Syria ceasefire: 'No civilian deaths on first day'
The cessation of hostilities in Syria that came into effect at sunset on Monday is holding well into its first day, reports suggest.
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had recorded no civilian deaths in the first 15 hours of the truce.
Residents in the embattled northern city of Aleppo reported calm.
Separately, Israel denied on Monday that Syria had shot down one of its jets over the Syrian Golan Heights.
Syrian state TV reported the country's military had downed an Israeli warplane and drone after the aircraft attacked a Syrian army position in the Quneitra region.
Chinese police fight running battles with villagers in restive Wukan
Authorities storm homes in the southern province of Guangdong and arrest leaders of ongoing demonstrations
Chinese police fired rubber bullets at villagers and arrested 13 people on Tuesday in an overnight crackdown to suppress demonstrations in a southern fishing village that became internationally known five years ago for protesting land seizures.
Police stormed into the village of Wukan in the southern province of Guangdong and arrested leaders of ongoing demonstrations in their homes. Videos posted on social media show one person with blood on his arm and chest, and another being treated for an apparent bullet wound on his hand.
Another video shows a line of black police vans streaming into the village, a hamlet of about 13,000 people on the South China Sea near Hong Kong.
Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, explained for non-Muslims
Updated by Jennifer Williams
At this moment, some 1.3 million people from 164 different countries are in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, performing the hajj, the Islamic religious pilgrimage — including, according to the US State Department, approximately 15,000 Americans.
It’s a huge event — in terms of both its significance in Islam and the massive logistical challenge of having that many people from all walks of life and every corner of the globe descend on one relatively small place all at once.
But what actually goes on at the hajj? What is its religious and political significance? How do they handle all those people? And what is inside that big black box?
Driving across South America in search of “green” communities
OBSERVERS
For the past six years, Leticia and Ryan have been travelling across Latin America, visiting communities that are devoted to living sustainably. The bi-national couple (Leticia is Brazilian, Ryan is America) have already mapped more than 150 eco-friendly initiatives in 12 different countries. With camera in hand, they’ve been documenting their travels with short videos to inspire more people to help the environment.
Ryan and Leticia's videos show how to make a wide range of environmentally-friendly inventions, from a solar oven to an eco-friendly pressure cooker to a washing machine powered by a bike. They are co-founders of a project called "Común Tierra”, which roughly translates to “Shared Earth”.
Since 2010, this pair has been traveling around Latin America meeting entrepreneurs who are piloting green initiatives. Their trusty steed in this quest is their RV, named “Minhoca” (earthworm in Portuguese).
At least 13 injured as police foil suicide blasts targeting Eid prayers in Shikarpur
AP | AZHAR GUL SARKI
SHIKARPUR: At least 13 people, including five cops, were injured as police foiled two separate suicide blasts during Eid prayers in Shikarpur's Khanpur tehsil on Monday.
Police sources said four suicide attackers infiltrated Khanpur during Eid prayers.
Two of the attackers targeted an Eid prayer ground where one assailant blew himself up, injuring 10 people, two of whom were policemen. The other attacker fled, police sources said.
Brazilian lawmakers vote to strip ex-speaker of his seat
The Chamber of Deputies voted 450 to 10 to remove Eduardo Cunha after hours of debate.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's lower house of Congress voted overwhelmingly late Monday to strip the legislative seat of its former speaker amid accusations of corruption and obstruction of justice.
The Chamber of Deputies voted 450 to 10 to remove Eduardo Cunha after hours of debate, adding him to a growing list of politicians and business executives who have been felled by Brazil's sprawling corruption scandals. Nine legislators abstained.
Cunha has been accused by Brazilian prosecutors of receiving millions of dollars in bribes linked to the mammoth corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras. But the issue before the Chamber of Deputies was only whether he lied about having secret banking accounts in Switzerland.
Colombia's FARC apologises for past kidnappings
Armed group acknowledges "great pain" caused by abductions as it prepares to sign deal to end half century of conflict.
Colombia's Marxist FARC fighters have apologised for the "great pain" they caused by kidnapping thousands of people to finance half a century of conflict.
FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, acknowledged in a video recording late on Sunday that it had taken captives over the years but would not do so again.
The fighters and government are gearing up to sign the accord after reaching agreement on August 24 to end a war that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions.
About 7,000 FARC fighters will be incorporated into society and permitted to form a political party.
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