The World Health Organization says Ebola is now believed to have killed more than 4,800 people globally and that the spread of the lethal virus remains "persistent and widespread" in West Africa.
	In a new update issued today, WHO said there have been 9,936 probable, suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
	It said transmission remains "intense" in the capital cities and that cases continue to be underreported.
	WHO noted a lack of available beds in Ebola clinics is forcing many families to care for sick relatives at home, risking further spread of the virus.
	Liberia had the worst bed shortage, with only 23 percent of patients hospitalized in a clinic. WHO estimated 4,388 beds are still needed in West Africa.

WHO: Ebola responsible for more than 4,800 deaths

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A US government investigation today criticized a bizarre Secret Service assignment that pulled agents from their duty near the White House and sent them to the rural home of a headquarters employee embroiled in a personal dispute with a neighbor.
	The conduct amounted to a "serious lapse in judgment," the inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, John Roth, said in a statement accompanying an investigative memo he released.
	"These agents, who were there to protect the president and the White House, were improperly diverted for an impermissible purpose."
	The statement comes as Congress is investigating the Secret Service over a series of security breaches and scandals, including a recent incident where a man with a knife scaled the White House fence and dashed all the way into the East Room.
	Although agency officials insisted President Barack Obama's safety was not compromised, the report notes Obama was at the White House on at least two days that the agents were "a ...

Inspector: 'Serious lapse' at Secret Service

Musician Raphael Ravenscroft, who played one of the most famous saxophone solos of all time on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street," has died. He was 60.
	Ravenscroft's family says he died Sunday at a hospital in Exeter, southwest England.
	The haunting sax break helped make Rafferty's 1978 song a hit. It reached No 3 in Britain and No 2 in the US, and still receives considerable airplay.
	But in a 2011 radio interview, Ravenscroft said "Baker Street" irritated him, because his solo was flat.
	Ravenscroft went on to work with musicians including Pink Floyd, ABBA and Marvin Gaye, and wrote instruction manual "The Complete Saxophone Player."
	His daughter, artist Scarlett Raven, told the BBC her father was actually "very proud of 'Baker Street' and that it made people feel good.

Sax player behind 'Baker Street' solo dies at 60

Yan Lianke, a Chinese author who has seen some of his novels banned in his homeland, has received the prestigious Franz Kafka Prize in the Czech Republic.
	Yan said he was grateful as he accepted the annual USD 10,000 prize today at Prague's City Hall.
	Each spring, it is awarded to authors whose works "appeal to readers regardless of their origin, nationality and culture."
	Past winners have included American novelist Philip Roth, Nobel laureates Elfriede Jelinek of Austria and Harold Pinter of Britain, and Israeli author Amos Oz.
	Based in Beijing, Yan fell afoul of authorities there with "Dream of Ding Village," about the AIDS crisis caused by HIV-contaminated blood, and "To Serve the People," with a character who can be aroused only when his lover smashes images of Chairman Mao.

China's Yan Lianke receives Franz Kafka prize

The US government is telling 3 million more car owners to get their air bags repaired immediately because of potential danger to drivers and passengers, but the message has generated confusion about which vehicles are actually affected.
	The government's auto safety agency is now warning 7.8 million car owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. An initial warning issued Monday covered 4.7 million vehicles.
	Safety advocates say at least four people have died from the problem, which they claim could affect more than 20 million cars nationwide.
	The inflators are made by Japanese parts supplier Takata Corp.
	Car owners might experience some uncertainty, however, in determining if their vehicle is equipped with the potentially dangerous air bags.
	The warning from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers certain models made by BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, ..

Government ups air bag warning to 7.8M vehicles

Lawmakers in Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region voted today to authorize sending Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga to help defend the embattled town of Kobani in Syria, where fellow Kurds are facing an onslaught by militants of the Islamic State group.
	Kurdish officials said an unspecified number of fighters would be sent through Turkey to support their ethnic brethren in a battle playing out just across the Turkish border. The fight has grabbed the world's attention and triggered sympathy for the outgunned Kurds.
	Anwar Muslim, a Kobani-based senior Kurdish official, praised the decision, saying "all help is welcome."
	He said there seemed to be a solidifying international push to help Kobani combat the militants.
	As details of the deployment were being worked out, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States made a mistake in airdropping weapons to Kurdish fighters in Kobani earlier this week because some of the weapons ended up in IS hands.
	"It turns out 

Iraqi Kurds authorize sending fighters to Kobani

Serena Williams did not hesitate when asked to describe her performance today, when she took her heaviest defeat since she was 16 years old.
     "Embarrassing describes the way I played today," Williams said. "Very embarrassing."
     Williams was routed 6-0, 6-2 by Simona Halep at the WTA Finals in what was arguably the worst performance of the 18-time Grand Slam champion's career.
     The last time Williams managed to win just two games in a WTA Tour or Grand Slam match was in 1998 when she was a newcomer to the tour, known best as Venus' little sister.
     The loss in the round-robin match provided a shuddering halt to Williams' 16-match winning streak at the year-end championships, where she is the two-time defending champion.
     "My forehand was off today," Williams said. "It's obviously gone on an early vacation. My serve was at best at the 10-and-under division of juniors.
     "You got to step up to the plate. She did and I didn't." The fourth-ranked Halep had never ...

Halep routs Serena Williams 6-0 6-2 at WTA Finals

The Pentagon is confirming that Islamic State group militants were able to seize one of the 28 bundles of weapons and medical supplies dropped to Kurdish forces.
	Army Col Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said that two of the bundles went astray. One was destroyed by the US. The other fell into enemy hands and included small weapons, hand grenades, medical supplies and ammunition. Warren said it appears the wind caused the parachute to go off course.
	He said the weapons in the bundle are not enough to give the enemy any type of advantage.
	Activists said yesterday the weapons were seized by the extremist fighters. A video uploaded by a media group loyal to IS militants showed the extremists with the pallet of weapons and other materials.

Pentagon: 1 weapons bundle seized by militants

A US jury reached a verdict today in the case of four former Blackwater security guards on trial in the shootings of more than 30 Iraqi citizens in the heart of Baghdad.
	The verdicts were to be read during a late-morning court session.
	The September 16, 2007 shootings triggered an international uproar over the role of defense contractors in urban warfare.
	Blackwater had been hired by the State Department to protect American diplomats in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. Blackwater convoys of four heavily armored vehicles operated in risky environments where car bombs and attacks by insurgents were commonplace.
	One former Blackwater guard faced a first-degree murder charge. Three others were charged with voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. They also faced gun charges.
	The case was mired in legal battles for years, making it uncertain whether the defendants would ever be tried. The trial focused on the killings of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of .

US jury reaches verdict in Blackwater guards trial

Device maker Samsung and bookseller Barnes & Noble are introducing a new larger-screen Galaxy Tab 4 Nook tablet two months after the first version was announced.
	Samsung and Barnes & Noble said in June they would team up on the devices and the first-co branded Galaxy Tab 4 Nook debuted in August for USD 179 with a 7-inch screen.
	Now, the company is offering the tablet with a larger 10.1-inch diagonal screen ahead of the all-important holiday season for USD 299.99. The tablets are competing in a crowded field that includes Apple's iPad and Amazon.Com's Kindle Fire, both available in more than one size.
	The Nook offers access to both the Nook app store and Google's Play store for Android apps. The new Nook will come with more than USD 200 in free content from the NOOK Store, including a books, TV shows, top magazines and apps. Both sizes of the Nook are available at Barnes & Noble retail stores and nook.Com.

Samsung debuts new Nook tablet with larger screen

A bomb exploded outside Egypt's largest and most prominent university in the country's capital today, wounding 10 people, including six policemen, the Interior Ministry said.
	The bomb, described as a rudimentary device, went off following clashes between police and Islamist students who were protesting outside the sprawling campus, the ministry said.
	It was the second bombing outside Cairo University in the past six months. Universities have seen regular protests since the military's ouster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year.
	Earlier this month, clashes between pro-Morsi students and police erupted again on the first day of the school year at several Egyptian universities.
	After today's explosion, security forces quickly cordoned off the area, according to footage from private television stations. Security officials said explosive experts were combing the area.
	The Interior Ministry said four of the wounded are officers and two are conscripts, while the ...

Bomb outside Cairo university wounds 10

Attackers from the Egyptian side of the border fired an anti-tank missile and gunshots at an Israeli military vehicle today, wounding two soldiers in a rare cross-border incident, the military said.
	The military said the attack occurred in southern Negev Desert, and that the soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Israel.
	The frontier between Israel and Egypt is normally quiet. The two countries signed a peace accord 35 years ago and have close security cooperation. But Islamic militants in Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula have attempted to carry out attacks against Israel in recent years. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
	In September 2012, an Israeli soldier was killed in a similar shooting. A year earlier, a series of coordinated attacks killed seven Israelis.
	Al-Qaida-linked militants in Sinai have also carried out deadly attacks against the Egyptian military, which has been trying to crack down on their activity in the desert.
	The Israeli military ...

Missile, fire from Egypt wounds 2 Israeli troops

Dozens of Ebola survivors were discharged from a treatment center near Sierra leone's capital today and told they were virus-free.
	The third group released from the Hastings Treatment center, which included 45 patients, were also issued with health certificates they proudly held up.
	Hawanatu Turay, 14, said she was happy to be feeling healthy again.
	"I feel good because nothing hurts me anymore and I am feeling fine, I can do anything I want to do. I am happy, I can eat fine, my stomach hurts no more, my head aches no more and also my neck, nothing hurts and I have no more pains," Turay said.
	She is among only 130 patients who have been treated and released from the facility, which is run by Sierra Leone doctors and nurses and started operating on Sept 19.
	Such releases are glimmers of hope in an outbreak that has infected some 9,000 people and killed more than 4,500 in the hardest hit countries in West Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
	The World Health Organization said 

Dozens released Ebola-free from Sierra Leone site

The UN human rights chief says 2013-2014 was "a year of devastating impact on human rights" and he blames rising inequality and exclusion for much of the unrest that has swept across the world in recent years.
	Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the UN General Assembly's human rights committee today that "a toxic tide of discrimination and xenophobia" is undermining the dignity, equality and rights of people in many countries.
	He also said it is vital that human rights are protected in "two looming tragedies: Ebola and climate change."
	Zeid was strongly critical of countries that attack human rights investigators and commissions of inquiry into rights violations instead of focusing on the findings and addressing abuses.
	He also criticises the assembly for its lack of funding for human rights.

UN official: 2013-14 devastating for human rights

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he expects Malaysia's top court will dismiss his final appeal against a sodomy conviction next week and that he will be sent to prison for the second time in a decade.
	Anwar was sentenced to five years in prison in March on charges of sodomizing a male aide after the appeals court overturned an earlier acquittal. The Federal Court will hear his appeal Oct. 28-29.
	The United States and international human rights groups call the legal moves against Anwar politically motivated.
	"It's a foregone conclusion that there will be a conviction unless there is a miracle," Anwar said late Tuesday at a dinner with the foreign media.
	"I am still optimistic. I haven't lost hope but I'm realistic to expect the worst. Mentally I am prepared," he added.
	Anwar, 67, was accused of sodomizing a male aide in 2008, but acquitted by the High Court in 2012. He has said the charges were trumped up to kill his political career.
	He is the most potent threat to Prime ...

Opposition leader Anwar expects to be jailed again

South African prison officials say Oscar Pistorius spent his first night in a single cell in the hospital wing of a prison in the capital, Pretoria.
	Prison commissioner Zebilon Monama told the South African Press Association that Pistorius seemed confused and tired when he entered the Kgosi Mampuru facility and was visited by the jail's psychologist and chaplain yesterday evening.
	He said Pistorius shares the hospital ward with eight other prisoners with disabilities.
	The athlete had a medical examination before being locked in his cell. The hospital wing has routine 24-hour observation with two nurses on duty.
	South Africa's department of correctional services says the country's prisons house an average of 128 disabled prisoners each year, less than 1 percent of the country's total 157,000 prison population.

Pistorius spends first night in single jail cell

Malaysia's defense minister has expressed confidence that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will eventually be found as a second ship prepares to join the search.
	The Fugro Discovery is scheduled to arrive in the search area about 1,800 kilometers west of Australia today. The GO Phoenix, a Malaysian ship that has been combing the area since early October, has returned to port in Australia to resupply.
	Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is in Australia to greet the GO Phoenix. He says everything possible is being done to find the Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
	Hishammuddin said, "We will find MH370."
	The underwater search resumed in early October after being on hold for four months while crews mapped the seabed.

2nd ship to join hunt for missing Malaysian plane

Batsman Kane Williamson will miss the two remaining matches in New Zealand's limited-overs series against South Africa due to a wrist injury.
     Williamson skipped the opening six-wicket loss to South Africa at Mount Maunganui on Tuesday and has subsequently been ruled out of second match at the same venue Friday and the third at Hamilton on Monday.
     Head coach Mike Hesson on Wednesday said Williamson had a ligament tear in his left wrist from the recent Champions League in India.
     Williamson joins leading batsman Ross Taylor in missing the series. Taylor has a calf injury.
     "It's been injected (with cortisone) and it's recovered. It just needs some rehabilitation," Hesson said of Willilamson's injury. "He batted the last couple of days without a huge amount of discomfort but it's not something we want to rush back."
     Williamson has stressed the injury has not been caused by any adjustment to his bowling action after his ban for an illegal action. He has altered his .

Williamson to miss rest of NZ-South Africa series

Police say an Indiana man has now definitively confessed to killing seven women whose bodies were found over the weekend in Indiana.
	Gary Police Chief Larry McKinley also told a news conference that authorities have enough evidence to charge Darren Vann, 43, with murder in at least three more of the cases involving bodies discovered in abandoned buildings around the city over the weekend. McKinley said those charges were expected to be filed within a few days.
	Vann was arrested over the weekend after a missing person's report led police to a body in a bathtub at a Motel 6. He confessed to that murder and directed police to six more bodies. The first murder charge was filed against him on Monday.

Police: Indiana man confesses to all 7 killings

Mexico's governmental Human Rights Commission says at least 12 and probably 15 of 22 people killed by soldiers at a rural warehouse were executed, contradicting both army and prosecutors' versions of the June 30 incident in southern Mexico.
	Commission President Raul Plascencia says the scene of the killings was altered and bodies were moved to mimic a shootout the army's initial account of how the 22 suspected gang members died.
	The army's version almost immediately came under question because only one soldier was wounded. The Associated Press found evidence at the scene didn't match a shootout.
	A witness later told the AP that only one man died in an initial shootout and all the others were shot after surrendering.
	Three soldiers face civilian murder charges and eight military discipline.

Mexican rights agency says army executed 15 of 22

Eighty-eight former students who were sexually molested by a Franciscan friar who worked as an athletic trainer at a Pennsylvania Catholic high school have settled their legal claims for USD 8 million, according to two attorneys who represent more than half the victims.
	Attorney Richard Serbin represents 13 former students at Bishop McCort High School, and attorney Mitchell Garabedian represents 33. The students said they were abused by Brother Stephen Baker, who worked at the school in Johnstown, 100 kilometres east of Pittsburgh, from 1992 to 2001.
	Baker, 62, committed suicide at his monastery in by stabbing himself in the heart in January 2013. That occurred nine days after the Youngstown, Ohio, diocese disclosed abuse settlements with 11 former students who said they were abused by him at John F Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, from 1986 to 1990.
	News of those settlements prompted many of the Bishop McCort victims to come forward.
	Serbin has been pursuing clergy abuse ...

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