Italy Begins Day of Mourning for Quake Victims as Death Toll Rises to 290

Italy Begins Day of Mourning for Quake Victims as Death Toll Rises to 290 (ABC News)

Italy's national day of mourning following Wednesday's deadly earthquake kicked off Saturday morning with an increase in the death toll to 290 and a series of aftershocks that rattled the already-frayed nerves of shaken residents.

France Refused Visas To Nigeria's Upcoming World Scrable Champions

Angela "I'm not very shy!" Osaigbovo, 10, of Nigeria came in second in a recent youth tournament, and triumphed at Scrabble camp in August. She'd hoped to win the MSI World Youth Scrabble Championship in Lille, France, this weekend, but was refused a French visa.

(Ofeibea Quist-Arcton/NPR)

Nigeria is the English-speaking world's Scrabble superpower. Africa's most populous nation is home not only to the global Scrabble champion, but team Nigeria ranks as the world's top Scrabble playing nation — ahead of the U.S. in second place.

These Mercedes-Benz Vans!!!!!!!!

Eat your heart out Matt Foley, because thanks to Mercedes-Benz we now totally want to live in a van down by the river.

The German brand recently unveiled a handful of converted camper vans it plans to bring to the Caravan Salon trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany. This resulted in two reactions here at Car and Driver:

1. How are we just now hearing about the Caravan Salon trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany?
2. How long has Mercedes-Benz been depriving stateside camper-van enthusiasts of these glorious machines?

A woman Gruesomely Hung In Tibet

Tsering Tso’s grandmother, Lhadhey, 83, and mother Adhey, 49, pose for a photograph in Jiqie No. 2 Village on the grasslands outside Chalong township in China’s western Sichuan province, Aug. 11, 2016. (Xu Yangjingjing/The Washington Post)

JIQIE NO. 2 VILLAGE, China — She was 27, a kind, hard-working woman who supported her family by herding yaks and harvesting caterpillar fungus, a prized health cure, on the high grasslands of Tibet. Last October, Tsering Tso was found hanged from a bridge in a small town near her home.

Her family and local villagers gathered outside the police station in Chalong township to demand answers: She had last been seen in the company of a local Buddhist priest and two policemen.

Indiana Tornadoes: Buildings Flattened, Cars Tossed

Multiple tornadoes struck central Indiana Wednesday -- damaging homes, leveling buildings and piling cars on top of one another like toys.

Miraculously, state police said late Wednesday that no serious injures had been reported even as tens of thousands of residents had no power. About a dozen people suffered cuts and bruises.

National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Herold said a preliminary survey shows an EF3 tornado with maximum winds of 165 mph struck Kokomo, about 40 miles north of Indianapolis, the Associated Press reported.

$99,999 Payout To Homeless Woman

Wanda Witter, 80, who up until last week was homeless and living on D.C.’s streets, has received $99,999 in Social Security retirement benefits, but she could be just one of many people owed cash because of the “tangled mess” at the Social Security Administration, according to the social worker who helped her.

“Wanda’s story has been told. But there are a lot of other people in Wanda’s position,” said Julie Turner, who works for the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, a nonprofit group that helps D.C.’s poor, low-income and homeless communities.

Central Italy Earthquake: Death Toll Climbs To 368

Nearly 24 hours after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck central Italy early Wednesday, killing at least 247, aftershocks continued and the odd survivor was still being pulled from the rubble.

At 5:17 a.m. local time Thursday morning -- nearly 26 hours after the quake first struck -- central Italy was rocked by a 4.7 magnitude aftershock 4.3 miles east of Norcia, according to the USGS.

On Wednesday night, about 17 hours after the quake struck at 3:36 a.m. local time -- with the towns of Amatrice and Accumoli, about 60 miles northeast of Rome, being the hardest hit -- firefighters pulled a 10-year-old girl alive from the rubble in Pescara del Tronto.

Italy Earthquake: "Voices Under The Rubble"

At least 38 dead, "voices under the rubble"
(ABC)

A powerful earthquake devastated a string of mountainous towns in central Italy on Wednesday, trapping residents under piles of rubble, killing at least 38 people and leaving thousands homeless.

The quake struck in the early hours of the morning when most residents were asleep, razing homes and buckling roads in a cluster of communities some 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome.

Tackling Nigeria’s Housing Challenge

HOUSING plays a special role in the social, political but more importantly economic dialogue in most societies. Housing has been known to be a major component of creating stable and healthy communities and it is often the largest single category of household expense.

Collapsed Building: 2 Children Died

Two children have been killed in a collapsed building disaster in Jigawa State, Nigeria

According to an eyewitness, Muhammad Umar, the incident was caused by a heavy downpour in Kirikasamma Local Government Area, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

He said the collapse took place while the family slept, leaving the deceased children trapped, while their father, mother and one other child managed to escape, without any injuries.

The School On The Frontline Of The War In Ukraine

An outdoor lesson at School No. 58 in Kievsky, just a few kilometres from the front line of the war in eastern Ukraine [Kyrre Lien/Al Jazeera] Donetsk, eastern Ukraine - It is Wednesday, May 4, 2016, and five grade 11 boys run gleefully on to the football field next to the school. In their right hand, they each carry a gun, in their left, a hand grenade. It is the last period and the older pupils have a class in defence, patriotism and discipline. The guns they are using today are made of wood, but later they will practise with the real thing. At School No 58, the war is no game of pretend.

Hacker Hamza Bendelladj Sentenced To 15 years

Algerian hacker and developer of malicious SpyEye malware Hamza Bendelladj has been sentenced by a US court to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release on charges related to his role in developing and distributing the virus.

Bendelladj, 27, had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse, and 11 counts of computer fraud and abuse. He had faced 60 years prison and a $24m fine.

I’m A Pedophile, But Not A Monster

I was born without my right hand. As a child, this deformity quickly set me apart from my peers. In public I wore a prosthesis, an intimidating object to other youngsters because of its resemblance to a pirate’s hook.  Even so, I wore it every day; I felt inadequate without it. I was shy, uncoordinated and terrible at sports, all of which put me on the outs with other boys my age. But I was good at drawing and making up stories for my own entertainment, and I spent more and more time in my own head, being a space adventurer or monster wrangler or whatever character I could think up. These would ultimately prove to be useful skills, but for now they only served to further alienate me from other kids.  On top of it all, I still struggled with bladder control—likely due to my heaping pile of insecurities, to which this problem only added more—well into my elementary school years.

Castration For Sex Offenders Who Prey On Kids

Suspects in the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl before their trial in Curup, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia, this month. The seven teenagers were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Diva Marha / Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, signed a decree on Wednesday authorizing chemical castration for convicted child sex offenders and requiring those released on parole to wear electronic monitoring devices.

The new punishment comes in response to the brutal gang rape and murder in April of a 14-year-old girl on her way home on the island of Sumatra. Seven teenage boys were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime, which prompted national outrage and revived previous calls for chemical castration as a punishment against child sex offenders.

Peacekeepers Turned Murderers And Ravishing Beasts

A 14 year old girl breastfeeds her three month old son outside her family's home in Bangui, Central African Republic on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. She says last year, a Burundian U.N. peacekeeper asked her to help carry water into their base located close to her home. Once inside, she was raped and impregnated later giving birth to a baby boy. She no longer attends school in order to care for her son full time with the help of her family. (Jane Hahn for the Washington Post) (Jane Hahn/For The Post)

NAIROBI — Aid workers have unearthed the remains of 12 people who they say were murdered by international peacekeepers in the Central African Republic in 2014.

The troops, from the Republic of Congo, were part of a peacekeeping mission — first under the auspices of the African Union, then the United Nations — aimed at ending a civil war that left thousands dead beginning in late 2012. Human Rights Watch had previously reported on the role Congolese peacekeepers played in “enforced disappearances,” but the Congolese government “has taken no action toward credible investigations or justice for these crimes,” according to a new report by the group released Tuesday.

Angola: The Dying “Upper Middle Income” Nation

A girl stands beside a laundry line in a poor neighborhood overlooking Cabinda, a heavily guarded territory that accounts for half of Angola’s oil output. (Nichole Sobecki/For The Washington Post

LUANDA, Angola — As the price of oil rose earlier this decade, this capital city did as well. Glass skyscrapers soared above the rubble of a 27-year civil war. American pop stars such as Mariah Carey were flown in to play private concerts. Luanda would become, its government announced, “a new Dubai.”

But as oil prices have crashed, the impact on one of Africa’s richest and most unequal countries has been devastating. The same officials who boasted of Luanda’s sparkling ascent are asking for billions of dollars in loans. Thousands of people are dying of preventable illnesses, and the nation’s hospitals are out of medicine. A bag of rice can now cost five times what it did a year ago.

This Is Ethiopia

Ethiopians wait to fill water cans in February during the recent drought. With the return of the rains, however, have come flooding and disease — something the government is reluctant to discuss. (Aida Muluneh for The Washington Post)

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — After going through its worst drought in 50 years, Ethiopia is again seeing rain. In fact, in some places, it’s falling too hard and has set off floods.

So while the number of people requiring food aid has dropped slightly from 10.2 million in January to 9.7 million, according to the latest figures, there is a new threat of disease in a population weakened by drought.

Monetary Policy Alone Not Enough To Expand Economy: President Buhari

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will need to combine monetary policies with fiscal and structural policies in order to overcome its worst economic crisis in decades and return to growth, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.

 Nigeria is in the middle of its worst crisis in decades as a slump in oil revenues hammers public finances and the Naira. Gross domestic product shrank in the first quarter and the central bank governor has said a recession is likely.

Niger Delta Avengers Threaten Secession From Nigeria.

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) have again threatened to withdraw the oil-producing region from Nigeria.

The militant group, which has been blowing up oil pipelines since February, said that it hoped Nigeria would strike oil in the north of the country “so they can let the Niger Delta go,” accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of dividing the country.

Grant Opportunity:Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities

Grant Opportunity - Help Spread the Word Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities

As violence continues to spike in Chicago neighborhoods, local philanthropies are collaborating to provide rapid-response support for immediate action by community organizations working to keep our neighborhoods safe in the weeks ahead.   The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities will award grants to support community-based actions and activities that can help make neighborhoods safer, reduce violence and promote peace - from now  through the beginning of the school year. From a $300,000 fund, grants ranging from $1000 to $10,000 will be awarded to local community nonprofit organizations in Chicago leading activities that promote community cohesion, foster constructive relationships between police and community residents, and help reduce violence. These could include educational events, group or youth activities, resident leader stipends, recreational activities, festivals, performances, picnics, block-level activities, including rental of venues and supplies, and more. The brief application for funding is available at www.cct.org/safechicago. Applications are welcome through September 30. Grant decisions will be made on a rolling basis. All activities must be completed by October 31. For additional questions, please email safechicago@cct.org.  http://view.s6.exacttarget.com/

Agonies Of The Syrian Conflic: A Wounded Child Shocks The World

A 5-year-old boy, identified in news reports as Omran Daqneesh, sits in an ambulance Wednesday after reportedly being pulled out of a building hit by an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria.

Mahmoud Raslan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Surrounded by shouting, he's completely silent.

The child is small, alone, covered in blood and dust, dropped in the back of an ambulance with his feet dangling off the edge of a too-big chair.

He doesn't cry or speak. His face is stunned and dazed, but not surprised. He wipes his hand over his wounded face, looks at the blood, wipes it off on the chair.

Preventing Sun Damage Indoors

Why let light ruin your furniture, floors and artwork, when the solution could be as simple as applying high-quality window film?

It's common knowledge that all that wonderful sunlight pouring through the window is not doing anything good for the furnishings, floors and artwork.

Fading, discoloration and fabric damage are the downsides of the sunlight — actually, any visible light — that floods our rooms. There are three main culprits in the spectrum of light: UVA and UVB rays cause 45 percent of the damage; heat/infrared radiation causes 25 percent; and visible light causes 25 percent, according to industry expert Ron Best of Protection Seattle.

Dealing with these culprits presents two tricky issues. The first is that damaging UV rays are present whether or not the sun is shining. Even on cloudy or rainy days, this silent destroyer is at work.

Remodel Your Fireplace

The fireplace is often the most commanding element in any room it’s in. Size and abundance of material are often factors, but as renovation specialist Ron Parko points out, our eyes are naturally drawn to the darkest object in a room anyway. Oftentimes, that’s the firebox when it’s unlit.
Naturally you want this element, and everything that surrounds it, to complement the rest of your home. In many older homes where large brick fireplaces prevail, this can pose a challenge. What do you do? Cover it, paint it, rip it out? Here’s what to consider.

Before Photo

Distinctive Mantel Designs, Inc

Project: Remodeling a fireplace wall.

Refacing Your Old Kitchen Cabinets

It may not always be practical or affordable to rebuild the cabinets in a kitchen or bathroom. Refacing them might be the best solution. But what does refacing involve? As with most construction projects, the answer depends on lots of details.

Cabinet Cures

Project: Refacing kitchen cabinets.

First step: Determine if your cabinets can take the restoration process well enough to be revitalized for at least another 10 years of life. If the cabinet body, or carcass, is in bad structural shape, is water damaged or will not take to refinishing well enough, you might have to replace the cabinets in a full kitchen remodel.

North Korea to the US: Kiss a Nuke-Free Korean Peninsula Goodbye

(North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the newly built National Space Development General Satellite Control and Command Centre.Reuters)  
More defiant North Korean nuclear weapons tests will be dependent on US moves in the Korean peninsula, the Hermit Kingdom announced on Tuesday.

North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said Washington had ruined the possibility of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reports.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon upped the ante by agreeing to equip South Korea with a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery — one of the most advanced missile defense systems in the world.

Pressure to deploy THAAD was spurred after Pyongyang tested its fourth nuclear bomb on January 6 and then launched a long-range rocket on February 7.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency/Handout via Reuters/File Photo

Speaking to reporters at a meeting in Laos, Ri claimed that Pyongyang was a "responsible nuclear state and would not use its atomic arms unless threatened," Reuters reports.

However, the audacious tests have yet to cease.