In a ceremony at an ancient, ruined temple in northern Iraq, Faiza Fuad joined a growing number of Kurds who are leaving Islam to embrace the faith of their ancestors -- Zoroastrianism.
Years of violence by the Islamic State jihadist group have left many disillusioned with Islam, while a much longer history of state oppression has pushed some in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to see the millennia-old religion as a way of reasserting their identity.
"After Kurds witnessed the brutality of IS, many started to rethink their faith," said Asrawan Qadrok, the faith's top priest in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
During Fuad's conversion ritual in Darbandikhan, near the Iranian border, a high priest and his assistants wore white clothes representing purity and recited verses from the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta.
They knotted a cord three times around Fuad's waist to symbolise the faith's core values of good words, good thoughts and good deeds.
The newcomer raised her hand and swore 

Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith, identity entwine

PTI Automatic

Families of those killed when a Lion Air plane crashed off Indonesia last year are expected to meet safety regulators on Wednesday to be briefed on a final report into the disaster that could be released within days.
All 189 passengers and crew died when the 737 MAX jet slammed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta last October.
Indian national Bhavye Suneja, the pilot of the plane, was also killed in the crash.
The model was grounded worldwide after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed after taking off from Addis Ababa in March, killing 157 people aboard.
Preliminary investigations into both accidents implicated the plane's Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), an automated flight-handling mechanism that pilots were unable to control.
An initial report into the Indonesian crash also took aim at budget carrier Lion Air's safety culture.
Last month, a plaintiffs' attorney told AFP that Boeing had so far reached settlements with 11 families of victims ..

Lion Air families to meet Indonesia safety agency ahead of report

Defending champions River Plate booked a place in the final of the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday despite losing a tense semi-final to rivals Boca Juniors at a packed Bombonera in Buenos Aires.
A goal from 19-year-old Venezuelan forward Jan Hurtado 10 minutes from full-time set up a frantic finale but River held on to go through 2-1 on aggregate.
The "Millionaires" will play the winners of Wednesday's all-Brazilian clash between Flamengo and Gremio in the final in Santiago next month.
Urged on by 50,000 fans, Boca failed to get revenge in a repeat of last year's final, the second leg of which was played 10,000 kilometers away in Madrid -- and two weeks behind schedule -- after the original match was twice postponed.
The tone was set for a scrappy encounter when the kick-off was held up by 15 minutes to allow groundsmen using leaf-blowers to clear the pitch of thousands of paper sheets released like ticker tape by the fans.
When the match did eventually get underway, it was predictably ..

River Plate reach Copa Libertadores final despite Boca loss

The son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that he had dropped hopes of becoming the country's ambassador to the United States.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, 35, told fellow lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies that he had made the decision partly due to lack of support, adding that his father had not influenced his choice.
"It was a decision I had been thinking about for a long time," he told local media in Brasilia.
"You listen to the advice of many people. There is also the issue of my electorate. I confess that the majority was not supportive." The president this week said Eduardo, his third son, could help "pacify" his Social Liberal Party (PSL) that is split by bitter divisions.
Bolsonaro, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, first said in July that his son was on track to becoming the ambassador in Washington.

Bolsonaro's son ditches plan to be US ambassador

Voting began on Wednesday in Botswana for a tightly contested general election that could test the country's reputation as a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa.
The historic Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was shaken up earlier this year after former president Ian Khama dramatically renounced his hand-picked successor Mokgweetsi Masisi and backed the main opposition group.
Voters started gathering late on Tuesday at Tlogatloga secondary school in Botswana's capital Gaborone, waiting all night to cast their ballot.
"I have spotted a candidate I think is the right person and I have to get him in," said banker Chops Maswikiti, 37.
"He does not belong to the party I voted for in the last two terms but he represents strong sanity on our side," he told AFP.
Around 931,000 of the country's 2.2 million people are registered to vote in the parliamentary and local elections.
The BDP, the Khama-backed UDC and two smaller parties will vie for 57 seats in parliament. The party with the ...

Polls open in Botswana's hotly contested election

The new 2024 Olympics logo is supposed to evoke French history but has instead earned ridicule online for its apparent resemblance to a stereotypical Parisian woman.
Unveiled on Monday, the design incorporates the art deco style in vogue the last time Paris hosted the Games in 1924, depicting an Olympic flame within a gold medal.
It also incorporates the lips and outline of Marianne, the personification of liberty and the French Republic since the revolution of 1789 -- an addition that some mocked for adding an unnecessarily seductive character to the motif.
"The French Olympic logo tumbles out of bed on a Parisian morning," wrote Paris-based journalist Megan Clement on Twitter.
"She tousles her messy bob, dons breton stripes and ballet flats and whisks down the stairs from her fifth-floor apartment to grab a baguette before enigmatically texting two men who are pursuing her romantically.
"(She) has an expresso and a cigarette for lunch. She hops on a vintage bicycle and pedals past ..

'The girl you were warned about': Paris 2024 logo mocked online

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has called for "common sense" to prevail over the rescheduling of Saturday's Clasico against Real Madrid.
The match at Camp Nou has been postponed because of violent protests in Catalonia, with Barca and Madrid agreeing on a new date of December 18 as instructed by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
But La Liga, who recommended the original postponement to the RFEF, would prefer December 4 as December 18 clashes with fixtures in the Copa del Rey.
It means the decision was delayed on Monday as Barcelona and Real Madrid were given until Tuesday to make their opinions known on La Liga's position.
"I would like common sense to prevail," Valverde said at a press conference on Tuesday evening.
"But we are talking about things that are complicated. The Espanyol against Villarreal game was played the other day but our game the following week is suspended.
"What would happen if there was a demonstration planned on the new date of the Clasico? I would like .

Valverde wants swift resolution to Clasico problem

Alvaro Morata came off the bench and rescued Atletico Madrid when his late header gave Diego Simeone's side a gritty 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Morata, dropped after missing chances in Atletico's draw with Valencia in La Liga on Saturday, played as if he had a point to prove in a match-winning cameo at the Wanda Metropolitano.
"He started on the bench," said Simeone. "But came on with the motivation of a little boy." Victory leaves Atletico with seven points from their opening three games in Group D and on the brink of qualification, with only top spot seemingly to be settled, most likely with Juventus.
For Leverkusen, three defeats from three all but ends their hopes of progress and continues a disappointing start to the season that also has them sitting ninth in the Bundesliga.
Atletico have been on a poor run themselves, managing only two wins from their last eight games in all competitions and slipping to fifth in the league, behind both ...

Morata makes his point by scoring winner for Atletico

A UEFA Youth League match between Olympiakos and Bayern Munich in Athens was abandoned on Tuesday after a masked gang attacked visiting fans leaving at least seven people injured.
Police said 80 people arrived at the Rentis Athletic Centre in Piraeus on 40 scooters. About 30 of them, wearing masks or helmets, invaded the venue and assaulted Bayern fans with clubs.
The attack came with Bayern Munich leading 4-0 after 84 minutes. The match was abandoned.
Six Bayern Munich fans were injured as well as one Greek security guard. Two of the visiting fans were taken to the hospital for treatment.
The few police at the venue were unable to stop the attack or make arrests.  After the incident, Olympiakos players went into the stands and asked the Bayern Munich supporters for forgiveness.
"Olympiakos FC strongly condemns today's hooligan attack at the Rentis Athletic Centre during the match. The invaders have no place among the family of Olympiakos and have nothing to do with the family of ...

Six Bayern fans hurt in mass assault at youth match in Athens

Substitute Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain moved a step closer to the Champions League last 16 with a 5-0 victory over previously unbeaten Club Brugge on Tuesday.
The World Cup winner, who has only started four games this season because of thigh and hamstring injuries, netted three times in the space of 20 minutes to help PSG go five points clear of Real Madrid, who beat Galatasaray 1-0, in second place in Group A.
"I wanted to start and I thought I was going to start, but the coach made his choice and I had to accept it. I also wanted to show that it's difficult to get by without me," Mbappe told broadcaster RMC Sport.
"I have to fight to keep my place. It's been two months since I played a full game. It feels good to come back. My injury is over. I'm 100%," the 20-year-old added.
Mauro Icardi netted the other two goals as fellow Argentinian Angel Di Maria directly set-up three of his side's efforts.
For the third time in Europe this season PSG's Thomas Tuchel 

Sub Mbappe's hat-trick puts PSG in last-16 driving seat

World number six Alexander Zverev described his 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 loss to Taylor Fritz as 'flat' as he was knocked out of the ATP Swiss Indoors on Tuesday.
The German's loss to the 21-year-old American  came barely a week after defeat in the Shanghai Masters final to Daniil Medvedev and puts his chance of defending his ATP Finals title at risk.
"I was completely flat for some reason," he said.
"I was tired and not focused at all. It was a weird feeling," he added.  Zverev won the season-ending tournament last November, beating Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic back-to-back.
The season points race will be determined next week at the Paris Masters as the last two of the eight spots are decided.
"The way I played today, in my current mental stage, I'm not going to beat anybody," Zverev, ranked seventh in the world, said.
"I'm very disappointed but it's more about myself than the result." Zverev, a semi-finalist last year in Basel, fought hard to take the opening set into a tiebreaker, but ...

'Flat' Zverev crashes out in Basel first round

Indonesia's new cabinet were introduced at an informal presentation on the palace steps Wednesday, with President Joko Widodo tapping his election arch-rival -- a former general with a chequered rights record -- as defence minister.
More than three dozen new ministers -- the vast majority of them men -- sat casually in batik shirts in front of the imposing doric columns of the Merdeka Palace for the unveiling.
Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, beat Prabowo Subianto in April elections to secure another term as president of the world's third-biggest democracy.
The victory followed a bitter campaign plagued by fake news online and claims from Subianto that the government staged a "massive, systematic and fraudulent" election, which sparked deadly post-poll riots. At least nine people died in the unrest.
But the pair have since appeared together in apparently friendly public meetings, including on Monday when Subianto, 68, hinted that he and another member of his Gerindra party were ...

Indonesia's Jokowi taps election archrival for defense minister

Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer could not hide his irritation after the Germans needed two Robert Lewandowski goals to dig themselves out of trouble in their 3-2 win at Olympiakos in the Champions League Tuesday.
Lewandowski maintained his phenomenal record, scoring for his 12th game in a row, to leave him with 18 goals in 13 games in all competitions so far this season.
After Youssef El Arabi had given Olympiakos a shock lead in Athens, Lewandowski poached goals, both after good work in the build-up from Thomas Mueller, to turn the game before Corentin Tolisso grabbed a third with a superb strike.
Worryingly for the defending German champions, Olympiakos again beat Bayern goalkeeper Neuer late on when Brazilian midfielder Guilherme hit the back of the net in a tense last ten minutes.
"We made life hard for ourselves again," Neuer said as Bayern had failed to win their two previous Bundesliga games.
"We need to play more like ourselves again and every single player must produce a ..

Neuer annoyed as Bayern need Lewandowski double to win at Olympiakos

Real Madrid came away from Istanbul with three crucial Champions League points on Tuesday with a 1-0 away win at Galatasaray thanks to a first-half Toni Kroos goal and Eden Hazard's threatening creativity.
Pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane will be alleviated after Madrid had been beaten in their first European game by PSG, before they had to fight back from 2-0 down at home to Club Brugge to snatch a point in their second match of the campaign.
The thirteen-times European champions arrived in Istanbul needing a win against motivated opponents backed by passionate and noisy supporters.
Zidane said on Monday he was 'bothered' by rumours of his imminent replacement in the Madrid hot-seat, and he paced the touchline with a haunted look at times in the Turkish capital.
Belgian star Hazard shone and it was a clever cut-back from him that provided Kroos with a shot on goal, and his snap-shot was deflected past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who kept the visitors at bay for the rest of the ...

Hazard pulls strings as Real Madrid edge Galatasaray

Maurizio Sarri praised Juventus for not losing their heads as Paulo Dybala's quick-fire second-half double rescued a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Moscow in their Champions League Group D clash in Turin on Tuesday.
The Italian champions had trailed the Russians with 13 minutes to go in the Allianz Stadium after Aleksei Miranchuk had put the visitors ahead after half an hour.
But Dybala pulled the hosts level on 77 minutes and added a second two minutes later to keep Juventus on course in Group D with seven points after three games.  Sarri's side had drawn with Atletico Madrid and beaten Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the last two games.
Atletico also have seven points, after beating Leverkusen 1-0 in Spain on Tuesday, with Lokomotiv third with three points.
"It became a difficult match when we conceded this goal," said former Chelsea boss Sarri.
"But we did well not to lose our heads. We knew we could get back into the match.
"We had 25 shots on goal, we established a record for ...

Dybala double rescues Juventus against Lokomotiv Moscow

Pep Guardiola saluted the "extraordinary" Raheem Sterling after Manchester City's majestic winger hit a brilliant 11-minute hat-trick in Tuesday's 5-1 thrashing of Atalanta.
Guardiola's side were rocked by Ruslan Malinovsky's first half penalty in the Champions League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
But City responded superbly as Sergio Aguero struck twice before the interval.  Sterling had provided the assists for both of Aguero's goals, but the England star was just getting warmed up.
After the interval, Sterling struck three times to complete a personal masterclass that underlined his rise in the Guardiola era from enigmatic playmaker to lethal finisher.  Sterling has emerged as City's driving force over the last 18 months and his second hat-trick of the season confirmed his place among the world's best players.
"All the credit is for him. He's a guy whose physicality is incredible. He is so strong," Guardiola said.
"A day after a game, he could play another. His regeneration is ...

Sterling blasts 11-minute treble as Man City run riot

Belgian Paralympic champion Marieke Vervoort ended her life through euthanasia at the age of 40 on Tuesday, Belgian media reported.
Euthanasia is legal in Belgium and the spiky-haired athlete announced her intentions after the Rio Games in 2016 to follow that path if her degenerative condition worsened her suffering.
But she said at the time that sport had given her a reason to keep living.
"I'm still enjoying every little moment. When the moment comes when I have more bad days than good days, then I have my euthanasia papers, but the time is not there yet," she told a news conference during the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Vervoort suffered a degenerative muscle disease that caused constant pain, paralysis in her legs and left her barely able to sleep, and gradually her life became torture.
She was just 14 years old when diagnosed but Vervoort pursued a sporting life with passion -- playing wheelchair basketball, swimming and racing in triathlons.
She won the 100m gold and 200m silver ...

Paralympic champion Marieke Vervoort ends life by euthanasia

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the major attractions in a world-class line-up as the US PGA Tour breaks new ground with its first tournament in Japan this week.
The inaugural Zozo Championship tees off Thursday offering a $9.75 million prize pot as the middle leg of the Tour's new near $30 million three-tournament Asian swing.
It began last week at the $9.75 million CJ Cup in South Korea, won by Justin Thomas, and concludes at next week's $10.25 million WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Woods, who won his 15th major at this year's US Masters, will be joined at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in front of an expected tens of thousands of golf-crazy Japanese fans by a who's who of golf.
World number two and PGA Tour Player of the Year McIlroy, eighth-ranked Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and US Open Champion Gary Woodland are just a few sprinkling more stardust.
In-form Thomas will be aiming to improve his incredible strike-rate with a fifth victory in 10 starts in Asia after his .

Woods, McIlroy major draws at Japan's star-studded PGA Tour debut

Chile President Sebastian Pinera announced a package of social measures on Tuesday in a bid to bring an end to five days of violent protests that left 15 dead.
Pinera vowed to increase the universal basic pension by 20 percent, freeze tariffs on electricity and propose a law that would see the state cover the costs of expensive medical treatment.
"Faced with the legitimate needs and social demands of the citizenship, we have received with humility and clarity the message Chileans have given us," said Pinera in an address at the presidential palace in Santiago.

Chile president announces package of social measures to stem protests

Japan plans to send its military to help protect waterways in the Middle East but will not join a US-led maritime coalition in the region, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday.
The move comes after attacks on tankers in the Gulf, as well as on Saudi Arabian oil installations. Washington, other Western states and Saudi Arabia blame the attacks on Tehran, which denies any involvement.
Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi informed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Tokyo's plan in a phone call on Tuesday, Kyodo said.
Middle East tensions have soared since early this year, when Iran was accused of attaching mines to several tankers off Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and then attacking or seizing others near the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The United States formed a naval coalition to protect navigation in the region, which is critical to global oil supplies.
Britain and Australia are the principal Western partners of the US to have agreed to send warships to escort ...

Japanese defence forces plan MidEast mission: Kyodo

Brazilian stocks hit a record high Tuesday ahead of the approval in the Senate of President Jair Bolsonaro's ambitious pension reform bill seen as crucial to unleashing other much-needed reforms.
After some tweaks by Congress, Bolsonaro's signatory economic policy is expected to save more than 800 billion reais (USD 196 billion) over 10 years -- less than the 1.2 trillion reais originally projected.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index finished at 107,381.1, up 1.28 per cent on the previous day, which was also a record close.
The measure introduced a minimum retirement age and increase contributions over a longer period of time.
The overhaul obtained enough votes in Congress to support a constitutional amendment.
The pension bill was passed with overwhelming support in the lower house earlier this year and was approved with strong support in a second vote by the Senate on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro has warned that Brazil's generous pension system would bankrupt the country if the changes were not 

AFP

AFP

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