The Kremlin has criticized US President Donald Trump's warnings against a possible Syrian government attack on a rebel-held enclave.
Trump on Monday sent a tweet warning the Syrian government and its allies against a "reckless attack" on rebel-held Idlib province.
Russia has been a key backer of President Bashar Assad and has complained about militants in Idlib targeting its own facilities and posing a terrorist threat on the whole.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday reiterated Russia's stance and called Idlib "a hornets' nest of terrorists".
Asked about Trump's tweet, Peskov said such warnings do not take into account "the dangerous and negative potential" of the rebel-held enclave and show that the White House does not have a "comprehensive approach" to solving the Syria crisis.

Kremlin criticises Trump's warnings about attacking Idlib

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As North Korea celebrates a major anniversary this weekend, the presence  or absence  of Chinese President Xi Jinping could highlight just how much vitality has been restored to ties between Pyongyang and its most powerful backer after a prolonged chill.
A visit by Xi to North Korea for the 70th anniversary of the North's founding on Sunday is expected  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made three trips to China since March this year and has invited Xi to reciprocate  but neither side has said whether Xi will attend.
China could be keen to demonstrate the strong ties it has with Pyongyang to ensure it remains a key player in efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear program. But the celebrations come as President Donald Trump has blamed Beijing for the slow progress of denuclearization.
A look at issues affecting ties between the allies: ___
WHAT'S THE TRUMP FACTOR?
Trump suggests that China has been encouraging North Korea to drag its feet with denuclearization to gain leverage ...

Chinese leader Xi looms large over North Korean anniversary

In the era of superfoods, Maine blueberries aren't so super.
The Maine wild blueberry industry harvests one of the most beloved fruit crops in New England, but it's locked in a downward skid in a time when other nutrition-packed foods, from acai to quinoa, dominate the conversation about how to eat.
And questions linger about when, and if, the berry will be able to make a comeback.
The little blueberries are touted by health food bloggers and natural food stores because of their hefty dose of antioxidants.
They're also deeply ingrained in the culture of New England, and they were the inspiration for the beloved 1948 children's book "Blueberries for Sal".
But the industry that picks and sells them is dealing with a long-term price drop, drought, freezes, diseases and foreign competition, and farmers are looking at a second consecutive year of reduced crop size.
At Beech Hill Blueberry Farm in Rockport, this year's harvest was off by about 50 per cent, said Ian Stewart, who runs the ...

With industry in decline, wild blueberries sing the blues

As North Korea celebrates a major anniversary this weekend, the presence  or absence  of Chinese President Xi Jinping could highlight just how much vitality has been restored to ties between Pyongyang and its most powerful backer after a prolonged chill.
A visit by Xi to North Korea for the 70th anniversary of the North's founding on Sunday is expected  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made three trips to China since March this year and has invited Xi to reciprocate  but neither side has said whether Xi will attend.
China could be keen to demonstrate the strong ties it has with Pyongyang to ensure it remains a key player in efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear program. But the celebrations come as President Donald Trump has blamed Beijing for the slow progress of denuclearization.
Below is a look at issues affecting ties between the allies.
Trump suggests that China has been encouraging North Korea to drag its feet with denuclearization to gain leverage against the US in a ...

China's leader Xi looms large over North Korean anniversary

The top official with the UN's Palestinian aid agency says countries including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and India have stepped up in recent months with a "very high amount" of USD 238 million in extra funding amid US cuts.
UNRWA Commissioner Pierre Kraehenbuehl reiterated his disappointment with the Trump administration's announcement last week that it's cutting all funding for the agency, after partial cuts announced earlier this year.
Despite the new contributions, Krahenbuehl told reporters by phone Tuesday that the funding situation remains "critical", and over USD 200 million is needed this year to "sustain our operations".
The new commitments, including from Turkey and some other European countries, came after the US announced plans in January to contribute USD 60 million this year, down from USD 360 million a year ago.

Donors step up funds to Palestinian aid agency after US cuts

Spain says it has cancelled the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia amid fears that the weapons could be used in the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The deal was originally signed in 2015 under Spain's former conservative government, but the new centre-left administration plans to return the 9.2 million euros (USD 10.6 million) already paid by the Saudis, Cadena SER radio reported on Tuesday.
A Defence Ministry spokeswoman who was not authorized to be identified by media confirmed the report, but declined to elaborate.
Rights groups have criticized the coalition's airstrikes and other attacks in Yemen for killing civilians, including children.
UN human rights experts say all sides may have committed war crimes.
The Saudi embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions.

Spain cancels bombs sale to Saudi Arabia amid Yemen concerns

The banking group TSB says its chief executive, Paul Pester, has quit after a string of huge IT failures.
The group said Tuesday that non-executive chairman Richard Meddings would take over while a search for a new CEO begins.
Pester's decision follows another IT failure Monday that left some customers unable to access their accounts.
Earlier this year, roughly 1.9 million account holders were unable to access their digital or mobile accounts due to a widespread IT breakdown.
Meddings said Pester will leave with 1.2 million pounds (USD 1.54 million) in pay and benefits for a 12-month notice period plus a bonus.

UK bank CEO resigns following big IT breakdowns

Dozens of Israelis are protesting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's visit with Israel's president.
The demonstrators gathered outside President Reuven Rivlin's residence Tuesday prior to Duterte's arrival.
Waving Israeli flags and blowing whistles, they chanted "shame, shame, shame. We will not be silent and we will not agree to the selling of weapons."
Israel has sold assault rifles to the Philippines national police force in the past and a major arms sale is reportedly on the agenda.
Human rights lawyer Itay Mack says the international community will eventually announce that Duterte is "responsible for crimes against humanity."
Duterte, the first Philippine president to visit Israel, is known for his profane outbursts and has been accused of committing human rights abuses in his deadly anti-drug campaign.
He's generally received a warm welcome.

Israelis protest Philippine President Duterte

South African authorities say about 100 people were injured, none of them seriously, when two trains collided in a Johannesburg suburb.
ER24, a paramedic company, describes the injuries from the collision in Selby on Tuesday morning as "minor to moderate."
The paramedic group says the trains were upright and on the tracks after the collision and that many passengers had climbed out and were walking around when emergency responders arrived.
An investigation is underway.

South African train collision leaves 100 injured

British police have arrested three people, including a teenage girl in connection with a counter-terrorism investigation.
London's Metropolitan Police said Tuesday a 16-year-old girl and two women aged 26 and 53 were arrested on suspicion of funding terrorism.
The arrests were made by the police Counter Terrorism Command.
The three suspects were taken into custody at two separate addresses in west London early Tuesday morning.
Police searches were continuing.
Officials did not name the suspects, who have not been charged. They are being questioned at a south London police station.
Britain's official terrorist threat level is set at "severe", indicating an attack is judged highly likely.

UK police arrest 3 including teenage girl on extremism

A wave of sexual harassment complaints that accompanied the #MeToo movement is straining many of the state and local offices tasked with policing workplace discrimination of all kinds.
Places such as New York City and Massachusetts have added resources to deal with the surge in complaints, but human rights agencies elsewhere say their small staffs are struggling to keep up with growing caseloads.
In Connecticut, which is on pace to receive nearly twice as many sexual harassment complaints as last year, some lawmakers worry about delays resolving those cases and others involving employment, housing and credit discrimination.
"If someone has gotten up the strength to come forward, I don't want that strength to be dissipated because of a system that's broken," state Sen. Mae Flexer said.
Flexer pushed unsuccessful legislation this year that would have given the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities funding to help fill empty positions, extended the deadline for victims to ...

Sexual harassment complaints strain human rights agencies

The Kushner family real estate firm has amassed more than half a million dollars in unpaid fines for various New York City sanitation and building violations, much of that bill incurred while presidential adviser Jared Kushner was running the company.
City figures compiled for The Associated Press by a tenant watchdog group show that most of the fines  USD 350,000  stretched over the past five years.
And just last month the company was fined USD 210,000 for filing false construction documents.
The Kushner Cos says the tally is misleading because many of the fines are the fault of renters and businesses in its buildings.
The recent USD 210,000 fine came after AP reported the Kushner Cos filed documents claiming it had no rent-stabilised tenants when, in fact, it had hundreds.

Kushner Cos unpaid NYC fines: USD 500K and counting

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was 23 years old when she was tortured and fled her country's dictatorship into exile. Now, more than four decades later, she will face her past fighting such abuses worldwide as the new U.N. human rights chief.
Bachelet, 66, is often seen smiling, chatting easily or tossing unplanned comments or jokes into her speeches. But behind her good humor lie haunting memories of the brutal dictatorship that tore her family apart.
Her father, air force Gen. Alberto Bachelet, died in 1974 following months of torture in prison. Gen. Augusto Pinochet's military had convicted him of being a traitor for opposing the 1973 military coup that ousted President Salvador Allende.
Bachelet herself was arrested along with her mother in 1975. She was a young member of the Socialist Party, and her time in a secret prison was an ordeal that she prefers not to talk about, saying only in her autobiography that she suffered "physical hardships."
Using the family's ...

New UN human rights chief has survived torture herself

The body of a California woman who was among four people missing after two boats collided on the Colorado River was found Monday, authorities said.
Christine Lewis, 51, of Visalia was discovered in a section of the river along the California-Arizona border, Mohave County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said.
Lewis was among more than a dozen people ejected from the boats in the crash Saturday night. A search continued for two other women and one man.
A recreational boat carrying 10 people and another vessel with six people on board collided head-on Saturday night along the well-traveled stretch of the river, the office said.
Both boats sank, and passing boaters pulled crash victims from the water. Nine people were injured, with two in critical condition, authorities said.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
None of the boaters were wearing life jackets, which aren't required but are recommended by authorities, Mohave County Sheriff Doug Shuster said.
The crash ..

Body of 1 person found after boats crash on Colorado River

Iran's foreign minister said at the start of a visit to Damascus on Monday that "terrorists must be purged" from Syria's Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control.
Mohammad Javad Zarif's comments in Damascus were reported by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency and came as Syrian forces and their allies are preparing for an assault on Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country.
"Syria's territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes," Zarif said.
He met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who is just back from a visit to Moscow. The visit comes days before the leaders of Iran, Turkey, and Russia are expected to meet in Iran to discuss the situation in Idlib.
President Donald Trump on Monday sent a tweet warning Assad and his allies against a "reckless attack" on Idlib ...

Iran FM says 'terrorists must be purged' from Syria's Idlib

A key opponent of high-tech, automated weapons known as "killer robots" is blaming countries like the US and Russia for blocking consensus at a UN-backed conference, where most countries wanted to ensure that humans stay at the controls of lethal machines.
Coordinator Mary Wareham of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots spoke Monday after experts from dozens of countries agreed before dawn Saturday at the UN in Geneva on 10 "possible guiding principles" about such "Lethal Automated Weapons Systems."
Point 2 said: "Human responsibility for decisions on the use of weapons systems must be retained since accountability cannot be transferred to machines."
Wareham said such language wasn't binding, adding that "it's time to start laying down some rules now."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the principles and expressed hopes the countries who signed on "can build upon this achievement," according to a statement from his spokesman.
Wareham said delegates had just "kicked the can .

Group: US, Russia block consensus at 'killer robots' meeting

Tropical Storm Gordon lashed South Florida with heavy rains and high winds on Monday and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane when it hits the central US Gulf Coast.
Gordon formed into a tropical storm near the Florida Keys early Monday as it moved west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). The storm was expected to reach hurricane strength when it hits coastal Mississippi and Louisiana by late Tuesday. From there, it is forecast to move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center said at 5 p.m. EDT that the storm was centered 50 miles (85 kilometers) west-southwest of Fort Myers, Florida. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 50 mph (85 kph).
A hurricane warning was put into effect for the area stretching from the mouth of the Pearl River in Mississippi to the Alabama-Florida border. As much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain could fall in some parts of the Gulf states through late Thursday.
The Miami-based center said the storm is also ...

Tropical Storm Gordon brings hurricane warning to Gulf Coast

Eight people were wounded, two critically, during a shooting at a California apartment complex during a dice game, police said Monday.
Officers arrived at a chaotic scene on Sunday night and had to call for help after a hostile crowd emerged from the complex, San Bernardino police spokeswoman Sadie Albers said.
She said investigators are still trying to determine how the shooting unfolded, what preceded it and whether there was an exchange of gunfire.
"Most of the witnesses are being uncooperative, so we're not really sure what happened prior to the shooting," she said. Evidence at the scene showed handguns and rifles were used, police have said.
Seven adults and a 17-year-old boy at the complex were shot. Albers said the 17-year-old and one adult were critically wounded. The six other victims had wounds that were not life-threatening and were expected to survive.
Police have said there is gang activity in the area, but it's too early in the investigation to attribute the shooting to .

8 wounded in gunfire at California apartment complex

Brazil's National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, which suffered a massive fire late Sunday, boasted the largest archive of historical artifacts and documents in Latin America, some 20 million pieces from around the globe.
Museum officials say it's too soon to say what had been lost or spared, as firefighters were still putting out ambers and assessing whether it was safe to enter.
Here is a look at some of the museum's most notable pieces, according to its website: 'LUZIA'
Discovered during an excavation in 1975 outside of the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, the fossilized remains sat in storage for two decades. In the mid-1990s, tests by scientists determined it was the oldest fossil in the Americas. It was given the name "Luzia," homage to "Lucy," the famous 3.2-million-year-old remains found in Africa.
Among the Egyptian relics is the mummy of Sha-Amun-In-Su, dating back to 750 B.C. The mummy was in its original coffin, which was closed. It was given to Dom Pedro II by Egyptian ...

Burned National Museum in Rio had relics from around world

Tropical Storm Gordon lashed South Florida with heavy rains and high winds on Monday, forcing holiday beachgoers to drier ground.
Weather forecasters said the storm could strengthen to near-hurricane force by the time it hits the central U.S. Gulf Coast.
Gordon formed into a tropical storm near the Florida Keys early Monday as it moved west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph). The storm was expected to reach coastal Mississippi and Louisiana by late Tuesday and move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 2 p.m. EDT that the storm was centered 15 miles (25 kilometers) west-southwest of Marco Island on Monday. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 50 mph (85 kph).
Miami Beach Police said via Twitter that the Labor Day holiday was "NOT a beach day," with rough surf and potential rip currents.
Red flags flew over Pensacola-area beaches in Florida's Panhandle, where swimming and wading in the Gulf of Mexico was prohibited. More than 

Tropical Storm Gordon brings hurricane watch to Gulf Coast

German authorities said Monday they're stepping up surveillance of the far-right Alternative for Germany amid growing concern the third-largest party in parliament is closing ranks with extremist groups.
Activists for AfD, the nationalist party's German acronym, marched in the eastern city of Chemnitz alongside leading figures in anti-migrant group PEGIDA and members of the area's militant neo-Nazi scene in the past week, after two refugees were arrested in a German citizen's fatal stabbing.
"Parts of AfD are openly acting against the Constitution," Justice Minister Katarina Barley told the RND media group.
"We need to treat them like other enemies of the Constitution and observe them accordingly." Authorities in northern Germany's Bremen and Lower Saxony said Monday they have begun monitoring the party's youth wings in the two states.
Boris Pistorius, Lower Saxony's interior minister, said the decision to keep an eye on the AfD's local youth wing, was unrelated to the recent events ..

AP

AP

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