Islamic State fighters seize control of Mahin, a town in Syria's central Homs province, following clashes with government forces which left about 50 dead. Fighting was also reported to be taking place on the outskirts of Sadad, a nearby town mostly populated by Christians. (Reuters)
One Palestinian is killed and three Israeli soldiers injured in two attacks in the West Bank. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian was shot dead after attempting to stab soldiers at a military checkpoint near the Beit Einun village in Hebron. In a second incident in the same area, a driver rammed and injured three Israeli paramilitary border policemen with his car before fleeing the scene. None of the three were injured seriously. (The Daily Star)(Al Jazeera)
Since the beginning of October, nine Israeli citizens, 67 Palestinian and an Arab Israeli have been killed in this wave of violence. (AFP via Yahoo News)
The fate of slain Palestinians is fueling a new feud with Israeli authorities. The Israeli defense minister says Israel is refusing to return the bodies of Palestinian terrorists killed during this month-old surge of violence unless the Palestinian side agrees to keep their funerals "modest." (Reuters)
An Israel Defense Forces inquiry concludes the death of a Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in Hebron last month was unnecessary, finding the teenager could have been detained and not killed. (Haaretz)
Disasters and accidents
The United States Navy sends a remotely operated underwater craft to investigate a wreck which they believe is the remains of the SS El Faro which disappeared on October 1 near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people on board. (CNN)
Teachers, writers and students lead a protest rally in Dhaka against the recent killings and attacks on secular authors and publishers in Bangladesh. (AFP via Straits Times)
Nepali police shoot dead an Indian citizen at a border checkpoint as they attempt to clear protesters whose blockade has crippled Nepal's fuel supplies and badly damaged relations between the neighboring countries. (Reuters)
At least one person is killed after Cyclone Chapala hits Yemen's Socotra island in the Indian Ocean with flooding reported in Hadibu, the provincial capital. The severe cyclone is expected to cause considerable damage when it makes landfall on Yemeni mainland. (BBC)
ISIS claims responsibility for the deaths of two Syrian refugee activists who fled to Sanliurfa, Turkey, raising concerns about the group’s reach in countries outside of Syria and Iraq. Ibrahim Abdel Qader, a founder of Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, and Fares Hammadi are said to have been killed by an acquaintance posing as a defector from ISIS. (New York Times)
At least four people are killed and 15 injured in an ISIL attack in the Kurdish section of northern Iraq. (Al-Arabiyah)
Honda, Takata's biggest customer, announces it will not use airbag inflaters made by Takata Corp. for the driver or front passenger side in new Honda and Acura vehicles for any market, worldwide. (USA Today)(NASDAQ)
At least seven people are dead and 35 others are injured as a bus overturns near Tula, Russia. (RT)
At least 30 people are killed and 35 injured after an overcrowded bus carrying passengers inside and on its roof veered off a mountain road in northwest Nepal. (USA Today)
"Ravaged by months of war, Yemen now gets battered by the first tropical storm on record to make landfall." Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Chapala slams into Yemen's central coast, with maximum sustained winds of around 140 kph (85 mph) -- the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane. The storm floods coastal areas, brings down electricity lines and destroys houses, with severe threat of mudslides. Chapala is expected to pour over two or three years worth of rain, up to 300 millimeters (12 inches), in a single day. (CNN)(Abu Dhabi Media)
Japan has delivered two more ships to Vietnam that will be refurbished into patrol boats. The ships, which arrived in the port city of Da Nang, are the second delivery of a 2014 deal in which Tokyo is to provide Vietnam with six used fishing vessels that will be converted into patrol boats for Vietnam's coast guard in the South China Sea. (Voice of America)
Former five-term Bridgeport mayor Joe Ganim wins election to a sixth term as mayor of Connecticut's largest city, topping the six other candidates in the poll. Ganim is, in American parlance, an "ex-con;" i.e., a convicted felon. In 2003, he was convicted by a federal jury on 16 felony counts for racketeering, bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion in an operation that also led to convictions of 10 of his associates. Ganim served seven years in federal prison; he was released from a Hartford halfway house in 2010. (Hartford Courant)(AP via CBSLocal.com)
Newcomer, businesswoman, and clinical psychologist Karen Weaver tops incumbent Dayne Walling in the non-partisan, Flint, Michigan, Mayor's election. Flint, which is dealing with lead in drinking water, has been under State financial management for close to four full years, and is in the final stage where control will be returned to city officials. (AP)(Detroit News)(MLive Media)
Ballot initiatives, referendums
In Ohio, a ballot initiative that would have established a legal oligopoly for the sale of recreational and medicinal marijuana is resoundingly defeated by voters, according to AP. (Los Angeles Times)
Voters in Denver's suburban Jefferson County recall, by 64 to 36 percent, three conservative school board members who worked to weaken the local teachers union while boosting funding for charter schools and pushing through other market-driven policy changes. In Fall 2014, the conservative-led majority drew national attention when they wanted the APU.S. history course to focus on citizenship and patriotism, while condemning civil disobedience and strike actions. (Washington Post)(AP via Huffington Post)
Flights between the United Kingdom and the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh are suspended due to concerns of the British government that the crash was caused by an "explosive device". (ITV)
The United States Department of Defense says that last month's airstrikes in Kunduz hit three locations, mistakenly including the Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) (MSF) hospital where at least 30 were killed. Afghan commanders, whose forces were actively engaged with the Taliban, requested the attacks. The Washington Post reports a warehouse and a mansion in two densely populated residential areas were "pulverized" without loss of civilian lives. According to residents, earlier their neighborhoods had been conflict zones, but no militants were there the time of the attacks. "Together, the three attacks raise questions about the quality and reliability of the intelligence that Afghan security forces are providing to their American partners, as well as U.S. decisions to act on that intelligence," writes the Post. (Washington Post)
Médecins Sans Frontières held memorials around the globe Tuesday, the one month anniversary of the bombing, to reaffirm their request for an independent investigation. U.S. officials resist an independent probe, pledging that the three investigations underway, by the Pentagon, NATO, and Afghan officials, will be thorough and transparent. Thomas Nierle, head of MSF Switzerland, told AFP that he had little hope the inquiries would ultimately see any wrongdoers punished. (The Hill)(DW Akademie)(AFP via Yahoo News)
Police have the gunman in custody and San Diego International Airport flights resume. The airport closed after police encountered a man with a gun shooting in a Bankers Hill apartment complex, east of the approach path to the airport. Also known as Lindbergh Field, the airport is frequently cited as one of the scariest because of its downtown location. (AP update)(Reuters)(Airfare Watchdog)
The Mexican Supreme Court, in a 4–1 decision, rules that people have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. The decision challenges the country’s current substance abuse laws. Fox News Latino and The New York Times point out the ruling only covers the plaintiffs in one case, a group that wants to form a "Pot Club." A precedent will be established if the court approves five similar petitions. (Fox News Latino)(Reuters)
James Tran of Sacramento County is arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide in the October 8 stabbing of Airman Spencer Stone near a bar in Sacramento California. Stone had helped foil the 2015 Thalys train attack but officials believe it was just a drunken bar fight. (MSN)
Syrian rebels seize control of Murak, a town located north of the city of Hama on a strategic highway that is crucial to control of western Syria, following clashes with pro-government forces. Murak was the scene of heavy fighting last year when government forces took control of the town in October 2014. (Reuters)
Israeli forces shoot and kill a 72-year-old woman in Halhul, a town near Hebron. The soldiers say she attempted to wound them with her car. Her son denies this, saying his mother was on her way to lunch with her sister. Later, three Israelis are shot and wounded, one seriously, in two incidents in Hebron. (Al Jazeera English)(The Guardian)(Haaretz)
The Ajnad al-Sham and other rebel forces recapture the village of Atshan and surrounding areas in Hama province, consolidating significant advances made the day before at the expense of pro-government forces. (Fox News)(Reuters)
India has cancelled Greenpeace India's license to operate and gave the group 30 days to close down, citing financial fraud and falsification of data, the environment watchdog said on Friday. (NDTV)(Reuters)
Thursday's flooding and devastating mudslides at the BHP-Vale mine in Minas Gerais involved two dams, not one as initially reported. Brazilian officials report the mud flow is eight kilometers (five miles) long and 2.5 meters deep. Those rescued – and emergency services – are being decontaminated; mining spoils being treated as toxic. There is no official information on the number of casualties or the cause of the incident. The company that runs the mine says it detected seismic activity right before the breach. Both BHP and Vale shares declined over five percent. Brazilian prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation. (Mashable)(Bloomberg)(CCTV)
U.S. officials say the U.S. Navy deliberately avoided military drills or other actions that could have further inflamed tensions with Beijing during the USS Lassen's patrol in the South China Sea last week. For instance, the Lassen turned off its fire-control radars while transiting within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef. On its part, the Chinese destroyer following the Lassen was, "very cordial the entire time … before and after the Spratly Islands transit," said the Lassen's commanding officer, Commander Robert Francis. (Reuters)(New York Post)
Bombs in and around Baghdad kill at least nine people, police and medical sources say. There is no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reuters)
Art and culture
The University of Sydney's Australian Archaeological Mission, excavating at a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southwest coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, discover Cyprus's oldest theatre. Located in the ancient city of Nea Paphos (capital of Cyprus at the time), it is a Hellenistic-Roman structure believed to have been in use for about six and a half centuries, from c. 300 B.C. until its final destruction in the earthquakes of A.D. 365. The Roman columns are made of granite from quarries in Troad, Turkey. (AFP, via MSN)
A sudden noise immediately before the "black box" flight data recorder went dark indicates the plane was brought down by a bomb, according to unnamed sources. Officially, Ayman el-Muqadem says the Egyptian investigative team is "considering all possible scenarios for the cause of the accident" and has not yet reached any conclusions. (BBC)(USA Today)(The Mirror)
As rescue teams labor to reach isolated communities, state officials are taking precautions to contain the environmental fallout from the burst dams. A state public prosecutor based in Mariana says he will seek 500,000 Brazilian reais (US$130,000) in personal damages for each of about 200 families most affected by the dam burst. (Reuters)
A manhunt is underway for a gunman who shot and seriously wounded presiding Travis County, Texas State District Judge Julie Kocurek at the driveway of her home in West Austin, Texas. It was unclear whether she and/or her family members were targeted (they were arriving home) or if it was a botched robbery. She was listed in serious condition at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin but is expected to recover. (USA Today, via MSN)
Houthi forces regain several positions across southern Yemen after launching a fresh offensive against loyalist and coalition forces. In Lahij province, which borders Aden, Houthi forces are now positioned on a hill overlooking the strategic Al Anad Air Base, which houses Sudanese forces. The Houthis also retook the Damt District in the Dhale province after besieging it for hours, at least 16 people were killed in the clashes. (AFP via Yahoo)
Two suicide bomb attacks in Ngouboua, a remote village near Lake Chad, kill three people, including the bombers, and injure four others, according to Chadian Communication Minister Hassan Sylla Bakari. (Shanghai Daily)(UPI)
Russian air strikes on areas in the town of Maaret al-Numan, Idlib, killing nine people, including a child, and on Saraqib in the same province, killing another two women. (Al Bawaba)
At least 10 people were killed in Syrian government air strikes on Islamic State-held town of Al-Bab, including a woman and child. (France 24)[permanent dead link]
ManhattanDistrict AttorneyCyrus Vance Jr. announces over $800 million in grants available to various agencies across the U.S. for law enforcement-related initiatives such as testing of potentially expired rape kits, the funding of an international center devoted to monitoring cyber attacks, and a program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice dedicated to training prosecutors. The grants are funded from criminal penalties paid by several international banks accused of violating sanctions. (New York Times)
Early official results show the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), the country's largest opposition party, has a slim lead over Prime Minister Zoran Milanović’s ruling Social Democrats (SDP) in today's elections. With 32 percent counted, the HDZ, has 61 of parliament’s 151 seats and the SDP is second with 53. The third place Most (Bridge of Independent Lists) party is likely to have the balance of power in the parliament. (Wall Street Journal)(Bloomberg)(The Guardian) After the votes were counted, HDZ had 59 seats and SDP 56, and with 3 additional seats from the regional IDS party, SDP amounted to 59 seats. The greatest surprise was MOST, who won 19 seats and will be the key in formation of the government. If MOST refuses coalition with the two main parties, the country will have to repeat the elections in January 2016. (EUROPP)
Megh is expected to cross the Yemen coast Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Arabia Standard Time (6:00 a.m. UTC). In the Gulf of Aden, the storm has maximum sustained winds of 111 km/h (69 mph), gusting to 130 km/h (81 mph). Its strength will significantly erode once it makes landfall and continue to decay after it moves inland into the dry and rugged terrain of Western Yemen. It is not expected to track back over water. (United States Naval Observatory)(Regional Specialized Meteorological Center)
A mortar attack on the coastal city of Latakia kills at least 23 and injures 65. (UPI)
Business and economics
Technology news website Re/code reports Dell Incorporated's $67 billion offer to buy data storage company EMC Corporation could be derailed by a tax bill of up to $9 billion if key aspects of the deal do not qualify for the sort of tax treatment the companies consider essential for the transaction. (Reuters)(Economic Times)(Re/code)
Disasters and accidents
All nine people aboard a HawkerH25 business jet are killed after the plane crashes into an apartment complex in the American city of Akron, Ohio. (Fox News)(WOIO via WNEW)[1] The NTSB in October 2016 concluded First Officer Renato Marchese improperly set the aircraft's flaps and failed to maintain a proper speed ABC News
Chinese state news agency Xinhua joins critics of Shenyang's handling of serious pollution problems. "The city of Shenyang has failed to apply emergency measures that could have reduced smog, and didn't provide advisories to residents to stay indoors," Xinhua wrote. The BBC reported pollution readings in the northeastern Chinese city have been 50 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO). (UPI)
Reuters reports Russia's eight-point proposal, drafted prior to this week's international talks on Syria, wants the Syrian government and the opposition to agree on launching a constitutional reform process of up to 18 months, followed by early presidential elections. (Reuters)
Iran stops dismantling decommissioned centrifuges in two uranium enrichment plants, according to state media reports. This comes days after Iran's conservative lawmakers complained to PresidentHassan Rouhani that the process was too rushed. (Reuters)
French media reports that a planned lunch for November 17 between Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and French president François Hollande is scrapped after Rouhani asked that all wine be pulled from the menu. (Fox News)
The United StatesFBI foils an alleged plot by white supremacists in Virginia who were planning a reign of terror — shooting or bombing religious institutions, robbing jewelers and armored cars, purchasing land, stockpiling weapons, and training for the "coming race war." (Washington Post)(WTVR)
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia suspends district court judge Richard Leon's ruling yesterday that found the U.S.National Security Agency's phone data collection program is unconstitutional. Leon's decision barred the agency from further collection of data on the plaintiffs in the case -- California attorney J.J. Little and his law firm -- but did not have sufficient authority to outlaw the practice against all Americans. The government plea for the injunction said it will take "at least several weeks" for the NSA to implement a technical change that would prevent collection of Little's data and therefore the entire program would have to shut down early based on Leon's order. (UPI)
Turkish security forces backed up by tanks and combat helicopters launch a large-scale operation against PKK militants in the mainly Kurdish town of Silvan, which has been under a punishing curfew for nine days. At least five people are killed in the fighting, including a Turkish soldier. (AFP via Yahoo)
Carrying coffins holding the beheaded bodies of seven ethnic Hazara, thousands of demonstrators from Afghanistan's different ethnic groups - Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara - march on the Presidential Palace in Kabul, urging the government to take action against the rising violence against Afghan civilians. The murders, which the United Nations denounced as a potential war crime, have fueled a growing sense of insecurity since the Taliban briefly seized control of Kunduz in late September. (RAWA News)(Reuters)
Tourism bookings in Egypt’s main Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh plunge in the wake of the plane crash with some 80% of reservations cancelled and at least 40% of the tourists leaving the resort since the crash. (The Globe And Mail)
Slovenia's army begins erecting a razor wire fence along parts of its southern border with Croatia in order to stop a tide of illegal migrants entering the country. Around 180,000 people, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan have streamed into Slovenia since mid-October after trekking northwards along a Balkan corridor from Greece, most of them bound ultimately for Germany. (Reuters)
Israeli agents, disguised as Arabs escorting a woman in labor, raids a hospital in Hebron, West Bank, seizing a Palestinian suspected of stabbing and shooting dead his cousin. (New York Times)(Haaretz)
Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, tells the European parliament in prepared testimony that the outlook for inflation is "weakening." The comment was taken to suggest the ECB will soon take a more stimulative stance on interest rates or money quantity. (Bloomberg)
The city of Montreal in Canada begins dumping 2 billion gallons of raw sewage into the Saint Lawrence River, an action the mayor, Denis Coderre, says is necessary to make repairs and improvements to the city's wastewater system. The move has caused outrage among residents and environmentalists, while the hashtag "#flushgate" is being used on social media sites to voice opposition to the dumping effort. (CNN)
The United States conducts airstrikes targeting Kuwaiti-British militant Jihadi John. Later, the U.S. says it is "reasonably certain" a drone strike in Syria killed Jihadi John, né Mohammed Emwazi. (BBC)(Reuters)
During an arrest attempt in Cairo, Egyptian security forces kill Aly Ashraf Hassanein al Gharabli, an ISIL-linked militant who masterminded the murder of Apache Corporation worker William Henderson in Egypt last year. (Fuel Fix)
At least 22 people are killed this week in a string of raids on villages in the Central African Republic. The escalation of violence threatens to derail a visit by Pope Francis and crucial elections scheduled for December 27, 2015. (Reuters)
South Korean news agency Yonhap reports China's mobile phone users are discarding 80 million devices annually, but almost none are being recycled. China's recycling rate stands at 9-10 percent of the global recycling average. (UPI)
The bodies of eight babies are found wrapped in towels and inside plastic bags in an apartment in the town of Wallenfels in Germany's state of Bavaria. Authorities are looking for the apartment's most recent occupant, Andrea G, a 45-year-old woman. (CNN)(Irish Times)
At least four people are dead and 33 injured in a landslide in China's Zhejiang province. (CRI)
International Relations
U.S. diplomats, amid growing international concern the violence could spiral into an ethnic conflict, push for peace talks in Burundi. The European Union advises non-essential staff to evacuate the Central African nation amid rising violence and an uptick in political rhetoric. The head of the opposition UPRONA group urges the United Nations to send peacekeepers quickly. Yesterday, the UN Security Council called on the Burundi Government to protect human rights and cooperate with regional African mediators to immediately convene "an inclusive and genuine inter-Burundian dialogue" to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis. (Al Jazeera)(Reuters)(UN)
German ChancellorAngela Merkel asserts she still isn't prepared to name an upper limit to the number of refugees who can come to Germany, despite mounting domestic political pressure. (AP)
Oxfam's Belgrade Center for Human Rights reports migrants coming through Bulgaria have faced beatings, threats and other abuses by police, though the country's own refugee agency said it had received no such complaints. (Reuters)
U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry meets in Vienna, Austria, with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.N. special envoy for Syria, ahead of Saturday's next round of international summits on the Syrian Civil War. The talks, aimed toward a cease-fire in Syria's devastating war and a political transition to a post-war government, will include senior officials from 19 nations/groups and, as in October, Iran will participate. (AP)
As a temporary security measure, effective Saturday, Russia bans incoming flights by Egypt's state-owned airline, EgyptAir, two weeks after an apparent terrorist bomb downed a Russian jet in the Sinai. (Reuters)
Law and crime
Police in the Dominican Republic raid a mansion owned by 30-year-old Francisco Flores de Freites, one of the two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro facing charges for allegedly trying to traffic 800 kg of cocaine into the U.S., and found more than 280 pounds of cocaine and 22 pounds of heroin hidden inside the nephew's posh Casa de Campo property and a 135-foot yacht named "The Kingdom" docked behind it. (Fox News)
Thousands are turning to social media (#PorteOuverte/Twitter) to check-in on loved ones in the area, many using Facebook's "Safety Check" feature. (CBS News)
A Syrian passport is found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday's attacks in Paris. The holder passed through the Greek island of Leros on October 3 as a refugee, according to Greek officials. A Greek police source said the passport's owner was a young man who had arrived in Leros with a group of 69 refugees and had his fingerprints taken by authorities there. Police declined to give his name. (Reuters)(ABC News Australia)
Poland's recently elected government led by Law and Justice (PiS), declares it will no longer accept EU-mandate quotas for refugees following the terrorist attacks in France. (RT)
A U.S. airstrike on a compound in the Libyan port city of Derna is said to have killed Wisam al Zubaidi, also known as Abu Nabil al-Anbari, who commands the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's branch in Libya. A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation, said the airstrike involved F-15 aircraft and was believed to have killed Zubaidi. He said the attack had been planned for some time. (The Washington Post)(BBC)
Turkish troops kill four Islamic State militants in Turkey's southeastern Gaziantep Province when two cars with ISIS passengers advanced on a Turkish armored vehicle near a border post in Oğuzeli. (Daily Sabah)
During a raid on a suspected ISIL hideout in the city of Gaziantep (Antep), a suicide bomber fires on Turkish police before he explodes, wounding five police officers, one seriously. (Al Jazeera)
Ten people are dead and eleven injured after a high-speed TGV train catches fire and derails near the northeastern French city of Strasbourg. (Independent)(BBC)
Scott N. Johansen, a UtahJuvenile Court judge, reverses his original order to remove a foster child from same sex-parents. The state Division of Child and Family Services and foster parents all filed motions asking for the reconsideration and promising an appeal. The new decision eliminates the phrase, "It is not in the best interest of children to be raised by same-sex couples" and strikes an order for the child to be placed with a non-same-sex couple. (New York Times)
One of the Paris attackers is identified as Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old who was born and raised in the Paris suburbs. (Fox News)(BBC)
Paris prosecutor François Molins says three jihadist cells, apparently multinational teams with links to the Middle East, Belgium, and possibly Germany, as well as France, staged coordinated attacks at bars, a concert hall, and a soccer stadium, killing 132 people and injuring 350, including around 90 who are in a serious condition. (Reuters)
French authorities identify two of the suicide attackers; both French nationals living in Belgium, one age 20, the other 31. (AP)
Daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel, who are fighting New York's cease-and-desist order that their industry is gambling in the U.S. state, apparently are OK with that label in the United Kingdom. DraftKings obtained a British gambling license in August and FanDuel applied for one earlier this month. (AP)
Disasters and accidents
The death toll from a landslide on Friday in China's Zhejiang province rises to 16 with 21 still missing. (New York Times)
In a suit filed by two former Americanprofessional football (NFL) players, the Ohio Supreme Court upholds a lower court ruling that Cleveland's formula for taxing visiting professional athletes, the so-called "jock tax," violates players' due process rights. A spokesman says the city will begin issuing refunds to players. (AP)
Authorities search for Belgium-born French national Salah Abdeslam, one of three brothers suspected of involvement in the attacks. Raids are reported to have taken place in Grenoble, Toulouse, Jeumont and the Paris suburb of Bobigny. This contradicts previously published official information that all the perpetrators of the attacks were dead. (CNN)(The Guardian)
Mohamed Abdeslam, brother of suspect fugitive Salah Abdeslam, and Ibrahim Abdeslam, a suicide bomber in the attacks, is released by authorities after questioning this weekend. His attorney told reporters, her client "hadn't made the same life choices." (The Independent)(Fox News)
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a leading Belgianjihadist who is one of the most active ISIS operators in Syria, is the suspected head organizer behind the Paris massacre. He is also linked to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train and a church near the French capital, earlier this year. (NBC News)
Hacktivist group Anonymous declares war on ISIS taking down 2,000 related Twitter accounts as well as some donation groups for the terrorists on the Dark Web. The group also criticized the lack of similar actions by Western governments. (MSN)
Yemeni security officials, who are neutral in the conflict, say Saudi-led airstrikes and clashes have killed over 40 Houthi militants and 4 civilians over the past 24 hours, with most of the airstrikes taking place in the southwestern Ibb Governorate. (The Washington Post)
Nicaragua deploys its military to help close its southern border in a dispute with Costa Rica over the passage of Cuban migrants on their way to the United States. Nicaragua’s government said Costa Rica’s decision to grant seven-day transit visas to 1,200 Cuban migrants who entered the country through Panama, “violated national sovereignty”. Nicaraguan troops and riot police fired tear gas at people attempting to enter in what Costa Rica called a "humanitarian crisis". (Bloomberg)
Law and crime
Six people, including a child, have been found dead on private property in Anderson County, southeast of Dallas, Texas, USA. The victims are members of two different families. One person, unrelated to the victims, is charged with one count of murder. More charges are expected. (CBS DFW)
Politics and elections
United States PresidentBarack Obama, in Antalya, Turkey, says America will continue to accept refugees from Syria and elsewhere, though, "Only after subjecting them to rigorous screening and security checks." Responding to calls to admit Christians but not Muslims into the country, he said, "We don’t have religious tests to our compassion." (The Washington Post)
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes southwest of Ioannina in Greece, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10.0 km) killing at least two people. The quake damages the main road in the southwestern part of Lefkada. (RT)
The Israeligovernment outlaws the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, declaring it "an illegal organization". The northern branch of the Islamic Movement is led by Raed Salah, who has been convicted in court of numerous activities, including funding Hamas, contacting an Iranian agent, assaulting a police officer, and leading a violent protest. (The Jerusalem Post)
Obama administration officials hold a conference call with 34 governors to assure them, "refugees would undergo the most rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveler to the United States." A spokesperson for Michigan Gov.Rick Snyder said that he has asked federal officials for "more robust data" and an "enhanced flow of information." (Reuters), (AP via ABC News)
The president of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, marks the 26th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution by attending an anti-Islam rally in Prague with the "Bloc against Islam" group which supports the president. The rally is also attended by observers from the German protest movement, PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) and Tommy Robinson, a prominent British anti-Islam activist. Zeman tells the crowd of several thousand that they aren't extremists for advocating closing the Republic’s borders to Muslim migrants. (AP via ABC News), (Breitbart)
The Russian Air Force destroys around 500 fuel tanker vehicles used by ISIS and other extremist groups for transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq. (RT)
A gunman inside a betting shop near army barracks in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, shoots dead two Bosnian Army soldiers. The gunman, identified as Salafi extremist Enes Omeragić, later commits suicide after police surround his house. (Reuters)
Both the FBI and New York City police say they are aware of a newly released Islamic State video suggesting America's most populous city is a potential target of attacks. The agencies say that there are no specific threats, they will investigate, and they will remain at a heightened state of vigilance. (Reuters)
The United States warns travelers in Italy that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the La Scala opera house in Milan, and the Milan Cathedral, as well as "general venues" like churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels, have been identified as "potential targets" for terrorist attacks. The message added the Italian authorities are aware of these threats. (AP)
Sweden's terror threat level is raised to 'high' for the first time in history, as national security service Säpo says that police are hunting a suspected terrorist. (The Local)
A Palestinian kills three people, including an American student and another Palestinian, and injures four others, after opening fire at Israeli cars and then ramming his vehicle into a group of pedestrians, injuring several more near Alon Shvut in the West Bank. (The Times of Israel)
A gunman shoots dead two Saudi Arabian policemen while they are on patrol in their vehicle in Saihat, located in Saudi Arabia's restive Eastern Province, which is predominantly Shia. (BBC)
Most of the employees of the Reserve Bank of India, that country's central bank, go on strike demanding better pension benefits. The RBI acknowledges "some interruptions" in its clearing and settlement functions. (BBC)
A Pew Research Center report finds, from 2009 to 2014, more Mexicans, including unauthorized immigrants, are leaving the United States than entering it. An increasing share of Mexicans says life north of the border is neither better nor worse than life in Mexico. (Reuters)
A court sentences former restaurant spokesperson Jared Fogle to over 15 years imprisonment for sex with minors and the possession of child pornography. (NPR)
Officials report three people died in the Saint-Denis raid. The body of a second woman is found at the apartment where a woman and Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud were killed. (Sky News)
Fugitive ISIS gunman Salah Abdeslam called three friends saying he is hiding in the Brussels area and is desperately trying to get to ISIS territory in Syria. He said local ISIS members are unhappy with him since he failed to detonate his suicide vest. His brother Mohamed Abdeslam has publicly pleaded with Salah to turn himself in. (ABC News)
Sweden's national security service Säpo are questioning terrorist suspect Moder Mothama Magid, a 22-year-old Iraqi, who is accused of planning to launch a terror attack on the Swedish capital Stockholm. (Local)
The family of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust only to languish in a Russian prison, have asked authorities to officially declare him dead. (Times of Israel)
The U.S. Justice Department files criminal charges against three individuals and three companies--Black Elk, Grand Isle Shipyard and oil field services company Wood Group--in connection with a 2012 oil platform incident in the Gulf of Mexico that left three workers dead. The charges range from manslaughter to violations of the federal Clean Water Act. (UPI)
USPlabs and S.K. Laboratory are indicted following a U.S. Department of Justice investigation finds synthetic ingredients manufactured in China were added to workout boosters and weight-loss products the firms claimed to be natural. Supplements from these companies were previously implicated in consumer illnesses and death. Several other defendants from the companies face additional charges. (Military Times)
The first stage of the voting process to potentially select a new flag of New Zealand starts. (BBC)
Science and technology
NASA orders its first commercial crew mission from private company SpaceX. (The Verge)
A jury in a Texas federal court finds for Apple Inc., in a lawsuit brought against Apple by a subsidiary of Pendrell Corporation. Pendrell has charged that Apple infringed patents on techniques that help restrict the use of web content to authorized persons, i.e. anti-piracy software. (Reuters)
Sport
Russianpole vaulterYelena Isinbayeva, who has two Olympic gold medals and 30 world records, told Sky News she is going to fight for what she believes to be her right to compete at the 2016 Olympics. She calls on the IAAF, at the world governing track and field organization's annual meeting on 26 November, to rescind their ban on clean Russian athletes. (Sky News)
Belgium raises its terror alert level to the highest level in the capital Brussels and deploys soldiers on the streets of major Belgian cities such as Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. As part of the emergency measures, the Belgian government is advising people in the Brussels area to avoid crowded places, which includes concerts, train stations, airports, public transportation, and busy shopping streets, warning of an "imminent threat". (France 24)(BNO News)
Recruitment into the French Army increases after the attacks. (Channel News Asia)
Ahmet Dahmani is detained by Turkish police in the resort of Antalya on suspicion of being an ISIL scout ahead of the Paris attacks. (Sky News)
French police release seven of the eight people arrested during Wednesday's raid of a flat where the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was hiding. The man who said he was in charge of the property is still being held. (Reuters)
Olivier Salgado, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Mali, says at least 19 people were killed in the attack along with two of the attackers. Earlier reports indicated that 27 people died. (CNN)
Crimea is without power after transmission towers in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast were blown up by unknown people. The Crimean Emergencies Ministry declares a state of emergency due to the power outage and puts rescue teams on high alert. (RT)
A Palestinian terrorist stabs four people, including a 13-year-old girl, in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat; he flees and evades police for five hours before being arrested. (Times of Israel)
Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the head of al-Azhar in Egypt, says violence has no link to authentic Islam, terrorism is a life philosophy whose adherents were willing to die and is an intellectual and psychological disease that uses religion as a front. (Reuters)
Japan's prime minister Shinzō Abe says he is considering sending Japanese Navy warships to the South China Sea to back-up U.S. naval operations, saying, "With regard to activity by the Self-Defense Forces in the South China Sea, I will consider it while focusing on what effect the situation has on Japan’s security." In response, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Hong Lei, told Chinese state media that China will remain on “high alert for intervention by Japan in the South China Sea issue”. (Bloomberg)(The Diplomat)
United States President Barack Obama vows to keep United States borders open to refugees, "as long as I'm president," as he visited a Malaysian humanitarian center and met migrant children, many of whom escaped violence in homelands that include Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria. (UPI)
Republican David Vitter says he will not run for reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2016. (AP)
Science and technology
A 14-year-old boy solves the Rubik's Cube in 4.90 seconds, beating the previous record of 5.25 seconds, and becoming the first person to solve it in under 5 seconds (The Guardian)
Nepalese police open fire on groups, who were protesting the new constitution proposals by blockading a highway. Two protesters were killed and at least 28 were hurt, including 15 police officers. A third protester was killed in Rajbiraj, the headquarters of the Saptari District. (AP via WTOP)(Singapore Today Online)
Belgian authorities announce 16 more arrests in anti-terror raids. Neither weapons nor explosives were discovered during the raids. Tomorrow, a judge will decide whether these people will continue to be detained. (Fox News)(Reuters via Yahoo News)
Islamic State militants counter-attack in Iraq'sSaladin province and seize locations west, north and south of Baiji, home to Iraq's largest oil refinery. In addition, the militants attack oilfields west of Tikrit, capture parts of the town of Seiniyah, portions of Mak'houl Mountain, and an abandoned fertilizer plant. (UPI)
The UK may not face a credit rating downgrade if it votes to leave the EU in a referendum due by the end of 2017, according to the lead UK analyst at Moody's. (Irish Examiner)
The death toll in a landslide near a jade mine in northern Myanmar rises to about 100 people, with up to 200 others missing. Most of the victims were villagers digging for jade in a mountain of displaced earth. (Reuters)(AP via Boston Globe)
No explosives were found. The plane is cleared to continue its journey. (Reuters)
Sixteen (16) people are wounded in a gunfight between two groups that erupted in a New Orleans park's Bunny Friend playground where hundreds of people gathered for a block party and filming of a music video. No fatalities were reported. The fighters ran from the park immediately after the shooting. (Reuters)(NOLA.com)
A Palestinian kills a 20 year-old Israeli and wounds two women in a stabbing attack at a gas station near the town of Modi’in; the Palestinian assailant is shot and killed by an officer at the scene. (Ynet News)(Times of Israel)
Two Palestinian teenage girls, ages 14 and 16, use scissors to stab a 70-year-old Palestinian man whom they misidentified as an Israeli, and other Israeli civilians, near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market; one of the attackers is killed and the other wounded while being subdued, and an Israeli civilian is wounded by police gunfire. (Times of Israel)
A Washington University in St. Louis (U.S.) international tax law expert says this deal is the biggest merger involving tax inversion, i.e., relocation of a corporation's legal domicile to a lower-tax nation, usually while retaining operations in its higher-tax country. "None of the special anti-inversion laws and regulations issued by the federal government will apply to Pfizer post-merger," Professor Adam Rosenzweig, JD, said. Rosenzweig believes this deal will encourage more U.S. companies to follow Pfizer's approach in future mergers. (Washington University)
A new United Nations report finds 90 percent of the thousands of disasters over the last two decades are weather-related. The majority have been caused by floods, storms, heatwaves and droughts. Researchers with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) suggest the cost has been between $250 and $350 billion per year, i.e., total of $5 trillion/$7 trillion. The report concurs with findings of previous studies that weather disasters are on the rise compared to previous decades. Flooding, in particular, is becoming more frequent and more devastating as sea levels continue to rise. (UPI)
Blue Origin launches the unmanned rocket New Shephard to the edge of space (100.5 km) and lands safely upright on its original launch pad in Texas, becoming the first organization to do so. (press release)(WSJ)
A day after the second round of parliamentary elections closes, militants attack a hotel housing election judges in the provincial capital of al-Arish in Egypt'sNorth Sinai. At least seven people are killed and 12 others injured, including two judges. The Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai branch claims responsibility. (Reuters)(Eyewitness News)
TurkishF-16 fighter jets shoot down a RussianSukhoi Su-24 aircraft that had allegedly infringed its airspace near the Syrian border. Russia's Ministry of Defence denies the Su-24 entered Turkish airspace and initially said it was shot down by ground fire over Syria's Latakia Governorate. A video emerged of one pilot killed as local rebelTurkmen fighters shot at him while he was parachuting and a video of his body, while the fate of the other pilot is unknown but is presumed dead. A combat search and rescue mission by Russian forces failed to reach them. It is the first time a NATO member has shot down a Russian plane since the 1950s. (Irish Independent)(BBC)(The Telegraph)
A Russian military helicopter is destroyed on the ground by a U.S.TOW missile used by Syrian rebels after it was forced to make an emergency landing in northern Latakia. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says there will be “serious consequences” for Russia–Turkey relations following Turkey's actions, and describes the incident as a "stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists”. Russian government agencies began limiting Russian tourists from traveling to Turkey. (Independent)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warns everyone to "respect the right of Turkey to defend its borders," says that the reason why worse incidents have not taken place in the past regarding Syria is because of the "cool-headedness of Turkey" and stresses that Turkey's actions are fully in line with the new rules of engagement that the country adopted after Syria shot down a Turkish jet in 2012. (BBC)
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu defends the action saying Turkey has the right "to take all kinds of measures" against border violations as a "national duty," but that it did not amount to an aggression against any foreign territory and the country called for NATO to hold an extraordinary meeting later in the day. (AFP via The Express Tribune)
UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien accuses Houthi militia of blocking and diverting deliveries of aid to Taiz city where some 200,000 people are living under siege. (Gulf News)
The National Assembly of Vietnam unanimously passes the law, which will take effect in 2017 as part of the revised civil code, that recognizes and allows gender reassignment surgery. (ABC News)
A 15-year-old boy from Liberia'sPaynesville district, who tested positive for Ebola last week, dies of the disease at a treatment center near the capital, Monrovia, just over 11 weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the country free of the virus. The boy's father and brother, who also tested positive, are at the center; his mother and two other siblings were admitted for observation. In addition, 160 people who came in direct contact with the boy, are being monitored. (Reuters)(BBC)(AP via ABC News)
Sweden will introduce tighter border controls and asylum rules in a bid to reduce the number of asylum seekers entering the country. Sweden expects up to 190,000 asylum seekers to reach its borders this year and says its reception system cannot cope. "The situation is untenable", according to Swedish prime ministerStefan Löfven who told reporters, "to put it bluntly, more people will have to seek asylum and get protection in other European countries". (Reuters)
A bomb blast at the Hellenic Business Federation offices in central Athens, Greece, damages the Cypriot Embassy across the street. While there is yet no claim for responsibility the authorities suspect a domestic guerrilla group set off the blast. (Reuters)
Chicago, Illinois police officer Jason Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder for the October 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old boy armed with a 3-inch knife. The charge comes shortly before the release of the police video showing the shooting. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel meets with community leaders to discuss the video’s release and the potential ramifications for the city. (CNN)
Minneapolis, Minnesota (U.S.) police arrest three men suspected of involvement in Monday's shooting of five people, with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries, who had been protesting the recent police killing of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man. Protesters, who had been told to watch out for white supremacists wearing masks or camouflage clothing, said that the shooting occurred after a group of people — three men and a woman, all wearing ski masks — were seen filming the protest. The two officers involved in Mr. Clark's shooting are on paid leave during the investigations, including one by the Justice Department'scivil rights division. (Washington Post)(Washington Post update)
Several trucks are left burning at a rebel-run border crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border after a Russian airstrike hit what was reported to be an aid convoy in the town of Azaz. At least seven people are reportedly killed. (Reuters)(Daily Sabah)
Several American personnel are suspended after an official report finds that human error was to blame for an airstrike on a Doctors without Borders hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz in October that killed 30 people. No criminal charges were filed. (CNN)
Russia's Gazprom halts gas supplies to Ukraine until the Ukrainian government pays in advance for future supplies to replenish the current supplies of gas that it has used up; Ukraine says it has stopped buying from Gazprom because it can get cheaper gas from Europe. Roughly 15% of the gas used in Europe travels through Ukraine, and a previous cut-off of gas supplies in 2009 caused serious disruptions in shipments to EU countries at the height of winter. (Sky News)(BBC)
The Associated Press reports that Russia's crackdown on Muslims is fueling their exodus to ISIS. For example, Russia's southernmost republic of Dagestan keeps devout Muslims under surveillance, routinely raids their homes, and hauls them to police stations to give DNA samples and fingerprints. Regional police say nearly a third of the estimated 3,000 Russians who are believed to have gone to fight alongside IS militants in Syria are from Dagestan. The AP added, "Few efforts are made by Russian authorities to stop young men from leaving." (AP)
Belgian authorities reduce the threat level in Brussels from its highest level of four to three. The escalation to level four came after suspects in the ISIL attacks in Paris were linked to the city. Suspected Paris gunman, Salah Abdeslam, who lived in Brussels for several years, remains at large. (BBC)
Martin Shkreli'sTuring Pharmaceuticals is reneging on its pledge to cut the $750-per-pill price for Daraprim, a medication that has been marketed for 62 years. Instead, the biotech company is reducing what it charges hospitals, by up to 50 percent, for this parasitic infection treatment. Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, a pharmacy that compounds prescription drugs for individual patients, started selling a custom-made version of Pyrimethamine, the chemical name for Daraprim, for 99 cents per capsule. Impris reports orders are pouring in from doctors. (AP via Washington Post)
A sinkhole the size of a football field swallows a large section of beach on Australia's North Stradbroke Island. Local authorities have warned beach-goers to stay away from Jumpinpin beach due to fears the sinkhole could grow even larger. (The Guardian)
Pope Francis condemns the way young people have been "radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear," during a talk in Nairobi, Kenya. (Washington Post)
Pope Francis celebrates a historic Mass in Kenya before delivering a stern environmental warning to the world. "It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in order to protect their own plans and projects," the Pope said, urging nations to reach agreement over curbing fossil fuelemissions. (CNN)
Queen Elizabeth II (U.K.) arrives in Malta for the Commonwealth summit what begins tomorrow. The then-future Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh lived on the island from 1949-51. The Commonwealth is a group of 53 nations; most member states were once part of the British Empire, and 16 retain the Queen as head of state. (Telegraph)
Malianforces arrest two men in their early 30s linked to a cell phone found at the scene of last week's deadly hotel attack. No details are provided on what their exact role was. (CNN)
Two Palestinian drivers drive their vehicles into groups of Israeli soldiers in two separate attacks in the occupied West bank. Both drivers are shot dead. In this current wave of violence that began in October, 19 Israelis, one U.S. citizen, and 93 Palestinians have died. (Reuters)
Pirates attack a Polish-owned cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, kidnapping its captain and four crew. Polish Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, said the as yet unidentified kidnappers have made no demands so far and Poland was currently liaising with Nigerian authorities. (Reuters)
A new study shows Greece's six-year austerity program is even affecting prostitution. Gregory Laxos, a sociology professor at the Panteion University in Athens, told the Times of London the going rate for sex with a prostitute was 50 euros ($53) when the economic crisis began. Now, it’s fallen to as low as two euros ($2.12) for a 30-minute session, or to a cheese pie, a sandwich because they are hungry. (Washington Post)
At least 87 homes have been lost in the fires that started in Pinery, South Australia which also claimed two lives and hospitalised 90 with five people in a critical condition. (ABC News Australia)
The appellate prosecutors office in the Polish city of Kraków decides not to appeal a decision against extraditing filmmaker Roman Polanski to the United States to face prosecution for historic child sex offences. (Reuters)
China's paramount leaderXi Jinping announced a major overhaul of China’s military to make the world’s largest army more combat ready and better equipped to project force beyond the country’s borders. Under the reorganization, all branches of the armed forces would come under a joint military command. The Chinese Communist leader said the reform aimed to "build an elite combat force" and called on the officials to make "breakthroughs" on establishing the joint command by 2020, Xinhua said. (Bloomberg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree imposing economic sanctions on Turkey. The sanctions include a ban on charter flights from Russia to Turkey, that Russian tour operators should stop selling trips to Turkey, and that imports of some Turkish products are to be halted. All work visas for Turkish citizens are cancelled.(Irish Times)
Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey says all nine of the injured – five police officers and four civilians – are listed in good condition at area hospitals. (Reuters)
Turkish Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu says the body of the pilot from the Sukhoi Su-24 jet downed this past Tuesday will be handed over to Russia. The body is being treated in accordance with the Orthodox tradition. Russia's military attaché is going to Hatay in southern Turkey as part of the procedures to recover the remains. Turkish officials refused to comment on how they came to be in possession of the body. (Reuters)
Turkey agrees with leaders of the European Union to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash and visas, and renewal of talks on joining the EU. A key element is 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in EU aid for the 2.2 million Syrians now in Turkey. (Reuters)
About 20,000 pairs of empty shoes lay around Paris, symbolizing the absent marchers who would have joined this weekend's worldwide climate change protests pressing for a bold international agreement at the upcoming climate summit there. The capital city was planned to be the center for demonstrations but French police banned large protests following the terrorist attacks this month. (The Washington Post), (The Daily Mirror)
One person dies and at least 31 are injured when students and staff at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya, frantically try to escape after hearing nearby gunshots during an “approved safety and security simulation drill.” The Strathmore campus did not hear, before or during the test, that this was a drill. Tensions have been high at Kenyan schools since April when 139 were killed during a terrorist attack at Garissa University College. Many Kenyan universities have held security drills; six were hospitalized at the latest at Kenyatta University. (The Washington Post), (BBC)
Health and medicine
The capitals of the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, are blanketed in hazardous, choking smog. Beijing, on the second-highest pollution alert, is closing highways, halting or suspending construction while warning residents to stay indoors. The U.S.New Delhiembassy’s monitoring station recorded an air quality index of 372, putting air pollution levels into “hazardous” territory. No action by the New Delhi government. (The Hindustan Times)
Russia bans two George Soros-run foundations, including the Open Society Foundations, for posing a threat to "Russian national security". The Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Institute’s Assistance Foundation, both financed by business magnate Soros, are the latest additions to a list of “undesirable organizations”, a list the Russian government says is necessary to stop foreign governments from interfering in Russia’s internal affairs. (The Guardian)
Jury selection begins for the trial of William Porter, a Baltimore, Maryland police officer charged with manslaughter and other charges surrounding the April 19 death of Freddie Gray. Porter is the first of six officers to be tried. (CNN)
Former prime ministerRoch Marc Kaboré appears on course for a commanding victory in Burkina Faso's election, one large enough to eliminate the need for a run-off. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, with results from about 72 percent of the country counted, Kaboré has 54 percent of the vote with his closest challenger, former finance minister Zéphirin Diabré, getting 29 percent. (The Globe and Mail)
For the first time in the country's history, Saudi Arabian women are allowed to vote and to stand for office in the December 12, 2015, elections. Candidacy filings opened yesterday. In two days, more than 900 women have signed up to run for various local government positions in the Arab nation. (UPI)
