German authorities say they have found 46 guns in the possession of three men suspected in the killing of a regional official from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party.
A spokesman for Germany's interior ministry on Wednesday confirmed a report in daily Tagesspiegel, adding the investigation of the weapons is still ongoing.
Walter Luebcke, who led the Kassel regional administration in central Germany, was shot dead at his home on June 2.
A 45-year-old German man with a string of convictions for violent anti-migrant crimes, Stephan Ernst, was later arrested as the alleged killer. He first admitted to carrying out the killing but later retracted his confession.
Authorities are also investigating two other men, who are accused of accessory to murder for allegedly helping Ernst get the murder weapon.
Luebcke was known for supporting the welcoming policy toward refugees that Merkel adopted during an immigration influx in 2015.

German authorities find 46 guns linked to politician's death

PTI Automatic

US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel a visit to Denmark next month after the prime minister described his plan to buy Greenland as "absurd" took the Danish royal palace by surprise, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Lene Balleby told The Associated Press Wednesday that the news was "a surprise" to the royal household, which formally had invited Trump to visit Denmark Sep. 2 and 3 as part of a European trip. She had no further comments.
Trump announced his decision by tweet after the Danish prime minister dismissed the notion of selling the semi-autonomous territory to the U.S. as "an absurd discussion."
"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Danish government. Former government ministers were quick to ...

Danish royal household 'surprised' by Trump cancelling trip

An Afghan official says the death toll in a suicide bombing at a wedding in Kabul claimed by the local Islamic State affiliate has risen to 80. The initial death toll in Saturday's blast was 63.
Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said on Wednesday that 17 civilians have died from their wounds in recent days. He says 30 people were in critical condition after the attack.
The new toll was confirmed as the United States envoy negotiating with the Taliban for an end to nearly 18 years of fighting in Afghanistan is returning to Qatar to resume the talks with the insurgents.
Concerns are growing that the IS threat will mean little peace for Afghan civilians despite the US-Taliban negotiations to end America's longest war.

Afghan official: Wedding attack's death toll rises to 80

An Australian appeals court Wednesday upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children. The decision brought cheers from scores of abuse survivors and victims' advocates demonstrating outside court.
The Victoria state Court of Appeal in a 2-1 ruling rejected Pell's appeal of a unanimous jury verdict in December that Pope Francis' former finance minister was guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral more than two decades ago.
Pell's lawyers will examine the judgment and consider an appeal to the High Court, Australia's final arbiter, his spokeswoman Katrina Lee said in a statement.
"Cardinal Pell is obviously disappointed with the decision today," the statement said, adding that he maintains his innocence.
He was sentenced to six years in prison in March and is no longer a member of Francis' Council of Cardinals or a Vatican official. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said ...

Australian court upholds sex abuse verdict of Cardinal Pell

At least 201 people have been killed and 63 are missing following flooding across China in July and August, according to government rescue services.
The most recent deaths came in mountainous western Sichuan province, where eight were killed and 23 missing as of Wednesday morning. Earlier in August, 39 were killed and nine left missing by Typhoon Lekima.
The total for July was 154 killed and 31 missing, with more than 1.3 million people forced to seek temporary shelter.
Annual floods rank among China's most destructive natural disasters, brought on by seasonal rains and worsened by human encroachment into mountain areas and natural river systems.
China's worst flooding in recent years came in 1998, when more than 3,700 died in floods along the Yangtze, Songhua, Pearl and Nen rivers.
Landslides have also killed dozens this year, with two killed and seven other people missing after slides hit in western Sichuan, where communications and power were cut off.
Earlier this month, 17 railway 

At least 201 killed in July-August China flooding

A young girl discovered something slithery at a New Jersey airport security checkpoint: a 15-inch-long snake.
Transportation Security Administration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport said in a release that it appears the thin, black snake with a yellow ring around its neck was forgotten by a traveller Monday night.
The girl alerted a TSA officer and a grey checkpoint bin was placed over the snake that officials said was harmless.
Officials closed the security lane temporarily and Port Authority police took the snake away.
New Jersey Federal Security Director Tom Carter said in the release that Newark has a robust lost and found system, but that the owner of the snake should not call them or expect to be reunited with the reptile.
It's unclear where the snake was taken.

TSA says traveller forgot snake at Newark security checkpoint

Champions League semifinalist Ajax faces a fight to qualify for this season's group stage after drawing at Cypriot team APOEL Nicosia 0-0 in the first leg of their playoff on Tuesday.
Ajax started strongly but APOEL came close to winning the game in the last half hour, with Andrija Pavlovic heading against the bar and Ajax goalkeeper Andr Onana forced to make excellent saves.
Ajax played the last 10 minutes with 10 men after right back Noussair Mazraoui was sent off in the 80th minute for a second yellow card.
Also, Czech club Slavia Prague is on target to reach the group stage for the first time in 12 years after beating CFR Cluj 1-0 away in their first leg.
Belgium's Brugge won 1-0 at LASK Linz.

10-men Ajax struggles to draw in Champions League qualifying

Mexican federal police have found 75 Central American migrants hidden at a safe house in a border town outside Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.
The migrants included 26 minors. Most were from Honduras, with fewer numbers from Guatemala and El Salvador and two from Nicaragua.  Mexico's Public Safety Department said Tuesday that police acted on a tip from US authorities.
Smugglers frequently use such houses to gather migrants, collect payment and wait for an appropriate time to cross the border.
The migrants discovered near Reynosa were turned over to Mexico's National Immigration Institute for possible deportation.

Mexican police find 75 migrants in border town safe house

Dr Saturnina Clemente pulls up to the small clinic in the impoverished Caucaguita neighborhood armed with one of Venezuela's most sought-after commodities: Hormonal implants to prevent pregnancy.
In a country where contraceptives are in short supply, word in the shantytown on the outskirts of Venezuela's capital spreads quickly. The lucky get on a list run by community leaders. The less fortunate hope there will be extras.
The veteran doctor has 104 implants and there won't be enough for everyone. As a physician at the nation's largest pediatric hospital, Clemente knows first hand that the consequences for those who don't get one are high.
"It's a sense of impotency, of frustration," she says. "You see that it's not enough, that the demand is much higher." As Venezuela's crisis deepens, women are bearing the brunt of the nation's upheaval.
Despite promises by the socialist government to provide every woman access to family planning, recent surveys and interviews with health ...

Venezuela crisis pushes women into 'forced motherhood'

Scientists are working to develop a vaccine to help guard the world's pork supply as a deadly virus ravages Asia's pig herds.
Farmers have long contained its spread by quarantining and killing infected animals, but the disease's devastating march into East Asia is intensifying the search for another solution.
The virus hadn't been considered as high a priority for researchers until it turned up last year in China, home to half the world's pig population, likely by way of Eastern Europe and Russia. Since then, it has spread to other Asian countries including Vietnam, killing millions of pigs along the way. Though it does not sicken people, the disease is highly contagious and deadly to pigs.
"Today's situation, where you have this global threat, puts a lot more emphasis on this research," said Dr. Luis Rodriguez, who leads the US government lab on foreign animal diseases at Plum Island, New York.
One way to develop a vaccine is to kill a virus before injecting it into an animal.
The ...

Urgency for vaccine grows as virus ravages China's pigs

Soon, you could get fewer familiar ads following you around the internet  or at least on Facebook.
Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets you limit what the social network can gather about you on outside websites and apps.
The company said Tuesday that it is adding a section where you can see the activity that Facebook tracks outside its service via its "like" buttons and other means. You can choose to turn off the tracking; otherwise, tracking will continue the same way it has been.
Formerly known as "clear history," the tool will now go by the slightly clunkier moniker "off-Facebook activity."
The feature launches in South Korea, Ireland and Spain on Tuesday, consistent with Facebook's tendency to launch features in smaller markets first. The company did not give a timeline for when it might expand it to the US and other countries, only that it will be in "coming months."
What you do off Facebook is among the many pieces of information that Facebook uses to target ads .

Facebook rolls out tool to block off-Facebook data gathering

Tropical Storm Chantal has formed over the far North Atlantic.
The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday evening the storm is about 485 miles (780 kilometers) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and 475 miles (764 kilometers) south-southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland.
The weather service says the storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph) and moving toward the east at near 22 mph (35 kph).
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (72 kilometers), mainly south of the center. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Tropical Storm Chantal forms over North Atlantic

A lawyer for Harvey Weinstein has asked that the disgraced movie mogul's upcoming criminal trial be moved out of New York City, saying he can't get a fair trial.
In a longshot motion filed with the state appellate court on Friday, attorney Arthur Aidala suggested the trial be moved to upstate Albany County or Suffolk County on Long Island.
Aidala cited the intense media coverage and the circuslike atmosphere surrounding Weinstein's past court appearances in Manhattan.
The 67-year-old Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on a different woman in 2006.
He has pleaded not guilty and has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
Weinstein is free on $1 million bail. The trial is scheduled to start September 9.

Harvey Weinstein wants to move trial out of NYC

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says anyone who "touches," supports or allows an Iranian tanker carrying crude oil to dock risks US  sanctions.
He told reporters Tuesday that if an Iranian supertanker that left Gibraltar on Sunday again heads to Syria, "we'll take every action we can consistent with those sanctions to prevent that."
The Iranian vessel was detained for a month for allegedly attempting to violate European Union sanctions on Syria. Gibraltar authorities rejected U.S. attempts to seize the tanker.
Pompeo said the US doesn't want crude oil to go to Syria because it will be "off-loaded, sold, used by the Quds force, an organization that has killed countless Americans and people all across the world." He said he believes this rationale "is shared by the entire world.

Anyone who 'touches' Iran tanker risks US sanctions: Pompeo

Three women filed lawsuits Tuesday accusing Jeffrey Epstein of raping them or subjecting them to other forced sex acts, including one case while he was serving a Florida jail sentence that allowed him out to work during the day.
The lawsuits in Manhattan federal court were filed on behalf of women who remained anonymous. They sought unspecified damages, citing continuing psychological and psychiatric trauma, mental anguish, humiliation and more.
The lawsuits say two women were 17 and the third woman was 20 when they said they were sexually assaulted by Epstein. All said they were also coerced into giving Epstein sexual massages for years.
Each woman explained in separate lawsuits how Epstein entered her life and forever changed its trajectory. They said Epstein dangled his powerful connections to political and business leaders worldwide as he promised to boost their careers in exchange for sexual servitude.
The allegation that he kept on preying on women even as he had to report to ...

3 women sue Epstein's estate, citing rape, other sex acts

An Australian appeals court by a 2-1 ruling Wednesday upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children.
The Victoria state Court of Appeal rejected Pell's appeal of a unanimous jury verdict in December that Pope Francis' former finance minister was guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral more than two decades ago.
His lawyers are expected to appeal to the High Court, Australia's final arbiter.
He was sentenced to six years in prison in March and is no longer a member of Pope Francis' council of cardinals or a Vatican official. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said soon after the appeal was rejected that Pell would be stripped of his Order of Australia honor.
Pell, 78, showed no emotion when Chief Justice Anne Ferguson read the verdict to a packed courtroom but bowed his head moments later. He wore a cleric's collar but not his cardinal's ring. Pell had arrived at the ...

Australian court upholds Cardinal Pell child sex convictions

Russia has resumed sharing data from radiation monitoring stations in Siberia after some were taken offline following a deadly explosion at a missile range, an nuclear weapons watchdog said Tuesday, while an American expert said the fact that more than one Russian site went offline at the same time suggests it was not the work of Mother Nature.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CNTBTO) said earlier this week that several Russian radiation monitoring stations went silent shortly after the Aug. 8 explosion at the Russian navy's testing range in northwestern Russia.
Lassina Zebro, the organisation's executive secretary, said Tuesday on Twitter that the two Russian stations reported to be offline are back in operation and are now backfilling the data.
He lauded Moscow for its "excellent cooperation." William Tobey, a former deputy administrator at the US National Nuclear Security Administration, said it was "at least an odd coincidence" that the Russian sensors ...

Russia restarts sharing radiation data, big questions linger

The United States envoy negotiating with the Taliban for an end to nearly 18 years of fighting in Afghanistan was departing Tuesday for Qatar to resume the talks, the State Department said, amid concerns about a growing threat by an Islamic State affiliate.
Zalmay Khalilzad also will visit with the Afghan government, which has been sidelined from the talks, to discuss the "peace process and encourage full preparation for intra-Afghan negotiations," the US said.
The new talks in Qatar, where the insurgent group has a political office, come after a horrific suicide bombing at a wedding in Kabul over the weekend.
The blast, claimed by the IS affiliate that has emerged as a brutal threat in recent years, led outraged Afghans to question whether a US-Taliban deal would mean peace for long-suffering civilians.
Afghanistan was the world's deadliest conflict in 2018, and the United Nations has said more civilians died last year than in the past decade.
Afghan officials have said Saturday's ...

US envoy to resume talks with Taliban on ending Afghan war

Authorities say two people died when a small plane crashed at an airport in southeast Michigan.
Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said in a news release that the single-engine Aero Commander M200 aircraft was landing at Spencer J. Hardy Airport near Howell when it crashed late Tuesday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was taking off when it crashed. The FAA is investigating.
Murphy says two people were aboard and both were killed. Their names haven't been released.
The Livingston Daily Press & Argus reports that a British-based company, Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc., appears to have registered the aircraft with the FAA.
The company specializes in helping non-citizens register their planes in the US.
Howell is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

2 die when small plane crashes at southeast Michigan airport

The United Arab Emirates will start taxing vaping devices and e-cigarettes at 100 per cent and all sugary drinks at 50 per cent as economic growth stutters and the government looks for ways to boost its revenue.
The country's Cabinet announced the new taxes on Tuesday, which come into effect in January.
The UAE has long lured foreigners with the promise of a tax-free lifestyle, but after oil prices fell sharply in mid-2014 the government introduced a sweeping 5 per cent value-added tax last year on most goods and services.
In 2017, it introduced a 100 per cent tax on tobacco and energy drinks, and a 50 per cent tax on soft drinks. The new tax will include other sugary beverages like sports drinks.
Economic growth in the UAE slowed last year to 1.7 per cent and non-oil growth was at 1.3 per cent.

UAE expands taxes to target vaping and more sugary drinks

Iraqi security officials say an explosion has happened in an arms depot belonging to an Iranian-backed militia faction north of Baghdad.
The explosion is the latest in a series of mysterious blasts that have rocked military bases and weapons depots around the country recently.
The explosions have been in bases and warehouses belonging to militia groups under the umbrella of the mainly Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Some have been blamed on drone attacks, others on faulty storage.
No one has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's explosion near the Balad air base in Salaheddin province or either of the other two explosions.
In response, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi last week banned unauthorised flights throughout the country.
The officials who confirmed the explosion spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

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