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'I am scared to die': US Hostage Kassig Letter
The parents of a US hostage who is being held by Islamic State militants in Syria, have released a letter he has written in captivity.
Abdul-Rahman Kassig, known as Peter Kassig before he converted to Islam, wrote in June that he was "scared to die" and saddened by the pain his ordeal was causing to the family.
Last week IS posted a video showing the beheading of UK hostage Alan Henning.
It ended with a threat to kill 26-year-old Mr Kassig.
It was the fourth such video released by the militant group, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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Top Gear Crew Ordered Out Of Country After Being Chased By Thousands
Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has claimed he was thrown out of Argentina by state officials after being pelted with rocks.
He said in a tweet that "thousands" of locals rounded on the Top Gear team in apparent protest at a number plate which appeared to refer to the 1982 Falklands war.
A Porsche used in filming had a registration plate that read H982 FKL.
Clarkson and team had been filming in South America for a Top Gear special.
On his return to the UK Clarkson tweeted: "The number plate WAS a coincidence. When it was pointed out to us, we changed it.
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Duvalier, Former Haitian President Dies
Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has died of a heart attack in the capital Port-au-Prince aged 63, official sources say.
Duvalier was just 19 when in 1971 he inherited the title of "president-for-life" from his father, the notorious Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
He was accused of corruption, human rights abuses and repression in his rule, which ended in a 1986 uprising.
After years of exile in France, he returned to Haiti in 2011.
His death was announced by Haiti's health minister, and the ex-leader's attorney Reynold Georges confirmed he died at home on Saturday.
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Mass Grave Found Near Iguala Mexico After Protests
A mass grave has been found on the outskirts of the Mexican town of Iguala, where 43 students went missing on 27 September, officials say.
It is not clear whether the bodies found in a pit are those of the missing students, who were last seen being forced into police vans.
The group had travelled to the area, in the state of Guerrero, to take part in a protest over teachers' rights.
Police opened fire on their buses, killing six people.
Twenty-two police officers are being held in connection with the shooting.
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Prisoner Swap Of UK Jihadists Reports Credible
Reports that UK jihadists were involved in a prisoner swap between Islamic State (IS) and Turkey are "credible", Whitehall officials have told the BBC.
The Times alleges that Shabazz Suleman, 18, and Hisham Folkard, 26, were among as many as 180 IS fighters traded for 46 Turkish hostages.
The Turks were taken prisoner from their country's consulate in Mosul, Iraq, in June and released last month.
Officials confirmed Mr Suleman, of High Wycombe, had disappeared in Turkey.
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Vladimir Ashurkov Russian Dissident Seeks UK Asylum
A key ally of Russian anti-Kremlin campaigner Alexei Navalny - Vladimir Ashurkov - has asked for political asylum in the UK.
Mr Ashurkov, 42, now wanted by Russian police, managed campaign funding for Navalny last year in the Moscow mayoral election. Navalny - currently under house arrest - failed to get elected.
Mr Ashurkov is accused of embezzlement.
In a tweet he said he wanted asylum because of "political persecution by the Russian authorities".
Mr Ashurkov, a former banker, is executive director of Navalny's anti-corruption fund.
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Deadly Typhoon Phanfone Leaves Tokyo
A powerful typhoon has brought many parts of Japan to a standstill and briefly battered Tokyo before heading out to sea.
Typhoon Phanfone has killed at least one person, a US airman on Okinawa who was washed away by high waves.
Thousands of households have lost power and Japan's two largest airlines have suspended many flights.
The storm also forced the suspension of the search for people missing after last week's volcanic eruption.
The storm-tracking website Tropical Storm Risk forecasts that Phanfone will rapidly lose power over the next few hours as it goes further into the Pacific Ocean.
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Chinese Insurance Firm Buys Waldorf Astoria Hotel
New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel has been sold by Hilton Worldwide to Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95bn (£1.22bn).
However, Hilton will continue to operate the hotel "for the next 100 years", including renovating the property in the coming months.
Shares in Hilton jumped 3% on news of the sale, before later declining.
Hilton said it would use the proceeds from the sale to invest in other hotels and assets in the United States.
The Waldorf purchase by Anbang is the most ever paid for a US building by a Chinese buyer, according to Bloomberg.
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Barawe In Full Control Of Somali Troops
Somali government and African Union (AU) forces have taken full control of the last port city held by militant Islamists, officials say.
Heavy gunfire could be heard as the AU and Somali forces entered Barawe, 220km (135 miles) south-west of the capital Mogadishu, on Monday, residents said.
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group surrendered the town without much resistance.
The AU says al-Shabab used Barawe as a base to launch attacks on the capital.
Somalia's central government last controlled Barawe 23 years ago.
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David Bolam British Hostage Freed In Libya
British teacher David Bolam has been released after being held hostage by militants in Libya since May.
The Foreign Office said Mr Bolam, who taught at the now-closed International School Benghazi, was "safe and well" and had been reunited with his family.
Mr Bolam's MP in Craven Arms in Shropshire said he was "delighted" that the 63-year-old was back home safely.
It is thought the teacher's release was secured by local political factions and that money changed hands.
Mr Bolam's kidnapping had not been reported at the request of the Foreign Office and his family.
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