| Turkish tanks roll into Syria, opening new line of attack Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:00 PM PDT  By Umit Ozdal and John Davison ELBEYLI, Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkey and its rebel allies opened a new line of attack in northern Syria on Saturday, as Turkish tanks rolled across the border and Syrian fighters swept in from the west to take villages held by Islamic State. The incursion was launched by Turkey from Kilis province - an area frequently targeted by Islamic State rockets - and coincided with a separate push by the Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, who seized several villages further to the east. By supporting the rebels, mainly Arabs and Turkmen fighting under the loose banner of the Free Syrian Army, Turkey is hoping to drive out Islamic State militants and check the advance of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.
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| Mother Teresa to be made saint at Vatican ceremony Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:14 PM PDT  By Isla Binnie VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Nobel peace laureate known as the "saint of the gutters" during her lifetime, will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday. More than 100,000 pilgrims are expected to attend a service led by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to honor the tiny nun who worked among the world's neediest in the slums of the Indian city now known as Kolkata. Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity (MoC) order have been criticized both during her life and since her death in 1997, but many Catholics revere her as a model of compassion.
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| Obama presses China's Xi on South China Sea ahead of G20 Posted: 03 Sep 2016 10:34 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Michael Martina HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday pressed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, urging Beijing to uphold its legal obligations and stressing the United States' commitments to its regional allies. Tensions over the disputed waters between China and its neighbors were expected to hang over the G20 summit, which opens in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sunday. China is keen to ensure a smooth summit, its highest profile event of the year, as it looks to enhance its global standing and avoid acrimony over a long list of tensions with Washington.
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| Venezuela's Maduro jeered, dozens briefly detained: activists Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:19 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities briefly rounded up more than 30 people on Margarita island for heckling President Nicolas Maduro, activists said on Saturday, in what appeared to be a rare public confrontation with the unpopular leader. Videos published by activists, purportedly from the Margarita locality of Villa Rosa on Friday night, show scores of people banging pots and pans and jeering their president during a visit to inspect state housing projects. The display of anger followed a vast march in Caracas on Thursday that opposition leaders say has emboldened Maduro's foes after 17 years of socialist rule in the OPEC nation of 30 million people.
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| Libyan forces report further progress against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:47 PM PDT  Libyan forces said they had advanced against some of Islamic State's last holdouts in Sirte on Saturday as fighting resumed after several days of relative calm. The forces, which are aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government, launched their campaign to recapture the city in May and have been aided by dozens of U.S. air strikes since the beginning of August. Forces made up mostly of fighters from Misrata, 230 km (145 miles) to the north west, now say they are in the final stages of their campaign to oust Islamic State from its former North African stronghold.
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| U.S., China ratify Paris climate deal, setting stage for G20 Posted: 03 Sep 2016 06:05 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Nathaniel Taplin HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, marking a major step toward the enactment of the pact as early as the end of the year and setting the stage for other countries to follow suit. The world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made the landmark announcement as heads of state from the Group of 20 biggest economies, or G20, arrived for a summit in the city of Hangzhou, parts of which resembled a ghost town as Chinese security locked down the area. U.S. President Barack Obama's last scheduled trip to Asia before leaving office however got off to an awkward start.
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| Defending champion Jeff Maggert takes Calgary lead Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:51 PM PDT CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Defending champion Jeff Maggert shot his second straight 7-under 63 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions' Shaw Charity Classic. |
| Top Asian News 11:48 p.m. GMT Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:49 PM PDT HANGZHOU, China (AP) — Setting aside their cyber and maritime disputes, President Barack Obama and China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday sealed their nations' participation in last year's Paris climate change agreement. They hailed their new era of climate cooperation as the best chance for saving the planet. At a ceremony on the sidelines of a global economic summit, Obama and Xi, representing the world's two biggest carbon emitters, delivered a series of documents to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The papers certified the U.S. and China have taken the necessary steps to join the Paris accord that set nation-by-nation targets for cutting carbon emissions. |
| Hermine strengthens off North Carolina en route to Middle Atlantic Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:49 PM PDT  By Ian Simpson and Chris Prentice WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A powerful Atlantic storm strengthened on Saturday afternoon after passing over North Carolina's Outer Banks en route to the U.S. Middle Atlantic coast, where it was expected to spoil the Labor Day holiday weekend with high winds, soaking rains and surging seas. The storm, dubbed Hermine and classified as a Category 1 hurricane until it lost power while cutting across Florida and Georgia, was expected to push slowly up the coast before stalling off New Jersey, where it could linger for days. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center expect Hermine to turn to the northeast and decrease its forward speed on Saturday night.
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| Voting in Hong Kong gets under way for crucial election Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:48 PM PDT HONG KONG (AP) — Polls have opened in Hong Kong for a legislative election that's expected to be the most crucial vote for the specially administered Chinese city since the handover from Britain in 1997. |
| Jenny Simpson wins record fifth 5th Avenue Mile Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:44 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — American Olympian Jenny Simpson became the first five-time winner in New Balance 5th Avenue Mile history Saturday, winning in 4 minutes, 18.3 seconds. |
| Putin and Erdogan seek to restore Russia-Turkey ties Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:42 PM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed on Saturday the healing of relations between their nations, damaged by Ankara's shooting down of a Russian war plane last year. "There is still a lot to do in order to completely re-establish cooperation in all areas," said Putin, after the bilateral meeting in Hangzhou on the eve of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city. "Turkey is going through a difficult period, fighting against terrorism in the face of serious terrorist crimes," he said.
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| Protesters reportedly insult Venezuela leader during visit Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:41 PM PDT  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reportedly was greeted by angry pot-banging protesters during a visit to Margarita Island.
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| Human rights groups slam arrests of anti-Maduro protesters Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:33 PM PDT  Human rights groups criticized Saturday the arrest of dozens of protesters who demonstrated against President Nicolas Maduro in the Venezuelan island state of Nueva Esparta. The protest came just a day after Maduro's opponents staged a mass demonstration in Caracas calling for a referendum on removing him from office. Late Friday, Maduro was in the Villa Rosa area, just outside the Nueva Espartcity of Porlamar, to inaugurate public buildings that had been rehabilitated in poor areas.
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| Anti-immigrant party poised for huge win in German state election Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:31 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - The anti-immigrant Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party is expected by polls to make huge gains in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election on Sunday, reflecting a growing discontent with Chancellor Angela Merkel and her open-door refugee policy. The election, taking place exactly a year after Merkel's decision to open Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees will be followed by another key vote in Berlin in two weeks and national elections next September. Voters already punished Merkel in three state elections in March, voting in droves for the AfD and rejecting Merkel's Christian Democrats.
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| Argentina's richest man, Carlos Bulgheroni, dead at 71 Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:10 PM PDT BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's richest man according to Forbes, energy mogul Carlos Bulgheroni, died on Saturday in the United States, where he was hospitalized following a surgical procedure in June, his company said. The 71-year-old Bulgheroni, along with his brother Alejandro, owned Pan American Energy, Argentina's second-biggest oil company, behind state-run YPF. According to local media, Bulgheroni had been battling cancer for years. Forbes estimated that Carlos and Alejandro Bulgheroni had a fortune of $4.8 billion, making them the 324th richest people on earth. ... |
| US Open Glance Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:07 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — A look at Saturday's play in the $46.3 million U.S. Open tennis championships: |
| Serena Williams' shoulder 'feels solid,' looks even better Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:06 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — So about that inflamed right shoulder that was supposed to hinder Serena Williams at the U.S. Open as she seeks a record 23rd major title: It sure seems to be just fine.
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| Ledecky enjoying quite a victory tour since starring in Rio Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:04 PM PDT  She's hung out with the Boss.
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| Scott Dixon wins IndyCar pole at Watkins Glen Posted: 03 Sep 2016 04:01 PM PDT  WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — Scott Dixon has been the man to beat at Watkins Glen International since IndyCar began racing again at the historic road course just over a decade ago. He still is.
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| Jutanugarn 2 shots back in Canada in bid for 2nd hat trick Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:50 PM PDT  CAMBRIDGE, Ontario (AP) — Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday in the LPGA Manulife Classic, leaving her two strokes back in her bid win three straight events for the second time this season.
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| Address rape victims of South Sudan hotel rampage, US says Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:35 PM PDT  JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is calling for an independent commission to take testimony from rape victims of a rampage by South Sudanese soldiers at a hotel compound popular with foreigners.
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| Obama consulting Turkish, British leaders on Islamic State Posted: 03 Sep 2016 03:16 PM PDT  HANGZHOU, China (AP) — At an economic summit in China, President Barack Obama is turning attention to the Islamic State group, consulting with the leaders of Turkey and Britain, important allies with their own challenges at home.
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| Mali defence minister fired after jihadists seize town: officials Posted: 03 Sep 2016 02:45 PM PDT  Mali's defence minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly was fired Saturday, officials told AFP, a day after jihadists briefly took control of a town in the country's centre. A decree released by the government stated his post had been revoked after militants stepped up attacks in the country's centre in recent months, targeting government and military installations. A senior official in the Malian defence ministry told AFP it came following "the latest waves of insecurity in central Mali," referring to jihadists' seizure of the town of Boni on Friday and an attack on a central Mali military base in Nampala that killed several soldiers in July.
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| Five dead in first east Niger Boko Haram attack in 3 months: governor Posted: 03 Sep 2016 02:31 PM PDT  Five villagers were killed and two others wounded in a Boko Haram attack in eastern Niger, the first in three months carried out there by the jihadist group, a local governor said Saturday. Governor of the Diffa border region, Dan Dano Mahaman Laouali, told Niger public radio the attack took place on Friday in Toumour. It is the first attack in the east since early June when Boko Haram launched a major offensive in Bosso, a town in Niger near the border with Nigeria and Chad, before being pushed back by the military.
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| Melbourne clinch National Rugby League minor premiership Posted: 03 Sep 2016 02:21 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Melbourne beat Cronulla 26-6 to clinch the National Rugby League minor premiership on Saturday and set up a qualifying final next weekend against the defending champion North Queensland Cowboys. |
| Vikings cut draft picks Beavers, Bohringer, Weatherly Posted: 03 Sep 2016 02:18 PM PDT  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have let go of three of their eight draft picks, waiving guard Willie Beavers, wide receiver Moritz Bohringer and defensive end Stephen Weatherly in the process of setting the roster for the regular season.
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| Bolivia proposes prison time for illegal coca production Posted: 03 Sep 2016 02:18 PM PDT  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's government is proposing a law to punish illegal growers of coca with prison time.
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| Trump courts black voters with visit to Detroit church Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:55 PM PDT  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised African Americans prosperity and jobs Saturday in a tempered speech to black churchgoers in a US city famous as a symbol of economic and urban decline. Setting aside his usual stridency, Trump adopted a humble tone, telling his audience at Great Faith Ministries International that he came to listen, expressing sympathy for the out-of-work young men he had seen on boarded-up Detroit streets. "Nothing is more sad than when we sideline young black men with unfulfilled potential, tremendous potential," Trump said, speaking from notes.
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| Bumpy start to Obama's China trip, beginning with the stairs Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:54 PM PDT  HANGZHOU, China (AP) — If President Barack Obama was hoping for a graceful start to his final trip to Asia as commander in chief, this wasn't it.
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| AP EXPLAINS: Saints, miracles and Mother Teresa Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:53 PM PDT  VATICAN CITY (AP) — For many of the poor and destitute whom Mother Teresa served, the tiny nun was a living saint. Many at the Vatican would agree, but the Catholic Church nevertheless has a grueling process to make it official, involving volumes of historical research, the hunt for miracles and teams of experts to weigh the evidence. In Mother Teresa's case, the process will come to a formal end Sunday when Pope Francis declares the church's newest saint. Here's a look at the process:
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| Iheanacho gives Nigeria victory over Tanzania Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:43 PM PDT  Manchester City ace Kelechi Iheanacho scored the only goal of the game to give Nigeria their first win of an underwhelming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on Saturday in Uyo. With the 1-0 success, Nigeria finished the group stage on five points, while Tanzania were bottom of a three-team group already won by Egypt. The Super Eagles created a rash of chances in this dead rubber game, but wasteful finishing and the brilliance of goalkeeper Aishi Manula ensured they had to wait until the 78th minute to snatch victory at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium.
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| Poland urges Britain to fight xenophobia after Pole's murder Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:40 PM PDT  Poland on Saturday urged Britain to keep its residents safe from xenophobia as British police probed the murder of a Pole they believe could be the victim of a hate crime. "We're counting on the British government and authorities responsible for the safety of British and European citizens, including Poles, to prevent the kind of xenophobic acts we've seen recently," Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in Warsaw following talks with British counterpart Boris Johnson. Six teenagers were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of 40-year-old factory worker Arek Jozwik in Harlow, northeast of London, last Saturday.
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| Security Council urges South Sudan to accept 'protection force' Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:26 PM PDT  The UN Security Council on Saturday urged South Sudan to drop its opposition to the deployment of a regional protection force to beef up a large UN peacekeeping mission in the war-scarred country. Echoing a call made earlier Saturday by South Sudanese religious leaders, ambassadors from the council's 15 member states met with senior government ministers in Juba and all spoke in favour of sending an additional 4,000 troops to the 13,000-strong mission, known as UNMISS. One of the ambassadors, who asked not to be named, told AFP he thought the South Sudanese ministers "were surprised to see that the Security Council spoke with one voice.
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| Jamaica to prosecute 16 people on lottery scam charges Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:25 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Sixteen people arrested for allegedly defrauding U.S. citizens will appear in court this month as Jamaican authorities take aim at lottery scam gangs that they blame for much of the island nation's violent crime. |
| Tension eases in Gabon capital after riots over disputed election Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:07 PM PDT  By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Tension eased in Gabon's capital on Saturday after days of deadly rioting triggered by an announcement that President Ali Bongo narrowly won re-election in a vote the opposition said was stolen. More than 1,000 others were arrested in the protests that began on Wednesday and the opposition, led by Jean Ping who claims he is now president, said five people also died. At the same time some impoverished residents of Libreville who need to buy food every day said they hoped for a return to normality given the hardship caused by closed shops and markets.
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| Bangladesh hangs Islamist party figure for 1971 war crimes Posted: 03 Sep 2016 01:01 PM PDT By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh has hanged a top Islamist party figure for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, the law minister said on Saturday. Mir Quasem Ali, 63, a key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was executed at Kashimpur Central Jail on the outskirts of the capital, for murder, confinement, torture and incitement to religious hatred during the war. Ali was hanged at 10:35 p.m. (1635 GMT), Law Minister Anisul Haq told Reuters, days after Bangladesh's highest court rejected his final appeal against the death sentence. |
