Putin And Poroshenko Meet For Bilateral Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right, as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, left, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, center, watch, prior to their talks after after posing for a photo in Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. Leaders of Russia, Belarus, two other former Soviet republics as well as top EU officials are meeting in Minsk, Belarus, for a highly anticipated summit to discuss the crisis in Ukraine which has left more than 2,000 dead and displaced over 300,000 people.

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The presidents of Russia and Ukraine met late Tuesday for their first bilateral talks at a much-anticipated summit in Minsk, which many voiced hopes may help bring an end to fighting between Kiev's forces and pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko met in the Belarusian capital, the first such meeting between the countries' heads of state since Ukraine's pro-Russian ex-president was ousted from power in February, according to the Twitter account of the Ukrainian presidential administration. The meeting, which had not been previously announced by either side, was also confirmed by Kremlin.

The talks came as Ukraine said it had captured 10 Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and shelling spread to a new front in the country's southeast. Kiev and many Western countries have repeatedly accused Russia of providing arms and expertise to the rebels in east Ukraine, a charge Russia has denied.

While it is still unclear if the two leaders will find common ground and pave a way for peace in east Ukraine, the face-to-face meeting was a remarkable breakthrough for both sides. Earlier, the two leaders sat on opposite sides of a large round table and were joined by the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan and three senior officials from the European Union. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke briefly to the press late on Tuesday and said talks between the leaders were "tough," but stopped short of saying that they had failed.

"Sadly, the situation there (in Ukraine) has gone so far that in the absence of agreements in principle any steps or technical accords are not going to lead to settlement," he said. Under pressure to seek a negotiated settlement and not a military victory, Poroshenko said the purpose of his visit was to start searching for a political compromise and promised that the interests of Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine would be taken into account.

"The fate of peace and the fate of Europe are being decided in Minsk today," the billionaire chocolate magnate said in his opening remarks. Putin devoted most of his opening statement to trade, arguing that Ukraine's decision to sign an association agreement with the 28-nation EU would lead to huge losses for Russia, which would then be forced to protect its economy. Russia had been counting on Ukraine joining a rival economic union it is forming with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Ukraine is set to ratify the EU association agreement in September. On the fighting, Putin said he was certain the conflict "could not be solved by further escalation of the military scenario without taking into account the vital interests of the southeast of the country and without a peaceful dialogue of its representatives."

Ukraine wants the rebels to hand back the territory they have captured in eastern Ukraine, while Putin wants to retain some sort of leverage over the mostly Russian-speaking region so Ukraine does not join NATO or the European Union.

Poroshenko would be unlikely to agree to Russia's frequent call for Ukraine to federalize — devolving wide powers to the regions from the central government in Kiev — but could agree to give the regions some expanded powers. Poroshenko also has spoken against holding a referendum on Ukraine's joining NATO.

Putin has so far ignored requests from the rebels to be annexed by Russia, unlike in March, when he annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. But Associated Press journalists on the border have seen the rebels with a wide range of unmarked military equipment — including tanks, Buk missile launchers and armored personnel carriers — and have run into many Russians among the rebel fighters.

Ukraine's anti-rebel operation said on its Facebook page that 10 soldiers from a Russian paratrooper division were captured Monday around Amvrosiivka, a town near the Russian border. Ukraine's posting included videos of five of the men. One, who identified himself as Sergei Smirnov, said they were not told anything about their mission.

"We were just traveling through fields and then we stopped in the middle of the field and the BMP2 (armored vehicle) broke down," he said. Asked if he knew they were on Ukrainian territory, he said: "When we got into the village we saw a tank with Ukrainian flag. Then we understood." He said they then came under fire.

Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed official in the Russian Defense Ministry as saying the soldiers were patrolling the border and probably crossed it inadvertently. Meanwhile, towering columns of smoke rose Tuesday from outside a city in Ukraine's far southeast after what residents said was a heavy artillery barrage, and Ukraine accused the separatists and Russia of trying to expand the conflict.

It was the second straight day that attacks were reported in the vicinity of Novoazovsk, which is in eastern Ukraine's separatist Donetsk region but previously had seen little fighting. Novoazovsk lies on the Azov Sea on the road that runs from Russia to the major Ukrainian port of Mariupol and west to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia.

Ukraine said a small column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossed into Ukraine on Monday north of Novoazovsk, raising the possibility that pro-Russia separatists were aiming to take control of a strip of land that would link up Russia with Crimea.

In Kiev, Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, blamed the shelling Tuesday on "Russian mercenaries." "Russia is trying from its side to open a new front," Lysenko told reporters.

Local residents in Novoazovsk, some hastily packing up in order to flee, told The Associated Press it was not clear what direction the firing had come from Tuesday. Lysenko said there were enough forces and equipment in Mariupol to defend the city of more than 450,000. An AP reporter saw excavators digging deep trenches Tuesday on its eastern edge.

Russia reportedly has tens of thousands of troops positioned in areas near the Ukrainian border, leading to persistent concerns that Moscow could be preparing an invasion. The fighting in eastern Ukraine began in mid-April, a month after Russia annexed Crimea. It has killed over 2,000 people and forced over 340,000 to flee, according to the U.N.

Leonard reported from Novoazovsk, Ukraine. Jim Heintz in Kiev, Ukraine, Laura Mills and Lynn Berry in Moscow contributed to this report.

Can Ferguson Change The 'Ritual' Of Black Deaths?

A casket containing the body of Michael Brown is wheeled out of Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Hundreds of people gathered to say goodbye to Brown, who was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer on Aug. 9.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The choir sang, the preachers shouted and the casket stayed closed. The body was taken to the cemetery, and Michael Brown was laid to rest.

Thus went the most recent enactment of "the ritual" — the script of death, outrage, spin and mourning that America follows when an unarmed black male is killed by police. With a few variations, the ritual has followed its familiar course in the two weeks since the 18-year-old Brown was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in this St. Louis suburb. It continues as we await the judgment of a grand jury considering whether or not Wilson should be charged with a crime.

Will the ritual ever change, and is it even possible that Ferguson could be part of that? This time, can recognition of the well-known patterns help heal the poisonous mistrust between police and many black people? Is the ritual already helping, in small gains buried beneath the predictable explosions of anger and media attention?

"This tragedy, because the world's attention has been galvanized, this is one of those things that's ripe for change," said Martin Luther King III after the funeral Monday. "There are no guarantees, but what we can say is we have to be committed to doing the work to bring about change and justice."

The ritual began to take shape in the 1960s, when instances of police mistreatment of black people led to organized resistance in many places across America — and sometimes to violence. As the decades passed, a blueprint developed for how black advocates confronted cases of alleged police brutality: protest marches, news conferences, demands for federal intervention, public pressure by sympathetic elected officials.

Sometimes this led to charges or even convictions of police officers. Sometimes there were riots: Miami in 1980 after police were acquitted in the death of a black motorist; Los Angeles' Rodney King rebellion in 1992; Cincinnati in 2001 when a 19-year-old was fatally shot by an officer; Oakland's uprising in 2009 after Oscar Grant was shot in the back while face-down on a train platform.

The 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watchman in Florida added the transformative element of social media. The public was now participating much more intimately in the ritual. And still, the unarmed black males kept dying. The chants of "No Justice, No Peace" kept rising.

So what happened after Brown was shot on Aug. 9 was predictable: First, protests and outrage. A narrative forms in favor of the deceased: According to accounts of several witnesses from Brown's neighborhood, he was shot with his hands up. He was a "gentle giant" headed to college. Pictures of Brown circulate that show him smiling, baby-faced — reminiscent of the childlike photos that first introduced us to Trayvon Martin.

The day after Brown's shooting, protesters are met with a militarized police response. Violence and looting erupt, and persist for days. Police respond with tear gas and rubber bullets, "scenes that have brought back visions of the 1960s when civil rights activists were met with force in the streets," says the president of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, La June Montgomery Tabron.

"This has become an all-too-familiar scenario in America," Tabron says in a statement. Michael Brown's death goes viral. Ferguson trends on Twitter. A horde of media descends. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson arrive.

"Events surrounding the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown look all too familiar. As Yogi Berra would put it, it's 'deja vu, all over again,'" reads a column by Bill Press in the Daily Journal of Marietta, Georgia.

A backlash builds against the protesters. There are complaints that the liberal media skew the facts to create a false narrative about racist white police. As with Trayvon Martin and Oscar Grant, a narrative forms against the deceased: Based on a video released by police, Brown is characterized as a weed-smoking thug who robbed a store minutes before his death.

Social media spreads facts, rumors and lies at Internet speed. There is a chain email with a fabricated arrest record saying, falsely, that Brown was charged with several felonies. A photo circulates of someone who is not Brown pointing a gun — like the menacing photo of a gangsta rapper that some said was Martin.

"Every time a black person does something, they automatically become a thug worthy of their own death," the actor Jesse Williams says in a TV appearance. The media reports new versions of the old stories: White flight has created poor black neighborhoods policed by white cops. Black people don't trust the police. Black males are stereotyped as violent.

Then, the funerals. The main sermon at Brown's service was delivered by Sharpton, who is as much a part of the ritual as police tape. He began by issuing a collective call of responsibility: "All of us are required to respond to this. And all of us must solve this."

Sharpton's solution is twofold: Change the nation's policies on policing, and repair the black community from within. "We got to clean up our community so we can clean up the United States of America," he said to thunderous applause.

"Nobody is going to help us," Sharpton said, "if we don't help ourselves." Can it actually happen? In Michael Brown's case, can the ritual be remembered for more than riots? "Most definitely," said Ferguson resident Jeremy Rone as he completed a protest march on Saturday.

He said Brown's death should increase voter registration, which would "put the right people in the right places" to change the way police deal with the black community. Soon after the unrest started, a voter registration booth went up on the corner of the hardest-hit street.

Phillip Atiba Goff, a UCLA psychology professor and president of the Center for Policing Equity, does believe Ferguson has brought us into a different moment, "but with a small window." "While I think there will be a push for stronger accountability and data collection that comes from this, I worry that we will repeat the amnesia that followed Los Angeles, Newark, Watts, and so many other urban centers for the past 50-plus years," Goff said in an email.

"Whatever the immediate good that may come in the wake of the events of Ferguson," he said, "we fail to honor the legacy of Mr. Brown if our collective attention to these issues and collective memory lasts no longer than the month or two after peace returns to the streets of his hometown."

Hazar Khidir, a Harvard medical student who traveled to Ferguson with friends to support local community activists, suggested strict policies to regulate police conduct. The current protests, she said, "represent an opportunity to highlight a problem and bring about institutional change that saves other young black men from dying."

There are a few glimmers of institutional change. Those concerned that Brown's death might not be fairly investigated took note of the high-profile appearance of Eric Holder, America's first black attorney general, in Ferguson to meet with locals and discuss the federal probe he ordered. At least three police officers in the Ferguson area have been suspended for behavior that came to light due to newly heightened scrutiny of police. The White House is reviewing policies that have supplied police departments with military hardware, an issue that received much scrutiny in Ferguson.

"I trust that what's happening in the street-level conflicts and clashes in Ferguson are the birthing pains of a new American social order," Sam Fulwood III wrote for the Center for American Progress.

"I truly believe," he wrote, "something revolutionary is occurring there that signals a pivot point for American society." America likes to measure progress, to count it. When it comes to the killing of unarmed black males, progress will be found in the uncounted:

The young man who doesn't run from police. The officer who doesn't pull the trigger. The ritual that doesn't get repeated.

Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. He is reachable at http://www.twitter.com/jessewashington.

Toyota's Most Rugged Land Cruiser Is Back In Japan

Visitors look at a Land Cruiser BJ44 (1974-1979) during the Land Cruiser Motor Show at a Toyota showroom in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is bringing back the Land Cruiser 70 in Japan, catering to nostalgic demand for the rugged off-roader that's favored for challenging terrains and as an aid agency vehicle in disaster zones.

The 3.6 million yen ($35,000) Land Cruiser 70, the toughest of the Land Cruiser models, arrives at Japanese dealers Monday. But it's on sale for only a year, with planned production of 200 a month. Japan sales were discontinued in 2004, but fans have long wanted the model back because of its fun-to-drive features.

"If you ever have to entrust your life with a car, I'd choose the Land Cruiser," chief engineer Sadayoshi Koyari told reporters at an event for car fans in Tokyo. The 70 model first went on sale in 1984, and it's still sold in the Middle East, Africa, Australia and other places, averaging 6,400 vehicles a month in sales.

Its durability is based on its ladder-frame chassis and suspension, according to Toyota, the world's top automaker. It's designed for places where a breakdown is not just a hassle but also possibly fatal.

But Japanese fans have long wanted the model back since it was discontinued here in 2004. Masahiro Terada, 67, a Kyoto lumber merchant and fan of the Land Cruiser for decades, heads a network of about 50 Japanese Land Cruiser owners, who gather at unusual spots such as bumpy volcanic areas near Mount Fuji and rivers in southwestern Kyushu, to test the vehicle's off-road features.

"A Land Cruiser is a toy for a big boy, those adults who never grow up," he said with a laugh, vowing to drive a Land Cruiser until the day he dies. The U.N. and the Red Cross use the Land Cruiser for relief efforts in disaster zones, making it a model Toyota is proud to claim as part of its brand.

The Land Cruiser is Toyota's longest-running nameplate, with a cumulative 7.9 million units produced worldwide. Its long history means there are plentiful parts from models sold around the world, including in emerging economies where easy and reliable maintenance is crucial.

The comeback offering, which is also available in a 3.5 million yen ($34,000) pickup version, boasts up-to-date safety and smart-key features, a 4.0 liter V6 engine and five-speed manual transmission.

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama 

LIBERIA: Doctor Given Experimental Ebola Drug Dies

People gather as the await a truck with food stuff from the World Food Programme, WFP, before they enter the West Point area that have been hardest hit by the Ebola virus spreading in Monrovia, Liberia, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. A Liberian doctor who was among three Africans to receive an experimental Ebola drug has died, the country's information minister said Monday.

MONROVIA, LIBERIA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — A Liberian doctor who received one of the last known doses of an experimental Ebola drug has died, officials said Monday, as Canada said it has yet to send out doses of a potential vaccine that the government is donating.

Ebola has left more than 1,400 people dead across West Africa, underscoring the urgency for developing potential ways to stop and treat the disease. However, health experts warn these options have not undergone the rigorous testing that usually takes place before drugs and vaccines are approved.

The experimental vaccines are at still at a Canadian laboratory, said Patrick Gaebel, spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, who declined to speculate how many weeks it could be before those are given to volunteers.

"We are now working with the (World Health Organization) to address complex regulatory, logistical and ethical issues so that the vaccine can be safely and ethically deployed as rapidly as possible," Gaebel said.

Only six people in the world are known to have received the untested drug known as ZMapp. The small supply is now said to be exhausted and it is expected to be months before more can be produced by its U.S. maker.

Dr. Abraham Borbor, the deputy chief medical doctor at Liberia's largest hospital, had received ZMapp, after it was given to two Americans. After receiving medical care in the U.S. they later survived the virus that has killed about half of its victims.

A Spanish missionary priest infected with Ebola also received the treatment but died. There was no update given on the two other Liberians who took the last known available doses of ZMapp. Borbor "was showing signs of improvement but yesterday he took a turn for the worse," and died Sunday, Information Minister Lewis Brown told The Associated Press.

Ebola can cause a grisly death with bleeding from the eyes, mouth and ears. The virus can only be transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of the sick or from touching victims' bodies, leaving doctors and other health care workers most vulnerable to contracting it.

Health experts caution that ZMapp had never been tested in humans before and it is unclear whether it works. They note there is a huge gap between the treatment the two Americans got at an Atlanta hospital, where five infectious disease experts and 21 nurses provided rigorous care, and West Africa, where even such basics as sterile fluids can be in short supply.

It also probably helped that the two Americans were considered healthy and well-nourished before they were infected and received prompt care, experts say. Meanwhile, the family of 29-year-old William Pooley, the first British citizen confirmed to be infected with Ebola, said he is receiving excellent care at an isolation ward in London's Royal Free Hospital after being evacuated from the capital of Sierra Leone.

"We could not ask for him to be in a better place," they said in a statement. Pooley, a volunteer nurse, was flown back to Britain from Sierra Leone where he was working at an Ebola treatment center. The World Health Organization is also in the process of trying to evacuate a Senegalese doctor who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone, said WHO Assistant Director General, Dr. Keiji Fukada on Monday.

The U.N. on Monday also spoke out against the limitations placed on flights into and out of the affected countries, saying they are having "adverse effects on efforts to control the disease," slowing aid organizations' work in sending personnel and equipment and contributing to the countries' "economic and diplomatic isolation."

"We shouldn't do anything that stokes fear and stigmatization," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, told reporters. On Monday, Japan also said it is ready to provide a newly-developed anti-influenza drug as a possible treatment Ebola. The drug, with the brand name Avigan, was developed by Fujifilm subsidiary Toyama Chemical Co. to treat new and re-emerging influenza viruses, and has not been proven to be effective against Ebola.

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Cara Anna at the United Nations, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, and Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone contributed to this report.

Thai Junta Leader Assumes Prime Minister Post

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha speaks after he accepted a written royal command issued by King Bhumibol Adulyadej certifying his appointment as the country's 29th premier in Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. Thailand's junta leader, who seized power in a military coup three months ago, officially assumed his new post as prime minister on Monday following the endorsement from the country's monarch.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's junta leader, who seized power in a military coup three months ago, officially assumed his new post as prime minister on Monday following an endorsement from the country's monarch.

During a ceremony in Bangkok, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha accepted a written royal command issued by King Bhumibol Adulyadej certifying his appointment as the country's 29th premier. Bhumibol, who is 86 and in poor health, was not present at the ceremony.

Thailand's junta-appointed legislature voted overwhelmingly last week to name the 60-year-old army chief to the new post. He was the only candidate. Prayuth is due to retire from the military next month and will hold both jobs until he does so.

On May 22, Prayuth oversaw a coup in which the military toppled Thailand's elected civilian government. Analysts say his new post cements the military's control of government. The move was the latest in a series of moves by the junta to consolidate power on its own terms. In July, the military adopted a temporary 48-article constitution and appointed the legislature.

Prayuth, who is expected to name his Cabinet next month, has said elections could be held in 2015. Prayuth has said the army had to stage the coup to end half a year of political deadlock between protesters and the government, and to stop sporadic protest-related violence that had killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds more. While stability has been restored, it has come at a steep price: Thailand's democratic institutions have been entirely dismantled, and the country's authoritarian rulers have crushed all dissent.

Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a statement criticizing the deterioration of human rights in the country. "Since the May coup, the generals have tightened rather than relaxed their grip on power," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of the promised path back to democracy through free and fair elections, Thailand's military seems to be opting for a road to dictatorship."

"As both prime minister and junta leader, Gen. Prayuth can wield broad power without accountability," Adams said. "This marks a dark day for human rights and the future of democracy in Thailand."

Associated Press writer Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

Libya's Neighbors Fear Spillover Of Violence

In this photo provided by Egypt's state news agency MENA, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, center, meets with editors of Egyptian newspapers and media in the presidential palace, in Cairo Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. El-Sissi denied Sunday any military involvement in neighboring Libya, a day after Islamist militias accused Cairo of bombing their posts in Tripoli, Egypt's state news agency reported. El-Sissi said Egypt is in consultation with Libya's neighbors to find a political solution to the violent power struggle between rival groups.

CAIRO, EGYPT (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Egypt's foreign minister has called for an international push to disband militias in neighboring Libya, where weeks of inter-militia fighting has wreaked havoc in the country.

Sameh Shukri says the escalation of violence in oil-rich Libya poses a threat to the entire region. He is calling for a joint effort to disband all militias, "without exception." The Egyptian top diplomat spoke Monday at a Cairo gathering of Libya's neighbors. It was attended by Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan and Chad.

The meeting comes as Islamist-led militias in the Libyan capital say they consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rivals to the city's outskirts after battles that largely destroyed the strategic hub.

It's the worst violence in Libya since the 2011 downfall and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Beyonce Seizes Moment At MTV Video Music Awards

Beyonce on stage hugs Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy as she accepts the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014, in Inglewood, Calif. Image: Chris Pizzello/AP

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) --They don't call her Queen Bey for nothing.

Beyonce not only stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night with many of the world's top female pop stars in attendance hustling for our attention, she used the moment to erase the cynical cloud around her family status with an adorable appearance by daughter Blue Ivy and doting husband Jay Z to finish off the night.

"MTV, welcome to my world," Beyonce said near the top of her performance, and for the next 15 minutes it was a complete takeover. The performance was mesmerizing television, from the seemingly endless medley of hits to the extended look at the adorable Blue Ivy, who wore a gold bow in her hair and clapped her hands and said, "Yea, Mommy," after Jay Z carried her onstage while presenting her mother with MTV's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award.

Here's a close up on the night's most interesting moments. You know, the things we'll be talking about Monday morning, for better or for worse: — Nicki All Night: Much of the focus prior to Beyonce's arrival was on Nicki Minaj — and her booty. She helped open the show with a snake-themed performance of "Anaconda" that included a lot of attention on Minaj's most jiggly asset. Then after what appeared to be an honest wardrobe malfunction during her subsequent team up with Ariana Grande and Jessie J — "We ran out of time getting the dress zipped up," she said afterward — things got really booty-centric when she joined Usher on stage for "She Came to Give It to You." Usher dropped to his knee while playing the bass after Minaj appeared on stage, then banged his head against her rear end in a new version of the bump. He leapt to his feet and gave her a smack before she walked away.

— The Front Row: You've got to feel bad for Riff Raff. The Houston rapper arrived on the red carpet in a Lamborghini with Katy Perry in the passenger seat. But it was clear she was way more into Sam Smith, spending the night with the pop star's arm draped over his shoulder. Other unexpected pairs who spent the night seated together along the front row included Taylor Swift and Lorde, who celebrated their friendship by dancing the night away together. Lorde even introduced Swift's performance of "Shake It Off": "On the surface, this next performer and I are nothing alike. She's tall, blonde and doesn't wear quite this much black. But we both base our art on the things that delight, terrify and confound us, and for that I'm grateful she exists."

— Sam Slays: Perry wasn't the only attendee fixated on Smith. The VMAs have a reputation for over-the-top moments, and there were plenty. But the quiet, commanding performance of "Stay With Me" by the British singer drew the night's first — and most sincere — standing ovation.

— Serious Moments: The VMAs aren't known for political statements, but some of Sunday's most memorable moments came with messages. Common asked for a moment of silence to remember 18-year-old Michael Brown, killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri: "The people in Ferguson and St. Louis and communities across the country have used their voices to call for justice and change to let everyone know that each and every one of our lives matters." The camera showed members of the crowd with heads bowed, including Snoop Dogg, who flashed a peace sign. Later, Miley Cyrus engineered her own powerful statement when she sent a homeless youth named Jesse to the stage to accept her video of the year award. He gave an impassioned speech asking viewers to help as Cyrus tearfully looked on. MTV also paid tribute to late actor-comedian Robin Williams with a short photo montage.

— We Are Family: The tenor of the night changed when Beyonce took the stage and things got worshipful by the end of her set as she led a thousands-strong sing-along on "XO" that included most everyone giddily dancing. And she didn't waste the moment, using it to bat away persistent rumors that her marriage is headed for divorce. "I am filled with so much gratitude," Beyonce said as the crowd chanted her name. She turned to her family and said, "I just thank God for this moment. I love you all so much. Blue, I love you. My beloved, I love you."

Official: British Ebola Patient To Be Evacuated

American Aid goods are loaded onto a truck after it arrived by airplane, to be used in the fight against the Ebola virus spreading in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014. Two alarming new cases of Ebola have emerged in Nigeria, widening the circle of people sickened beyond the immediate group of caregivers who treated a dying airline passenger in one of Africa's largest cities. The outbreak also continues to spread elsewhere in West Africa, with 142 more cases recorded, bringing the new total to 2,615 with 1,427 deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.

FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE (AP) — The first British citizen confirmed to be infected with the deadly Ebola disease is being evacuated from Sierra Leone on a jet sent by the Royal Air Force, a Sierra Leone official said Sunday.

The World Health Organization is also considering medical evacuation for a Senegalese health worker who has become infected in Sierra Leone, the U.N. health agency said. Neither patient was identified by name.

The British patient was working at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Sierra Leone, the region most affected by the outbreak, said Sidie Yayah Tunis, director of communications for the Sierra Leone health ministry.

The Senegalese health worker is an epidemiologist deployed from a WHO partner organization, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said on Twitter. The two cases highlight the risks facing health workers on the front lines of the battle against Ebola, which has killed more than 1,400 people across West Africa, according to the latest WHO figures.

"This is the first time someone working under the aegis of WHO has fallen ill with the disease," the WHO said in its statement, adding that more than 225 health workers have been infected and nearly 130 have died from Ebola during the current outbreak.

The British patient was transported via ambulance to Sierra Leone's main airport in the town of Lungi, Tunis said. Britain's Department of Health said the patient was being flown on a specially equipped RAF transport plane to Northolt air base in London.

He will be treated at London's Royal Free Hospital, which has an isolation unit for infectious disease. The department said in a statement that the patient "is not currently seriously unwell." The World Health Organization says Sierra Leone has recorded 910 Ebola cases and 392 deaths. The Sierra Leone government says there have been 881 cases and 333 deaths. In Kenema, where the Briton was working, the government has recorded 303 cases.

A total of 2,615 infections and 1,427 deaths have been recorded in the Ebola outbreak now hitting West Africa, according to figures released Friday by the World Health Organization. On Sunday, Congo said two Ebola-related deaths had been confirmed in the country's northwest Equateur province, but Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said they were unrelated to the West Africa outbreak.

The WHO said confirmation testing of the Congo cases would likely come back Monday. It would be the seventh outbreak of Ebola in Congo, where the disease was first discovered in 1976. The Nigerian Medical Association said Sunday it has suspended a public sector doctor strike to help efforts to contain Ebola in the country.

The association directed doctors to return to work Monday while negotiations with the government continue. The strike started on July 1, before Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer flew into Nigeria and introduced the virus in Lagos, the commercial capital. Nigeria's government says the country has 14 confirmed cases, which include Sawyer. The World Health Organization on Friday recorded 16 cases in the country, saying 12 have been confirmed and there are four suspected.

The association also demanded the government restart a residency training program it suspended on Aug. 13. Nigerian Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu had said earlier this month while the strike was putting Nigeria at a disadvantage, it hadn't affected the containment efforts. The government has been appealing to doctors to return to work to help contain the virus, and has been asking volunteers to join in the efforts, including contact tracing of people under surveillance.

Five people in Nigeria have died of the virus, while five recovered and were discharged from hospital, according to the government. The other four cases are receiving treatment in isolation in Lagos. As of Friday, the minister said 213 people, who were contacts of those who had tested positive for the virus, were under surveillance and are being monitored.

In Liberia on Saturday, hundreds of people lined up outside the capital's largest slum to bring food to relatives stuck inside after officials slapped a blockade on it this week. The slum, West Point, is home to at least 50,000 people. The government says the blockade is necessary to prevent the spread of Ebola but residents are worried about food shortages.

Liberia has recorded 1,082 Ebola cases and 624 deaths, according to the WHO. USAID delivered aid to Liberia Sunday, including medical equipment and emergency supplies. Two Americans and a Spanish medical worker have already been evacuated from Liberia and given ZMapp, an experimental and unproven treatment for Ebola. The Americans have recovered and been discharged while the Spaniard died. Three African health workers in Liberia are also receiving the drug.

The drug supply is now exhausted, the U.S. manufacturer has said. The Philippine government said Sunday that it was preparing to carry out a mandatory evacuation of Filipinos in three West African countries due to the Ebola outbreak. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said in Manila that there were 1,979 Filipinos in Sierra Leone, 880 in Guinea and 632 in Liberia, including 148 U.N. peacekeepers.

__ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.

Israel Leader Tries To Link Hamas, Iraq Extremists

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points at a video screen showing Hamas militants firing rockets into Israel from areas near schools and Hamas deploying civilians as human shields, as he gives a news conference in Jerusalem. A day after the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, posted the video of American journalist James Foley's killing, Netanyahu debuted his latest catchphrase: "Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas." He has continued to repeat the slogan at news conferences, on Twitter and even at his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Aug. 24. Hamas itself condemned Netanyahu's comparison, saying its battle is against Israel, not against the entire West.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister is trying to capitalize on the gruesome video of an American journalist's beheading by the Islamic State extremist group, saying Hamas is an equally vicious foe as he tries to rally international support in Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. But the comparisons between Hamas and Islamic State are being met with reservations by Israel's allies and enemies alike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu always has prided himself on his ability to attract media attention. Netanyahu, who grew up in the U.S. and speaks fluent English, often uses catchy quips, props or visual aids in public speeches or briefings to journalists.

A day after the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, posted the video of journalist James Foley's killing, Netanyahu debuted his latest catchphrase: "Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas." He voiced the slogan at a news conference, on Twitter and even at his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

As Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza nears its eighth week, Netanyahu is fighting an uphill battle for international support. While the international community generally supports Israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket fire, the world has grown increasingly uncomfortable with the scenes coming out of Gaza.

Hundreds of Israeli airstrikes, along with tank and artillery fire, have killed more than 2,100 people and caused widespread destruction. U.N. and Palestinian officials say most of the dead have been civilians, including some 500 children.

With powerful images of flattened buildings and dead children coming out of Gaza each day, Israel's argument that the civilians have been used as "human shields" by Hamas seems to be making little difference to perceptions abroad. Sixty-eight people have been killed on the Israeli side, all but four of them soldiers.

"There is complete agreement, almost a consensus, that (the Islamic State group) is a monstrous organization. But there is no international agreement that Hamas is a monstrous organization," veteran Israeli television commentator Moti Kirschenbaum said.

Perhaps with this distinction in mind, Netanyahu has tried to frame the military operation in Gaza not as a local conflict, but as part of a broader global fight against a unified Islamist threat. "Many countries in the region and the West are beginning to understand that this is one front," Netanyahu said Sunday. "They are branches of the same poisoned tree."

He said both groups had carried out extra-judicial killings, a nod to Hamas' public shooting Friday of suspected spies for Israel. But his pairing of Hamas and the Islamic State group has hit bumps. When asked about Netanyahu's comparison last week, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. considers both groups terrorist organizations, but said: "I think by definition they are two different groups. They have different leadership. And I'm not going to compare them in that way."

Netanyahu's office posted a graphic on Twitter of an image from the Islamic State video of journalist Foley kneeling next to his killer, paring it with a 2012 photo of a Hamas motorcyclist dragging an accused spy's corpse. But it quickly deleted the tweet amid world criticism over images of the video being shared on social media.

In subsequent tweets, Netanyahu's office replaced the image with a picture of the black Islamic State group's flag. Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, writing on the news website Walla, called the comparison hypocritical because Israel has held negotiations with Hamas over a long-term cease-fire, while the U.S. refuses to negotiate with the Islamic State group — and because Hamas has not beheaded American journalists in Gaza.

"Journalists who strayed from Hamas's strict line and reported on rocket fire at Israel, were threatened, and in extreme cases, expelled from Gaza, but none of them ended their lives like James Foley," Tibon said.

Hamas itself condemned Netanyahu's comparison, saying its battle is against Israel, not against the entire West. Hamas official Izzat Risheq said James Foley was "executed in a brutal matter." Hamas is a "national liberation movement" whose forces are "freedom fighters who are seeking the liberation of the Palestinian people and their civil rights," Risheq said.

Since Hamas overran the territory in 2007, it has cautiously attempted to enforce its deeply conservative version of Islam and has at times placed some restrictions on women's behavior. But it has refrained from passing sweeping Islamic legislation and rescinded certain orders, apparently fearing a public backlash.

Hamas also claims it protects religious minorities. But under its rule, Christians have felt embattled and their numbers have dwindled through emigration. Yoram Schweitzer, a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said unlike the Islamic State group, Hamas believes in postponing full implementation of Islamic religious law to a later stage and has taken part in democratic elections, he said.

"In this sense Hamas is more pragmatic," Schweitzer said. But he added that "Hamas, whether ISIS or not ISIS, is a very brutal organization."

Follow Daniel Estrin on Twitter at www.twitter.com/danielestrin.

Islamic Authority: Extremists No 'Islamic State'

Muslims arrive to attend the Friday prayer at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt. Dar el-Ifta, the top Islamic authority in Egypt, revered by many Muslims worldwide, launched Sunday an internet-based campaign aimed particularly at the West against an extremist group in Syria and Iraq, saying it is not an “Islamic State.” The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, and clerics from the oldest Islamic learning institute, Al-Azhar, have condemned the Islamic State saying it was violating all Islamic principles and laws, describing it as a danger to the religion.

CAIRO (AP) — The top Islamic authority in Egypt, revered by many Muslims worldwide, launched an Internet-based campaign Sunday challenging an extremist group in Syria and Iraq by saying it should not be called an "Islamic State."

The campaign by the Dar el-Ifta, the top authority that advises Muslims on spiritual and life issues, adds to the war of words by Muslim leaders across the world targeting the Islamic State group, which controls wide swaths of Iraq and Syria. Its violent attacks, including mass shootings, destroying Shiite shrines, targeting minorities and beheadings including American journalist James Foley, have shocked Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, previously said the extremists violate all Islamic principles and laws and described the group as a danger to Islam as a whole. Now, the Dar el-Ifta he oversees will suggest foreign media drop using "Islamic State" in favor of the "al-Qaida Separatists in Iraq and Syria," or the acronym "QSIS," said Ibrahim Negm, an adviser to the mufti.

This is part of a campaign that "aims to correct the image of Islam that has been tarnished in the West because of these criminal acts, and to exonerate humanity from such crimes that defy natural instincts and spreads hate between people," Negm said according to Egypt's state news agency MENA. "We also want to reaffirm that all Muslims are against these practices which violate the tolerant principles of Islam."

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also weighed in. On Sunday, speaking to editors of Egyptian newspapers, he said the extremist group is part of a plot aiming to "undermine Islam as a belief." He said the current religious discourse in the region only feeds "minds that believe that killing and bloodshed is the way to defend Islam," in comments carried by MENA.

El-Sissi has been a champion of advancing moderate Islam, building his power base in the chaotic region and since he ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on vows to crush extremist Islam. The mufti's adviser Negm said the Internet and social media campaign will include opinions by Islamic scholars from around the world about the group and its claims to represent Islam. It also will include a hashtag campaign on Twitter and videos from Muslims denouncing the group and its methods.

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheik, had also called the group Islam's No. 1 enemy. The world's largest bloc of Islamic nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said Saturday that the actions of the group, including Foley's beheading as well as the targeting of minorities, have nothing to do with the values of Islam. The 57-member state group is based in Saudi Arabia.

Muslims around the world have battled against the backlash that followed the rise of al-Qaida and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the U.S. Scholars and activist groups have sought for years to disassociate themselves from militants touting their own extremist versions of Islam.

They say the Islamic State group is another, one that appears more ambitious and aggressive than al-Qaida. The Islamic State group renamed itself on June 29 when it unilaterally declared the territory it held in Iraq and Syria a caliphate, effectively erasing the two countries' borders and setting up a proto-state governed by its own strict interpretation of Shariah law. It previously referred to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant while fighting in Syria against the rule of President Bashar Assad.

Since June 29, The Associated Press has referred to the extremists' organization as the Islamic State group or its combatants as Islamic State fighters. Many other media organizations did the same, while some refer to it by its previous name.

The Islamic State group has a sophisticated media and Internet-based campaign that has drawn in foreign fighters, which may explain why Islamic scholars chose to adopt a similar approach. But it's unclear how successful this latest push against the group will be.

Dar el-Ifta is famed among scholars of Islamic jurisprudence and has offered training to many Muslims from around the world since the late 1800s. But its opinions are advisory and are often viewed as too close to official government positions.

Online:

Dar el-Ifta: http://eng.dar-alifta.org/foreign/default.aspx

Sierra Leone Makes Hiding Ebola Patients Illegal

Liberian soldiers scan people for signs of the Ebola virus, as they control people from entering the West Point area in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014. The outbreak also continues to spread elsewhere in West Africa, with 142 more cases recorded, bringing the new total to 2,615 with 1,427 deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday. Most of the new cases are in Liberia, where the government was delivering donated rice to a slum where 50,000 people have been sealed off from the rest of the capital in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone has passed a new law imposing possible jail time for anyone caught hiding an Ebola patient — a common practice that the World Health Organization believes has contributed to a major underestimation of the current outbreak.

The new law, passed Friday, imposes prison terms of up to two years for violators, said lawmaker Ansumana Jaiah Kaikai. It now goes for presidential approval. He said the measure was necessary to compel residents to cooperate with government officials, noting that some residents had resisted steps to combat Ebola and build isolation centers in their communities.

A total of 2,615 infections and 1,427 deaths have been recorded in the Ebola outbreak now hitting West Africa, according to figures released Friday by the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone has been hard-hit, with at least 910 cases and 392 deaths.

But these numbers don't capture all Ebola cases because families hide patients, fearing high fatality rates and the stigma that comes with a positive diagnosis, the U.N. health agency said. New treatment centers in Liberia are being overwhelmed by patients that had not been previously identified, suggesting an "invisible caseload" of patients that is going undetected, the agency said Friday.

Countries in the region and elsewhere in Africa have continued to impose travel restrictions, even though this hasn't been recommended by the U.N. agency. Ivory Coast announced late Friday it was closing its land borders with Guinea and Liberia. Gabon, Senegal, South Africa and Cameroon have all imposed border restrictions on some or all of the four countries with confirmed Ebola cases — Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

On Saturday, the Philippine government said it was recalling 115 peacekeepers from Liberia because of the health risks posed by Ebola. Speaking Friday in parliament, Sierra Leone majority leader Ibrahim Bundu accused developed countries of being slow to respond to the Ebola crisis. He said Sierra Leone had suffered "abandonment and isolation from those we viewed to be our biggest friends."

"These ugly developments are evidenced in the cancellations of flights, closing of borders, reduction of operational hours of banks and further isolation by shutting down businesses at the time of greatest need," he said.

Bundu said lawmakers would soon review the country's partnerships "to form a permanent record of who our true friends are." In Liberia on Saturday, hundreds of people lined up outside the capital's largest slum to bring food to relatives stuck inside after officials slapped a blockade on it this week.

The slum, West Point, is home to at least 50,000 people. The government says the blockade is necessary to prevent the spread of Ebola but residents are worried about food shortages. They say rice distributed by the government has been insufficient and of poor quality.

Information Minister Lewis Brown said food would continue to be distributed in West Point on Sunday. __ Associated Press writers Marc-Andre Boisvert in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia contributed reporting.