Death toll of haj stampede now 1,633

DUBAI • The death toll from last month's haj stampede has risen to at least 1,633, making it the deadliest incident in the pilgrimage's history.

Saudi Arabia has yet to provide an updated death toll after saying that 769 Muslim pilgrims had died in the tragedy near Mecca.Hundreds of pilgrims have also not been accounted for following the Sept 24 stampede.

But numbers from foreign governments show that the death toll has overtaken the number of deaths in the worst previous incident, which took place in 1990.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Dutch to vote on EU-Ukraine treaty

THE HAGUE • Dutch voters are heading to the polls next spring for a rare non-binding referendum over a key European Union-Ukraine treaty, after eurosceptics forced a vote on the issue.

"Some 427,939 valid signatures have been verified in order to have an election over the (planned) EU-Ukraine cooperation agreement," the Dutch Electoral Council said yesterday.The referendum comes on the back of a new law which allows citizens to call for referendums if they gather enough votes.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

British nurse down with Ebola again

LONDON • A British nurse who was successfully treated in January after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone is now "critically ill" due to the virus' resurgence.

Ms Pauline Cafferkey was taken to the specialist unit in the Royal Free Hospital last week. Dr Ben Neuman, a lecturer in virology at the University of Reading, said that she could be only the second known case of "reactivated" Ebola.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE