Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, called an election for the lower house of the country’s parliament. No election was due until 2016, but Mr Abe wants endorsement of his plans to revive the economy, which is back in recession. Those plans include delaying a further increase in sales tax.
Recent violence in Jerusalem took its ugliest turn yet. Today two men armed with axes, knives and a pistol attacked a synagogue, leaving four worshippers dead and several injured. Israeli police shot the men dead. Hamas called the attack revenge for the death of a Palestinian bus-driver found hanged yesterday: suicide, said police; murder, said Palestinians.
The French government said it was “very likely” that a French citizen was among the jihadists in a video released by Islamic State on Sunday showing the decapitation of Syrian soldiers and Peter Kassig, an American aid worker. It tentatively identified him as Maxime Hauchard, from Normandy, a 22-year-old convert to Islam.
The governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, has declared a state of emergency and activated the state’s National Guard, fearing unrest after a grand-jury decision, expected this month, on whether to charge a white policeman who shot dead an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in August. The shooting prompted weeks of protest, sometimes violent.
European Union foreign ministers agreed to extend the sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis to pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east (the names of those affected are yet to be determined). But they could not agree on an extension of the measures already taken against Russia itself.
Uber, a firm whose app lets you call up a car instead of owning one, announced a promotional tie-up with Spotify, a firm whose app lets you call up music instead of owning it. Separately, Uber denied any plans to implement an executive’s proposal to investigate journalists who were critical of the company.
Hasbro, maker of “Monopoly” and “Star Wars” figures, called off talks about taking over DreamWorks Animation SKG, a film studio best known for “Shrek”. The discussions had only reached their early stages.
