Refugees pour into Germany as pope urges Catholics to take them in
Thousands of migrants streamed into Germany on Sunday (Sept 6), greeted with cheers and "welcome" signs, as Pope Francis called on every Catholic parish in Europe to take in a refugee family.
In moving scenes, the newcomers clutching their children and sparse belongings stepped off trains to applause from well-wishers who held balloons, snapped photos and gave them water, food and clothes.
German police said they expected a record 10,000 refugees to arrive in the southern state of Bavaria alone by the end of the day.
'Queen's vagina' sculpture at Versailles vandalised again
A controversial sculpture by artist Anish Kapoor on display in the gardens of France's Palace of Versailles, and which has become known as the "queen's vagina", was vandalised on Sunday for the second time.
Officially known as Dirty Corner, the giant steel funnel that Kapoor himself has described as "very sexual" was covered in anti-Semitic graffiti in white paint, said Versailles president Catherine Pegard.
Phrases such as "Queen sacrifised, twice insulted" and "the second rape of the nation by deviant Jewish activism" covered the sculpture by the British-Indian artist.
Israeli police commanders disciplined over Gay Pride stabbings
Eleven Israeli police officers, including the chief of Jerusalem's police and two district commanders, were disciplined on Sunday over a stabbing spree at the city's Gay Pride parade by a Jewish zealot who had been flagged as a threat.
Seven of the officers were reassigned and four formally reprimanded in what Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan described as personal sanctions "on an unprecedented scale" given the "grave events which could have been prevented".
Yishai Schlissel, who has confessed to the stabbings, is an ultra-Orthodox Jew who said in court that he had been doing God's will by killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding five other partipants in the July 30 march, which he described as a religious abomination.
Formula One: Lewis Hamilton's Italian GP victory stands
Lewis Hamilton's 40th career victory in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and, with it, his 53-point advantage in the drivers' world championship was confirmed late Sunday after a two-hour stewards' inquiry.
The defending two-time world champion had faced possible disqualification following a technical report that claimed his Mercedes team had raced on tyres that were set at a pressure that was too low and infringed the technical regulations.
But in a statement issued nearly three hours after the race, the stewards said that they had determined the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli - when they were fitted to the car.
Europe's migrant tide ripples through Venice film fest
Few people have been left untouched by the plight of desperate refugees trying to make it to Europe, and at the Venice Film Festival, actors and directors alike shared their distress over the crisis, pleading for tolerance and compassion.
Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, whose Birdman won the festival's top Lion d'Or prize last year and best film at the 2015 Oscars, set the stage on the festival's first day when he urged Europe to welcome the people flocking to its shores.
"I'm a Mexican living in Europe and I've always felt welcome," Cuaron, head of the competition jury, said at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
