Top News Stories –

Michigan motorist sets car, gas pump on fire trying to kill spider with cigarette lighter –
A motorist got more than he bargained for when he stopped at a Michigan gas station earlier this week and started a fire when he tried to kill a spider with a cigarette lighter. Surveillance video from the Mobil gas station in Center Line shows flames quickly engulfing the man’s car and the gas pump, Fox 2 Detroit reported Friday, while adding that luckily no one was hurt. The dopey motorist put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. He told authorities he spotted a spider on his gas tank and pulled out his lighter to get rid of it, the station said. He claimed to be deathly afraid of spiders. Calmly, Adams hit the gas automatic stop button and quickly called the Center Line Fire Department. The fire destroyed the gas pump. The motorist’s vehicle suffered little damage. [Fox News] See Video of the Day

Mark Zuckerberg calls for universal internet access to combat poverty –
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and a host of celebrities kicked off a campaign on Saturday to make internet access universal, saying this was critical to fulfilling the United Nations’ newly adopted agenda to combat global ills. Calling for efforts to ensure internet access for everyone globally by 2020, Mr Zuckerberg said internet connections are a dynamic tool for sharing knowledge, creating opportunities, lifting communities out of poverty and promoting peace. “A ‘like’ or a post won’t stop a tank or a bullet, but when people are connected, we have a chance to build a common global community with a shared understanding,” Mr Zuckerberg told at a private lunch with business leaders at the United Nations. [Daily Telegraph]
Mark Zuckerberg

Switzerland bans sale of Volkswagen diesel cars –
Switzerland is banning sales of Volkswagen diesel engine cars which could be fitted with ‘cheating’ devices in the wake of the emissions-rigging scandal. Authorities said all VW models with diesel engines suspected of being able to trick emissions tests are affected. Other makes in the VW group, including Seat and Skoda, are also being banned from sale. In all, the move is expected to affect 180,000 cars, not yet sold or registered in Switzerland. Cars sold and already on the road will not be subject to the ban. [Daily Telegraph] On September 22 the CEO of VW’s American company admitted that they had “screwed up” and subsequently resigned.

Video of the Day –

LiveLeak – Crazy Man Set Fire To Gas Station To Kill Spider

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Two Saudi border guards, including a district commander, are killed following clashes with Yemeni forces near the border with Yemen. (Reuters)
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • At least four Armenian soldiers are killed following an Azeri attack near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Yesterday, Azerbaijan shelled several ethnic Armenian villages, leaving three civilians dead. (Reuters)
  • Armenia‘s Defense Ministry declares that it will “use artillery and missiles” to repel attacks by Azerbaijan following the deaths of four soldiers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, raising fears of all-out war between the rival countries. (Fox News)
• A prominent Libyan Zuwarah militia leader and migrant smuggler, Salah Al-Maskhout, is reportedly killed in Tripoli by Italian special forces. The EU recently approved military action against people smuggling networks operating out of Libya. (Malta Today)
• Turkey–PKK conflict
  • Fighting in the south-eastern Şırnak Province kills thirty-four PKK militants, four civilians, and two Turkish soldiers. Also, the Turkish military conducts airstrikes on PKK camps in Iraq‘s northern Dohuk Governorate. (Al Jazeera)
• Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
  • Iraq says that Iran, Russia and Syria are assisting it in its fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015 Pacific hurricane season
  • Tropical Storm Niala forms off the coast of the Hawaiian islands with the likelihood of heavy rain on the island of Hawaii (Big Island) over the weekend. (Accuweather)
• A fire severely damages the Baitul Futuh Mosque, London, United Kingdom. (BBC News Online)
• 2015 Hajj stampede
  • The death toll from the stampede near Mecca rises to 769, with 934 injuries. (ITV)

International relations

• Russia-Estonia relations
  • Russia and Estonia exchange two convicted spies. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Ahmad Al Faqi is transferred to the International Criminal Court to face trial for the war crime of directing the destruction of cultural sites in Timbuktu, Mali when the city was under the control of Islamist groups in 2012. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• Bolivia‘s Plurinational Legislative Assembly passes legislation that would amend the constitution removing term limits for the President if passed in a referendum next year. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

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