| Trump Fumes Over Puerto Rico Toll As Death Count Rises For Hurricane Florence Posted: 14 Sep 2018 10:09 PM PDT  As Tropical Storm Florence thrashed through the East Coast on Friday,
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| London Mayor Pushes For Second Brexit Vote Posted: 16 Sep 2018 07:08 AM PDT  Alarmed by the possibility of a bad or "no-deal" Brexit, London Mayor Sadiq
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| Shark kills man boogie boarding off Cape Cod beach as sightings increase Posted: 15 Sep 2018 03:05 PM PDT  A body surfer has died after being bitten by a shark in the waters off Cape Cod in the first fatal attack seen in the US state of Massachusetts for more than 80 years. Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old Brazilian who was studying in America, had been seen by beach-goers moments earlier performing tricks 25 metres out in the waves at Newcomb Hollow Beach in the town of Wellfleet. Mr Medici 's girlfriend's brother desperately dragged him to shore where off-duty lifeguards performed CPR and made tourniquets to try and stem the bleeding. He was pronounced dead later in hospital having suffered multiple bite wounds to the legs. Joe Booth, a local fisherman who witnessed the incident, told the Cape Cod Times that he first spotted a giant eruption of water, fifteen feet wide. "I saw a tail and a lot of thrashing. You could tell by the body language of the guys in the water something wasn't right," he added. A dead great white shark on the Truro shoreline in Massachusetts, where researchers believe smaller, younger specimens are swimming closer to land increasing the risk of human encounters Credit: Ken Johnson /Atlantic White Shark Conservancy via AP "I was that guy on the beach screaming, 'Shark, shark!' It was like right out of that movie Jaws. This has turned into Amity Island real quick out here." On Sunday, the beach remained closed as experts speculated on the type of shark responsible. About | Shark attacks "Based on the information I know, the highest probability is that it was a (great) white shark. I can't think of any other species that would do this," said Gregory Skomal, state Division of Marine Fisheries shark researcher. "Unfortunately he was in an area where the shark was hunting. When they strike with a ferocity of this nature, they believe what they are eating is an aggressive seal that can fight back. " William Lytton suffered puncture wounds to his leg and torso when he was attacked by a shark in August while swimming off a beach in Truro Credit: Steven Senne/AP The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts was in 1936 when a 16-year-old boy was killed. But this summer there have been multiple reported sightings of Great Whites along the picturesque coastline, famous for its lighthouses and windswept beaches. William Lytton, a 61-year-old neurologist, was bitten on the leg in August and is still recovering. In an interview just last week with the Boston Globe he said he may be a little hesitant to go back in the water. "But you know, you fall off the horse, you got to get back on," he added.
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| Five deaths in mariachi plaza shootout pose test for Mexico's new government Posted: 15 Sep 2018 05:29 PM PDT ![Five deaths in mariachi plaza shootout pose test for Mexico's new government]( "Five deaths in mariachi plaza shootout pose test for Mexico's new government") At Plaza Garibaldi in the capital's historic downtown on Friday night, gunmen said by witnesses to be dressed as mariachi musicians opened fire with pistols and rifles, injuring eight and sending onlookers running and screaming. Homicides have surged since 2014 in Mexico City, an arts, food and culture hotspot for tourists from around the globe that has been spared much of the drug violence plaguing cartel strongholds, which has even hit resort towns Cancun, Los Cabos and Acapulco. The capital is on track to register a record number of homicides this year, and reversing that trend is part of incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's enormous challenge to stem crime and violence nationwide.
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| Residents rescued along with dog from Hurricane Florence flood waters Posted: 15 Sep 2018 01:51 AM PDT  The Category 1 storm forced evacuations and rescues in River Bend, North Carolina.
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| American professor detained by Israel in West Bank scuffle Posted: 15 Sep 2018 08:47 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — An American law professor was detained by Israeli police for allegedly trying to block Israeli troops in a West Bank village slated for demolition, his Israeli lawyer said Saturday.
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| US swimmer dies from suspected shark attack: police Posted: 16 Sep 2018 01:56 AM PDT  A swimmer has died from an apparent shark bite off the coast of Massachusetts in the northeastern United States, a police report on the rare incident said. The victim, in his mid-20s, "was bitten by what is believed to be a shark" while he swam at Newcomb Hollow Beach in the Cape Cod area, Wellfleet Police said in a statement Saturday. "The town beaches are closed to swimming for the next 24 hours," the police said.
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| Trump and 'collusion': what we know so far about Mueller's Russia investigation Posted: 14 Sep 2018 10:00 PM PDT  Robert Mueller and his team of investigators have let slip next to nothing about what they know. 'They have all the information,' said Randy Credico, a comedian, about Mueller's team. The comedian and activist Randy Credico met last week with investigators working with special counsel Robert Mueller. "I think these people know everything already," said Credico, who was there to answer questions about his old friend Roger Stone, a sometime adviser to Donald Trump.
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| Flooding threatens the Carolinas as Florence is downgraded to a tropical depression Posted: 16 Sep 2018 06:47 AM PDT ![Flooding threatens the Carolinas as Florence is downgraded to a tropical depression]( "Flooding threatens the Carolinas as Florence is downgraded to a tropical depression") A killer storm that left up to 13 people dead weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday, but authorities warned the devastation it caused -- including catastrophic flooding -- is far from over.
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| Humpback Whales Stun Onlookers With Incredible Triple Breach Posted: 15 Sep 2018 07:22 PM PDT ![Humpback Whales Stun Onlookers With Incredible Triple Breach]( "Humpback Whales Stun Onlookers With Incredible Triple Breach") Whale watchers off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, were treated to a rare
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| Jeff Flake Suggests Delaying Kavanaugh Vote Amid Sexual Assault Allegations Posted: 16 Sep 2018 03:49 PM PDT  Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) became the first Republican on the Senate Judiciary
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| Sex abuse claims rock Dutch Catholic Church Posted: 15 Sep 2018 12:33 PM PDT  More than half of the Netherlands' senior clerics were involved in covering up sexual assault of children between 1945 and 2010, a press report claimed Saturday, further engulfing the Catholic Church in a global abuse scandal. Over the course of 65 years, 20 of 39 Dutch cardinals, bishops and their auxiliaries "covered up sexual abuse, allowing the perpetrators to cause many more victims", the daily NRC reported. "Four abused children and 16 others allowed the transfer of paedophile priests who could have caused new victims in other parishes," the Dutch newspaper added.
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| Hundreds rescued from flooding in historic NC city Posted: 14 Sep 2018 06:12 PM PDT  More than 360 people had been rescued in New Bern, North Carolina, but another 140 were still waiting for help.
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| The BMW Vision iNext Is Autonomous and Frighteningly Intelligent Posted: 15 Sep 2018 03:00 PM PDT  BMW's future ideas include touch-sensitive seats and a Siri-style voice-activated assistant.
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| Vice-Chancellors told to 'prioritise' mental health of students Posted: 15 Sep 2018 04:01 PM PDT  Vice-Chancellors have been told they must "prioritise" the mental health and well-being of new students, as the universities minister says that this requires "leadership from the top". In a letter sent to all vice-Chancellors in the country ahead of students' return to university this week for the start of a new term, Sam Gyimah warned that there is "no negotiation" when it comes to mental health. "With the new academic year upon us, I'm sure you would agree that good mental health and wellbeing underpins successful participation and attainment," he said. "Collectively, we must prioritise the wellbeing and mental health of our students – there is no negotiation on this. To make this happen, leadership from the top is essential." Mr Gyimah has previously called for a greater focus on mental health issues, saying that universities' main purpose is no longer learning. Last year, a vice-Chancellor warned that universities are turning a blind eye to freshers' week "excesses" He has said that only "traditional" vice-Chancellors see "the prime purpose of their university as training of the mind", adding that: "This is no longer the case." This week, universities will begin their Freshers' Week itineraries, with around 400,000 students due to start university as first years. Last year, a vice-Chancellor warned that universities are turning a blind eye to freshers' week "excesses", and urged institutions to end their "permissive" culture. Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-Chancellor of Buckingham University, said that first-year students should be offered alternative activities to parties and social events where heavy drinking and drug-taking are prevalent. "The norm for many fresher students involves heavy drinking sessions in bars, which is inappropriate for many students," Sir Anthony said in a new report. "Many universities turn a blind eye to excessive drinking, believing that what students choose to do with alcohol, and indeed drugs, is none of their business." Sir Anthony's report, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), outlines how to create "positive universities" also suggests first-year students take psychology courses that teach them about the importance of wellbeing and good mental health.
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| Manafort’s capitulation leaves a wide-open field for Mueller’s team Posted: 15 Sep 2018 09:06 AM PDT  The collapse of Paul Manafort's defensive line appears to leave exposed flanks even at the White House.
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| Hundreds of firefighters to head to Utah to fight wildfire Posted: 14 Sep 2018 06:25 PM PDT  A raging Utah wildfire driven by high winds in dry terrain has the potential to decimate hundreds of homes, the governor said.
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| GOP Donor Les Wexner Announces Departure From Republican Party After Obama Visit Posted: 15 Sep 2018 12:13 PM PDT  Ohio billionaire and longtime Republican donor Les Wexner says he is
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| Hungary's Orban comes out fighting after EU setback Posted: 14 Sep 2018 07:47 PM PDT  The European Parliament's threat to unleash sanctions against Hungary over democracy concerns was a stunning political blow against Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but his dominance at home means defeat can still be spun as a win. A resolution passed in Strasbourg Wednesday ruled that the Hungarian government posed a "systemic threat" to the EU's founding values of democracy and the rule of law. The vote, backed by Manuel Weber, the head of the European People's Party -- the grouping Orban's Fidesz party also belongs to -- could in theory lead to Budapest being stripped of its EU voting rights.
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| Florence Flooding Breaches Makeshift Levee Reinforcement In North Carolina Posted: 16 Sep 2018 02:25 PM PDT  LUMBERTON, North Carolina -- In the days before Hurricane Florence struck,
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| Bird's-eye abstraction: Iceland viewed from above Posted: 16 Sep 2018 06:14 AM PDT ![Bird's-eye abstraction: Iceland viewed from above]( "Bird's-eye abstraction: Iceland viewed from above") Florian Ledoux captured these rare aerial views of the hills, water and craters of Iceland that look like abstract art compositions.
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| Dallas police face ire over portrayal of man shot by officer Posted: 14 Sep 2018 05:54 PM PDT  Attorneys for the family of a black man who was killed in his own apartment by a white officer accused police of trying to "assassinate his character."
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| The new vinegars: too good to splash on fish and chips Posted: 15 Sep 2018 10:00 PM PDT  Pucker up, food lovers: we're rediscovering our taste for tart. Since fermented foods are now recognised as being not only delicious but also good for the gut, vinegar has enjoyed a resurgence, emerging more flavourful and versatile than ever. Long relegated in Britain to being doused on fish and chips (dear old malt) or splashed in salad dressing (red or white wine, or balsamic), the condiment is now a feature ingredient in its own right. Chefs are making vinegars from scratch, infused with fruit, flowers and herbs, or, more bizarrely, wood ant and burnt toast. And for home cooks, supermarkets and specialist food shops now stock vinegars made from vintage grapes or perfumed with petals, and craft versions matured in oak barrels. Online food retailer Sous Chef reports a 23 per cent increase in sales of speciality vinegars in the past year, with balsamic growing by a whopping 75 per cent. Waitrose stocks 38 different varieties of the sharp stuff. The word "vinegar" comes from the Latin for "sour wine"; Roman legions valued its sharpness as a thirst quencher and drank it with water. Vinegar is sour because it is diluted acetic acid, created by the natural fermentation of wine or other forms of alcohol. This makes it a good preservative; the microorganisms that destroy food cannot survive in such an acidic environment. So, if you embalm ripe fruit, vegetables or herbs in vinegar, you freeze-frame the produce at its peak and imbue the vinegar with its flavour. Pasteurised or distilled vinegar has been heated to kill all the bacteria, but "live" varieties contain "the mother" – the cloud of live organisms that are good for gut health. Jars of different vinegars at Scully restaurant in east London For centuries, British cooks made good use of vinegar (think mushroom ketchup and piccalilli), according to food historian Angela Clutton, author of the forthcoming book The Vinegar Cupboard (Absolute Press, Feb 2019). So why did it fall out of favour? "Because it wasn't very good," Clutton admits. "We lost our craftsmen vinegar producers. Machine-made took over for speed and cost, so most of what was available was just not that great." In the basement kitchen of Scully restaurant in London, chef-proprietor Ramael Scully has buckets of vinegars burbling away. In the restaurant, gleaming jars fill the shelves, made with tayberries, kumquats, blackberry leaves, gooseberries and more. There's burnt toast vinegar on the go, made from charred sourdough and cider vinegar. What will he use this for? "I've no idea! That's the exciting thing," he says. But it will eventually add sparkle to one of his dishes. "I believe anything rich needs a bit of acidity," Scully says. "Vinegar brings balance." At Carters of Moseley in Birmingham, Brad Carter's cooking is firmly anchored in British-grown ingredients, so lemons are out and vinegar is vital to brighten and add flavour. He anoints fresh rhubarb with rhubarb vinegar, the sour notes teasing out hidden sweetness, and brushes roasted meat with a vinegar paste to snip through the richness. "Every dish should have an element of acidity – that's what elevates it," Carter says. Great vinegars Vinegar features on the best drinks menus, too. Kate Hawkings, author of Aperitif (Quadrille, £16.99), says shrubs are the perfect antidote to sweet cocktails. "The sourness makes them more appetising, more grown up," she says. Hawkings runs Bellita bar and restaurant in Bristol, where she serves shrubs – strawberry and black pepper, say, or pineapple and kaffir lime leaf – with a splash of soda, or spirits. "They cut the alcohol nicely," she says. Thom Eagle, head chef and fermenter at The Picklery in east London, thinks the popularity of vinegar is a sign that British palates are finally learning to appreciate a sour element in food. "Mediterranean chefs add a squeeze of fresh lemon, and in far-eastern cooking there's a tradition of balancing sweet and sour," he says. "Here, people are only just realising that adding a dash of vinegar at the end of cooking is a way to round out the seasoning." He suggests adding a splash of good vinegar at the start of cooking and finishing with a dash of a more complex vinegar, such as a sherry or red wine version. "It allows different aspects of the flavour to come through," Eagle says. So next time your dinner tastes like it's missing something, reach for the vinegar, not the salt: a dash of sour might be just what it needs. Ramael Scully's crispy salt and vinegar potatoes with lime and cardamom yogurt SERVES Four INGREDIENTS 500g Maris Pipers, lightly scrubbed with skin left on 100ml white wine vinegar, plus 1 tbsp 200g Greek yogurt 1 tbsp olive oil Zest of 1 lime and juice of ½ 2 tsp ground cardamom 300g masa harina, plus a little extra for dusting 100g cornflour 700-800ml soda water 1 litre vegetable oil, for frying Grated lime zest, to serve METHOD Slice the potatoes into 1cm-thick medallions. Add to a medium-sized saucepan and cover with water. Add 100ml vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil, turn heat down and simmer for 10- 25 minutes, until al dente. Mix together the yogurt, olive oil, lime zest and juice, cardamom and some salt and pepper to create a thick paste. Leave paste in the fridge until needed. To make the batter, mix together the masa harina, cornflour and a teaspoon of salt. Make a well in the middle and add the soda water and tablespoon of vinegar. Mix to a very thick batter. Place in the fridge. Drain the potatoes gently and spread on a baking tray lined with a dry J-cloth. Preheat the vegetable oil to 180C in a large saucepan or frying pan. Cook the potatoes in batches, coating them first in a layer of masa harina, then dip into the batter, then submerge in the oil. Fry to golden brown (any longer and the batter will turn bitter). Remove with a slotted spoon, dry on kitchen paper and serve sprinkled with salt and lime zest, to dip in the yogurt.
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| Ken Starr Says If President Trump Fires Robert Mueller 'There Would Be Hell To Pay' Posted: 15 Sep 2018 09:19 AM PDT  Former U.S. Solicitor General Kenneth Starr, who became a regular character in
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| Syria: Israel launched missile attack on Damascus airport Posted: 15 Sep 2018 02:31 PM PDT ![Syria: Israel launched missile attack on Damascus airport]( "Syria: Israel launched missile attack on Damascus airport") DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Israel attacked Damascus International Airport with missiles Saturday night, Syrian state media said, adding that air defenses shot down some of them. A war monitoring group said the attack targeted an arms depot for Iranian forces or Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
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| Tropical Storm Florence continues to flood roads and neighborhoods Posted: 15 Sep 2018 02:46 PM PDT  Active search and rescue missions continue to be carried out in areas with severe flooding.
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| Palestinian official says U.S. will never present Middle East peace plan Posted: 15 Sep 2018 06:54 AM PDT  Echoing deep scepticism among the Palestinians, Arab countries and analysts, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, said that the Trump administration was siding with Israel on the core issues of the decades-old conflict, burying all chances for Middle East peace. Doubts have mounted over whether Trump's administration can secure what he has called the "ultimate deal" since December, when the U.S. President recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and then moved the U.S. Embassy there. Jerusalem is one of the major issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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| Russia holds naval drills in Sea of Japan Posted: 15 Sep 2018 03:06 AM PDT  Russian troops taking part in the country's largest-ever war games on Saturday held drills in the Sea of Japan, despite Tokyo's concerns about a Russian military buildup in the area. The exercises were part of the Vostok-18, or East-18, war games that kicked off in eastern Russia on September 11 and will run until Monday. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has described the week-long operation, which involves nearly 300,000 soldiers, 36,000 vehicles, 1,000 planes and 80 warships, as Russia's biggest-ever war games.
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| Florence's Death Toll Stands at 15 as It Weakens to a Depression Posted: 16 Sep 2018 08:04 AM PDT  10 people have died in North Carolina and five died in South Carolina
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| Before and after a storm, the supply stores are critical Posted: 15 Sep 2018 10:30 PM PDT  MIAMI (AP) — Before and after a hurricane, Ace is the place. And Home Depot and Lowe's. And many other hardware and building supply outlets.
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| NASA counts down to launch of laser study of ice sheets Posted: 14 Sep 2018 10:27 PM PDT  NASA counted down Saturday to the launch of its $1 billion ICESat-2 mission, using advanced lasers to uncover the true depth of the melting of Earth's ice sheets. The mission will inform sea level rise forecasts and is "exceptionally important for science," according to Richard Slonaker, ICESat-2 program executive at NASA. The half-ton satellite should reveal unprecedented detail about the current thickness of ice at the vulnerable polar regions as the climate warms.
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| Typhoon Mangkhut closes in on Hong Kong Posted: 16 Sep 2018 01:04 AM PDT  Heavy rainfall and flooding hit Hong Kong, causing extensive damage, as "super typhoon" Mangkhut swirled by the city on Sunday. Rough cut (no reporter narration)
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| FEMA Boss Defends Trump's Puerto Rico Death Toll Denial: 'Numbers Are All Over The Place' Posted: 16 Sep 2018 08:15 AM PDT  The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday defended
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| Seven hurt, one critically, in brawl in southeast English town Posted: 16 Sep 2018 02:11 PM PDT ![Seven hurt, one critically, in brawl in southeast English town]( "Seven hurt, one critically, in brawl in southeast English town") Seven people were being treated in hospital, one of them in a critical condition, after they were involved in a fight in a residential street in the southeastern English town of Luton on Sunday, police said. Police said on Twitter that they attended the scene after receiving reports of a large number of individuals fighting.
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| 87 Incredibly Easy Skillet Chicken Dinners Posted: 16 Sep 2018 03:09 PM PDT |
| Combat Troops Have Been Complaining about the M4 And M16 for Years. Now The Pentagon Is Doing Something about It. Posted: 15 Sep 2018 09:00 AM PDT  Thanks to Jim Mattis, that is.
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| Deluged by Hurricane Matthew, rural town waits for Florence Posted: 15 Sep 2018 08:44 AM PDT  LUMBERTON, N.C. (AP) — She takes a break from hauling rugs and family heirlooms into the attic to look out the front door and watch it rain and rain and rain some more.
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| Texas Board of Education Votes to Remove Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller from the State's Curriculum Posted: 15 Sep 2018 11:07 AM PDT  The changes were made as a part of an effort to "streamline" Texas public schools' curriculum
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| Mormon fighting to end youth interviews ousted from faith Posted: 16 Sep 2018 01:13 PM PDT  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Mormon man who led a campaign criticizing the church's practice of allowing closed-door, one-on-one interviews of youth by lay leaders that sometimes included sexual questions has been kicked out of the faith following a disciplinary hearing.
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| Turkey-Russia discord over Idlib defers regime offensive, for now Posted: 14 Sep 2018 06:23 PM PDT  Disagreement between Turkey and Russia over how to tackle the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib seems to have deferred a looming regime offensive on the province, analysts say. Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the conflict, but key global allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian and Iranian leaders Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on September 7 to discuss Syria, just as a major assault by Russia-backed regime forces on Idlib appeared imminent.
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| How to Wash a Pillow to Keep It Smelling Fresh Posted: 16 Sep 2018 03:03 AM PDT  While you're probably in the habit of regularly washing your sheets and pillowcases, you might not give as much attention to what lies beneath—your pillows and mattress. But both need a good clea...
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| Trump Says Democrats Are Playing GOP 'Like A Fiddle' On Border Wall Posted: 15 Sep 2018 08:08 PM PDT  President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Republican legislators for
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| Liverpool exploits Tottenham's World Cup fatigue for 5th win Posted: 15 Sep 2018 02:06 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Liverpool can cope without Mohamed Salah scoring. Not so Tottenham when a lethargic Harry Kane is misfiring.
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| China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities Posted: 16 Sep 2018 12:34 AM PDT ![China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities]( "China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities") China on Sunday accused Taiwan's spy agencies of stepping up efforts to steal intelligence with the aim of "infiltration" and "sabotage", and warned the island against further damaging already strained cross-strait ties. The relevant agencies in Taiwan must end such activities immediately, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing An Fengshan, a spokesman of China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office. On Saturday, state television kicked off the first in a series of programs detailing cases in which Chinese students studying in Taiwan are said to be targeted by domestic spies who lure them with money, love and friendship.
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