Boeing, the world’s largest maker of passenger jets, has reported a 25% rise in its quarterly profit, helped by an increase in deliveries of commercial aircraft.
The aircraft maker earned $1.70 billion for Q3 of 2015, up from $1.36 billion a year ago.
Revenue rose by about 9% to $25.85 billion, with commercial aircraft deliveries up 7% to 199.
Boeing also raised its 2015 sales and profits guidance.
Revenue will be $95-97 billion, up from the prior estimate of $94.5-96.5 billion. Operating cashflow, Boeing’s preferred performance measure, may be $9.5 billion for the year, up from the $9 billion the company estimated earlier in the year.
Photo AP
Boeing’s shares rose 2.8% to $142.82 in pre-market trading.
The company said deliveries had surged on its backlog of orders. Boeing delivered 126 of its narrow-body, short-haul 737 aircraft in the period, up from 120 a year ago. It made more 737 planes than all other commercial models combined.
Boeing’s commercial backlog stands at $426 billion, while it has $46.2 billion of defense, space and security orders to fulfill.
“By continuing to profitably deliver on our large and diverse backlog, we are driving strong growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow,” said president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg.
“Solid operating performance across our commercial and defense businesses during the quarter also supported our continued investment in innovation and our people, and our commitment to return cash to shareholders.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed to pay up to $8 million over employees’ personal data lost in the 2014 hacking scandal surrounding the release of The Interview movie.
Hackers had broken into Sony computers and released thousands of items of personal information in an attempt to derail the release of the North Korea-themed comedy.
Sony employees argued they suffered economic harm from the stolen data.
US investigators have blamed North Korean hackers for the attack.
The cyber attack wiped out massive amounts of data and led to the online distribution of emails, personal and sensitive employee data as well as pirated copies of new movies.
The lawsuit against the company was filed by former employees claiming Sony’s negligence caused them economic harm by forcing them to step up credit monitoring to address their increased risk of identity theft. They described the data breach as an “epic nightmare.”
The Interview depicted the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The cyber-attack drew widespread international attention and Sony subsequently stopped the movie’s general release.
An unknown group calling itself #GOP – later identified as Guardians of Peace – claimed it was behind the attack, prompting the FBI to launch an investigation.
North Korea dismissed any suggestion it may have had a hand in the attack as a form of retaliation for Sony’s release of The Interview. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman had earlier called the movie an “act of terrorism”, promising “merciless” retaliation if it was released.
The Interview eventually received a much smaller release and was offered through legal digital downloads.
The settlement with a US District Court in Los Angeles still needs to be approved by a judge but it sees Sony paying pay up to $8 million to reimburse current and former employees for losses, preventative measures and legal fees related to the hack of its computers in 2014.
Under the agreement, Sony Entertainment will pay up to $10,000 a person, capped at $2.5 million, to reimburse employees for identity theft losses, up to $1,000 each to cover the cost of credit-fraud protection services, capped at $2 million, and up to $3.5 million to cover legal fees.
Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton called the agreement “an important, positive step forward in putting the cyber-attack firmly behind us”.
The court had dismissed Sony’s initial attempt to stops the court case, confirming that the employees could pursue their claims that the company was negligent and violated a California confidentiality law.
Texas student Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested in Irving after his teacher mistook his homemade clock for a bomb, will move to Qatar with his family.
The 14-year-old Muslim boy has accepted a scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, where he will study.
Ahmed Mohamed met President Barack Obama at the White House on October 19.
After being detained over the clock, Ahmed Mohamed’s case went viral on social media.
Some alleged the boy was unfairly treated because of his name and religious background. Officials in Irving Texas defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students.
The Qatar Foundation is providing a full scholarship for his secondary and undergraduate education, according to a news release.
“Our family has been overwhelmed by the many offers of support we have received since the unfortunate incident of Ahmed’s arrest,” the Mohamed family said in the release.
“From the White House to Sudan, to Mecca, we have been welcomed by a variety of individuals, businesses and educational institutions.”
According to his family, Ahmed Mohamed will be enrolled in the Qatar Foundation’s “Young Innovators” program and his whole family will relocate with him to Qatar.
“Qatar was a cool place to visit. I loved the city of Doha because it’s so modern. I saw so many amazing schools there, many of them campuses of famous American universities,” said Ahmed Mohamed in the news release.
“The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too.”
Ahmed Mohamed withdrew from his Texas school shortly after the clock incident.
The boy was arrested after his teacher mistook his clock for a bomb, sparking outrage and the trending hashtag #StandWithAhmed.
In addition to being invited to the White House, Ahmed Mohamed received an outpouring of support from scientists, politicians and celebrities.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made a surprise visit to Moscow on his first overseas trip since the civil war broke out in his country in 2011, state TV says.
During his visit, Bashar al-Assad held talks with President Vladimir Putin.
Russia launched air strikes in Syria last month against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) and other militant groups battling Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
Bashar al-Assad said Russia’s involvement had stopped the spread of “terrorism” becoming “more widespread and harmful”.
For his part, President Vladimir Putin said the Syrian people had been “almost alone… resisting, fighting international terrorism for several years”.
“They had suffered serious losses, but recently have been achieving serious results in this fight,” he said.
Photo AFP
The visit happened on October 20, but was not announced until October 21 – after Bashar al-Assad had returned to Damascus.
In comments that were videoed and published by the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin thanked Bashar al-Assad for coming despite the “dramatic situation” back home.
Vladimir Putin said Moscow had joined the fight against “international terrorism”, not just to help the Syrian people, but to better protect Russians too.
He said some 4,000 people from the former Soviet Union were believed to be fighting in Syria right now.
“We cannot permit them – once they get fighting experience there and ideological training – to turn up here in Russia,” he said.
Bashar al-Assad thanked Russia for “standing up for the unity of Syria and its independence”, and said its intervention had “prevented the events in Syria from developing along a more tragic scenario”.
Both presidents spoke of the need for a political solution to the crisis.
Vladimir Putin said Russia stood “ready to contribute” to any political process that could bring about a peaceful resolution.
Paul Ryan has said he will run for House Speaker if Republicans in the chamber unite behind his candidacy.
The Wisconsin Representative, who ran as Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential candidate in 2012, is seen as his party’s best hope to elect an effective Congressional leader.
A group of ultra-conservative House members have recently rebelled against party leaders.
House Speaker John Boehner resigned last month under pressure.
John Boehner’s handpicked successor House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew from consideration after it was clear he did not have the support of the ultra-conservative bloc known as the Freedom Caucus.
Photo Getty Images
Freedom Caucus, a group of about 30 to 40 members, demanded key concessions from Kevin McCarthy. The California representative reportedly said he could not effectively lead the House under those conditions.
The very public party infighting has been seen detrimental to the Republicans’ goal of retaining control of Congress and re-taking the White House in 2016.
“We as a conference should unify now,” Paul Ryan told reporters on October 20 after meeting with House Republicans.
“What I told members is if you can agree to these requests and if I can truly be a unifying figure, then I will gladly serve, and if I am not unifying, that is fine as well – I will be happy to stay where I am.”
Paul Ryan gave his colleagues until October 23 to express their support.
He had been reluctant to serve, preferring his role as the chairman of the influential House Way and Means Committee.
Paul Ryan also is the father of three young children and returns home to Wisconsin on weekends to spend time with them.
John Boehner spent many of his weekends raising money for fellow Republican representatives.
Paul Ryan said on October 20 that if elected the role will have to change to accommodate his family life.
To run, Paul Ryan also demanded a House procedure known as “motion to vacate the chair” be abandoned.
The motion allows a small group of lawmakers to challenge the Speaker and is a key source of leverage for the Freedom Caucus.
John Boehner resigned in part because of this tactic.
It is unclear whether Republicans will unite behind Paul Ryan. At least one conservative called Paul Ryan’s demand to end the “motion to vacate the chair” a “non-starter” and others are still uncertain.
Mexico is reopening the investigation into last year’s disappearance of 43 students in the state of Guerrero.
An international panel of experts had said the investigation was flawed.
The students’ families have disputed the government’s account of what happened in September 2014.
The Mexican government says that police in the town of Iguala handed the students over to a drugs cartel who killed them and incinerated the bodies.
The panel of experts, working for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, criticized the government’s version of events.
It concluded that the government’s account that the students were burnt beyond identification at a rubbish dump was physically impossible.
The panel said official reports appeared to downplay the presence of federal police and troops near the areas where the students were seized.
The experts said the army had refused to allow them to interview soldiers.
They came up with a list of 10 recommendations which the Mexican government has agreed to abide by.
Among them, the search for the students will be re-launched following outlines laid down by the experts and carried out in coordination with the victims’ families.
The experts also want the report they published to form part of the government investigation – following up recommendations and evaluating issues that arose from the report.
Khloe Kardashian took to social media on October 20 to thank everyone who has assisted her estranged husband Lamar Odom during his recovery.
“The past week has been incredibly difficult. I am so thankful to family, friends and fans, who have sent nothing but prayers and well wishes to Lamar,” the reality star wrote.
“I also want to thank everyone at Sunrise Hospital, including the amazing doctors and nurses for their kindness and diligent work.”
Photo Reuters
Khloe Kardashian continued: “Under their amazing care, incredible strides have been made. You can never be prepared for an experience like this, but without the outpouring of love and endless prayers that Lamar has received and the strength I was given from my loved ones, it would have been difficult to endure. Thank you for your continued support. God is great!!!”
Lamar Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada motel last week. Khloe Kardashian has kept vigil by his hospital bed throughout the ordeal.
By most reports, Lamar Odom’s road to recovery will be long, but he is making progress.
On October 19, Lamar Odom was transferred via air from Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas to Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles so that he can get better specialized care.
Lamar Odom is recovering at his Los Angeles home after receiving treatment at a Las Vegas hospital, a week after being found unresponsive at a Nevada motel.
The former NBA is making “miraculous” progress, even taking a few steps, according to a family statement.
Lamar Odom’s estranged wife Khloe Kardashian, his father and two of his children are with the former Lakers star.
Photo Instagram
Police are conducting tests to establish what happened.
Lamar Odom, who married Khloe Kardashian in 2009, has long struggled with addiction.
He won the NBA championship with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011.
Lamar Odom last played in the NBA in 2013 with the Clippers.
Jim Webb has announced he will no longer seek the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
The former Virginia senator has said on October 20 that he is considering how he might “remain as a voice” in the campaign, possibly as an independent candidate.
Jim Webb has struggled to gain traction in the Democratic primary, often polling at or below 1%.
Ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is still leading the race, followed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Photo AP
“I am withdrawing from any consideration of being the Democratic Party’s nominee for the presidency,” Jim Webb said.
“This does not reduce in any way my concerns for the challenges facing the country … or my intentions to remain fully engaged in the debates that are facing us.”
Jim Webb, who was a Navy secretary under Republican President Ronald Reagan, became a Democrat after opposing the Iraq War.
During the first Democratic debate, Jim Webb struggled to explain why he was at odds with his party on key issues like gun control and affirmative action.
He also often complained about his lack of speaking time.
Jim Webb had been promoting criminal justice reform and an overhaul of campaign finance laws while criticizing President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens final trailer has debuted online and has been met with considerable acclaim.
The seventh Star Wars movie reunites original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. They are joined by newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega.
The new trailer gives little away to the plot of the movie but the central character appears to be Rey – played by Daisy Ridley who, it’s been speculated, is the daughter of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher – both seen in character as Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens picks up three decades after the events of Return of the Jedi, released in 1983.
The new villain of the movie, Kylo Ren – played by Adam Driver – also features in the trailer as he appears to address the misshapen mask of the trilogy’s original antagonist Darth Vader.
Saudi Prince Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud will not be charged over the alleged assault in Los Angeles, prosecutors say.
Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud, 28, was arrested in September on suspicion of assault on an employee at his Beverly Hills mansion.
However, prosecutors say they do not have enough evidence against the Saudi prince.
Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said his client was innocent and claimed the case was “some kind of shakedown for money”.
The case has been forwarded to the city attorney for a possible misdemeanor charge, Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office, said.
There were four alleged victims and one did not cooperate with authorities, Jane Robison added.
Police were called to Majed Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s estate after a neighbor saw a bloodied woman calling for help and trying to climb over a wall.
Two days later, three women who worked as servants at the mansion sued the prince, alleging battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
This case will be reviewed by a prosecutor in the city attorney’s office, a spokesman said.
Marine Le Pen has appeared in court in Lyon, to answer charges of inciting racial hatred, for comparing Muslims praying in the street to the Nazi occupation.
The French National Front (FN) leader made the comments at a rally in Lyon in 2010 when she was fighting for the leadership of the party.
Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration and anti-EU message is attracting increasing support in France.
Her party is hoping to win two French regions in December local elections.
Outside court, the far-right leader insisted she had not committed any offence and questioned the timing of the trial.
“We’re a month away from a regional election and this affair dates back five years,” she told reporters.
According to an opinion poll at the weekend, her niece, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, could wrest control of the key southern region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (Paca) from the governing Socialists.
Alarm at the rise of the National Front (FN) prompted President Francois Hollande to warn France not to take the risk of backing the far right.
“Don’t play with this way of voting just to send a message, just because of unhappiness and anger,” the president told French radio.
“For investors, for external trade, jobs and growth, there will be consequences.”
Marine Le Pen took over the FN leadership in 2011 and has since tried to steer the party away from its racist and anti-Semitic past.
It was during a campaign speech in December 2010 that she told FN supporters: “I’m sorry, but some people are very fond of talking about the Second World War and about the occupation, so let’s talk about occupation, because that is what is happening here.”
“There are no tanks, no soldiers, but it is still an occupation, and it weighs on people.”
The phenomenon of street prayers emerged when French Muslims were unable to find space in mosques, and after a political outcry the practice was banned in Paris in 2011.
Marine Le Pen was investigated for her public remarks and she was eventually stripped of her immunity from prosecution by the European Parliament in 2013.
Ahead of the trial, Marine Le Pen made clear that she would use the occasion to defend her right to freedom of expression.
She is accused of incitement to discrimination, violence or hatred towards a group of people because of their religious affiliation and if found guilty could face up to a year in jail and a fine of €45,000 ($51,000).
The French Council of the Muslim Faith said Marine Le Pen’s remarks had fed a climate of Islamophobia.
The year 2015 hasn’t disappointed fans of offbeat and unusual crime stories. There was the Florida man who managed to get a DUI charge while driving his motorized wheelchair, the New Mexico man who threw a fit of rage when employees at McDonalds put pickles on his hamburger, and the man who was driving drunk and crashed into the side of a house, only to claim it was really his dog behind the wheel that night. That last one happened in—you guessed it—Florida.
Photo Source: dailymail.co.uk
But this next case of strange criminal behavior actually comes out of Connecticut. In August, police arrested a homeless man who was accused of giving a “Wet Willy” to a four year old boy in a local business’s waiting room. A Wet Willy, for the uninformed, is the act of covering one’s finger in saliva and inserting it into someone’s ear.
Michael Migani, aged 34, was charged with second-degree breach of peace, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and maximum of six years jail time, and second-degree reckless endangerment, which likewise carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and six years maximum jail time. As Migani is homeless, a public defender will likely act as his criminal defense.
But the story actually gets stranger. After Migani snuck up on the boy and did the unspeakable to his ear, he ran outside, hopped in his car, and drove off. So, it would seem, there must have been some amount of premeditation on Migani’s part. It’s easy to imagine a crazed stereotype of a homeless person, fidgeting and muttering to themselves, walking by and nonchalantly doing something—well—crazy. The idea of a homeless person with a vehicle runs counter to our perception of the homeless as train hoppers, trash fire starters, or underpass dwellers. But this stereotype is more fictional than not.
According to the U.S. charitable organization Project Home, there were 578,424 people recorded as suffering from homelessness in a single night in January 2014. Sixty nine percent of them were sleeping in sheltered locations, whereas some 31 percent were recorded as sleeping in unsheltered ones. These unsheltered locations include streets, abandoned buildings, and cars.
In that same month of January, 84,291 individuals and 15,143 people in families were reported as being chronically homeless. This figure is an important one. Many of our stereotypes about the homeless come from sightings in large cities, where many individuals with severe, untreated mental illness wind up. These may be a small minority of the homeless population in the United States, however.
To be “chronically homeless” often means a person or family alternates between staying in temporary accommodations, such as discount hotels, shelters, or friends’ houses, and unsheltered locations like their cars. Many of these people work low wage jobs, some of them have criminal records preventing them from upward advancement with an employer. Unfortunately, poverty and crime go together like peanut butter and cheese—before you judge, just try it. It’s delicious.
This vicious cycle that keeps the poor, well—poor, affects people regardless of moral character or merit. This deep inequality has been the subject of national discourse throughout much of American history, and in many ways American income inequality in the first decades of the 21st century mirrors the hardship of working people in the early 1900s.
But here’s the point: Michael Migani is only one person out of thousands who are struggling economically. We have to be careful not to stereotype the poor or homeless as people of questionable moral integrity or sanity. The poverty line is, in many ways, arbitrary. There are more people struggling with money than we may realize, with many of them just above or below the artificial line drawn to distinguish the impoverished from the lowest socioeconomic class.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has decisively won Canada’s general election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule.
The centrist Liberals started the campaign in third place but in a stunning turnaround now command a majority.
Justin Trudeau, the 43-year-old son of late PM Pierre Trudeau, said Canadians had voted for real change.
Incumbent Conservative PM Stephen Harper accepted defeat and his party said he will step down as leader.
It was the longest campaign in Canada’s history, and had been thought to be much closer.
Speaking after the polls closed, Stephen Harper said he had already congratulated Justin Trudeau, saying the Conservatives would accept the results “without hesitation”.
Addressing his jubilant supporters shortly afterwards, Justin Trudeau said that Canadians “sent a clear message tonight – it’s time for a change”.
“We beat fear with hope, we beat cynicism with hard work. Most of all we defeated the idea that Canadians should be satisfied with less.
“This is what positive politics can do,” he said.
Justin Trudeau also praised Stephen Harper for his service to Canada.
Few had predicted a Liberal victory on this scale. They look set to win 184 seats, a huge increase from only 36 that they held after suffering their worst-ever election result in 2011.
Liberals become the first party ever to move from third place in parliament to a majority in one election.
Meanwhile, the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) is on course to win 44 seats, less than half the number they held in the outgoing parliament.
“I congratulated Mr. Trudeau on his exceptional achievement,” said NDP leader Tom Mulcair.
Early counts in the eastern provinces gave the Liberals their first taste of victory, as they led in all 32 races there.
The Conservatives are now in danger of losing all 13 seats they held in Atlantic Canada in 2011.
Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise of change, urging voters ahead of the polling day to “come together as a country”.
His charismatic father, Pierre Trudeau, is considered the father of modern Canada.
Stephen Harper, 56, portrayed himself as the steady hand who could steer Canada’s troubled economy back on track.
His campaign ran TV advertisements saying that Justin Trudeau was “just not ready” to take office.
According to new reports, Lamar Odom has been released from hospital in Nevada and is being transported to another hospital closer to his Los Angeles-area home.
Doctors wanted to be sure the 35-year-old former NBA star was stable enough to be moved, E! reported.
Lamar Odom, who played 14 seasons in the NBA – 12 years between the Clippers and Lakers – was found unresponsive at a Las Vegas motel after a suspected binge of alcohol and drugs over the course of four days.
Photo Instagram
The sportsman spent the next couple of days in a drug-induced coma and the worst was feared.
According to E!, while still unable to stand on his own, Lamar Odom steadily improved over the weekend. He is still on dialysis because of failing kidneys, but passed a swallowing test and is breathing on his own. There may still be some cognitive issues, but he is able to communicate using hand signals.
Once at the hospital in Southern California, Lamar Odom will continue to receive treatment and will require “a lot of rehab” to regain full function of his arms and legs.
Four hundred South Koreans are visiting North Korea to meet their North Korean relatives in a rare reunion event for families separated by the Korean War.
The reunion, comprising a series of meetings over a week, is being held at a Mount Kumgang resort, at the border.
Thousands of families have been apart with little or no contact since the Korean War ended in 1953.
Korean family reunions have been held sporadically since 1988 and depend on the state of relations between South Korea and North Korea.
The last reunion was held in February 2014.
This year’s family reunion comes after an agreement in August that de-escalated tensions sparked by a border explosion that injured South Korean soldiers.
The meetings, organized by the Red Cross, are hugely popular with tens of thousands signing up, but few on each side get chosen and they tend to be elderly.
In South Korea participants are picked at random by a computer which takes into account their age and family background.
They also have to sit for interviews and take medical examinations to determine if they are fit to travel.
The first group of about 400 South Koreans, comprising of chosen participants and their accompanying family members, are taking part in the first round of meetings running from October 20 to October 21, reported Yonhap news agency.
Another 250 will attend the second round of meetings from October 24 to October 26. Each round comprises of six two-hour sessions.
Many of those attending from South Korea are bringing gifts for their North Korean relatives such as clothes, food, toothpaste, and cash.
South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war as the Korean War only ended in an armistice.
The family reunions began in 2000 and have since been carried out sporadically.
Slovenia has opened its borders for most of the 5,000 refugees who were stranded in wet and muddy conditions on its border with Croatia on October 19.
The country had previously vowed to take in only 2,500 refugees per day.
Croatia has also opened its border with Serbia, where thousands more migrants are trying to reach northern Europe.
Aid agencies have been warning of dire conditions as bottlenecks develop at border crossings in the Balkans.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many from Syria, Africa and Afghanistan, have been making their way from Turkey to the Balkans in recent months, in a bid to reach Germany, Sweden and other EU states.
On Monday evening, Germany saw large rival rallies in Dresden to mark the first anniversary of the anti-immigrant group Pegida.
Photo AP
The protests come amid fears the group is becoming more radical in response to Germany’s decision to take in hundreds of thousands of refugees this year.
Croatia and Slovenia appeared to ease restrictions on the flow of migrants late on October 19, after thousands of people were stranded for hours in wet, cold and windy conditions.
Both countries imposed stricter controls at the weekend after Hungary, citing security concerns, closed its southern border and forced migrants to switch to a slower route via Slovenia.
Slovenia’s interior ministry said on October 19 that some 5,000 refugees were allowed to enter from Croatia, and 900 of them had already travelled onwards to Austria by the evening.
Slovenia earlier criticized Croatia for allowing large groups of refugees over the border, and breaking an agreement to limit such transfers to 2,500 people a day.
Meanwhile, Croatia decided to open its border late on Monday, after aid workers warned of “dire” conditions for another 3,000 refugees stuck in cold and wet weather without shelter on the Serbia-Croatia frontier.
Croatian buses transported the thousands of refugees to a nearby reception centre.
Croatia’s PM Zoran MIlanovic said his government had hoped to stem the flow of people but poor conditions on the Serbian side of the border had forced them to let the migrants through.
“It’s apparent that this is no solution, so we will let them through. We will send them toward Slovenia,” he said.
Before Monday’s mass crossing, the UNHCR said 10,000 refugees were stranded in Serbia – with more than 6,000 entering from Macedonia on Monday alone.
Some Serbian officials have also indicated they may in turn hold back arrivals from the south.
More than 600,000 refugees, most of them Syrians, have reached Europe so far this year compared with just over 200,000 for the whole of 2014
Germany has said it expects 800,000 asylum seekers this year, but it is believed the number could be as high as 1.5 million.
Scuffles broke out during protests in Dresden on October 19, as 20,000 Pegida supporters confronted a similar number of counter demonstrators amid an angry backlash over Germany’s open-door policy towards refugees.
Ohio state has suspended executions until at least 2017 as it struggles to acquire the lethal drugs needed to carry out death sentences.
The move affects 12 inmates who were set to die between now and early 2017.
According to Ohio officials, the delay will give the state more time to acquire the proper drugs.
As many as 25 Ohio inmates who are set to die after January 2017 could see their executions pushed back as well.
Many pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell the deadly drugs, causing states to delay lethal injections or seek other drug mixtures to carry out executions.
Several states have also approved alternative means of execution in response to the shortages.
In March, Utah reinstated the firing squad in the event lethal injection drugs are unavailable.
In April, Oklahoma approved the use of the gas chamber as an alternate execution method in addition to lethal injection and electrocution.
However, Oklahoma’s three impending executions have been put on hold after prison officials nearly administered the wrong lethal injection drug to a death row inmate in September.
Executions in Arkansas have also been suspended after eight death row inmates challenged a new state law that would allow Arkansas to keep its sources of lethal injection drugs secret.
In May, Nebraska lawmakers decided to abolish the death penalty, partly because of possible legal challenges.
Nebraska joined 18 other states and the federal district of Washington, DC, in banning capital punishment.
Oscar Pistorius has been released from jail and put under house arrest nearly one year after he was imprisoned for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Paralympic athlete is expected to spend the remainder of a five-year prison sentence at his uncle’s home in Pretoria.
Oscar Pistorius, 28, shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door but said he thought she was an intruder.
Reeva Steenkamp’s relatives say they think Oscar Pistorius is “getting off lightly”.
Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, in October 2014.
A case lodged by the prosecution appealing that decision is due to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal on November 4. State prosecutors say Oscar Pistorius should have instead been convicted of murder.
Oscar Pistorius was released on October 19, a day earlier than expected, according to a spokesman from the Kgosi Mampuru II prison, where he was being held.
“Oscar Pistorius was placed under correctional supervision tonight,” Manelisi Wolela confirmed in a statement.
“The handling of the actual placement is an operational matter of the local management, and how they handle it is their prerogative that is carried out in the best interest of all parties concerned, the victims, the offender and the Department of Correctional Services,” he added.
Oscar Pistorius was driven under cover of darkness to his uncle’s house 20 minutes away.
It is understood he will not be electronically tagged but he will have restrictions on his movement.
Oscar Pistorius’ parole conditions include gun ownership restrictions and continued psychotherapy sessions. The double-amputee is also expected to do a period of community service.
Under South African law, Oscar Pistorius was eligible for release under “correctional supervision” having served a sixth of his sentence.
Meanwhile, a close family friend of Oscar Pistorius said he was in poor physical shape, adding that his return to athletics would be unlikely.
If the prosecution is successful with its appeal in November, Oscar Pistorius could face a lengthy sentence back in prison.
One of the best ways for a person to get the unconditional love that they are seeking is by getting a dog. With all of the different dog breeds out there, finding the right one will not be that easy. Taking the time to figure out what type of do best fits the lifestyle that you have will be worth the time. Once the right dog is chosen, you will have to make sure that they get the obedience training that they need. Here are some tips to use when trying to have success with the training of a dog.
Consistency is the Only Way
Being consistent during this process is the only way that you will be able to have success with this process. Taking the time to make sure that you are consistent will help to ensure that the dog learns what they should and should not do. The last thing that you need to do when trying to have success with this is to start and stop all of the time. This will only serve to confuse the dog and will create even more problems in the future.
Rewards based System
Another great way to have success with this type of training is by rewarding the dog when needed. When a dog performs the right behaviors, you will need to make sure that you reward them with a treat. The longer you make a dog wait after they perform the right behavior for a treat, the harder it will be for them to realize they need to do it again. If you are unsure about how to give the rewards, then you will have to talk to a professional to get some advice. The time that is spent getting this advice will be more than worth it.
Patience Will Pay Off
The next thing that you will have to remember when trying to have success with this process is that you will have to be patient. This process will take some time to take hold, which means you will need to adjust your expectations accordingly. Taking the small successes as they come will be rewarding and will prohibit you from getting to overwhelmed with the process. The less expectations you have, the easier you will find it not to stress over things that are or are not happening.
Finding professionals, like www.awesomek9.com, will make this process much easier. Researching each of the dog training professionals in the Toronto area will make the decision on which one to use much easier.
Goosebumps has topped the North American box office over the weekend, taking $23.5 million in its first three days.
The family horror movie, based on the popular children’s book series, stars Jack Black as horror writer R.L. Stine, whose imaginary demon creations are accidentally set free in a small town.
Ridley Scott’s space adventure The Martian was bumped into second place, taking $21.5 million.
The Matt Damon film has now taken $143.8 million in its third week of release.
Steven Spielberg’s cold-war thriller Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, opened at No 3 with $15.4 million.
Guillermo del Toro’s gothic horror romance Crimson Peak did not fare as well in the Halloween period, debuting at four with $12.8 million.
This weekend also saw the release of Cary Fukunaga’s drama Beasts of No Nation, about child soldiers in Africa.
After making headlines earlier this year when Netflix bought the distribution rights for $12 million, the movie was simultaneously released in theaters and on the streaming platform.
Beasts of No Nation, starring Idris Elba, only made $50,699 across the 31 theaters it was shown at, averaging $1,635 per location.
It is understood the movie was given a limited theatrical release to qualify it for the upcoming awards season.
In a limited release, abduction drama Room also earned a respectable $120,000 from four screens.
Moldova’s ex-PM Vlad Filat has been detained for 30 days as his possible role in a $1 billion banking scam is investigated.
Vlad Filat’s liberal PLDM party – in Moldova’s ruling coalition – condemned the move as “purely political” and “a violation of his rights”.
He was arrested on October 15, suspected of involvement in the disappearance of $1 billion from three Moldovan banks.
The scandal has thrown Moldova into economic and political chaos.
In recent weeks thousands of people have protested in the centre of Moldova’s capital Chisinau, demanding that the government and top civil servants resign.
The missing money is equivalent to an eighth of the ex-Soviet republic’s entire GDP.
Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries.
The scandal caused a rapid fall in the value of the national currency, the leu, hitting Moldovans’ living standards.
Vlad Filat, leader of the PLDM, was initially detained for 72 hours, accused of theft from the state-run bank, Banca de Economii. Earlier parliament had stripped him of immunity from prosecution. He denies wrongdoing.
Anti-government protesters welcomed Vlad Filat’s detention. One of the protester leaders, Renato Usaty, called it “our first victory”.
Moldova’s central bank has withdrawn the operating licenses of Banca de Economii and two other banks – the private Banca Sociala and Unibank.
The scandal erupted in April, when the central bank found that the three banks had lent $1 billion to unidentified beneficiaries.
The trail points to a UK-registered company, Fortuna United, which is a limited partnership made up of two Seychelles companies.
Fortuna United is named in a leaked report, by the New York-based corporate investigative agency Kroll, as the company that is ultimately owed the entire proceeds of the Moldovan fraud.
Businessman Ilan Shor, a former chairman of Banca de Economii, has told prosecutors that Vlad Filat received payments from the bank, Moldova’s Infotag news agency reports.
Ilan Shor denies involvement in a scheme to siphon off money from the banks.
Thousands of refugees have been stranded at borders in the Balkans, in cold and wet conditions, after Hungary closed its borders with Croatia.
Several hundred, including young children and babies, spent the night in the open at Croatia’s border with Slovenia.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) also complained of a lack of basic supplies at the Serbia-Croatia border.
The western Balkan route has been disrupted by government restrictions.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many from Syria, Africa and Afghanistan, have been making their way from Turkey to the Balkans in recent months, in a bid to reach Germany, Sweden and other EU states.
Slovenia decided at the weekend to restrict the numbers crossing its territory in response to what it said was Austria’s new policy of cutting the numbers entering – something Austria denies.
More than 10,000 refugees are now stranded in Serbia, barred from entering Croatia, according the UNHCR.
“There is a lack of food, lack of blankets – we are missing everything,” spokeswoman Melita Sunjic told Reuters.
On the Croatia-Slovenia border, 500 people spent the night in the open at Trnovec. Police have now allowed them to shelter under canopies attached to immigration huts.
A further 1,800-2,000 slept on a train held on the Croatian side of the border.
Officials told them they could stay temporarily in Croatia or try to make their own way into Slovenia.
Croatia had asked its northern neighbor Slovenia to accept 5,000 refugees daily, but Slovenia said it would only take half that number.
Explaining Slovenia’s new restrictions on October 18, Interior Ministry State Secretary Bostjan Sefic said its northern neighbor Austria was only accepting a maximum of 1,500 people a day.
He said that Slovenia “cannot accept unlimited numbers of migrants if we know that they cannot continue their journey”.
Hungary, citing security concerns, has closed its borders with Serbia and Croatia, forcing refugees to switch to a slower route via Slovenia.
There are reports in Slovenian media that restrictions on its borders with Austria and Croatia are being eased.
Germany’s welcome for Syrian refugees continues to create internal political tensions.
The Pegida organization, which campaigns against immigration, says it expects tens of thousands to demonstrate in the eastern city of Dresden on October 19.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has described Pegida as “hard-right extremists”.
More than 600,000 people, most of them Syrians, have reached Europe so far this year compared with just over 200,000 for the whole of 2014.
Germany has said it expects 800,000 asylum seekers in 2015, but it is believed the number could be as high as 1.5 million.
KFC’s ad parodying a shark attack on Australian surfer Mick Fanning has angered the three-time world champion’s mother.
The ad aired in South Africa, where Mick Fanning was attacked in a competition in July.
In it, an actor who resembles Mick Fanning surfs a wave holding a computer-generated shark over his head.
Mick Fanning’s mother Elizabeth Osborne, who watched the attack unfold on live TV, said it was disrespectful.
“They’ve put a lookalike in the video. It really brings back a lot of trauma for everybody who has been attacked by a shark,” Elizabeth Osborne told Fairfax Media.
“Some families have had fatalities and some people are still absolutely scarred without limbs.
“It’s disrespectful to them and Mick is not at all happy with that,” she said.
Elizabeth Osborne also said the World Surf League (WSL), the sport’s governing body, was considering legal action to have the campaign cut short. A WSL spokesperson declined to comment, according to the report.
Mick Fanning was competing at Jeffreys Bay, on the eastern Cape, during the final of the J-Bay Open when he was knocked off his surfboard and into the sea by a shark.
The Australian punched and kicked the shark before being rescued by a lifeguard on a jet ski.
Mick Fanning escaped injury. The tournament was called off soon afterwards.
Elizabeth Osborne has said it was “absolutely terrifying” to watch the attack unfold on live television.
KFC South Africa has yet to make any comment, but its Australian counterpart sought to distance itself from the commercial.
A KFC Australia spokesman told Fairfax: “The advertisement has been produced in South Africa – KFC Australia is very sensitive to the situation in Australia and this is not the type of ad we would choose to show here.”
China’s economic growth slowed to 6.9% in Q3 of 2015, the weakest rate since the global financial crisis.
The year-on-year growth rate is also below the government’s 7% target.
Though slightly above expectations, the data is expected to raise pressure on policymakers to step up monetary policy to stem the slowdown.
China’s economy has been hit by extreme stock market volatility over the summer and weak economic data, causing concern on markets around the world.
Most analysts were expecting growth figures of 6.8% for Q3 of 2015.
The latest growth figure comes after a slew of disappointing data out of China. Earlier in the month, manufacturing data suggested the sector continued to contract for September.
Imports saw a sharp fall for the past month while inflation eased by more than expected, adding to fears of a rapid slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
China has been attempting to shift from an export-led economy to a consumer and services-led one.
Beijing set an official growth target of “about 7%” for the overall year but PM Li Keqiang said a lower growth rate was also acceptable, as long as enough new jobs were created.
Analysts say the steep fall in imports suggests domestic demand is not as strong as the government would have hoped.
The slowdown comes despite repeated interest rate cuts and other stimulus measures introduced by Beijing.
They could be seen in the industrial production data, in heavy industry and other sectors.
In Q2 of 2015, growth did beat expectations, coming in at 7% from the previous year, matching growth in the first three months of the year.
Economists are, however, continuing to call for more government action, as volatility in the stock markets sparks concerns of financial turmoil and potential social unrest.
