Syria ‘ceasefire is not dead’ – Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, attend the International Syria Support Group meeting September 20, 2016 in New York.(AFP)

US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Tuesday that hopes for a ceasefire in Syria remain alive after meeting with Russia and key powers with a stake in the civil war.
In brief remarks to reporters as he left a New York hotel after a meeting of the International Syria Support Group, Kerry said talks would reconvene later this week.
“The ceasefire is not dead,” Kerry insisted, one day after the Syrian military declared a week-old truce over and launched new bombardments on rebel held cities.
The United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura confirmed that there was still hope of reviving the ceasefire, but admitted that delegates agreed it was in danger.
The 23-nation ISSG, chaired by Kerry and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,

LA police used smart phones to save suicidal man

Police at Los Angeles airport turned to their smart phones to stop a Korean-speaking man from committing suicide last week, using translation apps to coax the “jumper” dangling over a ledge.
According to a police statement released on Monday, two officers responding to a call about a man hanging from the ledge of a four-story parking structure at the airport were initially stumped

Drug resistance in people and animals may push millions into poverty – World Bank

The World Bank has warned that if the drug-resistant infections in people and animals are allowed to spread unchecked, some 28 million people would fall into poverty by 2050.
The Bank said in a report released on Tuesday ahead of a high-level meeting on the issue at the UN in New York that a century of progress in health would be reversed.
It said that by 2050, annual global GDP would fall by at least 1.1 per cent, although the loss could be as much as 3.8 per cent.
The report noted that the fall could be an equivalent of the 2008 financial crisis.
Tim Evans, World Bank Senior Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, said that the rise of “superbugs” resistant to drugs has been caused partly by the increased use and misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs in the treatment of people and in farming.
“We cannot afford to lose the gains in the last century brought about by the antibiotic era

Trump, Clinton meet top world leaders in New York

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met Egypt’s president in New York on Monday as the two US presidential candidates tried to bolster their diplomatic credentials at the United Nations.
Democratic standard-bearer Clinton said last week that she would meet Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with leaders from Japan and Ukraine on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
She spent more than an hour locked in private discussions with the Egyptian leader, with aides later saying they had discussed issues ranging from counter-terrorism to human rights.
Trump’s meeting with Sisi — the first time the Republican presidential candidate has met a leader from the Muslim world — appeared to be a response to his opponent’s program.
The former reality TV star, who has previously called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, spoke with Sisi at New York’s La Guardia airport, after flying in from Florida.

Pope talks peace with faith leaders in Assisi

Pope Francis met for peace talks in Assisi Tuesday with faith leaders and victims of war, broaching the issues of growing religious fanaticism and escalating violence around the world.
“Today more than ever, we need peace in the face of this war that is everywhere in the world,” the Argentine said ahead of his trip, which came as fighting resumed in Syria and the US investigated an attack possibly linked to the Islamic State group.
“Following the example of St. Francis (of Assisi), a man of brotherhood and kindness, we are all called to offer the world a strong testimony of our common commitment to peace and reconciliation among peoples,” the pontiff said.
The annual World Day of Prayer event, established by John Paul II 30 years ago and held in the medieval town in central Italy, aims to combat the persecution of peoples for their faiths and acts of violence in the name of God.
The 79-year old pope arrived by helicopter and was set to lunch with war victims before sitting

Trump’s son compares Syrian refugees to poisoned candies

Donald Trump Jr

Donald Trump’s eldest son triggered an online storm with a tweet comparing Syrian refugees to a bowl containing an assortment of tainted and untainted candies.
“This image says it all,” Donald Trump Jr, 38, wrote Monday, in a tweet showing a picture of a white bowl filled with the popular, rainbow-colored Skittles candies.
Written above the image is: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syria refugee problem.”
The Twitter post — showing the familiar “Trump-Pence 2016” logo with the presidential campaign slogan “Make America Great Again!” — was met with immediate scorn from users of the popular micro-blogging site.
“I’m not even big on Skittles but now I will buy up every single packet,” wrote @SarahSahim.
“Is Donald Trump’s new campaign slogan “Fear The Rainbow”? wrote Twitter user @AngrySalmond.

UN suspends all Syria aid after convoy bombed

The United Nations has suspended all aid convoys to Syria in the wake of an attack on aid trucks that could amount to a “war crime”, according to a top UN official.
Air raids rocked northern Syria’s Aleppo province on Tuesday, hours after 18 trucks in a UN humanitarian aid convoy were hit in an area west of Aleppo city, killing at least 12 people.
“As an immediate security measure, other convoy movements in Syria have been suspended for the time being pending further assessment of the security situation,” UN humanitarian aid spokesman Jens Laerke told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday, adding the UN had recently received permission from the Syrian government to deliver aid to all besieged areas in the country.
The United States said it was unclear if it was a Russian or Syrian plane that hit the 31-truck UN aid convoy late on Monday, but officials placed the blame on Moscow, a key ally of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Trump blamed for Mexican currency’s free fall

Donald Trump has angered Mexicans with his anti-immigrant rhetoric and caused political headaches for their president. Now the White House hopeful is partly blamed for the national currency’s free fall.
The currency dropped to a record 20 pesos to the dollar on Monday, a 2.15 percent fall from last week when it closed at 19.57, according to banking firm Banamex.
Fears over a possible interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve are cited as a key factor for the peso’s drop, although analysts now believe the Fed will keep it unchanged when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But analysts also point to concerns over Trump’s chances in the US election against Democratic

North Korea successfully tests satellite rocket engine

Kim Jong Un

North Korea has said it has successfully tested a new rocket engine which could be used to launch satellites.
The country’s leader Kim Jong-Un has asked scientists and engineers to make preparations for a satellite launch as soon as possible.
The United Nations and others view the North’s space launch development project as a way of