CAIRO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian-French mission discovered one of the oldest villages in Egypt's Nile Delta, the country's Antiquities Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

"The joint mission excavated the remains of a Neolithic settlement at the bottom level of Tell el-Samara site, whose occupation lasted until the 2nd dynasty of ancient Egypt," Ayman Ashmawi, head of Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said in a the statement.

New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI) Over 1,400 people, including 488 in Kerala, have lost their lives due to rains, floods and landslides in 10 states so far in the monsoon season, the Home Ministry said Monday.

According to the ministry's National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 488 people have died in Kerala and 54.11 lakh in 14 districts have been severely hit by rains and floods, the worst in a century.

As many as 14.52 lakh flood-displaced people are living in relief camps across the state.

Muzaffarnagar, Sep 2; PTI: A 23-year-old woman was allegedly raped by two men, including the president of BKU youth wing of Shamli, in a hotel in Haridwar, police said Sunday.

According to a complaint lodged by the victim, she was brought to the hotel on the pretext of being provided treatment for her father, Circle Officer Ashok Kumar said.

She alleged that she was brought in a car to the place and was raped by district Bharatiya Kisan Union youth wing chief Vinod Nirwal and his friend Zahid Hasa, the CO said.

TASS, September 2. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his country is not willing to ask anybody for permission to buy S-400 defense missile systems from Russia, the Milliyet newspaper reported.

"We have made an agreement with Russia on S-400, and some are concerned by that. I’m sorry, but we’re not going to ask anyone for permission," the newspaper quotes Erdogan.

On August 31, the Turkish leader said that Turkey hopes to receive the missile systems "as soon as possible".

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Russia calls on the Ukrainian authorities to give up the use of terrorist methods as an instrument for the solution of their country’s domestic problems, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement circulated on Friday.

"We urge the Kiev authorities to give up the staking on terrorist methods for resolution of Ukraine’s domestic problems," it said. "We hope the Ukrainian politicians with a sense of responsibility will summon their strength to bridle the ‘party of war’ and to avert an upsurge of confrontation in Donbass."

Satna; An eighty year old man Chandrapal Singh Bhadauria raped a three year old girl, living next door in Dinapur village, who called him dada (grand father).

According to Punjab Kesary, Chandrapal took the girl to his place and raped her. Girl was found by her grand mother.

Chandrapal is alleged to have raped his daughter-in-law too.

DONETSK, September 2. /TASS/. About 30 thousand people attended the funeral of the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR], Alexander Zakharchenko, who died on Friday in a terrorist explosion in Donetsk.

The funeral ceremony is taking place in the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Solovyanenko. Local ministers, MPs, military officers, entrepreneurs, seniors, students and schoolchildren have attended the ceremony.

Lucknow; A man named Ramesh requested authorities to put him in jail. He attached his ‘kundali’ with his application.

According to Punjab Kesari, Ramesh lodged an application with the District Magistrate requesting to be jailed for a day. District Magistrate approved his application, and Ramesh was jailed for a day.

by Peter Mertz

DENVER, the United States, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The so-called U.S. Friday deadline for Canada to agree to trade terms elapsed with little fanfare, as both countries agreed to wait until next week to resume talks. Experts and scholars see the two sides are keeping "alert" about any bad deal or no deal for them.

"It is unclear what the ultimate shape of any deal with Canada would look like," said Vincent Smith, an economics professor of Montana State University (MSU).

MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. The former head of Russia’s security service FSB, lawmaker Nikolai Kovalyov, believes that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) could be behind Friday’s blast that killed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) leader Alexander Zakharchenko.

"The present-day Ukraine views armed terror as an efficient way to put pressure, and actively uses it to deal with its opponents," said Kovalyov, who is also a member of the security committee at the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament.

ANKARA, Sep. 2 (Xinhua) -- As the Turkish-U.S. ties remain deeply strained, Ankara's relationship with Europe is steadily warming, where cooperation seems to have taken the upper hand over confrontation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay a state visit to Germany in late September, the first of its kind in four years.

Meanwhile, the Turkish leader is also likely to host a summit between France, Germany and Russia, in the absence of the United States, to discuss the Syria issue.

CHEMNITZ, Germany (AP) — Germany’s foreign minister told his fellow countrymen Sunday they’re too lazy when it comes to battling racism and fighting for democracy.

“We have to get off the couch and open the mouth,” Heiko Maas said in an interview with weekly Bild am Sonntag. “Our generation was given freedom, rule of law and democracy as a present. We didn’t have to fight for it; (now) we’re taking it too much for granted.”