Hundreds evacuated as wildfires burn near Haifa
Hundreds of Israelis fled their homes on the outskirts of the country's third city Haifa with others trapped inside as firefighters struggled to control raging bushfires.
The army called up reservists and hospitals in the Mediterranean port city declared an emergency for fear of a repetition of a 2010 blaze that killed 44 people - the deadliest in Israeli history.
Flames up to 10 metres high were threatening several multi-storey tower blocks in one Haifa suburb, an AFP photographer at the scene reported. Haifa university was evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Israel has been hit by a spate of bushfires in recent days that officials attribute to an unusually dry autumn and strong winds.
Paris fairground staff protest threat to Big Wheel
Paris fairground stallholders used trucks to block Place de la Concorde in protest over the state's demand that the famous Ferris wheel towering over the square be taken down.
The 70-metre Big Wheel has been a fixture of the Christmas village on the Champs-Elysees since 2000, drawing around 300,000 visitors a year with its breathtaking views of the city.
It made a return this summer around the Euro football tournament but has been the subject of controversy ever since.
The culture ministry has accused its 76-year-old owner, fairground king Marcel Campion, of illegally occupying a site of historic interest, but Mr Campion has denied any wrongdoing, saying the City of Paris gave him permission to leave the wheel up until May 2017.
McGuinness eyes European Parliament post
European Parliament Vice President Mairead McGuinness has said she is one of four names actively canvassing for presidency of the European Parliament following Martin Schulz's confirmation that he would not be seeking a further term.
The European Peoples Party MEP said she was very pleased to be in the frame and said she would hope she is regarded as "a credible candidate that is a woman" as opposed to a woman candidate.
Ms McGuinness said her reputation is one that she is tough but fair and that reputation matters.
She also said she did not agree that having an Irish EP president in the context of Brexit would be to the detriment of the needs of the rest of the EU countries.
Baby trafficking ring uncovered in India
Twelve people have been arrested in eastern India for trafficking newborn babies, who were smuggled out of clinics in biscuit boxes, police said.
Police broke up the illegal adoption racket after they found three newborns inside a cardboard box being taken from a clinic north of Kolkata on Monday night.
One of the stolen babies, a girl, has been reunited with her parents, while the mothers of the other two were still being identified, a senior police officer told AFP.
All of the babies were between three and five days old.
