The first female prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago faces a tough fight for re-election tomorrow amid complaints about corruption and violent crime in the twin-island Caribbean nation.
	Polls show a close race for control of Parliament between the coalition led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the party of opposition leader Keith Rowley.
	The two rivals have similar ideology and divide largely along ethnic lines. Each claims it will do a better job of tackling violent crime and managing the country's natural gas and oil resources amid falling prices.
	The two also have traded accusations of corruption, some lobbied by ousted former world soccer official Jack Warner, who is seeking to recapture a seat in Parliament while fighting extradition to the US on corruption charges.
	Five parties and several independents are contesting the 41 seats in the Parliament.
	Persad-Bissessar, 63, took office in May 2010 at the head of the four-party People's Partnership coalition. She ..

Trinidad PM in election fight over crime, corruption claims

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Two anti-corruption organisations are accusing Afghanistan's government of failing to take action to protect its vital mining sector from graft and conflict.
	Global Witness and Integrity Watch Afghanistan today said that President Ashraf Ghani's administration missed the opportunity of a meeting of donors in Kabul to outline measures for protecting and developing its USD 1 trillion worth of mineral assets.
	Mining is one of the few avenues for developing a self-sustaining economy in Afghanistan and ending the country's reliance on international aid.
	Ikran Afzali, head of Integrity Watch Afghanistan, says the Senior Officials Meeting "has not produced a single commitment to action ... To counter the threat of conflict and corruption around the extractives industries."
	Afghanistan's 14-year insurgency has seen the Taliban take control of mineral assets across the country.

Afghan government accused of inaction on mining safeguards

Dozens of white balloons drifted over Vancouver's harbor to honour the young Syrian boys whose deaths at sea sparked worldwide outrage about the refugee crisis.
	The boys' aunt, Tima Kurdi, stood looking at the sky yesterday after she and other mourners let go of the balloons, which had photos attached of 3-year-old Alan and 5-year-old Ghalib.
	With tears in her eyes, she tossed a bouquet of yellow flowers into the water.
	Kurdi said she hopes to bring the rest of her family to Canada, which she made home more than two decades ago.
	Her brother, Abdullah, isn't ready to leave his Syrian hometown of Kobani, where his sons and wife Rehanna were buried on Friday, Kurdi said. They drowned after piling into an overloaded boat in Turkey headed for the Greek island of Kos. Her brother was among the few survivors.
	"One day, I will bring him here. He cannot be by himself there," Kurdi said.
	Family, friends and strangers yesterday packed a small theater for a memorial service.
	Kurdi ...

Drowned Syrian boys' aunt wants to bring family to Canada

Hulk scored in the 10th minute after an early stretch of Brazilian dominance and the five-time world champion beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying tuneup match.
     Despite Costa Rica employing five defenders, Brazil clearly had the better of play throughout, with the Ticos only occasionally managing to get forward on counters.
     "It's normal after a long time off," Brazilian manager Carlos Dunga said through a translator. "You can't have a perfect game. Lot of things we practiced in training came out well and we can do them even better. I liked how this team performed.
     "We created a lot of chances. We would have liked to score more goals, but a lot of times in soccer, one is enough. It's still three points."
     Brazil used a somewhat experimental lineup with Hulk as the lead striker. Manager Dunga stayed with his starters until the middle of the second half. He used six substitutes, sending in Orlando City forward Kaka in the 67th and Neymar in the 82nd, both to ..

Brazil scores early, beat Costa Rica 1-0

Saudi Arabia's military said today that 10 of its troops were killed in a rebel missile strike a day earlier in Yemen, raising the death toll in the attack to at least 55 coalition troops slain.
	It was the first public acknowledgement by the Saudis that they have ground troops in Yemen, where they lead a coalition targeting Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies.
	The United Arab Emirates lost 45 troops in the attack Friday, when rebels hit an ammunition depot in Marib, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa. It was the deadliest day for the UAE's military in the nation's 44-year history.
	"Ten Saudi soldiers from the Arab coalition forces were martyred," in the attack on the weapons depot, Saudi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri said in a statement.
	The Saudi-led and U.S.-backed coalition, made up mainly of Gulf nations, has been launching airstrikes against the rebels since March, part of an increasingly assertive military policy by both the ...

Toll from Yemen rebel attack rises as 10 Saudi troops killed

A woman charged with planning to bring her four children to Syria has answered charges of child abduction in a London courtroom.
	The 33-year-old woman and her children were detained in Turkey this week after they went missing from their London home.
	The woman refused to stand Saturday when the judge entered, saying she preferred to sit down for religious reasons. She indicated she would plead not guilty.
	Police say she took four children under the age of 16 out of Britain without the proper consent.
	The woman's father, husband and two sisters were in the court for the brief hearing. She told them not to cry and blew them a kiss.
	She will be kept in custody until her next court hearing September 21.

UK woman detained on way to Syria faces abduction charges

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will spend the Labour Day holiday weekend in isolation at the Carter County Detention Center with her Bible and her clear conscience.
	At least three same-sex couples will spend the weekend planning weddings after finally receiving the marriage licenses they asked for months ago but were denied because Davis believes gay marriage is a sin.
	The Rowan County Clerk's office issued the licenses to same-sex couples yesterday under threat of jail time or fines if they didn't comply with a federal judge's order. While the licenses were freely given, the drama surrounding the county clerk does not appear to be ending anytime soon. Davis met with her attorneys in jail yesterday and told them she would "never violate her conscience or betray her God."
	US District Judge David Bunning has said he will not release Davis unless she agrees to obey his order. Davis' attorneys said the only way she would relent would be to change Kentucky's state law so that marriage ...

Jailed clerk vows not to back down, no resolution in sight

Hillary Rodham Clinton says her use of a private email system at the State Department wasn't the "best choice" and acknowledged she didn't "stop and think" about her email set-up when she became President Barack Obama's secretary of state in 2009.
	The Democratic presidential front-runner said in an interview Friday with NBC News that she was immediately confronted by a number of global hotspots after joining the new Obama administration as its top diplomat and didn't think much about her email after arriving at her new job. Her use of private email has now become a distraction for her presidential campaign.
	"You know, I was not thinking a lot when I got in. There was so much work to be done. We had so many problems around the world," Clinton said. "I didn't really stop and think what kind of email system will there be?"
	But Clinton did not apologize for her decision when asked directly, "Are you sorry?" Instead, she again said she wishes she had "made a different choice" and that ..

Clinton: I didn't 'stop and think' about email system

The Polish church today buried a former papal diplomat who was charged by a Vatican court of sexually abusing minors and possessing child pornography but who died before he answered the accusations.
	Silence and contemplation replaced the sermon at the burial for Jozef Wesolowski in the southern Polish village of Czorsztyn, according to a report by the Polish press agency PAP. At a funeral for him at the Vatican on Monday, eight minutes of silence also replaced a homily for the disgraced former archbishop.
	At the burial, fragments from a letter to family members were read out in which he declared his innocence. "They accuse of me deeds which I never committed," one of the letters said, according to PAP.
	Wesolowski, 67, died in his room at the Vatican on Aug. 27 as he was awaiting trial in a Holy See court. The Vatican has said that a preliminary autopsy showed he died of a heart attack.
	By the time his trial began he had already been defrocked. Wesolowski was accused of sexually ...

Former archbishop accused of abuse buried in Poland

Thousands of exhausted, elated people fleeing their Arab and Asian homelands reached their dream destinations of Germany and Austria today, completing epic journeys by boat, bus, train and foot to escape war and poverty.
	Before dawn, they clambered off a fleet of Hungarian buses at the Austrian border to find a warm welcome from charity workers offering beds and hot tea.
	Within a few more hours of rapid-fire aid, many found themselves whisked by train to the Austrian capital, Vienna, and the southern German city of Munich.
	The surprise overnight effort eased immediate pressure on Hungary, which has struggled to manage the flow of thousands of migrants arriving daily from non-EU member Serbia.
	But officials warned that the human tide south of Hungary still was rising, and more westward-bound travelers arrived in Budapest within hours of an exodus from the capital's central rail station.
	The apparent futility of stopping the migrants' progress west was underscored when Hungary ...

Exhaustion, elation as 5,000 migrants reach Austria, Germany

At least 13 Afghan civilians were killed today in a previously peaceful region in the country's north as President Ashraf Ghani sought to assure international donors gathered in the capital Kabul that Afghanistan is making progress on promised reforms.
	Munir Ahmad Farhad, the spokesman for the governor of Balkh province, said the civilians were killed by unidentified gunmen who stopped their vehicles and then shot them dead.
	The incident took place as Ghani opened a conference of donors to his country's reconstruction after almost 40 years of war, telling them he has made progress on a range of major challenges including security and corruption.
	The Senior Officials Meeting is a gathering of delegates from the international community, including non-government organizations, which support Afghanistan's economic, security and social reconstruction.
	Ghani told the meeting his government has accelerated a crackdown on corruption, reformed customs to significantly increase revenue ...

Afghan official: 13 killed in north as donors meet in Kabul

The Saudi Interior Ministry says a policeman has been killed and two others wounded when a terrorist attacked a security site in the Abqaiq region in the country's Eastern province.
	Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said the attacker tried to enter the site early yesterday morning and was killed in an exchange of fire with the guards.
	The two injured policemen were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
	Al-Turki said a machinegun and live munition were found with the attacker, identified as Nawaf Menahi Shibib al-Utaibi.
	He did not say whether al-Utaibi was wanted by the police or if he was believed to belong to the Islamic State group or other Islamic militant faction.

Saudi policeman killed in exchange of fire with a gunman

Chancellor Angela Merkel said today that her country won't stop anyone from seeking asylum, as thousands of migrants desperate to leave Hungary made their way westward to Germany and Austria.
	German officials recently predicted that up to 800,000 migrants would arrive by the end of the year, many of them refugees fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Iraq and Eritrea.
	"The right to political asylum has no limits on the number of asylum seekers," Merkel told the Funke consortium of newspapers in an interview.
	"As a strong, economically healthy country we have the strength to do what is necessary" and ensure every asylum seeker gets a fair hearing, she added.
	But Merkel repeated her government's position that migrants who don't meet the criteria for asylum need to be returned to their home countries.
	Even prosperous Germany has struggled to meet the demand for additional housing for the tens of thousands of migrants arriving monthly.
	Merkel said her government wasn't planning to ..

Merkel: No legal limit to asylum seekers Germany can take

The wave of political turmoil that toppled Guatemala's president has overshadowed tomorrow's vote to elect a new leader an election many fear could put a lid on the anti-corruption drive.
	Tens of thousands who demonstrated for the ouster of President Otto Molina Perez got part of their wishes when the president resigned to face possible corruption charges in a customs fraud scheme. He was spending the weekend in a military lockup.
	But a second major demand wasn't met: the postponement of the election that many said offered little alternative to the old guard.
	"The people are rejecting this political system, the mafia takeover of democracy. They feel like voting is simply selecting the next person who will loot the country," said Manfredo Marroquin, president of the influential civic group Citizen Action.
	"They are not rejecting democracy," Marroquin said. "What they're demanding is to reset, run an anti-virus and start over from scratch."
	Leading in most polls with roughly 30 ...

Anger as Guatemala votes amid graft scandals

Philippine officials say several monkeys at a research and breeding facility are infected with an Ebola strain that is non-lethal to humans.
	Health Secretary Janette Garin said today 25 workers at the facilities have been tested for possible infection but all have been found negative for the Ebola Reston variety.
	She says the virus was detected last week after the monkeys were observed to be suffering from measles, which could have lowered their resistance to Ebola.
	Garin has provided scant details, and did not identify the facility, the location or whether the monkeys were being also bred for export to foreign laboratories.
	It is the latest reported Ebola infection in mammals in the Philippines after pigs tested positive for the virus last year.

Philippine monkeys infected with Ebola not lethal to humans

Mexican police seized a ton of so-called "black cocaine" at Mexico City's airport and destroyed more than 100 tons of marijuana plants in western state of Nayarit, according to statements from federal authorities.
	Federal police and agents from the attorney general's office made the cocaine bust after learning the drug shipment was arriving from Bogota, Colombia.
	Police found 40 sacks of the substance, each weighing 25 kilogrammes. The sacks were labelled zinc oxide, but tests showed
it was cocaine and cocaine base mixed with another, unidentified substance.
	Black cocaine is cocaine intentionally mixed with another substance to disguise it. When it arrives at its destination it is chemically treated to extract the cocaine.
	No one claimed the shipment.
	In Nayarit, authorities were tipped to the existence of marijuana fields. Federal and state authorities found 10 fields with more than 114,000 marijuana plants, according to a statement yesterday.

Mexico finds airport cocaine, destroys 100 tons of marijuana

Argentina's cabinet chief said today that the South American nation is willing to welcome more Syrian refugees fleeing their country's civil war.
	Anibal Fernandez said that the government eased the entrance of Syrians through a program begun last year, but he didn't specify how many of the refugees had arrived so far. He said the Syrians will be welcomed through the country's tradition of helping out during humanitarian crises.
	"When you do something like this, it's a very honest act that springs from affection and solidarity," Fernandez said.
	He said he had been troubled this week by the image of a dead 3-year-old Syrian boy on a Turkish beach. The photograph has drawn the world's attention to a wave of migration fueled by war and deprivation.
	Since civil war broke out in their country in 2011, more than 4 million Syrians have sought refuge abroad, the largest number from any crisis in almost 25 years, the United Nations has said.
	Juan Pablo Terminiello, legal associate at ...

Argentina official says doors open to Syrian refugees

A judge ruled today that a man at the center of the national immigration debate must stand trial on a murder charge in the shooting of a young San Francisco woman.
	Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in the July 1 killing of 32-year-old Kate Steinle as she walked with her father and a family friend along the San Francisco waterfront. He could face life in prison if convicted.
	Lopez-Sanchez acknowledged shooting Steinle but said the gun he found under a bench had fired accidentally. Prosecutors disagreed.
	"He could have fired the gun anywhere, but he fired at Kate Steinle," prosecutor Diane Garcia said in court. "He played his own version of Russian roulette."
	Public defender Matt Gonzalez said his client never pulled the trigger. Instead, he says Lopez-Sanchez found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt and it accidentally went off as he picked up the bundle.
	"This gun has no safety," Gonzalez said of the .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol that was ...

Man at center of immigration debate faces murder trial

A key senator who is the top-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee announced his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal today, in a blow to the White House and a boost to opponents.
	Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland is a crucial vote and the author of legislation providing for congressional review of the deal that aims to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions.
	The agreement is a landmark foreign policy victory for President Barack Obama, whose Democrats have already amassed enough votes to ensure it survives in Congress, despite ferocious opposition from Republicans and Israel's government.
	The ultimate outcome is not in doubt: even if a disapproval resolution passes, Obama will veto it and supporters have more than enough votes to sustain that veto.
	But the best-case scenario for Obama would be for Democrats to prevent the disapproval resolution from ever passing at all. The vote is set for next week in the Senate.
	Suspense 

Key Democrat opposes Iran deal in setback for White House

A judge today ordered two women to stay away from Salma Hayek and not attempt to contact the Oscar-nominated actress for the next three years.
	Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson granted Hayek's request for a restraining order against Liana Philippon and Odette Bodagh, who the actress stated in court filings impersonated her and made a veiled threat to kidnap her daughter.
	The order also covers Hayek's husband and 7-year-old daughter. Bodagh said during Friday's hearing that she thought she had a relationship with Hayek but didn't realize she was scaring the actress until the temporary restraining order was granted. Philippon did not attend the hearing.
	"I thought there was a relationship," Bodagh said. "I was under the impression I was talking to Salma." Bodagh tearfully apologized for scaring Hayek.
	"I am so sorry I did it," Bodagh said. She urged the judge to reject entering the order against her, saying it would affect her career.
	"You have, even by mistake, ..

Judge grants Salma Hayek restraining order against 2 women

Hosting Saudi Arabia's new monarch for the first time, President Barack Obama today said that the US shares King Salman's desire for an inclusive government in Yemen that can relieve that impoverished Arab country's humanitarian crisis.
	Their talks also addressed the Iran nuclear deal, a source of lingering tension in the US-Saudi relationship.
	Since March, the US has been supporting a Saudi-led intervention against Yemen's Iran-aided Shiite rebels, who have chased the country's US-recognised president into exile.
	But the Obama administration is concerned about the conflict's rising death toll that is now in the thousands, while aid groups lament their inability to provide life-saving support to all Yemenis in need.
	"We share concerns about Yemen and the need to restore a function government that is inclusive and that can relieve the humanitarian situation there," Obama told reporters who were allowed into the Oval Office for brief comments from both leaders.
	The meeting, Obama ..

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