Australia's NSW braces for catastrophic fire conditions

Firefighters in the Australian state of New South Wales were bracing for "catastrophic" fire conditions on Saturday as temperatures well above 40C (104F) and strong winds were set to fuel more than 100 fires burning across the state.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2PJD9Ka

U.S. conservative activist, Venezuelan pastor team up on aid effort

A conservative U.S. activist has teamed up with a prominent Venezuelan evangelical pastor to bring a $500,000 humanitarian aid shipment to the crisis-stricken country, the two men said in interviews this week.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2rYiVU8

Watch the Democratic Debate Live With Real-Time Analysis

By BY THE NEW YORK TIMES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ECVZwg

Durham Is Scrutinizing Ex-C.I.A. Director’s Role in Russian Interference Findings

By BY KATIE BENNER AND JULIAN E. BARNES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2r77uZA

Jeff Van Drew Switches Parties, Pledging ‘Undying Support’ for Trump

By BY CATIE EDMONDSON AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Ezb8OX

Democrats May Save Us Yet

By BY PAUL KRUGMAN from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/36MJ4DU

OIC criticises Malaysia's Muslim summit

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday mounted a veiled attack on a Muslim summit in Malaysia shunned by Saudi Arabia, saying such gatherings would weaken Islam. Leaders of Muslim nations, including Saudi rivals Iran, Turkey and Qatar, will attend the summit this week in Kuala Lumpur, which analysts say is aimed at rivalling the OIC, a 57-member pan-Islamic body headquartered in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad dismissed those concerns in a phone call Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, insisting the summit was not intended to create a new bloc.