Syria: YPG launches assault take all of Hasaka
Fighters besiege government buildings in divided city after failure of Russian team to mend rift between the two sides.
Soldiers from the Kurdish YPG have launched a major assault to seize the last government-controlled areas of the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka, after a Russian mediation team failed to mend the rift between the two sides.
The YPG began the offensive after midnight to take the southeastern district of Nashwa, close to where a security compound is located near the governor's office close to the heart of the city, according to YPG sources and residents.
The YPG, or the People's Protection Units, has ties to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Search for successor to revered public protector grips South Africa
Thuli Madonsela’s seven-year term as ombudsman is set to expire, and her replacement will have a hard act to follow
In a country that loves its reality shows, a very public competition is attracting record audiences. It does not involve a wedding or a singing child; there is no dancing and no mascara. There is, however, a celebrity: Thuli Madonsela.
Appointed as South Africa’s constitutionally mandated public ombudsman – officially known as the public protector – in 2009, Madonsela has become one of the country’s best loved and most admired figures. But her seven-year non-renewable term will expire within weeks, and the South African parliament will choose her replacement next week. The search for candidates has gripped the nation.
Parliamentary hearings have received blanket coverage. Supposed revelations about those hoping to replace Madonsela have made front pages. “Who will protect us?” ran one headline in the Sunday Times newspaper.
Islamic extremist pleads guilty to destroying Timbuktu monuments in landmark war crimes trial
It is the first ICC trial to charge an individual for war crimes against a historic and cultural monument
An Islamic extremist has pleaded guilty to destroying historic mausoleums in the Malian desert city of Timbuktu.
As his International Criminal Court (ICC) trial started Monday, Ahmad Al Faqi al-Mahdi told judges he was entering the guilty plea "with deep regret and great pain."
It is the first ICC trial to charge an individual for war crimes against a historic and cultural monument.
Mahdi led a group of radicals to destroy 14 of Timbuktu's 16 mausoleums in 2012 because they considered them totems of idolatry. The one-room structures housing the tombs of the city's great thinkers were on the World Heritage list. Malaysian rapper detained for 'insulting Islam': report
AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: A popular Malaysian rapper and film director has been arrested over a music video which allegedly disrespects Islam, the national news agency said.
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport where he was returning from overseas, the Bernama agency said late Sunday.
The word “Allah” and sounds of the call to prayer were said to be used in the four-minute Mandarin music video, titled “Oh My God”. The video featured footage of Namewee and other singers, dressed in outfits representing various cultures and religions, performing inside a mosque and a church as well as at Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist temples.
Life inside the Philippines' most overcrowded jail
Updated 0704 GMT (1504 HKT) August 22, 2016
In an unassuming Quezon City neighborhood, across from a municipal library and around the corner from a police station stands the local jail.
A short ride from Manila -- depending on traffic -- the jail isn't an imposing building, or even a particularly large one. Its total floor area is a shade over 30,000 square feet.
More than 4,000 inmates -- and counting -- live cheek by jowl in what has to be one of the most densely populated corners of the Philippines.
It's always been packed, guards say, but recently the number of inmates has spiked.
Now that South America's first Games are ending, the question is: Did the gamble pay off?
Rio de Janeiro suffered multiple setbacks as the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games. But some Brazilians feel pride over their city's perseverance.
Taking the Olympics to Rio de Janeiro was always considered a bit of a risk. Now that South America's first games are drawing to a close, the question is: Did the gamble pay off?
The answer, according to experienced Olympic officials and experts, is a mixed bag.
Yes, Brazil managed to pull it off under difficult economic and political conditions, with the sports competitions, venues, athletes, friendly hosts, television images and Rio's scenic backdrops all rising to the occasion.
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