agreed to pay a 330 billion naira ($1 billion) fine in cash to the Nigerian government and list its local unit on the country’s stock exchange.

2016-10-03 03:28 27 minutes www.fin24.com

88 /100 From the church so small its congregation sits outside to the chapel balanced half way down a cliff: Britain's tiniest - and loveliest - places of worship From the remarkably preserved seventh-century wooden church in Essex to a self-built creation in a back garden in Sutton, the book highlights the importance of cherishing and preserving these unique buildings and the unexpected treasures held within them: traditional stained glass windows, icon imagery and quirky sculptures and paintings. Wills - the author of numerous books about Britain’s lesser-known, quirkier sides - crossed the country from Cornwall to Orkney by boat, train, bicycle and on foot to visit all of the churches. MailOnline Travel has rounded up a selection of some of the best churches featured in the book. 2016-10-03 03:21 Harriet Mallinson www.dailymail.co.uk

89 /100 Zimbabwe, Namibia to push for ivory trade

Southern African countries will Monday fight for permission to sell their ivory stockpiles, as an international wildlife conference debates how best to regulate the often illegal trade and protect Africa's elephants.

Targeted for their tusks, the continent's pachyderms have been decimated by poaching, with a new study showing the number of African elephants has fallen by around 111,000 in the past decade -- the worst drop in 25 years.

How to help, including whether to tighten or ease control over the ivory trade, has been one of the most contentious topics at the ongoing meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg.

A coalition of 29 African countries is pressing for African elephants to be given an Annex 1 CITES listing, which would totally ban all trade in ivory, but other delegates believe this would only fuel the booming illegal market.

International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989, but legal domestic markets have continued in some countries around the world, and CITES has twice allowed sales of African ivory stockpiles to Japan and China, in 1999 and 2008.

Namibia and Zimbabwe -- which boast healthy elephant populations -- have asked for permission to sell off stockpiles accrued from natural deaths to fund community elephant conservation initiatives.

But the coalition is calling for more stringent controls, and delegates at the weeked adopted a recommendation aimed at clamping down on domestic ivory markets "contributing to poaching or illegal trade".

A two-thirds majority vote is required to pass either motion.

The European Union has indicated it "will support a continuation of the ban on international trade in ivory".

Thousands of conservationists and government officials have spent the last week thrashing out international trade regulations aimed at protecting different species of animals and plants.

Last week, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia lashed out at Western-based animal charities who they said "dictated" how African resources should be managed.

"CITES should be there to facilitate us to suceeed in our conservation programmes rather than these imperialistic policies and decisions that are being made," Zimbabwe environment minister Oppah Muchinguri said.

"We have our sovereign right and we know best what to do, how to utilise our natural resources. "

She said the proposal "to close domestic markets for ivory trade... is a clear infringement on the sovereign rights of nations".

The CITES treaty, signed by 182 countries and the European Union, protects about 5,600 animal and 30,000 plant species from over-exploitation through commercial trade.

The 12-day conference, which ends on Wednesday, is sifting through 62 proposals to tighten or loosen trade restrictions on around 500 species.

2016-10-03 03:20 www.digitaljournal.com

90 /100 Katie Price flaunts her cleavage in low-cut top before lip filler session She's been touring the country, promoting her new autobiography and dropping yet more bombshells about her husband Kieran Hayler's former affairs. And Katie Price was seen treating herself to a pampering session in Manchester on Friday, stopping off at Mac Aesthetics salon to get some lip fillers. The 38-year-old former glamour model sported a casual ensemble for the occasion, putting on a lot of front in a low-cut white top. Scroll down for video Katie's plunging number featured floaty capped sleeves and a bodycon panel on her midriff, highlighting her flat stomach. She dressed the T-shirt down with grey tracksuit bottoms and a dusty pink coat with a fur-lined hood. The mother-of-five's cover up came in handy since she was caught in a downpour following her treatment session. Katie showed off the results on her Instagram page, pouting up a storm as she displayed her freshly plumped lips. 'Enough about my lips lol…', she captioned the snap after her followers inundated her with messages about them. Katie subsequently revealed during her Evening With event at Glasgow’s Hilton Hotel, 'It’s sore. But it won’t kick in for a while'. A day after revealing that she physically attacked the woman who had an affair with her husband Kieran, Jane Pountney, Katie shared how she keeps the painful memories of their indiscretion well and truly alive. Speaking at An Evening with Katie Price in Sheffield on Thursday, she admitted that she often text messages snaps of Jane to Kieran to remind him of what he did. The mother-of-five, who remained married to Kieran despite his indiscretion, said she constantly taunts: 'This is what you could have been with.' The Mirror reports her as adding: 'Jane is so familiar to me but when I think of her I think "Ugh". I look at her and it takes me back to the pain. Kieran kissing her married ex-best friend Jane, 49, while on holiday in Cape Verde in May 2014. The Mirror reported that Katie revealed what happened after she found Jane intimately pleasuring Kieran: 'I got up and proper got her. I thought I was a cage fighter or something... I was that angry I just clutched her hair. I'm not hard but I've done training. 'And then Kieran called security. The worst thing is Jane's two kids came in and they saw me attacking their mum. Security walked in and I just wouldn't get off her. 'I said: "What state is she in? " And she said that she had a black eye and I knocked her tooth out.' Last year, Katie explained the exact moment she found the duo together, leading to her heartbreak and very public rows. She said: 'I remember going down to the bar one day in Cape Verde to ask the staff if they had seen my husband. 'They pointed towards the beach and said he'd gone that way. I asked them if he was with anyone and they said no. At that point, I knew he had gone to meet her. 'So I started walking towards the beach and in the distance, I could see these two silhouettes on loungers. My heart was racing because I knew it was them. Then there they were, kissing each other.' Katie and Jane had known each other for 20 years when the ten-month affair came to light, and the latter was even maid of honour at Katie's weddings to and Kieran. The stunning glamour model - who has children Jett, two, and Bunny, 23 months, with Kieran, as well as Harvey, 14, Junior, 11, and Princess, nine, from past relationships - insists she doesn't dwell on her spouse's cheating and things between them are better than ever.

2016-10-03 03:18 Kate Thomas www.dailymail.co.uk

91 /100 We'll come back stronger in Japan, vows Mercedes boss Mercedes are "beating themselves up" about Lewis Hamilton's dramatic Malaysian Grand Prix engine failure but have vowed to come back stronger in Japan this weekend. Team principal Toto Wolff was almost lost for words after leader Hamilton's engine exploded 15 laps from victory Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit. "It's hard to know how to sum up a day like today," Wolff said. "I just have no words for what happened to Lewis. We feel his pain. " Hamilton was close to tears after the dramatic retirement dealt a severe blow to his chances of winning a third drivers' championship in a row, as his teammate Nico Rosberg finished third to extend his championship lead to 23 points. Immediately after the race, won by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Hamilton lashed out at his team, accusing them of favouring their German driver Rosberg. "My question is to Mercedes: we have so many engines made for drivers, but mine are the only ones failing this year," 31-year-old Hamilton told BBC radio. Wolff admitted he did not have the answer. "This is a mechanical sport, with so much technology, but sometimes you get blindsided by situations with no rational explanation," he said. "It's a freaky coincidence. "Our guys will get to the bottom of what happened and learn from it. But I want to focus on how Lewis responded in the aftermath. We let him down today and we are beating up ourselves about it. " Hamilton's emotional outburst, said Wolff, was in the heat of the moment. But he praised his driver for afterwards making peace with the team and refocusing on the next race on Sunday. - 'True champion' - "What Lewis said, it's completely understandable. But he came back to the garage and shook the hand of every team member. "We talked in a small group and we were all really down. Then he stood in front of the team and found the words to lift everybody and help us recover quickly for Japan. "This is what the great drivers do, the true champions, and I must express my respect for how he conducted himself today. "One of the greatest qualities of our group is how we come back from defeat even stronger than before. We will do that again now, in time for Japan next weekend. " Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe was more forthright in describing what had befallen Hamilton. "The word is 'bollocks' really," said Lowe. "This is one of the more difficult races of the year and we approached the weekend knowing it would be tough to get a top result. And so it transpired. "Lewis was well on track to secure the win. We're all absolutely devastated for him. " Lowe refuted any talk of conspiracy theories. "One thing we had made a priority was to ensure an equal competition between the drivers," Lowe said. "Unfortunately, we have failed in that objective today in brutal fashion. "We will go away and analyse what happened today, aiming to arrive in Japan prepared to bounce back in the best way we can. "

2016-10-03 03:15 Afp www.dailymail.co.uk

92 /100 9 killed in rain-related incidents in Marathwada Representational picture

The retreating monsoon has claimed nine lives in Marathwada region of Maharashtra with five killed in flash floods, officials said on Monday.

While four persons from Jalna and Nanded districts of the region died after they were struck by lightning, the other five from Beed and Latur districts drowned in flash floods on Sunday following heavy rains, officials from Marathwada Divisional Commissionerate said.

The victims are yet to be identified.

The monsoon withdrawl, which is otherwise said to be beneficial for pulses production, brought some heavy spells to Marathwada this time, causing flash floods in arid areas. Some areas in Beed district recorded more than 100 mm rainfall on Sunday in less than 12 hours disrupting normal life.

"It is a rare phenomenon. Hence we sought the help of National Disaster Response team for evacuation and rescue operations," Navalkishor Ram, Beed District Collector told PTI on Monday.

Also, as most of the rivers including Bindusara and Manjara have shallow beds, water is overflowing resulting in crop loss over 5-7 lakh hectares in the region. Besides, flooding has led to uprooting of crops, which has come as an irreparable loss to farmers.

The IMD had predicted more rains in Maharashtra in the first week of October with low pressure formation over the Telengana region.

2016-10-03 03:13 By PTI www.mid-day.com

93 /100 Economic monitor: Asian markets’ thwarted third quarter thrust By Gary Kleiman on October 3, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features , South Asia , Southeast Asia

Asian stock markets with the big exception of China’s A shares, down 10% on the MSCI index in dollar terms, were all positive though September, roughly in line with the 15% global composite increase. Indonesia and Pakistan were top core and frontier universe gainers at 25% and 16%, respectively, as the region lagged Latin America in particular with cases of double those advances. India reversed negative performance and Korea and Malaysia were up 15% and 2%, respectively, in dollar terms.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani is back in the chair to oversee Indonesia’s tax amnesty program. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Thailand managed its own 25% upswing on constitutional changes, while political transition hurt the Philippines as foreign investor outflows accompanied President Duterte’s erratic debut. Fund flow data continue to show a large $20 billion net exodus from Asia due mainly to Chinese financial system and enterprise restructuring fears, but doubts also linger about neighbors’ leadership and economic policy direction that may resurface toward end-year as industrial world central bank liquidity lift is not as pronounced.

Chinese equities were unmoved by GDP growth on track toward the 6.5% target, and currency stability ahead of October’s IMF Special Drawing Right entry. The Fund in a separate report pressed the urgency of commercial and shadow bank overhaul against the backdrop of “uncertain” economic transformation. The government created a $50 billion state firm reorganization fund to spur halting efforts, but allowed use for new overseas acquisitions as outward direct investment was $10 billion more than 2015’s $135 billion FDI total.

The private sector Beige Book survey of thousands of smaller businesses revealed a retail sales and services slump as rebalancing is emphasized away from fixed investment and exports. Steel industry overcapacity was marginally reduced, honoring a pledge at September’s G-20 summit, with companies defaulting on and swapping existing bonds in the process.

Real estate is also experiencing a glut according to experts, but half of bank credit, still expanding at a near 15% annual clip, is now for mortgages, enabling a sudden home price rebound in 65 out of 70 cities.

Policy banks received injections to support infrastructure projects that no longer attract normal funding, and local governments are again borrowing heavily with previous limits ignored. The central bank in its own form of quantitative easing continued to add record liquidity through repo operations, but ratings agencies and investment houses note it is trapped as the true bad loan level currently stands at 15-20 % of portfolios. They believe recapitalization is long overdue for the giant state lenders to cover the hole, and are not keen on Shanghai or Hong Kong offerings, as evidenced by Postal Bank’s lackluster debut on the latter exchange in September despite its $7.5 billion size as this year’s leader.

India moved from mid-year loss to a 6% advance with foreign investor allocation at $7 billion, almost double 2015’s third quarter figure, despite the steep average price/earnings ratio approaching 20 times. September’s $900 million flotation by insurer ICICI Prudential Life was the biggest in years, and oversubscribed tenfold as the sector further opens to international ownership.

The appointment of new central bank governor Urjit Patel and monetary policy committee members has gone smoothly, and they may soon cut interest rates with consumer inflation down to 5%. Reported 7% GDP growth outpaces China’s, and the current account deficit is under control. National goods and services tax victory revived the structural reform agenda, although closing the offshore Mauritius loophole will impose capital gains levies on short-term investment for the first time.

Indonesia has been the big economy favorite in 2016 after President Widodo’s early stumbles, as he installed business- friendly ministers and championed consecutive infrastructure and anti-bureaucratic initiatives. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani is back in the chair to oversee a tax amnesty program which has so far brought in one-quarter the $40 billion target. Second quarter growth was 5% on solid consumption, but bank credit was only up single-digits and longtime mining partners like Newmont will exit on royalty and regulatory concerns.

Philippines stocks in contrast sold off in September to pare their year-to-date MSCI index increase to 6%, as President Duterte lashed out at political and economic critics, with the region on notice to revisit policy coherence or enthusiasm could fade with the liquidity tide.

Gary N. Kleiman is an emerging markets specialist who runs Kleiman International in Washington, D. C.

(Copyright 2016 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

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Categories: Asia Times News & Features , South Asia , Southeast Asia

Tags: $20 billion net exodus from Asia , 15% global composite increase , Asia lags behind Latam , Asian markets’ thwarted third quarter thrust , Beige Book survey , Duterte’s erratic debut , economic monitor , Funds flee Philippines , Gary Keeiman , India reverses negative performance , Indonesia tax amnesty program , Indonesia top performer , Korea and Malaysia up , Pakistan comes second , Postal Bank’s lackluster debut , retail sales and services slump , Thailand's 25% upswing , Urjit Patel Related Articles Facebook rolls out Messenger Lite app for Malaysia, emerging markets Indian border guard killed in terrorist attack in Baramulla Duterte apologizes to Jewish community after Nazi remarks Philippines in damage control again after Duterte’s Hitler remark Balochistan is not Bangladesh Macau gambling revenue rises a second month after two-year decline

2016-10-03 03:11 By Gary atimes.com

94 /100 Sebastian asks for transfer to NBP maximum security compound READ: NBP riot: Drug lord killed; 4 wounded High-profile inmate and alleged government asset Jaybee Sebastian has requested that he be transferred from Building 14 back to the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rolando Asuncion on Monday said that Sebastian has sent him a letter- request. Sebastian was wounded after he was stabbed at the back and chest during last week’s riot. According to Senator Leila De Lima, he was a government asset who provided vital information leading to a series of raids inside the prison.

Asuncion said the request was baffling.

“Maximum Prison is for four thousand but it now houses 16 thousand,” Asuncion said.

“We are studying if the transfer will be good for him,” he said adding that he is looking at an area inside the Maximum that is near Building 14 so it can still be covered by the signal jammer.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II earlier said Sebastian requested that he be transferred to Maximum Security Compound in exchange for his testimony.

He was transferred but Aguirre said Sebastian reneged on his promise.

READ: ‘Convict hoodwinked gov’t into testifying vs De Lima’

The justice chief said it later turned out that he only wanted to get his millions of “collectibles.”

Meanwhile, Aguirre said the four inmates involved in last week’s stabbing incident will remain at Camp Crame until Monday or Tuesday.

The four are former police chief inspector Clarence Dongail, Edgar Cinco, Tomas Donina and Ruben Tiu to make them more accessible to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which is investigating the said incident.

Dongail also sustained minor wounds but opted not to seek hospitalization.

PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Chief Supt. Roel Obusan earlier said they are now focusing on the assailants in connection with the stabbing incident at the NBP since they have already finished interviewing the victims and witnesses.

Investigators are looking at two versions of the incident based on the testimonies of the involved inmates. RAM/rga

2016-10-03 03:09 Tetch Torres newsinfo.inquirer.net

95 /100 Belfast rabbi says antisemitism growing in Northern Ireland Antisemitism is on the rise in Northern Ireland as the Jewish community continues to suffer from repeated threats and acts of vandalism in Belfast, one local rabbi told the BBC Sunday. Rabbi David Singer, head of the Belfast Jewish Community congregation, said that Jewish graves, synagogues and public spaces throughout Northern Ireland have been defaced with anti- Jewish vandalism over recent months.

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“Yes, antisemitism is on the rise," Singer told BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence. "Let me tell you about four things - first of all...[the graffiti] in the process of being cleaned up right now. It is graffiti in town where what is written is the ‘F word’, a picture of a swastika and it says, ‘gas the kikes.’" “On the synagogue walls," Singer continued, "there is graffiti. I am not going to read it out - it is really very unpleasant. " Singer also said he has received a number "suspicious emails" over the same period of time. “If we add these things together – the graffiti in town, the smashing of the gravestones, suspicious emails, and the graffiti on the synagogue wall – yes, I would say things are on the increase.” The rabbi noted , however, that the bulk of Belfast residents have been "warm and welcoming" and have reached out to support the Jewish community. “The vast majority of people are very friendly, warm, welcoming and whatever we see and experience as far as anti-Semitism is concerned, it tends to bring in a flood of letters, emails and telephone calls of support for the Jewish community and the Jewish people and an expression of abhorrence," said Singer. “I am appalled that these things happen but I am humbled at the response,” he added. The Jewish community is one of the oldest religious minorities in Belfast, descended from German textile merchants who migrated to Northern Ireland in the 1860's, according to Northern Ireland daily The News Letter. The first synagogue in Belfast was built in 1871, while the community's founder, Daniel Joseph Jaffe, is commemorated on Great Victoria Street. The sixth president of Israel, Chaim Herzog, was born in Belfast in 1918, and is the father of current Zionist Union leader MK Isaac Herzog.

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2016-10-03 03:05 Jpost Com www.jpost.com

96 /100 School bonds used to be as controversial as mom and apple pie. Not anymore under Gov. Jerry Brown It’s a sign of our contentious times and California’s contrarian governor that people are even bickering over routine state school construction bonds.

Selling state bonds to help local districts build new schools and modernize old ones used to be about as controversial as motherhood and apple pie. No longer.

Practically everything these days seems politically divisive.

Proposition 51 on the November state ballot is a low-profile issue for most voters, one of those wonky eye glazers. But behind the scenes the ballot initiative has stirred turmoil, mainly because of Gov. Jerry Brown.

Brown is bothered by the whole state school bond system. He thinks it’s too favorable to large and financially stable districts and is unfair toward smaller and poorer ones.

That’s vintage Brown. He tends to give middle-class districts short shrift and prioritizes spending on disadvantaged schools. That’s apparently a holdover from his early monk life as a Jesuit seminarian.

Proposition 51 would authorize $9 billion in state school bonds. Specifically, it would provide $3 billion for new construction, $3 billion for modernization, $2 billion for community colleges, plus $1 billion for charter schools and vocational education facilities.

In the K-12 schools, local voters must authorize district bonds for a specific project. Then the local money is matched by the state. Generally, the state pays for half of new construction and 60% of modernization.

For community colleges, there’s no set local contribution. But the more local funding there is, the better the odds of obtaining state money.

Right now, there’s virtually no state money for any school facilities. And there’s a big backlog of projects that need funding.

Unless the state kitty is soon replenished, some projects will be scrapped. Others will be bankrolled by greatly jacking up developer fees on new housing. That, in turn, will escalate the cost of new houses in a state where home buying is increasingly unaffordable for many.

Under California’s complex school bond system — and Brown is correct about it being too convoluted — districts can raise construction capital by charging developer fees.

Generally, new school construction winds up being financed one-third each by local property taxpayers, developers and the state.

It’s why home builders are financing Proposition 51. They want to avoid paying higher developer fees and trying to pass them on to buyers.

Dave Cogdill, president of the California Building Industry Assn., says the increased fees would raise new home prices statewide, on average, by $10,000 to $15,000. But, depending on the area, the boosts could range from $5,000 to $40,000.

“For those who believe that somehow it’s going to come out of developers’ profits, that’s not how it works,” Cogdill says. “If it doesn’t pencil out, it’s not going to get built.”

Normally, the Legislature and the governor would have placed the bond proposal on the ballot. But they balked. So the builders paid for signature collecting to qualify the initiative. Cogdill says they’ll spend around $10 million on the campaign.

Opponents aren’t raising anything. Brown has more pressing priorities. And that’s a big reason why he and the Legislature never got around to handling the bond topic in the Capitol.

Back in 2012, says Cogdill, a former state Senate Republican leader, builders asked Brown to support a school bond measure. But the governor was focused on the budget deficit and trying to persuade voters to approve his income tax increase on the wealthy.

“He said, ‘That’s all I want to deal with,’” Cogdill recalls. “We said, ‘We understand. We’re willing to help you.’ And we became the first business organization to support Prop. 30.”

Then in 2014, Brown was running for reelection and didn’t want any borrowing measure on the ballot with him, Cogdill says. Because of the drought, however, the governor was forced to accept a water bond.

Meanwhile that year, a school bond was sailing through the Legislature. It passed the Assembly and three Senate committees without a single “no” vote, 127-0. But Brown made sure it died before reaching the Senate floor.

“We had several long meetings with the governor’s staff,” says former Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), the bill’s author. “But the governor never came up with anything concrete. I think it’s because he’s just philosophically against bonds — unless for a [bullet] train or [delta water] tunnel.”

Brown began critiquing the state’s school bond system in writing.

Districts now can pass their own bonds on a 55% local vote, he pointed out. School enrollments are expected to decline. The state already is paying $2.7 billion annually on K-12 and community college bonds and the latest proposal would add $500 million. The current system favors schools that can afford full-time staffs to lobby for bond money.

This year, there was some effort to negotiate a compromise on a smaller bond. But talks broke down. They seemed half- hearted anyway. Both sides claimed they were stiffed.

One certain truth: The California Teachers Assn. and other sponsors of Proposition 55 to extend the “temporary” Proposition 30 tax hike feared that a school bond proposal would compete with them for the pro-education vote.

Brown says Proposition 51 “is a blunderbuss effort that promotes sprawl and squanders money that would be far better spent in low-income communities.”

OK, but the governor and the Legislature have had four years to fix whatever flaws they perceive. And they’ve failed.

It’s time to replenish the pot.

L. A. Times political analysts say Hillary Clinton took all five rounds from Donald Trump in the first presidential debate.

Some of Trump's off-the-cuff remarks didn't do him any favors, but Times analysts say it's unlikely the night shifted many voters in favor of Hillary Clinton.

L. A. Times political analysts judged all five rounds of the first presidential debate. The winner? Hillary Clinton. Read more >>

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shake hands to begin the first Presidential Debate

The First Presidential Debate: Round 1

The First Presidential Debate: Round 1

2016-10-03 03:05 Los Angeles www.latimes.com

97 /100 Oct. 3-4: Looking Through the Lens, Katrina Goldsaito, Sir Robert Penrose, Yusef/Cat Stevens, Citizen Josh, Corey Smith Looking Through the Lens: Subtitled “The Glory of San Francisco Opera, Past and Present” the free exhibit features 135 photographs from the Edward Paul Braby San Francisco Opera Archive collections. [9 a.m. to 6 p.m,, Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, Veterans Building, fourth floor, 401 Van Ness Ave.., S. F.]

Katrina Goldsaito: The author of “Sound of Silence,” a tale of a boy who searches for an elusive but beautiful sound in the hustle-bustle of Tokyo, appears at a storytelling session with artist Julia Kuo and koto player Yoshio Saito. [9:45 a.m., Japanese Tea Garden, 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, S. F.] Shortening-Making Irrational Rational: The installation by Nelson Saiers “incorporates properties of the number pi, prison vernacular, and NFL football jerseys to comment on irrationally long prison sentences given for minor, nonviolent drug offenses.” [11 a.m. to 2 p.m., New Industries Building, Alcatraz Island]

Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Transport: A panel of experts including representatives from Lyft and local transit agencies discuss possibilities and challenges as self-driving cars make their way to streets. [6:30 p.m., Commonwealth Club, 555 Post St., S. F.]

Elaine Miller Bond: The photographer launches “Running Wild,” her board book for tots that has pictures of animals and text encouraging youngsters to skip, dash, dive and run through the natural world. [7 p.m., Books Inc., 1491 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley]

Sir Robert Penrose: The English mathematical physicist and philosopher of science appears in conversation with astrophysicist Roger Blandford to promote his book “Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics.” [7:30 p.m., Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Blvd., Menlo Park]

Yusuf/Cat Stevens: The singer-songwriter and 1970s hitmaker, who abandoned pop music for decades, is playing his song again on a rare tour, which benefits international relief efforts. [8 p.m., Davies Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S. F.]

Citizen Josh: Solo performer Josh Kornbluth’s new piece is about how he finished requirements for an undergraduate degree by writing a monologue about the role of civility in public debate. [8 p.m., Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley]

Corey Smith: The Georgia-based singer-songwriter turned over producing duties to country pro Keith Stegall for his 10th album “While the Gettin’ Is Good.” [8 p.m., Great American Music Hall,, 859 O’Farrell St., S. F.]

The Charm Offensive: The standup show hosts comedians Paco Romane, Krista Fatka and David Roth. [8 p.m., Punch Line, 444 Battery St., S. F.]

Maggie Tokuda Hall: The neighborhood writer, doodler and podcaster launches her children’s book “Also an Octopus” at a party for grownups. [7:30 p.m., Booksmith, 1644 Haight St., S. F.].

Mascots: Filmmaker-actor Christopher Guest (“Waiting for Guffman,“ “Best in Show”) answers questions at a preview screening of his newest mockumentary, hosted by the San Francisco Film Society. [7 p.m., Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., S. F.]

Weyes Blood: Opening for TOPS on a Noisepop bill, the artist (aka Natalie Mering) shares “stories of debilitating romance atop swells of 1970s tinged keyboards, guitars, vocal layering and horns” on her album “Front Row Seat To Earth. [8 p.m., Swedish American Hall, 2174 Market St., S. F.]

What We All Need to Know About Physics: Sir Robert Penrose, English mathematical physicist and philosopher of science, speaks on the topic with UC Berkeley mathematics professor David Eisenbud. [6:30 p.m., Commonwealth Club, 555 Post St., S. F.[

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Darren Criss appears in the national tour of the award-winning musical about a song stylist “out to set the record straight about her life, loves and the botched operation that left her with an ‘angry inch.’” [8 p.m., Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St., S. F.]

Julian Guthrie: The veteran Bay Area journalist speaks about her new book, “How to Make a Spaceship,” which details the many accomplishments of Greek–American engineer, physician and entrepreneur Peter H. Diamandis. [7:30 p.m., Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, S. F.]

2016-10-03 03:01 By Examiner www.sfexaminer.com

98 /100 Hailey Baldwin gets glam for L'Oreal bash in Paris Hailey Baldwin donned an asymmetric LBD for the L'Oréal Gold Obsession bash at Monnaie de Paris on Sunday evening. The French cosmetics brand shared a glam video of the IMG Model - who turns 20 next month - dancing at the Paris Fashion Week party. The 5ft7in stunner - sporting a ponytail extension - relies on stylist Maeve Reilly to put together her looks. Scroll down for video 'My style kind of differs - sometimes I want to be a little dressed down, a little tomboy, sometimes I want to be dressed up and very chic and look proper,' Hailey told PeopleStyle in August. 'But I don't ever believe in overdoing it... I would say my style is pretty simple, but still chic, hopefully. I just want to be relatable, but that's not a forced thing, it's just staying who I am.' Baldwin later reunited with her BFF Kendall Jenner and her half-sister Kourtney Kardashian for drinks inside the Peninsula Hotel followed by a party at La Maison du Caviar. The GUESS Girl had changed into a grey velvet jacket over a matching slip-dress and gladiator high-heeled boots. On Saturday, the former fling of Justin Bieber strutted her stuff down the runway for Elie Saab's ready-to-wear SS/17 collection. On Sunday, the nepotistically-privileged, Bible-quoting blonde shared a silly fawn-filtered video of herself with her father, Usual Suspects star Stephen Baldwin. 'Like literally, I don't think we've ever been this cute!' Hailey - who boasts 8.9M followers - said in a British accent on Instagram. The 50-year-old born-again Christian evangelist and avid Donald Trump supporter replied: 'Right, we have four ears!'

2016-10-03 02:58 Cassie Carpenter www.dailymail.co.uk

99 /100 Philip Hammond set to distance himself from George Osborne: "Times change" Douglas Alexander: How the Lib Dems did coalition wrong

In his early years as Chancellor, George Osborne often found it convenient to blame any hiccups on his predecessor.

Now his fellow Tory and successor, Philip Hammond, is gently doing the same.

The Chancellor is expected to sketch out an approach that is markedly different from Osborne's at the Conservative party conference today.

He is expected to say Osborne's flagship deficit reduction policies "were the right ones for that time", according to the BBC , but that "when times change, we must change with them". The Government has already dropped Osborne's target of a surplus in public finances by 2020.

Hammond is expected to set out plans for investment, including borrowing an extra £2bn to fund a more direct approach to house building, including encouraging new developers and using public land.

It is clear the new Government will prioritise the state more than the liberal policies of Osborne did.

Hammond has kept a low profile over the summer. But now, with formal Brexit scheduled for March 2017, and the Autumn Statement set for 23 November, all eyes will be on the new Chancellor.

Let me start with what seems like a confession. On a personal level, I have always quite liked Nick Clegg. There, I’ve said it. Over recent years, I have disagreed profoundly with many of the positions that he and his party adopted under the coalition government – in which, time and time again, he was complicit in targeting the most vulnerable in society. Yet I have never fully understood why the derision directed at him as an individual seemed so often to exceed even the fury directed at his policies. This memoir suggests that Clegg feels the same bafflement.

In person, he has a warmth and humour that have too rarely been on public display in recent years. The first time we talked was as we both queued for tea at the Foreign Office in 2008. I was a cabinet minister at the time and he had only recently become the leader of the Liberal Democrats. I remember thinking, during that first conversation, that if he developed the facility to communicate this easily on television, he would prove a formidable opponent in the subsequent general election. A couple of years later, “Cleggmania” proved that point. His performances in the debates were one of the breakthrough stories of the 2010 election. In the light of what followed, it is hard now to recollect quite how new and exciting Clegg was judged to be at the time by an electorate weary of Labour and unconvinced by the Conservatives.

This memoir is the author’s often painfully honest account of the journey from starting out as a fresh face in politics to becoming a widely scorned former deputy prime minister. What makes it fascinating and readable is that it largely avoids some of the more common features of ministerial memoirs – subtle self-aggrandisement, selective recall and emotional inauthenticity – and reveals instead the pain and bewilderment that have frequently been Clegg’s companions during his career.

This memoir suggests a self-aware man who is still struggling intellectually with the assault on centrist politics under way today and with the collapse of the political project to which he remains devoted. Yet it is far more interesting than that, because it is not merely a self-serving defence of everything he has done – but, equally, it does not offer many answers beyond a vague hope that history’s judgement will be kinder.

Clegg nonetheless writes with candour and insight about the human cost of high office – both to politicians and to their families. His description of the high-wire balancing act of being a minister while trying to raise young kids rang true and brought to mind my diversion from a Council of the European Union meeting in Brussels when my son was unexpectedly born ten weeks early. I admire the way that he chose consistently to shield his children from the madness and the media – and clearly battled daily to be a dad as well as a politician.

And yet, despite his struggles to maintain a degree of normality, he slips too easily into rehearsing familiar tropes about the failures of Westminster and other politicians. If politicians (even defeated ones) want respect from the public, one prerequisite is self-respect. That does not mean arrogance or remaining impervious to the necessary changes in how politics is done. It does, however, mean remaking the case for the importance of politics and not indulging in easy, sometimes misplaced ideas about others’ motivations or capabilities.

If journalism is the first draft of history, this book reads very much like journalism, in the sense that it reveals a man who is still struggling to make sense of the past few years and figure out the future. It leaves the reader with an impression of Clegg as a more attractive human being, if not a more effective politician.

The charge sheet against him is by now well rehearsed – primarily his role as the naive enabler of an ideological Conservative project to shrink the state. Clegg struggles to rebut this case, once again offering the extension of the income-tax threshold in the face of overwhelming evidence that most of its huge costs benefited the rich far more than the poor.

He repeatedly implies that private policy victories were the compensation for public political humiliation. But one is left with a sense of the Tories’ good fortune in securing a coalition partner with so little experience of government and the structures and processes of Whitehall. Indeed, the book reminded me just how little front-line experience Clegg had before he assumed the leadership of his party.

He writes with humility about how he came to learn that symbols and stories matter deeply in politics – but this was hardly news in 2010. If anything, in Labour we had overlearned that lesson by 1997. He is honest about his mistakes, from breaking the pledge on tuition fees to failing to understand political jeopardy and the risks to his reputation involved in putting private deal-making before collective cabinet responsibility and communication to the public.

Yet Clegg seems still not to have grasped what, to me – a witness to years of struggle between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – is a basic point. In Whitehall battles, institutional power matters. Just imagine how different the fate of the Lib Dems could have been if they had begun the coalition with more understanding of government. Had Clegg become either a great, reforming Liberal home secretary or, say, education secretary, he could have retained a more distinct identity and had an institutional base from which to engage in the inevitable power struggles in the coalition. Instead, it seems, the seductive equivalence of the initial Downing Street “rose garden” press conference soon gave way to a daily battle for agency and relevance.

I, for one, have never considered entering into coalition to be morally or politically unacceptable. It is the terms and the trade-offs that are vital and by which coalitions should be assessed. Clegg’s memoir is a stark and salutary reminder of the ruthlessness of the Conservatives in seeking and retaining power and their certainty about their entitlement to rule. From denying Clegg the right to greet visitors at the door of No 10 to their sabotaging of the AV referendum, his book is littered with examples, big and small, of the Tories’ appetite for power. This is a lesson that my party – amid its present tribulations – would do well to reflect on.

Douglas Alexander was the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (1997-2015) and is now a senior fellow at Harvard University

2016-10-03 10:43 James Cooray www.newstatesman.com

100 /100 Mystery story: A lost teenager in Pa., a dead woman in Texas, a stolen identify from Washington state In opposite corners of the country, two families were on flip sides of the same mystery.

One, in Texas, had lost a wife to suicide in 2010, then learned that she was not who she claimed.

The other, in the Philadelphia suburbs, had lost a family member, too, in 1986. The young woman had fled abruptly, leaving no clue. They spent 30 years hoping she was alive and safe.

Earlier this year, a former Social Security Administration investigator, Joe Velling, became convinced the dead woman, known as Lori Ruff, and the Pennsylvania woman were connected.

The SSA investigates identity theft, and Lori Ruff clearly had stolen someone else’s identity — that of a 2-year-old girl from Pierce County, Wash., who had died in a fire decades earlier. An aide to a Texas congressman had asked Mr. Velling to look into the case, after being contacted by the Ruff family.

There was no indication she adopted the new identity for financial gain. So why did she do it? Mr. Velling used every tool he had but turned up nothing. With the support of the Ruff family, Mr. Velling turned to a reporter he knew at the Seattle Times in 2013, hoping that crowdsourcing would provide an answer. The story captured the online imagination.

For three years, a large cadre of dogged online sleuths has been trying to solve the mystery.

For most of the online sleuths, investigating the Lori Ruff case was a matter of poring through records of missing- persons photos looking for women who resembled her. Colleen Fitzpatrick, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist, took a different approach — she immediately thought about DNA. Lori Ruff and her husband, Blake, had a daughter in 2008 and that daughter shared Lori Ruff’s DNA. If the daughter provided a sample, there was a way to subtract Blake Ruff’s DNA profile from the daughter’s, leaving what is essentially his wife’s.

The Ruff family sent a saliva sample to 23andMe and Ancestry.com, companies that analyze DNA and provide tools to help people trace their family histories online. The family figured that the girl would one day want to know about her mother.

“We were just wanting to at least have the ability to give her the answers,” said Miles Darby, Blake Ruff’s brother-in-law.

Ms. Fitzpatrick found a number of people whose DNA matched up with Lori Ruff’s, but most of them were distant cousins. They wouldn’t be any help in identifying her.

Just one person came up as a first cousin: a man named Michael Cassidy. There were no other details, just a name. Contacting him via the genealogy sites drew no response. It’s unclear if he even saw the messages. The Ruffs, along with Ms. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Velling, had reached a dead end.

Ms. Fitzpatrick periodically checked back in with the sites, working other angles as they popped up. Then, finally, the name of a third cousin came up. That was too distant a relative to provide answers to Lori Ruff’s identity.

But she could provide some clues through her family tree.

Ms. Fitzpatrick created a family tree based on the third cousin’s ancestry, tracing her family’s roots to an Irish great-great- grandfather who was born in 1848. Then — and this is the key — she traced that family tree all the way down another branch and came to a familiar name: Michael Cassidy.

“Suddenly, I had Lori’s extended family in front of me,” Ms. Fitzpatrick realized. With the family tree built, she was able to zero in on the right Michael Cassidy, who lived in the Philadelphia area.

Between Facebook, online obituaries, public records and people-finder tools used by private investigators, she put together a picture of the Cassidy family. She gleaned from the family tree that Lori Ruff’s mother almost certainly was one of Michael Cassidy’s aunts. She called Mr. Velling. He was convinced she was right. He flew to Philadelphia in March and found his way to the workplace of one of the relatives.

“Do you have a moment for me to tell you a story?” he remembers saying to the woman before launching into the tale of Lori Ruff and DNA and great-great-grandfather.

But the story is so convoluted, it wasn’t really getting him anywhere. He pulled out the photos, laying them on the table one by one. Finally, he got to Lori Ruff’s most recent driver’s license picture, taken when she was around 40. That’s when it clicked. “My God, that’s Kimberly!”

“The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I realized she knew who this person was,” Mr. Velling recalls.

The next day, he spoke with the large extended family, answering as many of their questions as he could. “They were angst-ridden,” he said. One thing was certain: It was definitely Kimberly.

Her mother was Michael Cassidy’s aunt, Deanne. And Deanne was then married to James McLean. Lori Ruff was Kimberly McLean. Later, Deanne took a DNA test and confirmed the match.

To Deanne, now 80, the news was devastating. She had last seen her daughter 30 years ago, and now she learned Kimberly was dead.

Deanne declined to speak with the Seattle Times, referring questions to her brother, Tom Cassidy. He provided additional information. Kimberly McLean grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood, along with a sister. Deanne was a stay-at-home mom. Kimberly McLean’s father was a carpenter and volunteer firefighter.

Mr. Cassidy said there were rides on fire engines and a magnificent hand-built playhouse in the backyard. There were family vacations and day trips and family dinners every night.

When Kimberly McLean was an adolescent, her parents divorced. Deanne met a man named Robert Becker, remarried and moved the girls to Wyncote, another town near Philadelphia, where Kimberly McLean attended Bishop McDevitt High School. This was around the time the troubles started, according to Mr. Cassidy. “Kim never adjusted to the new house and the divorce,” he said. There were new rules, a new school, and at some point, it became too much for her.

In 1986, when she was 18, she moved to King of Prussia, Mr. Cassidy said. One day, she told her mother she was leaving for good. Don’t come after me, she warned. The family never heard from her again. They tried everything they could think of, but she had ensured they would never find her by changing her name not once, but twice.

“For the life of me, we can’t figure why,” Mr. Cassidy said.

So, Lori Ruff wasn’t in a cult, as far as anyone can tell. She wasn’t a spy. She was a teenage runaway.

After she left home in 1986, there are two years Mr. Velling can’t account for. Lori Ruff didn’t pick up her false identity until 1988. It’s clear she spent some time in Idaho, California and Las Vegas before moving to Texas, according to the investigation.

She got her GED, graduated from the University of Texas, and met Blake Ruff through church. They had a child. It was an ordinary life.

To Tom Cassidy, it underscores the sadness of it all, the futility. Can you imagine? Mr. Cassidy asked. There was nobody from the family there to congratulate her on her college graduation. There was nobody there when she got married. She had a child without her mother there to help. “Her birthday was Oct. 16, 1968,” he said several times. Every year when it came around, Lori Ruff couldn’t celebrate. “Can you imagine the burden of all that fakeness? How it all added up?”

The Ruffs saw what that entailed. They watched as Lori Ruff got more troubled, culminating in her suicide.

“At least now we know her identity and know she had a family that loved her,” said Mr. Darby, Blake Ruff’s brother-in-law. Now, Lori and Blake Ruff’s daughter has a new set of grandparents, and a new batch of cousins. The two families have been connected.

To Mr. Velling, the real story of Lori Ruff is in some ways even harder to understand than any of the wild speculation.

“I wondered if she was AWOL from the Army. We wondered if maybe there was some connection to Las Vegas and she was caught up in some kind of crime-family stuff. Nothing like that ever turned up.”

As far as Mr. Velling can tell, she was never connected to any criminal investigation, as Kimberly McLean or as Lori Ruff.

On Monday, Lori Ruff’s name was removed from the federal government’s database of missing and unidentified persons.

2016-10-03 02:51 By Maureen www.post-gazette.com

Total 100 articles.

Created at 2016-10-03 12:08

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