UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein drew comparisons between the Ebola outbreak and the Islamic State group today, labeling them "twin plagues" upon the world that were allowed to gain strength because of widespread neglect and misunderstanding.
	At his first news conference since becoming the UN's top human rights official last month, Zeid focused on the "two monumental crises" that he said would inevitably cost nations many billions to overcome.
	"The twin plagues of Ebola and ISIL," he told reporters, using an acronym for the group, "both fomented quietly, neglected by a world that knew they existed but misread their terrible potential before exploding into the global consciousness during the latter months of 2014."
	Zeid said the UN human rights office has begun drawing up guidelines for Ebola-hit nations to follow if they impose health quarantines on people, because such efforts can easily violate a wide range of human rights if imposed and enforced ...

UN rights chief: Ebola, extremists 'twin plagues'

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A Myanmar court has sentenced a media owner, publisher and three journalists to two years in prison in the latest ruling to raise concerns about press freedoms in the country emerging from military rule.
	The July 7 article in the privately-run Bi Mon Te journal reported about an activist group that claimed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and several close political allies had been elected the country's interim leaders.
	The Pabaedan township court today convicted the three reporters and the journal's publisher and owner for causing public alarm.
	Dramatic changes have come to Myanmar since its nominally civilian government came to power in 2011. But journalists are increasingly being arrested and imprisoned, some with sentences of up to 10 years of hard labor.

Myanmar jails 3 journalists for leadership report

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in British retailer Tesco to under 3 percent, offering a fresh slap to the struggling company.
	Buffett's move, revealed in a regulatory filing today, was not unexpected. He told CNBC this month that his investment in the supermarket giant was "a huge mistake by me."
	Buffett's stake is down from 3.2 percent earlier this week and 5.1 percent last year.
	The sale comes as Tesco investigates why half-year profit was overstated by 250 million pounds (USD 407 million). Eight executives have been swept up into the probe.
	Tesco, one of the world's largest retailers, has issued a series of profit warnings, and its stock price has fallen by about 50 per cent in the past year as it struggles to compete with low-cost rivals.

Buffet reduces stake in Tesco to under 3 percent

South Korean activists say they will continue to launch balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border into North Korea, days after their campaign triggered gunfire between the rival Koreas.
	Activist Choi Woo-won said Thursday his group plans to send about 50,000 leaflets on Oct 25.
	He says his group won't yield to North Korean threats. He says his leaflets will urge rebellion against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
	North Korea considers leaflets an attack on its government and has long demanded South Korea ban activists from sending them. South Korea has refused to do so citing freedom of speech.
	After last Friday's gunfire exchange, North Korea has warned it would take stronger measures if leafleting continues.

S. Korean activists vow to continue leafleting

Defending champion Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open by defeating Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 7-6 (4) yesterday.
     The Bulgarian, who had a bye into the second round, was put under pressure in both sets but needed just one match point to seal his tie-breaker victory.
     Spain's Fernando Verdasco beat Jarko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal match against Bernard Tomic.
     The Australian beat third-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (4), 6-4. In first-round matches, Jack Sock of the United States defeated Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan in three sets and France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
     German qualifier Dustin Brown beat Christian Lindell of Sweden 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the late match to reach the second round.

Dimitrov reaches Stockholm Open quarterfinals

Fear drove Wall Street to one of its most dramatic, nauseating days in years.
	Investors fled stocks and poured into bonds as worries about a global economic slowdown intensified. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 460 points in afternoon trading yesterday, all three US stock indexes were in negative territory for the year, and the so-called fear index spiked.
	A late recovery limited the damage and left stocks mostly lower. But investors were shaken after the heaviest day of trading in more than three years.
	"I think it's fair to call it a global growth scare right now," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management.
	Investor concerns of a worldwide economic slowdown turned into outright fear after weeks of turbulence. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is struggling. Greece, a key actor in Europe' debt crisis, could see its government collapse next year, putting a crucial bailout program in danger.
	A batch of worrisome economic news in the US also ...

A nauseating day for Wall Street as stocks plunge

Google is coming out with bigger, more expensive versions of its Nexus phone and tablet to attract more of the affluent consumers who faithfully buy each new generation of Apple's iPhone and iPad.
	It's also releasing a new streaming video and music device, Nexus Player, to compete with Apple TV and Roku, among others.
	The new lineup announced yesterday is Google's latest volley in its duel with Apple in the increasingly important mobile device market. Google's Android software and Apple's iOS software power most of the world's smartphones and tablets.
	The Nexus products, which will hit store shelves in November, also will compete against a variety of other phones and tablets that run on the free Android software, including popular devices made by Samsung Electronics.
	Both of the Nexus devices will run on a new version of Google's Android operating system. The latest software is called "Lollipop" in keeping with Google's tradition of naming its Android upgrades after ...

Google tries to upstage Apple with latest devices

A barrage of US-led airstrikes in and around the Syrian city of Kobani, including 39 over the past two days, has killed hundreds of Islamic State fighters and has stiffened the city's Kurdish defenders, the Pentagon's spokesman said.
	Offering an unusually detailed description of the fighting, Rear Adm John Kirby told reporters that all but "hundreds" of civilians have evacuated the city and that increasing numbers of Islamic State group fighters are flowing in.
	"One of the reasons why you're seeing more strikes there is because there is more ISIL there," Kirby said, using a common acronym for the extremist group. Their greater numbers are providing more targets for US bombs, he said yesterday.
	"It's hard to give an exact number, but we believe that we have killed several hundred ISIL fighters," he added. He did not specify a time period; airstrikes there began Oct 1, according to US Central Command, which announced Wednesday that it had launched 18 airstrikes near Kobani over the ..

US: Strikes near Kobani have killed hundreds

The Obama administration has said that China's currency remains "significantly undervalued," but it stopped short of citing China or any other country for unfairly manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages.
	In a new report by the Treasury Department, the administration did warn China and other countries running trade surpluses such as Germany and South Korea that they need to step up efforts to boost domestic growth to support a weak global recovery.
	The Treasury report warned Beijing that it needs to stop intervening so frequently in currency markets and allow its currency to rise in value against the dollar.
	US manufacturers contend the renminbi is undervalued by as much as 40 per cent and is a significant reason for America's large trade deficit with the world's second-biggest economy.
	A weaker renminbi versus the dollar means that Chinese goods are cheaper for US consumers and American products are more expensive in China.
	American manufacturers expressed ...

US report criticizes China's currency policy

China's half billion online shoppers will soon have an easier way to shop in the US Alipay, the payments unit recently spun off from Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba, is launching a service for US retailers called ePass.
	Alipay has already been working in beta mode with retailers such as luxury deal site Gilt.Com, The Gap and H&M.
	"We want to demystify the Chinese consumer for U.S. retailers," said Jingming Li, president and chief architect of Alipay US, which has a US base in Santa Clara, California, alongside its affiliate Alibaba.
	Alipay targets English-reading young professionals in the four biggest regions of China (it doesn't offer a translation service).
	The move will let US retailers tap into the estimated 500 million Chinese online shoppers who spent USD 298 billion online in 2013. EPass will be available to any US retailer interested in reaching the Chinese consumer, Li said in a press briefing.
	And it comes as the payment-services category is heating up with ...

China's Alipay offers mobile wallet for US sites

The American owner of a wildlife park in the Mexican resort of Tulum has died after being kicked, bit and sat on by a camel, and authorities have seized the private facility's animals pending an investigation.
	Rescuers had to use a rope tied to a pickup truck to pull the enraged camel off the body of Richard Mileski of Chicago, Illinois, according to Tulum Civil Defense official Alberto Canto.
	He said Mileski was 70 years old and the attack took place on Monday. Other sources said Mileski was 60.
	"The camel kicked and bit him practically to death, and when he was almost dead, he sat on him," said Canto. "Between the blows and the weight of the camel on top of him, he was asphyxiated."
	While it was unclear why the animal, which was in a kind of enclosure, attacked Mileski, Canto said some versions suggest the camel was upset at not getting a soft drink.
	"One version is that he would always give him a Coca-Cola to drink, and apparently, that day he didn't give him the Coca-Cola," ..

US man killed by camel at Mexican wildlife park

A US official touring the West African countries worst hit by the deadly Ebola virus expressed optimism today that the right strategies to fight the disease are in place, even as warnings mount over the deteriorating situation.
	The World Health Organisation warned that new cases are appearing at a rapid rate in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, though Nigeria and Senegal, which saw just a handful of cases are on the verge of being declared Ebola free.
	The leaders of the affected countries are clearly committed to fighting the disease and with international help are taking the right approaches to stop the transmission of the virus, said the head of the US Agency for International Development Rajiv Shah.
	"The thing I learned is that the strategy is clear, the partners are aligned and now we have to focus on accelerating implementation and every day is a race to do more and get on top of the transmission," he told The Associated Press from the airport as he was leaving Sierra Leone ...

USAID says Ebola nations following right approach

A car bomb close to Somalia's presidential palace detonated while a group of children were walking by, killing five people and wounding seven, said a Somali police official.
	Most of the dead and wounded were children leaving a video arcade, said Capt. Mohammed Hussein, though he couldn't say precisely how many of the causalities from the attack were children.
	At the scene of the blast, a screaming, bloodied child was taken away in an ambulance. His sobbing mother buried her head in grief near the wreckage of the twisted car bomb.
	"Is my son a government soldier?" she asked a reporter. "Those who attacked here only wanted to see dead children and mothers, not government people."
	The blast largely ripped off the roof of a nearby cafe, said Hussein, the police official.
	The car bomb attack comes after a bomb blast in Mogadishu on Sunday that killed 15 people.
	The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab continues to carry out bombings in Somalia's capital as the rebels continue to lose ...

Car bomb in Somali capital kills 5, mostly kids

Toyota is recalling about 423,000 older-model Lexus luxury cars in the US because a gasket can leak fuel and possibly cause a fire.
	The move is among three global recalls that Toyota announced Wednesday totaling about 1.7 million vehicles.
	The Lexus recall covers the LS model from the 2007 through 2010 model years, as well as the 2006 to 2011 GS and IS. Also affected are the 2010 IS-C and the 2008 to 2010 IS-F. All have Toyota's UR or GR engines.
	The company says in a statement that a fuel system gasket can become degraded and leak. No fires, crashes or injuries have been reported.
	The Lexus recall is part of a larger recall of 759,000 cars that also covers the Crown Majesta, Crown and Mark X in Japan. Those cars were built from January of 2005 through September of 2010.
	Toyota says Lexus owners will be notified by mail starting in December as the company makes parts and develops a special tool for dealers to replace the gasket.
	Also today, Toyota announced two other recalls: ...

Toyota recalls Lexuses in US for fuel leak risk

There was no fire alarm at the garment factory outside Florence where Chen Changzhong worked and lived.
	Heat finally startled him awake the morning of Dec. 1, 2013. Before him was a maze of burning fabric. He raced through the building, the only worker to survive.
	Seven people died at the Teresa Moda factory in Prato, a largely Chinese manufacturing district in Tuscany.
	It was the deadliest in living memory, exposing the true costs of cheap clothes and the pursuit of profit over safety in the thriving, illicit economy that has grown in the wake of Chinese immigration to Italy.
	The fire spurred authorities to redouble enforcement, with a campaign of factory inspections kicked off last month. It inspired the Chinese consulate in Florence to rally more than 400 Chinese businesses to pursue stronger safety measures.
	Five people now face homicide charges including - in a rare move two Italians who owned the building. Prosecutors contend they failed to meet basic safeguards such as ...

Fire exposes illegal Chinese factories in Italy

The co-leader of a violent Mexican drug gang convicted of several murders was sentenced in San Diego County to nine life terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
	Yesterday's sentencing of Juan Francisco Estrada Gonzalez ends the longest criminal trial in county history, lasting 15 months including jury selection, U-T San Diego reported.
	In January, a jury found him responsible for six murders and four kidnappings, plus an attempted kidnapping, and allegations that made him eligible for the death penalty.
	The bodies of some murder victims were left in cars, dumped on roadsides or dissolved in vats of acid and buried in the Tijuana River Valley, the newspaper said.
	The jury deadlocked over whether to recommend life or death, ruling out a death sentence without another trial. Estrada thanked his defense team for their work.
	"Due to their tremendous effort, they succeeded in saving my life," he said in a letter read Tuesday by one of his lawyers, Keith ...

Kidnap gang's co-leader gets 9 life terms

Riot police moving against activists before dawn today sparked outrage after officers were seen kicking a handcuffed protester and dragging dozens of others away in the worst violence against the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong since they began more than two weeks ago.
	Protesters were knocked to the ground by hundreds of police, some with batons, pepper spray and shields. Officers also tore down barricades around an underpass outside the government's headquarters.
	The clashes worsened an already bitter standoff between authorities and activists who have taken over key roads and streets in the city to press for democratic reforms.
	"Hong Kong police have gone insane today, carrying out their own punishment in private," said pro-democracy lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan. "Hong Kong's values and its rule of law really have been completely destroyed by police chiefs."
	Public anger over the aggressive tactics exploded after local TV showed officers taking a protester around a dark ...

Police moves in Hong Kong protests spark outrage

Reeva Steenkamp's cousin sobbed while testifying today how she first heard on a car radio that Oscar Pistorius had killed his girlfriend.
	Kim Martin said she had "hoped to God" that Pistorius was cheating on her cousin and that the young woman he had shot at his home was not Reeva.
	"They hadn't confirmed the name, they said his girlfriend," Martin recalled of the early-morning news broadcast. "I was trying to phone her (Reeva) and she wasn't answering and I was screaming at my husband."
	Martin, who said she was close to Steenkamp, went to her mother's house where she learned her cousin had been killed by the Olympic athlete.
	"The doors opened and my mother was hysterical and that's when I knew it was true," Martin said. "That was for me the end of the world. Everything was just a blur from then onwards."
	The emotional testimony during Pistorius' sentencing hearing caused the judge to rule a brief adjournment when Martin began crying. Her testimony dealt in detail for the first ...

Steenkamp relative testifies at Pistorius hearing

Volkswagen barely edged out General Motors for second place in the global auto sales race during the first three quarters of the year, but Toyota was expected to keep its lead to stay in first place.
	GM said today that is sold 7.372 million cars and trucks worldwide from January through September. VW said that its global light vehicle sales totaled 7.40 million for the period, but a spokesman in Germany would not provide a more precise figure.
	Toyota won't release its numbers for the first three quarters until late October. But it was in first place in the first half with sales of almost 5.1 million, and it expects full-year sales of 10.1 million.
	Toyota Motor Corp. Finished first last year with a record 9.98 million sales. General Motors Co. Finished second and Volkswagen AG third.
	Volkswagen, which nudged GM out of second in the first half of the year, stayed ahead even though the Detroit automaker had its best third-quarter global sales since 1980, led by strong sales in China .

VW edges GM to hold 2nd place in global sales race

The US Supreme Court seems divided as it considers a high-stakes patent dispute between rival pharmaceutical companies over the world's best-selling multiple sclerosis treatment.
	Justices heard arguments today in a case that threatens to cut into the profits of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, which sells USD 4 billion-a-year worth of the drug known as Copaxone.
	Teva claims the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrongly overturned five of its patents for the drug.
	At issue is whether the appeals court was allowed to second-guess factual findings made by a federal district court that had earlier ruled in Teva's favor.
	The justices seemed split over whether patent cases should be reviewed under a different standard than other cases, where appeals courts must defer to factual findings made by lower courts.

US Supreme Court weighs generic drug dispute

Egyptian warplanes are bombing positions held by Islamist militias in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi as part of a large-scale operation to rid the city of militants who have held sway there for months, two Egyptian government officials said on today.
	The officials, who have firsthand knowledge of the operation, said the use of the aircraft was part of an Egyptian-led operation against the militiamen that would at a later stage involve Libyan ground troops recently trained by Egyptian forces.
	The operation, they said, had been requested by the internationally recognized Libyan administration based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
	That elected administration was thrown out of the capital, Tripoli, by rival militias allied with Islamic political factions.
	The officials said the operation also involves the use of an Egyptian navy vessel as a command center off the Mediterranean shore of Tobruk.
	Renegade Libyan general, Khalifa Hiftar, is not leading the operation, with Egypt ...

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