STOCKHOLM, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Hazaras are a mainly Shi'ite community, several thousand of whom have fled to Sweden in recent years to escape abuse and poverty in marginalized communities in Afghanistan and Iran.

SVANGSTA, Sweden, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Mustafa Ansari's journey ended one April morning in his bedroom in a quiet Swedish village.

ANKARA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's labor ministry has so far sacked nearly 800 employees over links to a U.S.-based cleric blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup in July, the minister said on Thursday.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Warplanes mounted the heaviest air strikes in months against rebel-held districts of the city of Aleppo overnight, rebel officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday.

ANKARA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Some 785 members of Turkey's labor ministry have been sacked for ties to the U.S.-based cleric who Ankara blames for orchestrating a failed coup in July, Turkey's labor minister said on Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's foreign intelligence service is to get 40 percent more spies in one of the biggest expansions since the Cold War as MI6 seeks to harness new technology, the BBC said.

DUBAI/BEIRUT, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Abandoning a long-standing reticence, Iranians are increasingly candid about their involvement in Syria's war, and informal recruiters are now openly calling for volunteers to defend the Islamic Republic and fellow Shi'ites against Sunni militants.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai capital of Bangkok has beaten London to be crowned the world's most popular travel destination this year, according to an annual ranking by global payments and technology company Mastercard released on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate cleared the way for a $1.15 billion sale of tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, defending a frequent partner in the Middle East recently subject to harsh criticism in Congress.