| Turkish army thrusts deeper into Syria, monitor says 35 villagers killed Posted: 28 Aug 2016 11:53 AM PDT  By Umit Bektas KARKAMIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's army and its allies thrust deeper into Syria on Sunday, seizing territory controlled by Kurdish-aligned forces on the fifth day of a cross-border campaign that a monitoring group said had killed at least 35 villagers. Turkish warplanes roared into northern Syria at daybreak and artillery pounded what security sources said were sites held by the Kurdish YPG militia, after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce overnight fighting around two villages. Turkey said 25 Kurdish militants were killed in its air strikes and denied there were civilian casualties.
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| High toll for Libyan troops battling Islamic State in Sirte Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:38 PM PDT  By Aidan Lewis SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - At least 34 Libyan fighters were killed and more than 180 wounded on Sunday as they closed in on the last Islamic State militant holdouts in the coastal city of Sirte, according to field hospitals. Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government, supported since Aug. 1 by U.S. air strikes, have pushed militants back into a small residential area in central Sirte in a three-month-old campaign. The Libyan brigades, mostly from the city of Misrata, say they are close to victory in Sirte, but they have struggled to defend themselves against suicide bombings, sniper fire and landmines.
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| Anti-burkini law in France would worsen tension: interior minister Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:38 PM PDT  A law banning the full-body "burkini" swimsuit in France would stoke tensions between communities and would be both unconstitutional and ineffective, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in an interview published on Sunday. France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, ruled on Friday against a decision to ban the burkini by the mayor of the resort town of Villeneuve-Loubet. The ruling may set a precedent for the dozens of French towns that have also ordered burkini bans.
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| More bodies located beneath rubble in Italy quake zone Posted: 28 Aug 2016 09:38 AM PDT  By Iona Serrapica and Miran Jelenek AMATRICE, Italy (Reuters) - Rescuers believe they have found more bodies buried deep in the rubble of the ruined town of Amatrice, five days after a devastating earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 290 people. Residents of the hill town estimated that up to 10 people were still missing and emergency services said they had located three corpses in Amatrice's Hotel Roma, which, like much of the historic center, was wrecked by Wednesday's quake. "It is absolutely vital to finish as soon as possible this initial (search) phase to make sure that there are no more bodies under the rubble," he said.
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| U.S. condemns move of Venezuela ex-mayor to prison from house arrest Posted: 28 Aug 2016 04:59 PM PDT  The United States on Sunday condemned the Venezuelan government's decision to move Daniel Ceballos, a former opposition mayor accused of fomenting protests, to prison from house arrest and called for his immediate release. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Ceballos's transfer on Saturday "represents an effort to intimidate and impede the Venezuelan people's right to peacefully express their opinion Sept. 1," when the opposition plans a major demonstration against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Ceballos was arrested in 2014 on accusations he helped lead violent unrest in the tumultuous western city of San Cristobal, where he was mayor.
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| Jets hit rebel-held Homs area for first time in year: residents and monitor Posted: 28 Aug 2016 04:30 PM PDT Jets believed to be Syrian planes hit the besieged Al-Waer neighborhood in the city of Homs on Sunday, a day after the evacuation of residents and fighters from rebel-held Daraya on the outskirts of the capital, residents and a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a woman and child were among the dead. It was the second day of air raids, the first such strikes since around a year ago in the rebel-held area where community leaders in December reached a U.N.-sponsored deal with authorities to evacuate fighters under a phased plan that would have shored up government control of the city. |
| Red-hot Ariya blitzes field to win Canadian Open golf Posted: 28 Aug 2016 05:43 PM PDT  Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn closed with a 12-foot birdie putt to easily win the Canadian Women's Open by four strokes and post her fifth victory of 2016. The 20-year-old Ariya entered the final round with a two-shot lead and never wavered as she stormed to victory on the Priddis Greens course in Calgary, Alberta. Ariya, of Bangkok, also kept her perfect 54-hole record intact as she has won each time she has led this year heading into the fourth round.
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| Reed wins Barclays, Fowler loses Ryder Cup spot Posted: 28 Aug 2016 05:28 PM PDT  FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Patrick Reed had a crystal trophy, a clear shot at the richest payoff in golf and a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
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| Langer wins Boeing Classic playoff for 29th senior title Posted: 28 Aug 2016 05:27 PM PDT SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) — Bernhard Langer made a 3-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with Woody Austin and Kevin Sutherland on Sunday to win the PGA Tour Champions' Boeing Classic for the second time. |
| FARC sets permanent cease-fire under Colombia peace deal Posted: 28 Aug 2016 05:07 PM PDT  HAVANA (AP) — The commander of Colombia's biggest rebel movement said Sunday its fighters will permanently cease hostilities with the government beginning with the first minute of Monday, as a result of their peace accord ending one of the world's longest-running conflicts.
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| Mexico environmental agency defends oversight of Goldcorp mine Posted: 28 Aug 2016 05:06 PM PDT Mexico's environmental prosecutor said it had kept regular oversight of the country's largest gold mine, days after a Reuters report on a prolonged leak of contaminated water there prompted activists to accuse the agency of failing its mandate. Environmental prosecutor Profepa said that since 2013 it had completed five "administrative proceedings" on the Penasquito mine in Zacatecas state, which is owned by Canada's Goldcorp Inc. It did not say whether the proceedings were related to the leak. Goldcorp reported the rise to authorities a year later. |
| More than 100 arrested, dozens hurt at Notting Hill Carnival Posted: 28 Aug 2016 04:32 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — London police arrested more than 100 people amid sporadic violence Sunday at the annual Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration of Caribbean culture in the British capital that often includes trouble on the sidelines.
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| UN chief concerned about Western Sahara tensions Posted: 28 Aug 2016 04:21 PM PDT  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday urged Morocco and the Polisario movement campaigning for the independence of Western Sahara to withdraw soldiers and fighters from a buffer strip who have sent tensions soaring. Ban said he was "deeply concerned over the tense situation that has developed in the narrow buffer strip in southwestern Western Sahara" between the Moroccan berm that marks Rabat's area of control and the Mauritanian border. The UN mission in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO, will hold discussions with both sides to de-escalate tensions, he added.
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| Saudis say rocket fired from Yemen kills 2 children Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:55 PM PDT RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi officials say a rocket fired from Yemen hit a family's home in Saudi Arabia's southern border region of Najran, killing two children and wounding five other people. |
| Endwell, New York, wins Little League World Series Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:46 PM PDT  SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — As Ryan Harlost stepped to the mound on Sunday, he took it all in.
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| Scant rallies for Brazil's Rousseff before big day Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:35 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Supporters of Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff rallied Sunday as she prepared for her dramatic last stand at an impeachment trial expected to see her fired within days. The first small street rallies began in the capital as Brazil headed for the last dramatic act in a political drama that is expected to end 13 years of leftist rule in the huge recession-stricken country. Rousseff, 68, will defend herself in person on Monday against hostile senators seeking to impeach her for what they say were illegal state accounting maneuvers.
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| Sporting beats Porto 2-1 to take lead in Portugal Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:25 PM PDT LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Sporting Lisbon fought back to beat fellow title hopeful FC Porto 2-1 on Sunday and go top of the Portuguese league. |
| Rakitic scores to give Barcelona 1-0 win at Bilbao in Liga Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:18 PM PDT  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ivan Rakitic scored in the first half to help Barcelona win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday for a second straight victory at the start of the Spanish league season.
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| Antonio in, Barkley out as Allardyce names 1st England squad Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:15 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Sam Allardyce dropped midfielder Ross Barkley on Sunday and called up uncapped winger Michail Antonio for his first England squad since taking charge after the team's disappointing European Championship campaign.
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| Colombia ceasefire to end half-century war in hours Posted: 28 Aug 2016 03:06 PM PDT  A historic midnight ceasefire on Sunday is set to end a 52-year-old war between the Colombian state and FARC rebels. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Sunday issued the order for its fighters to observe the cease fire from midnight (0500 GMT Monday). "I order all our commanders and units and each one of our combatants to definitively cease fire and hostilities against the Colombian state from midnight tonight" top FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez said in a declaration before the media.
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| For US Open's new roof, a question of changing conditions Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:57 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic won't mind if it rains for the next two weeks in New York.
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| Iran deploys long-range missiles to Fordo nuclear site Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:38 PM PDT  Tehran has deployed a recently delivered Russian-made long-range missile system to central Iran to protect its Fordo nuclear facility, state television said Sunday. Protecting nuclear facilities is paramount "in all circumstances" General Farzad Esmaili, the commander of Iran's air defences, told the IRIB channel. "Today, Iran's sky is one of the most secure in the region," he added.
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| Gabon leader and top rival both claim presidential victory, allege fraud Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:23 PM PDT  By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Supporters of Gabon's President Ali Bongo and his chief rival both said on Sunday they were set to win a presidential election that poses the most serious challenge yet to the Bongo family's half-century rule in the tiny, oil-rich nation. Backers of the president and his main challenger, Jean Ping, also traded accusations of fraud allegedly committed during Saturday's vote, raising the prospect of increased tension in the wake of an uncharacteristically bitter campaign. At a large gathering of supporters at his campaign headquarters in the capital, Ping, 73, distributed figures showing him handily beating Bongo.
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| Monaco beats Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in French league Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:09 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Monaco beat defending champion Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Sunday to move level on points with Guingamp and Nice at the top of the French league. |
| Anti-burkini law would be 'unconstitutional': French minister Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:04 PM PDT  It would be "unconstitutional" for France to pass a law banning the burkini and such a move could cause irreparable harm, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned in an interview published online late Sunday. Speaking to French daily La Croix, Cazeneuve reiterated the government's opposition to legislating on the controversial matter which has sparked fierce debate both at home and abroad about women's rights and France's strictly-guarded secularism. Around 30 coastal resorts have recently banned women from wearing the full-body swimwear on their beaches, although France's highest administrative court on Friday overturned the measure in one town, in a ruling likely to set a legal precedent which will affect the others.
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| Inter draws 1-1 with Palermo in Serie A home opener Posted: 28 Aug 2016 02:03 PM PDT  ROME (AP) — Inter Milan showed signs of improvement in a 1-1 draw with Palermo on Sunday in its home opener at San Siro.
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| Commander of Colombia's FARC rebel group announces a permanent cease-fire under peace accord Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:58 PM PDT HAVANA (AP) — Commander of Colombia's FARC rebel group announces a permanent cease-fire under peace accord. |
| Italy probes whether negligence played role in quake toll Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:49 PM PDT  AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — Italian authorities are vowing to investigate whether negligence or fraud in adhering to building codes played a role in the high death toll in last week's earthquake in Italy.
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| 2 United pilots suspected of being drunk arrested in Glasgow Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:27 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Two United Airlines pilots who have been arrested for suspected intoxication before they were to fly 141 passengers from Scotland to the United States will appear in a Scottish court Monday, police said. |
| Colombia readies for conflict-ending cease-fire Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:19 PM PDT  A historic midnight ceasefire on Sunday is set to end a 52-year-old war between the Colombian state and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Hundreds of thousands of Colombians have died since 1964 as rebel armies and gangs battled in the jungles in what is considered Latin America's last major civil armed conflict. "The end of the conflict has arrived!" President Juan Manuel Santos exulted on his Twitter account Friday, after signing a decree to halt military operations against the FARC.
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| Pope mulls Italy quake visit as survivors dig in Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:16 PM PDT  Pope Francis said Sunday he wanted to visit the quake-hit villages of central Italy, as survivors and rescue workers dug in for the long haul with colder weather approaching. Speaking to worshippers in St Peter's Square in Rome, Francis said he wanted to visit those hit by Wednesday's deadly earthquake which brought devastation to a string of mountain villages in a remote area straddling the Umbria, Marche and Lazio regions. With hopes of finding anyone else still alive fading fast, rescue workers and survivors were turning their attention to the future as temperatures start to fall.
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| Venezuela to return ex-Guantanamo prisoner to Uruguay Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:11 PM PDT  A former prisoner at the US Guantanamo Bay military center being held by Venezuela after going missing from Uruguay will be returned there Sunday, a key mediator said. Jihad Diyab -- a 45-year-old Syrian who was resettled in Uruguay as a refugee in 2014 -- was jailed at the headquarters of the Venezuelan secret police after going off Montevideo's radar and apparently evading border controls. Held in Guantanamo for 12 years without charge, Diyab was released in 2014 from the US-run military prison in Cuba to Uruguay, along with five other former inmates.
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| Antonio in Allardyce's first England squad Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:06 PM PDT  Sam Allardyce marked his first squad announcement as England manager on Sunday by including uncapped West Ham United midfielder Michail Antonio in a 23-man party for next week's World Cup qualifier in Slovakia. Antonio was included on the same day he scored for the Hammers in their 3-1 loss away to Premier League leaders Manchester City. "I think he's in outstanding form," Allardyce told the Football Association's website as he explained his decision to select Antonio, who only a few seasons ago was playing non-league football for Tooting and Mitcham in south London.
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| Gabon opposition chief claims election victory Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:02 PM PDT  Gabon's main opposition candidate Jean Ping claimed Sunday he had been elected president, prompting incumbent Ali Bongo to say that he will wait for official results to be released. The official tally of votes will not be published until Tuesday and some voters voiced fears of a repeat of the violence seen after a disputed 2009 election. Bongo responded later by saying that he was waiting for official results to be released from Saturday's election.
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| Pieters eyes Ryder Cup place after win in Denmark Posted: 28 Aug 2016 01:01 PM PDT FARSO, Denmark (AP) — Thomas Pieters improved his chances of earning a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup by winning the Made in Denmark tournament on Sunday to claim his third European title. |
| Stokes eager to bowl against Pakistan Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:47 PM PDT  Ben Stokes is looking forward to giving England an extra bowling option as they go in search of a one-day international series-clinching win against Pakistan at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. England will head to Nottingham 2-0 up with three to play after convincing wins at Southampton and Lord's. All-rounder Stokes has been involved in both those victories but as a batsman only after a calf problem prevented England one-day captain Eoin Morgan deploying him as a member of the hosts' pace attack.
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| Leipzig signs highly-rated Scotland midfielder Oliver Burke Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:38 PM PDT BERLIN (AP) — Promoted Bundesliga side Leipzig signed highly-rated Scotland winger Oliver Burke from Nottingham Forrest on Sunday. |
| Germany, Paris, Warsaw call for closer ties post-Brexit Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:35 PM PDT  The German, French and Polish foreign ministers vowed Sunday to increase ties between their countries when Britain leaves the EU to secure a safer and more effective union. "Confronted by unparallelled challenges in Europe... (we must) intensify cooperation and create a new drive," Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Jean-Marc Ayrault and Witold Waszczykowski said in a joint statement. Talks between the 27 EU nations remaining in the bloc are likely to be challenging, as Berlin's preferred vision of a centralised, federal Europe clashes with proposals for a confederation of nation states popular among leaders of eastern EU members.
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| Yemen govt cautiously welcomes US peace plan Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:33 PM PDT  Yemen's exiled government has said it welcomes in principle a US-backed plan to resume peace talks with Iran-backed rebels on the basis of forming a unity government. In Sanaa, the rebels said they had discussed the establishment of a government, and said they would respond "positively" to any attempt to end the conflict. Meeting in Riyadh, the Yemeni cabinet gave an "initial welcoming to the ideas that came out of the meeting in Jeddah," which included US Secretary of State John Kerry, the government's sabanew.net website said late Saturday.
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| Libyan forces push into last IS-held areas of Sirte Posted: 28 Aug 2016 12:24 PM PDT  Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government on Sunday pushed into the last areas of Sirte held by the Islamic State group in what was the jihadists' coastal stronghold. The battle for the hometown of Libya's slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi was launched more than three months ago by forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. "The final battle for Sirte has started," said Reda Issa, a spokesman for the pro-GNA forces, as loyalist forces thrust into two districts of the city where IS still holds positions.
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