MANILA, Philippines – The satisfaction rating of President Rodrigo Duterte rose in the third quarter of 2018, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Saturday, September 29, showed.

According to the results of the SWS survey conducted from September 15 to 23, 70% of Filipino adults said they were satisfied with the President's performance and 16% were dissatisfied, for a net satisfaction rating of +54, graded as "very good" by the survey firm. Meanwhile, 14% were undecided. 

Duterte's latest rating is 9 points higher than the record-low "good" +45 he received in June 2018 (65% satisfied, 20% dissatisfied).

In the September survey, he received the biggest ratings increase in the Balance of Luzon, up 16 points from +33 in June to +49 in September. 

His rating increased by only 2 points in the Visayas (from +47 to +49), and 1 point each in Metro Manila (from +34 to +36, rounded) and Mindanao (from +76 to +77), said SWS.

His satisfaction rating remained "very good" in rural areas (+62 in September, from +52 in June) and "good" in urban areas (+42, from +38).

Lower satisfaction among rich, poor

Among class D respondents, his rating rose to a "very good" +56, up by 13 points from a "good" +43 in June. 

However, it fell by 25 points to a "good" +41 among class ABC, from a "very good" +65 in June, and was down 7 points to a "good" +45 among class E from a "very good" +52.

Duterte's rating went up to "very good" in both sexes: +55 among men versus +46 in June, and +53 among women against +45 in the last quarter.

It also improved from "good" to "very good" for all age groups, except among 18-24 year-olds, wherein his rating dipped by one point from a "very good" +50 in June to a "good" +49 in September.

Duterte received the biggest boost among elementary school graduates, getting a 19-point increase from a "good" +40 in June to a "very good" +59 in September. His rating stayed in the same grade for the rest of the educational levels.

God, rape remarks 'vulgar'

The same poll noted that majority of Filipinos felt Duterte's recent remarks on God and rape were vulgar. 

In a speech on June 22, the President called God "stupid" in the middle of his rant against the Catholic Church. He later made a qualified apology on July 10, and formed a 4-man committee to hold dialogues with religious groups.

Meanwhile, in an August 30 speech, Duterte remarked in Bisaya, "They said that Davao had many rape cases. For as long as there are many beautiful women, there are plenty of rape cases as well." This prompted sharp rebukes from women's groups and the Commission on Human Rights.

The September SWS survey said that 8 out of 10 Filipinos or 83% found the "God is stupid" remark vulgar or bastos, while 14% said it was not. The remaining 3% did not know.

This sentiment was highest in the Visayas at 87%, followed by those in the rest of Luzon (86%), Metro Manila (83%), and Mindanao (73%).

Meanwhile, 63% said his rape remark was vulgar, 33% said it wasn't, while 5% did not know.

Nearly three-fourths of those in Visayas or 74% said the rape remark was vulgar, followed by respondents from Mindanao (61%), the rest of Luzon (61%), and Metro Manila (54%).

Among the respondents who said that the "God is stupid" remark was vulgar, Duterte's net satisfaction rating was only a "good" +47 (66% satisfied, 19% dissatisfied). It was an "excellent" +85 (88% satisfied, 3% dissatisfied) among those who said the remark wasn't vulgar.

Then, among those who said the rape remark was vulgar, his rating was only a "good" +45 (65% satisfied, 20% dissatisfied). Among those with the opposite view, Duterte received a "very good" +68 rating (78% satisfied, 10% dissatisfied).

The SWS 3rd Quarter 2018 survey had 1,500 respondents in face-to-face interviews, with an error margin of ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for the balance of Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.

A different survey conducted by Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated in the first week of September showed Duterte's approval and trust ratings falling to a record low, compared to the pollster's survey results in June. – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS, USA – After a month of militia clashes that left more than 100 people dead, Libya's UN-backed foreign minister on Friday, September 28 called for the country's United Nations (UN) political mission to transform into a "security and stability" support role.

Mohamed Siala, foreign minister of the UN-backed Libyan unity government, did not specify if he had in mind a UN peacekeeping mission.

"Priority must be given to security, to stability," he told the United Nations General Assembly.

"We call for conversion of UNSMIL, which is a special political mission, into a mission of support for Libya's security and stability," he said without providing further detail.

The United Nations Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL), led by Ghassan Salame, was set up in 2011 to assist the country's new authorities after the NATO-backed revolution which ousted Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

UNSMIL has focused on fostering political dialogue to help the North African country's transition to democracy.

Under a UN-brokered agreement, the unity government was set up in Tripoli but it is not recognized by a rival administration supported by military strongman Khalifa Haftar in Libya's east.

Tripoli itself has been at the center of a battle for influence between armed groups with shifting allegiances. A month of clashes left more than 100 dead south of the city before the unity government on Wednesday, September 26 announced a ceasefire deal between rival militias.

Siala welcomed the efforts of UNSMIL which he said enabled the conclusion of the ceasefire.

"We ask concerned parties to respect it. National and international legal bodies will pursue the authors of these tragic attacks," he said. – Rappler.com

PORT DICKSON, Malaysia – Malaysian leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim started campaigning on Saturday, September 29, for a poll set to return him to frontline politics – but faced a surprise challenge from an ex-aide whose sodomy allegations landed the political heavyweight in prison.

Anwar is expected to easily win the local election on October 13 and re-enter parliament as an MP, just months after being released from jail following his alliance's shock win at national polls.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 93, has pledged to step aside within two years to hand power to Anwar, his former nemesis with whom he teamed up to oust scandal-plagued Najib Razak and his long-ruling coalition at the May election.

Following the vote, Anwar, 71, received a royal pardon releasing him from prison where he was serving a sentence for sodomy in a case that his supporters said was politically motivated.

He needs to be elected as an MP to qualify to take over from Mahathir, and earlier this month a lawmaker from his party vacated his seat in the coastal town of Port Dickson to make way for Anwar, a former deputy premier.

On Saturday, hundreds of flag-waving supporters of the ruling Pact of Hope alliance marched to a hall in the town as Anwar and the other candidates formally registered for the poll. 

But there was shock when it emerged that one of his 6 rivals in the election is Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a former volunteer in his office whose accusations of sodomy led to him being jailed in 2015.

'Have you no shame?' 

The ex-aide, who is running as an independent candidate, was booed by Anwar supporters when he registered his candidacy with some of the crowd reportedly shouting: "Have you no shame?"

Anwar shrugged off the prospect of Saiful using the decade-old sodomy allegations to attack the veteran politician during the poll race.

"That is his issue, and I don’t want to interfere. I want to focus on my work, and I think the leadership is taking the same decision as well," he was cited as saying in The Star newspaper.

It was not clear who may be backing Saiful to run.

But Ibrahim Suffian, who heads independent polling firm Merdeka Center, told Agence France-Presse that Anwar's "detractors are out to embarrass him in any little way they can."

Barisan Nasional, Najib's coalition which was ousted in May after 6 decades in power, has boycotted the election saying it is undemocratic as it is merely a device for Anwar to return to parliament.

Sodomy charges were first thrown at Anwar in the 1990s, when he was deputy premier and Mahathir was in his first stint as premier, after the pair had a bitter falling out.

He was jailed for the first time in 1999 for sodomy and corruption.

After years leading a disparate opposition, Anwar forged an unexpected alliance with Mahathir to challenge the long-ruling coalition after Najib became embroiled in a scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB. Najib has been arrested and charged over the controversy since losing power. – Rappler.com

BAGUIO, Philippines – Retrieval operations at Sitio Portal in Barangay Ucab, Itogon, Benguet is nearing endgame after retrievers on Friday, September 28, reached the portal the area was named after. 

According to Scene of the Crime Operatives Cordillera chief Rodrigo Leal, only 5 remained missing in Ucab.

The missing were identified as Jomin Domingo, Renato Battawong, Frederick Dango, John B. Ponhed aka John Follegang, and Rex "Hogan" Ponchaohan. They are all miners. 

Rescuers have started digging further into the tunnels.

Meanwhile, those recovered on Friday were found either beside or inside the main portal of the former Benguet Corporation mines.

As of Saturday, September 29, at least 86 have been identified dead in Itogon following the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut).

Aside from the missing in Ucab, there are 6 people still missing from other areas in Itogon:

• Dampigan, Loacan (site of another massive landslide) - backhoe operator Leandro Melchor and responder Kim Gragasin
• Sitio Luneta - Lito and Verga Lagitan
• Barangay Virac (two separate sites) - Rico Lumasok and Francis Onsay

– Rappler.com

Read more stories from Rappler's coverage of the Itogon landslide:

• In Itogon, sister volunteers to dig beneath the soil to look for brother
• IN PHOTOS: The Itogon mining community before and after Ompong
• Why mine despite landslide scare? 'Doon lang kami umaasa'
• FAST FACTS: What to know about Itogon, Benguet
• Itogon women trek a mountain to feed families as men dig for missing
• After tragic landslide, mayor says Itogon to transition to farming
• Rescuers of Itogon: No surrender until all bodies found
• LIST: Deadly landslides in the Philippines
• Itogon tragedy: Disaster response gone wrong
• Itogon tragedy: When the land of promise buried its people
• Twin tragedies: How Itogon and Naga landslides are alike

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The shock winner of the Maldives' leadership vote was declared president-elect on Saturday, September 29, with election authorities saying they received death threats to delay the final announcement of strongman Abdulla Yameen's decisive loss.

Common opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won last week's election with 58.4 percent of the ballot, or 134,705 votes, election commission chief Ahmed Shareef confirmed.

The commission had released what it called "interim results" on Monday, but the official outcome of the September 23 polls was pushed back to allow legal challenges over the vote's conduct.

"There were accusations... against all 5 members of the commission, and we received death threats via phone calls, Shareef said. "But we didn't consider the threats at all because the security forces are providing all 5 members with security."

Constitutionally, the commission had till Sunday to announce the final result. He said there were "minor disparities" involving just one ballot paper out of 233,889 votes cast.

Outgoing president Yameen, who jailed or exiled most of his rivals during his turbulent 5-year term, took just 96,502 votes or 41.6 percent, Shareef said.

Scores of Yameen's supporters had lodged complaints saying that they and other voters had not been allowed to cast their ballot. Some had also accused the commission of taking bribes. 

Shareef said the commission would file defamation suits against their accusers. 

An investigation was underway into the hacking of the commission's Twitter account two days before the vote, he added.

Nearly 90 percent of the electorate of 262,135 turned out to vote, according to the official results.

Private election monitors had warned that the electoral process was heavily weighted in favor of the incumbent, but the final results showed huge support for the opposition.

Solih was backed by 4 opposition parties, 3 of which had supported Yameen in a controversial 2013 run-off that saw the country's first democratically elected leader Mohamed Nasheed lose narrowly.

Solih is set to be sworn in on November 17 when Yameen's term comes to an end.

There had been intense speculation that Yameen could try to hold on to power despite losing to the 54-year-old political lightweight.

Yameen's hardline rule dented the Maldives' image as a honeymoon paradise and caused alarm to be raised abroad.

Suspecting a plot to impeach him, Yameen in February declared a state of emergency and arrested top judges as well as political opponents.

Shortly after his surprise defeat last week, Yameen freed 5 political prisoners. But scores of others – including his estranged half brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former president – remain incarcerated.

Despite the election upset, Yameen managed to retain leadership of his party at its first congress after the vote on Friday night. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday, September 29, threw its support behind the proposed anti-communist task force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

In a statement on Saturday, September 29, DILG Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año said that the long-running communist insurgency "is not primarily a military or police problem but a governance problem."

Effectively ending it "requires not only police and military response but necessitates a triad of development, governance, and security efforts," Año added.

He agreed with AFP Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez Jr, who said that to quash communist recruitment, civilian agencies and other stakeholders must be aware of and integrated in a "whole-of-government strategy."

"Insurgency is rooted in poverty, inequality, and grievances that could be addressed by respective mandates of various government institutions," said Año, himself a former AFP Chief of Staff.

"We have all the mechanisms to face these issues but all government agencies have to perform our roles in a concerted manner."

While Año noted that the military is "winning the battle in the mountains" and that there have been many communist surrenderers, "it's in the propaganda war and parliamentary battle that we are losing."

"Communists are using as propaganda the inefficacies of government to advance their aspiration of toppling democracy. Thus, all instrumentalities of the government have to recognize their role in addressing this urgent and long standing problem," he said.

Año added that the proposed national task force "will ensure that other government agencies help the [Department of National Defense] and DILG in this effort." (READ: Anti-communist task force for talking not shooting – PNP)

Año also said there is "no need for a loyalty check" among the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP), which is under the DILG. He said the PNP's allegiance "is to the Constitution and the people."

The AFP earlier said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has supposedly hatched a "Red October" plot alongside members of the opposition to remove President Rodrigo Duterte from office. (READ: Duterte slams communists amid supposed ouster plot)

On Saturday, Senator Franklin Drilon denied "in the strongest possible terms" that the Liberal Party (LP) is part of any supposed move to oust the President. (READ: Linking opposition to Red October plot ‘politicizes the AFP’ – Robredo)

In a DWIZ radio interview, Drilon said LP's link to the supposed ouster plot is "propaganda without basis."

"We will stand together with the people to defend our Constitution. We will never agree to any destabilization move, much less to be part of it."

Asked about the AFP supposedly having proof against LP, Drilon said, "If they have any evidence that the Liberal Party is part of it, ilabas na nila para malaman ang katotohanan (release it now so we will know the truth)."–Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia and key allies have denounced as "biased" a resolution that renewed a UN-backed investigation of alleged war crimes in Yemen, where Riyadh leads a coalition battling Shiite rebels.

The condemnation was issued in a joint statement released late Friday, September 28, by the Riyadh-backed Yemen government, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

It comes after the UN Human Rights Council voted to extend an international probe of alleged war crimes committed in Yemen by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Shiite Huthi rebels.

"We are left with a resolution which is biased, and which clearly contradicts the clear mandate laid out by the United Nations Security Council," said the joint statement.

Rights council members voted in favor of the resolution in Geneva on Friday by 21 to 8, with 18 abstentions.

Saudi Arabia and its allies bemoaned what they said was the council's "failure to achieve consensus."

"In particular, we are disappointed that certain member states failed to consider the real and legitimate concerns of those states who are most affected by the situation in Yemen," their joint statement said.

The resolution showed "disregard for Yemen's sovereign right to give its consent to cooperate with international resolutions that deal directly with the human rights situation on its own territory", it added.

On the eve of the vote, the Yemeni government had announced it was ending its cooperation with the UN human rights mission, accusing it of bias in an August report on alleged war crimes.

The report accused both government forces and the Huthi rebels of violations of international law. (RELATED: 'We just didn't make it,' UN envoy says as Yemen talks falter)

It also said that air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition had caused "most of the documented civilian casualties" in Yemen and voiced "serious concerns about the targeting process applied by the coalition."

The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people since the coalition intervened in March 2015, when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into exile as the rebels closed in on his last stronghold.

It has sparked the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 3 quarters of the population – or 22 million people – in need of humanitarian aid, according to UN figures. – Rappler.com

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Five governors committed to strengthen efforts in protecting and conserving the Visayan Sea, one of the country's largest fishing ground.

On Friday, September 28, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, and Capiz Governor Antonio del Rosario, as well as representatives of the governors of Cebu and Masbate, signed an agreement to adopt and implement the framework for the conservation, restoration, and protection of the Visayan Sea.

Under the management framework, the agreement sought to have a common vision for the Visayas Sea: 

• Restore fishery resources and rehabilitate habitats of the Visayan Sea.
• Sustain livelihoods – both fishery and non-fishery related – through enhanced capacities and equitable access to available resources.
• Establish an efficient and effective governance structure with improved fishery law compliance and enforcement that addresses socio-economic security and ecological integrity.

The agreement was signed at the 10th Visayan Sea Summit in Oton, Iloilo on Friday.

The Visayan Sea, located in the central part of the Philippines, is recognized as an area with the most diverse shore fish species, as well as the highest concentration of reef species in the world. (READ: Marine scientist calls for stronger action to protect Philippine seas)

Wilfredo Ramon Peñalosa, Negros Occidental's provincial environment management officer, said the 5 provinces will start adopting a unified approach in implementing the framework.

"Visayan Sea is one of the country's richest marine biodiversity. We need to manage it as a whole," he said, adding that a science-based approach will be simultaneously implemented by the provinces as recognition of "the marine resources as one ecosystem and no boundaries." (READ: Why we must protect our seas)

A technical working group was tasked to help with the technical aspect of the program, as well as the unified enforcement protocol for illegal fishing in the waters surrounding the Visayan Sea.

The TWG is composed of representatives from the 5 provinces, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), schools, and non-governmental organizations. (READ: ‘For the next generation’: Iloilo fishermen take lead in coastal management)

For the last 10 years, provincial officials have been meeting regularly to discuss how environmental laws and policies can be strictly enforced and strengthened in the Visayan Sea. The BFAR leads the conservation effort.

The province of Capiz only joined the effort this year after they found out recently that the Visayan Sea covers some parts of their locality. – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia's prison service released on Saturday, September 29, a rare photograph of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov on day 139 of his hunger strike in an Arctic colony where he is serving 20 years on terror charges. 

The photograph showed a medic listening to Sentsov's chest. The 42-year-old Kremlin-opponent – who is 1.9 meters tall – looked visibly gaunt, thinner and considerably older. 

On Friday, the Federal Penitentiary Service said Sentsov was taken to a state hospital in Labytnangi – a town above the Arctic Circle where he is being held – for "additional examination and consultations with medical specialists." 

Sentsov went on hunger strike in May in the run-up to the World Cup in Russia demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners held by Moscow. (RELATED: Russia, Ukraine discuss 'exchange' of Sentsov, other prisoners)

He was arrested after Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimea peninsula.

He was sentenced by a Russian court to 20 years behind bars for terrorism and arms trafficking following a trial denounced as "Stalinist" by Amnesty International and also criticized by Kiev, Brussels and Washington. 

G7 ambassadors as well as major figures from the world of cinema, from director Jean-Luc Godard to actor Johnny Depp, have all called for Sentsov's release. 

During the Venice film festival earlier this month, Hollywood stars urged Moscow not to let him die, and leading figures in the Russian film industry have also called for his release.

The Kremlin has so far remained unresponsive to such demands, saying any request for a pardon can only be filed by the prisoner himself – step which Sentsov has refused to take.  

In August, Sentsov's cousin said the director was "losing hope" and no longer believed he would be freed. – Rappler.com

JERUSALEM – Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said on Saturday, September 29, that the Palestinians have petitioned the UN's top court, alleging that the US inauguration of an embassy in Jerusalem was illegal.

The Palestinians have filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) "for violating international law by moving its embassy in Israel to the occupied city of Jerusalem," he said, quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. 

In December, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite Palestinian claims on part of the city and breaking with longstanding US policy.

Palestinians have since refused all contact with the Trump administration. (READ: Palestinians outraged, Israel joyous at Trump's Jerusalem move)

The US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, a day marked by mass protest in the Gaza Strip, where about 60 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli fire in border clashes.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem along with the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War and later declared the entire city its united capital.

Palestinians claim the predominantly Arab eastern area as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

UN resolutions call on countries to refrain from moving their embassies to the city until its status is resolved in an Israeli-Palestinian deal.

"The ICJ was asked to declare that moving the embassy to occupied Jerusalem constituted a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," WAFA wrote in English.

The court said the Palestinian suit, filed on Friday, asked the body "to order the United States of America to withdraw the diplomatic mission from the Holy City of Jerusalem and to conform to the international obligations flowing from the Vienna Convention." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines extended its condolences to Indonesia on Saturday, September 29, after a massive earthquake and the tsunami that it triggered struck Sulawesi island, claiming nearly 400 lives.

In a statement, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said, "We grieve with our Indonesian brothers and sisters and stand hand in hand with them in praying for all of those who lost their lives in this tragedy."

Cayetano, who was in New York City for the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, added that the Philippines "is ready to respond and extend assistance to Indonesia."

The 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit just off Central Sulawesi at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers at around 7 pm local time on Friday, September 28, said the US Geological Survey.

Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Leehiong Wee said that the earthquake and tsunami struck the provincial capital city of Palu and the neighboring city of Donggala.

Wee added that the only Filipino in the area – a detainee serving his sentence at the Lapas Penitentiary – is safe.

The Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency put the official death toll so far at 384, all of them in the tsunami-struck Palu. It also warned that the death toll was likely to rise. –Michael Bueza, with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

JERUSALEM – The UN called on Saturday, September 29, for Israel and Hamas rulers to rein in violence a day after border clashes in which the Gaza health ministry said 7 Palestinians were killed.

"I am deeply saddened by reports that 7 Palestinians, including two children, were killed, and hundreds of others injured, by Israeli forces during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip yesterday (Friday)," the UN's humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement.

"I call on Israel, Hamas, and all other actors with the ability to influence the situation, to take action now to prevent further deterioration and loss of life."

Two boys aged 12 and 14, were among those killed in the clashes Friday, the bloodiest day of border protests since May 14, when more than 60 Palestinians died in violence accompanying the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem, a move that enraged Palestinians.

The Israeli army said in a statement Saturday that some 20,000 "rioters and demonstrators" had gathered at multiple sites along the Gaza-Israel border and that people had hurled "over 100" grenades and explosive devices at troops and the at the border fence.

The military said troops fired "in accordance with standard operating procedures" and that Israeli aircraft also struck two positions belonging Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

"Hamas is responsible for the violent riots and their consequences," it said.

It declined to comment directly on Friday's reported deaths.

Palestinians have been protesting almost weekly along the Gaza border since March 30 in what they call the "Great March of Return."

At least 193 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since then, the majority during border protests, while one Israeli soldier has been shot dead by a Palestinian sniper. 

"I call on Israeli forces to ensure that their use of force is in line with their obligations under international law," McGoldrick said.

"All actors must ensure that children never be the target of violence and neither be put at risk of violence, nor encouraged to participate in violence."

In Saturday's statement, the Israeli army said Hamas was "endangering children by sending them to the security fence as a cover for terror activity." – Rappler.com

COLOGNE, Germany – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to open one of Europe's largest mosques in Cologne on Saturday as he wrapped up a controversial visit to Germany, with police deploying in force to manage the rival rallies.

The inauguration will mark the closing event of his 3-day state visit, aimed at repairing frayed ties with Berlin after two years of tensions.

Erdogan left the German capital after a breakfast meeting with Angela Merkel, their second talks in two days.

While both leaders signalled their interest in a cautious rapprochement, the German chancellor stressed that "deep differences" remained on civil rights and other issues.

Erdogan then travelled to the western city of Cologne where several thousand critics took to the streets, protesting everything from Turkey's record on human rights and press freedom to its treatment of minority Kurds.

On the bank of the Rhine, demonstrators waved banners reading: "Erdogan not welcome."

Cansu, a 30-year-old student of Turkish origin, came from Switzerland to join the protest. 

"I want to be the voice of people who can't take to the streets in Turkey. Because they have been arrested, killed or otherwise suppressed. Erdogan thinks anything that differs from his opinion is terrorism."

Tomas, a German student, turned up in a white suit splattered with fake blood. He and several others carried a giant banner that read "Dictator. Mass murderer."

"We are here to show Cologne does not want you," the 22-year-old said.

Thousands of supporters 

Erdogan supporters meanwhile gathered at the Cologne Central Mosque, an imposing dome-shaped building commissioned by the shadowy, Turkish-controlled Ditib organisation.

Cologne police cordoned off a large area around the mosque for safety reasons, but thousands of Erdogan supporters spilled into closed-off side streets, eager for a glimpse of the Turkish leader.

Many waved Turkey's red and white flag or held up pictures of Erdogan, with the crowd occasionally breaking into cheerful chants of "Who is the greatest? Turkey!"

"Erdogan is very popular because he has done a lot for his people," said Yusuf Simsek, 42, a computer technician with Turkish roots. 

Semra, a 41-year-old kitchen worker, agreed. 

"I don't care about the criticism. He's doing everything that's right for Turkey and we are fully behind him."

Both Cologne mayor Henriette Reker and the state's premier Armin Laschet declined to attend the mosque ceremony.

The snubs echoed the lukewarm welcome the Turkish leader received at a state dinner on Friday evening hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which several opposition politicians boycotted. Merkel also skipped the banquet. 

Conciliatory noises

Ties between the two NATO countries soured after Berlin criticized Ankara's crackdown on opponents following a failed 2016 coup, which saw tens of thousands arrested.

Tensions eased somewhat after several high-profile German-Turkish nationals were released this year, but 5 remain behind bars.

Merkel, whose country is home to more than 3 million ethnic Turks, stressed the need for continued dialogue to overcome disagreements. (RELATED: Germany drops sanctions on Turkey, relaxes travel advice)

But she also highlighted Germany's interest in a "stable" Turkey, which she relies on to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe.

Erdogan, seeking international allies as he spars with US President Donald Trump and the Turkish economy is in turmoil, likewise struck a conciliatory tone.

But he also pressed Germany to take stronger action against "terrorists" like supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he blames for the coup attempt.

Mosque controversy

Cologne is located in North Rhine-Westphalia state which is home to significant numbers of ethnic Turks, many of whom moved to Germany as so-called "guest workers" from the 1960s.

The giant Cologne Central Mosque finally opened its doors in 2017 after 8 years of construction and budget overruns.

The size of the building, designed to resemble a flower bud opening, and its two towering minarets has disgruntled some locals, triggering occasional protests.

The Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (Ditib) that commissioned the glass and cement structure is itself not without controversy.

The group runs hundreds of mosques across Germany with imams paid by the Turkish state.

Known for its close ties to Ankara, it has increasingly come under scrutiny with some of its members suspected of spying on Turkish dissidents living in Germany. – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS – Syria's foreign minister on Saturday, September 29, denounced US, French and Turkish forces operating in his country as "occupying forces" and demanded that they leave immediately.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, who serves as well as Syria's deputy prime minister, also called on Syrian refugees to come home, even though the country's war is now in its eighth year.

Moualem said the foreign forces were on Syrian soil illegally, under the pretext of fighting terrorism, and "will be dealt with accordingly."

"They must withdraw immediately and without any conditions," he told the assembly.

Moualem insisted that the "war on terror is almost over" in Syria, where more than 360,000 people have died since 2011, with millions more uprooted from their homes.

He said Damascus would continue "fighting this sacred battle until we purge all Syrian territories" of both terror groups and "any illegal foreign presence."

The United States has some 2,000 troops in Syria, mainly training and advising both Kurdish forces and Syrian Arabs opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

France has more than 1,000 troops on the ground in the war-wracked country.

On the issue of refugees, Moualem said the conditions were fine for them to return, and he blamed the international community for "spreading irrational fears" that prompted refugees to stay away. (RELATED: Thousands head home in Syria's Idlib after deal – monitor)

"We have called upon the international community and humanitarian organizations to facilitate these returns," he said. "They are politicizing what should be a purely humanitarian issue." – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS – North Korea's foreign minister on Saturday, September 29, told the United Nations there was "no way" that his country would disarm first as long as the United States continued to push for tough enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Ri Yong Ho accused Washington of creating a deadlock in talks on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. 

"The recent deadlock is because the US relies on coercive measures which are lethal to trust-building," Ri told the assembly.

"Without any trust in the US, there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances, there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first."

The United States is insisting on a "denuclearization-first" policy that "increases the level of pressure by sanctions to achieve their purpose in a coercive manner," said the foreign minister. (READ: North Korea slams 'alarming' U.S. impatience on denuclearization)

"The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe dream of the people who are ignorant about us."

Led by the United States, the Security Council adopted 3 sanctions resolutions last year aimed at depriving North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

A landmark summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June led to a warming of ties and a halt in Pyongyang's missile launches, but there has been little concrete progress toward denuclearization.

This week, Ri met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who agreed to return to Pyongyang next month to discuss US demands that the North scrap its weapons programs.

Pompeo will also try to arrange a second summit between Trump and Kim, whose June meeting in Singapore was the first ever between sitting leaders of the long-time enemy states.

Ri told the UN assembly that his government had stopped nuclear and missile tests, dismantled a nuclear test site and continued to make efforts to build trust. (READ: North Korea's Kim says to visit Seoul, shut missile site)

"However we do not see any corresponding response from the US," he said. – Rappler.com

CAIRO, Egypt – An Egyptian court on Saturday, September 29, handed a two-year suspended jail sentence to a woman human rights activist arrested in May after posting a video criticizing sexual harassment in Egypt, her lawyer said.

Amal Fathi, 33, was convicted of spreading fake news and fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($560 dollars), her lawyer Doaa Mustafa told Agence France-Presse.

"We will challenge the ruling," Mustafa said, adding that Fathi could pay 20,000 pounds to have her sentence suspended.

However, Fathi is still in detention awaiting trial in another case in which she is accused of "membership in a terrorist group," her lawyer added.

Amnesty International denounced Saturday's "disgraceful" verdict against Fathi who, it said, was sentenced "simply for her courage to speak out against sexual harassment."

"This is an outrageous case of injustice, where the survivor is sentenced while the abuser remains at large," the rights group's Najia Bounaim said in a statement.

Fathi "is a human rights defender and sexual harassment survivor, who told her truth to the world and highlighted the vital issue of women’s safety in Egypt," Bounaim said.

"She is not a criminal and should not be punished for her bravery."

Fathi was arrested in May after posting a Facebook video in which she accused authorities of failing to protect women and charging that guards at a bank had sexually harassed her.

Some 60 percent of women in Egypt said they had been victims of some form of sexual harassment during their life, in a 2017 report from UN Women and Promundo.

Public debate over harassment intensified in the aftermath of the January 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.

The protests demanding Mubarak's ouster centered around Cairo's Tahrir Square, where constant media coverage also highlighted sexual attacks and helped show public denial of the phenomenon.

Following the uprising, anti-harassment graffiti spread around downtown Cairo, volunteers organized to rescue women from mob attacks, and more women shared their own stories publicly. – Rappler.com

THESSALONIKI, Greece – Envoys from 5 Allied countries marked on Saturday, September 29, the first armistice of World War 1 in Thessaloniki, 100 years after Bulgaria's defeat hastened the end of the "Great War".

The Allies' first triumph "led progressively to the final victory," French state secretary Genevieve Darrieussecq noted during a ceremony at the Zeitenlik military cemetary in northern Greece.

Representatives from Britain, France, Italy, Russia and Serbia attended the event, which celebrated the armistice of September 29, 1918 at the final resting place of 20,000 Allied soldiers. (READ: How World War I shaped the 20th century and beyond)

The unsung victory came almost 3 years after a Balkans front was launched to support Serb forces against Bulgaria, a German partner, with Allied troops forced to battle malaria and overcome logistic nightmares and inter-Balkan conflicts.

Just 6 weeks later, the remaining Central Powers, Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, capitulated and the "War to End all Wars" ended after some 10 million soldiers had died. – Rappler.com

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka announced a raft of restrictions on Saturday, September 29, in a bid to slow down imports of cars and luxury goods as the country faces a foreign exchange shortage.

The finance ministry banned the import of vehicles for all state institutions for one year and said public servants will not be allowed to import cars at concessionary duty rates for 6 months.

Banks were also ordered to restrict credit to finance the purchase of vehicles, air conditioners, perfumes, mobile phones and TV sets, among other luxury consumer goods.

The local currency has lost more than 10% of its value against the US dollar this year. The dollar, which bought 155 rupees at the start of the year, has appreciated and was buying 170 rupees by Friday.

In August, the government substantially increased taxes on small cars to discourage imports, but officials said there was still pressure on foreign exchange reserves to finance big-ticket imports. (RELATED: Sri Lanka warns of looming foreign debt crisis)

The central bank had warned that car imports had inflated the trade deficit by $700 million year-on-year to $4.9 billion for the first 5 months of 2018. – Rappler.com

TEHRAN, Iran – Tehran has identified an array of parties as perpetrating or having a hand in the September 22 attack that killed 24 people in the city of Ahvaz.

Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan, a province bordering Iraq in southwestern Iran where ethnic Arabs form a majority.

There have been two claims of responsibility for the gun assault against a military parade, including one by the Islamic State (IS) group. 

Here is what we know about the accusations and claims.

Separatist movements

Soon after the attack, the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps accused the Al-Ahwaziya movement of culpability. 

Al-Ahwaziya is an Arab separatist movement from Khuzestan province, but it comprises various groups.  

On Saturday, London-based opposition channel Iran International TV broadcast a claim of responsibility by a group called the Ahvaz National Resistance.

Two other regional separatist movements – the Ahwazi Democratic Popular Front and the Arab Struggle Movement for the  Liberation of Ahvaz – made statements denying any involvement.

The blame game 

President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday accused an unnamed Gulf country of giving financial, armed and political support to the instigators of the attack. 

The same day, Iran's foreign ministry summoned the UAE's charge d'affaires over what it called "offensive remarks" by a political adviser. Abu Dhabi denied any link to the attack. 

Iran has strained relations with the UAE, while diplomatic ties with Bahrain and regional rival Saudi Arabia have been broken since 2016.

On Saturday, Iran summoned diplomats from Denmark, the Netherlands and Britain, accusing these countries of hosting "terrorist group members" responsible for the attack. 

In a statement on Sunday, the Revolutionary Guard pointed the finger of blame at a "Western-Hebrew-Arabic satanic triangle."

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the attack was carried out by "terrorists recruited, trained, armed & paid by a foreign regime."

"Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks," he wrote on Twitter.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei described the attack as the continuation of a "conspiracy by regional governments in the pay of the US."

Islamic State group

IS claimed its first attack in Iran on June 7, 2017, when gunmen and suicide bombers hit the parliament in Tehran and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people and wounding dozens.

On Wednesday, IS threatened to carry out new attacks in the Islamic republic.

Iran is "flimsier than a spider's web, and with God's help, what comes will be worse and more bitter," the group said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

In a video released in March 2017, the jihadists threatened to retaliate against Iran for its military and logistical support to the Syrian and Iraqi governments, as Damascus and Baghdad battled IS insurgencies.

The jihadists said they wanted to conquer Iran to "return it to the Sunni Muslim nation" and to provoke a Shiite bloodbath. – Rappler.com

BEIJING, China – The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China has surged by 14 percent, with most cases transmitted through sex rather than blood transfusions, state media said on Saturday, September 29.

More than 820,000 people had AIDS or were HIV-positive at the end of June, up by 100,000 year-on-year, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing national health officials at an HIV/AIDS conference.

More than 40,000 new HIV/AIDS cases were reported in the second quarter alone, with 93.1 percent having contracted the virus through sex.

The number of HIV infections caused by blood transfusions has "essentially been reduced to zero," according to Xinhua. (RELATED: AIDS could be wiped out by 2030 – UN)

China has been hit by blood transfusion scandals in the past.

In the 1990s, rural parts of China – particularly the central province of Henan – endured the country's most debilitating AIDS epidemic.

It stemmed from a tainted government-backed blood donation program and infected tens of thousands of people, including entire villages.

In 2015, state media reported the case of a 5-year-old girl who had contracted HIV through a blood transfusion during an operation for congenital heart disease. – Rappler.com