IKEA, whose stadium-sized furniture stores draw shoppers from miles around, is making an online push.
	The CEO of IKEA Group, the world's largest furniture chain, is pushing for sales growth, while making its ready-to-assemble furniture more accessible to shoppers increasingly buying online.
	Peter Agnefjail, IKEA's president and CEO, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday that he remains focused on reaching sales of USD 63.7 billion by 2020, a goal set a couple years ago.
	And he says he's not unnerved by the recent investor fears about another recession in Europe.
	He plans to reach that goal by opening more stores, while making the locations more inviting and expanding its online business around the globe.
	"We are optimistic about what we see," said Agnefjail, an 18-year IKEA veteran who took over the reins from Mikael Ohlsson in September 2013. "Unemployment is stabilizing in many markets."
	But Agnefjail acknowledged the Swedish retailer, which operates 315 ...

IKEA makes push for growth

PTI Automatic

Facebook is suing several law firms that represented a man who claimed he owned half of the social network and was entitled to billions of dollars from the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
	The case was dismissed in April and the man, Paul Ceglia, is facing related criminal charges. Facebook Inc and Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit today against DLA Piper and other law firms and lawyers, saying they conspired to file and prosecute a fraudulent lawsuit.
	DLA Piper is one of the world's largest business law firms.
	Ceglia claimed in a 2010 lawsuit that he and Zuckerberg signed a 2003 software development contract that included a provision entitling him to half-ownership of Facebook in exchange for USD 1,000 in startup money for the budding company.
	Facebook's lawyers had claimed that while the two did have a contract, references to the company were slipped in for the lawsuit.
	In its lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court, Facebook claims that the lawyers representing Ceglia "knew 

Facebook sues law firms, claims fraud

The World Trade Organization has rejected US rules requiring labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat identifying where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
	In a ruling today, the WTO said the requirements put Canadian and Mexican livestock at an unfair disadvantage.
	In 2012, the WTO had ruled against the "country of origin labeling" (COOL) requirements, which Congress originally wrote in 2002.
	The US Department of Agriculture rewrote the rules to win WTO approval.
	But today's ruling held that the revised guidelines still violated trade rules.
	The decision was a defeat for consumer groups and some farmers, especially those who compete with Canadian ranchers.
	It was a victory for ranchers who do business with Mexico and for meatpackers, who said the labels imposed a paperwork burden.

WTO rejects US country-of-origin labels for meat

Rene Burri, a Swiss photographer who captured iconic black and white images of Communist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara and painter Pablo Picasso, has died. He was 81.
	Magnum Photos, the agency he joined in 1955, confirmed Burri died today of cancer.
	Burri was just 13 when he photographed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill standing in an open-top car during a visit to Switzerland in 1946.
	In 1963, he traveled to Cuba and shot his famous picture of a cigar-chomping Che, seemingly pausing for thought during an interview.
	Burri frequently photographed artists, including sculptor Alberto Giacometti and the architect Le Corbusier. An invitation to dine with Picasso in 1957 resulted in a series of intimate portraits of the painter.

Swiss photographer Rene Burri dies at 81

There is cautious optimism in Nigeria today over local reports that the more than 200 abducted Nigerian schoolgirls may soon be released soon as part of a cease-fire agreement with the country's Islamic rebels, Boko Haram.
	However, Nigeria's federal government has not yet provided details on the terms of the truce that was announced on Friday by the military.
	President Goodluck Jonathan's government is "inching closer to the release of the Chibok girls," government spokesman Mike Omeri, texted The Associated Press over the weekend.
	The schoolgirls are "alive and well" and talks to free them will continue this week in Chad, where President Idriss Deby is mediating between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram, said Omeri.
	In Abuja, Nigeria's capital, activists continue their daily "Bring Back Our Girls" rallies, marking 174 days of their campaign.
	The girls' release "could happen in the coming hours and days," French President Francois Hollande said on Friday in Paris.
	France ...

Nigerians await news on missing girls

A prominent member of South Africa's ruling party was shot in the chest during a robbery at an ATM in the country's east, the African National Congress said today.
	Jackson Mthembu, a member of parliament and the party's former national spokesman, was shot in the country's eastern Mpumalanga province yesterday night, the party said in a statement.
	Mthembu was shot at close range while at an ATM, where his bank cards were stolen, it said.
	Mthembu is conscious and able to speak, spokesman Zizi Kodwa said today.
	Mthembu was able to drive himself to a nearby hospital, and is receiving medical treatment in the intensive care unit of a local private clinic, the party said in its statement.
	The party has dismissed any speculation that the shooting was politically motivated, and spokesman Kodwa described any such suggestions as "malicious and misleading."
	Robbery with a weapon has increased by more than 11 percent in the last year according to South Africa's official crime statistics and 

Prominent South African politician shot in robbery

The head of the World Health Organization says the agency will be upfront about its handling of the Ebola outbreak, following an internal report that details failures in containing the virus.
	In the draft document obtained by the Associated Press, the WHO says "nearly everyone" involved in the Ebola response failed to notice factors that turned the outbreak into the biggest on record.
	It blames incompetent staff, bureaucracy and a lack of reliable information.
	WHO Director Margaret Chan said Monday that the report was a "work in progress."
	Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Tunisia, she said "I have promised WHO will be fully transparent and accountable."
	Nearly half of the more than 9,000 people who have contracted Ebola in West Africa this year have died.

WHO chief promises transparency on Ebola failures

A judge will get his first chance in December to hear the evidence against a woman accused of killing six of her seven newborns and storing all of their bodies in her garage.
	Attorneys for Megan Huntsman, 39, decided today not to waive their right to a preliminary hearing. That proceeding has been set for Dec 11.
	At the conclusion of the hearing, a judge will decide if there is sufficient proof to send the case to trial.
	Huntsman is in jail on $6 million bail, charged with six counts of first-degree murder. She has not yet entered a plea.
	She made a brief appearance in court today, but didn't speak.
	Huntsman's estranged husband discovered the infants' bodies on April 12 while cleaning out the home they had shared in Pleasant Grove, Utah, a city of about 35,000 south of Salt Lake City.
	Police say Huntsman strangled or suffocated the infants from 1996 to 2006, and that a seventh baby found in her garage was stillborn.
	Investigators believe Huntsman was addicted to methamphetamine 

Mom accused of killing 6 babies appears in court

President Barack Obama has cast his vote early for the 2014 midterm elections.
	Obama voted today at a community center named after the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Near his family's home on Chicago's South Side. He says it's exciting and that he loves voting.
	Obama is not discussing his vote. But he says the most important job in a democracy is the job of citizen.
	Obama and other Democrats have been urging their supporters to vote early this year instead of waiting until Election Day.
	They're hoping to turn out Democratic-leaning voters including minorities and young people who frequently skip voting in midterm years.
	On Sunday, Obama headlined a rally in Chicago for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. The Democrat is running for re-election in Obama's home state.

Obama casts his vote early in Chicago

At least 1,000 people will be summoned and asked to fill out questionnaires for the jury in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a federal judge said today.
	Tsarnaev, 21, is charged with carrying out the April 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. He has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if convicted.
	Prosecutors say Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, planted two bombs near the marathon finish line.
	Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police several days later.
	During a status conference in US District Court on today, Judge George O'Toole Jr said he expects to whittle down the pool of 1,000 potential jurors to about 100 who will be questioned individually.
	The jury of 12 jurors and 6 alternates would then be chosen from that group.
	Jury selection is scheduled to begin Jan 5.
	O'Toole said it could be delayed by one day if there are juries for other trials being picked on that date.
	Tsarnaev, who 

Boston bomb case judge wants 1,000 juror summonses

The head of the UN nuclear agency is sounding a note of caution about Iran's claims that it is not interested in nuclear arms, saying he cannot guarantee that all the country's atomic activities are civilian in nature.
	Though not new, Yukiya Amano's comments today are significant amid a renewed deadlock in the 12-year probe by his International Atomic Agency of suspected nuclear weapons work by Iran.
	Iran denies such activities.
	Amano's comments also come as the US and five other powers try to persuade Tehran to allow the IAEA greater sleuthing powers, allowing the agency to do snap inspections of sites suspected of possible unreported nuclear work.
	Amano told an IAEA meeting in Vienna that his agency cannot "conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.

UN: Uncertain if all Iranian nuke work is peaceful

The European Union committed itself today to step up efforts toward getting USD 1.27 billion in aid to fight Ebola in West Africa and rejected the idea of halting direct flights coming from the region.
	The EU foreign ministers set off a week of continentwide action with a pledge "to play an active role in enhancing the international response" to Ebola, which so far has been late and insufficient to contain the deadly virus that has claimed at least 4,500 lives.
	British Prime Minister David Cameron wants a two-day summit of the 28 EU leaders ending Friday to reach the USD 1.27 billion aid threshold, agreeing on a variety of topics from more financial aid to common repatriation procedures, more Ebola treatment facilities and better training for health care workers.
	"It's time to act now ... If we want to limit the amount of cases to an amount that is controllable," said Robero Bertollini, the World Health Organization's representative to the EU.
	So far, the overall anti-Ebola total .

EU seeks USD 1.27 billion in Ebola aid for W Africa

A report by Ukraine's parliament revealed today that more than 300 soldiers were killed during a weeks-long battle that marked a crushing setback in the military campaign to root out pro-Russian separatist forces in the east.
	The report is the first official confirmation of the scale of a defeat in the city of Ilovaisk that critics of the country's military command have described as the result of disastrous leadership.
	It is believed the ultimate number of servicemen lost may be even greater, and the parliamentary inquiry into the Ilovaisk battle complained that military authorities have failed to cooperate.
	"Neither the Defense Ministry nor the General Staff has responded to queries from the investigating committee about losses in the armed forces," the committee said in a statement.
	Ukrainian forces mounted an assault on Ilovaisk in early August only to eventually find themselves besieged by heavily armed separatist fighters.
	The city and surrounding villages still bears signs .

Ukraine parliament says 100s died in battle

The bodies of seven women were found in Indiana state over the weekend after a man's confession to one killing led police to the grisly discovery of the other bodies, including three in one abandoned house, authorities said today.
	The discoveries began after a 43-year-old man allegedly confessed to killing a woman whose body was found Friday in an Indiana motel.
	He then told investigators where more bodies could be found in abandoned homes in the nearby city of Gary, a deteriorating former steel town about 50 kilometers southeast of Chicago, police said.
	Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said today that the suspect is a sex offender from Texas.
	Freeman-Wilson said authorities aren't certain how long the man has been in northwestern Indiana, although he does have a conviction for illegally entering a home in the area. The mayor says she doesn't know whether more bodies might be found.
	"We really don't know. When you're dealing with someone like this it's just hard to tell," she ...

US man's confession leads to 7 bodies

An American couple convicted in Qatar of child endangerment will receive a final verdict on their appeal on November 30, a Qatari judge announced today.
	Matthew and Grace Huang of Los Angeles were originally jailed on murder charges following the January 2013 death of their adopted daughter Gloria.
	They were released from prison last November, but banned from leaving during the trial.
	In March, the court sentenced them to three years in prison for child endangerment.
	The Huangs, of Asian descent, have remained out of prison during their appeal.
	They have insisted that their daughter, who was born in Ghana, died of medical problems complicated by unusual eating habits.
	"It feels like there is no end to this," Matthew Huang told reporters outside the courtroom today. "The Qatar government is ignoring the calls of the US government for our release."
	The couple has two other African-born adopted children who left Qatar during the trial to live with relatives in the United States. ..

Final ruling set for US couple convicted in Qatar

Oscar Pistorius will finally learn his fate tomorrow when a judge is expected to announce the Olympic runner's sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
	Pistorius could be sentenced to years in prison, or he could be given a suspended sentence and a fine and receive no jail time for shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home.
	More than seven months after Pistorius' trial started, Judge Thokozile Masipa will announce what punishment she has decided on after finding him guilty of culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter, but acquitting him of murder.
	Prosecutors have demanded at least 10 years in prison for the double-amputee athlete. His defence lawyers have suggested that three years of correctional supervision, with periods of house arrest and community service, would be appropriate.
	Pistorius testified during his murder trial that he mistook Steenkamp for a dangerous nighttime intruder about to come out of the cubicle and ...

Oscar Pistorius to finally learn his sentence

President Barack Obama says the US Supreme Court's recent gay marriage orders may have the biggest impact of any ruling of his presidency.
	Obama told The New Yorker that the court's Oct 6 rejection of appeals from states seeking to preserve gay marriage bans is the best of his tenure.
	The former law professor says although the court was not ready to expand gay marriage rights nationwide, "it was a consequential and powerful signal of the changes that have taken place in society and that the law is having to catch up."
	The rejection effectively made gay marriages legal in 30 states and could lead to an expansion nationwide.
	Obama says he doesn't see himself ever serving on the Supreme Court because it would be too "monastic" for him.

Obama praises Supreme Court's gay marriage orders

Al-Qaida militants today captured a town south of the capital Sanaa as they fought fierce battles elsewhere against Shiite rebels known as Houthis, security officials said.
	They said al-Qaida's Sunni militants seized al-Adeen town 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of from Sanaa in Ibb province.
	They did not give details on the capture of al-Adeen, where al-Qaida militants last week stormed the local security headquarters and held it for hours before fleeing to the mountains.
	The Houthis, widely suspected of links to mostly Shiite Iran, have been trying to take full control of Ibb.
	Fighting, meanwhile, resumed today between the Houthis and al-Qaida militants in the Raad area in Baydah province south of Sanaa.
	The battles left 13 Houthis and 15 militants dead, according to tribal officials in the area.
	The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
	In Sanaa, the governor of Sanaa, Abdul-Ghani Jameel, resigned on today, days ...

Yemen says al-Qaida captures town south of capital

China's economic growth will decelerate to 4 per cent a year between 2020 to 2025, well below widespread expectations of steady 7 per cent to 8 per cent growth over the next decade, a business research group predicted.
	The Conference Board forecast today that China will endure a rockier-than-expected transition from fast growth based on exports and massive investment in factories and real estate to a slower but steadier economy based on increased spending by Chinese consumers.
	"This adjustment process will necessarily be painful," the report warned. "The full transition of China's economic growth model is likely to be a long slog."
	Chinese officials have acknowledged that the transition will require tough choices, such as reducing government loans to inefficient but politically connected companies. But they have been slow to act, the Conference Board said.
	"China's leaders have forestalled needed structural adjustments" by rolling out stimulus measures whenever the economy starts .

China's growth likely to slow, research group says

A Libyan militant has pleaded not guilty to charges arising from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed four Americans, including US Ambassador Chris Stevens.
	Forty-three-year-old Ahmed Abu Khattala entered the plea through his lawyer today in a 15-minute court proceeding before a federal judge.
	An 18-count grand jury indictment handed up last week makes Abu Khattala eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
	The charges against him include murder of an internationally protected person, murder of an officer and employee of the United States and killing a person in the course of an attack on a federal facility.
	Abu Khattala is the first militant to be prosecuted for the Sept 11, 2012 Benghazi attacks.
	Abu Khattala's lawyer says the government has failed to show Abu Khattala was connected to the attacks.

Militant pleads not guilty in Benghazi attacks

Iraq's top Shiite cleric today gave his support to the new government battling the Islamic State group as militants unleashed a wave of deadly attacks on the country's majority Shiite community, killing at least 43 people.
	The blitz by the militants this summer plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since US troops left at the end of 2011. While there was no claim of responsibility for Tuesday's attacks, they seemed likely calculated by the group to sow fear among Iraqis and keep pressure on the new Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
	Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who took office last month, met today with top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the southern city of Najaf. He said after their talks that al-Sistani welcomed the recent formation of the government that Al-Abadi now leads.
	The spiritual leader wields considerable influence among Iraq's Shiite majority, and the meeting carried symbolic significance because al-Sistani has shunned politicians in recent years to ...

AP

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