Former President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 90th birthday today in Atlanta, blowing out three candles representing the past, present and future and thanking family and friends for their support and love.
	"It's been a good first 90 years," the 39th president joked before telling the crowd gathered in a chapel on The Carter Center grounds that he is looking forward to much more work. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the international health and human rights organization after leaving the White House.
	Carter said his life was most shaped by his marriage to Rosalynn and growing up in Plains, Georgia, where he worked and played with black children who didn't have the same rights as he because of their race. Carter said he still feels guilt for not realizing sooner how wrong that was.
	Being elected president, he said, was the highlight of his political life. However, he said he's had the "best times" of his life since establishing The Carter Center, "this beautiful place on earth .

Former President Carter celebrates 90th birthday

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The United Nations says a staff member in Liberia has died from "probable Ebola."
	The spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters tosday that it is the first death of a U.N. Staffer in the outbreak that he is aware of.
	Stephane Dujarric says the staffer was a Liberian national working with the U.N. Mission in that country. He gave no further details.
	The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak has sickened more than 6,500 people in West Africa, and more than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease.
	Global concern about the outbreak has led the United Nations to create a special mission to target it.

UN says 1st staffer dies of 'probable' Ebola

NATO's new secretary-general struck a more conciliatory tone today on Russia, saying there's a chance now for improved relations between Moscow and the West.
	"We see opportunity in the cease-fire, which has now been established in the eastern part of Ukraine, but we also see violations of the cease-fire and that it's a fragile situation," Jens Stoltenberg said.
	On his first day in office, the 55-year-old Stoltenberg also welcomed the bombing campaign being waged by the United States, France, Britain and other NATO and non-NATO nations against Islamic State militants, who he said have committed "horrific atrocities" in Iraq and Syria.
	He told reporters he finds "no contradiction" between his desire for a strong NATO and the quest for better ties with Russia. But he also demanded that Moscow adhere to international law and that there be a "clear change" in Russian actions toward Ukraine.
	He also said the alliance would react with an "open mind" if Russia were to seek to revive the ..

New NATO chief: better ties with Russia possible

Pope Francis urged Europe to open its doors to refugees today as he marked the anniversary of a deadly migrant shipwreck off Sicily by meeting with survivors and relatives of the victims.
	Some 368 people most of them Eritrean and Syrian asylum-seekers drowned Oct. 3, 2013 when their smugglers' boat capsized off the island of Lampedusa. The tragedy jolted the EU and prompted Italy to beef up its Mediterranean sea patrols, which have rescued some 160,000 people this year alone.
	Today, nearly 40 survivors and relatives of the Lampedusa victims met with Francis in the Vatican auditorium before heading to Lampedusa for ceremonies to commemorate the anniversary.
	Francis, who has frequently lamented the plight of refugees, said he was speechless, unable to find the words to comfort people who had faced such tragedy.
	"I ask all the men and women of Europe to open the doors of their hearts," Francis said. "I want to let you know I'm near you, I pray for you, and I pray that doors that are .

Pope urges Europe to open doors to refugees

A British military officer says Royal Air Force warplanes flying out of a UK air base on Cyprus have destroyed four Islamic State group targets in Iraq over the last two days.
	RAF Akrotiri station commander Chaz Kennett said Wednesday that two Tornado GR4 aircraft used bombs and precision missiles to destroy a "heavy weapon position" and an armed pick-up truck. They were supporting Kurdish troops under attack Tuesday from the extremist group in northwest Iraq.
	In the second strike early today, a pair of Tornado planes fired four missiles to destroy two Islamic State group vehicles, including an armed pick-up truck.
	British warplanes have been conducting combat missions over Iraq since Saturday, hours after Britain joined the US-led coalition of nations that are launching airstrikes against the extremists.

British warplanes destroy IS targets in Iraq

A car bomb near pet and vegetable markets in Baghdad killed 15 people and wounded another 40 today, Iraqi security and medical officials said.
	Several cars were damaged in the attack. Hours earlier, a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into a police checkpoint on a highway just south of Baghdad, killing four civilians and three policemen, a police officer and a medical official said. They said 24 people were wounded in the explosion.
	All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with reporters.
	The United Nations said today that at least 1,119 Iraqis died in violence in September. But the real number was likely much higher since the U.N. Figure did not include killings in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.
	The Sunni extremist group seized around a third of the country in a lightning offensive over the summer, plunging Iraq into its worst crisis since the last U.S. Troops withdrew at the end of 2011.
	The onslaught by ..

Baghdad car bomb kills 15

Raising the stakes in their standoff with the authorities, student leaders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests warned they will step up their actions if the territory's top official doesn't resign by tomorrow, possibly occupying several important government buildings.
	Storming government buildings would risk inviting another confrontation with police. It also would put pressure on the Chinese government, which so far has said little beyond declaring the protests illegal and backing Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's attempts to end them.
	Chinese state media indicated the government may be losing patience with the protests. An editorial solemnly read Wednesday on China's main TV broadcaster CCTV said all Hong Kong residents should support authorities to "deploy police enforcement decisively" and "restore the social order in Hong Kong as soon as possible."
	Students are leading the protests for wider electoral reforms, which pose the stiffest challenge to Beijing's ...

Hong Kong protesters threaten to occupy buildings

Iraqi officials say a car bomb near pet and vegetable markets has killed 13 people and wounded another 25 in the capital Baghdad.
	Several cars were damaged in the attack today. Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures.
	All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with reporters.

Officials: Baghdad car bomb kills 13

Rebels in eastern Ukraine appeared today to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk, the seizure of which would be a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists.
	At least 10 people were killed as residential areas near the airport were caught in the crossfire, further undermining a shaky truce that was imposed last month and has been riddled by violations since.
	The rebels and government troops have been waging a particularly brutal fight for the airport. As the Ukrainian-held position closest to Donetsk, it has given government forces a convenient position to target the main rebel stronghold and a defeat there would be a major strategic and symbolic loss.
	While it was impossible to get within close range of the airport because of the ongoing fighting, an AP reporter in Donetsk today saw that artillery fire hitting the airport was coming from government-held positions outside the city an indication that the airport may no longer be under Kiev's ...

Ukraine rebels close in on Donetsk airport

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed each other politely but firmly today to address areas of tension in their relationship, with U.S. President calling for an end to Palestinian civilian deaths and the Israeli leader warning of the consequences of leaving Iran with nuclear capabilities.
	Obama and Netanyahu spoke to reporters before convening private discussions in the Oval Office. It's the first time the two leaders have met since Israel's summer war with Hamas, which killed more than 2,100 Palestinians the vast majority of them civilians and more than 70 Israelis.
	The civilian deaths in Gaza deeply angered U.S. Officials, prompting more biting public condemnations of Israel's actions than are typical from the Obama administration.
	Sitting alongside Netanyahu today, Obama said leaders must "find ways to change the status quo so that both Israel citizens are safe in their own homes, and schoolchildren in their schools, from the possibility of 

Obama, Netanyahu discuss Iran, civilian deaths

A court in Bahrain today lifted a travel ban on a prominent human rights activist who was held for questioning and detained for several weeks on arrival in the Gulf kingdom in August.
	The decision was announced at the opening session of Maryam al-Khawaja's trial. She is charged with assaulting police during questioning at the airport. She was detained for several weeks before her release late last month.
	"She denies the charges completely," her lawyer Mohamed Ahmed told The Associated Press.
	Her father, leading rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence in connection to his role in 2011 anti-government protests spearheaded by the country's majority Shiites.
	Al-Khawaja, a dual Bahraini-Danish citizen, told the AP that she has not yet decided if she will leave Bahrain. Her case has been adjourned until Nov. 5.
	Representatives from various European embassies in Bahrain, including the Danish embassy, attended the hearing.
	Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's ...

Bahrain court lifts travel ban on rights activist

Ford Motor Co said today it is adding 1,000 jobs at its plant near Toronto to build the 2015 Ford Edge crossover SUV for the global market.
	The new jobs come a year after Ford invested $700 million into the 5.5 million-square-foot assembly in Oakville, Ontario. Two levels of government in Canada contributed about USD 140 million of the USD 700 million.
	Oakville now makes the Ford Edge and Flex crossover SUVs, as well as the Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKT. The 2015 Edge will be exported to more than 100 countries from Oakville.
	The 1,000 new jobs and 300 added last year will bring total employment at the plant to more than 4,000 by the end of 2014. Ford also operates an engine plant in Windsor, Ontario and employs a total of about 6,000 people in Canada.
	Canadian Industry Minister James Moore welcomed the jobs announcement and said the government's investment helped transform the Oakville plant into one of Ford's most advanced facilities globally.
	"It demonstrates once again that ...

Ford adding 1,000 new jobs in Canada

An airline pilot and a ground crew staff member were among seven people arrested in Greece on suspicion of participating in a ring smuggling migrants onto flights from the eastern Greek city of Thessaloniki to other EU countries, police said today.
	Giorgos Pantelakos, head of the Thessaloniki immigrant division, said the ring allegedly provided forged identity cards and passports and arranged to put migrants on flights to other EU countries, mostly to Germany.
	The ring, believed to have been active since October 2013, charged the mainly Syrian migrants an estimated 3,000-4,000 euros (USD 3,800-5,000) each.
	Sixteen such transfers are believed to have taken place, with two or three people put on the flights each time, police said. The ground staff member, who was in charge of the check-in and boarding procedure, allegedly ensured those particular passengers' documents were not closely checked.
	Greece is a major transit point for migrants from impoverished or war-wracked countries ...

7 arrested in Greece in migrant smuggling ring

The first female pilot to fly solo around the world has died. Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock was 88.
	Mock's grandson, Chris Flocken, said today that she died at her home in Quincy, Florida, on yesterday after being in failing health for months.
	Mock flew her single-engine Cessna 180 "Spirit of Columbus" 23,000 miles (37,000 kilometres) in 29-plus days before landing in Ohio's capital city on April 17, 1964.
	On her trip, she made stops in Casablanca, Cairo and Calcutta. Dubbed "the flying housewife" at the time, the native of Newark, Ohio, was a suburban mother of three but also an experienced pilot who studied aeronautical engineering at Ohio State University.
	A life-sized statue of Mock was unveiled in April at Port Columbus airport.

Mock, 1st female pilot to circle globe, dies at 88

The Australian Parliament today passed a raft of counterterrorism laws that extend secret service powers despite concerns about its impact on press freedom.
	The National Security Legislation Amendment Bill gives greater search and surveillance powers to the nation's domestic spy agency, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
	The bill is the first of three tranches of tough new counterterrorism laws designed to better equip security agencies to deal with extremist networks such as Islamic State.
	The most contentious section of legislation passed by the House of Representatives today carries a potential 10-year prison sentence for anyone who discloses information that relates to a "special intelligence operation."
	The national journalists' union, Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, condemned the law as "an outrageous attack on press freedom in Australia."
	"The Bill criminalises legitimate journalist reporting of matters in the public interest. It overturns the public's .

Australian Parliament passes counterterror laws

Twin bombings near a school in central Syria killed at least 17 people today, including 10 children, as gruesome images appeared on social media networks purported to show Kurdish fighters slain at the hands of Islamic State militants during battles near Syria's border with Turkey.
	The bombs went off in the city of Homs, in a neighbourhood dominated by minority Alawities, a Shiite offshoot sect that President Bashar Assad also belongs to. It was one of the deadliest strikes to hit the government-controlled area in months.
	The blasts occurred just as the children were leaving at the end of class at the Ekremah al-Makhzoumi elementary school, according to an official with the Homs governorate.
	A Syrian pro-government channel aired a brief footage of the aftermath, showing distraught parents rushing about frantically looking for their children, amid strewn schoolbags and blood stains on the ground. Black flames rose from a car nearby.
	The explosions also wounded at least 56 people, ..

Syria blasts at school kill 17, including 10 kids

Taliban suicide bombers struck two buses carrying Afghan soldiers in Kabul early today, killing seven people and wounding 21, just a day after the signing of a key US-Afghan security pact.
	The long-awaited deal allows US forces to remain in the country past the end of 2014, ending the uncertainty over the fate of foreign troops supporting Afghans as they take over the fight against the Taliban insurgency.
	Today's attacks involved two suicide bombers targeting buses carrying Afghan troops in the country's capital. The first attacker hit a bus with Afghan National Army officers in west Kabul, killing seven and wounding 15, said the city's criminal investigation police chief Mohammad Farid Afzali.
	The second attacker, who was also on foot, blew himself up in front of a bus in northeastern Kabul, wounding at least six army personnel, Afzali said.
	Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying the security pact with America has only motivated the ...

Taliban suicide bombers kill 7 in Kabul, wound 21

Student leaders of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong warned today that if the territory's leader doesn't resign by the end of tomorrow they will step up their actions, including occupying several important government buildings.
	By raising the stakes in the standoff, the student leaders are risking another round of confrontation with the police who are unlikely to allow government buildings to be stormed.
	It also puts pressure on the Chinese government, which has so far remained silent and preferred to let Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying deal with the crisis.
	The student leaders, who have played a key role in organizing the protests to press for greater electoral reforms, would welcome an opportunity to speak to a Chinese central government official, Lester Shum, vice secretary of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, said at a news conference.
	"However, we ask them to come to the square and speak to the masses," Shum said. "This is a movement of Hong Kongers and not ...

Protesters to HK boss: Quit or we occupy buildings

The UN mission in Baghdad says at least 1,119 Iraqis died in violence in September but that the real figure was likely much higher since the organisation's death toll does not include killings in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.
	Today's statement says 854 civilians and 265 members of the Iraqi security forces were killed, and that 1,946 Iraqis were wounded last month.
	The worst-hit city was Baghdad, with 352 civilians killed.
	The United Nations says the figures are the "absolute minimum" number of casualties and they do not include deaths in the western Anbar province or other militant-held parts of northern Iraq.
	The August death toll stood at 1,420. In June, 2,400 were killed as Sunni militants swept across Iraq, the highest figure since at least April 2005.

UN: At least 1,119 Iraqis killed in September

At a time of daunting geopolitical crises, NATO is undergoing its own version of regime change, with the arrival of a new chief official who has the blessing, at least temporarily, of one of the West's biggest adversaries: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
	Former two-term Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg started work today as NATO's secretary-general, the 13th in the trans-Atlantic organisation's 65-year existence. And the key question is whether his consensus-building style will be more effective in tamping down the Ukraine conflict and other flashpoints than the hard talk of his predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
	"I expect more moderate language, and that he will try to keep the dialogue open," said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, an independent Norwegian research institution.
	To allies like Germany, the expectation of a dial-back of the rhetoric from Rasmussen, a former conservative Danish prime minister, was one factor arguing ..

NATO gets new chief-one Putin may approve of

The 10,000 pigeons released in a ceremony today for China's National Day underwent unusual scrutiny, each having its feathers and anus checked for dangerous materials, state-run media reports said, reflecting government jitters over possible attacks.
	The symbols of peace were released at sunrise in Beijing's symbolic heart of Tiananmen Square in a ceremony for the October 1 holiday to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
	Beijing domestic security police officer Guo Chunwei was quoted in the Jinghua Times as saying workers checked the wings, legs and anus of each pigeon ahead of time to ensure they were "not carrying suspicious material."
	The entire process was videotaped, and the birds were then loaded into sealed vehicles for the trip to Tiananmen Square, the newspaper said.
	A similar report appeared in the Beijing News, and the People's Daily tweeted about it in English: "10,000 pigeons go through anal security check for suspicious ...

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