WASHINGTON, Aug 21 — Hurricane Erin closed in on North Carolina’s coast yesterday, bringing the threat of dangerous waves and flooding as the strengthening Category 2 storm prompted mandatory evacuations despite tracking offshore.

NICE, Aug 21 — French authorities are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death of a 46-year-old man who collapsed during a live-streamed event described by a government minister as an “absolute horror,” prosecutors said yesterday.

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 — Donald Trump joked yesterday that brokering a Ukraine peace deal might improve his chances of getting to heaven, admitting that his odds of entering “the pearly gates” were not currently in his favour.

LA PAZ, Aug 20 — Bolivians on Monday looked ahead to a future without the socialists who have ruled for nearly two decades, after the right swept the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections.

ESSEN, Aug 19 — Borussia Dortmund narrowly avoided an upset in the German Cup yesterday, relying on a brilliant 79th-minute strike from Serhou Guirassy to clinch a nervy 1-0 win over third-tier Rot-Weiss Essen.

TEHRAN, Aug 19 — A senior Iranian official has warned that war with Israel could flare up at any moment, saying the current lull following June’s 12-day conflict is merely a temporary pause rather than a formal ceasefire.