Egypt's President Sisi defends sweeping security laws
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has defended Egypt's sweeping security laws, insisting he is still taking the country on a path to democracy.
Ahead of a visit to the UK, Mr Sisi told the BBC that Egypt was threatened by extremist groups and feared the collapses suffered by its neighbours.
He underlined that Egypt's situation was different to that of Europe.
The retired field marshal led the army's overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed and 40,000 are believed to have been jailed in a crackdown on dissent.
Most of them have been supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, but secular and liberal activists have also been prosecuted for breaking a 2013 anti-protest law that gives the interior ministry the power to ban any gathering of more than 10 people.
Historic meeting of Chinese and Taiwanese presidents prompts hope and suspicion
Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou to dine in Singapore, but activists fear meeting – the first since 1949 – is mainland attempt to influence elections in self-ruled Taiwan
The presidents of China and Taiwan will dine together in Singapore on Saturday in what will be the first meeting of its kind since Chairman Mao’s communist troops forced their nationalist enemies from the Chinese mainland in 1949.
Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou will meet to “exchange views on cross-strait issues”, officials in Taipei said.
Zhang Zhijun, a Chinese official responsible for Taiwanese affairs, said the two men would “exchange views on promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations”.
Beijing still officially considers Taiwan a renegade province that should be reunified with the mainland.
Philippine militants demand high-stakes ransom for hostages
A Philippine militant group has demanded more than $80 million for four hostages, including three foreigners, jihadist watchdog SITE reported. The Philippine government said they uphold a "no-ransom" policy.
The US-based jihadist watchdog SITE Intelligence Group reported Wednesday that Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf released a video demanding one billion Philippine pesos ($21 million; 19.2 million euros) each for the release of three foreigners and one Filipino.
The group - designated a terrorist group by the US and the Philippines - said that they would begin killing the hostages if their demands were not met, although Abu Sayyaf did not specify a timeframe.
The video shows Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipino Marites Flor surrounded by more than a dozen men dressed in black.
"We're being ransomed each for 1 billion pesos," said Ridsdel in the video, as an Abu Sayyaf militant held a machete close to his head.
"I appeal to the Canadian prime minister and the people of Canada, please pay this ransom as soon as possible, or our lives are in great danger," Ridsdel noted.
Video of Mumbai cops beating couple goes viral, police deny charge
PTI | Nov 4, 2015, 12.36 PM IST
MUMBAI: A video clip of a couple being allegedly thrashed by cops inside a police station has gone viral on social media. Police however insist the couple were fighting and policemen were only trying to pull them apart.
A young couple were seen in the video being manhandled by some cops inside the police station in suburban Andheri and the clip went viral on social media platforms.
Andheri Police, however, rubbished the charge saying that the duo were in an inebriated condition and had a scuffle with each other on night of November 1 and that the police only tried to pacify them.
"The couple were under heavy influence of alcohol and were fighting with each other on the road near Andheri Metro Station. They were then brought to the police station but the two again picked up a scuffle. Police just did the duty to separate them while they were fighting," senior inspector, Andheri police station, Nandkumar Dhumal said.
Nissan IDS Concept: Japan's affordable rival to the Tesla Model S?
Updated 0147 GMT (0947 HKT) November 4, 2015
Autonomous cars are the latest buzz topic in the automobile industry. Nissan, which is showing off its own advances in the technology with the IDS Concept, is one of the big stars at this week's Tokyo Motor Show.
A sharply-styled four-seat hatchback, the IDS Concept teases the next decade of progress, with technology that will eventually see us entrusting a car with more than just simple parking or cruise control.
The IDS can also operate as a normal vehicle, but comes with a useful safety net as it can monitor progress and its surroundings. This means it is able to takeover and make emergency maneuvers should the driver be incapacitated.
Flick a switch, though, and the Nissan moves into a piloted mode. It takes control of driving and alters its cabin layout, as if to prep you for ultimate relaxation.
VW emission woes deepen as 800,000 more cars affected
Scandal-hit automaker says latest problems could cost $2.2bn as petrol-run engines get affected for the first time.
| Environment, Business & Economy, Europe, Germany
Volkswagen has said it found "unexplained inconsistencies" in the carbon dioxide emissions for 800,000 more cars, the latest blow for the troubled automaker already in crisis from an emissions scandal.
The German company said on Tuesday it could take a $2.2bn hit after understating the level of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for some of its models, including petrol-run vehicles for the first time.
The disclosure is the latest in a string of problems identified with Volkswagen emissions, which have caused the company's share prices to plummet.
In September, the company admitted installing software in 11 million cars around the world in order to evade diesel emissions testing. It has already set aside $7.4bn to cover the costs of recalling those vehicles.
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