A blast at an education centre rocked a minority Shiite area of western Kabul today, officials said, with casualties feared in the latest suspected attack in the war-weary capital of Afghanistan.
"There are casualties unfortunately. The nature of the explosion is not known yet," police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said.
The interior ministry confirmed the blast and casualty fears.

Blast rocks Shiite area of western Kabul, casualties feared: officials

PTI Automatic

A two-year-old boy who went missing in woods in western Japan has been found unharmed after three days alone, apparently surviving on river water as volunteers hunted desperately for him.
Yoshiki Fujimoto disappeared on Sunday morning in the Yamaguchi region while out walking with his brother and grandfather, and the search for him made headlines nationwide.
Police and locals combed the woods looking for him, but it was a 78-year-old volunteer from a neighbouring region who stumbled upon the toddler today morning.
"I shouted 'Yo-chan'," Haruo Obata told local television, a red towel wrapped around his head against the summer heat.
"He replied 'yes, here' and there he was," added Obata, a retiree who said he regularly volunteers in disaster relief efforts.
The toddler was sitting on a rock, with his bare feet in a small puddle of water in front of him, Obata said.
"At first, I didn't think it was a human." he told reporters. "But there he was. I thought my heart was going to stop."
The 

Walk in the woods: Japan toddler missing for 3 days found alive

Genoa's Morandi motorway bridge, a 200-metre (650-foot) portion of which collapsed yesterday killing dozens of people, has been riddled with structural problems since its construction in the 1960s, which has led to expensive maintenance and severe criticism from engineering experts.
The Morandi bridge was built between 1963 and 1967. It has a maximum span of 219 metres, a total length of 1.18 kilometres, concrete piers (vertical structures that support the arches of a bridge) that reach 90 metres in height.
The technology of pre-stressed reinforced concrete used in the construction was the hallmark of its designer, the celebrated Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi, who died in 1989.
Dubbed patent "Morandi M5", he had used the technology for other works, including a wing of the Verona Arena in 1953.
This technique also characterises another, even longer and just as problematic Morandi bridge: the 8.7-kilometre long General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge that spans the bay of Maracaibo, ...

Genoa bridge collapse a disaster 'waiting to happen'

England star Ben Stokes may have been cleared of affray but former cricket luminaries while agreeing his behaviour was well below that expected of a man seen by many as a role model are divided as to whether he should face further punishment.
The 27-year-old New Zealand-born all-rounder faces an internal disciplinary enquiry by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) following his acquittal by unanimous decision of a jury yesterday.
Former Derbyshire batsman and qualified solicitor Tim O'Gorman is heading the investigation.
Stokes's team-mate Alex Hales -- who was with him during the late night brawl outside a club in Bristol, southwest England, last September but was not charged -- will also face the enquiry.
However, former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain whilst both abhorring his behaviour are at odds with each other as to whether he should be punished further.
"With a not-guilty verdict, the way forward seems, to me, to be clear enough and should not involve ...

Cleared Stokes fuels fiery debate about his future

The head of China's government-run Buddhist association quit his post today amid an investigation into allegations that he coerced several nuns into having sex with him.
Xuecheng, a Communist Party member and abbot of the Beijing Longquan Monastery, is one of the most prominent figures to face accusations in China's growing #MeToo movement.
In a 95-page report that circulated online late last month, two monks accused Xuecheng of sending explicit text messages to at least six women, threatening or cajoling them to have sex with him.
China's top religious authority launched an investigation shortly after the allegations were made public.
Xuecheng stepped down at a meeting of the Buddhist Association of China today.
"The council accepted Xuecheng's resignation as president of the Buddhist Association of China," said a statement posted today on the association's website.
It was tucked into a long report detailing a council meeting which neither elaborated on the abbot's reasons for ...

Top China Buddhist leader quits in sex probe

Indonesia's central bank hiked interest rates today in a bid to shield the slumping rupiah from a selloff in emerging market currencies as Turkey's financial crisis roils global markets.
Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark rate to 5.50 percent from 5.25 percent, its fourth hike since May, after the rupiah this week dropped to its lowest level against the dollar since 2015.
Investors have been dumping emerging market currencies, including the rupiah, as rising US interest rates prompt them to flock to dollar-denominated assets in search of better returns.
But a plunge in the Turkish lira has sent shivers through global markets and heaped more pain on emerging units.
Concerns about the health of Turkey's economy were already pressuring the lira, which slumped on Friday and Monday as US President Donald Trump announced Washington was ramping up aluminium and steel tariffs.  Indonesia's central bank said its latest rate hike was partly driven by the Turkey crisis.
"We are closely watching 

Indonesia central bank hikes rates as Turkey crisis bites

A frantic search was underway today for survivors of a bridge collapse in Genoa as the death toll rose to 38 and the government blamed the company in charge of the country's motorways for the disaster.
A vast span of the Morandi bridge caved in during a heavy rainstorm in the northern port city on Tuesday, sending about 35 cars and several trucks plunging 45 metres (150 feet) onto the railway tracks below.
The victims include children aged eight, 12 and 13, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said today, adding that more people were still missing.
The government said it intended to revoke the contract of Autostrade per l'Italia, a private sector company owned by Atlantia, and slap it with a fine of 150 million euros ($170 million).
Deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio, who is due to arrive in Genoa on Wednesday morning, said the tragedy "could have been avoided".
"Autostrade should have done maintenance and didn't do it," he said.  Rescuers recovered three bodies overnight, fire official .

Anger grows in Italy as bridge toll rises to 38

Two women accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea's leader in a brazen hit that shocked the world face a key court ruling tomorrow, with their families hopeful they will be acquitted and return home.
After months hearing the prosecution's case about the Cold War-style killing at Kuala Lumpur airport, a judge will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to support a murder charge against Siti Aisyah from Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam.
If so, the trial will continue with the court hearing the women's defence.
Alternatively if he decides there isn't, he could clear the women or amend the charge to something less serious than murder, which carries a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia.
Their families insist they are innocent, and were hopeful they would be cleared.
Huong "could never be a killer as she had always been a charming, hard-working girl," Doan Van Thanh, the Vietnamese suspect's father, told AFP.
Aisyah's mother, Benah, told The Guardian she ...

Women accused of assassinating Kim Jong Nam face key court ruling

Stocks were weaker in most major Asian markets today, with Turkey's financial crisis showing little sign of abating as Ankara hiked tariffs on several US goods in a tit-for-tat move.
Following a day of gain yesterday, investors were again in a bearish mood, driving down markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai, but the Turkish lira was spared the freefall of recent sessions.
The main Japanese market, the Nikkei 225, erased early gains to close 0.68 per cent down on the day, giving back some of the ground made yesterday when it jumped by more than two per cent.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was off more than 1.5 per cent and the losses were even deeper in Shanghai, which was in the red by more than two per cent as disappointing economic data continued to weigh on the market.
The Turkish lira avoided the kind of dizzying drops seen in recent days but still experienced some frantic trading when Ankara announced a rise in tariffs for certain US imports.
Turkey's vice president said the hikes 

Turkey crisis weighs on Asian shares

Christine Hallquist won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the US state of Vermont, moving a step closer to becoming the nation's first transgender governor, US media projected.
In another ground-breaking political moment, Somali-American state legislator Ilhan Omar claimed victory in her primary in Minnesota, putting her on track to become one of the first female Muslim members of the US House of Representatives.
"HISTORY MADE! @christineforvt just became the first trans/non-binary gubernatorial candidate from a major political party in American history!" the Victory Fund, an organization that supports LGBTQ candidates, tweeted about Hallquist.
But she still faces an uphill battle in the general election, when she is projected to face Republican incumbent Phil Scott, who has been in office since 2016.
Hallquist transitioned while heading the Vermont Electricity Coop, several years before launching her gubernatorial bid.
In 2015, "Christine made the decision, after years of ...

Transgender woman, Somali-American win US primary nods

The emir of wealthy Qatar flew to Turkey today to meet close ally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an apparent show of support as Ankara grapples with a currency crisis.
State media in Doha said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was travelling to Turkey for a "working visit".
The emir "will discuss with the Turkish president bilateral relations and means of strengthening the existing strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields," said a Qatar News Agency statement.
Turkey has been rocked in recent days by a sharp decline in the value of its lira after US President Donald Trump tweeted last Friday that Washington was doubling aluminium and steel tariffs for Ankara.
Washington's move came during an ongoing dispute over Turkey's holding of an American pastor for two years.
In response, Erdogan has called for a boycott of US electrical goods.
The turmoil has raised fears of a looming economic crisis in Turkey and prompted alarm that foreign investors in the country, ...

Qatar's emir travels to crisis-hit Turkey in show of support

A Turkish court today rejected a new appeal to free US pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention has sparked a major row between Turkey and the United States, local media reported.
The court in the western city of Izmir ruled that Brunson, who faces 35 years in jail over terror and espionage charges, will remain under house arrest, the state television TRT reported.
Brunson's jail term had been converted to house detention for health reasons.
His detention has soured relations with Washington, with US President Donald Trump doubling aluminium and steel tariffs for Turkey in punitive actions against Ankara's refusal to release Brunson.
The crisis has sent the Turkish currency into free fall since Friday.
"The president has a great deal of frustration (about) the pastor not being released," White House  press secretary Sarah Sanders said yesterday.
The statement came after US embassy charge d'affaires Jeffrey Hovenier visited Brunson in Izmir.
Brunson's lawyer Cem Halavurt told AFP that a .

Turkey court rejects new appeal to free detained US pastor: report

The number people of killed during the collapse of a bridge in the Italian port city of Genoa has risen to 38, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said today.
"We're currently at 38 confirmed deaths and some people missing," Salvini, who is also co-deputy prime minister, told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the southern region of Calabria.
Salvini is due to arrive in Genoa, on Italy's north-western coast, in the afternoon.

Genoa bridge collapse toll rises to 38: Italy interior minister

The prime minister of Tonga has challenged fellow Pacific leaders to a year-long weight-loss competition to combat soaring obesity levels in the region.
The Pacific has the highest obesity rates in the world and Tonga leader Akilisi Pohiva said politicians needed to lead from the front to help curb the problem.
"We should all get together for a weight-loss competition, for an entire year," he told the Samoa Observer in an interview published this week.
"So when we meet the following year we will weigh in again and see who has lost the most.
"It is not about who loses the most kilos but in order to shake off the weight, you must eat light and having that healthy mentality will go a long way."
While Pohiva's proposal was light-hearted, he said the issue of obesity was a serious problem for the region that led to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
According to World Health Organisation data released in 2015, nine of the 10 most obese nations in the world are in 

Tonga PM challenges Pacific leaders to weight-loss competition

Venezuela's collapsing economy has forced churches and priests to get creative in order to keep their coffers full as four years of recession and a projected one million percent inflation rate hit everyone hard.
Citizens are limited in the amount of cash -- itself almost worthless -- they can withdraw from banks each day and, given the minimum monthly salary worth around $1.50, it doesn't go very far.
"The little cash I have is for the bus ticket," said Gladys Angel, a 58-year old accountant who also keeps her cash for shopping, where things can cost three times more when paying by card.
Priests have had to adapt and start accepting donations by card payments rather than the traditional passing around of a wicker basket for churchgoers to drop in some coins, or even notes.
Before giving his blessings, Father Alirio Suarez reminds the faithful that they can make donations using a "point of sale," as locals call the payment terminal, which has become as essential in church as the ...

Hard-hit Venezuelan churches forced to accept plastic for donations

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "at an early date", the North's state media reported today, amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula.
Putin invited Kim and the South's President Moon Jae-in in June to an economic forum in Vladivostok next month although it is not known whether the North Korean leader responded to the invitation.
In a message to Kim on the North's National Liberation Day -- marking the end of Japanese rule over Korea at the end of the Second World War -- Putin reiterated his intention for a summit.
"I affirm that I am ready to meet you at an early date to discuss urgent issues of bilateral relations and important matters of the region," Putin said in a message carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The message did not offer a specific date for the meeting.
Putin expressed hopes to further develop "reciprocal cooperation including the realisation of the tripartite project" that would also ..

Putin ready to meet N Korea's Kim at 'early date': KCNA

Italian rescuers searched through the night for any survivors under the shattered remains of a motorway bridge in Genoa as investigators probed what could have caused such a catastrophic collapse.
More than 30 people were killed on Tuesday when a vast span of the Morandi bridge collapsed during a heavy rainstorm, sending about 35 cars and several trucks plunging 45-metres (150 feet) onto railway tracks below.
Rescuers spent the night within the tangled remains of the bridge under floodlights and there are fears the toll could rise in what the Italian government has called an "immense tragedy".
The collapse came as the bridge was undergoing maintenance work and as the Liguria region, where Genoa is situated, experienced torrential rainfall.
"Unfortunately there are around 30 dead and many injured in a serious condition," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday, vowing that those responsible would "pay, pay everything, and pay dearly".
On Wednesday morning, sources in the ...

Search for survivors after deadly Italy bridge collapse

China has blasted US tariffs on solar panel imports, filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization in the latest salvo of the trade battle between the world's two economic giants.
US President Donald Trump approved steep tariffs on solar panel imports in January to protect US producers, triggering an outcry from China, South Korea and even protests from the US solar industry.
China's commerce ministry accused Washington of erecting trade barriers while subsidising its domestic industry.
"While taking protectionist measures against imported photovoltaic products, the US provided subsidies to domestically produced photovoltaics and other renewable energy products," the ministry said in a statement.
China lodged its challenge at the WTO on Tuesday, the statement said.
The US subsidies have given an unfair advantage to domestic companies and "damaged the legitimate rights and interests of China's renewable energy companies," it said.
Beijing said the US measures are suspected of ...

China blasts US solar tariffs, takes WTO action

Venezuela has arrested a general and a colonel as part of a probe into an alleged attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, the Supreme Court said today.
The arrests increased suspicions about possible divisions within the military, considered a bedrock of support for the widely unpopular president as Venezuela's economy unravels and people grow more and more desperate and angry.
Major General Alejandro Perez Gamez of the National Guard appeared before a judge on Monday along with opposition politician Juan Requesens and another military officer, Colonel Pedro Javier Zambrano, Attorney General Tarek William Saab told a press conference.
Around midnight, the Supreme Court issued a statement saying it had ordered the detention of those men and five others "for attempted aggravated homicide against the president." To date, 14 people have been arrested and charged for allegedly taking part in the August 4 incident in which Maduro was seen reacting on live television to an ...

Venezuelan general, colonel arrested over 'attack' on Maduro

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said today his visit to Pyongyang next month will be a "bold step" towards formally ending the decades-old war with the nuclear-armed North.
The two Koreas agreed earlier this week to hold a third meeting between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September as a rapid diplomatic thaw builds on the peninsula following their first summit in April.
Moon's trip to the North Korean capital will be the first visit by a South Korean head of state to Pyongyang since 2007.
The leaders will "take a bold step towards declaring an end to the war and a peace treaty", Moon said at a ceremony marking the 73rd anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two neighbours technically still in a state of conflict.
The signatories to the armistice included the US-led United Nations Command -- that fought alongside the South's troops -- as well as China and ...

Moon says Pyongyang summit to be 'bold step' towards ending war

Roger Federer began his US Open preparation with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Peter Gojowczyk in a first ATP Cincinnati Masters appearance since 2015.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, is pacing his tennis year, playing a limited schedule and missing events when he feels the need to rest.  He has missed the last two editions of this tournament because of injury.
Eighth seeded Petra Kvitova used her precision serve to overpower Serena Williams 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in their second round match on Tuesday night.
Federer's defeat of the 47th-ranked German in 72 minutes marked the first step towards a possible eighth title at the tournament.
"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves. I think I knew what I had to do," Federer said.
"It's fast-court tennis. I knew my opponent was going to go for it and take big cuts at the ball, so there is only so much you can really do.
"It's nice to have played a match so that my last match was ...

AFP

AFP

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