REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
The Amazon rain forest (R), bordered by deforested land prepared for the planting of soybeans, is pictured in this aerial photo taken over Mato Grosso state in western Brazil, October 4, 2015.
1. Heavy Russian air strikes hit the Syrian province of Hama on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, continuing a bombing campaign that started last week.
2. Volkswagen's new CEO Matthias Mueller said in an interview with a German magazine that the company will launch a recall of cars fitted with emissions-cheating software in January, and all the cars should be fixed by the end of 2016.
3. The criminal trial began for six former brokers accused of helping a former trader at UBS and Citigroup to rig an interest-rate benchmark rate known as Libor.
4. The leader of the Mexican army won't allow his troops to be interrogated over allegations they may have been involved in the apparent massacre of 43 students last year.
5. Nineteen people were killed and four people are still missing following a typhoon that struck China's southern province of Guangdong on Sunday.
6. CIA-backed rebel groups in Syria are requesting antiaircraft missiles to shoot down Russian planes that are bombing them, according to the Washington Post.
7. Microsoft unveiled its first laptop - the 13-inch Microsoft Surface Book - which it says is twice as fast as a Macbook Pro.
8. America will release 6,000 prison inmates early at the end of October in an unprecedented move to reduce overcrowding and lighten sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
9. Two military officials have been arrested in connection with an assassination attempt on Maldives President Abudullah Yameen, following an explosion on a speed boat that was carrying him.
10. Former United Nations General Assembly President John Ashe has been accused of taking over $1 million in bribes from a Chinese billionaire to support his real estate interests.
And finally...
Instagram finally revealed who has the most followers in the world - here are the top 5.