| Thai police arrest foreign man over Bangkok bombing Posted: 29 Aug 2015 08:43 AM PDT  By Pairat Temphairojana and Simon Webb BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police said they arrested a foreigner on Saturday who matched the description of a man who left a bag at the site of a Bangkok blast that killed 20 people nearly two weeks ago. The suspect was a 28-year-old foreign man who had been in Thailand since January last year. The bomb tore through the crowded Erawan Shrine, one of the country's top tourist attractions and close to several of Bangkok's most luxurious hotels and biggest shopping malls.
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| Thousands rally in Beirut against political leaders, rot Posted: 29 Aug 2015 10:37 AM PDT  By Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting "revolution" took to the streets of Beirut on Saturday for an unprecedented mobilization against sectarian politicians they say are incompetent and corrupt. The "You Stink" protest campaign, ignited by a waste crisis, has widened to reflect anger at widely-perceived graft in the political class and the state's failure to provide basic services. It is seen as the biggest protest movement in Lebanon's history organized independently of the sectarian parties that dominate politics.
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| Egyptian court sentences three Al Jazeera journalists to prison Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:44 PM PDT  By Ahmed Aboulenein CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced three Al Jazeera TV journalists to three years in prison on Saturday for operating without a press license and broadcasting material harmful to Egypt, a case that has stirred an international outcry. The verdict, in a retrial, was issued against Mohamed Fahmy, a naturalised Canadian who has given up his Egyptian citizenship, Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, and Peter Greste, an Australian who was deported in February. Rights advocates say their arrest was part of a crackdown on free speech waged since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure, in July 2013 following mass unrest over his rule.
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| Refugee children, close to death, found in van in Austria Posted: 29 Aug 2015 11:58 AM PDT  By Karin Strohecker VIENNA (Reuters) - Three young children suffering from dehydration and close to death have been rescued from a van crammed with 26 refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Austrian police said on Saturday. The two girls and a boy, aged five and six, were found in a dire state when police stopped the vehicle after a chase near the Austrian town of St. Peter am Hart on the border with Germany, a police spokesman said. "The emergency doctor told us they would not have made it much longer - two, maybe three hours," said David Furtner, police spokesman for Upper Austria province.
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| Poll lead for Greece's Syriza narrows as Tsipras presses for new mandate Posted: 29 Aug 2015 10:44 AM PDT  By George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Former Greek premier Alexis Tsipras urged supporters on Saturday to give him a fresh mandate to complete the country's political transformation, as polls showed his leftist Syriza party's lead slipping ahead of elections next month. Tsipras abruptly resigned last week, days after clinching an 86 billion-euro ($97 billion) bailout package from Greece's euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders, aiming to crush a rebellion by far-left lawmakers and tighten his grip on power. Hopes the lenders might soon resolve differences over how to tackle Greece's existing debt rose on Saturday, when IMF head Christine Lagarde told a Swiss newspaper a form of restructuring rather than outright forgiveness should enable the country to cope.
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| Hollande, Merkel, Putin back bid for new Ukraine ceasefire Posted: 29 Aug 2015 09:00 AM PDT  The leaders of France, Germany and Russia backed a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine in a three-way phone call on Saturday, but offered contrasting views of why February's peace deal is in trouble. Daily clashes between the two forces killing civilians, Ukrainian soldiers and separatists, have undermined the deal struck in the Belarus capital Minsk. In separate statements, France's Francois Hollande and Germany's Angela Merkel said the three leaders backed efforts to reinstate an effective ceasefire, while a statement by Russia's President Vladimir Putin blamed Kiev for failing to implement key terms of the peace deal.
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| Top panel urges Guatemalan president face graft trial Posted: 29 Aug 2015 03:47 PM PDT  A legislative committee on Saturday recommended that Guatemalan President Otto Perez be stripped of his immunity and face prosecution for a multimillion-dollar corruption scheme he allegedly led. Perez has been left increasingly isolated since UN investigators accused him of running the massive fraud at the national customs service, a scandal that has already felled his former vice president and caused nearly half his cabinet to resign in protest. "The committee recommends that the full Congress hand over Otto Perez to the justice system and that he lose his immunity," opposition lawmaker Jorge Barrios, a member of the panel, told reporters.
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| Iran nuclear deal will 'fuel terrorism': Netanyahu Posted: 29 Aug 2015 03:43 PM PDT  The deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme will bolster Tehran's ability to fund global terrorism by providing the Islamic state with "billions of dollars" in sanctions relief, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday. "Iran will get hundreds of billions of dollars from sanctions relief and investments to fuel its aggression and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond," Netanyahu -- who is bitterly opposed to the deal agreed by Iran and world powers in July -- said during a visit to the Italian city of Florence. Speaking ahead of a meeting Saturday evening with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi he compared the threat posed by the Islamic State jihadist group with the "far more serious threat...posed by another Islamic state, the Islamic state of Iran and specifically its pursuit of nuclear weapons".
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| Egypt court hands Al-Jazeera reporters three years in jail Posted: 29 Aug 2015 03:37 PM PDT  An Egyptian court sentenced three Al-Jazeera reporters to three years in prison on Saturday, in a shock ruling that sparked international condemnation. Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were in court for the verdict, while Australian journalist Peter Greste was tried in absentia after being deported early this year. The court said they had broadcast "false" news that harmed Egypt.
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| Exiled Yemen president says fighting Huthis to stop 'Iran expansion' Posted: 29 Aug 2015 03:18 PM PDT  Yemen's exiled President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi said on Saturday that his forces were battling Shiite Huthi rebels across the country to check "Iranian expansion" in the region. Hadi was speaking as he made a short visit to Sudan, which was seen as being close to Iran before it joined a Saudi-led coalition against the Yemeni rebels in April. "We are currently leading a war based on stopping Iranian expansion in the region," Hadi said at a press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir.
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| Thousands welcome refugees to Germany at Dresden rally Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:56 PM PDT  Thousands of people took to the streets of the German city of Dresden on Saturday to send a message of welcome to refugees, after a string of violent anti-migrant protests in the region. Dresden is the stronghold of the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement, whose demonstrations drew up to 25,000 at the start of the year. The eastern state of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital, has suffered a series of ugly anti-migrant protests, with the government saying Friday it was sending police reinforcements to the state.
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| South Sudan ceasefire takes effect after eleventh-hour clashes Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:50 PM PDT  A ceasefire aimed at ending a brutal civil war in South Sudan came into effect Saturday evening hours after fresh clashes between government forces and rebels, which sparked concern for a hard-won peace deal. The truce brokered by the regional eight-nation IGAD bloc, along with the United Nations, African Union, China, Britain, Norway and the United States, came into effect at 2100 GMT (midnight in South Sudan's capital Juba). Earlier Saturday, South Sudan's army and rebels accused each other of sparking fresh fighting in the past 24 hours in the north-east.
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| New Orleans mourns dead, celebrates life on Katrina anniversary Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:32 PM PDT  New Orleans remembered the dead and celebrated its painstaking comeback from disaster on Saturday, a decade after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the "Big Easy" leaving devastation and chaos in its wake. New Orleans was plunged into a nightmarish scene of death and looting after Katrina barreled her way through and government help was painfully slow to come, something which still rankles in the city. Mayor Mitch Landrieu, at a solemn ceremony attended by about 400 people on the lawn of Charity Hospital in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward, struck a defiant tone.
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| Egypt sentences 3 Al-Jazeera reporters to 3 years in prison Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:28 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison on Saturday for broadcasting "false news," sparking an international outcry and underlining how authorities are trampling over free speech just over a year into general-turned-politician Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's presidency.
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| Hurricane Ignacio gains strength but expected to bypass Hawaii Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:19 PM PDT (Reuters) - Hurricane Ignacio intensified as it blew across the Pacific on a route likely to bypass Hawaii on Saturday, said the Central Pacific Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service. With winds gusting up to 115 miles per hour (185 kmph), the hurricane centered 835 miles (1,344 km) southeast of Honolulu and 625 miles (1,006 km) south east of Hilo was moving northwest at 8 miles per hour (13 kmph), said center spokesman Neil Honda. "It just became a hurricane from a tropical storm," Honda said, noting the weather became fierce enough to be classified a hurricane at 5 a.m. Pacific on Saturday. |
| German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer faces her retirement Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:18 PM PDT  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Nadine Angerer long ago started a bucket list of what she wants to do in retirement.
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| U.S. 'deeply disappointed' by Egyptian court sentence against Al Jazeera journalists Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is "deeply disappointed" by the sentence handed down in an Egyptian court on Saturday against three Al Jazeera TV journalists, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "We urge the government of Egypt to take all available measures to redress this verdict, which undermines the very freedom of expression necessary for stability and development," the statement said. The journalists were sentenced to three years in prison for operating without a press license and broadcasting material harmful to Egypt. ... |
| 12-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Bart Cummings dies Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:15 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Bart Cummings, one of Australia's top racehorse trainers who won the Melbourne Cup a record 12 times, died Sunday at the age of 87, his family said. |
| Top Asian News at 9:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 29 Aug 2015 02:02 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities arrested a foreign man Saturday they said had been holed up in a suburban apartment with bomb-making equipment and stacks of passports, the first possible breakthrough in the deadly bombing at a Bangkok shrine nearly two weeks ago. All television channels broadcast a televised announcement Saturday evening on the suspect's arrest, which came 12 days after the bombing that authorities have called the deadliest attack in Thailand's modern history. |
| Car bomb explodes in rebel-held Yemen capital Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:58 PM PDT  Sanaa (AFP) - A car bomb exploded Saturday in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, not far from the vacated US embassy complex and close to a position of the Shiite insurgents, witnesses said.
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| AC Milan beats Empoli 2-1 for 1st Serie A win of the season Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:58 PM PDT  MILAN (AP) — Two of AC Milan's new forwards combined to give the Rossoneri a 2-1 win at Empoli on Saturday, but Mario Balotelli remained on the bench following his return from Liverpool last week.
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| Lawmakers urge lifting immunity of Guatemalan president Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:55 PM PDT  GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A congressional commission in Guatemala is urging the full congress to lift President Otto Perez Molina's immunity from prosecution in a corruption case.
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| US OPEN 2015: Tournament at a glance Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:52 PM PDT A look at the U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tennis tournament: |
| Colombian president to visit tense border city Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:51 PM PDT  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos made plans to fly to a border city Saturday amid soaring tensions with Venezuela that have triggered an exodus of Colombian residents. In Washington, the US State Department expressed concern about the situation, and urged both countries to resolve the dispute diplomatically. Santos' office said the president would visit shelters established in the city of Cucuta for the hundreds of Colombians who have fled Venezuela, carrying with them their meager belongings.
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| US OPEN 2015: Capsules on top women's players Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:51 PM PDT  Women to watch at the U.S. Open, which begins Monday:
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| Michigan rally shows support for ex-Marine held by Iran Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:51 PM PDT BAY CITY, Michigan (AP) — Dozens of people attending a rally in Michigan have released balloons to mark the four-year anniversary of Iran's refusal to free a former U.S. Marine from prison. |
| Fekir scores 1st league hat trick as Lyon beats Caen 4-0 Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:50 PM PDT France forward Nabil Fekir scored his first French league hat trick Saturday as last year's runner-up Lyon won 4-0 at Caen, while Reims moved provisionally top with a 4-1 victory at Lorient. |
| US OPEN 2015: Capsules on top men's players Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:50 PM PDT  Men to watch at the U.S. Open, which begins Monday:
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| US OPEN 2015: What to watch aside from Williams in New York Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:49 PM PDT  There is no question that the most talked-about topic heading into the U.S. Open is Serena Williams' Grand Slam bid. Even if she does dominate the conversation, a certain "Big Four" of men's tennis will provide plenty to discuss, too, as usual.
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| US OPEN 2015: Women who beat Williams say belief important Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:47 PM PDT  So here's the question 127 of the 128 women in the U.S. Open's main draw will ask themselves: How do you beat Serena Williams?
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| Barcelona beats Malaga 1-0 through Vermaelen's 1st goal Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:46 PM PDT  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thomas Vermaelen scored his first goal for Barcelona to give the defending champion a second straight hard-fought 1-0 win in the Spanish league Saturday as it edged Malaga at Camp Nou.
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| US OPEN 2015: Serena Williams eyes 1st Grand Slam since 1988 Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:46 PM PDT  Ask Serena Williams what could prevent her from completing tennis' first true Grand Slam in more than a quarter-century at the U.S. Open, and the response will not include the name of a single possible opponent.
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| Japan beats Mexico 1-0 at Little League World Series Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:33 PM PDT  SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Yugo Aoki singled for Tokyo's first hit in the seventh inning, and then scored on a fielder's choice to help Japan beat Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, 1-0 on Saturday for a spot in the championship game of the Little League World Series.
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| Anderson beats Herbert in Winston-Salem final Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:29 PM PDT  WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa won his first title in more than three years when he beat French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-5 in the Winston-Salem Open on Saturday.
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| Immigration shift shows India, China outpacing Mexico Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:22 PM PDT  DALLAS (AP) — Siddharth Jaganath wanted to return to India after earning his master's degree at Texas' Southern Methodist University. Instead, he built a new life in the U.S. over a decade, becoming a manager at a communications technology company and starting a family in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
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| Lebanese in mass 'You Stink' rally against politicians Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:21 PM PDT  Tens of thousands of protesters from across Lebanon staged a mass rally in downtown Beirut Saturday against a political class they accuse of corruption and failing to provide basic services. Waving Lebanese flags, men, women and children flooded iconic Martyrs Square which sat on a Christian-Muslim dividing line during the 1975-1990 civil war. The protest followed demonstrations last weekend that descended into violence when some protesters clashed with police.
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| Young migrant killed by gunshot, authorities now say Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:21 PM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A teenage migrant was found dead with a gunshot wound on a yacht approaching a Greek island on Saturday after smugglers clashed with Greece's coast guard, authorities said. |
| IS cracks down on western Iraqi town after rare protest Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:14 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic State militants moved on Saturday to stamp out dissent in a remote western Iraqi town, detaining at least 70 and tying dozens of residents, including tribal leaders, to streetlight poles as a punishment, security officials said.
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| Austria death truck suspects held, second vehicle found Posted: 29 Aug 2015 01:13 PM PDT  Kecskemét (Hungary) (AFP) - Four suspects in Austria's migrant truck tragedy were remanded in custody in Hungary on Saturday, as Austrian police rescued three "severely dehydrated" refugee children packed into another vehicle. Hungary, where the death truck with 71 corpses originated, said meanwhile that it has completed a razor-wire barrier along its 175-kilometre (110-mile) frontier with Serbia in an effort to prevent thousands of migrants entering the EU country. The incident came a day after the decomposing bodies of 59 men, eight women and four children were found in an abandoned truck on a motorway in eastern Austria near the Hungarian border, provoking international revulsion.
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