Saudi authorities on Ebola watch as millions gather for haj
MECCA (Reuters) – Anxious to safeguard Islam’s haj pilgrimage from the threat of Ebola, Saudi authorities are screening pilgrims arriving from West Africa and have deployed mobile laboratories to test any suspected cases quickly.
French troops edge closer to Libya border to cut off Islamists
PARIS (Reuters) – France is setting up a base in northern Niger as part of an operation aimed at stopping al Qaeda-linked militants from crisscrossing the Sahel-Sahara region between southern Libya and Mauritania, officials said.
U.N. concerned about Myanmar’s ethnic, religious tensions
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on Myanmar raises serious concerns about ethnic and religious tensions that have led to violence against Rohingya Muslims, though he praises the government’s attempts to pres…
Islamic State committing ‘staggering’ crimes in Iraq: U.N. report
GENEVA (Reuters) – Islamic State insurgents in Iraq have carried out mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves, and used child soldiers in what may amount to systematic war crimes that demand prosecution, the United Nations said on Thursd…
Approval rating of Chile’s President Bachelet falls to new low
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet saw her approval rating fall for the third straight month in September, though support for her key reforms improved, a poll showed on Thursday.
Blasts kill 15 people at Bulgaria explosives plant
SOFIA/GORNI LOM Bulgaria (Reuters) – A series of powerful blasts at a Bulgarian explosives plant killed 15 employees and injured three others on Wednesday night, just two months after government officials warned of serious safety breaches at the factor…
Venezuelan ‘Chavista’ lawmaker Serra stabbed, killed at home
CARACAS (Reuters) – Robert Serra, a young “Chavista” ruling party lawmaker, died after being stabbed in his home in Caracas late Wednesday in an “intentional homicide,” government officials said, in Venezuela’s latest high-profile violent crime.
Houthis dictate state spending in absence of Yemen government
SANAA (Reuters) – Yemeni rebels in control of the capital ordered the finance ministry on Thursday to suspend all payments except salaries to state employees, in an apparent tightening of their control over government bodies.
Europe urges Georgia to avoid political ‘revenge’ in courts
TBILISI (Reuters) – A group of European lawmakers urged Georgia on Thursday not to pursue “revenge” when prosecuting members of the previous government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.
North Korea prepares launch site for longer-range rockets: report
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea, already heavily sanctioned by the United Nations for its missile and nuclear tests, has completed a major overhaul of its rocket launch site, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday, enabling it to fire larger, longer-range ro…
