The Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen doubled its near-daily airstrikes today in the central province of Marib and the adjacent border area of Jawf, in order to allow allies on the ground to push north toward insurgent strongholds, authorities said.
	There was no immediate word on casualties.
	Marib's pro-government forces also received major reinforcements, including hundreds of Saudi-trained troops, ambulances and armored personnel carriers manned by Saudi and Emirati soldiers, pro-government officials said.
	The forces aim to take Saada, the main northern stronghold of the Houthi rebels, they added.
	Yemen's conflict pits the Iran-allied Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against an array of forces including southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants as well as troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
	Pro-government forces recently pushed the Houthis out of several key southern ...

Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen ramp up as allies push north

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Bahrain detained a former lawmaker after he visited Iran on charges of financing terrorism and being involved in a bombing that killed two police officers, accusations the Gulf nation's largest opposition group dismissed today as "absolute nonsense."
	Hasan Isa, a prominent Bahraini cleric, was detained on Aug 18 at Bahrain International Airport. An Interior Ministry statement yesterday did not identify Isa by name, but said the suspect it holds is also accused of distributing money he'd raised during rallies to wanted fugitives and a "terrorist group," without elaborating.
	Shiite opposition group al-Wefaq identified Isa as the suspect. It said he was innocent and was being targeted under laws that criminalize peaceful political activism. Al-Wefaq earlier said that Isa's lawyers have not been allowed to see him.
	Police have arrested five other suspects in connection with the July 28 bombing in Sitra, just south of the capital, Manama. Police investigators say those suspects are ...

Bahrain detains former Shiite lawmaker after trip to Iran

Spirits arrived at the International Space Station today. Not the ghostly ones, but the kind you drink - distilled spirits.
	A Japanese company known for its whiskey and other alcoholic beverages included five types of distilled spirits in a space station cargo ship. The station's big robotic arm operated by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui grabbed onto the supply craft launched Wednesday by his homeland. Flight controllers helped anchor it down.
	The supply ship contains nearly 10,000 pounds of cargo, including the six liquor samples. Suntory Global Innovation Center in Tokyo wants to see if alcoholic beverages mellow the same in space as they do on Earth.
	The samples will spend at least a year in orbit before being returned to Earth. An identical set of samples will be stored on the ground in Japan.
	The experiment has NASA's blessing. Spokesman Dan Huot said all research flown to the space station is agreed upon by everyone involved. It's not the first liquor-related space ...

Japan delivers whiskey to space station for science

US investors got a serious jolt today when the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 1,000 points minutes after the market opened in a wave of selling that circled the globe after a historic plunge in Chinese stocks.
	Though the declines eased significantly as the morning went on, it sent a shiver of fear through Americans with retirement accounts or saving to buy a home that the bull market is over.
	The Dow was down 199 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 16,259 points as of 12:51 p.M. Eastern time. The S&P 500 dropped 27 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,943. The Nasdaq composite fell 43 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 4,662 points. The three indexes are down for the year.
	The Standard & Poor's 500 index briefly slid into correction territory after the opening Wall Street jargon for a drop of 10 percent or more from a recent peak. The last market correction was four years ago. Treasurys surged as investors bought less risky assets.
	The Dow fell 1,089 points within the first four minutes ...

US stocks pare losses after 1,000-point Dow plunge

Police say two men from Iowa who made online threats against Pokemon competitors referencing the Boston Marathon bombings and the Columbine High School massacre were stopped as they tried to register for the World Pokemon Championships in Boston.
	Eighteen-year-old Kevin Norton, of Ames, and 27-year-old James Stumbo, of Boone, were ordered held without bail on gun charges today pending a Sept 1 hearing.
	Boston police Commissioner William Evans said the men made threatening statements in a closed online Pokemon forum before driving 25 hours to Boston on Thursday for the championships. Both were experienced players invited to attend.
	The moderator of the Pokemon forum notified security at the convention center where the competition was held over the weekend.
	Officers found a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle and several hundred rounds of ammunition in their car.

2 men held without bail for alleged threats to Pokemon event

Ukraine's president vowed to increase troop numbers to fend off attacks by Russia-backed separatist rebels and warned his countrymen that there is still the threat of a "large-scale invasion," in an impassioned speech to mark Independence Day today.
	Speaking during a military parade, President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine must not be complacent even though hostilities have largely died down. In a show of force, thousands of Ukrainian servicemen marched in downtown Kiev to commemorate the country's independence from the Soviet Union on Aug 24, 1991.
	"We stand for peace, but we are not pacifists. We must get through the 25th year of independence as if on brittle ice. We must understand that the smallest misstep could be fatal. The war for independence is still ongoing," Poroshenko said.
	Poroshenko didn't say how many more troops he would send to eastern Ukraine. He claimed that Russia had massed about 50,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, still had 9,000 soldiers in eastern ...

Ukraine vows to increase troops to fend off rebel attacks

Chancellor Angela Merkel today condemned the neo-Nazi riots outside a refugee shelter in eastern Germany over the weekend, calling the attacks and those Germans who stood by watching them "shameful."
	Dozens of police were injured when a far-right mob hurled bottles and fireworks at officers trying to ensure asylum seekers could move into a shelter in Heidenau, south of Dresden.
	Merkel, who had been criticized by commentators in Germany for failing to speak out swiftly against the attacks, which began Friday night, said the images shown on television were "shocking."
	"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the violent outbursts. There was an aggressive mood against foreigners there that isn't acceptable in any way," she told reporters in Berlin.
	Hundreds of people took part in a peaceful march organized by the far-right National Democratic Party, or NPD, on Friday evening, but hours later some of the protesters began attacking police who seemed unprepared for the ...

Merkel condemns neo-Nazi riots outside refugee shelter

Target Corp has agreed to pay USD 2.8 million to settle a hiring discrimination claim filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
	The EEOC says three employment assessments formerly used by the Minneapolis-based retailer disproportionately screened out applicants for professional positions based on race and gender. It says the tests were not sufficiently job-related.
	The EEOC also says an assessment that was performed by psychologists violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employers from subjecting applicants to medical exams prior making a job offer.
	The EEOC says thousands of people were adversely affected, and the settlement money will be divided among them.
	Target agreed to take several steps to ensure the validity of its hiring process, including keeping better data for assessing the impact of its hiring procedures.

Target Corp to pay USD 2.8M discrimination settlement

A confidential document from the UN's atomic agency says the extra work related to monitoring Iran's compliance with last month's nuclear deal will cost about 9.2 million euros (USD 10.5 million) each year.
	The International Atomic Energy Agency document obtained by The Associated Press also estimates the final tab will be nearly 138 million euros (USD 157 million) over the life of the pact.
	Drawn up for a special IAEA meeting Tuesday, the document says the costs are calculated from the time the deal begins to be implemented, at some point after it is adopted on October 18.
	The document extrapolates the total cost by saying the estimated annual cost of 9.2 million euros is "foreseen as being applicable for 15 years." That is the expected duration of the Iran deal.

UN expects Iran nuke deal monitoring to cost USd 10.5M a year

US President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran seems to be picking up the momentum it needs to survive fierce opposition in Congress from its Republican opponents With Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid now on board.
	Reid had yesterday become the 27th and most powerful Senate Democrat to throw his support behind the president and the Iran nuclear deal, which could open the door for some of his non-committed colleagues to come aboard.
	"I strongly support the historic agreement and will do everything in my power to ensure that it stands," Reid said in a news release. Reid said he works to ensure that "America holds up our end of the commitment we have made to our allies and the world to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran."
	Congress plans to vote on a resolution of disapproval of the deal struck by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany with Iran. Even if the resolution passes, President Barack Obama plans to veto it and it would take a two-thirds majority ..

Reid: Iran deal best path to stop country from getting bomb

The Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for executing at least 30 people for sodomy, the head of an international gay rights organisation said today at the first-ever UN Security Council meeting spotlighting what organisers called the "barbaric treatment."
	"It's about time, 70 years after the creation of the UN, that the fate of LGBT persons who fear for their lives around the world is taking center stage," said US Ambassador Samantha Power, who organised the meeting on violence and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people with Chile's UN envoy.
	Jessica Stern, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the council that courts established by the militant group in Iraq and Syria claim to have punished sodomy with stoning, firing squads and beheadings and by pushing men from tall buildings.
	Fear of the Islamic State group has fueled violence by other militias and "private actors" against ...

Islamic State claims 30 killed for sodomy, UN meeting told

Britain's foreign minister said today that Iran is a major regional player that can be an ally in fighting terrorism but that London must "tread carefully" in its relationship with Tehran.
	Tehran and world powers struck a deal last month on Iran's contested nuclear program, and yesterday Britain and Iran reopened their respective embassies after a break of several years.
	Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran today, said the two countries shared common ground despite a "deep legacy of distrust."
	He said they agreed on the need to defeat the Islamic State group, and to stop opium from Afghanistan reaching Europe.
	Hammond told the BBC that "Iran is too large a player, too important a player in this region, to simply leave in isolation."
	Rouhani meanwhile dismissed any military option against his country's nuclear program as "ridiculous," after US President Barack Obama last week said force remained on the table to prevent Iran from ...

Britain says Iran too powerful to leave in isolation

Dozens of bare-chest women taking part in the GoTopless Pride Parade took to the streets of midtown Manhattan to counter critics complaining about topless tip-seekers in Times Square.
	Appearing bare-breasted has been legal in New York since 1992. But Mayor Bill de Blasio and police Commissioner Bill Bratton say the body-painted women in the square who take photos with tourists are a nuisance.
	The mayor even suggested doing away with the pedestrian plaza at the "Crossroads of the World" to control both the topless women trolling for tips and the costumed cartoon characters, some of whom were arrested last year for accosting non-tipping pedestrians.
	Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the scene harkens to the pornographic "bad old Times Square" of the past.
	Sunday's parade was among dozens of such events in about 60 cities celebrating the worldwide GoTopless Day.
	New York GoTopless spokeswoman Rachel Jessee said the goal is for gender equality when it comes to baring one's chest. Two Dutch ...

NY stages topless parade with 60 cities worldwide

A new anti-austerity party formed by rebel lawmakers who quit the governing left-wing Syriza was given its chance today to seek government coalition partners and prevent Greece from holding its third national vote this year.
	Former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, who heads the newly formed Popular Unity, received the maximum three-day mandate from the country's president after the head of the main opposition conservative New Democracy failed to form a government.
	Neither of the two parties was expected to find willing coalition partners, and early elections are practically guaranteed in September following the resignation of Prime Minister Alexis' Tsipras last week, seven months into his four-year term. The most likely date is seen as September 20.
	The renewed political uncertainty has hammered the Athens Stock Exchange, which was down 8.2 per cent in afternoon trading today, dragged down by Europe-wide jitters after China's market tumbled. That followed two straight days of .

Greece: Newly formed party receives mandate to form gov't

A Spanish woman who had never flown a plane brought a micro-light aircraft in for a crash landing after her pilot husband lost consciousness during the flight, officials said today.
	She was recovering in a hospital in the southern city of Seville.
	An emergency services spokeswoman said the woman "had no notion" of flying and air traffic controllers talked her through the procedure for some 90 minutes before she attempted the emergency landing yesterday.
	In released recordings of their conversation, the controller can be heard reassuring the woman, "You're going to continue and you're going to land without any problem, OK?"
	A spokeswoman for Spanish air traffic controllers union USCA said the woman was extra lucky because the controller who coached her knew how to fly such planes.
	She said the woman barely knew how to read a compass and had the added complication that she was flying above the clouds when her husband lost consciousness.
	The controller asked her for the plane's ...

Spain: Woman with no pilot experience crash lands plane

Police and military officials say a series of suicide car bombings by the Islamic State group targeting a military outpost in Anbar province have killed eight soldiers and injured six.
	They say the Monday morning attack west of Anbar's provincial capital Ramadi involved three vehicles, including two fuel trucks.
	The outpost was home to a joint contingent of army soldiers, policemen and allied Sunni militiamen.
	The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
	Late yesterday, the Iraqi military said in a televised statement that its warplanes have targeted Islamic State positions in northern and western Iraq in what it called "qualitative" strikes, including one that targeted a meeting by members of the extremist group in the town of Tel Afar.

Suicide attacks against Iraqi security outpost kill 8

Two women died when they fell about 200 ft while trying to climb a mountain in Grand Teton National Park.
	The National Park Service says the accident occurred around 11 am Saturday on the 12,300-foot (3,750-m) Teewinot Mountain, the sixth-tallest peak in the Teton Range.
	The agency identified the victims as 27-year-old Tyler Strandberg and 28-year-old Catherine Nix, both of Jackson, Wyoming. Their bodies were recovered from a rocky ledge at an elevation of about 11,500 feet (3,450 meters).
	A third member of the climbing party, 26-year-old Rebecca Anderson, of Jackson, was rescued unhurt from a small ledge. The three women were attempting to ascend the East Face of the mountain and were well off the preferred route when the two fell.
	The Park Service says they weren't using ropes at the time.

2 climbers die in fall in Grand Teton National Park

Two bystanders have helped deliver a baby girl after her parents got stuck in traffic on a New Jersey shore highway on their way to a hospital.
	The Asbury Park Press reports Rose and Trevor Abbud, of Middletown, New Jersey, were headed to a hospital Saturday night when it became apparent the baby would not wait. So, Trevor Abbud pulled over, honked his car horn and called the emergency dispatcher.
	"My wife was screaming," Trevor Abbud told the newspaper. "I saw the top of the baby ... I thought she was dead."
	Two women who happened to be at a nearby beach club trauma nurse Sarah Wood and Rumson First Aid Squad Emergency Medical Technician Lauren Kammerer heard the commotion and ran over to help. A short time later, Bella Rose Abbud was born.
	Kammerer said Trevor Abbud was screaming until he realised his wife and baby would be OK, then went around "hugging everybody" after the delivery was completed.
	"It couldn't have been a better moment," Kammerer said. "It really was awesome to 

Bystanders help deliver baby in car stuck in traffic in US

Islamic State militants have destroyed a temple at Syria's ancient ruins of Palmyra, activists have said, realising the worst fears archaeologists had for the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city after the extremists seized it and beheaded a local scholar.
	Palmyra, one of the Middle East's most spectacular archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage site, sits near the modern Syrian city of the same name.
	Activists said the militants used explosives to blow up the Baalshamin Temple on its grounds, the blast so powerful it also damaged some of the Roman columns around it.
	The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday night that the temple was blown up a month ago.
	Turkey-based activist Osama al-Khatib, who is originally from Palmyra, said the temple was blown up yesterday. Both said the extremists used a large amount of explosives to destroy it.
	Both relied on information for those still in Palmyra and the discrepancy in their accounts could not be immediately 

Activists: Islamic State destroys temple at Syria's Palmyra

Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak's comments that Israel nearly attacked Iran's nuclear facilities but the plan was scuttled by military men and cowardly politicians could shake up Israeli politics.
	The leaked interview, in which Barak also described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as indecisive and obsessively pessimistic, was the talk of the town today in an Israel obsessed about Iran.
	But beyond the hand-wringing, the always calculating Barak may have been focused on the future, perhaps for a final run at the country's leadership.
	Also a former prime minister, Barak enjoys respect as the last leader of the moderate Labor Party to win an election, defeating Netanyahu in 1999. But he also is seen by analysts as having squandered his opportunity, lasting just two years in a term that cemented his reputation as brilliant but arrogant, and prone to overcomplicated analysis and nonstop machinations.
	Barak later returned to politics, serving as defense minister from 2007 to 2013, ..

Ehud Barak's Iran bombshell could shake up Israeli politics

Yemeni security officials close to pro-government forces fighting Yemeni rebels say a Saudi-led coalition is bombing rebel positions near the Bab el-Mandeb strait to weaken them in preparation for a ground offensive there.
	Security officials close to the rebels, known as Houthis, said today that 13 of their fighters were killed in the airstrikes. The airstrikes took place in areas Houthis control around the strategic Red Sea strait, including the port town of Mocha, which is connected by road to Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city.
	Yemen's conflict pits the Iran-allied Houthis and troops loyal to the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, against an array of forces including southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants as well as troops loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

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