The number of people killed following a rare earthquake in the Lake Victoria region over the weekend has risen to 17, a Tanzanian official said today.
	The 5.7-magnitude earthquake also left 252 people injured and 840 families homeless, George Simbachawene, the minister of state in the office of the president, told the National Assembly.
	People died in collapsing homes. More than 1,200 houses need repair, and the government has closed two secondary schools that were heavily damaged by Saturday's quake, he said.
	A government statement said President John Magufuli cancelled a planned three-day state visit to Zambia to deal with the aftermath.
	The quake was felt in western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors also were felt in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.
	Damage assessment is still ongoing, according to the UN office for humanitarian affairs.
	The quake was shallow, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers. Shallow quakes generally tend to be more ...

Official: Death toll in Tanzania earthquake rises to 17

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South Africa has barred an American pastor who has made anti-gay comments from entering the country.
	Malusi Gigaba, the home affairs minister, said today that Steven Anderson and members of the Faithful Word Baptist Church of Tempe, Arizona will not be allowed to travel to South Africa because they allegedly promote hate speech.
	Gigaba says South Africa is still struggling to curb discrimination despite laws that are among the most "progressive" in the world. He says the country does not "need more hatred advocated to our people."
	Anderson has made harshly critical comments about homosexuals. His church website lists a "soul-winning marathon" in Johannesburg on Sunday.
	Activists had urged South Africa's government to bar him from entering.

South Africa bars American pastor over alleged hate speech

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he won't allow government forces to conduct joint patrols of disputed waters near the South China Sea with foreign powers, apparently scrapping a deal his predecessor reached with the US military earlier this year.
	Duterte also said today that he was considering acquiring defense equipment from Russia and China. The Philippines has traditionally leaned on the US, its longtime treaty ally, for its security needs.
	Duterte said that the Philippines does "not go into a patrol or join any other army from now because I do not want trouble."
	Like other security pronouncements, Duterte did not provide details, but his rejection for joint patrols apparently goes against such an arrangement announced in April by the US and Philippine defense chiefs.

Philippine leader rejects joint patrols, eyes China weapons

Singapore said today it is investigating the severity of its locally transmitted Zika virus, amid a rising number of cases.
	Researchers concluded last week that the strain of Zika found in two patients in Singapore was not from South America, but was similar to those found in the region decades ago.
	"We cannot tell at this moment whether the viruses found here cause more or less severe disease than those in South America. Further research will be needed to shed light on this," Health Minister Gan Kim Yong told Parliament.
	Singapore announced its first confirmed Zika infection in May, with the virus imported by a 48-year-old man who had traveled to Brazil.
	Yesterday, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency confirmed four more locally transmitted cases, bringing the total to 333, including eight pregnant women.
	"It is still early days to ascertain what the long-term trend of Zika infection will be," Gan said, stopping short of labeling the outbreak an ...

Singapore investigating Zika strain as infections rise

The Ukrainian president's office says at least three troops have been killed and 15 injured in fighting in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
	Government troops and Russia-backed rebels last month agreed to cease fire by Sep 1, the first day of school in the country, but the new truce seems to be failing.
	Olexander Motuzyanyk, presidential spokesman for the operation in the east, said today that two people were killed in fighting to the north of the conflict zone and another by artillery fire to the south. One more person was reported missing and 15 injured.
	Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine earlier this month with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been a key mediator between Russia and Ukraine.

3 killed, 15 injured in eastern Ukraine

More than 200 of Cambodia's nearly extinct royal turtles were released today in muddy waters at a new breeding and conservation center that was built in hopes of keeping the national reptile from disappearing.
	The Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Center in western Cambodia is a joint effort between the government's fisheries department and the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
	The 206 turtles belong to one of the world's 25 most endangered tortoise and freshwater turtle species. It's also known as the southern river terrapin, but its primary name harkens to historical times when only the royal family could consume the turtle's eggs.
	The turtle was believed extinct until 2000 when a small population was rediscovered, and it was designated the national reptile in 2005.
	Since 2001, a joint project between the government and conservation society has saved 39 nests with a total of 564 eggs that resulted in 382 hatchlings. The hatchlings are raised in captivity and later ...

206 of Cambodia's rare royal turtles released at new center

Iran's state TV says the country's Revolutionary Guard has unveiled a new high-speed vessel capable of carrying a helicopter and up to 100 people.
	The report today follows a series of close encounters between American warships and Guard vessels in the Persian Gulf.
	It showed a catamaran-type ship described as 55 meters (yards) long and 14 meters (yards) wide, carrying a light civilian helicopter. It did not elaborate on the speed of the boat.
	It was painted with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call for US forces to "Go back to the Bay of Pigs."
	In May, Khamenei criticized the US presence in the Persian Gulf region in an apparent reference to the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs by 1,500 CIA-trained exiles.

Iran unveils new helicopter-carrying catamaran ship

The Israeli military struck artillery positions in Syria today after a projectile from that country's civil war hit the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, but denied a Syrian claim that Syrian forces shot down two Israeli aircraft in the assault.
	The incident was the fifth case since last week in which fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israel, and the first since a US-Russian brokered truce went into effect at sunset yesterday to try and end Syria's war, now in its sixth year.
	Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the fighting, but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire previously landed in Israel.
	Shortly after the air raid, Syria's armed forces claimed to have shot down an Israeli warplane and an unmanned drone along the frontier between the countries.
	The Israeli military quickly denied the report, saying that a pair of surface-to-air missiles were fired at its aircraft but missed.
	"At no point was the safety of IDF (Israel ...

Israel denies its aircraft harmed after air raid in Syria

Reports say Samsung plans to issue a software update for its recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that will prevent them from overheating by limiting battery recharges to under 60 per cent.
	Yonhap News and other South Korean media reported Tuesday, citing Samsung Electronics, that the company will issue a software update for any users of the Note 7 who may be disregarding its recall notice and continuing to use the smartphone.
	The company plans to begin issuing new Note 7s with batteries it says will not be prone to overheating beginning on September 19.
	Earlier this month, Samsung recalled 2.5 million Note 7s, citing fire risks from the smartphone's battery. It said the problem stemmed from a manufacturing error.
	Samsung did not answer emails and calls seeking confirmation of the reports.

Reports: Samsung quick fix for Note 7 is no full recharge

The Gulf nation of Qatar says three of its soldiers have been killed while participating in Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.
	It was Qatar's biggest known loss of life in the conflict since its first reported ground deployment there last September.
	The Qatari military says the deaths occurred yesterday but did not provide any details.
	The military statement, carried by the official Qatar News Agency, identified the three killed soldiers as Mohammed Awad Salim, Mohammed Dawood Khayal and Mohammed Nasser Mohammed.
	Yemen's conflict pits the internationally recognized government and the Saudi-led military coalition against Shiite Houthi rebels and forces loyal to a former president.
	The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis and their allies since March 2015.

Qatar loses 3 troops serving with Saudi coalition in Yemen

China's electric vehicle industry, a flagship for Beijing's technology ambitions, has been rocked by scandal after five companies were caught collecting millions of dollars in subsidies for buses they never made.
	The affair of the phantom buses has prompted questions about whether the ruling Communist Party's financial support to an industry it is spending heavily to promote might be disrupted.
	The Finance Ministry announced that five manufacturers were fined for fraudulently collecting a total of more than 1 billion yuan (USD 120 million) in subsidies. Chinese news reports, citing unidentified industry sources, say as many as 20 others might be in trouble.
	The government gave no indication whether managers at the companies might be prosecuted. The Finance Ministry said 90 companies were investigated but didn't identify any of the others.
	"'Subsidy fraud' will do a lot of damage to development of the new energy vehicle industry," the deputy general secretary of the China ...

China's electric vehicle industry shaken by scandal

The Islamic community says it will repair and reopen the arson-damaged Florida mosque that was occasionally attended by Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen.
	Hamaad Rahman, assistant imam of the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said the mosque's approximately 100 members are "saddened and scared" by the fire, which was started late Sunday and burned for more than five hours before it was extinguished yesterday.
	The fire was started on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the start of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.
	"Our community is bigger than a building. We are stronger than that," Rahman said yesterday. "I feel we will be able to pull together from this, and as time goes by we will be able to rebuild."
	The mosque has been subjected to more threats since June's nightclub shooting than it did in its previous 20 years of existence, Rahman said.
	Given the timing of the blaze, investigators believe it may have been a hate crime, St. Lucie County sheriff's spokesman .

Islamic community plans to rebuild mosque damaged in blaze

German authorities say three people have been arrested in raids conducted as part of efforts to root out people sent to Europe by the Islamic State group or other extremists amid the migrant influx.
	The Federal Criminal Police Office said six locations in two German states were searched today. It said three people were detained and "extensive material" seized, but didn't give more details. The raids were first reported by the daily Die Welt.
	The office noted that the attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past year showed that IS has used the migrant flow to send people to Europe.
	It said it's received over 400 tips about people who may have a terrorist background, but most turned out to be wrong. However, more than 60 investigations were opened.

Germany: 3 arrested in raids seeking Islamic extremists

Chinese police fired rubber bullets at villagers and arrested 13 people today in an overnight crackdown to suppress demonstrations in a southern fishing village that became internationally known five years ago for protesting land seizures.
	Police stormed into the village of Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong and arrested leaders of ongoing demonstrations in their homes. Videos posted on social media show one person with blood on his arm and chest, and another being treated for an apparent bullet wound on his hand.
	Another video shows a line of black police vans streaming into the village, a hamlet of about 13,000 people on the South China Sea near Hong Kong.
	Wukan carries symbolic importance due to the success of 2011 protests that broke out over land seizures and corruption. Villagers were able to expel government officials and police, and barricaded the village.
	The siege was resolved only after the provincial secretary of China's ruling Communist Party agreed to allow .

China suppresses protests in fishing village, arresting 13

Two gymnasts, including a member of the 2000 US women's Olympic team, say they were sexually abused by a former longtime doctor for USA Gymnastics, court documents and interviews show.
	Larry Nassar, 53, who worked for decades for the gymnastics organization until his dismissal last year, sexually groped and fondled the teenage Olympian under the guise of physical therapy during her elite career, according to a lawsuit filed last week in California.
	The Olympian is identified as "Jane Doe" in the lawsuit against Nassar and the USA Gymnastics organization. Her attorneys on Monday identified her only as a medal-winning member of the team that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
	The second gymnast, Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, told the Indianapolis Star newspaper that Nassar sexually abused her in 2000 while she underwent treatment for lower back pain at Michigan State University, where Nassar is a faculty member.
	Denhollander, who was 15 at the time, told the Star .

2 gymnasts allege sex abuse by doctor for USA Gymnastics

Power outages at a United Airlines control tower in New Jersey have delayed flights for about two hours.
	The problem at Newark Liberty International Airport affected United flights yesterday evening.
	The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says United's control tower at Terminal C suffered a power failure around 5 p.M. The power was restored briefly but failed again.
	It was restored again around 7 p.M.
	Flights have resumed. Chicago-based United Airlines says there are no residual delays.
	Passengers have tweeted complaints about being stranded at the airport and idling for hours.
	It's unclear what caused the power outages at Newark, where United has a hub.
	United's parent company is United Continental Holdings Inc.

Power outages delay United Airlines flights for 2 hours

"She turns her disappointment into triumph. Her grief into joy. Her rejections into approvals. If no one believes in her it does not matter. She believes in herself. Nothing stops her. No one can touch her. She is woman."
     So said Serena Williams via loudspeaker Monday as part of a female-power soundtrack for a runway show of her Serena Williams Signature Statement collection for HSN during New York Fashion Week.
     Williams interspersed the long-form poem that she wrote and recited on the soundtrack with music from women only, including her buddy Beyonce's "Lemonade."
     "I wrote it right after Wimbledon and during the Olympics, and I just was in this moment of I want to empower women," she explained in a backstage interview.
     "It was right around the time I was asked, 'How do you feel about being the greatest female athlete?' and I was, like, they never ask men that. I wanted to give women strength. I played it for Beyonce and she loved it."
     The idea, said the ...

Serena Williams pens female-power poem for fashion show

A car went off a freeway ramp in Seattle, killing a 19-year-old man inside a tent at small homeless encampment, the Washington State Patrol said.
	Hours after the crash, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray hours visited the scene along Interstate 5 and said the incident underscored the need to find safe shelter for hundreds who are living on the streets, the Seattle Times reported.
	"I'm saddened by the loss of life at a homeless encampment near the U District," Murray said on social media yesterday. "Seattle alone can't solve this crisis but we must try."
	A driver left the off-ramp at the city's University District early morning, went up a small hill in a grassy median between I-5 and the Northeast 50th Street exit and struck the tent and a tree, state Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said. The driver fled the scene but was arrested soon after for investigation of vehicular homicide.
	The tent pitched in the grassy median along I-5 is among hundreds of unauthorized camps that have popped up on ...

Homeless man in Seattle dies after car crashes into his tent

State police say a two-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in a Pennsylvania home.
	Authorities say the boy was pronounced dead today shortly after suffering a single gunshot wound to the chest.
	Emergency medical personnel responded to the shooting at the home in Milford Township, Bucks County, north of Philadelphia.
	Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including whether anyone was home at the time, how the child got the weapon and who owned the weapon.
	Authorities say the shooting appears accidental.

Police: Boy dies after accidently shooting self in chest

A US-Russian brokered cease-fire for Syria came into effect today at sunset, with monitoring groups and state media reporting clashes up until the final minutes, and the most powerful rebel groups having yet to commit to the truce.
	Syria's military announced at 7 pm (1600 GMT) that it would abide by a cease-fire until Sunday at midnight, while maintaining its right to defend itself against any violations.
	The cease-fire marks the latest attempt to end the five-year conflict, which has killed more than 250,000 people and driven some 11 million from their homes.
	The 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad began with peaceful protests but escalated into a civil war following a brutal government crackdown and the rise of an armed insurgency.
	Russia and Western nations hope the truce can lead to the revival of peace talks between Assad's government and the rebels battling to overthrow him, and contribute to efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and other extremists in ...

Syria cease-fire enters into effect

Nine people, including five children and four adults, died early today in Memphis' deadliest house fire in decades, and one other child is fighting for life at a hospital, authorities said.
	Firefighters were called to a house in south Memphis and found light smoke coming from the one-story, wood-frame residence, Memphis Fire Services Director Gina Sweat said at a news conference.
	Fire crews entered the house and found four adults and three children dead inside, Sweat said. Two other children died after being taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in extremely critical condition, she said.
	One other child remains hospitalized, said Sweat, calling it the deadliest fire in Memphis since the 1920s.
	More recently, seven people died in a fire here in 2008, fire department spokesman Wayne Cooke said.
	The identities of the dead have not been released.
	Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked for prayers for family members of the dead.
	"It's a very sad day," Strickland said. "We are all in ..

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