Turkey bomb blasts: Islamic State and 'far-left militants' emerge as suspects
Prime minister leads three days of national mourning as investigators search for terrorists behind deadliest attack in Turkish history
Turkish investigators have so far failed to identify the perpetrators of a terrorist attack on a pro-Kurdish peace rally in the capital city, which killed nearly 100 people and injured scores more.
Twin explosions thought to have been triggered by suicide bombers targeted the march, near Ankara’s main train station, on Saturday morning. The resulting death toll made it the deadliest attack in Turkish history and has sparked three days of national mourning.
The attack, which is believed to have killed mainly pro-Kurdish and labour activists, came three weeks before elections and fuels unease in a country beset by conflict between state forces and Kurdish militants in the south-east.
Canada elections: Anti-Muslim prejudice is a nasty theme of campaigning as the liberal nation's democracy loses its way
Something has gone profoundly wrong with the country Winston Churchill once called 'the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples,' reports Robert Fisk
Faithful ally of Britain in two world wars, peacekeeper to the world, Nato member but neutral across the globe, it’s difficult to believe that Canada’s democracy might have come adrift.
But the last weeks of election campaigning by Stephen Harper’s ruling Conservative party – with its dark, racist overtones and anti-Muslim rhetoric – suggest that something has gone profoundly wrong with the nation which Winston Churchill once called “the linchpin of the English-speaking peoples”.
The Canadian Prime Minister’s avowedly anti-Muslim, pro-Israeli statements and his Immigration Minister’s insistence that Canadians should “keep an eye” on their neighbours has prompted voters to question what sort of country their children will inherit after the 19 October election.
Half the cash for 2016 White House race comes from 158 families
Nicholas Confessore
Washington: They are overwhelmingly white, wealthy, older and male, in a nation that is being remade by the young, by women, and by black and brown voters. Across a sprawling country, they reside in an archipelago of wealth, exclusive neighbourhoods dotting a handful of cities and towns.
And in an economy that has minted billionaires in a dizzying array of industries, most made their fortunes in just two: finance and energy.
Now they are deploying their vast wealth in the political arena, providing almost half of all the seed money raised to support Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
Just 158 families, along with companies they own or control, contributed $US176 million in the first phase of the campaign, according to a New York Times investigation. Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much of the early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalised by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision five years ago.
North Korea stages massive military parade, says ready to defend itself against U.S.
Updated 0140 GMT (0840 HKT) October 11, 2015
Presiding over a massive military parade in the nation's capital, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country was "fully ready" to defend itself against any U.S. threat.
In a carefully choreographed show of strength and celebration to mark the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, hundreds of troops marched in elaborate formations across Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, which was festooned with national and party flags, footage from state broadcaster KCTV showed.
Kim watched the extravaganza from a viewing platform and gave a rare live televised speech. Last year, Kim didn't show during a mysterious absence that lasted over a month.
Two more Japanese detained for spying in China: media
4 hours ago
Two more Japanese nationals have been detained in China on suspicion of spying, bringing the number of Japanese held by Chinese authorities for espionage to four, news reports said on Sunday.
A Japanese woman in her 50s has been held in Shanghai since June for her alleged involvement in spying on the country, the Mainichi Shimbun daily said.
The woman, who runs a Japanese language school in Tokyo, had visited China frequently, Kyodo News said, adding that the purpose of her visits was unknown.
Separately, another Japanese national in his 60s has been detained in Beijing on similar charges, the Mainichi said.
China said in late September it had arrested two Japanese citizens for suspected spying, a move likely to strain already tense ties between Asia's two largest economies.
Berlin protest against TTIP trade deal draws thousands
Thousands have protested in the German capital Berlin against a planned free-trade deal between the EU and US.
Organisers said 250,000 people took part in the rally; police put the figure at around 100,000.
Opponents of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) say it is undemocratic and threatens consumer and worker rights.
But supporters of the deal, which lowers trade barriers, say it would boost economies and create jobs.
Hundreds of buses shuttled protesters to Saturday's demonstration in the German capital.
"We are here because we do not want to leave the future to markets, but on the contrary to save democracy," Michael Mueller, president of the ecological organisation German Friends of Nature, told AFP.
The German government supports the trade pact, with Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warning of "scaremongering" in a letter published in several German newspapers.
Talks on the TTIP are due to finish next year. If agreed it would be the biggest trade deal of its kind.
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