Fitch downgrades Hong Kong citing protests and China fears

Hong Kong's reputation as a dependable financial hub took a hit on Friday after Fitch downgraded the city's sovereign rating, citing ongoing protests and uncertainty caused by closer integration with the Chinese mainland. Millions of pro-democracy supporters have taken to Hong Kong's streets for the past three months in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997. The sometimes violent protests have heaped pressure on Hong Kong's economy, which had already been under pressure from the US-China trade war.

Disputed Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 photographed off Syrian port

The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the centre of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers, which went dark off Syria earlier in the week, has been photographed by satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus, Maxar TechnologiesInc., a U.S. space technology company said on Saturday. Maxar's supplied image shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on September 6. The ship appeared to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday. The tanker, which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed. The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions. Satellite images shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on September 6 Credit: Maxar Technologies Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf. Gibraltar released the Iranian vessel on Aug. 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria. However, shipping sources say the tanker is likely to try to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel for part of its cargo after Iran said a sale had been concluded. Washington has warned any state against assisting the ship, saying it would consider that support for a terrorist organisation, namely, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Russia, Ukraine swap prisoners in landmark 'first step' to ease tensions

Russia and Ukraine made a long-awaited swap of 70 prisoners on Saturday, a deal hailed as a first step towards ending five years of tensions and conflict. Two planes carrying 35 prisoners from each side landed simultaneously in Moscow and Kiev, where the passengers emerged under sunny skies. "We have taken the first step," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the tarmac after greeting and hugging former detainees.

'I know what death smells like': fears Bahamas death toll will soar amid search for hundreds still missing

The smell of death hangs over parts of Great Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas, where relief workers on Friday sifted through the debris of shattered homes and buildings in a search expected to dramatically drive up the death toll from Hurricane Dorian. Dorian, the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas, swept through the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island earlier this week, flattening entire neighbourhoods and knocking out key infrastructure, including airport landing strips and a hospital. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are still missing, and officials say the death toll, which currently stands at 30, is likely to rise significantly as more bodies are discovered in the ruins and floodwaters left behind by the storm. "You smell the decomposing bodies as you walk through Marsh Harbour," said Sandra Sweeting, 37, in an interview amid the wreckage on Great Abaco. "It's everywhere. There are a lot of people who aren't going to make it off this island." Some locals called the government's initial official death toll a tragic underestimate. Hurricane Dorian barrels towards US after battering Bahamas, in pictures "I work part-time in a funeral home, I know what death smells like," said Anthony Thompson, 27. "There must be hundreds. Hundreds." Asked if any of his friends or family had perished, Mr Thompson looked at the ground. "I don't want to ask, because there are people I still haven't heard from," he said. Chaotic conditions around the islands were interfering with flights and boats, hampering relief efforts. Aliana Alexis, of Haiti, stands on the concrete slab of what is left of her home after destruction from Hurricane Dorian in an area called "The Mud" at Marsh Harbour in Great Abaco Island Credit: Al Diaz/Miami Herald / AP "Obviously, we have to take care of the sick and the injured first, but we're also making preparations for the dead," Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway, medical chief of staff at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, told CNN by phone. Many of those injured by the storm were being airlifted to the hospital with fractures and head injuries and suffering from trauma and dehydration, said Dr Burnett-Garraway, who expects a "second wave" of patients in the coming days. There are fears contaminated drink water will lead to outbreaks of diarrhoea and waterborne diseases, with aid organisations describing the situation for some people on Abaco as "desperate." The United Nations estimated 70,000 people were in immediate need of food, water and shelter on the islands, where looting of shops and supermarkets has been reported. Humanitarian and Disaster Relief teams, from RFA Mounts Bay, delivering aid to the Island of Great Abaco Credit: Paul Halliwell / Royal Navy The British government has allocated £1.5 million for an immediate response in the Bahamas, which includes the delivery of critical aid supplies such as water and shelter kits through a Royal Navy ship in the area. The Department for International Development has also deployed humanitarian staff and Foreign Office staff to the islands. It is estimated that several hundred British nationals live in the worst affected areas of the Bahamas. The Government said it is opening a reception centre in Nassau, the capital of the island nation, for British people who are facing difficulties in the wake of the hurricane.  Alok Sharma, the International Development Secretary,  said: "My heart goes out to all of those who have been affected by this tragedy and lost their loved ones. Anyone worried about a loved one in the Bahamas who may need UK consular help should call 0207 008 1500." A man carries bags with his clothes at his home after hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in Marsh Harbour Credit: Reuters The relief effort faces formidable logistical challenges because of the widespread destruction of Dorian, which hovered over the Bahamas for nearly two days with torrential rains and fierce winds that whipped up 12- to 18-foot storm surges. The storm made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Friday with winds of 90 miles per hour. Roy Cooper, the state's governor, said hundreds of people are stranded following a storm surge on the Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island. Mr Cooper said some 800 people had chosen to stay behind, and urged them to get to high ground. "There is significant concern about hundreds of people trapped on Ocrocoke Island," he told reporters at a news conference on Friday morning. "There are rescue teams ready as soon as they can get in." A weakened Hurricane Dorian flooded homes on the Outer Banks with a ferocity that seemed to take storm-hardened residents by surprise Credit: Steve Earley/The Virginian-Pilot via AP At least four deaths in the US southeast have so far been blamed on the storm, which has caused substantial damage in the states of North and South Carolina.  Twisters spun off by Dorian peeled away roofs and flipped trailers, and more than 250,000 homes and businesses were left without power. On Friday morning, residents and crews fanned out around downtown Charleston, scooping up the branches and leaves that littered the centuries-old streets.

Pope Francis says it is ‘an honour that the Americans attack me'

In an offhand remark on the papal plane en route to Mozambique, Pope Francis acknowledged the sharp opposition he has faced from conservative Catholic detractors in the United States, calling it an “an honour that the Americans attack me”.His remark came at the start of a six-day trip to Africa, as the pope shook hands in the back of the plane with a French reporter who handed him a copy of his new book How America Wanted to Change the Pope.

UPDATE 3-India loses contact with spacecraft on mission to the moon

BENGALURU/MUMBAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - India lost contact with a spacecraft it was trying to land on the moon on Saturday, its space agency said, in a setback for the nation's ambitious plans to become the first country to probe the unexplored lunar south pole. The lander of the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission was attempting a "soft," or controlled, landing near the south pole of the moon where scientists believe there could be water ice. "Data is being analysed," K Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told distraught scientists at the agency's tracking centre in Bengaluru.

Bodies Crushed By Debris, Looting and Limited Sanitation: Survivors Describe Dorian’s Aftermath on Great Abaco Island

Many people do not have access to adequate food and water, or a means to evacuate

Beto O'Rourke takes on Meghan McCain over gun rights amid gun control debate after mass shootings

O'Rourke, a native Texan and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, and McCain, an outspoken conservative voice on "The View," have a difference of opinion when it comes to gun control and gun rights.

Red Jeep Stranded on a Beach Becomes a Social Media Sensation

By BY MARIEL PADILLA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2LsmNlG

House panel poised to spell out Trump impeachment probe: source

The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, criticized for an unorthodox impeachment probe of President Donald Trump, is poised to vote next week on a resolution to formalize the investigation, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. The panel has rebranded what was originally an oversight probe of Trump's presidency as an "impeachment" investigation, with the aim of deciding by the end of the year on whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House.

Korean Peninsula awaits typhoon; dozens of flights canceled

Dozens of flights were canceled and parks were closed in South Korea on Friday as powerful Typhoon Lingling gained momentum on its path toward the Korean Peninsula. The Korea Meteorological Association said the typhoon is expected to pass off the west coast of South Korea on Saturday afternoon before making landfall in North Korea on Saturday evening. The agency warned of possible flooding, landslides and structure damage caused by strong rains combined with very strong winds expected nationwide until early Sunday.

MIT Media Lab Rocked by New Jeffrey Epstein Revelations

Scandal has been swirling around the MIT Media Lab because of its ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with the prestigious university apologizing for taking $800,000 from the accused sex trafficker and several researchers quitting in protest.But the outcry is about to get much louder after a bombshell report by The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow that reveals the financial relationship was more deeply entangled than previously known—so much so that Epstein’s donations were kept anonymous and the lab ignored pushback from its staffers to keep the money rolling in.The report, which cites leaked emails and other records, appears to contradict lab director Joichi Ito’s recent claim that his decision to accept Epstein’s donations was simply an “error in judgement.”Among the biggest disclosures: EPSTEIN ALLEGEDLY ‘DIRECTED’ DONATION FROM BILL GATESEpstein acted as an intermediary to woo other wealthy donors, including Bill Gates, who donated $2 million in 2014, and investor Leon Black, who gave $5.5 million in 2015, according to the report. Ito is said to have let Epstein—who had already spent a year in jail after a sex-trafficking investigation—handle the discussions with donors. “Gates would like a write up on our one science program for tues next week,” Epstein allegedly wrote to Ito at one point. The donation from Gates was later described as having been “directed” by Epstein, according to the report. Once the donations were made, the lab reportedly went to great lengths to keep Epstein’s involvement secret. Documentation filed with the university did not mention Epstein by name, stating instead: “Gates is making this gift at the recommendation of a friend of his who wishes to remain anonymous.” A spokesperson for Gates told The New Yorker: “Any claim that Epstein directed any programmatic or personal grantmaking for Bill Gates is completely false.” THE LAB WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO HIDE EPSTEIN’S INVOLVEMENTThe Media Lab’s efforts to keep Epstein’s involvement under wraps was so well-known among staffers that some employees in Ito’s office referred to the convicted sex offender as Voldemort, “he who must not be named” from the Harry Potter series, Farrow reported. In MIT’s official donor database, Epstein was listed as “disqualified”—and the lab took pains to make sure his dealings were kept secret.As recently as September 2014, Ito is said to have emailed Epstein seeking “another $100K” so the lab could extend a researcher’s contract. When forwarding the email to a staffer, Ito allegedly wrote, “Make sure this gets accounted for as anonymous.” The then-director of Development and Strategy, Peter Cohen, wrote, “Jeffrey money, needs to be anonymous. Thanks,” according to the report. Cohen is said to have echoed that language in a message about Gates’ donation, writing, “For gift recording purposes, we will not be mentioning Jeffrey’s name as the impetus for this gift.” He later reportedly said future records on donations involving Epstein should be made only “if there is a way to do it quietly.” EPSTEIN VISITED WITH ‘FEMALE ASSISTANTS’Epstein was reportedly invited to the Media Lab in 2015 to provide “input” on the projects his money was funding. Signe Swenson, a former development associate and alumni coordinator at the Media Lab, told The New Yorker she had pushed back against the visit in vain. Swenson said she ultimately resigned in 2016 partly because of the lab’s ties to Epstein. “I don’t think he should be on campus,” Swenson recalled saying at the time. “At that point it hit me: this pedophile is going to be in our office.” Swenson said Cohen conceded that Epstein was “unsavory” but told her “we’re planning to do it anyway—this was Joi’s project.” The visit was marked on Ito’s calendar without any mention of Epstein by name, Swenson said. “There was definitely an explicit conversation about keeping it off the books, because Joi's calendar is visible to everyone,” she was quoted as saying. Media Lab staffers were told to expect Epstein to bring his “two female ‘assistants,’” without whom he “never goes into any room.” Ito is said to have explicitly informed Cohen that Epstein would have two women in tow. When Epstein arrived, Swenson said she saw the two young women in question. “They were models. Eastern European, definitely.” All of the female staffers at the lab “made it a point to be super nice to them,” Swenson said. “We literally had a conversation about how, on the off chance that they’re not there by choice, we could maybe help them.” ‘Hundreds of People’ Could Be Named in Epstein-Related Documents: LawyerRead more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Elon Musk Is Sending a Tesla Model S to the Nurburgring

Sure looks like Tesla is taking on the Porsche Taycan in a hot-lap EV grudge match.

Heartwarming stories of people rescuing animals from Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian is destroying people's homes and lives. But don't forget animals are affected, too. Here are some of their stories.

Watch this hero on an 80 mph roller coaster catch a loose iPhone in mid-air

Most of us have our phones with us and generally on our person pretty much all day, except for when we're sleeping -- and even then, they're often close by. Within arm's reach, on a nightstand or the like. The same apparently goes for some hardy souls who're engaged in outdoor adventures, like the guy who recently decided to ride the Shambhala roller coaster last month at the PortAventura World theme park in Catalonia, Spain.At one point during the ride, he loses control of his iPhone X, which goes flying through the air. Until -- gotcha! A fellow passenger sitting behind him, with lightning-quick reflexes, interrupted his reverie and cheering at how fun the ride was by reaching over to grab the phone, in an exciting moment that was captured in the now-viral video you can watch above.The moment happens around the 20-second mark. The iPhone-grabber is Samuel Kempf, who lives in New Zealand and who can be seen spotting the falling iPhone and reaching over to grab it, after which he dramatically raises his arms in a series of victorious gestures. He then starts waving his arms so happily, obviously amped up with excitement to have caught the iPhone, but doing it in such a way I was momentarily scared he was actually going to lose the darn thing, which would have been even worse than not catching it at all.He hung on to it, though. And what you don't see in the video is, after it ended, Kempf returns the phone to its owner. "He couldn't believe it," Kempf told a local news outlet. "He gave me a big hug."

Hong Kong protesters reject leader's concession with new rallies

Thousands of Hong Kongers held rallies on Friday night, rejecting calls by the city's pro-Beijing leader to end their movement as the finance hub braces for another weekend of clashes, including a plan to disrupt the airport. Police fired brief volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets against a few hundred protesters who had gathered outside a police station in Mongkok district. The demonstrators later blocked roads, set barricades on fire and faced off with riot police before dispersing without any major new clashes.

The Latest: Trump applauds Ukraine-Russia prisoner trade

U.S. President Donald Trump is praising the exchange of prisoners carried out by Russia and Ukraine. The trade could give new impetus to efforts to end a five-year conflict Russian-backed separatists are fighting in Ukraine's east, as well as improve longstanding poor relations between the two countries. Trump tweeted: "Russia and Ukraine just swapped large numbers of prisoners.

Texas country singer dies in car crash in New Mexico

Kylie Rae Harris, a rising country singer from Texas, died in a car accident in New Mexico.

Two Israelis wounded in West Bank stabbing

An Israeli man and his teenaged son were wounded in a stabbing attack in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, the army and medics said. "An assailant stabbed two Israeli civilians after they had entered Azzun in order to receive medical treatment," the army said, referring to a village east of Qalqilya in the north of the territory. According to Israeli media reports, the two had been visiting a dentist in Azzun and were leaving when a Palestinian youth approached and asked them if they were Jews, before stabbing them.

Pakistan vows 'fullest possible response' to India over Kashmir

Pakistan will make the fullest possible response to India's actions in disputed Kashmir and the global community would be responsible for any "catastrophic" aftermath, Imran Khan, the prime minister of the Muslim-majority nation, said on Friday. The rhetoric on the annual Defence Day remembrance of Pakistan's fighters in a 1965 war with India underscores rising tension between the nuclear-armed foes after New Delhi last month revoked the autonomy of its part of disputed Kashmir. "I have informed the world that Pakistan does not want war, but at the same time, Pakistan cannot remain oblivious to the challenges posed to its security and integrity," Khan said in a statement on the website of state-run Radio Pakistan.

Hong Kong thwarts airport protest, but battles continue

Hong Kong police thwarted another disruption at the airport by pro-democracy activists but had to battle protesters at subway stations on Saturday, as the months-long unrest showed no signs of abating even after the government offered a concession days earlier. Police mounted road checks and inspected passengers on trains and buses heading to the airport to weed out protesters. An Associated Press journalist at an area near the airport witnessed at least two bus passengers being handcuffed and taken away after police found face masks in their bags.

Trump 'orders Coast Guard admiral' to publicly defend his false Alabama hurricane claims

Donald Trump reportedly ordered a Coast Guard rear admiral to give a statement publicly defending the US president’s misleading claims about the chances of a hurricane striking Alabama.Mr Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed he was right to say Alabama would “most likely” be struck by the record-breaking storm, which has already devastated much of the Bahamas.

Corrections: September 8, 2019

By Unknown Author from NYT Corrections https://ift.tt/2ZXwRZo

7 Ways Hong Kong Protesters Used Low-Tech Hacks to Fight Back

Scientists monitoring new marine heat wave off West Coast

Federal scientists said Thursday they are monitoring a new ocean heat wave off the U.S. West Coast, a development that could badly disrupt marine life including salmon, whales and sea lions. The expanse of unusually warm water stretches from Alaska to California, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday . It resembles a similar heat wave about five years ago that was blamed for poorer survival rates for young salmon, more humpback whales becoming entangled in fishing gear as they hunted closer to shore, and an algae bloom that shut down crabbing and clamming.

U.S. Treasury warns anyone fueling Iran tanker risks being blacklisted

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday warned that anyone around the world who helps fuel Iranian vessels blacklisted by Washington runs the risk of being designated as well. The Treasury Department blacklisted the Adrian Darya, a tanker at the center of a confrontation between Washington and Tehran, on Aug. 30. Washington has warned that it would regard any assistance given to the ship as support for a terrorist group, namely, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump reportedly told a Coast Guard admiral to give a statement defending his Hurricane Dorian confusion

"I showed the President the official National Hurricane Center forecast," US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter Brown said in a statement.

Hurricane Dorian hits Outer Banks: How mid-Atlantic tourist spots are being affected

Now that Hurricane Dorian has finally made landfall, here's what's happening in the mid-Atlantic region this weekend.

Jeffrey Epstein gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to MIT's Media Lab, and its founder said he would accept the donations again if given the chance

"If you wind back the clock, I would still say, 'Take it,'" MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte reportedly said in an all-hands meeting.

'I don’t see any path for Biden to win the nomination without South Carolina'

The former vice president is betting it all on the black vote.

Cheerleader accused of killing newborn told her dad 'I tried to cremate the baby'

Skylar Richardson is charged with aggravated murder and involuntary manslaughter. She's accused of deliberately killing her baby and burying her.

A Florida cop rescued a puppy from a flooded vehicle and named her 'Dorian' after the deadly hurricane

Dorian was originally meant to be handed over to the Orange County Animal Services, but is now "living her best life" with the deputy who rescued her.

Nigerian Ruling Party Demands Takeover of South African Firms

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s ruling party urged the government to nationalize South African companies operating in the West African nation in retaliation for xenophobic attacks on its nationals.Relations between Africa’s two biggest economies have been tense following attacks on businesses run by migrant Africans in Johannesburg, which sparked reprisal raids by mobs on the offices of the South African mobile-phone company MTN Group Ltd. and stores operated by Shoprite Holdings in the commercial hub of Lagos and the capital, Abuja.“Whereas South Africans continue to benefit from the Nigerian business environment and repatriating billions of dollars, the South African authorities appear jealous of the menial jobs which some Nigerians and other black people are involved in,” All Progressives Congress party Chairman Adams Oshiomhole said in a video clip broadcast on Friday by Lagos-based Channels Television. “It is worth it for the Nigerian government to take steps to take over the remaining shares of MTN that are owned by South Africans.”The APC chairman recommended similar measures for other South African companies, the boycott of their products and the revocation of landing rights for South African Airways.To contact the reporter on this story: Tope Alake in Lagos at talake@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Osae-Brown at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net, Dulue Mbachu, Paul RichardsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Fake Invasion, Real Defense Cuts

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2ZU46ks

A Cruel Parody of Antitrust Enforcement

By BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2HPThFK

They Survived Dorian but Wonder How Many More Hurricanes They Can Withstand

By BY JACK HEALY AND NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ZUfl8r

Elaine La Roche, a Power on Wall Street Despite Its Barriers, Dies at 70

By BY GLENN RIFKIN from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2UA8GPy

El Salvador launches anti-corruption commission, inspired by Guatemala

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Friday unveiled a new independent commission to tackle corruption, taking inspiration from a U.N.-backed body that toppled the previous president of neighboring Guatemala.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2LByFSu

Islamic State fighters have reportedly used cows strapped with bombs in place of their suicide missions

A suicide bomber with a donkey killed three NATO troops in Afghanistan in 2013. Two cows were used recently, according to a New York Times report.

British woman rescued in Bahamas amid fears Dorian's death toll will be 'staggering'

A British woman who had been trapped beneath the rubble for days in one of Bahama’s worst hit islands has been rescued by the Royal Navy.   The unnamed woman was taken on board a ship and stabilised before being airlifted to hospital in Nassau, the capital of the island nation, where they were receiving treatment on Thursday night. She is one of the thousands of people who were awaiting rescue on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, which have been largely flattened by Hurricane Dorian. The death toll on Thursday night stood at 30, but it is feared that it  will be significantly higher as people search for their missing loved ones. "Let me say that I believe the number (dead) will be staggering," Health Minister Duane Sands was quoted by The Nassau Guardian as telling Guardian radio. "... I have never lived through anything like this and I don’t want to live through anything like this again." The RFA Mounts Bay crew, which have been stationed in the Caribbean since June in preparation for hurricane season, have so far delivered shelter kits, ration packs and water. Damaged cars and trucks sit in a field following landfall by Hurricane Dorian, in the Bahamas Credit: Reuters The Royal Navy said its Wildcat helicopter also evacuated an American woman along with her two children and a baby to Nassau. The Wildcat will also be airlifting relief to outlying, cut off communities in liaison with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force and is stationed off Abaco. Distraught survivors described the horror of crossing unattended corpses as they made their way to safety. Hurricane Dorian barrels towards US after battering Bahamas, in pictures Ronnie Archer, 71, told The Telegraph many more of the hurricane's victims lay in the streets of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, while looters raid shops for food and water. “The morgue is full and there are bodies floating in the water,” she said after being evacuated. "A friend of mine bumped into the body of a woman which was just floating in the streets.   “There is now lots of looting happening. There are people taking rice, juice, everything they can get their hands on. I don’t know if they are armed." An aerial view of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen on Great Abaco Island Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images She was at her home of 30 years when the wind started to get stronger and stronger. “I sat in the wheelchair and I watched my house drop to pieces,” she told this newspaper. “I heard a bang and I looked around and saw that the windows had blown in from the force. The next time that I looked up I saw the sky and I realised that the roof had gone.” Her family, including a seven month old granddaughter, are staying behind to see what they can save as local officials confirmed reports of rampant looting. The United Nations estimates more than 76,000 people were in need of humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the Bahamas. The British Humanitarian and Disaster Relief team  removing debris and providing aid assistance to the Islanders of Great Abaco Credit:  Paul Halliwell/BRITISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE Gaylele Laing broke down in tears and embraced her niece after she was rescued from Abaco on Thursday. As a diabetic who had run out of medicine she was given a priority evacuation, but she was barely able to speak as she revealed that she had to leave her family members, including her grandchildren aged 11 and 12 behind. The Treasure Quay resident told The Telegraph through tears: “It was terrible, there is total devastation, there is nothing left. “We hid in the bathroom as the eye of the storm passed and then the water surge came. We never expected it to be that bad. We had to break the window and swim to safety. The whole family, the kids included. At that point I thought we were going to die. “We did as much as we could to prepare and if we had known it was going to be that bad we would have left Abaco, we have been though hurricanes before but nothing like this. Everything is gone.” Another survivor on the Abaco Islands, Ramond King, said he watched as swirling winds ripped the roof off his house, then churned to a neighbour's home to pluck the entire structure into the sky. Nothing is here, nothing at all. Everything is gone, just bodies," he said. A perfect storm | How climate change has made Hurricane Dorian worse Dorian continued to cause substantial damage as it hit the US coastal states of South and North Carolina on Thursday leaving 239,000 homes and businesses without power.   The US National Hurricane Centre warned it remained a category 2 hurricane with winds reaching 110mph and the risk of life-threatening storm surges, winds and flash flooding. Tornadoes spun off by Dorian's outer bands were also reported along the coast, including Emerald Isle, North Carolina, where several homes were destroyed. The beach town said on its website that the tornado hit at around 9 am on Thursday leaving dozens of mobile homes upturned and power lines down. Charleston, in South Carolina had more than 100 roads closed due to severe flooding, with up to 20 inches of rain forecast to hit the historic port city. The map appeared to have been altered with a black marker to include Alabama Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty  Meanwhile Donald Trump, the US president, was mocked for showing a map of the storm's projected path that appeared to have been altered with a black marker pen to include the state of Alabama, which was never in harm's way. Mr Trump had incorrectly claimed in a tweet at the weekend that Alabama was one of the US states that could be hit by the hurricane, leading the National Weather Service to deny that in a tweet of its own. "Alabama will NOT see any impacts from Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east," the National Weather Service in Alabama tweeted. When reporters later asked Mr Trump whether the chart had been altered with a pen, the president said: “I don’t know; I don’t know.” But he doubled down on his claims, saying: "I know Alabama was in the original forecast, they thought it would get a piece of it".

A Fast-Moving Wildfire Has Burned 2,000 Acres in Southern California. What to Know About the Tenaja Fire

Fire officials have issued mandatory evacuation orders to over 400 homes in Riverside County

Taliban supporters cheer US withdrawal plans

Taliban loyalists are cheering the prospect of a deal with the US that after 18 years of gruelling conflict will see "defeated" American "invaders" finally go home. While details of the deal have not been announced, it is widely expected the Pentagon will slash its troop presence in Afghanistan in return for various Taliban commitments. AFP spoke to several Taliban fighters and supporters in and around Kandahar -- the southern Afghan province that is the birthplace of the Islamist movement and a key stronghold.

'Bye, Mom. I love you!' Family torn apart in aftermath of Hurricane Dorian

On the Abacos Islands of the Bahamas, Alicia Cook held her daughters, Lacy, 8, and Lyric, 4, close -- and then, surrounded by devastation as far as the eye could see, said a heart-wrenching goodbye to her girls.The sisters soon boarded a helicopter with their aunt to be evacuated to Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas. Their parents would be staying behind, as there was no room for them on the helicopter."Bye, Mom. I love you!" one of the girls called from the helicopter."I had to send them with my sister. I couldn't fit. My babies, I had to send them. This is just a disaster. Everything's gone. There's just so much heartache and death everywhere. I just don't know what we're going to do," Cook told AccuWeather correspondent Brandon Clement through tears. "[I'm] leaving my hearts. Don't know when I'll see them again." Alicia Cook hugs her daughter Lyric as they say goodbye. Cook and her husband are having their two daughters evacuated from the Abacos Islands after Hurricane Dorian. (Brandon Clement) The family of four survived Hurricane Dorian, which dealt a historic blow to the Bahamas on Sunday, Sept. 1, when it made landfall as Category 5 hurricane. With sustained winds of 185 mph at the time of landfall, Hurricane Dorian was tied for the second most powerful hurricane by wind speed in the Atlantic basin since 1851 behind Hurricane Allen in 1980 with 190 mph winds.The death toll in the Bahamas has risen to around 30 and is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.Cook told Clement that she had to get her children off of the island, which was in a state of "total devastation." The flight was paid for by the Discovery Land Company, a real estate developer that is currently sharing resources like private helicopters.The powerful winds of Hurricane Dorian had stripped even concrete buildings of their integrity. Supposedly sturdy buildings were broken like pottery pieces, the long bent fingers of rebar stripped of the concrete and exposed."This isn't cheap construction. This is one-inch rebar [reinforcement bar], eight-inch-thick concrete, just pulverized," Clement said while filming.That's just what the buildings in the Abaco Islands are after Dorian: pulverized.A woman stood crying on the second story of a building: the walls and roof having been torn away during the Category 5 storm. Around the skeleton of the house lay the carnage of debris, trees stripped of all leaves and an overturned boat. The beach is nowhere in sight. A pickup truck and an SUV were strapped to a barge to keep them tied down. Though battered, they remain remain in place. The same could not be said of the beached boat. A handful of small boats were deposited on the shore, a few landing at the doorsteps of houses. A pickup truck and an SUV were strapped to a barge to keep them tied down. The vehicles were damaged during the storm, and the boat they were aboard beached. (Brandon Clement) Some of the cars on the island made it out of the storm with just some shattered glass, while others sit partially submerged in ponds of water that have yet to recede. Footage shows residents of the Bahamas walking down a street, their belongings in plastic bags. The still partially flooded road is littered with tree debris and downed power poles."I've been through many, many hurricanes and seen devastation, but nothing ever, ever compared to this," Cook said. "I've never even experienced anything -- I watched movies and I see this on the news, but you don't know it until you go through it. You lose everything in an instant. Just everything you've ever worked for, your whole life's gone," Cook said. "Just what do you do? And nobody should have to go through this. It's like a bad dream. You just can't wake up."The people of the Bahamas pick through what has become marshes of debris, trying to find any of their belongings that they could salvage.Clement stopped to speak with a woman who had been looking around the remains of her home, trying to find a scrap of the life that had been torn from her by Dorian: a backpack with her passport. People in the Bahamas scour through the wreckage that Hurricane Dorian left behind in its wake, trying to find any of their belongings they can savage. This woman was looking for a backpack with her passport in it, which she had lost in the chaos of the storm. (Brandon Clement) "Harbour View Marina collapsed, and the water came to my roof," a woman told Clement, standing in front of the demolished walls of her baby blue house. She, her son, her best friend and two others staying with her escaped out the back window and clung to a Suzuki until the eye passed two hours later."It was awful," the woman said after Clement asked what it had been like. While hanging on for their lives, a young boy with them suffered a five-inch gash in the back of his head and fell unconscious. She said debris beat up against them all, bruising them.When the water subsided and the worst of the wind calmed, Dorian had left behind a skeleton of what she once had."I have nothing. Everything is gone. It's either there," the woman said, gesturing off at the debris to one side of her, "there ..." she gestured to more debris behind her. "And I don't know, it's just awful," she said, beginning to cry. Homes flattened by Hurricane Dorian are seen in Abaco, Bahamas, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. The storm's devastation has come into sharper focus as the death toll climbed to 20 and many people emerged from shelters to check on their homes. (AP Photo/Gonzalo Gaudenzi) "I've been through many of a hurricane, this was, I don't know. A tidal wave, a tornado, a hurricane, everything in one," she said. "I've never seen anything like this in my life. It's just devastating. I don't know if we'll ever come back from it. I don't know if I want to leave, if I want to stay. I don't know."For the Cook family, the aftermath of Dorian brought the most heartache as they said their goodbyes. After the helicopter doors slammed shut, Cook and her husband watched as the craft lifted off, taking their children away from the carnage left behind by Dorian.Reporting by Brandon Clement and Jonathan Petramala in the Bahamas.

Pope Francis says it is ‘an honour that the Americans attack me'

In an offhand remark on the papal plane en route to Mozambique, Pope Francis acknowledged the sharp opposition he has faced from conservative Catholic detractors in the United States, calling it an “an honour that the Americans attack me”.His remark came at the start of a six-day trip to Africa, as the pope shook hands in the back of the plane with a French reporter who handed him a copy of his new book How America Wanted to Change the Pope.

California says tax return law doesn't bar ballot access

California's attorney general is urging a federal judge not to halt a state law requiring presidential candidates release their tax returns, arguing it doesn't bar anyone from accessing the ballot or deprive voters of their rights. Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, made his arguments in a Thursday filing in response to a Trump campaign request for an injunction, which would stall the law from taking effect as lawsuits proceeds. The new California law says candidates for president and governor must release five years-worth of tax returns to appear on the state's primary ballot.

Stunning satellite images show Hurricane Dorian's floodwaters engulfing The Bahamas

A satellite image taken Monday shows the floodwaters that engulfed Grand Bahama Island after Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas.

Trump shows fake map in effort to back his false claim Hurricane Dorian may hit Alabama

Donald Trump presented an altered National Hurricane Centre map that expanded Hurricane Dorian’s official forecast so it would include Alabama, a state he incorrectly and repeatedly said would be hit by the storm.Speaking to media in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the president asked acting department of homeland security secretary Kevin McAleenan to retrieve a large map from behind him showing the hurricane’s potential path over the US after it pummelled the Bahamas throughout the week.