New reports claim that President Barack Obama wrote a secret letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing a shared interest in fighting Islamic State (ISIS).
The letter, reported by the Wall Street Journal, urges Ayatollah Ali Khamenei toward a nuclear agreement.
Barack Obama stresses any co-operation on fighting ISIS is contingent on Iran reaching such an agreement by a November 24 diplomatic deadline.
The White House has declined to comment on Barack Obama’s “private correspondence”.
The letter, sent last month, is at least the fourth time Barack Obama has written to the Iranian leader since taking office in 2009 and underscores his view that Iran is important in an emerging campaign against ISIS.
President Barack Obama is said to have written a secret letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Officials with the Obama administration have, in recent days, placed the chances for a deal on Iran’s nuclear program at only 50-50, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to begin negotiations on the issue with Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif this weekend in Oman.
World powers suspect Iran of trying to make a nuclear bomb, a claim it denies.
An interim deal agreed late last year gave Iran some relief from sanctions in return for curbs on nuclear activity.
However, talks later stalled on the extent of uranium enrichment Iran would be allowed and on the timetable for sanctions to be lifted.
On November 6, White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to comment directly on the secret letter.
“I can tell you that the policy that the president and his administration have articulated about Iran remains unchanged,” he said in response to questions.
Also on November 6, Republican speaker of the House John Boehner said he did not trust Iran’s leaders and said they should not be brought into the fight against ISIS.
New Star Wars title has been revealed as The Force Awakens.
The seventh installment of Star Wars is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
The movie sees a new cast including Daisy Ridley and John Boyega joining original cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
The announcement was made on the movie’s final day of production at Pinewood Studios, just outside London.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been directed by J.J. Abrams, who successfully reinvigorated the Star Trek movie franchise in 2009, and is due to be released on December 18 2015.
Germany has been hit by a four-day rail strike, billed as the longest in the country history.
The strike has hit passenger trains and threatens to disrupt celebrations marking the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
The stoppage by the 20,000-member GDL union hit intercity and regional services alike on November 6 and is due to last until early on November 10.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn is seeking an injunction to halt the strike.
The union rejected the company’s offer of arbitration late on Wednesday.
As commuters struggled to work, on the roads and on restricted rail services, there was widespread concern that the strike would hit up to two million people travelling to Berlin for the 25th anniversary celebrations of the fall of the wall.
Germany has been hit by a four-day rail strike, billed as the longest in the country history
Events are being held throughout the weekend, with concerts, a street festival at the Brandenburg Gate, and guests of honor such as former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
The weekend’s Bundesliga football matches are also likely to be hit by the 100-hour stoppage.
Deutsche Bahn, facing the longest strike in its 20-year history, complained of “massive disturbances” for travelers. The company’s request for an injunction will be heard by a court in Frankfurt later.
One traveler in Munich complained that he was unable to go to Frankfurt: “There are no hire cars left at the station and the buses are booked solid.”
A bus booking website reported a five-fold rise in traffic on its site.
Traffic jams were reported on many key roads across Germany. A 18-mile jam on the A81 motorway between Heilbronn and Stuttgart in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg was described as the worst.
An estimated 30% of long distance trains were running on Thursday morning, while services were more variable on regional and suburban S-Bahn trains.
In some eastern areas, as few as 15% of trains were running, while the number was higher in southern states such as Bavaria.
In areas such as South Bavaria, regional services were barely affected because they are operated privately or by a subsidiary.
GDL is calling for a 5% pay rise and working week cut to 37 hours. But it has been widely criticized for rejecting mediation.
The head of the DBB civil service union, Klaus Dauderstaedt, said he would have recommended arbitration but the union’s head Claus Weselsky argued that Deutsche Bahn had failed to engage with the train drivers seriously.
The company has been hit by several rounds of industrial action since September. Last month, passengers faced a 50-hour strike.
The latest action began on November 5 on goods trains and spread to passenger services at 02:00 on November 6.
A major sticking point in negotiations was the GDL union’s demand to negotiate on behalf of other train staff, including conductors and restaurant staff.
Germany’s government is expected to produce a draft law later this year aimed at stopping small numbers of employees paralyzing large parts of the country’s infrastructure through strike action.
The European Commission will press Luxembourg over new allegations it offered tax breaks for more than 300 global companies, an EU spokesman says.
Commission chief and ex-Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker will not handle the probe, Margaritis Schinas said.
Pepsi and Ikea are among those accused of making deals with Luxembourg to save billions in tax in other countries.
The revelations were published in a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Luxembourg is already under investigation by the EU over suspected “sweetheart” tax deals with online retailer Amazon and the financing arm of carmaker Fiat.
Two other member states, Ireland and Malta, are also being investigated as part of the EU’s crackdown on multinationals’ tax avoidance schemes.
Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel has insisted that the deals abided by international rules on tax, in comments reported by AFP news agency.
The European Commission will press Luxembourg over new allegations it offered tax breaks for more than 300 global companies
The ICIJ said a team of 80 journalists had pored over nearly 28,000 pages of leaked documents showing tax agreements and returns relating to more than 1,000 businesses.
It says the companies created “complicated accounting and legal structures that move profits to low-tax Luxembourg from higher-tax countries where they’re headquartered or do lots of business”.
In some cases, it adds, companies enjoyed tax rates of less than 1% on profits moved into the European duchy.
“The Duchy of Luxembourg has a legitimate government that has to provide answers to the investigation opened by the Commission,” the EU Commission’s spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters on November 6.
When pressed repeatedly about Jean-Claude Juncker’s role in the probe, Margaritis Schinas said that EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager would take charge of the current investigation.
“She will request the appropriate information, enforcing the rules, as is the duty of the European Commission,” he added.
The leaked papers related to some 340 companies, including FedEx, Accenture, Burberry, Procter & Gamble, Heinz, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank.
The deals – which the ICIJ says were legal – were facilitated by the international tax advisory group PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Guardian, which was one of the media outlets working on the probe, said it painted “a damning picture of an EU state which is quietly rubber-stamping tax avoidance on an industrial scale”.
Luxembourg was “like a magical fairyland,” the paper quotes former senior US Treasury official Stephen Shay as saying.
Libya’s Supreme Court has invalidated the elected parliament after a legal challenge by a group of politicians.
Libya’s parliament was internationally recognized.
The court said the parliament was unconstitutional, dealing a blow to Libya’s elected government, which is operating in the country’s east.
The ruling was celebrated by militias occupying the capital Tripoli, who have set up an alternative parliament.
Politicians in Tobruk, the city near the Egyptian border where the parliament is now based, have repeatedly alleged that Tripoli’s courts, judges and their families have been under threat by the coalition of armed groups that controls the capital.
Prosecution lawyers who won Thursday’s case denied that claim.
Libya’s Supreme Court has invalidated the elected parliament after a legal challenge by a group of politicians (photo Reuters)
The reason for the court’s decision is not yet clear. Those behind the challenge – a minority group of dissident lawmakers – say the parliament is unconstitutional because it does not sit in Tripoli or Benghazi, AFP news agency reports.
The group added that parliament had overstepped its authority by calling for foreign military assistance against the militias.
Libya has been plagued by instability since the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Different groups now control most of the country including the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi.
Islamist-leaning militias, some of them remnants of forces which helped oust Muammar Gaddafi, have been fighting for power among themselves.
Recent clashes forced the country’s parliament to move to Tobruk.
The groups that took control of the capital in August attempted to reinstate Libya’s previous parliament and appoint a parallel government, but this has not been recognized internationally.
Meanwhile, a cousin of Muammar Gaddafi has said that former regime figures are planning to return to Libya within two months.
Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam told the Times newspaper that they would return once government forces regained control of the country’s major cities.
He claimed exiled supporters of Muammar Gaddafi were in talks with parliament, despite it being forced out of the capital.
Flamenco legend Manitas de Plata – “Little Hands of Silver” – has died in the south of France at the age of 93.
During a long international career the guitarist sold 93 million records.
Born Ricardo Baliardos in a Gypsy caravan, he mastered the guitar as a child without being able to read music.
Manitas de Plata recorded his first album in 1963 and went on a world tour after a triumphant concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
During a long international career Manitas de Plata sold 93 million records
As a rising star, Manitas de Plata frequented cafes on the French Riviera and associated with celebrities including actress Brigitte Bardot and the artists Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.
He had dozens of offspring, and once admitted he could not say for sure how many children he had. Among his children, reports suggest, were various members of the popular Gypsy Kings group.
Manitas de Plata’s talent continued to inspire generations of guitarists long after his celebrity had waned.
Nonetheless Manitas de Plata died a poor man, having spent much of his earnings on his extensive family, French media report. His daughter Francoise said he died in a retirement home, with family members at his bedside.
Asian stock markets opened higher on November 6 after US stocks hit record highs on Republicans taking control of the Senate.
The Republican victory raised investor hopes for more pro-business and energy-friendly policies from the US government.
The Dow Jones jumped to a new record close of 17,484.53, while the S&P 500 also finished at a record 2,023.57.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 0.4% to 17,012.71 after five days of gains.
The yen strengthened marginally against the dollar to 114.63, down from 114.69 yen in New York trade.
Asian stock markets opened higher after US stocks hit record highs on Republicans taking control of the Senate
In Greater China, Hong Kong shares opened up 0.2% with the Hang Seng index at 23,737.76.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index was higher 0.1% to 2,423.23 points.
In Australia, shares were trading lower 0.1% with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index at 5,510.20 points despite news that employment figures rebounded in October.
Government data showed that Australia added an estimated 24,100 jobs in October, recovering from a revised 23,700 drop in September. But concerns about the reliability of the data that has been revised a few times in past months weighed on investor sentiment.
Shares of struggling television channel Ten Network rose as much as over 10% in early trade after it said it had hired Citigroup to assess “strategic options” as reports surfaced of takeover offers.
In South Korea, the Kospi index was up over 0.3% at 1,937.78 points.
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, has bought the Armand de Brignac champagne brand.
New York wine and spirits company Sovereign Brands said it had sold the luxury brand to Jay-Z for an undisclosed amount.
The champagne, also known as “Ace of Spades”, is produced in the French town of Chigny-les-Roses by eight people.
Jay-Z has bought the Armand de Brignac champagne brand
The golden-bottled champagne, which featured in a 2006 Jay-Z music video, sells for $300.
Jay-Z, 44, has been known for his love of the champagne, which is bottled at a winemaking house founded in 1763. He reportedly displayed 350 bottles of the drink at a fundraiser that he and his wife Beyonce Knowles threw for President Barack Obama in a New York night club in 2012.
The acquisition is the latest addition to Jay-Z’s vast business interests outside of his music, which include a clothing line, restaurants and a recording label.
Jay-Z is considered the third richest hip-hop artist in the world with an estimated net worth of $520 million, according to Forbes magazine.
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has appeared in a New Zealand court on charges of attempting to arrange a murder.
Phil Rudd, who was born in Australia, has also been charged with possessing the drugs methamphetamine and cannabis, and of making threats to kill.
The musician’s waterfront house in Tauranga, on New Zealand’s North Island, was raided on Thursday morning, November 6.
AC/DC are due to release a new album later this year.
Phil Rudd, 60, was released on bail after a brief appearance at Tauranga district court.
As part of his bail conditions, he must not have any contact with anyone involved in the alleged murder plot.
Phil Rudd has appeared in a New Zealand court on charges of attempting to arrange a murder
Local media reports say that the alleged plot targeted two men. The judge ruled that their names as well as that of the alleged hit-man cannot be revealed.
Phil Rudd will appear in court again on November 27. He has yet to enter a plea.
Under New Zealand law, the charge of attempting to “procure” a murder carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
A police official quoted by the SunLive news website said the information that led to the raid on the house was provided by a member of the public.
Phil Rudd was kicked out of the band in 1983 and rejoined in 1994.
Phil Rudd did not appear in a new photo of AC/DC members released last month to promote their upcoming album Rock Or Bust, and was reportedly absent from the filming of a new music video, prompting online speculation about whether he was still in the band.
The US stock market closed higher with investors relieved that the midterm elections produced a clear result.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit fresh records.
Sentiment was also boosted by an upbeat jobs survey, raising hopes that the official payroll figures on Friday will be strong.
The Dow Jones closed after adding 100.69 points at 17,484.53.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 11.47 points to 2,023.57 while the NASDAQ lost early gains and fell 2.91 points to 4,620.72.
The US stock market closed higher with investors relieved that the midterm elections produced a clear result (photo Reuters)
Energy shares rose on hopes that the Republican majority in the Senate could lead to new energy-friendly legislation.
The midterm vote also boosted the dollar, which jumped to a seven-year high against the yen of 114.65 yen.
Meanwhile, investors were impressed by a report from payroll processor ADP which said that private firms in the US added 230,000 jobs in October. This was ahead of forecasts and the largest increase since June.
Among individual firms, shares in TripAdvisor dived 14% after the travel review website’s third quarter results fell short of expectations.
Net income for the quarter fell to $54 million from $56 million a year earlier, following a big increase in marketing costs.
Time Warner shares rose 4% after its third quarter profit and revenue beat expectations. It posted net income of $967 million with revenue up 3.3% to $6.24 billion.
Beyonce has topped Forbes’ Highest-Paid Women In Music List in 2014 with more than $115 million.
Beyonce had the “biggest year of her career”, playing 95 shows, bringing in an average $2.4 million per city, according to Forbes magazine.
Endorsement deals with companies like Pepsi and H&M, along with the surprise album she released in December 2013, helped Beyonce to the top spot.
The self-titled album was released on iTunes with no prior promotion.
Beyonce has just announced she’ll be releasing a platinum version of that album later this month, which will include new songs and a concert video.
Taylor Swift came in second on the Forbes list, taking home an estimated $64 million.
Completing the top three is Pink, who played 85 dates during the time period Forbes used to make its estimates.
Beyonce has topped Forbes’ Highest-Paid Women In Music List in 2014
Her earnings were valued at $52 million.
Other artists on the list include Rihanna in fourth with $48 million and Katy Perry, who took home $40 million, in fifth.
Forbes calculated earnings by looking at income from “touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures” between June 2013 and June 2014.
They also interviewed managers, lawyers and executives and looked at data from organizations such as Nielsen SoundScan.
Some of the high-profile artists who missed out on a spot in the top 10 included Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Alicia Keys.
Stars including Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker have paid a farewell in song to their former Cream bandmate Jack Bruce at his funeral.
Jack Bruce died on October 25 as a result of liver disease.
Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker were among a number of musicians who joined Jack Bruce’s family at Golders Green Crematorium in north London.
They sang songs including Morning Has Broken and Strawberry Fields Forever.
Jack Bruce died on October 25 as a result of liver disease
The order of service described Jack Bruce, who was 71 when he died, as a “beloved husband, father, granddad and all round legend”.
His friend and Cream lyricist Pete Brown shared reminiscences with guests, which also included contributions from Jack Bruce’s son Malcolm, daughters Natasha and Kyla, a poem written by another son Corin and a tribute from his wife Margrit.
Jack Bruce, who was originally from Bishopbriggs near Glasgow, was said to have been one of the best bass players in the history of rock music.
He was most famous for his role alongside Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in Cream. The 1960s supergroup created enduring tracks such as White Room, Sunshine Of Your Love, I Feel Free and Badge.
The trio reformed for a series of shows in 2005, which included dates at the Royal Albert Hall.
Also attending the funeral service were the Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, Procol Harum star Gary Brooker, guitarist Vernon Reid and the musician and composer Nitin Sawhney.
At least one person has been killed after a Palestinian driver has rammed a car into several pedestrians in Jerusalem, hours after clashes erupted at the city’s holiest site.
About a dozen people were injured and the driver was shot dead by police.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was “a direct result of incitement” by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
A similar car attack by a Palestinian took place in the same area two weeks ago which left a woman and a baby dead.
Meanwhile Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel over what it called the “unprecedented Israeli escalation” at holy and sensitive sites in Jerusalem.
Also citing continued settlement activity, Jordan is to lodge a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council in protest, the Jordanian state news agency Petra reported.
Israeli media reports say the driver – named as Ibrahim al-Akari – was from Shuafat refugee camp in the east of the city.
At least one person has been killed after a Palestinian driver has rammed a car into several pedestrians in Jerusalem
His Facebook page states that he is a member of Hamas, and the Twitter account for the group’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, described him as a member and a martyr.
Two weeks ago a Palestinian from the Abu Tor area drove his car into a tram station, killing a three-month-old baby and an Ecuadorean woman.
East Jerusalem has experienced growing unrest in recent months with Palestinians angry at Israeli settlement expansion on occupied land and restricted access to the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
At times of tension, Israeli police bar male Muslim worshippers under the age of 50 from entering the compound as a security measure.
The Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif compound was briefly closed earlier to visitors after dozens of Palestinian protesters fought with police.
Teresa Romero, the Spanish nurse who became the first person known to have contracted Ebola outside West Africa in the latest outbreak, has given an emotional account of her ordeal as she left hospital.
Teresa Romero, 44, said she had clung to memories of family when she thought she was dying and still does not know how she caught the disease.
She had treated two returning Spanish missionaries who later died.
Teresa Romero vowed to donate blood to other Ebola victims until she “ran dry”.
In her first press conference after being discharged from the Carlos III hospital, she also condemned Spanish officials for putting down her dog.
She said they had unnecessarily “executed” the mixed breed Excalibur.
On her release from hospital, Teresa Romero read a statement, saying: “When I felt I was dying I would cling to my memories, to my family and my husband, I was isolated and I did not have any contact with the exterior except with (husband) Javier by telephone.”
She said she felt the disease “did not matter to the Western world until there was an infection here”.
Teresa Romero became the first person known to have contracted Ebola outside West Africa in the latest outbreak (photo AFP)
She added: “I don’t know what failed, or if anything failed. I just know that I don’t hold any grudges.”
Teresa Romero recovered after being given a variety of treatments including blood plasma from survivor Paciencia Melgar.
She said that she wanted to meet the nun and “give her a big hug”.
“I can never be grateful enough,” she said.
An antiviral drug was also given to Teresa Romero but the hospital was unable to say which method had been successful.
The nurse said that if her blood helped cure another Ebola sufferer she would “repeat it again until I run dry”.
Teresa Romero also thanked the hospital staff for their support and said it would have been “impossible” to save her life without it.
Hospital chief Rafael Perez-Santamarina told reporters it was “excellent news after a very complicated month for everyone”.
Teresa Romero no longer posed a risk and could lead a normal life, said Jose Ramon Arribas, the head of the Carlos III hospital’s infectious diseases unit.
Although she would be able to return to home, she would need “time for a full recovery from a very dramatic event,” his colleague Jose Ramon Arribas added.
“The main joy is that finally it’s been possible to save someone with Ebola and more importantly a colleague,” fellow nurse Esther Bellon said.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed some 5,000 people. The vast majority of the deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Mitch McConnell, the presumptive Republican leader of the US Senate, has vowed to “work together” with President Barack Obama on issues where they can agree.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said working within a two-party political system did not mean “we have to live in perpetual conflict”.
Mitch McConnell and a host of Republicans swept to victory in the Senate, and now control both chambers of Congress.
President Barack Obama will respond later to what was a terrible result for Democrats.
Mitch McConnell is the presumptive Republican leader of the US Senate
As the new Senate majority leader when the new Congress sits in January, Mitch McConnell will control the chamber’s legislative agenda and floor proceedings.
He has been a fierce critic of the president’s healthcare overhaul and once vowed to block Barack Obama at every turn. But in the glow of victory, he hinted at compromise.
“Tonight we begin another [race]… the race to turn this country around, to restore hope and confidence and optimism to this commonwealth and across this nation,” Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday evening.
“Too many in Washington have forgotten that their job is to serve,” he added.
“We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree.”
Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Barack Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the first results came in late on November 4, it became clear they had made the six gains they needed to win control of the Senate.
The Republicans won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. The party now controls 52 seats, and is tipped to win at least one more as votes are counted in other states.
The Republicans are also projected to increase their majority – by at least 10 seats – in the House of Representatives to levels not seen since before World War Two.
They also made gains among the 36 governorships up for re-election.
The Republicans will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Barack Obama’s agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House.
Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.
Turkey’s new presidential palace costs about $615 million – nearly twice the previous estimate, officials say.
The controversial 1,000-room palace known as Ak Saray (White Palace) was built on a forested hilltop on the edge of the capital Ankara, on more than 1.6 million sq ft of land.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the palace on August 30 after becoming president.
His AK Party has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade.
The palace is bigger than the White House in Washington, the Kremlin in Moscow and even the Palace of Versailles near Paris.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, quoted by Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper, said most of the 1.37 billion Turkish lira ($615 million) cost had been paid, but another $135 million had been budgeted for it in 2015.
The palace has sumptuous marble corridors and atriums, as well as high-tech systems to prevent electronic eavesdropping.
The controversial 1,000-room palace known as Ak Saray was built on a forested hilltop on the edge of Ankara, on more than 1.6 million sq ft of land (photo EPA)
Environmentalists accuse Recep Tayyip Erdogan of spending public money on lavish construction projects to the detriment of green areas. Activists defending Istanbul’s Gezi Park clashed with police in June 2013.
Hurriyet says the palace project was controversial because hundreds of trees were cut down to make space for it, in what had been a forest reserve bequeathed to the nation by modern Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The finance minister also said $185m would be spent on a new Airbus A330-200 presidential jet.
A presidential aide, Fahri Kasirga, said other presidential properties would be renovated next year, notably the Huber Palace in Istanbul and a guest house in Marmaris, on the Aegean coast.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has moved out of the more modest Cankaya Palace in Ankara, which will now be used by PM Ahmet Davutoglu.
An Indian man organized a Hindu wedding ceremony for his monkeys.
More than 200 villagers in northern India have attended the elaborate wedding ceremony for the two monkeys.
The owner, Udesh Mahto, said the male was “like an adopted son” to him.
The ceremony took place on Monday evening in Bettiah district in Bihar state, with the “bride” dressed in an orange frock and the “groom” wearing a yellow T-shirt.
Monkeys are revered idols in Hindu mythology.
Ramu and his bride, a female monkey called Ramdulari
The 13-year-old male monkey named Ramu and his bride, a female monkey called Ramdulari, were taken in a procession on top of a flower-bedecked SUV, accompanied by music and dancing. Hundreds of villagers lined the route to greet the “couple”.
Udesh Mahto, a daily wage worker who has three sons, said Ramu was “like my eldest son”.
He brought Ramu from Nepal about seven years ago, and later bought Ramdulari from a village fair.
A local Hindu priest Sunil Shastri “solemnized” the wedding.
Wedding cards were printed and a band was hired to play at the wedding. Guests were served a feast.
Many people from neighboring villages turned up to see the procession and take pictures which they posted on social networking sites.
Kim Jong-un has been pictured by North Korean media walking without a cane at an army meeting, following speculation about his health.
The North Korean leadr was not seen in public for nearly six weeks before appearing at an event using a walking stick last month.
South Korean intelligence said Kim Jong-un had surgery to remove an ankle cyst.
Kim Jong-un’s health has been the subject of much rumor in recent years, with some saying he may be suffering from gout or hip problems.
The latest pictures, which came out in newspaper Rodong Sinmun on November 5, show Kim Jong-un meeting with military commanders.
Kim Jong-un pictured walking without a cane at an army meeting, following speculation about his health
North Korea agency KCNA said Kim Jong-un had attended the army meeting on November 3 and November 4 and posed with participants for photographs.
He was accompanied by right-hand man Hwang Pyong-so and other top leaders.
Kim Jong-un missed a key political event in October – the anniversary of his ruling party. But South Korea said it believed he remained in control.
South Korean intelligence later said that Kim Jong-un had developed a cyst on his left ankle in May, pinching a nerve and causing the ankle to swell.
A team of European medical experts were said to have flown to Pyongyang in September or October to operate on Kim Jong-un’s left ankle and remove the cyst.
Canadian Jordan Axani is offering free plane tickets to a female compatriot to fly “around the world”.
The man has made the offer on one condition – his fellow traveler must be called Elizabeth Gallagher.
Jordan Axani, 28, broke up with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Gallagher, in March and needs someone with the same name who can use the tickets.
He wants to give the tickets away rather than change the name on them.
Jordan Axani said it would be “the headache or money to cancel” them.
The itinerary for the trip to Europe, the US and India includes stops in Milan, Prague, Paris, New York and Delhi between December and January.
Jordan Axani is offering free plane tickets around the world to a female compatriot called Elizabeth Gallagher
Jordan Axani has advertised the tickets on Reddit.
He wrote: “I need your help.
“You see, in March I booked a fairly wicked trip around the world for this Christmas for my ex and I.
“While our relationship has come to a close, I am still planning on going on the trip and she is not (naturally).
“And because I hate the idea of a ticket around the world going to waste, I am looking for a Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher who could use the ticket.”
Until now, no one has been selected yet.
Jordan Axani explained that he created the advert because the “archaic system that is modern air travel” meant changing the name on the ticket would be “damn near impossible”.
He describes himself as “a totally normal 28-year-old guy living in Toronto” and insists that he is “not looking for anything in return”.
“I am not looking for companionship, romance, drugs, a trade, or to take selfies with you in front the Christmas market in Prague,” Jordan Axani wrote.
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The party won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
It is expected to post more gains as votes are counted in other states.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, poised to lead the chamber, said the result was a vote against “a government that people can no longer trust”.
In the midterms, so-called because they fell half way into Barack Obama’s second four-year term in office, about one-third of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 36 of 50 state governors, and countless state and local offices were up for election.
Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Barack Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the first results came in late on November 4, it became clear they had made convincing gains in the chamber.
With the votes still being counted in many states, the Republican Party easily won the six seats it needed to win control of the Senate.
The party controls 52 seats, and is tipped to win more.
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency
When the new Congress is sworn in January, it will mark the first time the Republicans have held both chambers since 2006.
They will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Barack Obama’s agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House.
Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.
In addition to seats the party won from the Democrats, the Republicans retained seats in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
In Louisiana, neither of the top two candidates gained 50% of the vote, forcing a run-off election in early December.
In Virginia, Democrat Mark Warner was expected to retain his Senate seat amid a much tighter than expected race with Republican ex-lobbyist Ed Gillespie.
One of the night’s key early results came in Kentucky, where Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, fended off Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Mitch McConnell will now become the Senate majority leader, giving him control over the chamber’s legislative agenda and floor proceedings.
“It wasn’t about me or my opponent,” he told supporters as he declared victory, “it was about a government that people can no longer trust.”
Current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid congratulated Mitch McConnell in a short statement.
“The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together,” said Harry Reid of Nevada, whose role in the soon-to-be Democratic minority remains uncertain.
“I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class.”
As well as taking the Senate, the Republicans are projected to increase their majority in the House of Representatives, where all 435 members were up for re-election.
They also made gains among the 36 governorships up for re-election.
Republican governors survived tough re-election battles in Florida, Maine and Wisconsin.
In two results that illustrate the breadth of the Republican sweep, the party’s candidates won in Maryland and Massachusetts, two of the most Democratic-friendly states in the nation. Republican Bruce Rauner also won in Illinois – Barack Obama’s home state – against incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.
Political gridlock in Congress has already reached historic levels and was a major concern among voters, with many expressing their frustration with the lack of progress on the key issues facing the nation.
Analysts say the Republicans’ victory could make the situation even worse before the president poll in 2016.
Republican leaders have already pledged to move forward on their key policy priorities, pressing Barack Obama to negotiate on their terms
“It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy,” said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of recklessly assaulting his four-year-old son.
The NFL star will avoid a jail sentence after reaching a plea agreement with a court in Texas.
Adrian Peterson, who used a wooden implement to discipline his son in the Texas town of Spring in May, was put on probation and fined $4,000.
The player has been on paid leave pending resolution of the case.
He had been facing a possible two years in prison but the judge in Conroe, 40 miles north of Houston, accepted the plea agreement.
Adrian Peterson used a wooden implement to discipline his four-year-old son
Adrian Peterson will also do 80 hours of community service.
He was said to have punished his son after the boy pushed another of his children off a motorbike video game.
The “whooping” – how Adrian Peterson allegedly referred to the incident in a police interview – resulted in cuts and bruises to the boy’s back, buttocks and legs, local media reported.
Adrian Peterson’s defense attorney Rusty Hardin earlier described his client as a “loving father” who had “used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas”.
“It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury,” Rusty Hardin said.
Crude oil prices have reached a four-year low after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut the price of oil sold to the US.
Brent crude fell to near $82 a barrel as worries about global growth also spooked investors.
Earlier, the European Commission reduced its growth forecasts for the eurozone.
Investors are concerned about the US oil industry in the face of slowing growth and lower prices.
Crude oil prices have reached a four-year low after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut the price of oil sold to the US
Some worry that low oil prices could hurt domestic US producers dependent on high prices for profitability.
The price cut also sent shares in many energy firms lower, pushing down all three US share indexes.
Surging revenues from the US oil boom have led to calls on the government to remove regulations restricting the sale of US crude oil abroad.
In the interim, the growth in domestic oil production has helped the US trade deficit, as the US has become less dependent on importing foreign oil.
Separately on November 4, the Commerce Department’s latest release showed that the US trade deficit unexpectedly widened in September as exports hit a five-month low, mostly due to economic weakness in Europe.
The Commerce Department said the trade gap increased by 7.6% to $43.03 billion, as China and eurozone orders decrease and the strength of the US dollar hurt exports.
In a recent interview, Honey Boo Boo’s sister Anna Shannon Cardwell has opened up about the alleged incidents that happened as a child.
The reality star has been in the center of ongoing controversy after she said she was molested as a child by her mother’s then-boyfriend Mark McDaniel.
“Mama can be very selfish,” Anna “Chickadee” told E! News during a one to one interview with Catt Sadler.
“She ain’t tell me she love me in a long time.”
Anna Shannon Cardwell then spoke: “You’re 8 years old, you don’t know. To me, it was kinda like, oh, get off me, it hurts. Stay off and leave me alone. And I’d just go to sleep and cry.”
As for June Shannon’s relationship with Mark McDaniel, Anna Chickadee said: “She’s always loved him.”
The 20-year-old added: “She’s using Sugar Bear to cover her ass.”
Anna Shannon Cardwell has been in the center of ongoing controversy after she said she was molested as a child by her mother’s then-boyfriend Mark McDaniel
Anna Chickadee Shannon told E! News that there are trust funds for all the girls, noting that $30,000 was set aside from show earnings, and claimed that she called the bank and was told there was only $17.90 in the account.
“I have a feeling Mama used that money to buy a car or buy him what he wanted,” Anna Shannon Cardwell told E! News.
June Shannon denies these claims: “Not true. I have never brought a car for him and all her money is there, beside the money I have given her to live on – $400 every month and pay her $475 each month for cell phone bills for the last two years. That’s the only money I have taken out of there.”
Mama June has also denied reports that she and her ex Mark McDaniel, who served 10 years in prison for a 2004 aggravated child molestation conviction, were back together.
President Petro Poroshenko has ordered more troops to key southern and eastern Ukraine cities in case of a new rebel offensive.
Petro Poroshenko said the units were to protect Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kharkiv and the north of Luhansk region.
He spoke after meeting security chiefs in the wake of disputed polls in rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Petro Poroshenko said he was still committed to the current peace process but has proposed cancelling a key plank of the plan.
The peace process was laid out in a September 5 ceasefire deal agreed in Minsk, Belarus.
President Petro Poroshenko has ordered more troops to key southern and eastern Ukraine cities in case of a new rebel offensive
Angered by the elections, Petro Poroshenko has proposed scrapping a law that gives special status to Donetsk and Luhansk.
Both regions staged swearing-in ceremonies for their pro-Russian leaders on Tuesday, following the elections there on November 2.
Alexander Zakharchenko was inaugurated president of the Donetsk People’s Republic while Igor Plotnitsky was sworn in as president of the Luhansk People’s Republic.
The polls were held against the background of a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April.
Ukraine accuses Russia of arming the rebels and sending Russian regular troops across the border – a claim denied by Moscow.
Both the government and rebel sides have repeatedly violated the ceasefire.
Ukraine and its Western allies have condemned the elections in the east.
At the meeting of his security chiefs, Petro Poroshenko said the Ukrainian reinforcements would be for the “construction of fortifications” against a “possible offensive in the direction of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kharkiv and Luhansk north”.
He said Ukraine remained “a supporter of the peace plan” and would adhere to its terms, which were agreed in Minsk by delegations from Ukraine, Russia, rebels and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
