Eight warships, four aircraft and more than a thousand personnel from the US and ten Southeast Asian countries will join maritime drills kicking off Monday, as part of a joint exercise extending into the flashpoint South China Sea.
The first Asean-US Maritime Exercise (AUMX) between the regional bloc and Washington lasts for five days, starting at the Sattahip Naval Base in Thailand and ending in Singapore.
The drills come at a time of stepped-up US engagement in the region and tensions between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Co-led by the US and Royal Thai navies, the exercises will stretch into "international waters in Southeast Asia, including the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea" before concluding in Singapore, according to a statement from the US embassy in Bangkok.
"AUMX builds greater maritime security on the strength of ASEAN, the strength of our navy-to-navy bonds, ..

Warships and aircraft ready for first US-ASEAN maritime drills

PTI Automatic

Hong Kong pupils made human chains at schools early Monday and protesters disrupted rush-hour trains as the city's pro-democracy movement returned to action after a weekend which brought some of the worst violence in three months of anti-government protests.
The global financial hub is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis as a largely leaderless movement has drawn millions on to the streets to protest against what they see as an erosion of freedoms and increasing interference in their affairs by Beijing.
China, which stands behind Hong Kong's government, has reacted with intimidatory tactics, including pressure on the city's businesses and well-publicised troop movements and exercises near the border.
An editorial late Sunday on Xinhua, the state news agency, warned "the end is coming" for the protest movement, without giving further details.
Early Monday protesters dressed in their signature black stood at doorways of trains, stopping them from closing, at a series of stations on ..

Hong Kong protesters call student boycott, strike after weekend of violence

Rape threats, body-shaming and doctored photos: women supporting the anti-government protests in Hong Kong say they are being harassed online by suspected pro-Beijing trolls.
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the financial hub's streets week after week in the biggest challenge to China's rule of the semi-autonomous city for decades.
But female protesters posting support for the pro-democracy movement said they have experienced a slew of sexist online attacks in response.
"They are not attacking my views or anything, they just attack me because I am female," said Hong Kong student Mickey Leung Ho Wun.
The 17-year-old discovered a doctored picture of her at a pro-democracy rally was being spread on Facebook via a page supporting the city's police.
In the original, Wun is standing next to a banner reading 'I am a secondary school student' but in the altered version, the sign reads 'I am not wearing any underwear.' "These are Hong Kong people who are pro-Beijing," Wun ..

Attacked for gender, not views: HK women protesters facing troll army

Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas with ferocious wind and rain on Sunday, the monstrous Category 5 storm wrecking towns and homes as it churned on an uncertain path toward the US coast where hundreds of thousands were ordered to evacuate.
There was no immediate word on casualties in the low-lying islands.
Packing sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kph), Dorian crashed onshore in the Abacos Islands, in the northwest of the Bahamas, as the strongest storm ever to hit the Caribbean chain.
It was tied for the second most powerful hurricane ever in the Atlantic basin, the US National Weather Service said -- with footage on social media showing major destruction from howling gusts of wind and pounding seawater.
Parts of the Abacos were under water as forecasters warned they faced a towering 18 to 23 foot storm surge.
Winds were gusting over 220 mph with no sign of weakening as the storm barreled west over the island of Grand Bahama, the National Hurricane Center in Miami ...

'Catastrophic' Dorian pounds Bahamas, US evacuates coast

Gareth Bale scored twice to save Real Madrid from a damaging defeat away at Villarreal on Sunday before capping a dramatic 2-2 La Liga draw by being sent off in injury-time.
Zinedine Zidane said in July it would be "best for everyone" if Bale left this summer but it was the Welshman's double that earned Madrid a point from a thrilling contest at la Ceramica.
Villarreal took the lead through Gerard Moreno in the 12th minute and then Moi Gomez 16 minutes from the end but each time Bale pegged them back, first on the stroke of half-time and then four minutes from the end.
Two yellow cards in as many minutes then saw Bale dramatically sent off in the 94th minute but by then his match-saving contribution was complete.
It was six years to the day that Real Madrid paid 100 million euros (now $110m) to sign Bale, who now has 104 goals for the club, as many as the Brazilian Ronaldo.
But his heroics could not save Madrid from another slip, which means they head into the international break five 

Bale scores twice and sent off as Madrid held by Villarreal

Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic retired from his US Open match Sunday after dropping the first two sets to Stan Wawrinka, sending the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion into the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, who won four of the past five Slam crowns and 16 overall, was in pain from a nagging left shoulder injury while 34-year-old Wawrinka, who also beat Djokovic in the 2016 US Open final, showed himself a true title contender.
"It helped me big time knowing I have the game to beat him on that court," Wawrinka said.
"It's never the way you want to finish a match. I'm sorry for Novak. He's an amazing champion."
On a day when Roger Federer cruised into a quarter-final against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov and Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev reached his first Slam quarter-final, Djokovic's shocker stole the show.
"It's frustrating. Very frustrating," Djokovic said. "Obviously not the first, not the last player to get injured and withdraw from one of the biggest events in ...

Wawrinka advances as Djokovic quits, Federer rolls at US Open

Born 10 years ago from a grassroots rebellion against traditional politics, Italy's Five Star Movement has evolved into a party capable of forging alliances with the far-right and now the left.
Founded by comedian Beppe Grillo and digital marketing specialist Gianroberto Casaleggio, the anti-establishment M5S initially refused any alliances.
But March 2018 elections saw the M5S become the biggest party in Italian politics with 32 percent of the vote, and they eventually formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini's populist, anti-migrant League.
A little over a year later, the M5S is now in talks with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) to form a new coalition after Salvini tried to bring down the government in a failed power grab.
The M5S has lost ground to the League over the last 14 months, dropping to 17 percent in May's European parliamentary elections, while the League went from 17 percent last year to 34 percent this year.
"In Italy, given the constitution and the electoral law ...

Italy's rebel Five Star Movement joins establishment

Italian football was involved in another racism storm on Sunday as Romelu Lukaku was targeted by monkey chants before putting Inter Milan top of Serie A with the winning penalty in their 2-1 triumph at Cagliari.
Lukaku -- a 65 million euros ($73 million) summer signing from Manchester United-- was preparing to take the spot-kick in the 71st minute in Sardinia when the racist chants came from the crowd that continued for several seconds.
The 26-year-old Belgian international angrily looked towards the stands before confidently converting his second goal in as many games, which came after Lautaro Martinez's 28th minute opener for the Antonio Conte's side and Joao Pedro's leveller for the hosts four minutes after the break.
Lukaku was quickly surrounded by his teammates as Inter won their second from two league matches to sit ahead of champions Juventus, who also are on maximum points following their thrilling 4-3 win over Napoli on Saturday.
Racist chanting has dogged Italian stadia in .

Lukaku sends Inter top after racist abuse at Cagliari

Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach at the center of Serena Williams' infamous US Open final meltdown last year, said he "would do it again tomorrow" in reference to his hand signals that sparked the controversy.
Williams was warned for coaching during her loss in the final to Japan's Naomi Osaka when Mouratoglou was spotted making signals from the players box.
Williams then carried out a running verbal battle with umpire Carlos Ramos, who eventually penalized her a game.
The American described Ramos as a "liar and a thief" before crashing to defeat at a shell-shocked Flushing Meadows.
"Do I regret? No, I felt like she was lost at that moment and I tried to help her doing something that everybody does," Mouratoglou said Sunday.
"I would do the same tomorrow. Really. 100 percent. And if I'm penalized again, I think it's unfair the same way. If I'm penalized, then everyone should be penalized every day. And nobody is. Nobody." Mouratoglou insists that all players are coached from the ...

I'd do it again tomorrow, Serena coach says of illicit coaching

Serena Williams overcame an injury scare to maintain her pursuit of a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open on Sunday while Roland Garros champion Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova crashed out in the last 16.
Williams, a six-time US Open winner, romped to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Croatian 22nd seed Petra Martic to set up a quarter-final with China's Wang Qiang, the conqueror of world number two Barty.
The 37-year-old American star required a medical timeout in the second set after rolling her right ankle as she approached the net but promptly recovered to reach the last eight in New York for the 16th time.
"I feel fine right now physically," said Williams, who received further strapping to an already heavily taped ankle.
"But I'll see tomorrow. So far I'm good. I have been managing it. We'll see tomorrow.
Eighth-seeded Williams, who has also suffered knee and back injuries this season, felt a mental setback when it happened but battled through to win.
"I've had a 

Serena rolls ankle and US Open rival as Barty, Pliskova fall

American doubles player Mike Bryan was fined $10,000 by the US Open on Sunday for his using racquet his to make a shooting gesture at a line judge.
Bryan, playing alongside twin brother Bob, held his racquet upside down and pointed it towards the official after successfully challenging an incorrect call.
Chair umpire Mariana Alves issued a code violation against Mike Bryan for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Bryan brothers, winners of 16 Grand Slam doubles titles as a team, went on to win the second-round match 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 against Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain and Argentina's Federico Delbonis.
It is the highest fine received by a male player so far at this year's tournament.
"I apologize for any offense I may have caused. We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful," Bryan said in a statement cited by the New York Times.
"But given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive. I promise that I will never do anything ..

Mike Bryan fined $10,000 for gun gesture at US Open

Top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic retired with a shoulder injury after dropping the first two sets of Sunday's US Open last-16 match against Stan Wawrinka.
Swiss 23rd seed and 2016 champion Wawrinka led Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when the Serb quit, having received treatment on his troublesome left shoulder before the start of the third set.
"It's never the way you want to finish a match. I'm sorry for Novak. He's an amazing champion," Wawrinka said.
Djokovic, who has won four of the past five Grand Slam events and 16 overall, had struggled with a painful left shoulder during his second-round win over Juan Ignacio Londero.
He said he felt "almost pain-free" following a straight-sets defeat of Denis Kudla in round three, but the problem resurfaced against Wawrinka in the first meeting between the pair since the final here three years ago.
"I want to keep my level of tonight. I think I was playing super good tennis. I'm happy to be back," said Wawrinka, who will meet fifth seed ..

Injured Djokovic quits US Open clash with Wawrinka

From penalising irresponsible dog owners to blacklisting dissenters, critics warn China's social credit system enables authorities to define "desirable and undesirable behaviour" and could allow unprecedented control of citizen's lives.
The fledgling initiative has sparked fears the authoritarian state is tightening its grip on an already heavily monitored public, ensuring that only those strictly adhering to Communist Party values can prosper.
The scheme, which China's State Council wants to roll out nationwide by 2020, aims to assess individual actions across society effectively standardising conduct through rewards and deterrents.
"It's a new type of totalitarian society control that allows officials unparallelled scrutiny over every minute of everyone's life," warned dissident writer Ye Du.
But so far, experts say there is no unified system in place and cities and villages have different criteria for measuring good or bad behaviour or "trustworthiness" as well as varying ...

Confusion clouds China's social credit system

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart was hospitalized Sunday with major back injuries after his car crashed into a ditch, according to highway authorities.
According to the California Highway Patrol report, Hart was riding in his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda -- a powerful vintage car -- with two other people in the wee hours of Sunday on Mulholland Highway in Los Angeles County.
The driver, identified as Jared Black, lost control of the car and it rolled into a gully.
Black, 28, and the third passenger, internet fitness model Rebecca Broxterman, were trapped inside. Hart went for help.
"Hart and Black sustained major back injuries as a result of this collision and were transported and treated at nearby hospitals," Highway Patrol said in the report.
Broxterman, 31, sustained no injuries.
Black, Broxterman's fiance, was determined not to have been driving under the influence at the time of the crash.
Hart, 40, is a popular comedian and actor, known for roles in "The Secret Life of Pets" and ...

Comedian Kevin Hart hospitalized after car crash

Two people have died and five others are missing, feared dead, after a flash flood Sunday at Kenya's Hell's Gate national park, the Kenyan Wildlife Service said.
"The victims are five Kenyans, local tourist guide and a non-resident (foreigner)," the KWS posted on its Twitter account.
"Two bodies recovered while five bodies missing." A KWS official earlier told AFP that search and rescue work had been suspended for the night.
The missing were part of a 12-strong group visiting Hell's Gate -- where the 2003 film "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" was shot -- when they were swept away.
Two survivors from the group alerted park rangers, who sent out a search party.
There was no sign of the others, Rift Valley police chief Marcus Ochola told AFP.
Another police officer said on condition of anonymity they were missing, "presumed dead", based on witness accounts of two survivors.
The KWS tweeted that a helicopter was due to arrive from Nairobi to help with the search and rescue operation. The 

Two dead, 5 missing after flash flood at Kenyan park

Fifteen people were killed on Sunday when a three-storey building under construction collapsed "like a house of cards" in the Mali capital Bamako, the government and local media reports said.
Twenty-six people were rescued alive from the partially occupied building after it collapsed just before dawn.
"Thanks to the determination of the emergency services, a young girl of around four years has just been pulled out of the rubble alive.
"Another survivor (a woman) has just, happily, been extracted by rescuers," the civil protection ministry said.
The ministry later said an investigation into the building's owner had been opened.
According to local media reports, the top floor collapsed onto the rest of the building which was already occupied, resulting in the entire structure "collapsing like a house of cards".
Such collapses are common in Mali where buildings are often constructed without planning permission.

15 dead in Mali building collapse

Police in Indonesia's Papua region on Monday banned demonstrations that could lead to "anarchist acts" following nearly two weeks of mass protests in the easternmost territory of the Southeast Asian archipelago.
The order came after police on Sunday said dozens had been arrested in connection with rioting in the region's capital.
"Everyone is forbidden from carrying out demonstrations and conveying opinions in public that could give rise to anarchist acts, damage, and burning of public facilities," as well as clashes between groups, the six-point order posted on the police Twitter feed said.
The impoverished region of Papua has been the scene of a low-level insurgency against Indonesia's rule for decades.
Indonesia earlier said it would deploy about 2,500 more police and troops to Papua, adding to about 1,200 personnel it had already sent after unrest sparked by anger over racism and calls for independence.
On Thursday, more than a thousand demonstrators hurled stones and set fire to .

Police in Indonesia's Papua ban 'anarchist' demonstrations after mass protests

Lewis Hamilton admitted that he found it difficult to do his job and take part in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix following Anthoine Hubert's death in Saturday's Formula Two race.
The defending five-time world champion said it was hard to accept that life went on in such tragic circumstances.
"It's not the best of weekends for the sport," Hamilton said after finishing second behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who claimed his maiden F1 win for Ferrari, "Yesterday was a very tough day... And just coming here, we all had to clear our thoughts and then race with Anthoine in spirit."
Referring to his crash in third free practice on Saturday morning, he added: "I remember when I crashed in P3, I heard some fans were yelling or cheering -- and it was quite a decent hit  -- and that's what encouraged me to say the things I did at the end of the day.
"But coming here today, it was really hard to believe that we'd lost a great racing driver -- and the world continues on.
"The race was going on so ...

'Anthoine was in our thoughts' on tough day says Hamilton

Relatives of victims of the 2009 Rio-Paris air crash have provided evidence they say supports their claim that Airbus knew of problems with an onboard instrument five years earlier, it emerged Sunday.
They provided a report on August 8 to judges investigating the crash pending a possible trial for manslaughter and negligence, said a source for the association representing loved ones of the 228 people aboard Air France flight AF447, confirming a report in Le Parisien newspaper.
The news comes a decade into a legal wrangle and weeks after French prosecutors recommended that only Air France face trial over allegations that it had known about the instrument problem on its Airbus A330 plane.
The carrier did not tell pilots how to resolve the issue, according to an investigation document seen by AFP.
Flight AF447 plunged into the Atlantic during a storm on June 1, 2009, and a defect with the plane's Pitot tubes -- which enable pilots to monitor their speed -- was found to be the cause.
On ..

Rio-Paris crash relatives finger Airbus in new report

Hurricane Dorian unleashed "catastrophic conditions" Sunday as it slammed into the northern Bahamas, lashing the low-lying island chain with devastating 185 mph (295 kph) winds, the most intense in its modern history.
The monster Category 5 storm made landfall at Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands at 1645 GMT, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, which reported winds gusting over 220 mph.
"This is a life-threatening situation. Residents there should take immediate shelter," it said, predicting a towering storm surge of 18 to 23 feet.
Local radio reported that people were calling for help after winds blew the roof off the Island Breezes Hotel in Marsh Harbor, a commercial hub in the Abacos.
"Things are really starting to rock and roll," a post on the Facebook page of the Hope Town Bulletin in Abacos said at 10 am local time.
"Limbs cracking and popping now," said another.
Many Abacos residents were reported to have opted to ride out the hurricane rather than heed ...

'Catastrophic' Dorian strikes Bahamas with full fury

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro will undergo surgery to correct an incisional hernia, his fourth operation since he was stabbed nearly a year ago during his presidential campaign, his office said Sunday.
A statement from the president's office said the problem resulted from previous surgeries.
Bolsonaro tweeted a photograph of himself flanked by his doctors in Sao Paulo.
"Everything indicates I will 'enjoy' some 10 days vacation with them shortly," he said.
The president's office did not say when the surgery would take place, but the G1 website said it would be performed September 8.
His doctor Antonio Luiz Macedo, who examined Bolsonaro on Sunday, told the website the hernia developed because the area had been opened three times.
He said the operation would be performed in Sao Paulo at the Hospital Vila Sur.
The 2018 attack forced Bolsonaro to wage a virtual presidential campaign.
He did not participate in any scheduled debates and focused instead on speeches and messages ...

AFP

AFP

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