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  • Mac Miller death: ‘This is just too much’

    Video Mac Miller dying: ‘This is simply too much’

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  • Paramedic says Nikolai Glushkov believed he used to be poisoned

    Nikolai Glushkov Image copyright PA Image caption Nikolai Glushkov used to be found murdered in his London home in March of this 12 months

    A Russian who used to be murdered in Britain last March believed two males from Moscow had tried to poison him five years earlier, it has been stated.

    Nikolai Glushkov used to be found it appears strangled in his house in south-west London a week after the Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury.

    The Mother Or Father has now found out he was once allegedly poisoned in 2013 after he shared champagne with Russians.

    The paper says the police are reinvestigating the incident.

    Mr Glushkov – a outstanding Russian businessman and previous deputy director of state airline Aeroflot – used to be jailed for 5 years in his house u . s . in 1999 after being charged with cash laundering and fraud.

    After being given a suspended sentence for one more rely of fraud in 2006, he used to be granted political asylum in the UK in 2010 and have become a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Counter-terror police look at dying Murder inquiry over Russian’s London demise Who used to be Nikolai Glushkov?

    Paramedic Keith Carr instructed the Mother Or Father that he handled Mr Glushkov in November 2013 for suspected poisoning after the businessman had shared beverages with males from Moscow in Bristol’s Grand Hotel.

    Mr Carr, who used to be working for the South Western Ambulance Provider, mentioned he spoke back to a record that Mr Glushkov had collapsed at the carpet the morning after the beverages.

    He told the paper: “i discovered Nikolai at the floor of his hotel room. He was once able to rise up with lend a hand. He regarded a bit tottery. We sat him at the bed.

    “I requested him what had came about. He advised me that he and the 2 Russians have been ingesting the champagne together the previous night time. He went off to the loo and whilst he came again he drank more champagne.

    “the following factor he remembered was once waking up on the carpet the following morning. He had carpet burns on his face and on his chest.”

    No charges

    Mr Glushkov told Mr Carr that he believed the Russians had poisoned him and that he was a probable objective as a result of his close friendship with fellow Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky, who came to the uk in 1999 after falling out with Mr Putin.

    Mr Berezovsky was once found hanged within the bathroom of his Berkshire home in 2013, six months prior to the incident with Mr Glushkov.

    Mr Carr mentioned two law enforcement officials were in the room even as he treated Mr Glushkov for an peculiar center rhythm and other signs, however, he introduced: “at the time i don’t think any one gave any credibility to what he was once saying.”

    Avon and Somerset Police has showed the incident used to be investigated on the time and no fees were brought.

    The Mum Or Dad reported that the officials are now reinvestigating the incident as a part of their homicide inquiry.

    Skripal suspects

    The information comes days after Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Provider named Russian nationals as suspects in the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

    Prime Minister Theresa May stated the lads, the use of the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, are thought to be officials from Russia’s army intelligence carrier.

    Media playback is unsupported to your device

    Media captionPolice are interesting for info on Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov

    Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, have been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in March.

    Det Sgt Nick Bailey additionally fell ill after responding to the incident in Salisbury.

    Police are linking the assault to a separate Novichok poisoning on 30 June, when First Light Sturgess and Charlie Rowley turned into unwell at a house in Amesbury, about 8 miles from Salisbury.

    Ms Sturgess died in hospital on EIGHT July. Mr Rowley was discharged from sanatorium on 20 July.

    (more…)

  • Alibaba’s Jack Ma slips to third in China rich list

    Alibaba founder Jack Ma Image copyright Getty Pictures Image caption Alibaba founder Jack Ma is China’s third richest man

    Jack Ma, the boss of Chinese Language e-commerce large Alibaba, has slipped to the 3rd best spot in Forbes’ China wealthy checklist.

    Mr Ma’s ranking fell one place, although his net price increased through greater than a 3rd to $38.6bn (£27.3bn).

    Asia’s richest tech billionaire, Tencent’s Pony Ma, additionally known as Ma Huateng, climbed to second after his fortune surged almost 60% to $39bn.

    Leading the rankings used to be China’s richest man, actual property mogul Hui Ka Yan.

    The 59-yr-old, additionally referred to as Xu Jiayin, is the chairman of the China Evergrande Staff. His fortune rose more than FOUR HUNDRED% from last 12 months to $42.5bn.

    Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Image caption China’s richest guy, Hui Ka Yan

    Then Again, Mr Hui’s web price is lower than part that of the world’s richest guy, Microsoft co-founder Invoice Gates. .

    He additionally trails at the back of the world’s 10 richest other folks, which incorporates Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet and Amazon leader government Jeff Bezos.

    To Boot as assets, Mr Hui made his wealth from seeing the prospective in China’s healthcare spending to create Evergrande Healthcare.

    He additionally owns a majority stake in one of China’s skilled soccer groups, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Soccer membership.

    Mr Hui is not the only multi-billionaire to have climbed within the scores. A Number Of Chinese Language belongings builders, internet entrepreneurs and producers on the listing noticed significant profits in their wealth this 12 months.

    Symbol copyright Getty Pictures Image caption Mr Hui is the brainchild at the back of the Evergrande World Football Faculty

    To Boot as Alibaba founder Jack Ma losing down the record, final year’s richest guy in China, Wang Jianlin, the chairman of the Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Team, dropped to fourth position after his fortune fell nearly $8bn to $25.2bn.

    His corporate used to be defined because the world’s biggest personal belongings developer and the world’s biggest cinema chain operator, but it surely misplaced price amid an incredible restructuring.

    Other key highlights from 2017’s Forbes China rich record include:

    the typical of age of those at the listing is FIFTY FIVE The Top 10 contains one woman – real estate developer, 36-12 months-old Yang Huiyan Four of the top ONE HUNDRED on China’s wealthy listing are beneath 40 The 4 personal businesses in assets, tool, drones and after school tutoring but the big two sectors represented at the checklist are real property and era

  • The Latest: Iran, Russia, Turkey presidents meet in summit

    The Latest on Syria talks in Iran (all times local):

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – The Latest on Syria talks in Iran (all times local):

    9:40 p.m.

    Syrian pro-government media reported that nine civilians have been killed by shells fired from rebel areas south of the province of Idlib on a government-held town.

    Syria state news agency SANA said they were killed when the missiles struck into a residential area in Mhardeh town in the northern countryside of Hama. Hama lies to the south of Idlib, and several of its villages and towns remain under rebel control.

    Warplanes, including suspected Russian ones, hit rebel areas in northern and southern Idlib earlier Friday, killing at least five, including one civilian, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    The violence comes on the day that the presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia are meeting to discuss the fate of the last rebel stronghold in Idlib and surrounding areas in Hama.

    ___

    9:30 p.m.

    The director of U.N. humanitarian operations is warning that if a military offensive takes place in Idlib and millions of people start fleeing, aid operations to help them will be overwhelmed.

    John Ging told the U.N. Security Council on Friday this worst-case scenario “has the potential to create a humanitarian emergency at a scale not yet seen through this crisis,” now in its eighth year.

    He urged council members to ask the parties to cease hostilities in the Idlib de-escalation zone which includes parts of Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia and Hama governorates and includes some 3 million people, about 2.1 million already in need of humanitarian aid.

    Ging also called for protection of civilians, humanitarian and medical personnel, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure as well as freedom for people to move, access for aid deliveries, and increased funding.

    While donors including Britain and Germany have recently provided resources, he said, the U.N. is still “woefully short of the $311 million that we estimate is required if there is an increase in violence resulting in mass displacement.”

    Ging said humanitarian aid is being prepositioned inside Idlib and in surrounding areas, and “plans are in place to support up to 900,000 women, children and men that could be affected by conflict.”

    He warned that if millions of people flee Idlib, however, it “will overwhelm all capacity to respond regardless of plans or funding made available.”

    ___

    9:20 p.m.

    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday after a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey to discuss the war in Syria.

    In the Friday report carried by the leader’s website, Khamenei.ir, he said that the United States is worried about the formation of an “Islamic authority.”

    “America is concerned about the cooperation of Islamic countries and the formation of an Islamic authority,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.

    Khamenei added that this fear underlies America’s hostility toward Islamic countries, according to the report.

    ___

    8:50 p.m.

    The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is warning Syria and its allies Russia and Iran that “the consequences will be dire” for an assault on the last major stronghold for Syrian rebels in Idlib.

    Nikki Haley told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that an offensive against Idlib is starting despite warnings from President Donald Trump and other world leaders, including Russian and Syrian airstrikes against civilian areas.

    “The United States has been very clear, with Russia and with the broader international community: we consider any assault on Idlib to be a dangerous escalation of the conflict in Syria,” Haley said.

    “If (Syrian President Bashar) Assad, Russia, and Iran continue, the consequences will be dire,” she said.

    Haley said Syria must halt its offensive, and Russia and Iran have the power to prevent “this catastrophe.”

    ___

    8:05 p.m.

    Eight aid agencies have called on world leaders to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, where the Syrian government is threatening a military offensive.

    The agencies called on leaders of the Iran, Russia and Turkey meeting in Tehran and members of the U.N. Security Council meeting later in New York to work together to find a diplomatic solution that can protect civilians, aid workers and allow access to humanitarian agencies to the overcrowded province and surrounding areas.

    More than 3 million live in Idlib and its environs, many of them already displaced by conflict elsewhere in Syria.

    The agencies, including CARE, Mercy Corps and the International Rescue Committee, said the “most vulnerable” are likely to pay the heaviest price in case of an offensive. They said aid workers working in Idlib are already overwhelmed trying to provide basic needs and shelter to the province’s population, which has doubled in size in recent months because it is hosting displaced citizens from all over Syria.

    ___

    7:50 p.m.

    The U.N. envoy for Syria says any proposal to avoid Idlib becoming “the biggest humanitarian tragedy at the end of the most horrible recent conflict in our memory” must be given a chance – and he has some ideas on how to separate “terrorists” from civilians.

    Staffan De Mistura is also calling for “protected voluntary evacuation routes” for civilians if they want to leave Idlib.

    He told the U.N. Security Council Friday that talk of a military offensive on Idlib “is happening at exactly the same time when there is serious talk” on moving to establish a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution and encourage the return of Syrian refugees.

    De Mistura said these are incompatible.

    “Either we are trying to find a political way to end this war and move to a post-war political scenario or we will see this war reach new levels of horrors.”

    He said that’s why Friday’s meeting of the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey in Tehran is so important and why he will be meeting with the three countries in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday – and next Friday with Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Britain and the United States.

    It would be a failure of diplomacy “if with these efforts we simply saw an increase of military activities,” De Mistura said.

    ___

    5:45 p.m.

    Turkey’s president says his country does not have the “strength or capability” to host millions of more refugees from Idlib.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that a call for terror groups in Idlib to lay down arms was a strong message to them and would help halt refugee flows.

    “We have to take joint steps to prevent the migration, we need to be successful in the fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said.

    “Turkey is already sheltering 3 ½ million refugees (from Syria). The population of Idlib is 3 ½ million. Turkey doesn’t have the strength or capability to host 3 ½ million more,” he added.

    ___

    5:20 p.m.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is “unacceptable” to use civilians as a pretext to shield “terrorists” in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib.

    Speaking at the end of a trilateral summit with the leaders of Iran and Turkey Putin said Russia is worried about civilians in Idlib but said Russian finds it “unacceptable” when civilians are used a pretext to “shield terrorists” and target Syrian government positions.

    Russia has been a key backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has indicated its support for Assad to regain control of Idlib which is the last remaining bastion of the opposition

    ___

    4:35 p.m.

    Turkey’s president is calling for a cease-fire and an end to airstrikes amid a looming campaign for Syria’s Idlib province.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the comments Friday at a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey in Tehran.

    Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says “we have to force the United States to leave” Syria.

    Rouhani did not elaborate on the comment, which he made while speaking about Idlib. America has some 2,000 troops in Syria.

    Friday’s summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

    Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people – nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    ___

    4:15 p.m.

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the fight in Syria should continue until all extremists are “uprooted,” especially in Idlib.

    Rouhani made the comment Friday at a trilateral summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey held in Tehran.

    The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

    Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people – nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    ___

    4:10 p.m.

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says America’s intervention in Syria should immediately end.

    Rouhani made the comment Friday at a trilateral summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey held in Tehran.

    Rouhani also said that “the fires of war and bloodshed in Syria are reaching their end.”

    ___

    3:40 p.m.

    The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey have begun a summit on Syria as a bloody offensive on Idlib province looms, despite warnings from the U.S. and others not to launch the attack.

    The summit Friday between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting the northwestern Syrian province.

    Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people – nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    Iran, Russia and Turkey all have their own competing interests over Syria. All also face U.S. sanctions under the administration of President Donald Trump.

    ____

    3:30 p.m.

    Residents in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province are holding mass rallies in the rebels’ last bastion, protesting an imminent government offensive there and chanting against the country’s ruler President Bashar Assad.

    The Friday rallies came as Presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia are meeting in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria. The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action in Idlib and its surrounding areas, home to more than 3 million people. Nearly half of the area’s residents are already displaced from other parts of Syria and have refused to reconcile with the Syrian government. The area also includes opposition fighters and some of Syria’s most radical groups.

    “Come on, leave Bashar!” hundreds of protesters chanted in Saraqeb, a town in eastern Idlib. “We will defend our revolution.”

    ___

    2:20 p.m.

    A spokesman for a Syrian rebel alliance says the least the summit in the Iranian capital can do is avert a humanitarian crisis in the last bastion for the opposition in northwestern Syria.

    Naji al-Mustafa, spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Front for Liberation, said Friday his fighters are prepared for battle. But they expect a major humanitarian crisis, a large wave of displacement and a lot of destruction and death if a Russia-backed offensive takes place.

    Idlib and surrounding areas are home to more than 3 million people, nearly half of them already displaced from other parts of Syria.

    Al-Mustafa said his rebel alliance is looking to Turkey’s efforts to prevent the attack and “to protect Idlib.” Turkey has deployed 12 observations points and hundreds of fighters that ring Idlib, separating them from government and allied fighters, as part of a de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran.

    ___

    1:55 p.m.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have both arrived in Tehran for a trilateral summit on Syria.

    The two presidents landed at Mehrabad International Airport.

    They will attend the summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

    The summit may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

    ___

    1:25 p.m.

    Activists and residents say warplanes have struck areas on the southern edge of the Syrian Idlib province, the rebels’ last bastion, killing one and causing loud explosions and large plumes of smoke.

    The airstrikes Friday come hours before presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake bastion of Idlib.

    Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said a series of airstrikes struck a few villages in southwest Idlib and along the borders with the adjacent Hama province, targeting insurgent posts and killing a fighter. Abdurrahman said suspected Russian warplanes carried out the airstrikes.

    Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to more than 3 million people.

    ___

    12:55 p.m.

    The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry is calling a summit on Syria between Iran, Turkey and Russia an “invaluable opportunity.”

    Bahram Ghasemi wrote an opinion piece published across Iranian media on Friday that the summit in Tehran helps as all the nations “have faced similar challenges and joint threats by bullying foreign powers.”

    Ghasemi wrote: “The summit has double significance since all the three nations have faced ambitions and greediness of an illogical international big power.” That refers to the United States, which has some 2,000 troops in Syria after its war against the Islamic State group.

    The summit Friday between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action ahead of an anticipated offensive targeting Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

    ___

    9:55 a.m.

    The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey will meet in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

    The summit Friday, the third between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action.

    Northwestern Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people – nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    Iran, Russia and Turkey all have their own competing interests over Syria. All also face U.S. sanctions under the administration of President Donald Trump.

  • James Mattis, defense secretary, makes surprise visit to war-weary Kabul

    U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis arrived on a surprise visit to Afghanistan’s war-shattered capital on Friday, the U.S. command in Afghanistan said, just days after a suicide bomber killed 21 pe

    KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis arrived on a surprise visit to Afghanistan’s war-shattered capital on Friday, the U.S. command in Afghanistan said, just days after a suicide bomber killed 21 people in the city and wounded 90 others.

    As helicopters patrolled the skies over Kabul, Mattis arrived accompanied by Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He was expected to meet President Ashraf Ghani, presidential spokesman Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri told The Associated Press. He was also expected to meet Afghan, U.S. and NATO military commanders.

    Mattis’ arrival comes amid brutal assaults against the country’s minority Shiites and a fresh round of insider attacks this week that have claimed the life of one American service member and eight local police.

    While in Kabul, Mattis is expected to discuss the escalating violence against both civilians and military personnel.

    The U.S. has been supporting Afghan forces in an aggressive campaign against Islamic State group insurgents in eastern Nangarhar province, yet the IS affiliate has repeatedly been able to carry out horrific and brazen attacks in the heavily fortified capital of Kabul.

    The victims have most often been Afghanistan’s minority Shiite Muslims. The radical Sunni Islamic state reviles Shiites as apostates.

    On Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a wrestling center killing 21 people and wounding 90 others. Two of the dead were journalists who died when a second bomber blew himself up as first responders and journalists rushed to the scene.

    On Friday, Afghanistan’s Islamic State group affiliate issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack on the wrestling center. The statement was accompanied by a picture of a young man with a masked face, who was identified as suicide bomber Saber al-Khorasani.

    The second explosion was a vehicle filled with explosives, according to the statement, which could not be independently verified. The discrepancy between the IS account and the Afghan government’s initial report of two suicide bombers was not immediately clear.

    The Afghan affiliate is known as IS in Khorasan province, the ancient name of an area that once included parts of modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

    Mattis’ visit to Kabul comes as Washington seems to be ramping up efforts for a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s protracted war and Washington’s longest military engagement.

    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this week the appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad as Washington’s new point man for Afghan reconciliation. Khalilzad, a controversial figure in the region, is a former envoy to Afghanistan.

    Mattis arrives in Afghanistan fresh off earlier meetings in Pakistan where Pompeo said the U.S. wanted to “reset” its raucous relationship with Pakistan and newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed optimism, promising to work with Washington for peace. But Khan has repeatedly said Pakistan is no longer interested in partnering with the United States in war.

    “This is my promise – that Pakistan will never again fight someone else’s war,” Khan said on Thursday in a speech to mark Pakistan’s Defense Day. As an opposition leader Khan was a sharp critic of Pakistan’s participation in the U.S.-led war on terror.

    Still, Pakistan is seen as key to any negotiated end to the Afghan war because of its close relationship with the Taliban. Both Washington and Kabul have been harsh critics of Pakistan for allowing safe havens for Taliban fighters on its territory, a charge Islamabad has denied.

    Khalilzad’s appointment was also unwelcome news in Pakistan because of his outspoken attacks on its military and powerful ISI intelligence agency, even suggesting Washington should declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism.

    Washington last weekend announced it canceled a $300 million Coalition Support Fund payment to Pakistan, which is a payment for costs incurred by Pakistan’s military in the war on terror.

    ____

    Gannon reported from Islamabad, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed.

  • Jair Bolsonaro, a leading Brazilian presidential candidate, stabbed

    The wounding of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate has the potential to reshape the election contest after dramatically exposing the deep polarization in Latin America’s largest nation.

    RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The wounding of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate has the potential to reshape the election contest after dramatically exposing the deep polarization in Latin America’s largest nation.

    Far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has promised to crack down on crime, has long argued that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to be steadied.

    After a knife-wielding man stabbed the candidate in the abdomen during a campaign event Thursday, Brazilians surged on to social media to argue over whether the attack supports Bolsonaro’s assertions that the country is off the rails or whether his heated rhetoric contributed to inciting the attack.

    Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery on the candidate, said Bolsonaro’s recovery so far was “satisfactory.” He said the candidate would remain hospitalized for at least a week after a two-hour operation to stop serious internal bleeding.

    In numerous videos posted on social media of the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro could be seen on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand. He is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker.

    A suspect, identified by authorities as 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within seconds.

    Police did not give a motive, but one official said the man appeared to be mentally unstable.

    “Our agents there said the attacker said he was ‘on a mission from God,’” Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told The Associated Press. “Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person.”

    After more than four years of revelations of widespread corruption within Brazil’s political class, anger is running high in the country, and analysts initially predicted this would be a change election. But no true outsider has emerged.

    Instead, Bolsonaro, despite being a congressman since 1991, has harnessed much of the anger and presented himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system. He also promises to confront a surge in crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

    The public’s anger is partially responsible for making this year’s campaign the most unpredictable in years for Brazil, and the attack could lead to another seismic shift. The man leading polls, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been barred from running by electoral authorities because he was convicted of corruption and is in jail. That puts Bolsonaro in the lead position, though it is unclear how the attack might affect the campaign for the Oct. 7 presidential ballot.

    In the hours following the attack in Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro supporters predicted it would carry him to the presidency.

    “They made Bolsonaro a martyr,” said Jonatan Valente, a student who joined a small vigil for Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo. “I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro.”

    But it is unknown when he can get out again on the campaign trail and if his injuries will impede his ability to campaign.

    There were signs of the deep divide in Brazil at the vigil, when Bolsonaro’s supporters briefly exchanged insults with some detractors who showed up.

    Meanwhile, on Twitter many decried the stabbing and asked for prayers for Bolsonaro, but others suggested the candidate might have brought the attack upon himself or even staged it.

    This is not the first time in recent months that violence has touched politicians. In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan. No one was hurt. Also that month, Marielle Franco, a black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death in March along with her driver after attending an event.

    While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is a deeply divisive figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

    He speaks nostalgically about the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders. His vice presidential running mate is a retired general.

    “It’s likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him,” said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro’s state university.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Peter Prengaman and Marcelo Silva de Sousa in Rio de Janeiro and Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

  • Iran summit holds key to looming battle in Syria’s Idlib

    The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey began a meeting Friday in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey began a meeting Friday in Tehran to discuss the war in Syria, with all eyes on a possible military offensive to retake the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

    The summit between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may determine whether diplomacy halts any military action. Even before it began, an airstrike early Friday struck Idlib’s southern edge, killing at least one person.

    Rouhani, hosting the meeting, made a point to call on the U.S. to end its intervention in Syria. There are some 2,000 American forces in the country.

    “The fires of war and bloodshed in Syria are reaching their end,” Rouhani said, while adding that terrorism must “be uprooted in Syria, particularly in Idlib.”

    Each of the three nations has its own interests in the yearslong war in Syria.

    Iran wants to keep its foothold in the Mediterranean nation neighboring Israel and Lebanon. Turkey, which backed opposition forces against Syrian President Bashar Assad, fears a flood of refugees fleeing a military offensive and destabilizing areas it now holds in Syria. And Russia wants to maintain its regional presence to fill the vacuum left by America’s long uncertainty about what it wants in the conflict.

    Northwestern Idlib province and surrounding areas are home to about 3 million people — nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria. That also includes an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

    For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syria’s civil war after Syrian troops recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

    A bloody offensive that creates a massive wave of death and displacement, however, runs counter to their narrative that the situation in Syria is normalizing, and could hurt Russia’s longer-term efforts to encourage the return of refugees and get Western countries to invest in Syria’s postwar reconstruction.

    For Turkey, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Turkey already hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees and has sealed its borders to newcomers. It has also created zones of control in northern Syria and has several hundred troops deployed at 12 observation posts in Idlib. A government assault creates a nightmare scenario of potentially hundreds of thousands of people, including militants, fleeing toward its border and destabilizing towns and cities in northern Syria under its control.

    Naji al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Front for Liberation, said Friday his fighters were prepared for a battle that they expect will spark a major humanitarian crisis.

    “The least the summit can do is to prevent this military war,” he said.

    Early on Friday, a series of airstrikes struck villages in southwest Idlib, targeting insurgent posts and killing a fighter, said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Abdurrahman said suspected Russian warplanes carried out the attack.

    Turkey also doesn’t want to see another Kurdish-controlled area rise along its border, as it already faces in northern Iraq.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Zeina Karam and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

  • Trump bid to crush Iran’s oil exports moves forward after Pompeo discusses issue with India

    The Trump administration’s drive to crush Iran’s oil exports has moved forward after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will help India to reduce its dependence on crude imports from the I

    The Trump administration’s drive to crush Iran’s oil exports has moved forward after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will help India reduce its dependence on crude imports from the Islamic Republic.

    “We will consider waivers where appropriate,” Mr. Pompeo said after meeting with Indian officials in New Delhi. “But it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed.”

    Washington has been re-imposing economic penalties on Tehran since President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May.

    In a bid to slash Iranian oil experts to zero, U.S. sanctions on Iranian petroleum are scheduled to start in November. Mr. Trump has warned that anyone who does not cut their economic ties to Iran will “risk severe consequences.”

    The strategy has caused problems for India, the world’s third-biggest energy consumer after the U.S. and China, which imports roughly 80 percent of its oil, much of it from Iran.

    Energy analysts predict that India’s post-sanctions import plans will have a major impact on how much Iranian exports drop in the coming months.

    While Washington’s forceful sanctions approach has been working on many fronts — scores of major international companies have ended their business with Tehran — India and China have been working up agreements to sidestep the penalties by importing Iranian oil from Iranian tankers.

    Reports from Reuters say Tehran has offered almost free shipping and also provided insurance, an issue because of the non-availability of coverage by Western insurers because of the re-imposed sanctions.

    The oil issue emerged front and center on Thursday in New Delhi when Mr. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis gathered for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

    Afterward, Mr. Pompeo said U.S. oil exports offered a solution for some countries cutting ties with Iran.

    “It takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we’ll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense,” he said, according to a State Department transcript.

    “And from whence they purchase the other crude oil, we’re happy to see if it’s American products that are able to deliver for them,” Mr. Pompeo added. “I think that’d be a great outcome.”

    While Mr. Swaraj called the summit fruitful, he provided no details about India’s oil plans.

    The news caused reaction from Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi, who was visiting India to discuss establishing a banking workaround to U.S. sanctions.

    When asked about Mr. Pompeo’s proposals, Mr. Akhoundi dismissed Washington.

    “India and Iran’s relationship is essential for region and we are looking at ways to work together,” he said. “The U.S. is an outsider in the region, so the insiders should come together and continue their friendship.”

  • Amazon and Alibaba fight it out in Asia

    Rosanita Ali Image caption Rosanita Ali, the human face of the e-trade battle, says her activity provides her “flexibility”

    As tech giant Amazon launches its Prime Now instant supply provider in Singapore – taking up the strong Alibaba – the combat for the Asian e-commerce market is hotting up. Will smaller players get swallowed up?

    Meet Rosanita Ali, she’s a 49-yr-old housewife who hasn’t labored for the ultimate 10 years. Until lately, that may be.

    She’s now a “bee”, a contract employee for Singapore-primarily based local e-commerce company HonestBee.

    Rosanita spends her days picking up contemporary foods and groceries for shoppers who ship her orders by the use of the HonestBee app.

    “It provides me the flexibility to paintings whilst i want,” she tells me as she walks round a grocery store, examining fruits and vegetables. “And That I can earn an source of revenue too.”

    Symbol caption Buying Groceries on-line and home supply is proving well-liked by younger people

    He constructed the business from scratch years in the past and began it here in Singapore. It’s now improved into 8 markets around the Asia Pacific area.

    Mr Sng says the corporate could make a benefit if he desired to take cash out of the business, however has chosen to do something about growing it as a substitute.

    he’s interested in the growth potential, given that lower than 2% of people in South East Asia these days store on-line. and those that do are most commonly young.

    “the only means for it to head is up,” he says.

    Mr Sng’s expectations for growth don’t seem to be unrealistic.

    Knowledge from Google and Singapore-primarily based sovereign wealth fund Temasek show that the e-trade sector in the area is predicted to skyrocket within the following few years, from $5.5bn (£4.2bn) in 2015 to $88bn in 2025. And those are just conservative estimates.

    Symbol copyright HonestBee Symbol caption HonestBee boss Joel Sng thinks e-commerce has massive enlargement attainable within the region

    All of this job in the e-trade space is what yes US international on-line retail giant Amazon to launch the Prime Now carrier in Singapore last month.

    It has set up a ONE HUNDRED,000 sq ft (NINE,290 sq m) facility in Singapore – its biggest warehouse in an city centre – and is providing the two-hour delivery provider for the whole thing from eggs to baby strollers.

    “Singapore is a great position to launch any business,” says Henry Low, director of Amazon High’s Singapore operations.

    “Singapore shoppers are busy; they love comfort and love the speculation of getting a spread of products… This suits our proposition precisely.”

    But Singapore is not the ultimate prize. it’s a tiny market of just 5 million people. the broader area is what’s at stake – a market of doubtless SIX HUNDRED million consumers.

    Amazon isn’t revealing presently what its plans are, but with its latest access into Singapore – Australia is next – the indicators of growth are transparent.

    Image copyright Reuters Symbol caption Amazon’s new fulfilment centre in Singapore is massive; 100,000 sq ft (NINE,290 sq m)

    However what works in Singapore and Australia won’t necessarily paintings in other places in Asia – especially no longer in South East Asia.

    “a few of those nations can be very difficult given the type of infrastructure we are talking about in Indonesia and Thailand, as an example,” says technology watcher Ajay Sunder of research consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

    “one of the other problems is bills. Cash on supply, particularly in emerging markets, is a problem.”

    Whilst nations like Singapore have an established e-trade payments gadget and shoppers who’re comfortable paying on-line, other countries don’t.

    This means they have to depend on a network of sellers who accumulate money on supply – a miles much less efficient machine that is additionally liable to fraud.

    It Is also an excessively competitive area, with China’s Alibaba dominating the region thru its acquisition of Lazada, which in turn owns Singapore-primarily based Redmart.

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    Alibaba has already made significant investments within the logistics and warehousing sector within the house, too, serving to to build the world’s first ever Digital Loose-Business Zone in Malaysia.

    Alibaba’s boss Jack Ma was once appointed Malaysia’s digital economic system adviser final 12 months, with a short lived to enhance the e-trade in the country.

    There are also dozens of different smaller gamers within the region however Mr Sunder doesn’t expect that to be the case within the future.

    “E-commerce has all the time historically been a final-guy-status kind of sport,” he says. “Given the competition within the marketplace, we’re anticipating a wave of consolidation in the next 12 months with a purpose to see smaller players bought by way of the regional or larger gamers.”

    But that is not being concerned workers like Rosanita and others, for now a minimum of.

    She completes her job via delivering the contemporary fruit and vegetables she’s decided on to a driving force, who then grants them to the client.

    At The Same Time As the region’s e-commerce industry should still be in its infancy and a really perfect deal remains uncertain, all of this festival has without a doubt ended in lower costs.

    And that means one thing’s for certain; the buyer is clearly the winner.

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