Philippine authorities began evacuating thousands of people Thursday from the path of the most powerful typhoon this year, closing schools, readying bulldozers for landslides and placing rescuers and troops on full alert in the country’s north.

More than 4 million people live in areas at most risk from the storm, which the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii categorised as a super typhoon with powerful winds and gusts.

Typhoon Mangkhut could hit northeastern Cagayan province on Saturday.

It was tracked on Thursday about 725 kilometres (450 miles) away in the Pacific with sustained winds of 205 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph, Philippine forecasters said.

With a massive raincloud band 900 kilometres wide, combined with seasonal monsoon rains, the typhoon could bring heavy to intense rains that could set off landslides and flash floods, the forecasters said.

Storm warnings have been raised in 25 provinces across the main northern island of Luzon, restricting sea and air travel.

Office of Civil Defense chief Ricardo Jalad told an emergency meeting led by Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, that about 4.2 million people in Cagayan, nearby Isabela province and outlying provincial regions are vulnerable to the most destructive effects near the typhoon’s 125-kilometre-wide eye.

Nearly 48,000 houses in those high-risk areas are made of light materials and vulnerable to Mangkhut’s ferocious winds.

Across the north on Thursday, residents covered glass windows with wooden boards, strengthened houses with rope and braces and moved fishing boats to safety.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said that evacuations of residents from risky coastal villages and island municipalities north of the rice-and corn-producing province of 1.2 million people have started and school classes at all levels have been cancelled.

"The weather here is still good but we’re moving them now because it’s very important that when it comes, people will be away from peril," Mr Mamba said.

A change in the typhoon’s track prompted authorities to rapidly reassess where to redeploy emergency teams and supplies, Mr Mamba said.

Mr Duterte asked cabinet officials from the north to help oversee disaster-response work if needed, and told reporters it was too early to consider seeking foreign aid.

Germans woke up on Wednesday to a new and uncertain political future.

Angela Merkel, the woman who has dominated Europe for more than a decade is wounded, perhaps fatally, by a rebellion from where she least expected it — within her own Christian Democrat party (CDU).

In the space of a few hours on Tuesday night, she saw her authority begin to slip away. The German press is already describing her as a “lame duck”. Wednesday’s headline in Bild, Germany’s biggest-selling newspaper, said it all: “Can Merkel still be chancellor?”

What happened?

Mrs Merkel’s MPs did not challenge her directly. German politics is not so brutal or so swift. Instead, they chose the annual election of the party’s parliamentary…

A former Miss Iraq beauty queen has fled the country after receiving death threats, which followed a spate of killings of high-profile women.

Shimaa Qasim Abdulrahman, who was awarded the crown in 2015, said she has left for Jordan after receiving a message from a man purporting to be an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) member reading “you’re next”.

"I was threatened with murder. My life was in danger. The killing of this many people scared me,” she told local Kurdish news site Rudaw. “I wasn’t comfortable living there anymore and that is why I left Iraq and came to Jordan.”

It came just a week after fellow Iraqi beauty queen and social media star Tara Fares was shot dead in her car in Baghdad on September 27. In the weeks before that, Suad al-Ali, a women’s rights activist in the southern city of Basra, was also gunned down as she walked to her car.

Dr Rafeef al-Yassiri, a plastic surgeon dubbed "Iraq’s Barbie," died under mysterious circumstances.

Authorities initially called it a drug overdose but have not offered an update in over a month, leading to rumors she might have been poisoned.

A week after that, Rasha al-Hassan, the owner of a well-known beauty centre in Baghdad, was found dead in her home.

It is not clear whether the deaths are connected, however they have followed a pattern of targeting women promoting female empowerment and tend to fall on a Thursday.

Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s Interior minister, said that an unnamed extremist group was thought to be behind at least one of the murders.

"They said they would kill me on a Thursday evening. I initially thought about going to live in Erbil )Iraqi Kurdistan). But the situation wasn’t right," Ms Abdulrahman said.

"During the last few days I was in Baghdad, I didn’t dare to even go out of my house. I was scared even at home. What is the difference between a serious threat and frightening someone?" she said.

Ms Abdulrahman, 23, whose mother is Kurdish and father is Arab, said she contacted Iraqi Security Forces several times, but they said they could do little without knowing who was behind the threats.

"They killed many people in broad daylight. I couldn’t wait to be killed, and then say ‘Oh, that was a serious threat?" she said.

The killers have targeted women who have spread the message of female empowerment, which appear to have unsettled the more conservative parts of Muslim-majority Iraq.

Iraqi-Lebanese Ms Fares won fame and 2.8 million followers on Instagram, where she would post photos of herself posing in elaborate makeup, tight jeans and blouses that showed off her tattoos.

The 22-year-old became known for her outspoken opinions on personal freedom, such as: "I’m not doing anything in the dark like many others; everything I do is in the broad daylight."

While many young Iraqis shared her videos and pictures, others criticised her lifestyle as racy and un-Islamic.

Iraq once boasted a liberal society and progressive laws for women and the family, going back to the 1950s. Those gains were eroded after the 2003 US-led invasion, which toppled Saddam Hussein and led to the emergence of powerful religious parties and a rise in extremism.

Posters on some streets, particularly near shrines, exhort women to cover their hair and wear an abaya – a long, black cloak that covers the body from shoulders to feet.

"These harrowing crimes are worrying us," said Hana Adwar, Iraqi human rights activist. "There are groups that want to terrify society through the killing of popular women and activists … and to tell other women to abandon their work and stay at home."

The cause of his death has baffled experts for more than 400 years but a study now suggests Caravaggio may have died from an infected wound he received from one of his notorious sword fights.

The tempestuous Italian painter, who was born Michelangelo Merisi, revolutionized the art world with his ‘chiaroscuro’ style of painting, contrasting light and shade.

He died in the Tuscan coastal town of Porto Ercole in 1610 after fleeing Naples.

The painter’s death has been variously blamed on malaria, intestinal infection and lead poisoning from the paints he used.

There was even a theory he was murdered on the orders of the chivalric order, the Knights of Malta, as a revenge attack for killing one of their members.

Now a team of French and Italian scientists affiliated with the Mediterranean University Hospital of Marseille believe the rabble-rouser’s demise was caused by an infection from a sword injury, possibly during his final brawl just days before his death.

For their research, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, the scientists recovered a 17th century skeleton they believed to be Caravaggio’s from the Porto Ercole cemetery and analysed dental pulp taken from the molars.

Using a combination of DNA detection and protein sampling, the researchers looked for signs of syphilis, malaria or brucellosis – an infectious disease caused by bacteria – but found nothing.

Instead they concluded that Caravaggio died of sepsis, a blood infection triggered by golden staph.

“Several hypotheses for Caravaggio’s death were suggested, such as brucellosis, malaria, or sepsis secondary to an infected wound that Caravaggio received during his last fight in Naples,” the researchers wrote in The Lancet.

“Concluding data suggested that the man whose skeleton was analysed died of Staphylococcus aureus sepsis.”

The multidisciplinary team, which included French biologist Professor Didier Raoult and Professor Elisabetta Cilli, an ancient DNA expert from the University of Bologna, said it had scoured the cemetery for a 17th century skeleton that matched the height of Caravaggio and was aged between 35 and 40 at the time of death.

“Nine skeletons met these criteria, of which only one was found to date back to the beginning of the 17th century according to carbon-14 testing,” the researchers said.

“Analysis of the bones of this skeleton revealed extremely high levels of lead, which was a discovery of great importance since Caravaggio was known to be careless when using lead for painting.”

Caravaggio was a notorious drunk with a reputation for violence that often overshadowed his extraordinary talent and acclaim. 

He was arguably the most famous painter in Rome until he killed a man in a swordfight in 1606 and was run out of town.

He eventually ended up in Malta, the headquarters of the Knights of Malta, where he was made a member of the order.

But by 1608 he was in prison, most probably after another fight in which he wounded a knight.

He was expelled by the order and then fled to first Sicily and then Naples.

Caravaggio was believed to be heading to Rome in the hope of obtaining a papal pardon for the murder he had committed when he died.

Many of his works can still be found in the Italian capital today – among the world-famous collection at the Borghese Gallery, the Museum of Rome and also hidden inside the churches in the historic neighbourhood where Caravaggio once lived.

Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra Silva announced Sunday they were expecting their first child together, but that they kept the news secret before first telling the Dalai Lama, who gave the unborn child a blessing.

The Hollywood actor famous for his starring roles in Pretty Woman, An Officer and a Gentleman and Chicago, will become a father for the second time next year just a few months before he turns 70.

The couple released a photo yesterday of themselves in Rotterdam with the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

Gere has his arms around his wife’s waist as the Dalai Lama holds Miss Silva’s hand and places his other hand on her stomach.

"Just a few moments ago… Getting blessings for our precious to come.." the 35-year-old wrote in an Instagram post.

"We couldn’t announce it before telling HH Dalai Lama."

Gere, 69, married Miss Silva, his third wife, in April in Madrid following a four year relationship.

He was previously married to models Carey Lowell and Cindy Crawford.

The Spanish publicist already has a five year-old son from a previous marriage.

In an interview with Hola, the Spanish magazine, two years ago, she said: "Richard has been my hero in real life.

"I was a little lost, without light, and meeting him gave sense to my life. I felt like someone was stretching out his hand and showing me the true path."

The Golden Globe winner has often spoken about his Buddhist faith which he became interested in his early twenties.

He gave his 18-year-old son Homer, the middle name Jigme, a traditional Buddhist name.

Last year,  he told The Hollywood Reporter that  the reason he is rarely cast in mainstream films now is due to his outspoken stance on Tibet as China becomes a growing influence in the film industry.

"There are definitely movies that I can’t be in because the Chinese will say, ‘Not with him,’" he claimed.

"I recently had an episode where someone said they could not finance a film with me because it would upset the Chinese." 

Members of a Saudi team sent to Turkey to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi instead worked to cover up evidence of the Washington Post columnist’s death, Turkish officials said Monday.

The officials alleged that senior Saudi leaders sent a chemist and a toxicologist to Istanbul with the task of cleaning the scene of the Saudi Arabian consulate before Turkish detectives could investigate. 

"We believe that the two individuals came to Turkey for the sole purpose of covering up evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder before the Turkish police were allowed to search the premises," a senior Turkish official said.

If the Turkish allegations is confirmed, it raises questions over whether the Saudi leadership was secretly authorising a cover up at a time when it was still publicly insisting that Mr Khashoggi had walked out of the consulate alive. 

Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the latest allegation.

Meanwhile, Mr Khashoggi’s two adult sons spoke publicly for the first time since their father’s death and appealed for his body to be found so that it could be buried in the family plot in Medina, the second holiest city in the Islamic faith. 

"All what we want right now is to bury him in Al-Baqi [cemetery] in Medina with the rest of his family," Salah Khashoggi told CNN. "I talked about that with the Saudi authorities and I just hope that it happens soon.”

Mr Khashoggi’s body has still not been found, and Turkish officials have expressed disbelief at Saudi claims that they do not know where it is. 

Salah Khashoggi was summoned to the royal palace in Saudi Arabia where he met with King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince who is alleged to have ordered his father’s death. 

The younger Mr Khashoggi said he had faith in the king’s promise to find everyone responsible for killing his father.

"The king has stressed that everybody involved will be brought to justice. And I have faith in that. This will happen. Otherwise Saudi wouldn’t have started an internal investigation," he said.

Saudi Arabia claims that Mr Khashoggi’s death was a “rogue” operation and was not authorised by Crown Prince Mohammed or other senior Saudi figures. 

A Saudi delegate told a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that the kingdom was committed to “reaching all facts and bringing all the perpetrators to justice”. 

News of the alleged Saudi cover up effort was first reported in the Daily Sabah, a pro-government Turkish newspaper to which Turkish officials have often leaked details of their investigation.  

Turkish officials later confirmed the report to Western media. They identified the two men as  Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Janobi, a chemist, and Khaled Yahya al-Zahrani, a toxicology expert. 

The two men were part of a Saudi team which arrived in Istanbul on October 11, nine days after Mr Khashoggi was murdered on October 2. 

The team was officially sent to Istanbul as part of a joint investigation but Turkish officials claimed that at least two members of the team were secretly working to sabotage the search for the truth. 

The two men allegedly visited the consulate every day from October 11 until October 17 to destroy evidence. Turkish police were only allowed inside the consulate on October 15. 

Saudi Arabia did not admit that Mr Khashoggi had been killed until October 20. Prior to that the kingdom maintained that he had safely left the consulate. 

If the Turkish allegations are true, it would appear that Saudi officials were secretly covering up evidence of a murder while publicly insisting that Mr Khashoggi had not been harmed inside the consulate.