In the World

LIBERIA

Officials fired for failing to return

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf fired 10 government officials for disobeying an order to return to the Ebola-stricken country after foreign trips, marking the second such dismissal in less than a month.

The officials she fired "showed insensitivity to our national tragedy and disregard for authority," according to a statement from her office dated yesterday. It said "those who were out of the country without an excuse" had been told to return.

The Ebola outbreak, which has claimed more than 1,200 lives in Liberia, threatens to disrupt the nation's farming industry, while the economy has tipped into recession.

On Aug. 26, Johnson-Sirleaf sacked several ministers and senior government workers traveling overseas who flouted an order to end their foreign trips.

- Bloomberg
SWEDEN

Election turmoil

Sweden's election roiled the nation's political establishment as backing for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats more than doubled, leaving the largest Nordic economy facing a hung parliament. The three-party Social Democratic opposition led by Stefan Loefven won 43.7 percent, versus 39.3 percent for the four-party government of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld. - Associated Press
MEXICO

Hurricane threatens

Hurricane Odile, a category 4 storm with 135 m.p.h. winds, was expected to rake Baja California, including the resort area of Cabo San Lucas, late Sunday with pounding surf and heavy rains, toppling trees and power lines and creating life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

As a category 4 storm, Odile's winds reach out about 45 miles from its center. -AP