Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club will refund 2,000 England fans who bought tickets for the final day of the third Test against India.

The club faced criticism for charging fans £10 with no option of a refund, despite them likely to see limited play with India one wicket from victory.

Entry to Trent Bridge on Wednesday is now free at the gate.

“We’ve slept on the day five pricing policy and frankly, we got it wrong,” Nottinghamshire said.

“All current ticket holders will be refunded and admission will be free on the gate with donations collected for charity.”

England are on the verge of a huge defeat, standing a distant 210 runs from victory at 311-9.

Play is due to start at 11:00 BST.

The United States has placed new sanctions on two Russian shipping companies for violating sanctions against North Korea, as well as two individuals over cyber-related activities.

And Washington is also likely to impose further sanctions against Russia in the coming days, in relation to the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from Washington.

I had a chance to play Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the new ninja game from the developers of Dark Souls, and wow did that game wipe the floor with me.

At a hands-on event ahead of Gamescom, I watched Activision’s Miles Winzeler play through a chunk of Sekiro and then got to try it for myself. As someone who’s played a fair amount of Dark Souls games and Bloodbourne, I was pretty confident in myself after seeing Winzeler defeat a handful of enemies and a couple mid-bosses with relative ease. 

Once the controller was in my own hands, I quickly found out I was wrong.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice kind of looks like a Souls game that was transplanted to 16th century Japan and brightened up a bit. But the second I started moving, I noticed that this game felt much different.

First of all, the weight of the character Sekiro feels much lighter than the typical Souls character and his movement feels much more free. He’s so light, in fact, that he can grapple up onto tree limbs, roof tops, and various other advantageous precipices to get the jump on enemies, escape danger, or just enjoy the view.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice forced me out of my Dark Souls comfort zone

As a shinobi (a.k.a. ninja), Sekiro is adept with his blades, so sword arts (special moves that do more damage) pop up pretty frequently, like when he launches down on unsuspecting enemies and pins them to the ground with his sword.

The crux of the game, combat, is where I had the most trouble. My tried and true method of dodging and blocking enemy attacks that I learned from Dark Souls didn’t prove to be as useful in Sekiro.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice forced me out of my Dark Souls comfort zone with its focus on breaking down enemies’ stances with well-time parries and cuts, opening them up finishing moves to take away large chunks of their health. Rolling and hacking wasn’t working.

And so I died to the first mid-boss. But lucky for me, the mechanic that makes Sekiro unique lies in its subtitle: you get to revive once and try again, effectively allowing you to die twice.

Even with that crutch, I was still unable to defeat the first mid-boss and move onto the second section of demo. I tried four times and I just couldn’t do it. With the limited amount of time I had to play, I was more focused on rushing through the fight than taking my time to figure out the nuances of the mechanics, which is clearly what I needed to do in order to succeed.

It reminded me of the first time I played Dark Souls, in which it took me a few hours to really become confident in myself. It also seems to be just as engrossing, and I am excited to sink more time into it and figure out how to beat that mid-boss.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice slices its way onto PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 22.

Thomas Maresca, Special to USA TODAY
Published 2:49 a.m. ET Aug. 22, 2018

SEOUL — Despite a diplomatic thaw that includes the cancellation of joint military exercises scheduled for this month, U.S. troops in Korea remain poised to confront any military threats from North Korea, the commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, General Vincent Brooks, said Wednesday.

“I received no order to become unready,” Brooks told reporters at a briefing. “No one told me to stand down from readiness or the serious professional work we do as here in the Republic of Korea.”

This month’s canceled drills, called Ulchi Freedom Guardian, had been held annually and are among the largest military exercises in the world. Last year, Ulchi Freedom Guardian was held over 11 days and included 17,500 U.S. and 50,000 South Korean troops. The drills routinely anger Pyongyang, which sees them as a dress rehearsal for a full-scale invasion of the North.

Related: South Korean president calls for single economic community with North to bring peace, prosperity

At his historic June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, President Donald Trump surprised observers by announcing he would cancel the “war games,” calling them “provocative,” a term often used by Pyongyang.

The cancellation of the exercises has forced U.S. and South Korean forces to find “other ways to maintain readiness,” Brooks said.

“If we’re not going to train the same way, then we’ll train a different way — but we’re going to remain ready,” he said. “Perhaps we’ve been told for now to put our sword back into its sheath, but we have not been told to forget how to use it.”

There are currently about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. A U.S. military presence has remained since the Korean War, which ended in an armistice but not a peace treaty, leaving the sides technically still at war.

More: Despite President Trump’s claim, U.N. agency says North Korea is not reducing nukes

This year has seen a dramatic improvement of relations on the Korean peninsula, from North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February to an inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim in April.

Kim’s summit with Trump in Singapore produced an agreement that called for a “lasting and stable peace regime” on the Korean Peninsula and a pledge from the North to work toward denuclearization.  

The prospect of peace has raised questions about the future of American troops in South Korea, with Trump himself saying he favors removing American forces.

“I want to get our soldiers out,” Trump told reporters at the Singapore summit. “I want to bring our soldiers back home… but that’s not part of the equation right now. At some point, I hope it will be, but not right now.”

A defense policy bill for 2019, passed by Congress earlier this month and signed by Trump, makes it harder to reduce U.S. troop numbers in South Korea.

The $717 billion bill prevents the Pentagon from cutting the number of troops to less than 22,000 unless the defense secretary has certified that it’s in the “national security interest” and it has been done in consultation with regional allies.

Opinion: Recovering American war dead is serious, sacred business; leave hyperbole out of it

“The presence of United States Forces on the Korean Peninsula should remain strong and enduring,” the bill said.

South Korea, whose own standing military consists of 620,000 troops, is making moves of its own to defuse tensions on the peninsula. On Tuesday, the South’s defense ministry announced that it would begin removing some guard posts along the border with North Korea on a trial basis.

A report by U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released Monday said that it did not find any indication that Pyongyang had stopped its nuclear activities.

“The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear program and related statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern,” the report said, using the official name for North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Brooks said “North Korea doesn’t have the sufficient degree of trust or confidence right now that it can take those steps [toward denuclearization] and still be safe.”

He called for continued international pressure on Pyongyang, saying that “earnest action” needed to be taken on denuclearization.

“There is still a need for continued pressure so that there is not a reason or even an ability for North Korea to back up,” he said. They’ve already taken important steps towards peace but these steps must be followed by more serious steps on denuclearization as well as trust-building.”

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Clouds of tear gas floated above and around Victoriei Square in Bucharest on August 10 as a large anti-government demonstration devolved into clashes between protesters and “jandarmi”, or military police officers.

As tensions escalated in the Romanian capital, pockets of protesters hurled rocks and plastic water bottles at rows of heavily-equipped police.

Ioana Moldovan, a Bucharest-based photographer, followed a group of rally participants to a side street.

Police followed them and the demonstrators ran, but she stayed put.

With a press badge around her neck, she held up her camera to identify herself as a journalist. But as the officers passed her, one sprayed tear gas at her face.

“As I was trying to leave, I just passed them and said, ‘You sprayed gas directly in my eyes’,” she told Al Jazeera by telephone.

“One of them replied, ‘And what did you want? For me to f*** you? You stupid girl, who told you to come here and take pictures?’”

She was one of an estimated 450 people treated on site for injuries sustained during the rally, and she joined around 300 others who lodged official complaints with the general prosecutor’s office.

The event was the latest in a series of demonstrations charging the government, currently led by the left-leaning Social Democrat Party (PSD), with corruption and what critics say are attempts to undermine the judiciary.

The apparent crackdown on demonstrators has drawn criticism from rights groups, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into the incidents that took place nearly two weeks ago.

Moldovan, who says it was her first time to be ostensibly targeted during a rally, added: “It was obvious that they didn’t like me being there and taking pictures.”

PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, who was in June sentenced to three and a half years in jail over a fake jobs scandal, has denounced the latest protests.

Late on Tuesday, he told the Antena 3 channel: “I saw an attempted coup to overthrow the government.”

Platform Romania 100, an NGO in Bucharest, has joined 16 other civil society groups in filing a complaint that alleges abusive behaviour by police during the protests, including disproportionate force and threats.

In a press release, the group said police had “violated the constitutional principles of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.”

‘Right to protest’

On Monday, the dispute deepened when a 62-year-old man who was reportedly treated for a nosebleed during the clashes was pronounced dead in a hospital in southern Romania.

A day earlier, he had checked himself into the hospital and was treated for internal bleeding.

The hospital director called for a probe into the causes of his demise, while local media speculated whether there was a link between his death and the tear gas.

Late on Tuesday, local media reported that Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, said he did not see a link, adding that an autopsy will provide more information.

Carmen Dan, the interior minister, apologised on Sunday to the police officers and demonstrators who were injured. She claimed that 1,000 people attacked police with stones and bottles.

Neither the interior ministry nor military police replied to Al Jazeera’s request for additional comment.

Days after the protest, military prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations of excessive force.

“For the moment, we have requested documents on how the mission was organised,” Ionel Corbu, the military prosecutor leading the probe, told reporters at the time. “We will also call gendarmes (military police officers) to the hearings.”

Lydia Gall, a Balkans and Eastern Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said investigations into the August 10 events must be “effective” and “impartial”.

“It’s quite clear there were elements of excessive force,” she told Al Jazeera, pointing to “the fact that hundreds of protesters ended up with various degrees of injuries”.

“It’s a basic right to be able to protest,” Gall added.

More protests expected

The rallies kicked off in January 2017, when Romanians took to the streets to protest against the newly-inaugurated government’s plans to decriminalise certain corruption offences and make abuse of power punishable by prison only if the sums involved exceed $47,500.

By January 22, the number of demonstrators swelled to around 30,000, and they peaked at more than half a million in early February.

Although the justice minister resigned, and the decrees were revoked, demonstrations were held throughout the year and into 2018.

The rallies have gained the backing of President Klaus Iohannis, a member of the National Liberal Party, and many opposition politicians.

After previous protests, the European Union and the United States condemned what they viewed as efforts to stymy anti-corruption measures.

The government has defended its positions, accusing opposition politicians, among them President Iohannis, of attempting to undermine its rule.

PSD leader Dragnea has denounced Iohannis as a coup plotter. With an appeal pending, Dragnea still has yet to go to jail and still heads the ruling party.

The August 10 rally was dubbed “Diaspora at Home” and was attended by Romanians who returned to the country to participate.

Their demands included the resignation of the current governing cabinet.

More protests are expected to take place in September and October.

Elena Calistru of the Funky Citizens advocacy group said the protests follow in a tradition of anti-corruption rallies stretching back to 2013.

Calistru said that although many Romanians are suffering from “protest fatigue”, she expects upcoming rallies to draw broad participation.

“The movement in itself is largest than just protests,” she told Al Jazeera. “They are about more than the gesture of taking to the streets.”

Bob Odenkirk is pretty big these days, thanks to his role on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

He’s that famous now that he “qualifies for an entourage,” which is something we’re sure famous people don’t really look forward to, but inevitably happens anyway.

Nevertheless, Odenkirk doesn’t really know what to do with them. “Can I ask them to do stuff? We don’t have any shared interests,” he said.

Unfortunately, Conan won’t let Odenkirk dump them. Maybe another late night show will take ’em?

Hurricane Lane intensified to a Category 5 on Tuesday night, threatening to become the first landfalling hurricane in Hawaii in nearly three decades.

With maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, Lane was upgraded to the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as it surged westerly across the Pacific Ocean toward the Big Island. Unlike Hurricane Hector, which skirted the Hawaiian Islands earlier this month, Lane is projected to veer north-northwest and drench the Aloha State’s most populated areas.

While Lane is likely to weaken as it moves closer to Hawaii, Accuweather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll told USA TODAY that the hurricane will deliver a combination of torrential rainfall, high winds and dangerous surf.

“Regardless of what happens in the eye of the hurricane, there’s going to be the potential for a lot of rain – 10-15 inches, perhaps even higher than that,” Doll said. “The problem with that, you get that much rain and you’re going to be seeing damage to property. It’s certainly going to be a threat to lives, as well, especially in areas that are prone to flooding.”

The hurricane’s escalation to Category 5 status motivated the Central Pacific Hurricane Center to issue a Hurricane Warning for Hawaii County, indicating that damaging winds and surf and flooding rains are possible within 36 hours.

“Hurricane Lane is a very serious storm that has the potential to do damage and cause harm,” said Tom Travis, who heads the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Also Tuesday, Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed an emergency proclamation to put the state in position to lend support to county emergency responders.

“We encourage all the people across the state to pay attention for this storm. It is different. It’s not your typical hurricane that tracks south and goes away,” Ige said.

Indeed, Lane is forecast to turn north-northwest, or toward Honolulu, making it a threat to reach landfall – though in a weaker state.

“We expect it to be a Category 2 hurricane (then),” said Doll. But, he added, “That’s still a dangerous hurricane. Heed local warnings.”

A Category 3 hurricane at its peak, Hector followed a similar path toward Hawaii earlier this month but stayed south of the islands, causing “very little if any impact,” Doll said.

The last hurricane to make landfall in the island state was Iniki, a Category 4 that barreled into the island of Kauai on Sept. 11, 1992, and resulted in more than $3 billion in damages. Six people were killed.

 

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Kelli Ward said Tuesday that U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake’s lack of “leadership” and “courage” was partly to blame for the death of an Iowa girl whom authorities say was killed by an undocumented immigrant.

At the same time, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate hit her front-running Republican primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, calling her an “amnesty advocate.”

On Twitter, Ward, a former state senator from Lake Havasu City, linked to a Fox News story about Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared on July 18 while jogging. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant and Mexican national who lived in Iowa told police he killed her in a panic after she tried to call for help, court records say.

MORE: Undocumented immigrant charged with murder in killing of Iowa student

Ward tweeted: “The lack of leadership & courage by open border senators like (Arizona Republicans Flake and McCain) amnesty advocate Martha McSally contribute to these senseless deaths. We need true leadership in the Senate to #BuildTheWall & secure our borders!”

She encouraged followers to vote for her in the Aug. 28 primary.

A spokeswoman for McSally’s campaign said she would not “dignify” Ward’s comment with a response. 

The Republican Senate candidates are in a three-way primary race that also includes former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another border hard-liner. The primary election is Aug. 28.

Like President Donald Trump did as a candidate in 2016, Ward has largely campaigned on her views of stringent, enforcement-focused proposals to crack down illegal immigration in her bid for the Republican nomination. She routinely lashes out against McCain — who handily defeated her in his 2016 primary — and Flake, the retiring Republican incumbent.

RELATED: Kelli Ward may have missed her shot in the GOP primary for Senate

For years, the senators have advocated for comprehensive immigration reform and in 2013 collaborated with Democrats as part of the Gang of Eight. The group’s legislation sought to balance a pathway to citizenship for millions of people without legal status who had settled in the United States with an unprecedented investment in border security and a modernized visa system. The bipartisan bill cleared the Senate, but the House didn’t act on it.

On border security and illegal immigration, Ward’s ideas echo the proposals that propelled Trump to the White House in 2016 with the help of Arizona. Yet polling suggests she is lagging behind McSally in the Senate race. 

The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary election will face the Democratic nominee. U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is the front-runner against activist and attorney Deedra Abboud.

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