A mob attacked a girls’ school in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, demanding that teachers hand over the principal and a teacher, after rumors emerged that the teacher had insulted the prophet Muhammad.
Abbas hints has no "right of return" to home in Israel
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made a rare if symbolic concession to Israel on Thursday, saying he had no permanent claim on the town from which he was driven as a child during the 1948 war of the Jewish state's founding. Among several disputes deadlocking Middle East peace talks has been the Palestinians' demand that as many as five million of their compatriots be granted the right to return to lands in Israel that they or their kin lost. … 2 killed, 37 injured in Colombia blast
A suitcase bomb exploded near a town square where 5,000 children were celebrating Halloween, killing two suspected bombers and injuring 37 people, including two boys who were hospitalized in critical condition Thursday, authorities said.
(Reuters) – Starbucks Corp reported higher quarterly profit on Thursday, as overall sales at its established coffee shops topped analysts' estimates, and it raised its forecast for fiscal 2013. The world's biggest coffee chain's net income was $359 million, or 46 cents per share, for the fiscal fourth-quarter ended September 30, slightly up from $358.5 million, or 47 cents per share a year earlier. Starbucks set its new earnings per share forecast for fiscal 2013 in the range of $2.06 to $2.15, up from $2.04 to $2.14 per share previously. … 
Mr. Bloomberg, a political independent in his third term leading New York City, has been sharply critical of both Mr. Obama, a Democrat, and Mitt Romney, the president's Republican rival, saying that both men have failed to candidly confront the problems … 
MOSCOW (Reuters) – When Vladimir Putin celebrated his 60th birthday this month, a group of patriotic mountaineers unfurled a portrait of the Russian leader on a 4,150-metre mountain peak. Hailing him as a guarantor of happiness and stability, the climbers' leader explained: "We have stuck Putin's portrait on a rock wall we see as unbreakable and eternal as Putin". But as Putin nears the end of his 13th year ruling this vast country, Russians feel increasingly unhappy and worries over long-term political and economic stability are growing. … 
LIMA (Reuters) – Peru has slashed its commercial fishing quota as warmer water temperatures and controversial practices deplete stocks of anchovy in one of the world's richest f isheries. The government cut its quota for this summer's anchovy season by 68 percent to 810,000 tonnes, the smallest allowance in 25 years. Anchovy is rarely eaten fresh, but is instead dried, ground up and exported as a protein-rich feed for livestock and farmed fish. … 
This post has been updated. See below for details. At least three women died Wednesday night at a Steve Aoki performance in Madrid when a tightly packed dance floor turned into a dangerous crowd crush. The three were attending a massive Halloween … 
New Jersey and New York, struggling to recover from the wreckage of Sandy, were staggered today by a gas shortage and an overwhelmed transit system as more victims of the deadly storm were found. Four bodies were located on Staten Island, New York … 
The crew of the USS Underwood is waiting. 
With Election Day in view, Americans are dialing up their focus on President Obama and Mitt Romney, preparing to make that long-awaited choice. But before you head to the polls — now or on Nov. 6 — have one last look at the candidates and "where they … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday he would listen to parliament after MPs voted in favour of a real terms cut in the European Union budget, and reaffirm ed his promise to use Britain's veto if necessary. But he added that Britain was already taking a tough position on the EU budget – where it is pushing for a real terms freeze that would allow the 27-nation long-term spending plan to rise only in line with inflation. … 
VOLOS, Greece (Reuters) – Leonidas Tzanis, a Greek provincial lawyer and former government minister, went down to his basement garage in the city of Volos las t month, tied a TV cable to a metal beam and hanged himself. Friends and family say Tzanis died because he was on a list, one of several hinting at financial crimes which are dominating Greek headlines and filling a vacuum created by the state's failure to act decisively on tax evasion and corruption. … 
ATHENS (Reuters) – A journalist on trial for publishing the names of more than 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts accused politicians on Thursday of hiding the truth and protecting an "untouchable" wealthy elite. Costas Vaxevanis took the stand after a prosecutor accused him of defaming the account holders and calling for them to be "crucified". He faces up to two years in jail if convicted of breaking data privacy laws. The case has touched a nerve in near-bankrupt Greece, where rampant tax evasion is undermining a struggle to cut public costs and raise revenue under an EU/IMF bailout … 
While officials hoped to restore all power to lower- and mid-Manhattan by Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey were told Thursday to expect outages through next week - just as a winter storm was … 
Officials along the storm-battered coasts of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are working to identify alternate polling places for the Nov. 6 election to replace those without power or damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Electrical outages and flooding of … 
Obama, Christie tour storm-ravaged NJ coast; Romney resumes campaign. President Barack Obama continued his new-found partnership with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, vowing federal support as the two leaders toured parts of the state's coastline … 
Penn State President Graham Spanier, left, and head football coach Joe Paterno chat before a game against Iowa in State College, Pa., before the child abuse scandal cost them their positions. (Gene Puskar / Associated Press / October 8, 2011) … 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Kicking off his election campaign, Israeli opposition leader Shaul Mofaz on Thursday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being driven by an obsession to bomb Iran. Mofaz, head of the centrist Kadima party th at quit Netanyahu's coalition weeks ago citing differences over how to rein in Iran's nuclear program, unveiled a poster of a flaming mushroom cloud emblazoned with "Netanyahu will mire us in trouble". … 
What ails Vladimir Putin? 
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Anti-government rebels killed 28 soldiers on Thursday in attacks on three army checkpoints around Saraqeb, a town on Syria's main north-south highway, a monitoring group said. Some of the dead were shot after they had surrendered, according to video footage. Rebels berated them, calling them "Assad's Dogs", before firing round after round into their bodies as they lay on the ground. The highway linking the capital Damascus to the contested city of Aleppo, Syria's commercial center, has been the scene of heavy fighting since rebels cut the road last month. … 
Former Penn State President Graham B. Spanier was charged Thursday with hushing up child sex abuse complaints against Jerry Sandusky, making him the third school official to be accused of crimes in the alleged cover-up. Prosecutors also added counts … 
Obama, Christie tour storm-ravaged NJ coast; Romney resumes campaign. President Barack Obama continued his new-found partnership with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, vowing federal support as the two leaders toured parts of the state's coastline … 
The images of Sandy that are dominating the airwaves have morphed from darkened skylines and flooded subway tracks into a new kind of menace: long lines. From commuters waiting for buses that never come to drivers stuck on bridge exit ramps and … 
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa's unemployment rate rose in the third quarter, with more than one in four out of work and unrest in the mining sector expecte d to drive that number higher still. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has made job creation a priority, but the rate has been stuck above 20 percent for more than a decade despite periods of strong economic growth, fuelling social unrest. Joblessness increased to 25.5 percent of the labor force, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday, putting 197,000 more workers on the streets during the quarter. The agency said 4. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Belarussian dissident Andrei Sannikov, granted political asylum in Britain, is worried about the safety of his family he lef t behind but believes the autocratic government of President Alexander Lukashenko could eventually fall, he said on Thursday. A former deputy foreign minister, Sannikov, 58, moved to Britain in August after being released from prison where he said officials tried to push him to kill himself. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Givi ng Prime Minister David Cameron a bloody nose over Europe may have given Britain's opposition Labour Party a short-term glow, but their lurch towards the anti-Brussels camp risks leaving them divided, isolated and lacking credibility. After years of broadly pro-European policies, the centre-left party joined a rebellion organised by members of Cameron's Conservatives demanding he pushes for a real-terms cut in the European Union budget at talks this month. … 
The morning after a Halloween night shooting on campus, classes resumed Thursday as students said they felt safe — but shaken — as they headed to class on bike and foot, hugging binders and carrying backpacks. Freshman Kelly Reinke, 18, who is … 
NAIROBI (Reu ters) – Kenyan police have arrested three more suspects in connection with the murder of a Venezuelan diplomat in the capital Nairobi in July, a senior officer said on Thursday. Olga Fonseca, Venezuela's acting ambassador and charge d'affaires, was found strangled in her bedroom less than two weeks into her posting, which followed the abrupt departure of the previous ambassador after he was accused by his domestic staff of sexual harassment. … 
BELFAST (Reuters) – A prison officer was killed in Northern Ireland on Thursday when he drove into a hail of bullets and crashed off a motorway at high speed, in an attack blamed by police and politicians on militant nationalists. It was the first murder of a prison officer since 1993 and the fifth fatal attack on a member of the security establishment since the 1998 Good Friday peace deal, which largely ended three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. … 
Rebel attacks on army checkpoints on the main road between Syria's biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, have left 28 government troops dead, reports say. Five opposition fighters were also killed in the attacks, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights … 
VENICE (Reuters) – Tourists in Venice put plastic bags over their legs and residents wore rubber boots as water rose to knee-high levels in many parts of the lagoon city on Thursday. The median level of the Adriatic Sea swelled to about 1.4 meters (1.5 yards) above normal – the highest in nearly two years – sending water from the lagoon into St. Mark's Square and many narrow alleyways. Wooden catwalks which are usually used to allow pedestrian passage over flooded areas were removed after the water rose above them, rendering them useless. … 
Analysts have been predicting cannibalized sales for the iPad Mini for months, with some estimates going all the way up to 50%. This would mean for every 2 Minis sold Apple would lose a full-sized iPad sale. But does Apple care? Think about this: Google … 
France's President Francois Hollande (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speak with an unidentified member of the Jewish community at the Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse, southwestern France, November 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Bob … 
Los Angeles police say two men apprehended after a Halloween shooting on the University of Southern California campus are still being interviewed and three of the four people wounded have been released from the hospital. LAPD Officer Sarah Faden says … 
TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) 211; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday in remembering victims of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman, with both pledging to fight anti-Semitism in France and around the globe. The ceremony for the seven people shot dead in March in the south of France, including three Jewish children and a rabbi, came on the second and final day of Netanyahu's first official visit to France, home to Europe's largest Jewish population. "Every time a Jew is targeted for being Jewish, Israel is concerned. … 
Saudi and expat tweeps with their #RiyadhExplosion hashtag showed their solidarity with the victims of an explosion that rocked the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday. The explosion caused when an oil truck crashed into a concrete flyover east of the Saudi … 
Lifting a nearly 25-year veil of secrecy, Israel acknowledged Thursday that it killed the deputy of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a 1988 seaborne raid on Tunisia. 
LONDON -- It was a terrible night for David Cameron, the British prime minister, but a great night for headline writers. "PM's Europe Fright Night," "Halloween Horrors" and "Nightmare on Downing Street" was how the press described a humiliating … 
British prime minister David Cameron paid tribute to murdered Northern Ireland prison officer David Black today and insisted that his killers would be brought to justice. Mr Cameron offered his condolences to the friends and family of Mr Black, who died when … 
Subways started running again in much of New York City on Thursday for the first time since Superstorm Sandy, but traffic at bridges backed up for miles, long lines formed at gas stations, and crowds of hundreds of people, some with short tempers, waited for … 
Jansing and Co | Aired on November 01, 2012. Is Sandy evidence of Global Warming? A handful of politicians have cited climate change and global warming as factors contributing to Hurricane Sandy's size and power. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.,. Share This: … 
Around 200 mostly armed protesters have occupied an area near Libya's parliament building, blocking nearby roads and beating up journalists in protest of the country's new Cabinet. 
Tens of millions of people in the Northeast U.S. confronted traffic, gas lines and patchy public transit Thursday after Sandy's destructive passage, while many others sought only to create a semblance of modern life without electricity, running water and hot … 
People walk among debris at the site of a fuel truck explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. (Photo: AP). Story Highlights. No immediate suspicion of terrorism; Buildings and cars were engulfed in flames; Explosion was in industrial area of Riyadh … 
(Reuters) – Chrysler Canada said on Thursday its sales in October rose 3 percent over a year before, continuing its nearly three-year run of stronger sales largely on the back of higher passenger car sales. Chrysler Canada, a who lly-owned unit of Fiat SpA's Chrysler Group LLC affiliate, said last month's increase to 17,049 units sold was its 35th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. That represents the longest sales streak in the company's history, it said in a statement. Chrysler Canada's sales are up 6 percent year-to-date to 212,076 units. …