Rapper Too Short has been cited at a Southern California airport a day after fleeing a security checkpoint when a screener found a loaded handgun in his carry-on luggage.
	Burbank police Sgt. John Pfrommer says the rapper, born Todd Anthony Shaw, was passing through the checkpoint Wednesday when a Transportation Security Administration employee noticed the handgun going through a baggage scanner.
	The rapper fled the building, leaving his belongings behind.
	Pfrommer says Too Short returned to the airport Thursday with his attorney and was cited on misdemeanour possession of a loaded handgun in a public place.
	He was released and is due in court Nov. 3. Police didn't know who the rapper's attorney is.
Too Short rose to prominence in the late 1980s out of Oakland. His hits include "Life Is ... Too Short" and "Blow the Whistle.

Police: Rapper was carrying loaded gun at airport

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Canada plans to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq following a US request, a senior government official said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was set to announce details later today.
	The official confirmed Canada's combat mission on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorised to speak publicly about the plans.
	The deployment needs to be voted on in Parliament but Harper's Conservative government has the majority of seats so it is expected to pass.
	Canada is among dozens of countries that have signed up to the US led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.
	Canada has more than two dozen military advisers already in Iraq as part of an effort to advise Kurdish forces against Islamic militants after a request from President Barack Obama.
	Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes tweeted last month that the US welcomed Harper's announcement that Canada would send military advisers to Iraq as part of the .

Canada to launch airstrikes in Iraq

A new Boko Haram video shows the beheading of a man identified as the pilot of a missing Nigerian Air Force jet and burnt out parts of a plane the first indication that Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist group has the capability to bring down aircraft.
	It also allegedly features Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, a man Nigeria's military twice has claimed to kill in 2009 and again last year. Two weeks ago the military said they had killed in battle a Shekau lookalike who had posed in the group's videos.
	"Here I am, alive and I will remain alive until the day Allah takes away my breath," the man says in the Hausa language. "Even if you kill me ... It will not stop us imposing Islamic rule ... We are still in our Islamic state, reigning and teaching the Koran."
	The United States still has a USD 7 million ransom on Shekau's head, despite the death claims.
	The video was made available to The Associated Press through the same channels used previously and seems to show the same man ..

Boko Haram video shows beheading of Nigeria pilot

A month before critical midterm congressional elections, Michelle Obama is putting her popularity and influence to the test, trying to help elect Democratic candidates and give her husband a fighting chance to complete his agenda.
	Democrats are clamoring for her to campaign with them even as they avoid appearing with President Barack Obama, whose job approval rating has sunk to the low 40s.
	Voters will decide tomorrow who will control both the House of Republicans and Senate during Obama's remaining two years in office, along with determining control of more than 30 governor's offices.
	Republicans are expected to keep control of the House and hope to pick up the six seats the party needs to claim the Senate majority and, with it, control of both houses of Congress. Such an outcome would leave the president with scant hope of enacting any major legislation before leaving office.
	Enter the first lady, who thought she was done with political campaigns after her husband's re-election .

First lady Obama hitting campaign trail

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake has jolted the central Philippines, sending workers out of their offices and causing cracks on a building's wall. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
	The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology says the epicenter of today's earthquake was Antique province's Culasi municipality, 360 kilometers (224 miles) south of Manila.
	John Paul Fallarme of the institute says field personnel reported cracks on the wall of a building in Culasi. Police say there are no immediate reports of damage in other areas.
	Culasi police officer Richard Sombilon says officers and municipal employees ran out of their offices and gathered at a nearby plaza when the ground started shaking.
	The Philippine archipelago lies in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common.

Magnitude 5.7 earthquake jolts central Philippines

Fights broke out today as Hong Kong residents and pro-Beijing supporters tried to force pro-democracy activists from the streets they were occupying in a jam-packed shopping area.
	The clashes in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok neighborhood revived the possibility that the weeklong standoff might turn violent despite an attempt by the city's leader to defuse the situation.
	Police were struggling to keep order as the two sides tussled in a tense standoff. The visibly older people trying to force pro-democracy protesters out were yelling, shoving and at times trying to drag younger protesters away.
	The democracy activists linked arms and held hands as they tried to stand their ground against the huge crowd. At one point, police brought in a stretcher to take away a young man, although it was unclear why.
	The police themselves were linking arms in an attempt to keep those agitating to get the area cleared of protesters from pushing into their ranks. The protesters and many onlookers were ..

Fights break out between HK protesters, residents

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will ask for USD 4 billion for reconstruction in Gaza following the recent 50-day war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.
	Donor countries are deciding on aid to Gaza on October 12.
	Palestinian officials say more than 60,000 homes and more than 5,000 businesses and factories were destroyed or damaged. The damage assessment and aid request are part of a reconstruction plan the Abbas government has released.
	Meanwhile, Israel's army chief says it's in Israel's interest to enable the reconstruction of Gaza by easing border restrictions it imposed after the Hamas takeover of the territory in 2007.
	Lt Gen Benny Gantz told the Haaretz daily today that Israel should "permit the opening of the strip to goods" and that "these people (Gazans) need to live.

Abbas to seek USD 4 billion for Gaza reconstruction

Ali Hasan Mahboob of Bahrain won the Asian Games men's marathon today, concluding the athletics events at the continental competition in which three Asian records fell.
     Mahboob took gold in a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 38 seconds, with Kohei Matsumura one second behind in second place, followed by Japanese teammate Yuki Kawauchi.
     Mahboob is past winner of the Asiad 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Originally from Kenya, he changed his nationality to the Arab state in 2005.
     His win comes days after Kenya's Dennis Kimetto set a new world marathon record of 2:02.57 in Berlin, raising the bar for distance runners worldwide.
     While relatively new to the event, Mahboob said he would work with his coaches over the winter to lower his marathon time.
     "Slowly by slowly. Time will tell," he said.
     Mahboob's win is the ninth athletics gold medal for tiny Bahrain at the Asiad, as the island nation continues its policy of nationalising athletes from other countries. It has .

Bahrain's Ali Hasan Mahboob wins Asiad marathon

Ecuadorean officials say five people have been killed and two injured in the crash of a small plane that took off from a jungle airstrip. It carried some passengers who had attended a ceremony at which government officials apologized to an indigenous group for rights violations.
	A statement from the civil aviation authority listed those killed in yesterday afternoon's crash as the pilot, a freelance photographer and three others. It said the cause was under investigation.
	Three government ministers and the attorney general had flown back to Quito from the Sarayaku community in a different plane.
	Their visit to the community constituted compliance with a 2012 sentence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering the government to apologize for authorizing oil exploration on Sarayaku land in the 1990s.

5 killed in Ecuador plane crash

A rising star in Venezuela's ruling socialist party has been stabbed to death in his home and officials said today it was an carefully planned murder.
	Twenty-seven-year-old Congressman Robert Serra, a lawyer by training, was elected to Congress in 2010 as a member of the ruling party after gaining prominence organizing youth to counter a wave of destabilizing student protests in 2007.
	Neighbors discovered his body and that of a woman, Maria Herrera, in his house in the working class La Pastora district of Caracas Wednesday night. Mireya Midolo, who lives nearby, said her son had gone to check after seeing two large white motorcycles with their motors running in front of the house and the doors to the home open.
	"There was no sound of the door being forced or cries or anything," she said.
	She said she was surprised that the bodyguards who often accompanied Serra were not present.
	Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said at a news conference that the attack was "an ...

Pro-government Venezuela lawmaker slain at home

President Barack Obama today told voters that he and Democrats succeeded in pulling the US economy back from the brink of collapse during the Great Recession but acknowledged it was still tough going for the middle class.
	He spoke at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in a suburb of Chicago, his adopted hometown, just five weeks before an election in which Republicans are seen as having a better than even chance at taking control of the Senate and dooming the White House legislative agenda.
	"Here's the bottom line," Obama said. "For all the work that remains, for all the citizens we still need to reach, what I want people to know is that there are some really good things happening in America."
	He cited advances in energy production and new technology that have created new jobs. More money for education to retrain the workforce and put American educational standards more on a global standard.
	His health care reform that provides assurances that an illness ...

With Senate at stake, Obama touts economic gains

Red Cross says that one of its employees in the rebel-held city of Donetsk has been killed by shelling.
	ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson says one of its staff members in Donetsk was killed when a shell hit close to its office.
	Rebels identified the victim as a 38-year-old Swiss citizen. Watson confirmed the victim was Swiss, but didn't provide a name.
	AP footage from Donetsk showed the victim's bloodied body lying on the pavement and what the rebels said were his passport and his ICRC identification.
	The rebels, who have exchanged fire with the Ukrainian government forces holed up in the Donetsk airport just north of the city, said the shelling came from the Ukrainian side.
	Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin blamed the shelling on "terrorists.

Red Cross office hit by shells in Ukraine, 1 dead

Attorneys have filed complaints with federal immigration officials alleging sexual abuse and harassment at a Texas immigration lockup that houses women and their children.
	Lawyers with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the University of Texas Law School are representing immigrants who were held at the 500-plus-bed facility in Karnes City, which was converted from an all-male detention center Aug 1.
	Attorneys say women were removed from their cells at night to have sex with guards and staff. They also allege detainees were promised money or legal help in exchange for sexual favors.
	The attorneys filed a complaint with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept 25 and the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday.
	A DHS spokeswoman says the agency plans to issue a statement today.

Complaints allege abuse at US immigration lockup

Liberia plans to prosecute the airline passenger who brought Ebola into the US, alleging that he lied on an airport questionnaire about not having any contact with an infected person, authorities said today.
	Thomas Eric Duncan filled out a series of questions about his health and activities before leaving on his journey to Dallas. On a Sept. 19 form obtained by The Associated Press, he answered no to all of them.
	Among other questions, the form asked whether Duncan had cared for an Ebola patient or touched the body of anyone who had died in an area affected by Ebola.
	"We expect people to do the honorable thing," said Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the board of directors of the Liberia Airport Authority in Monrovia. The agency obtained permission from the Ministry of Justice to pursue the matter.
	Neighbors in the Liberian capital believe Duncan become infected when he helped bundle a sick pregnant neighbor into a taxi a few weeks ago and set off with her to find treatment.
	In Texas, 

Liberia to prosecute man who brought Ebola to US

Russian President Vladimir Putin today shrugged off the negative impact of Western sanctions, saying they will only encourage Russia to build closer ties with China, India and Latin America.
	Speaking at an investment forum, Putin described the sanctions as "utter silliness" that hurt Western business and offered an opportunity for others to expand in the Russian market.
	Putin said the sanctions, imposed by the United States, the European Union and others over Russia's role in the Ukrainian crisis, violated basic principles of the World Trade Organisation and inflicted lasting damage to the global economy.
	The ruble has fallen sharply as the sanctions have taken hold, imposing severe restrictions on top Russian banks and companies to borrow on Western capital markets. Capital flight is expected to top USD 100 billion this year as jittery investors dump Russian assets.
	Putin said that the Kremlin has no plans to introduce any currency restrictions or capital controls, adding that ...

Putin shrugs off damage from Western sanctions

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wants to be president.
	That's according to his brother, former President George W. Bush, who recently encouraged him to enter the 2016 presidential race during a private conversation at an event honoring veterans.
	"I think he wants to be president," George W. Bush said in an interview today on the Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," adding that he doesn't think his brother has made a final decision. "I think he'd be a great president. He understands what it's like to be president, for not only the person running or serving, plus family. He's seen his dad. He's seen his brother."
	Much of the Republican establishment is encouraging Jeb Bush to enter the 2016 race, but his level of interest is unclear seven years after leaving the Florida governor's mansion. Other potential Republican candidates have been far more active in national politics recently, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Texas ...

Bush says brother wants presidency

The spokesman for the UN secretary-general says the United Nations believes air travel to and from the West African countries affected by the Ebola virus should continue despite the first reported case in the United States.
	Stephane Dujarric told reporters today that "it's very important not to isolate these countries" as it would worsen their political and economic situations. He says aid groups need access to the region.
	The first reported US case involves a man who flew from Liberia to visit relatives. His travel took him through Brussels and Washington before reaching Texas.
	Dujarric emphasized the importance of screening at travelers' departure and arrival.
	The United Nations has spoken out repeatedly against travel restrictions on the Ebola-affected countries.
	The UN has lost one staffer in Liberia to "probable" Ebola.

UN: Air travel from Ebola nations should continue

Hong Kong's embattled leader offered today to hold talks between his government and pro-democracy protesters, but said he will not accept their demand that he resign.
	Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying told reporters that he has asked the territory's top civil servant to arrange talks with the protesters, who have been demanding electoral reforms. The massive street demonstrations are the biggest challenge to Beijing's authority in Hong Kong since China took control of the former British colony in 1997.
	Leung made the comments in a news conference just minutes before a deadline that had been set by the protesters for him to step down.
	Before his announcement, the heads of two major universities whose students have joined others in launching the protests appeared before a jittery crowd massed in front of the entrance to Leung's office and appealed for calm.
	During the day, the protesters prepared face masks and goggles while police brought in supplies of tear gas and other riot gear ..

Hong Kong leader offers talks with protesters

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Twitter are teaming up on a USD 10 million project to better understand social networks and figure out new ways to benefit from them.
	As part of the five-year partnership, Twitter will provide full access to its real-time, public stream of tweets, as well as the archive of every tweet ever posted.
	The new Laboratory for Social Machines based at MIT's Media Lab will focus on the development of new technologies to make sense of patterns across the broad span of mass media and social media.
	"The Laboratory for Social Machines will experiment in areas of public communication and social organization where humans and machines collaborate on problems that can't be solved manually or through automation alone," said Deb Roy, an associate professor at the Media Lab who will lead the Laboratory for Social Machines and who also serves as Twitter's chief media scientist.
	The goal is not just to understand how people think and use social media but ..

MIT, Twitter team up on $10M social media project

A woman has sued a Chicago-area sperm bank after she became pregnant with sperm donated by a black man instead of a white man as she and her partner had intended.
	The Ohio woman is seeking damages and wants to ensure the sperm bank doesn't make a similar mistake again.
	Within days of their wedding in New York, Jennifer Cramblett and Amanda Zinkon had become pregnant with the donor sperm. In April 2012, five months into her pregnancy, Cramblett, 36, called Midwest Sperm Bank LLC outside Chicago to reserve sperm from the same donor in the hope that Zinkon, 29, would someday also have a child.
	That's when Cramblett received some disturbing news, says a lawsuit filed Monday against Midwest Sperm Bank in Cook County, Illinois: She learned from a sperm bank employee that she had been inseminated with sperm from the wrong donor.
	Cramblett said they had chosen sperm from a man known as No. 380, a white donor. The sperm used for insemination came from No. 330, a black donor, she ...

White US woman sues over sperm from black donor

The defense lawyer for the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights says his client was ordered detained for seven days over a tweet in which he said that many Bahraini men who joined terrorist groups like the Islamic State group came from the country's own security institutions.
	Nabeel Rajab was detained yesterday for questioning.
	Lawyer Jalila al-Sayed says Rajab was referred to the public prosecutor today and ordered to remain in detention another seven days pending investigation.
	The Interior Ministry says Rajab was summoned because his tweet "denigrated government institutions."
	Rajab wrote that security institutions are "the first ideological incubator" for Bahrainis who joined the Islamic State group fighting in Iraq and Syria.
	He previously served two years in prison for leading anti-government Shiite protests.

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