Talking points
Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...
Professor Peter Piot, the Belgian microbiologist who helped first discover and name the Ebola virus in Africa in 1976, visits the University of Hong Kong to share his views on the worldwide battle against the virus and his experiences discovering it 38 years ago. Piot, currently director and professor of global health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is attending the university's East-West Alliance Global Symposia, a meeting of medical academics and practitioners.
Residents of the Canadian city of Toronto head to the polls to elect a mayor after incumbent Rob Ford, plagued by scandals in recent months that included an admission he smoked crack cocaine and allegations he assaulted confidants, announced he would not run for re-election as he is battling cancer and undergoing treatment. His brother, Doug Ford, is standing in his place.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski visits South Korea for talks on human rights abuses in North Korea. Malinowski will meet government officials, civil society leaders, defectors from the North and human rights activists. The purpose of the visit is to "continue the international community's momentum to address the egregious human rights situation", according to a statement.
Four men said to have been recruited by Islamic State and to have sworn allegiance to the terror group return to court. Tarik Hassane, 21, Suhaib Majeed, 20, Nyall Hamlett, 24, and Momen Motasim, 21, appeared in court two weeks ago charged with the intention of carrying out a plot to shoot and kill police officers or soldiers on the streets of London. They have since been remanded in custody.
Indirect negotiations reconvene between Israel and Hamas in Egypt over the future of Gaza, two months after a ceasefire came into effect ending a 50-day assault on Gaza by the Israeli military. Leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Khalid al-Batsh told the Ma'an news agency that Egyptian mediators had sent invitations for informal talks. The agenda would focus on topics raised in earlier talks but not settled.
Three Filipinos convicted in April of spying for Manila in Qatar are due to have their appeals heard. The trio were sentenced by a Qatari court for selling information deemed threatening to the country's national security, including information about weaponry and aircraft, with one sentenced to death and the others to life imprisonment. The Philippines' foreign ministry denied being engaged in espionage.
