Flooding after torrential downpours

UK.Flooding in Kent and Sussex after torrential downpours

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The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning after torrential downpours and thunderstorms caused disruption across south-east England.

Fire crews in Kent and Sussex were called to several houses struck by lightning during the storms.

Flooding has forced play to be suspended at the Women's Ashes Test at the Spitfire Ground in Canterbury.

The amber "be prepared" warning comes as a second cluster of thundery downpours is expected later.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-33907476

China

China: Huge blast site too risky for firemen

Two huge explosions tore through an industrial area where toxic chemicals and gas were stored in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin, killing at least 50 people, including at least a dozen fire fighters, officials and state media said on Thursday.

At least 700 people were injured, more than 71 seriously, the Tianjin government said on its Weibo microblog, and the official Xinhua news agency said two fires were still burning.

Wednesday night's blasts, so large that they were seen by satellites in space, sent shockwaves through apartment blocks kilometres away in the port city of 15 million people. Internet videos showed fireballs shooting into the sky and the U.S. Geological Survey registered the blasts as seismic events.Huge blast site too risky

origenal found herhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/08/13/uk-china-blast-idUKKCN0QH2AQ20150813

bomb kills 60 in Baghdad Sadr City

Truck bomb kills at least 60 in Baghdad's Sadr City – sources

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At least 60 people were killed and 200 wounded on Thursday when a refrigerated truck packed with explosives blew up in a crowded market in Sadr City, a Shi'ite district in northeastern Baghdad medical sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State, ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants who seized swathes of northern Iraq last year, have claimed similar attacks targeting Shi'ite neighbourhoods.

origina post found herhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/08/13/uk-mideast-crisis-iraq-violence-idUKKCN0QI0DA20150813

US begins manned air strikes

US begins manned air strikes against Islamic State from newly opened Incirlik air base in Turkey

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The United States has launched its first manned air strikes against Islamic State targets from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, the US military says.

Turkish fighter jets were not involved in the manned US air strikes on Wednesday, Turkish security sources said.

Turkey agreed last month to open its strategically important bases to the US-led coalition, a major policy change after years of reluctance to take a frontline role against the Islamist fighters pressing on its borders.

The US-led coalition launched unmanned drone missions against the militants earlier this month, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement.

Ankara has been reluctant to play a leading role in the fight against the militants, who control parts of neighbouring Syria and Iraq, citing fears of a backlash.

In July, Turkey launched air strikes against the militants in Syria for the first time following an escalation of violence and attacks from Islamic State in south-eastern Turkey.

origina post found herhttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/us-begins-air-strikes-against-islamic-state-from-turkish-base/6694668