| S. Korea welcomes 'special' Olympic skaters from North Posted: 01 Oct 2017 04:55 AM PDT  South Korean organisers of next year's Winter Olympics welcomed Saturday the "special" qualifying of figure skaters from the North, as Seoul seeks to promote its isolated neighbour's participation as a key part of the "Peace Games". Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik became the first North Koreans to qualify for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games on Friday after winning one of the five Olympic pairs spots available at a qualifying tournament in Germany. It means the North can now make plans to compete without waiting to find out if it will be handed wild card entries -- although Pyongyang has yet to formally confirm that its athletes will take part in the Games.
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| Stampede in India's financial capital kills at least 22 Posted: 01 Oct 2017 03:10 AM PDT  By Rajendra Jadhav and Devidutta Tripathy MUMBAI (Reuters) - A rush hour stampede killed at least 22 people and wounded 36 on Friday during a sudden monsoon downpour at a busy railway station in India's commercial hub of Mumbai, government and emergency officials said. India has the world's fourth biggest rail network, but it is grappling with underinvestment and overcrowding, especially in the city of 20 million where rail accidents have killed more than 3,000 people in each of the last three years. The cause of the stampede on a tiny bridge at the central Elphinstone Road station was being investigated, a police official at the accident site said.
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| Texas governor gives Houston $50M for Harvey following clash Posted: 01 Oct 2017 12:05 AM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday gave $50 million in state funds to the city of Houston for Hurricane Harvey cleanup following criticism over his assertions that the Democratic mayor already had "all the money he needs."
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| High school cheerleaders kneel for the national anthem in wake of NFL protest Posted: 30 Sep 2017 10:50 PM PDT  Several cheerleaders at a school in Texas knelt for the national anthem before an American football game, mirroring the protest first triggered by NFL players angry at against racism and police brutality in the US. In a match between McCallum and Lyndon B Johnson high schools, at least six cheerleaders were on bended knee for "The Star-Spangled Banner", according to the Houston Chronicle.
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| 10 days after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still fighting for life Posted: 30 Sep 2017 09:45 PM PDT  In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Donald Trump blames Puerto Rico's continuing struggles on "poor leadership." Pictures tell a very different story. While the president sunk to an inexcusable new low on Saturday, images coming out of the storm-ravaged U.S. territory show us what's really going on. It is much as San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz described it: "This is a 'people are dying' story." SEE ALSO: San Juan mayor to Trump: 'We are dying' With a non-existent power grid and completely decimated infrastructure, the people of Puerto Rico are actively suffering as you read this on Sept. 30, 2017. There's no end in sight, either, as fixes for even the most basic functions of life in the 21st century — electricity, and everything it provides — are said to be many months away. The scenes pictured below were all captured at the tail end of the week, and they offer a look at an environment that is a long way off from restoring even the semblance of normalcy. Even after the storm, some residents still hope to evacuate while others try to pick up the pieces of a shattered existence. Nothing about this situation is normal. Trump's politicizing of a humanitarian relief effort is troubling enough, but to see and hear those words while photos like these still surface every day... it's almost too much to bear. This, right here, is what's happening in Puerto Rico just over a week after Maria. Take it all in. But don't take too long. These people need help. Do what you can. WATCH: Pitbull sends his private jet to Puerto Rico cancer patients
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| Washington protesters demand racial justice amid NFL protests Posted: 30 Sep 2017 08:09 PM PDT  Several thousand demonstrators turned out Saturday in Washington to demand racial justice in the United States, days after NFL players across the country defied President Donald Trump by taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality. It comes as the country is experiencing a period of heightened racial tensions as white supremacist groups have come increasingly to the fore, culminating in the death of a liberal protester in August. An opinion poll published by CBS News Friday highlighted growing polarization: fifty-two percent of Americans disapprove of athletes staging protests during the national anthem -- but they also do not like President Donald Trump's handling of the issue.
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| Syrian army, allies seize more of Jordanian frontier: report Posted: 30 Sep 2017 07:51 PM PDT ![Syrian army, allies seize more of Jordanian frontier: report]( "Syrian army, allies seize more of Jordanian frontier: report") The Syrian army and its allies seized control of nine positions at Syria's border with Jordan, expanding their control at the southern frontier, a military news outlet run by the Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Saturday. The captured border positions were located to the southeast of Damascus, the report said, adding that militants had been killed and wounded during the attack. It did not identify the insurgents, or say when the positions had been captured.
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| Trump tax plan for 'average Americans' would mainly help richest 1%, study finds Posted: 30 Sep 2017 06:18 PM PDT  Donald Trump himself would be a big beneficiary of the plan, despite his claims that the proposals had 'very little benefit for people of wealth'. Donald Trump's "once-in-a-lifetime" plan to cut taxes for "average Americans" would mainly benefit the richest 1% and deliver only modest cuts for most US households, according to an independent analysis released on Friday. Trump announced a radical overhaul of the US tax system on Wednesday, claiming the plan would bring relief to middle-class households.
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| Photo of San Juan Mayor Goes Viral as Trump Attacks Her on Twitter Posted: 30 Sep 2017 04:39 PM PDT  Carmen Yulin Cruz has garnered the ire of President Trump.
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| Passengers describe seeing fireball as engine on Air France flight disintegrates over Atlantic Ocean Posted: 30 Sep 2017 03:57 PM PDT  An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada on Saturday after an engine apparently disintegrated over the Atlantic. Passengers said they heard a thud and vibrations rattled through the cabin as the A380 plane lost altitude. "We heard a big popping sound and the airplane basically dropped and it was trembling. You could definitely tell something was different and it wasn't just turbulence," Sarah Eamigh told the New York Daily News, adding that the plane shook for 20 minutes before stabilising. Inflight pictures. Loud thud and a lot of vibration. pic.twitter.com/s9GFIyssrh— Rick Engebretsen (@RickEngebretsen) September 30, 2017 Passengers posted photographs to social media showing the damage. One said: "I think the engine has seen better days." The images appeared to show that the inlet, or front part, of the engine had torn off, but the main part of the engine remained intact. The airline said flight AF 066 from Paris landed safely at Goose Bay Airport in Labrador. An Air France Airbus A380 is seen during an emergency landing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay Credit: Reuters I talked to the passenger by the window and He said the entire engine exploded into giant fireball.— Daniel McNeely (@DanMcneely) September 30, 2017 "The aircraft landed safely at 15:42 (GMT), and the regularly trained pilots and cabin crew handled this serious incident perfectly," the airline said in a statement. "Air France is working to re-route the passengers to Los Angeles via one of its connecting platforms in North America." The aircraft is one of 10 A380s in the Air France fleet and was carrying 496 passengers and 24 crew. The forced landing in Canada's easternmost province is reminiscent of an incident seven years ago in which one of the Rolls Royce engines on a Qantas A380 suffered mid-engine damage after taking off in Singapore. The November 2010 incident prompted the grounding of the entire Qantas A380 fleet -- six A380s at the time -- for over three weeks.
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