| Hungary police force migrants from train tracks; dead boy's image shocks Europe Posted: 03 Sep 2015 01:50 PM PDT  By Marton Dunai and Ece Toksabay BICSKE, Hungary/MUGLA, Turkey (Reuters) - Migrants forced from a train in Hungary scuffled with helmeted riot police and some clung to railway tracks on Thursday, as politicians across Europe struggled to respond to public opinion appalled by images of a drowned 3-year-old boy. France and Germany said European countries must be required to accept their shares of refugees, proposing what would potentially be the biggest change to the continent's asylum rules since World War Two. Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s has strained the European Union's asylum system to breaking point, dividing its 28 nations and feeding the rise of right-wing populists.
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| France says wing part found on Reunion island definitely from MH370 Posted: 03 Sep 2015 08:37 AM PDT  The piece of wing found on the shore of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean has been formally identified as part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the Paris prosecutor said on Thursday. The part, known as a flaperon, was found on the shore of the French-governed island on July 29 and Malaysian authorities have said paint color and maintenance-record matches proved it came from the missing Boeing 777 aircraft. The French prosecutor, who had until Thursday's statement been more cautious on its provenance, said a technician from Airbus Defense and Space (ADS-SAU) in Spain, which had made the part for Boeing, had formally identified one of three numbers found on the flaperon as being the serial number of the MH370 Boeing 777.
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| Father of drowned Syrian toddlers prepares to take bodies home Posted: 03 Sep 2015 02:38 PM PDT  Abdullah Kurdi collapsed in tears after emerging from a morgue in the city of Mugla near Bodrum in Turkey, where the body of his 3-year-old son, Aylan, washed up on Wednesday. Aylan's 5-year-old brother, Galip, and mother, Rehan, 35, were among 12 people, including other children, who died after two boats capsized while trying to reach the Greek island of Kos. "I just want to sit next to the grave of my children and my wife and rest," Abdullah told reporters, as his family's coffins were loaded into a hearse.
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| Iran's Khamenei backs parliamentary vote on nuclear deal with powers - state TV Posted: 03 Sep 2015 10:46 AM PDT  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader said on Thursday he favored a parliamentary vote on its nuclear deal reached with world powers and called for sanctions against Tehran to be lifted completely rather than suspended, state television reported. President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist whose 2013 election paved the way to a diplomatic thaw with the West, and his allies have opposed such a parliamentary vote, arguing this would create legal obligations complicating the deal's implementation. "Parliament should not be sidelined on the nuclear deal issue ... I am not saying lawmakers should ratify or reject the deal.
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| Greek leftists put on brave face as poll shows conservatives pulling ahead Posted: 03 Sep 2015 02:15 PM PDT  By Angeliki Koutantou and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras's leftist Syriza party said on Thursday it remained confident of winning an outright victory in a Sept. 20 election despite an opinion poll that showed its main conservative rival edging ahead. A senior Syriza official played down New Democracy's sudden spurt of momentum, reiterating his party's ambition to win an absolute majority in parliament which was the hope that propelled Tsipras to call the snap vote after clinching a bailout deal with the country's creditors. "Our objective continues to be an outright majority in parliament and in this case we would want to team up with the Independent Greeks," Panos Skourletis, a former energy minister and close aide to Tsipras, told Mega TV, referring to Syriza's former right-wing coalition ally.
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| Chinese ships headed home after Bering Sea sighting: U.S. Navy Posted: 03 Sep 2015 02:53 PM PDT Five Chinese Navy ships sighted in the Bering Sea off Alaska during a visit to the region by U.S. President Barack Obama have begun their "return transit," the U.S. Navy's top uniformed officer told Reuters on Thursday. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said he did not view the incident, an apparent first for China's military, as unexpected or alarming. Greenert said the ships had been seen in the Bering Sea, close to some Alaskan atolls, on Wednesday, but gave no further details. |
| Australian Rugby, Notre Dame to exchange training data Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:56 PM PDT  SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — GPS helped the Australian Rugby Union team get to Notre Dame — and it has nothing to do with the Wallabies having difficulty finding the Golden Dome.
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| 'New era' in Iran science with end of sanctions: report Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:54 PM PDT  The Iran nuclear deal will usher in a new era in science by lifting sanctions and encouraging research in the Islamic republic, the US journal Science said Thursday. Sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon in recent years have also banned scientists from importing fossils, downloading software, subscribing to international science journals and buying much-needed equipment from abroad, the magazine reported in a special issue on the topic. "We got a pretty consistent message that their science is alive and well," Goodman, who traveled to Iran earlier this year with a group of US university officials looking for ways to collaborate with Iranian scientists, was quoted as saying.
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| US public servant becomes face of anti-gay marriage fight Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:51 PM PDT  By refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Kim Davis -- taken into federal custody Thursday -- has gone from being a public servant to a heroine for millions of Americans opposed to the new law of the land. Republican presidential hopefuls immediately jumped on the bandwagon, capitalizing on the image of an outspoken Christian woman heading to jail as evidence for their narratives of religious persecution. Until recently, few outside Kentucky's rural Rowan County had heard of Davis.
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| The Latest: Guatemala ex-leader escorted to jail Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:49 PM PDT  GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The latest on the resignation of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina (all times local):
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| UN states want a voice in choosing Ban's successor Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:44 PM PDT  UN member-states are pushing to have more of a say in choosing the successor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of next year. A draft resolution is due to be put to a vote at the UN General Assembly next week that would for the first time allow the 193-nation to see the resumes of potential candidates and hear their views. For decades, the choice of the UN chief has been the purview of the five permanent Security Council members, in a selection process kept mostly behind closed doors.
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| Guatemala judge orders ex-president Perez detained Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:40 PM PDT  Guatemala City (AFP) - A judge ordered the detention Thursday of Guatemala's disgraced president Otto Perez, hours after he resigned his post amid a massive corruption scandal.
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| Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:33 PM PDT BEIJING (AP) — With fighter jets roaring overhead, China's leader presided Thursday over a massive parade of tanks, missiles and troops that displayed growing military might, but also pledged to reduce the army by 300,000 troops in a bid to show that his country poses no expansionist threat. The spectacle through the heart of Beijing commemorated Japan's World War II defeat seven decades ago, with helicopters zooming across the sky in an array forming the number 70, but the event also underlined President Xi Jinping's determination to make China the pre-eminent Asian power. |
| Down 2 sets to none, Murray comes back to win at US Open Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:32 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Before they stepped on court, there was nothing to suggest Andy Murray would have any trouble against Adrian Mannarino in the U.S. Open's second round.
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| Image of dead child on beach haunts and frustrates the world Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:31 PM PDT  The photo of the dead 3-year-old Syrian boy on a Turkish beach is haunting.
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| Guatemala's new president is conservative former top judge Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:29 PM PDT  GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's new president had only just occupied the vice president's chair when he was promoted to the country's top spot following the resignation of outgoing President Otto Perez Molina amid a corruption scandal.
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| Latest on US Open: Jack Sock says he feels 'better already' Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:23 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):
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| Court: Transgender asylum seekers can't be equated with gays Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:21 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Transgender people can be especially vulnerable to harassment and attacks and shouldn't be equated with gays and lesbians by U.S. immigration officials determining whether to grant asylum, a federal appeals court said Thursday. |
| US Army suspends operations at labs due to anthrax probe Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:18 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh has suspended operations at four Defense Department laboratories that handle biological toxins, as the military scrambles to explain and correct problems that led to the accidental shipment of live anthrax to dozens of other labs around the country and the world.
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| Dreams of drowning: Italy struggles to help traumatised migrants Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:16 PM PDT  The sensation of drowning, short-term memory loss, insomnia and suicidal tendencies: they may have made it safely to Italy, but many asylum seekers are plagued by symptoms of trauma and the psychological help they need is in short supply. Between 10 percent and 30 percent of asylum seekers reaching Europe are estimated to have been tortured in their home countries. Italy's Doctors for Human Rights association (Medu) noted in a recent report that over half of some 100 asylum seekers interviewed in Sicily had seen a travelling companion or close relative die during the Mediterranean crossing.
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| US Open Glance Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:10 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — A look at Thursday's play at the $42.3 million U.S. Open tennis championships: |
| Turkey votes to extend mandate for military action in Syria, Iraq Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:07 PM PDT  Turkey's parliament on Thursday voted to extend for another year a mandate that allows the military to combat Islamist jihadists and Kurdish militants in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, as the country battles its biggest ever security crisis. The parliament convened for an extraordinary session, during which the new members of the power-sharing government also took their oaths, to discuss the current mandate which expires on October 2. The mandate allows the use of the armed forces in neighbouring Syria and Iraq as well as for foreign forces to transit Turkish territory in operations against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
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| Guatemala swears in new president after Perez Molina resigns Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:05 PM PDT  GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's newly sworn-in president demanded that all top government officials submit their resignations and promised an honest and inclusive administration following the surprise resignation earlier Thursday of President Otto Perez Molina amid a widening fraud investigation.
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| Images of drowned toddler enrage Syrian refugees Posted: 03 Sep 2015 04:00 PM PDT  Like millions of others, Yaman was riveted by the image of the toddler, who drowned along with his mother and brother when their boat capsized on a short run from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos and hopes of a new life in Europe. Umm Hussein, a 40-something mother who fled Syria's war in the central city of Homs to a poor neighbourhood of the Jordanian capital, said the photo was too much for her. "We witnessed the bombing, the destruction... but I couldn't cope with the picture of that innocent child, whose only fault was to have been born in Syria," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
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| AC too high? Italy's Errani laments cold US Open locker room Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:46 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Sara Errani figures she knows the real culprit for the dizziness, sore throat and general weakness that nearly cost her a match at the U.S. Open on Thursday: air conditioning.
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| Murray survives huge US Open scare Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:45 PM PDT  Third seed and 2012 champion Andy Murray came back from two sets down to defeat tiring Frenchman Adrian Mannarino and make the US Open third round on Thursday. Murray triumphed 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 after his world number 35 opponent had threatened to condemn him to his earliest loss in New York since also making the second round on debut in 2005. Murray goes on to face Brazilian 30th seed Thomaz Bellucci for a place in the last 16.
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| Colombia's Santos ready to meet Maduro -- with conditions Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:44 PM PDT  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday that he will meet his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro over the border crisis between the South American countries -- but only with certain conditions. The row flared on August 19 when Maduro closed the border with Colombia after blaming Colombia-based right-wing paramilitaries for the wounding of three Venezuelan anti-smuggling patrolmen. Maduro has also blamed smuggling by Colombians living in Venezuela for shortages of basic goods in his country.
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| Mickelson needing big week for chance at 21st straight team Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:39 PM PDT  NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Phil Mickelson only realized a few days ago his proud streak of qualifying for 20 consecutive teams was over.
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| How green should a course be in times of drought? Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:37 PM PDT  By Mark Lamport-Stokes LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For the non-golfer, the image is an unsettling one -- lush golf courses sprawling across the desert areas around Palm Springs in arid California while the state is suffering a drought for a fourth consecutive year. Similar scenes can be found in states such as Nevada, Texas and Arizona where golf courses appear to be getting more than their fair share of water in an era of climate change when usage is increasingly restricted in the private and public sectors. For the United States Golf Association (USGA), however, a much bigger picture must be viewed when it comes to assessing the management of resources on golf courses, which can play a significant environmental role in urban areas.
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| Immigrants, refugees to receive papal blessing in NYC Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:28 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Pope Francis will offer a special blessing to a group of immigrants and refugees in New York, including those who are undocumented, highlighting two contentious issues in American politics.
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| Guatemala swears in new president amid corruption storm Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:27 PM PDT  Guatemala's Congress swore in former judge Alejandro Maldonado as president Thursday as his disgraced predecessor appeared in court over corruption allegations hours after resigning in the face of unprecedented protests. Maldonado, a 79-year-old conservative who only became vice president in May, will serve out the rest of his former boss Otto Perez's term, handing over on January 14. The country will hold elections Sunday to choose his successor, in a climate of widespread outrage over the corruption scandal engulfing Perez and broad rejection of the traditional political elite.
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| Conservationists protest killing of endangered North Carolina red wolves Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:25 PM PDT  The federal wildlife service on Thursday stood by its decision to authorize recent killings of two highly endangered North Carolina red wolves on private property, despite plans by conservationists to sue. Three conservationist groups said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) made only cursory attempts to remove the wolves from private property between 2014 and 2015 before allowing the landowners to kill them in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The five-county region of eastern North Carolina known as the Red Wolf Recovery Area is home to the only population of red wolves in the wild, estimated at only between 50 and 75 animals, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC).
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| UN set to back raising Palestinian flag Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:19 PM PDT  A draft resolution on raising the Palestinian flag at the United Nations will likely be adopted next week in time for president Mahmud Abbas' visit to New York, the Palestinian envoy said Thursday. The UN General Assembly will vote on September 10 on the measure that is almost certain to garner a majority of votes in the 193-nation forum. "We have the votes and we are working to get as many votes as we can," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the United Nations.
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| House Dems ask pope to address poor, environment in US visit Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:14 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are pushing Pope Francis to address the minimum wage, hunger and the environment in his historic speech to Congress later this month, hoping his embrace will give momentum to three party priorities. |
| Citizen care: Europeans reach out to refugees Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:11 PM PDT  Even before the harrowing image of a drowned Syrian toddler sent shockwaves around the world, EU citizens were launching initiatives on the Internet and social media to provide help and pressure governments into action. By Wednesday, more than 14,000 people had backed her initiative.
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| AP PHOTOS: Searing images of past crises Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:06 PM PDT  The photo of a dead 3-year-old Syrian boy on a Turkish beach captures everything we don't want to see when we tap our phones or open our newspapers: a vicious civil war, a surge of refugees, the death of an innocent. The disturbing image taken this week brings to mind other, similarly haunting photos of crises. Often they involve children. Will the photo of the Syrian child be like other seared-in-our-memory photographs? Over the years, AP photojournalists have captured powerful images. A 9-year-old girl fleeing a napalm attack in 1972 during the Vietnam War. A Rwandan child too weak from malnutrition to hold his head up in Zaire. A 5-year-old girl holding the hand of an 89-year-old woman as they are evacuated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Aid experts hope the image of Aylan Kurdi will be the tipping point for the Syrian war, and will inspire people to prod governments to help the country's suffering..
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| Judge accepts charges against ex-head of nuclear power firm Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:06 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — A federal judge Thursday accepted the charges filed by prosecutors against the former head of Eletronuclear, the state-owned company that operates Brazil's two nuclear power plants, for his suspected role in a bribery scandal. |
| Hungary opens door to trains for migrants, but only to camps Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:04 PM PDT  BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Thousands of people desperate to reach Western Europe rushed into a Budapest train station Thursday after police ended a two-day blockade, setting off a wave of anger and confusion as hundreds shoved their way onto a waiting train. But when it tried to drop them off at a Hungarian camp for asylum seekers, a bitter showdown began.
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| Champion Johnson in tough rematch with Dodson at UFC 191 Posted: 03 Sep 2015 03:01 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — Although Demetrious Johnson's reign as the UFC's flyweight champion is approaching historic lengths, he gets only a fraction of the attention lavished on the world's other top mixed martial artists. |
| Konta beats heat in US Open record match Posted: 03 Sep 2015 02:59 PM PDT  "It's a horrible situation to be in," Konta said. The marathon match lasted seven minutes longer than the old mark set in 2011 when Samantha Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova on her way to the title. "I noticed after the first set it was incredibly long, but then after I had a couple glances on the clock, I'm like, 'OK, we have been here for a while,'" Konta said.
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