KOREAN PENINSULAR: Seoul says Pyongyang is again flying balloons toward the South which are likely carrying trash, adding to a bizarre psychological warfare campaign.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday that the winds could carry the balloons to regions north of the capital.

Seoul City Hall and the Gyeonggi provincial government issued text alerts urging citizens to beware of objects dropping from the sky and report to the military or police if they spot any balloons.

US: Vice President Kamala Harris promised to work to eliminate taxes on tips paid to restaurant and other service industry employees, echoing a pledge made by her opponent, Republican Donald Trump.

Ms Harris made the announcement on Saturday at a rally at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where the economy relies heavily on the hotel, restaurant and entertainment industries.

Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential campaign said it had been hacked on Saturday and suggested Iranian actors were involved in stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents.

TURKEY: Access to Instagram was reinstated on Saturday night, after more than a week of being blocked nationwide.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority barred access to Instagram on August 2 without providing a specific reason. Government officials later said the ban was imposed because the social media platform failed to abide by Turkish laws.

Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Turkey’s transportation and infrastructure minister, said all accounts promoting the Kurdistan Workers Party, the Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party, and the Fethullah Gulen movement would be banned.

SIERRA LEONE: Twenty-four soldiers have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, some for up to 120 years, after being convicted for their roles in an attempted coup last year.

A seven-member jury convicted the soldiers late on Friday following an eight-month trial in the foiled coup against President Julius Maada Bio which occurred in November.

Gunmen broke into the country’s armoury in the capital city and into a prison where more than 2,000 inmates were freed. The clashes left 18 security forces dead.