New York Post

Adam Vinatieri could be ending his Hall of Fame career with a doink.

Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer and the league’s oldest player (46), missed two more kicks in the Colts’ 19-17 win over the Titans, including one that bounced off the upright, after missing two field-goal attempts and an extra point in a Week 1 loss to the Chargers.

The Colts will try to talk the 24-year veteran, best known for two Super Bowl-winning kicks that helped build the Patriots dynasty, out of retiring, according to NBC’s Mike Florio, after speculation the kicker might call it quits because of comments he made after the game.

Vinatieri — who has seven missed kicks in his last three games — didn’t take questions Sunday, saying “You’ll hear from me [Monday].” When reminded reporters don’t see players on Mondays, Vinatieri replied, “Yeah, you will.”

The Colts reportedly will try to convince Vinatieri to stay on board, as the kicker is expected to determine his future on Monday.

Colts hoping legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri doesn’t retire

Reuters

The Indianapolis Colts are hoping to convince kicker Adam Vinatieri not to retire, NBC’s Mike Florio reported Sunday evening, after the 46-year-old missed two more kicks in Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans.

Sep 15, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri (4) misses his attempt to make an extra point during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

“I’m told that is a safe assumption (that Vinatieri will retire), but the Colts aren’t ready to give up,” Florio said on Football Night in America. “They’re gonna try to talk him into staying. They expect to have an answer by tomorrow afternoon.”

Vinatieri — who missed a pair of extra points Sunday and has seven missed kicks in his last three games — didn’t take questions from reporters, saying “You’ll hear from me (Monday).” When reminded that reporters don’t see players on Mondays, Vinatieri replied, “Yeah, you will.”

That spurred speculation that the NFL’s all-time leading scorer plans to retire.

Former Colts teammate Pat McAfee tweeted on the subject, writing, “Folks thinkin Vinatieri’s retiring.. I sent a text, haven’t gotten a response yet but, I do know that the game’ll miss him if that’s the case.”

Vinatieri, who turns 47 in December, missed two field goals — including a 29-yarder — and an extra point in last week’s overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He also missed a 23-yard field goal and an extra point in the Colts’ divisional playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in January.

Head coach Frank Reich said after the game he has “zero concern” about Vinatieri’s reliability.

“He hit the upright on the one,” Reich said. “You guys probably saw the first one. It was not a good operation. That snap and hold was not clean, the ball barely got on the ground. It was not clean.”

Owner Jim Irsay did not sound as assured.

“Breaks my heart to see it, because I know how hard he works,” Irsay said. “Of course it’s a concern. I can’t lie to you guys. Anyone would tell you it’s a concern. Adam, coach Reich, (general manager) Chris (Ballard), me. Yeah, I mean, in this league, it’s professional football. We all have to produce.”

The Colts hung on to win 19-17 after T.Y. Hilton’s go-ahead touchdown with 4:38 remaining, after which Vinatieri hit the right upright. The Titans did not reach field-goal range on their final two possessions, which kept the miss from factoring.

—Field Level Media

Report: Colts hope to talk Vinatieri out of retiring

International Business Times

As NASA prepares to move forward with missions aimed at colonizing Mars, an astronaut from the agency discussed what it would be like to live on the Red Planet. The astronaut also suggested a way to overcome one of the biggest challenges about living on Mars.

Shortly after NASA announced the details of its Artemis Program, which is the next set of crewed spaceflight missions, the agency revealed its plan to establish a human outpost on Mars.

Read: Brad Pitt Working With NASA To Discuss Artemis Program With ISS Astronaut

According to NASA astronaut and physiologist Dr. James Pawelczyk, there are a number of issues that the agency needs to solve in order to successfully establish a human colony on Mars. Since traveling to the Red Planet means leaving the protection of the magnetic field around Earth, Martian settlers will have to deal with cosmic radiation.

“Once we move outside the Van Allen belts – the magnetic field around our Earth – then we’re exposed to a much higher energy radiation forms,” Pawelczyk told Express. “We also have the solar wind galactic cosmic radiation. And those really wreak havoc on the biology.”

Despite the threat of radiation that comes with living on Mars, Pawelczyk noted that this can be avoided through the use of specialized shelters. These can be constructed on Mars using the alien planet’s natural resources such as the soil and rocks.

According to Pawelczyk, these kinds of shelters can successfully shield humans from cosmic radiation as long as their walls are thick enough. Aside from building shelters, another possible solution is establishing underground colonies using Mars’ subterranean lava tubes.

“Survival on Mars really means going underground,” Pawelczyk said. “So possibly identifying lava tubes of creating our own thick-walled structures but using the Martian surface. Normally, we take everything with us when we go explore a planet. But now we’ll be using the resources of that planet to help us stay there.”

Aside from establishing proper shelters, the NASA astronaut also stressed the importance of finding a natural water supply on Mars. With this important resource, human colonies will be able to create oxygen as well as fuel.

“We know there’s a lot of water on Mars,” Pawelczyk said. “What we want to do is get to those points to study water [and] see what it’s all about but also understand how to use that in the fractional gravity environment so that we can make oxygen.”

“We can combine it with CO2 and we can make other fuels so that we don’t have to take it with us from Earth,” he added.

Photo: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

NASA Astronaut Describes How Living On Mars Will Be Like

After working with NASA for his latest film “Ad Astra,” Brad Pitt is set to talk about the Artemis Program and what it’s like to live aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in an upcoming live stream event. The actor will talk about the exciting topic with veteran NASA astronaut Nick Hague.

In his latest film, Pitt plays an astronaut who ventures to the outer edges of the Solar System to search for his father. Although “Ad Astra” is considered as a science fiction film, NASA noted that it participated in the movie’s production by providing their own images and footage.

“We reviewed a script of ‘Ad Astra’ early in production, Bert Ulrich, NASA’s liaison for film and television collaborations, said in a statement. “Although there was no NASA storyline, we provided some of the exciting images and footage for the film especially of the Moon and Mars.”

“Sci-fi films like ‘Ad Astra,’ ‘The Martian,’ ‘Interstellar’ and ‘Gravity’ take movie audiences out of this world incorporating some of NASA’s most inspirational photography and footage,” Ulrich added.

Aside from working together for the film, Pitt and NASA will collaborate once again for a special call to the ISS. During the call, Pitt will have the opportunity to talk to Hague, who is currently serving as the flight engineer on the ISS for Expedition 59/60.

According to NASA, Pitt and Hague will discuss the daily routine of the astronauts aboard the massive space station. This includes talking about what it’s like to live inside the ISS for a long time.

In addition, the actor and the astronaut will also tackle the Artemis Program. This is NASA's upcoming crewed spaceflight program. It was developed through its partnerships with commercial spaceflight companies such as SpaceX as well as other agencies like the European Space Agency.

The first step of the program involves launching a crewed expedition to the Moon in 2024. This will then be followed by a human mission to Mars.

Pitt and Hague call will be aired live on Sept. 16 at 11:35 am EDT. It will be broadcasted through NASA’s live streaming website.

Photo: Getty Images/Rich Fury

Brad Pitt Working With NASA To Discuss Artemis Program With ISS Astronaut

The Japan Times

Marc Gasol looked to the sky as confetti fell, some sticking to his massive shoulders, and then cradled and kissed the giant golden chalice that goes to the World Cup champions.

He’s getting good at hoisting trophies.

Gasol got to bask in a championship celebration for the second time in three months — and this time, he did it for his country. Tournament MVP Ricky Rubio scored 20 points, Sergio Llull added 15 and Spain won the World Cup for the second time by topping Argentina 95-75 on Sunday.

“We weren’t the most talented team,” Rubio said. “We weren’t the bigger team. Put anything you want, but we were the team with the biggest heart and we showed it tonight and we showed it during the whole tournament.”

Gasol scored 14 for the winners, who never trailed and added this crown to the one they claimed in 2006. And for him, 2019 will go down as a year the likes of which few others have enjoyed.

The Toronto Raptors center becomes the second player to win an NBA title and a FIBA world gold medal in the same year, joining Lamar Odom — who did it for the Los Angeles Lakers and USA Basketball in 2010. Gasol also became the 19th to win either an NBA or WNBA crown along with a gold medal, either of the Olympic or World Cup variety, in the same year.

The first 18 all did it for the U.S.

This time, Vamos Espana!

“NBA champion and a World Cup champion as well,” Gasol said. “What can I say? How does it sound to you? I feel very fortunate to be in this position and be able to play this game and help these guys be part of history of Spanish basketball.”

Llull and Rudy Fernandez — the team captain and the one who initially got to accept the Naismith Trophy — went to cut down the nets shortly after the final buzzer. Gasol carried the game ball to the gold-medal ceremony, and Spanish fans wept in the stands during the national anthem.

Gabriel Deck scored 24 points for Argentina (8-1), which got off to a slow start and played uphill the rest of the way. Luis Scola was held to eight points, shooting 1-for-10 from the floor.

“We’re sad right now. We’re very sad,” Scola said. “But I feel confident, in hours, we’ll be able to look back and be very proud. They just played better than us. They were better. They deserved to win. They were the better team in the game and the tournament.”

Spain led 43-31 at intermission, after putting together a 14-2 run to open the game and a 17-1 run later in the half.

“This is basketball,” Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. “If you play better than the other team, you win the game. And Spain was the best team today.”

Scola, even at 39 years old still Argentina’s best player throughout the tournament, didn’t get on the scoresheet until he made a pair of free throws with 2:57 left in the third quarter. But they only cut the Spain lead to 19, and by then the Argentinian fans who stood, sang and chanted for much of the game were relatively quiet.

The day belonged to Spain.

And the year belongs to Gasol.

“It’s unbelievable,” Gasol said.

Spain captures FIBA World Cup; Marc Gasol completes double

Spain's Marc Gasol (right) and Argentina's Marcos Delia fight for the ball during the Basketball World Cup final game between Argentina and Spain in Beijing on Sunday. Spain beats Argentina, 95-75, to win the FIBA World Cup. Photo: VCG

RELATED ARTICLES: Team China scores first win at basketball World Cup

Global Times

حدث عاجل

توج المنتخب الإسباني لكرة السلة بلقبه العالمي الثاني بالفوز على نظيره الأرجنتيني 95 /75 ، اليوم الأحد، في المباراة النهائية للبطولة التي اختتمت اليوم في بكين.

واستكمل المنتخب الإسباني مسيرته الناجحة في البطولة بالفوز الثامن على التوالي وأسقط المنتخب الأرجنتيني في النهائي ليتوج باللقب العالمي للمرة الثانية عن جدارة.

وكان المنتخب الإسباني توج بلقبه الوحيد السابق في النسخة التي استضافتها اليابان عام 2006 قبل أن يتوج اليوم بلقبه الثاني أيضا على أرض أسيوية.

وفي المقابل مني المنتخب الأرجنتيني اليوم بالهزيمة الأولى له في البطولة الحالية بعدما حقق سبعة انتصارات متتالية على مدار الأدوار المختلفة للبطولة.

وجددت مباراة اليوم صراعا قديما بين الفريقين كانت أبرز ملامحه في المربع الذهبي لنسخة 2006 عندما فاز المنتخب الإسباني على نظيره الأرجنتيني أيضا ليتقدم بعد ذلك إلى منصة التتويج باللقب بالفوز على اليونان في النهائي.

إسبانيا تسحق الأرجنتين.. وتتوج بكأس العالم لكرة السلة – صحيفة حدث عاجل الألكترونية

What a week.

The Jets had to be shaking their heads after this one. It is hard to even keep track of everything that happened. But here’s a try:

All of this left you waiting for locusts to hit Florham Park on Sunday.

After taking all of these body blows, the Jets (0-1) now get to face the Browns (0-1) on the national stage of “Monday Night Football.”

The message around the Jets has been that this current adversity can help them later in the season, but it’s hard to see that right now.

“We lose one and the world ended, obviously. Am I lying?” safety Jamal Adams joked. “The world kind of ended. … Obviously, we’ve hit adversity and it’s going to show us what we’re made of. I like it. I actually like it. It’s a lot of adversity early on. It’s going to make us closer as a group, as a staff, as an organization. There’s no better way to do it than on Monday night. So, we’ll be fine.”

The Jets are on the ropes, and you wonder if Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr. and friends will be the ones to knock them out Monday. The Jets are without their leaders on offense (Darnold) and defense (Mosley). This would have been a tough game with those two. Without them, it feels like a no-win situation.

Coach Adam Gase was asked what he expects from his team.

“A group of guys to put their head down, do their job,” Gase said. “We don’t need anybody to try to do anything crazy. We need 11 guys on each phase, one play at a time, doing their job. That’s what we need. If we do that, that is going to give us our best chance. We all know this game is going to come down to the fourth quarter. It is going to be tight one way or the other. We are either going to have it or we are going to stop them. Everybody has to do their job.”

The Jets’ early schedule is a killer — with two games against the Patriots, a game with the Eagles and a game with the Cowboys coming up. A loss Monday is going to fuel the talk of an 0-6 start.

It is a new week. It can’t be any worse than the last one for the Jets.

Jets chaos subsides for Browns showdown they can’t botch

The Jets’ offensive line played together in a game for the first time last week. It did not go well.

It looked like a group that had not played together before … because it hadn’t. Injuries and the late addition of center Ryan Kalil led to the starting offensive line not playing a snap together in the preseason. The ragged start last week was expected. The unit gave up four sacks and running back Le’Veon Bell was fighting for yards without many holes.

“I feel like at times we were a little bit out of control, trying to do too much,” said Kalil, who came out of retirement in early August to join the Jets. “And then other times playing a little bit slower than we probably needed to play. There was a lot of good things that we did on tape but nothing that we put together for complete drives except for the one. That’s just something you can’t do. That will kill you, even when your defense is playing lights out and giving us plenty of opportunities, which they did last week. If we want to win more games, we’re going to have to do a really good job on capitalizing, especially on turnovers.”

Kalil and others on the line feel that they will only get better with more time together.

“Now that we have all the pieces there and we’re continuing to practice and continuing to work together, it will keep trending up,” Kalil said.

The Browns will be a tough challenge — with a strong front led by Myles Garrett. They also have former Jet Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi in the middle of the defensive line.

“You get some teams that have big, stout guys that you have to try to move off the ball. You get other teams with smaller, quicker guys, guys you have to contain. They can split double teams. They can get in the A gaps. Those guys can do both,” Kalil said. “You have to be really great with your technique.”

The Jets are hoping they finally found their long-term kicker with Sam Ficken. They signed him Tuesday after Kaare Vedvik bombed against the Bills last week.

Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer gave Ficken a vote of confidence.

“I think he’s done a great job since he’s been here,” Boyer said. “He’s a pro, knows what he wants, tells you where to put the ball, tells you how he wants the ball. I think he’s done a real nice job since he’s been here. It’s been a good, pleasant surprise. He kicks off well. I feel real confident about how he’s going to do on [Monday], I really do.”

What Jets’ shaky offensive line needs right now

A city database meant to shed light on police-misconduct settlements is missing the largest deal struck in the first three months of the year — even though it involved cops on both sides.

Transit Officer Larry Jackson agreed to take $5 million in January to resolve his claim that he was beaten and choked by fellow NYPD cops in 2010.

The payout wasn’t included in a city Law Department database of settlements reached this year because a 2017 law creating that database exempted settlements from cases more than five years old.

Jackson’s lawyer, Eric Sanders, called it “ridiculous” that the settlement was excluded because of when the case occurred.

“Of course, they like to hide things,” said Sanders, who’s an ex-NYPD cop. “The public should know about all public expenditures or transactions because it’s the taxpayers’ money.”

In the case, Jackson claimed several officers punched, choked, pepper-sprayed and battered him with batons after responding to a 911 call at his home. City lawyers argued at trial that Jackson had punched one of the officers.

A Brooklyn federal jury awarded him $15 million in damages, but a judge reduced that amount to $5.45 million, and Jackson agreed to drop an appeal in exchange for $5 million.

Cop’s $5M settlement didn’t make cut in NYPD-misconduct database

City Hall’s official tally of NYPD lawsuit settlements is woefully incomplete — and fails to account for $22 million in deals struck during the first three months of this year alone, The Post has learned.

From January through March, 286 suits filed against the NYPD over alleged police misconduct were settled for a combined $16 million in taxpayer money, according to data on the city Law Department’s website.

But thanks to a legal loophole, another 432 cases that were resolved in the same period aren’t included in the Law Department’s database, according to information obtained from the city Comptroller’s Office through the Freedom of Information Law.

Those settlements, which are the most recent available, exceed the amount that the Law Department said was paid out by nearly 40% — and pushed the actual total to $38 million.

Under a 2017 law signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Law Department is required to post “information regarding civil actions filed in state or federal court against the police department or individual police officers” twice a year.

But the Law Department’s latest data don’t include 426 cases that were paid out by Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office for a combined $16.9 million — because those cases were settled after complainants alerted the city of their intention to sue via a “notice of claim” but before a formal suit was filed.

The data also doesn’t include suits that are more than five years old — of which there were six that settled for a combined $5.1 million from January through March.

Stringer has been aggressively settling claims since 2014 in an effort to stem litigation against the city.

Last month, he struck a deal to pay $9.75 million to Mark Denny, who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a robbery and rape at a Burger King in Brooklyn before being exonerated in December 2017.

Lawmakers who supported the 2017 law were unaware of the hidden figures until being informed by The Post.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who was the bill’s chief sponsor as a Brooklyn councilman, accused officials of undermining its intent.

The NYPD “was resistant to this law in particular, and they have been resistant to full transparency around these questions in general, so I’m not surprised that they would try to get around the spirit of what we are trying to do,” Williams said.

A co-sponsor, Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Queens), pledged to introduce a measure to close the loophole, saying it was “hindering our ability to identify possible hot spots for misconduct.”

A Law Department spokesman said the agency was following the “plain language” of the law and noted that it “does not even have copies of notices of claim in most cases until after the civil action is filed in court.”

Stringer does not know how the Law Department crunches its data, a spokeswoman said.

De Blasio and the NYPD declined to comment.

NYPD’s tally of lawsuit settlements fails to account for $22 million

Mail Online

A surfer who was unaware a giant shark was just metres away from him in the water made a lucky escape after being warned from above by a drone operator.

The man was surfing at Werri Beach, south of Wollongong, on Sunday when the four-metre suspected great white shark started circling him.

Drone enthusiast Christopher Joye said he raised the alarm by using a speaker attached to his high-tech device.

The drone operator said he raised the alarm about the lurking shark by using the speaker attached to his device

At Werri Beach today this large shark was approaching a surfer, and I used my drone's speaker system to warn him. Watch him look up at the drone, then bolt, with the sudden splashing warding off the approaching shark @smh @FinancialReview pic.twitter.com/awjDHMoUVq — christopher joye (@cjoye) September 15, 2019

He posted footage of the unnerving incident to Twitter.

'At Werri Beach today this large shark was approaching a surfer, and I used my drone's speaker system to warn him,' he wrote.

'Watch him look up at the drone, then bolt, with the sudden splashing warding off the approaching shark.'

The panicked surfer turned his board around and quickly swam towards the shore.

The shark was seen turning away and swimming in the direction of the ocean after the surfer was cautioned.

Mr Joye told the Illawarra Mercury the shark was most likely a bronze whaler or great white.

'I have seen numerous sharks at Werri using drones but this is the first time I have been able to warn anyone with the speaker system. It is also the first time I have seen one heading for a surfer,' he said.

Drone operator warns surfer about giant shark stalking him at Werri Beach

Three fishermen have been trolled online after they shared a photo boasting about a 'record breaking' shark they caught.

The trio started a Facebook page which now boasts more than 100,000 followers where they share their catches from their home town of Pilbara in Western Australia.

On Sunday the men posted three photos alongside a tiger shark which was 'at least five metres in length'.

'We used a tape measure to get a size of the shark,' they captioned the pictures on their Sharky-Pilbara Land Base Shark Fishing page.

On Sunday the men posted three photos alongside a tiger shark which was 'at least five metres in length'

'She was bigger than the tape, measuring 4.8 metres from tail to gills, so we guess 5m or evening (sic) 5.2m.'

'That's our new personal best life time catch,' the men added.

While they were clearly proud of their haul, the pictures attracted thousands of comments - primarily from people who were worried about the shark's welfare.

The page claims they always 'catch and release' the fish they find, but one observant viewer said the shark 'looked very dead' in the photos.

'I think you’ll find this is not catch and release,' the man said.

The page claims they always 'catch and release' the fish they find, but one observant viewer said the shark 'looked very dead' in the photos

'There is a rope attached to its tail which would mean it's been dragged backwards at some stage.

'Unfortunately these animals rely on water passing through its gills whilst swimming forward or else they drown. The shark is very dead.'

Others said the inhumane treatment of the shark didn't give the men any bragging rights.

'All in the name of a selfie to brag to your friends. Where is your heart and compassion? Please think about this animal as another living being to respect.

One woman, a trainee marine biologist, said from her experience, the tiger shark looked pregnant

'Absolutely disgraceful! There should be no pride in this whatsoever, how dare you take a precious species from the ocean just for a ‘pb’ and for pleasure. What is wrong with you!'

One woman, a trainee marine biologist, said from her experience, the tiger shark looked pregnant.

She said even if the shark was safely released back into the wild, the stress from the ordeal would have seen her miscarry.

Tiger sharks have now been categorised as 'near threatened' according to conversationalists, meaning it is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened listing in the near future.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the fishermen for comment.

West Australian Pilbara fishermen slammed for posting with monster 5m tiger shark on Facebook

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host his Russian and Iranian counterparts on Monday for their latest summit on Syria, with attention focused on Damascus's push on the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani will join Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara for their fifth summit on the conflict since 2017.

Iran and Russia have been staunch supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has called for his ouster and backed opposition fighters.

But with Assad's position looking increasingly secure, Turkey's priority has shifted to preventing a mass influx of refugees from Idlib in Syria's northwest.

Turkey is concerned by the steady advance of Syrian forces into the region, backed by Russian airpower, despite a series of ceasefires.

Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib to enforce a buffer zone agreement struck a year ago with Russia to prevent a full-scale Syrian offensive.

But the posts look increasingly threatened, with one of them cut off from the rest of Idlib when Syrian forces advanced last month.

Russian air strikes have continued in the region despite the latest ceasefire between Ankara and Moscow on August 31.

"A large number of terrorists are still present in this zone... and fighters continue to fire on the positions of government forces," Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Friday.

Low expectations

The Turkish presidency said the leaders would discuss the latest developments in Syria as well as "ensuring the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of refugees and discussing the joint step to be taken in the period ahead with the aim of achieving a lasting political solution."

Moscow is keen to see progress on establishing a constitutional committee to oversee the next stage of the political settlement in Syria.

That would give Putin a political win to add to its military victories, said Dareen Khalifa, senior Syria analyst at International Crisis Group.

But she said expectations should remain low.

Even if they could agree on who will form the committee, "this leaves a crux of issues unaddressed for the future of the political process including the regime's ability and willingness to undertake any kind of political reform," Khalifa told AFP.

All three leaders are expected to hold one-on-one meetings before the summit, the Kremlin said.

They will also hold a closing news conference with a view to presenting a joint declaration.

Meanwhile, Turkey has other concerns regarding Syria.

It has repeatedly threatened to launch a cross-border offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces, whom it sees as allied to Kurdish militants in its own territory.

That has strained Turkey's relations with its NATO ally, the United States, which backs the Syrian Kurds as the main fighting force against the Islamic State group (IS).

The US has vowed to work with Turkey to clear Kurdish forces away from its border, but Ankara says progress has so far been "cosmetic" and it could launch an operation into Syria by the end of this month.

Turkey has conducted two previous offensives against IS in 2016 and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in 2018.

Erdogan Hosts Putin, Rouhani For Syria Summit

Voice of America

Syrian government troops on Sunday bombarded a rebel-held area in the Syrian northwestern province of Idlib, a monitor group said.

Several missiles targeted towns and villages in the southern part of Idlib that are controlled by rebel forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

No casualties were reported in the Sunday attack.

Despite a unilateral ceasefire that was declared by the Syrian government and its ally Russia in late August, government forces have continued targeting towns and cities across the Syrian province, experts said.

“The ceasefire is vague and seems to only apply in certain parts of Idlib,” said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory.

He said that details of the ceasefire haven’t fully been disclosed.

“What is clear, however, is that [Syrian] regime forces want to recapture two highways that connect Aleppo to Damascus and Latakia. Both routes go through south Idlib,” Abdulrahman told VOA.

Syrian rebels said they have managed to halt the regime’s assault on south Idlib temporarily.

“We are responding directly by targeting the positions from where the shells are fired,” Naji Mustafa, a spokesman for the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front opposition force, told Reuters news agency Sunday.

The Idlib province, home to nearly 3 million people, is the last major stronghold of rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Idlib is largely controlled by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria.

According to the latest U.N. count, at least 1,000 civilians have been killed in Idlib since April.

Last month, Syrian regime forces backed by Russia retook control of Idlib’s strategic town of Khan Sheikhoun, which had been under rebels’ control since 2014.

Civilians returning

On Sunday, Syrian state media reported that thousands of displaced civilians have begun returning to their homes in south Idlib that recently have been cleared of rebel fighters.

“Thousands of citizens return to their villages… of the southern Idlib countryside,” SANA news agency said.

The Syrian Observatory, however, claimed that those people had been living in regime-held areas and weren’t displaced due to the recent fighting.

“Most of them are from the [nearby province of] Hama and only a small number is actually from areas such as Khan Sheikhoun,” the Observatory reported.

Failed deal?

For years, Idlib has been a center of contention between Russia and Turkey, two powers that support opposite sides of the Syrian conflict.

In September 2018, Moscow and Ankara reached an agreement that postponed a planned Syrian regime offensive on Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border.

As part of that agreement, Turkey was required to remove all extremist groups from the province, some of which are allied with the al-Qaida terror group.

Some experts say that Syrian regime’s ongoing push to recapture Idlib from rebels indicates Russia’s discontent with Turkey’s failure to implement its part of the deal on Idlib.

“This is a reflection of Russia’s policy towards Idlib,” said John Saleh, a Syrian researcher based in Washington.

“Moscow has realized that Turkey cannot commit to the 2018 agreement, which included removing all radical groups from Idlib. That’s why Russia is determined to support Syrian regime troops to retake these areas from Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib,” he told VOA.

Presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran are to meet in Ankara on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria. Idlib is expected to take center stage in those talks, reports said.

Syrian Troops Pounding Idlib Despite Ceasefire

Shanghai has designed a detailed, Chinese-English bilingual map of investment guidance along 50 special tour routes around the city for attendees of the upcoming 2019 China International Import Expo (CIIE).

The map shows the industrial distributions, investment opportunities as well as Shanghai's development, with the 50 featured tours divided into nine categories including financial services, technological innovation, smart manufacturing, trade, cultural creativity, fashion and leisure.

CIIE exhibitors and participants from home and abroad are expected to get first-hand experience about the development and investment opportunities of Shanghai and its traditional local culture.

The municipal commerce authorities will hold a total of 56 investment promotion activities during the second CIIE, including seminars, summits, forums, dialogues and industry promotions in the areas of cross-border e-commerce, big data, industrial internet, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and biomedicine.

The second CIIE, slated to take place in early November this year in Shanghai, has seen more than 3,000 companies from over 150 countries and regions sign up.

A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the first CIIE, held from Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai. It was the world's first import-themed national-level expo.

Shanghai draws investment guidance map for CIIE attendees

Photo taken on Sept. 8, 2015 shows an aerial view of one section of Huangpu River in east China's Shanghai Municipality. (Xinhua/Cheng Zixie)

Shanghai is home to over 700 regional headquarters of multinational corporations. Driven by the prosperous development of these headquarters, foreign investment into Shanghai has maintained fast growth.

A total of 701 multinational corporations have established regional headquarters in Shanghai by the end of August, according to the municipal commission of commerce.

Among them, 106 are headquarters for the Asia Pacific region, showing that the city is an important operation center for many multinational corporations both in China and the Asia Pacific, the commission said.

The number of foreign-funded research and development (R&D) centers reached 451 by the end of August, with 10 newly launched in the first eight months of this year, it added.

Driven by the prosperous development of these headquarters, foreign investment into Shanghai has maintained fast growth, with 4,661 new foreign investment projects set up from January to August, up 47.8 percent year on year.

Shanghai launched new policies last month to attract global enterprises, according to which the requirement for the total assets of parent companies of regional headquarters has been adjusted to 200 million U.S. dollars.

To further facilitate R&D, Shanghai also plans to add renowned foreign trademarks that are vulnerable to infringement to the city's key protection list, to provide better intellectual property protection services for the regional headquarters.

Shanghai home to over 700 regional headquarters of multinational corporations

A total of 701 multinational corporations have established regional headquarters in Shanghai by the end of August.(Photo/Xinhua)

Favorable policies have seen 31 regional headquarters established this year

Shanghai has become increasingly attractive to multinational companies as the municipal government comes up with more favorable policies.

Statistics released by the city's Municipal Commission of Commerce on Saturday show 701 multinational companies had set up regional headquarters in Shanghai by the end of last month, with another 451 setting up regional research and development centers.

In the first eight months of this year, 31 regional headquarters and 10 R& D centers were established in Shanghai.

Among the regional headquarters, 106 are multinational companies' headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region, the commission said, indicating the city's importance to operations across the wider area.

Shanghai rolled out its first batch of favorable policies to attract regional headquarters in 2002. In late July, the municipal government introduced another 30 policies to further facilitate the development of regional headquarters. The policies took effect on Sept 1.

Yang Di, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the latest policies lowered the threshold for setting up regional headquarters and gave multinational companies more flexibility in terms of cross-border payments, financing and business license applications.

Favorable education and medical policies have also been put in place to help retain overseas executives and professionals working for multinational companies.

The manufacturing industry has become a leading light showcasing Shanghai's appeal to multinational companies. The Municipal Commission of Commerce said 19 manufacturing projects, each with funded capital reaching $10 million, had been established in Shanghai in the first eight months of the year, up 60 percent year-on-year.

Swiss conglomerate ABB Group's decision to construct its largest and most advanced robotics manufacturing and research facility in Shanghai demonstrated its "big commitment to Shanghai and China", Peter Voser, the company's chairman and CEO, said.

"Our businesses are fully aligned with China's goals of sustainable, high-quality growth and development," he said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the $150 million investment on Thursday. "This substantial investment demonstrates our strong commitment to Shanghai and to China, and our confidence in the future of the Chinese economy."

Voser praised the role China has played in fostering ABB's development into the global technology leader it is today, and said "ABB China is a Chinese company under Chinese management."

Chen Mingbo, deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, said Shanghai had been working hard to develop its "Made in Shanghai" Initiative, through which the city aims to strengthen its high-end manufacturing prowess.

Attractions of Shanghai lure multinationals

Daily Mirror

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Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi was "lucky" not to be sent off for his role in a confrontation with Watford's Jose Holebas, according to Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness.

The two sides clashed towards the end of the first half of Sunday's Premier League encounter after a tackle from Holebas on Gunners' forward Nicolas Pepe.

The Ivory Coast international reacted badly to the challenge, causing several players from both sides to get involved.

And Guendouzi, who was one of the first Arsenal players to support Pepe's, appeared to raise his arm to the Hornets defender during the skirmish.

Although the incident saw both Holebas and Guendouzi booked by referee Anthony Taylor, Souness felt that 20-year-old was fortunate to avoid harsher punishment.

(Image: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)

(Image: Getty Images)

Speaking on Sky Sports at half-time (via Football London ), he said: "It's never nice getting one in the chops, is it? Eat this for your late lunch.

"He pulls away and then, listen I'm sure we've (Tim Cahill) been in that situation before.

"For me, he pulls it away and then goes back again and he knows what he's doing.

"I think he's been lucky."

(Image: Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley)

Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first half at Vicarage Road through a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace, Arsenal had to settle for a point after a Tom Cleverley strike and a Roberto Pereyra penalty put Watford level after the break.

And Souness also criticised Unai Emery's side after the game for the manner in which they let their lead slip.

"If you are an Arsenal supporter watching that you must be scratching your head," he said .

"It was as if this is the first team in the first half and then the second team in the second half, they capitulated.

(Image: Sky Sports)

"Proper teams don't play like that. Proper teams don't have a half like that in the first and then play like that in the second half. Proper teams just don't do that.

"They bring on some kids - we were questioning them bringing on kids. That was a game that at 2-1 it was time to dig in and regroup and make sure they weren't going to lose the game and they should have lost the game in the second half.

"When the kids came on they were all over the place, it was like a game of basketball, and I think if you're an Arsenal supporter that must deeply worry you."

Graeme Souness names Arsenal star who was "lucky" not to have been sent off vs Watford

BBC Online

This was the first time that Arsenal failed to win a Premier League match in which they were at least two goals ahead since April 2016 when they drew 3-3 with West Ham

Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka says the Gunners "were too scared" as they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Watford.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in the first half for the visitors but the Hornets hit back after the break through Tom Cleverley and a late Roberto Pereyra penalty.

Watford finished with 31 shots on goal, 23 of those coming in the second half.

"No-one wanted the ball. In the end we are happy to take a point," Xhaka said.

"We didn't show our game in the second half, we were too scared."

Media playback is not supported on this device Watford 2-2 Arsenal: Not a good point for Gunners - Emery

Watford's first goal came as a result of Gunners defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos giving away possession inside his own area, allowing Cleverley to score.

Since the start of last season, Arsenal's players have made a combined 14 errors leading to opposition goals in the Premier League - at least two more than any other club in this time.

The 31 shots Watford had against Unai Emery's side were the most Arsenal have ever faced in a Premier League fixture since Opta began collecting such data in 2003-04.

Xhaka added: "Every team in the Premier League is strong enough to score but you have to keep calm, to show good character, to be mentally strong. We weren't today."

After winning their first two Premier League games of the season against Newcastle and Burnley, Arsenal are now without win in three following defeat at Liverpool and draws against Tottenham and now Watford.

"We have a lot of young players," said Emery. They will really learn in the next matches.

"We will continue with our way of working. We need to improve, to take some information from this match. But also we'll learn about that."

Granit Xhaka admits Arsenal were too scared against Watford

Gay Christians are being sent to 'conversion therapy', an outdated form of 'counselling' which teaches homosexuality is a form of 'brokenness', it has been revealed.

An explosive investigation by 60 Minutes showed at least 10 organisations in Australia and New Zealand are offering conversion therapy, which is known to cause 'severe mental trauma'.

Robert Williams joined a church in his early 20s, got married and had two children, but in 2009 told a minister he was attracted to men.

The minister immediately sent him to 'counselling'.

Mr Williams was told to flick a rubber band around his wrist or take a cold shower every time he had sexual thoughts about men.

He said he knew he was falling into depression by hiding who he was but he knew coming out would come with serious consequences.

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Robert Williams (pictured) joined a church in his early 20s, got married and had two children but in 2009 he confided in a minister he was attracted to men

Mr Williams eventually came out to his wife and his two children.

'I lost everything,' he told 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo 'I lost my children, I lost my wife, I lost my security, I lost my identity, I had to rebuild the whole lot.'

Mr Williams said he believes the people performing conversion therapy are aware that it is harmful.

John Smid, a former gay conversion therapy counsellor, said the church believed homosexuality was a result of being 'broken'.

'We've clearly taught that homosexuality is a result of family dysfunction, or as a result of sexual abuse. We taught that homosexuality was a product of brokenness,' he said.

He said Christian leaders did not admit how dangerous it was to manipulate someone's mind.

Mr Smid was preaching homosexuality was a sin - but was battling with his own sexuality at the same time.

He left the church and is now trying to make amends for his past actions. He said everyone he has spoken to since has been impacted by the therapy in some way - whether they suffer anxiety, resentment or depression.

John Smid (pictured), a man who used to lead gay conversion therapies, said they taught that homosexuality was a result of being 'broken'

Some have committed suicide.

Mr Williams is determined to expose gay conversion therapy and how it operates in Australia today.

He has met undercover with several ministers and priests - all who now, instead of overtly preaching conversion therapy, preached celibacy for the LGBT community.

A paper released by La Trobe University and the Human Rights Law Centre last year found there were still organisations practising conversion therapy.

Mr Williams (left) is determined to expose gay conversion therapy and how it operates in Australia today

Victoria has made gay conversion therapy illegal - meaning the Health Complaints Commissioner now has the power to issue public warnings to organisations and can ban them from practising within the state.

But the Australian Christian Lobby said this infringes on the rights of Christians.

For confidential support call Lifeline: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au

Christian churches in Australia where gay people are told they are 'broken'

Image copyright Dan Boundy Image caption James Barr

So-called "gay conversion therapy" may be condemned by experts but it is still permitted in the UK. So what happened when gay podcast host James Barr signed up for simulated "treatment"?

I'm sitting in a room in Northern Ireland opposite a man who says he offers "talking therapy" to people who don't want to be gay. And I cannot help feeling worried - despite all the evidence I've read to the contrary, a tiny part of me believes that he may actually convince me that I can choose to stop being gay.

The man in front of me is Mike Davidson, he's originally from New Zealand and he's invited me into his home, about 30 minutes outside Belfast. It's in a very quiet close of small houses tucked away off a side road, the type of place where everyone knows your business. Do his neighbours know what happens here? I start to feel a little uneasy. It reminds me of my home town Eastbourne and of being in the closet, hiding my secrets.

Mike welcomes me via a side door into his tiny office and beams: "This is where we do the work."

It's small but includes a pretty sizable DVD collection. He tells me that he loves movies about war and asks me if I feel the same. I say: "Yes, kind of." We have something in common.

Find out more

Image copyright Corrine Cumming

James Barr co-hosts the podcast A Gay and a Non-Gay with his (non-gay) friend Dan Hudson (right). The pair travelled to Northern Ireland for From Gay to Non-Gay? - a three-part BBC podcast series in which they meet people who have been through so-called gay "conversion therapy". You can download it here.

Mike and I take our seats and it's a pretty tight squeeze. He's a relatively friendly looking man, glasses, a cute face - the sort of person who would help you carry your shopping to the car if he saw you struggling. He seems kind.

He also runs a Christian charity called Core Issues Trust, which, he tells me, "takes people seriously who say they want to move away from homosexual practices and feelings". His technique, he says, is to explore their past experiences and find out more about their unwanted "same-sex attraction".

"What we do is we replace those feelings," he says.

Just under half of those he sees are non-Christians, he says, and he only works with adults.

But despite all the certificates of his achievements at university on his office wall, Mike is not a qualified doctor, and neither is he a registered therapist.

The NHS and all major therapy professional bodies say that what he's doing is unethical and potentially harmful. The UK government has said it wants to ban the practice. However, Mike is still allowed to do it, and here we are.

Image caption Mike Davidson

It's been a long time since I had an "unwanted same-sex attraction", as Mike would put it. I'm an out gay man, a comedian, I co-host the UK's biggest LGBTQ+ podcast and regularly chat about sexuality and equality both on TV, on stage and to our international podcast audience - but I remember a moment when a 13-year-old me was less confident.

We're constantly hearing theories as to why LGBTQ+ people exist and at 13, surrounded by straight people, our predominantly heterosexual planet sowed a seed of doubt and shame in my mind about being gay. I realised my life was about to be a lot more difficult as a gay man and, for a split second, I genuinely wished I could've been straight.

Even in 2019, it's actually pretty easy to see why you might want someone to turn you heterosexual. Homophobic hate crimes in the UK are on the rise. Recently, a survey suggested 58% of gay men are scared to hold hands with a partner in public. A lesbian couple were attacked on a London bus in a suspected hate crime which shocked the country.

This is why I am interested in Mike. Is he motivated by homophobia, or does he actually think he's helping people who don't want to be gay? And if he is, is that OK?

And so Mike simulates one of his therapy sessions with me. He asks me if I've had any past trauma.

I reply that when I was younger I was bullied for being ginger, and as I grew older I was bullied for being gay. I tell him about a time when someone kicked me at the bus stop.

Then I ask him if he has a theory as to why that would make me gay.

He replies: "I don't think any one thing gives people same-sex attraction… but if that's your existence at school, it's bullying. And I'm not surprised that maybe you become distant from other males."

His voice is soft, he's sympathetic and for the most part this feels like a normal therapy session, but it isn't. I remind myself that he isn't a real psychotherapist. I know I'm here as a reporter but I'm vulnerable - this is all so personal.

In July 2018, the UK government published an LGBT Action Plan in which it says it wants to ban "harmful" gay conversion therapy across the UK. According to a national survey, 2% of British gay people have been through it and 5% have been offered it.

The government says that over half of those that offer this are faith groups - not just Christian - and although Mike operates in Northern Ireland, it happens across the UK.

Before I visit Mike, I meet a young man on the Northern Irish coast called Josh Lyle. He's gay and Christian - his granny used to be a preacher and the church is a huge part of life where he lives. He tells me that in Northern Ireland your religion isn't just a faith, it's part of your identity.

He remembers how one day at his church he walked past a rack of pamphlets. "There was one called 'Bringing your child back to God' and it was essentially a book telling parents how to make their gay children straight."

He's experienced a lot of homophobia. As he walks around town, people regularly shout abuse and he was recently spat at. So he says he understands, in a way, why someone might feel they want to turn to conversion therapy.

"It can be really tough to grow up as a gay kid and if someone came to you when you're feeling at your worst, coming to terms with who you are, and said, 'I have this magic wand that will make you better, do you want me to wave it?' You'd be very tempted to say yes."

However, the consequences of doing so can be extremely harmful. Former Christian singer Vicky Beeching spent most of her life trying to suppress her own attraction to women and tried various forms of gay conversion therapy, from prayer and exorcisms to talking therapy.

One day she noticed strange white patches on her skin. She went to the doctor and she was told she had developed an auto-immune disease called scleroderma.

"The doctors told me my body was at war with itself. They said they believed trauma and stress and specifically my journey with suppressing my sexuality and all the shame around that, they believed that led to all these problems with my immune system," she says.

Vicky sold millions of records worldwide, including her hit, Above All Else, which she says in hindsight perhaps perfectly sums up her willingness to suppress her own sexuality for Jesus's love. She has since written a book explaining why she believes you can be both a Christian and gay.

Image copyright Getty Images

As I sit opposite Mike, I realise we're mirroring each other's body language. We both have our legs crossed.

I'm curious to find out more about why Mike ended up doing this.

He explains that he grew up in the Church, and when he had homosexual feelings he felt ashamed and wanted to move away from them.

"I always felt other - I always felt different and excluded. I wasn't great at sport." He says he was emotionally disconnected from his father - a war veteran who was great at rugby and cricket. "I said to myself, 'Well if that's being a man,' referring to my father, 'I don't want anything to do with that.'"

For most young men, he says, "it's almost as though they're drawn to the mysteriousness, to the otherness of the female. Now for me, males felt other. Because I didn't feel like one."

He says he went through a form of conversion therapy himself and it helped him realise why he had those feelings.

It's at this point I start to challenge Mike.

I'm more convinced than ever that the reason I'm gay is not because I was bullied - and it's not because I chose to be gay. It's because I was born gay, and no-one needs to explain it or ask why. I just am. I love exactly the same way that everybody else loves.

The NHS and every major therapy body says that efforts to change or alter sexual orientation through psychological therapies are unethical and potentially harmful. Are they all wrong? "If you do research only from one point of view, and you can only get research money if you hold one point of view, then you're going to come up with one point of view," he replies.

But people who come to him are vulnerable, I tell him, and he's misleading them by telling them they can suppress their thoughts.

"I've never used the word 'suppression'," he says. "What I believe in is transformation." He admits he will sometimes see a man and think that he's attractive. "It may be my age, but I don't have that deep longing for an emotional attachment with a man, or a sexual encounter."

Then I ask him: What if it's not true that the feelings gay people have can just be replaced? What if, in fact, he's still gay?

He looks into the distance for a moment, and for a second I wonder if I my words may have changed his thinking. He looks at me and says: "Even if that's right, I have the right and the freedom to identify and to live as I choose."

Image caption James Barr in Belfast

Hearing that, I feel sorry for him.

I tell Mike that I think he genuinely does believe he's doing the right thing. I hope that if he were brought up today, in a less homophobic environment, he would be comfortable being who he was.

He offers me a coffee, and I decline. I'd like to leave as soon as possible, but part of me wants to give him a hug. I genuinely feel so sad that someone can be so misled by homophobia and incorrect readings of scriptures that are thousands of years old - but I leave. I don't remember if we shake hands, even. In the car, I listen to Gloria Gaynor.

McKrae Game

The founder of one of the US's biggest conversion therapy programmes, McKrae Game, came out as gay earlier this year, and apologised for harming generations of people.

After struggling to suppress his own homosexuality, Game founded his Truth Ministry in 1999, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, rebranding it in 2013 as Hope for Wholeness. The organisation operated in at least 15 states.

"I was a religious zealot that hurt people," he told the Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper.

Seventeen US states have banned gay conversion therapy - most recently Maine, which took the step in May this year.

It's Sunday, and I meet Josh and his granny, Marie Hodgen, outside All Souls Church in Belfast. Josh was scared to come out to his granny, the former preacher. But she more than accepted him. She went back through the Bible and studied its words again.

"When he came out, I couldn't say it was wrong," she tells her grandson. "I love you, Josh. There's no strings attached. I will always love you unconditionally."

Their story overwhelms me.

This is their first time at church together since Josh read that "How to not be gay" pamphlet all those years ago.

As Josh and I walk inside, we both feel anxious. But the minister welcomes both of us. This is an inclusive church that believes in love of all kinds. Josh and his granny cry. I cry.

We sit listening to the minister's words of acceptance. He's telling us that he's excited for his up-and-coming Pride service. Marie looks up and reads out loud a scripture inscribed across the idyllic church's wall: "Sing a new song to the Lord."

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