The US Fight against Ebola slows in Liberia – Islamic State murders a British hostage – Venezuela hunts the murderers of a popular young politician – And much more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

A passenger apparently went berserk on a Singapore to Brisbane flight, forcing Etihad Airways flight 470 to turn around and go back.  Passengers reported that a man started to become aggressive about 40 minutes into the flight and started punching people and TV screens.  The crew was able to restrain him, and he was taken off the plane by police medics in Singapore.

Islamic State dirtbags beheaded British hostage Alan Henning, and threatened to kill US aid worker Peter Kassig – referred to by his family as Abdul Rahman Kassig, an apparent convert to Islam some time ago.  The video followed the same pattern as past Islamic State execution videos, Mr. Henning was dressed in orange and was killed by an English-speaking jihadi with a London accent.

Meanwhile at the Hajj, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric told millions of Muslim pilgrims that Islamic State is the “enemy of Islam”.  Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh called on fellow Islamic leaders to “hit with an iron hand the enemies of Islam”.  Saudi Arabia and four other Arab nations last month joined the US in bombing Islamic State targets in Syria.

Sweden’s new center-left government plans to officially recognize the Palestinians as a state, the first major European country to take the step while a member of the European Union.  “The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law,” said Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.  The US says the move is “premature”.

Thousands of Venezuelans paid their last respects to lawmaker Robert Serra and his partner Maria Herrera, murdered in their Caracas home on Wednesday.  President Nicolas Maduro and other members of the ruling Socialist party accompanied the coffins through the streets of the capital.  Maduro declared three days of mourning, and blamed “ultra-right” assassins in “Miami and Colombia”.  No arrests have been made in the murders.

Hong Kong police arrested at least 19 “triad” gang members after a series of attacks on pro-democracy protesters.  The student protesters cancelled plans to meet with Hong Kong government officials about ending the demonstrations, saying the local government and police failed to protect them from the triads.  The protesters are demanding free elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017 – but Beijing wants to control which candidates actually get to stand.

The US upped its troop contribution to fight the West African Ebola Epidemic to 3,600.  But the troops already there are frustrated – they’ve got the beds, tents, generators, and medical equipment needed to build 18 Ebola treatment centers.  Unfortunately, the Liberian contractor that was supposed to lay the gravel foundations can’t, because its rock crusher is broken.  More than 3,350 people have died in West Africa in this epidemic – Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea being hit hardest.

Meanwhile, a Ugandan doctor infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone has arrived in Frankfurt, Germany for treatment.  The Liberian man who became symptomatic in Texas is being cared for, and his quarantined family has been moved from their cramped apartment to a home in a gated community – with fresh linens and food.  Special Haz-Mat teams disposed of potentially infected items from the apartment.

But back in Africa, the death toll is more than 3,300 lives lost.  That figure is widely believed to be underestimated, as many cases exist in remote areas that are hidden from or hostile to foreign health care workers.