An Army two-star general and 11 of  his staff are being isolated at the base in Italy upon returning from serving in West Africa to help with the Ebola fight.
	The general and his staff were met by Italian security officials wearing full hazardous materials suits when they arrived in Vicenza, Italy, over the weekend, a senior military official said Monday.
	Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, the commander who led the US response in Liberia, and the members of his headquarters staff were some of the first troops to go to Liberia and were there to provide the initial assessments of the military needs and to begin coordinating the US response. They did not have contact with Ebola patients.
	But the Army told Williams and his staff before leaving Liberia that they would be isolated near their base in Vicenza, Italy, for 21 days and they had prepared for it, said the military official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly by name, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
	It's not ...

US Army troops isolated after Africa duty tour

PTI Automatic

Japanese and North Korean officials held talks in Pyongyang for the first time in 10 years today, meeting to assess progress into North Korea's investigation  into the fates of Japanese citizens who were abducted in the 1970s and '80s.
	The abduction issue has long been a major obstacle in the frosty ties between the two nations, which have no formal diplomatic relations.
	The Japanese delegation, led by Junichi Ihara, head of the  Asia and Oceania affairs bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is to stay in North Korea for four days.
	After years of denial, North Korea acknowledged in an unprecedented 2002 summit between Kim Jong Il and then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese, mainly to train spies in Japanese language and culture.
	It allowed five of them to return to Japan that year, but said the others had died.
	Japan believes hundreds more may have been abducted and some may still be alive.
	In what was seen as a significant ...

Japan, North Korea start talks on abductions

North Korean officials has said they met for the first time with a United Nations special investigator on human rights and "envisage" him visiting their country.
	A UN official confirmed the meeting yesterday. A visit by a UN human rights official would be a breakthrough in international efforts to have a firsthand look at the way the deeply impoverished but nuclear-armed country treats its citizens.
	But the North's offer likely is another attempt to stop a growing international call to refer its dismal human rights situation to the International Criminal Court.
	The UN special rapporteur is "very optimistic" about the possibility of a visit, "and very happy to hear from our side," Choe Myong Nam, a North Korean foreign ministry official in charge of human rights issues, told The Associated Press shortly after the meeting.
	Choe said no date had been fixed, but his country is looking for a "new and objective report" on North Korea's human rights situation. "Previous reports he has ...

N Korea, UN investigator meet on possible visit

Two car bombings in Iraq, including one where a suicide attacker drove a Humvee into a checkpoint manned by Iraqi troops and pro-government Shiite militiamen, killed at least 38 people today, authorities said.
	The deadliest attack struck the outskirts of the Sunni town of Jurf al-Skhar, where the suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden Humvee into the checkpoint, killing at least 24 people and wounding 25, a police officer said. Most of those killed were members of the Shiite militia, he added.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Jurf al-Sakhar is 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, but the bombing bore all the hallmarks of an attack by the Islamic State group.
	Islamic State group militants lost control of the town yesterday, when Iraqi soldiers and the Shiite militia retook it from the Sunni extremist group. The Islamic State group seized the town in July as part of its blitz that captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq.
	In the wake of the group's .

Car bombings in Iraq kill at least 38 people

Two car bombings in Iraq, including one where a suicide attacker drove a Humvee into a checkpoint manned by Iraqi troops and pro-government Shiite militiamen, killed at least 34 people today, authorities said.
	The deadliest attack struck the outskirts of the Sunni town of Jurf al-Skhar, where the suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden Humvee into the checkpoint, killing at least 24 people and wounding 25, a police officer said. Most of those killed were members of the Shiite militia, he added.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Jurf al-Sakhar is 50 kilometres south of Baghdad, but the bombing bore all the hallmarks of an attack by the Islamic State group.
	Islamic State group militants lost control of the town yesterday, when Iraqi soldiers and the Shiite militia retook it from the Sunni extremist group. The Islamic State group seized the town in July as part of its blitz that captured large swaths of northern and western Iraq.
	In the wake of the group's .

Car bombings in Iraq kill at least 34 people

Members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other Syrian rebel factions launched simultaneous attacks on army checkpoints, police headquarters, and the governor's office in northwestern Syria today, triggering hours-long clashes that left 35 troops and rebels dead.
	The attacks all took place in the city of Idlib, activists and state media reported. The city, which is in Syrian government hands, is the local capital of Idlib province.
	Today's attacks were the most serious there since Syrian rebels took control of scores of villages and towns around it more than two years ago.
	The fighting is separate from the clashes underway between Nusra Front's main rebel rivals, the Islamic State group, and Syrian Kurdish fighters for control of the strategic border town of Kobani, further to the east and along the border with Turkey.
	The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Nusra Front and other groups shelled Idlib and simultaneously attacked army checkpoints there. It ...

Syrian rebels clash with government troops, 35 die

Sotheby's says proceeds from the sale of 44 pieces of jewelry from the collections of Estee Lauder and Evelyn Lauder will benefit two charities.
	The auction is Dec 9. The sale of 33 jewels from Evelyn Lauder will support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which she founded.
	Eleven pieces from the collection of Estee Lauder will benefit the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.
	Among the highlights is a ruby, emerald and diamond Cartier Tutti Frutti bracelet estimated at USD 750,000 to USD one million. Other designers include Van Cleef & Arpels and David Webb.
	Estee Lauder died in 2004. She's the founder of the Estee Lauder fragrance and skincare products company. Her daughter-in-law Evelyn Lauder died in 2011.
	Sotheby's previously sold jewels from their collections in 2012 and 2013 to benefit breast cancer research.

Lauder jewels auction to benefit 2 charities

South African police today launched a massive operation to find the killers of the national soccer team captain who was fatally shot during an apparent house robbery, underscoring the country's high rate of violent crime.
	Goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa was killed yesterday after two gunmen entered a house he was visiting in Vosloorus township near Johannesburg while an accomplice waited outside, police said.
	The 27-year-old Meyiwa was shot in the upper body, national police commissioner Gen. Riah Phiyega said at a news conference announcing the manhunt for the three suspects. Police also raised the reward to nearly USD 23,000, hoping to get more information to find Meyiwa's killers.
	The goalkeeper was shot while trying to stop the intruders, who had demanded cellphones and money from people inside the home, said friend Tumelo Waka Madlala, who was at the house during the robbery.
	"As they were running away we tried to stop them and that is when they shot him at point blank range," ...

South Africa: Police hunt soccer captain's killers

Once a hulking symbol of American excess, sport utility vehicles are quickly becoming the world's favorite way to get around.
	It's a surprising rebirth for a vehicle that was the subject of obituaries when gas prices spiked in 2008.
	Automakers won back customers by making smaller, more fuel-efficient SUVs that also appealed to newly wealthy buyers in Asia and South America and former skeptics in Europe.
	Indian drivers want SUVs to navigate rough roads. In China they're a status symbol. European and American Baby Boomers buy SUVs because they're easier to climb in and out of. Upwardly mobile Brazilian families like their spaciousness. Cheaper subcompacts like the Renault Duster are bringing in customers who couldn't afford SUVs before.
	Earlier this year, SUVs overtook four-door sedans for the first time as the most popular vehicle for individual buyers in the US.
	 By 2018, analysts expect China to be the biggest market for SUVs in the world.
	"The SUV genie is out of the bottle. ..

The SUV goes from All-American to global star

Dozens of girls and young women are being abducted by Islamic extremists in northeast Nigeria, raising doubts about an announced cease-fire and the hoped-for release of 219 schoolgirls held captive since April.
	Thirty teenage girls and boys have been kidnapped since Wednesday from villages around Mafa town, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, the local government chairman Shettima Maina told reporters.
	Escaping residents said Boko Haram insurgents abducted 80 girls and women from neighbouring Adamawa state on October 18.
	Older women in the group were released the following day and said the extremists kept about 40 younger women and girls, according to the residents. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the insurgents.
	On October 17, Nigeria's military announced a cease-fire had been agreed with Boko Haram. He ordered his troops to immediately comply.
	But the insurgents have launched several attacks since then and on Friday .

Dozens more girls abducted by Nigerian extremists

An Afghan official says a Taliban attack on a prosecutor's office has killed at least 10 people and wounded 10.
	The deputy governor of Kunduz province, Hamdullah Danishi, says the four-hour battle happened today.
	He says it began when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled vest and blew up a car at the gate of the compound in Kunduz city.
	Danishi says three gunmen stormed the compound and killed seven prosecutors, two police officers and one civilian Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the attack and said it was punishment for recent death sentences handed to Taliban prisoners.
	The Taliban has been stepping up its attacks as the majority of foreign forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

10 killed in Taliban attack on Afghan prosecutors

Tunisia's main secular opposition party was claiming victory today over once-dominant Islamists in the country's historic parliamentary elections.
	Partial results from the official election commission are expected to be released throughout the day today, but the Nida Tunis (Tunis Calls) party cited exit polls to say it has won more seats than any other party in the 217-member parliament.
	"According to the information we have, we should have around 80 seats," said Aida Klibi, a party spokeswoman.
	The election, in which 60 percent of Tunisia's 5.2 million registered voters participated, will produce the nation's first five-year parliament following the country's 2011 Arab Spring revolt and has already been widely praised around the world.
	"This milestone in Tunisia's transition to democracy exemplifies why Tunisia remains a beacon of hope, not only to the Tunisian people, but to the region and the world," said US Secretary of State John Kerry, following up President Barack Obama's ..

Secular party looks to win Tunisia elections

Iraqi officials have raised the death toll from a suicide attack against a checkpoint in a town south of Baghdad to 24.
	In today's attack, the bomber rammed his explosives-laden military Humvees car into the checkpoint manned by security forces and pro-government Shiite militiamen outside the Sunni town of Jurf al-Sakhar.
	The town is about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen yesterday recaptured the town, which had been in the hands of Islamic State extremists since late July.
	A police officer says at least 24 people, more than doubling the initial death toll. He says 25 people were wounded.
	Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren't authorised to talk to media.

Iraqi officials raise death toll in bombing to 24

Chiquita Brands International Inc. has agreed to sell itself to two Brazilian companies for approximately USD 681 million, just days after the fresh produce company's shareholders rejected plans to merge with Irish fruit importer Fyffes.
	Chiquita said today that it will be acquired by the investment firm Safra Group and the juice company Cutrale Group for USD 14.50 per share, a 2 percent premium to its Friday closing price of USD 14.16.
	The companies put the transaction's value at about USD 1.3 billion, including the assumption of Chiquita's debt.
	Chiquita's board unanimously approved the deal, which is targeted to close by the end of the year or in early 2015. Chiquita will become a subsidiary of the Cutrale-Safra group once the transaction is complete.
	On Friday, Chiquita and Fyffes PLC gave notice to terminate their proposed merger agreement after Chiquita's stockholders didn't approve a revised transaction agreement between the two companies during a special shareholders ...

Chiquita OKs $681M deal with 2 Brazilian bidders

Activists say Syrian rebels have attacked a government-held city in the country's northwest and that 19 men died on both sides in the clashes.
	The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and other groups shelled Idlib and simultaneously attacked army checkpoints there.
	It says nine rebels and 10 soldiers died in today's fighting. Syrian state TV says government forces repelled the attack and that a "large number of terrorists" were killed. It claimed life returned to normal in the city.
	Syrian rebels control large parts of Idlib province, which borders Turkey, while government forces hold the provincial capital, also called Idlib.
	Nusra Front's main rebel rivals, the Islamic State group, controls a third of Syria but its territory is further west from Idlib.

Syrian rebels clash with government troops, 19 die

An Iranian newspaper says at least 130 people, most of them students, have been hospitalised after inhaling a toxic gas in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
	Today's report by Haft-e Sobh quotes Zahedan provincial Gov Abbas Ali Arjmandi as saying the gas was released after a worker from a private company dumped unspecified amounts of expired pesticides into a wastewater canal on Sunday morning.
	Arjmandi says most of the students afflicted were from a nearby school. He also says the residents in the area reported dizziness and nausea.
	The governor ruled out sabotage and said the worker acted out of ignorance. He says the worker has been arrested and the factory storage unit sealed.
	Arjmandi did not identify the toxic gas in question or provide further details.

In Iran, 130 sickened by toxic gas dump

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's honeymoon with Japan's voters is fading as scandals and a slowing economic recovery take a toll on his popularity and hinder progress on his policy agenda.
	The resignations of two ministers in Abe's newly reshuffled Cabinet and reports that political funds of the replacement trade minister were used in a visit to a sex show bar were just the start.
	Those reports got people digging into the riches to be found in publicly available political funding disclosures. They show some lawmakers spending hundreds and often thousands of dollars a night on visits to restaurants and mahjong parlors, while ordinary households are struggling to keep up with rising costs for food, heating and other necessities.
	The most recent opinion polls show Abe's approval ratings slipping to around 50 per cent. They had mostly been in the 60s since 2013.
	The controversies are unwelcome distraction at a time of sharpening divisions within the ruling party over whether Abe should ...

Agenda of Japan's Abe challenged as scandals mount

A Japanese government delegation has arrived in Pyongyang to discuss North Korea's investigation into the fates of Japanese citizens who were abducted by the North's agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
	The delegation that arrived today hopes to find out more about what happened to at least 12 Japanese citizens and possibly dozens more it believes were abducted by North Korea but whose fates remain unknown.
	North Korea earlier agreed to re-open an investigation into the abduction cases. It has acknowledged abducting some Japanese and allowed five of them to return to Japan in 2002, but claimed that other abductees had died.

Japanese in North Korea for talks on abductions

A court refused bail today for an Australian charged with providing money to a US citizen fighting alongside extremists in Syria.
	Police arrested Hassan El Sabsabi on September 30 in a series of counterterror raids across Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, following an eight-month investigation prompted by information from the FBI.
	He was charged in Melbourne Magistrates Court with seven counts of providing an unidentified American with USD 12,000 in 2014 to fund his travel to Turkey and then Syria. El Sabsabi faces a possible 25-year prison sentence if convicted.
	Magistrate Lance Martin refused El Sabsabi's application for bail, saying there was a significant risk of him committing another offense or fleeing Australia if released.
	Prosecutors said El Sabsabi told police, "For me, it is not a crime."
	"I give this person money because I see him defending my innocent brothers and sisters," prosecutors quoted him as telling police when he was arrested at his ...

Australian accused of funding terror refused bail

China's top diplomat has pledged to work with Vietnam to repair ties ruptured by disputes over the South China Sea.
	State Councilor Yang Jiechi was quoted as telling Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh during their talks today that the two sides should "properly address and control maritime differences" to create favorable condition for bilateral cooperation.
	Yang's visit came a day after US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski visited Hanoi and called for closer ties between the two former foes.
	Diplomatic activity with Vietnam has increased since China deployed an oil rig in waters Vietnam claims and since the US decided to resume arms sales to Vietnam.
	The oil dig deployment in May plunged Vietnam-China ties to their lowest point in years.

Top Chinese diplomat visits Vietnam to repair ties

The Israeli government is advancing construction plans to build about 1,000 housing units built in parts of Jerusalem that Palestinians demand for their future state.
	A government official says the plans also include building infrastructure in the West Bank that will be used by Palestinians as well as Israelis. He spoke on condition of anonymity today because he is not authorized to talk to media.
	Palestinians demand east Jerusalem home to the city's most sensitive holy sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians as their future capital and oppose any Israeli construction there.
	Finance Minister Yair Lapid opposed the plan, saying it will lead to a "serious crisis in Israel-US relations."
	The international community and the United States do not recognize Israel's annexation of the territory.

AP

AP

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