Suicide attackers wreak havoc on a religious festival – Halting smuggling makes raw sewage gurgle onto the streets – Russia tries to fill a void – And Macca tries to intervene to help environmental activists.

At least 41 people are dead in Iraq from suicide attacks and bombings targeting Shia Muslims on the festival of Ashura.  The attacks took place in the eastern provinces bordering Iran.  Shia religious festivals are often targeted by Sunni militants in Iraq - Up to two million Shia will make an Ashura pilgrimage to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein was killed in 680AD.

15 gunmen burst into a compound in Cameroon, and kidnapped a French Priest.  42-year old Fr. Georges Vandenbeusch suitcase and checkbook were found in a road.  This happened in the town of Koza, very close to the border with Nigeria’s northeast, where the terrorist group Boko Haram has been waging a war to start its own Islamic country based on its draconian interpretation of Sharia law.

Children waded through raw sewage bubbling up onto the streets of Gaza, after one of the blockaded Palestinian enclave's largest wastewater treatment plants stopped for lack of fuel.  Egypt shut down the smuggling tunnels into Gaza, which were the only reliable supply of fuel for the treatment plant.  A power plant already shut down, resulting in 12-hour a day blackouts for the past two weeks.

Egypt gave Russian diplomats the red carpet treatment for historic talks that Moscow hopes will expand its influence through military and economic cooperation in the Middle East.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shogiu arrived in Cairo weeks after the United States froze millions of dollars in military aid – A significant sign of the difficulties the US is having with its ally Egypt after the military deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Paul McCartney is asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to free the Greenpeace Arctic 30 before Christmas.  Russian commandos arrested the 28 protesters and two journalists after a failed attempt to board an oil-drilling platform in the Arctic.  The Beatles legend sent a letter to Putin, who he met in person in 2003 (when Vladimir was a lot less scary) last month and has yet to hear back.  Macca earlier asked Putin for leniency for members of the Punk Rock band Pussy Riot.

A gas pipeline in Poland exploded, killing at least two people and injuring at least 13 as it incinerated a dozen houses in a row of homes.  Authorities say the original pipeline was probably damaged as a new replacement line was installed next to it in the town of Jankow Przygodzki.  Two people are still missing.

New York based diamond dealer Isaac Wolf bought the 59.60-carat pink diamond called “Pink Dream” at auction for US$83 Million.  And a 14.82-carat orange diamond called “The Orange” (how clever) went for US$35.5 Million, both auctions in Geneva.  Only one thing can be gleaned from this:  The wealthiest people in the world are suffering and need more tax cuts so they can invest in creating new businesses.  It’s going to trickle down any time now.

Gambia has announced that it has cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, after being one of the few countries in the world that actually recognized the island that China regards as a rogue territory.  President Yahya Jammeh's office said the move was for reasons of “national strategic interest” and he hopes to remain friends with the people of Taiwan.  It’s a sign of China’s growing influence in Africa.

Hey, if you don’t want to mow the lawn, just get some goats to do it, like this Condo Complex in Machida, Western Tokyo.  Natural lawn care:  Less noisy, gets those hard to reach areas, and they make their own fertilizer.  Or, you can just stay in the heart of Shibuya where goats are the main attraction at the Sakuragaoka Cafe.

Crikey, Pardner!  A meter-tall Kangaroo got loose in Texas of all places, causing a mild ruckus while cops tried to wrangle that ‘roo. Deputies helped corner the 4-foot-tall kangaroo as the owner offered a treat to the animal, then grabbed the pesty pet.  Midland County in West Texas has an exotic animals ordinance, and authorities are now parsing the law to determine if Kangaroos are covered.

Man’s best friend comes from Europe.  That’s the result of a new study of dog DNA that concludes that the grey wolf was domesticated in Europe some 18,000 years ago.  That’s 3,000 years earlier than the previous theory of Middle Eastern of East Asian domestication.  The DNA of today’s dog is closely related to wolves not found outside Europe.