Matt Lucas will host this year’s International Emmy Awards ceremony in New York.
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences president Bruce Paisner called Matt Lucas “one of the most talented comedic performers and writers of his generation”.
Bruce Paisner said: “We’re delighted to have him headlining the International Emmys.”
Matt Lucas will host this year’s International Emmy Awards ceremony in New York
The International Emmy Awards take place on November 24 in New York.
The awards celebrate TV production outside the US.
Matt Lucas is best known to global audiences for appearing in films such as Bridesmaids and Alice in Wonderland.
New York doctor Craig Spencer, who recently returned from Ebola-hit Guinea in West Africa, has tested positive for the virus.
Dr. Craig Spencer, who treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), came down with a fever on October 23, days after his return, officials say.
He is the first Ebola case diagnosed in New York, and the fourth in the US.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola – mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – since March.
Dr. Craig Spencer, 33, left Guinea on October 14, and returned to New York City on October 17 via Europe. On October 21 he began to feel tired and developed a fever and diarrhea on October 23.
He immediately contacted medical services and was taken to the city’s Bellevue Hospital, where he is being kept in isolation.
President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Craig Spencer.
New York officials said Dr. Craig Spencer had travelled on the subway and gone out jogging before he started feeling unwell.
Dr. Craig Spencer treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in Guinea (photo Facebook)
At a news conference late on Thursday, they sought to ease fears of an outbreak in the densely populated city of 8.4 million people, saying officials had prepared for weeks for an Ebola case.
“There is no reason for New Yorkers to be alarmed,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“Ebola is an extremely hard disease to contract. New Yorkers who have not been exposed to an infected person’s bodily fluids are not at risk.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo said: “We can’t say that this is an unexpected circumstance.”
President Barack Obama telephoned both the mayor and the governor to discuss the deployment of health officials and to offer “any additional federal support necessary”, the White House said.
Ebola patients are only infectious if they have symptoms, and the disease is only transmittable through bodily fluids, experts say.
Andrew Cuomo said officials had identified four people with whom Dr. Craig Spencer had contact during the period in which he was potentially infectious.
His fiancée and two friends have been placed into quarantine, said Dr. Mary Bassett, New York’s health commissioner.
Dr. Craig Spencer is the fourth person to be diagnosed with the disease in the US.
The first patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, caught Ebola in his native Liberia and travelled to Dallas, Texas, before his symptoms set in. He died on October 8.
Two nurses who treated him in Dallas subsequently came down with the disease and are recovering in hospital.
Meanwhile, on Thursday the West African country of Mali confirmed its first Ebola case – a two-year-old girl recently returned from Guinea.
Mali is now the sixth West African country to be affected by the latest Ebola outbreak – however Senegal and Nigeria have since been declared virus-free by the WHO.
Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already identified at least two experimental vaccines which it believes could be promising.
At a meeting in Geneva, the UN health body said it wanted tests of the vaccines to be completed by the end of December.
The WHO says 443 health workers have contracted Ebola, of whom 244 have died.
Mark Zuckerberg was in Beijing as a newly appointed member of the advisory board for Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management.
As part of that role, Mark Zuckerberg met students for a 30-minute chat, which he conducted in Mandarin.
Facebook founder’s attempt to woo the audience by speaking Mandarin has had mixed reviews from Chinese speakers.
There was plenty of reaction to his attempts to communicate in Chinese.
“It’s hard to describe in English what Zuckerberg’s Mandarin sounded like but I’d put it roughly at the level of someone who studied for two years in college, which means he can communicate like an articulate seven-year-old with a mouth full of marbles,” one blogger wrote.
Others commented: “Oh my god… this is terrible… but apart from the tones, he seems to have learnt the vocabulary and grammar pretty well.”
News outlet Quartz described Mark Zuckerberg’s 30-minute chat as making him sound “like someone was stepping on his face”.
Mark Zuckerberg was in Beijing as a newly appointed member of the advisory board for Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management
One tonal slip-up led Mark Zuckerberg to claim that Facebook had just 11 mobile users instead of one billion.
While most agreed that his pronunciation was far from fluent, most were also impressed that he had attempted it at all.
Mark Zuckerberg, who is married to Chinese-American Priscilla Chan, set himself the goal of learning Mandarin in 2010, in part so that he could communicate with Priscilla’s relatives.
Facebook as a company is also keen to improve relationships with China. There is currently a ban on the use of the social media site, which dates since 2009.
There was no explicit chat about the ban and Mark Zuckerberg described China as a “great country”.
“The Chinese language is difficult, and I speak English, but I like challenges,” he said.
On Facebook’s future in China, Mark Zuckerberg was diplomatic: “We are already in China. We help Chinese companies gain customers abroad. We want to help the rest of the world connect to China.”
Fellow chief executive – Apple’s Tim Cook – was also in China, questioning officials about an alleged hack of its iCloud service.
Tim Cook will attend a meeting at Beijing’s Tsinghua University with Mark Zuckerberg later in the week.
Meanwhile he has had talks with the vice premier of China to discuss protecting user data in the wake of recent alleged hack attacks targeting iCloud users.
The attacks were revealed by Chinese activist group GreatFire.org, which accused the Chinese government of being involved.
iCloud user data was collected by creating a spoof icloud.com website.
Tim Cook also used the trip to China to visit Foxconn’s iPhone factory and said that the company would open 25 retail stores in China in the next two years.
Canadian police have released a video showing how gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed into the parliament’s building on October 22.
Minutes before, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, had shot dead a soldier at Ottawa’s war memorial near parliament.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was ultimately shot dead by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
The gunman was not on a list of known high-risk travelers, but had links to extremist elements, police said. He had recently applied for a passport and intended to travel to Syria.
At a news conference on October 23, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Bob Paulson described Michael Zehaf-Bibeau as a Canadian-born petty criminal with possible dual citizenship in Libya, where his father was from.
Bob Paulson said Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was not among the 90 individuals known to Canadian security forces as a “high-risk traveler”, contrary to earlier reports.
Nor was he linked to the Muslim convert who on October 20 killed a Canadian soldier in Quebec in a hit-and-run attack.
Canadian police have released a video showing how gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed into the parliament’s building
“[Michael Zehaf-Bibeau] was an individual who may have held extremist beliefs,” said Bob Paulson, who suggested the passport application process may have driven him to violence.
“I think the passport figured prominently in his motives. I’m not inside his head, but I think it was central to what was driving him.”
Killed in the Wednesday morning attack was Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old reservist from Ontario who was standing as an unarmed honor guard, in ceremonial dress, at Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Canadian capital’s Parliament Hill.
According to the RCMP investigation, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau arrived in Ottawa on October 2, intending to deal with an issue related to his application for a passport.
“He was waiting to get it, and there was an investigation going on to determine to see whether he would get a passport,” Bob Paulson said.
On October 21, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau purchased the beige car used in the attack. On October 22 at about 09:50, he approached the war memorial from behind, fired twice at Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who never saw him coming, then fired on the second guard. Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was struck, but the shot missed the second guard.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau yelled something in English, then drove north on Wellington Street toward Parliament Hill. He stopped his car directly in front of the parliament complex’s East Block, and alighted from his vehicle brandishing a rifle as pedestrians fled.
Video shows Michael Zehaf-Bibeau hijacked a minister’s car, then sped off toward Centre Block, by now pursued by police.
At Centre Block, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau left the stolen car and ran into the building, exchanging gunfire with House of Commons security forces and RCMP officers.
He was ultimately shot dead by Sergeant-at-Arms Vickers, a former senior RCMP officer, who received a standing ovation in parliament on Thursday.
Only one minute and 23 seconds elapsed between the time Michael Zehaf-Bibeau parked his own car and when he entered Center Block.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s assault has shaken a nation already reeling from Monday’s attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in which 25-year-old Martin Couture-Rouleau smashed his car into two Canadian soldiers in a car park, killing one.
Martin Couture-Rouleau, who authorities say was “inspired” by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq and Syria, led police on a brief chase before he wrecked his car, exited the vehicle reportedly brandishing a knife, and was shot dead by the officers.
PM Stephen Harper has vowed to strengthen the nation’s anti-terrorism laws, and has said Canada will not be intimidated by such violence, nor swayed from its role fighting IS in Iraq alongside the US military.
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau is now under 24-hour protection, authorities have said.
Mali has confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country.
The Malian government said a two-year-old girl had tested positive for the haemorrhagic virus. She recently returned from the neighboring Guinea.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola – mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – since March.
Meanwhile, an international team of scientists has been set up to determine the effectiveness of using the blood of Ebola survivors as a treatment.
It is hoped the antibodies used by the immune system to fight Ebola can be transferred from a survivor to a patient. The study will start in Guinea.
More than 4,800 people have died of Ebola since March 2014
Speaking on state television on October 23, Malian Health Minister Ousmane Kone said the infected girl was being treated in the western town of Kayes.
The girl was brought to a local hospital on October 22 and her blood sample was Ebola-positive, Ousmane Kone said.
The child and those who have come into contact with her have been put in quarantine.
The girl’s mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was then brought by relatives to Mali, Reuters news agency quotes a health ministry official as saying.
Mali is now the sixth West African country to be affected by the latest Ebola outbreak – however Senegal and Nigeria have since been declared virus-free by the WHO.
Boko Haram militants have reportedly abducted dozens of women and girls from two villages in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa state.
The abductions have not been confirmed by the authorities, but Adamawa residents say they took place a day after the military announced it had agreed a ceasefire with the Boko Haram group.
The government hopes the Islamist group will free more than 200 girls seized in April as part of negotiations.
Boko Haram has not confirmed the truce.
Following the ceasefire announcement, the government said further talks with Boko Haram were due to be held this week in neighboring Chad.
In a separate incident, at least five people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus station in a town in the northern state of Bauchi.
Boko Haram militants have reportedly abducted dozens of women and girls from two villages in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa state (photo AFP)
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
News of the new abductions came as Nigerian lawmakers approved a $1 billion loan – requested by the president in July – to upgrade military equipment and train more units fighting the north-eastern insurgency.
But they asked the finance minister to give the chamber more details about how the external borrowing would be sourced.
Security already costs the country close to $6 billion, roughly a quarter of the federal budget.
The abduction of the schoolgirls from their boarding school in Borno state sparked a global campaign to pressure the government to secure their release.
Borno is the group’s stronghold. It has been under a state of emergency, along with neighboring Adamawa and Yobe states, for more than a year.
The villages that were attacked on Saturday – Waga Mangoro and Garta – are close to Madagali and Michika towns, which have been under the control of the Islamist militant group for several weeks.
According to people in the area, a large group of insurgents attacked the villages, rounding up women and girls.
They forced them to harvest groundnuts on a farm, then abducted those who were teenagers or in their early 20s.
Communication with the affected area is difficult, which is why it takes time for news of attacks to filter out.
Other raids by suspected Boko Haram fighters were reported by residents in Adamawa and Borno over the weekend.
Since the state of emergency was declared in May 2013, Boko Haram has taken many women and children hostage and has agreed to some prisoner swaps.
Frank Sivero has filed a lawsuit against Fox claiming The Simpsons character of Louie, a member of Springfield’s Mafia, was based on his portrayal of Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
Legal documents have been made public on the gossip website Deadline.
It’s 23 years since Louie made his debut opposite the cartoon’s mob boss Fat Tony.
Now Frank Sivero wants $250 million for the alleged infringement.
He claims he was “the originator of the idea and character” of Louie, as he based Goodfellas‘ Frankie Carbone on his own personality.
Frank Sivero has filed a lawsuit against Fox claiming The Simpsons character of Louie was based on his portrayal of Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas
In the documents he claims at that time, in 1989, he was living in the same apartment complex as James L. Brooks, when “they saw each other almost every day”.
Frank Sivero also says he was promised a film and a part in the future of The Simpsons and claims he lost money because he was “type-cast” as a result of Louie.
Like Frankie, Louie has black curly hair, but Dan Castellenata, who voiced the character, said he based the voice on Joe Pesci, also in Goodfellas.
It’s not the first time this year Frank Sivero has taken legal action after claiming his rights to the Goodfellas character were infringed.
In July Frank Sivero filed a suit against a Californian sandwich shop Deli Belly because they named an Italian-style sandwich “the Frankie Sivero” after he ate there.
F1 champion Michael Schumacher has made “some progress”, a doctor who treated him for nearly six months after his brain injury in a skiing accident has said.
Jean-Francois Payen, a doctor at the French hospital in Grenoble where Michael Schumacher was treated, warned that any recovery would take time.
The typical convalescence period was one to three years, the doctor suggested.
Michael Schumacher, 45, was skiing in the French Alps last December when he fell and hit his head on a rock.
The seven-time world champion from Germany was placed in a medically induced coma to help reduce swelling in his brain as he underwent treatment in Grenoble and then in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Michael Schumacher was skiing in the French Alps last December when he fell and hit his head on a rock
Michael Schumacher has now been taken out of the coma and is being looked after at his home in Gland, Switzerland, where Prof. Jean-Francois Payen still visits him to track his progress.
On October 23, Dr. Jean-Francois Payen gave interviews to French radio station RTL and Le Parisien newspaper.
“I have noted some progress but I would say we should give him time,” he said.
Asked about the chances of Michael Schumacher making a recovery, Dr. Jean-Francois Payen only referred to a time frame for patients with similar brain injuries.
“It’s like for other patients, we are on a timescale which goes from one year to three years and we need to be patient,” he said.
Alvin Stardust has died at the age 72 after a short illness.
Alvin Stardust had recently been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and died at home with his wife and family around him, his manager said.
Born Bernard Jewry in the East End of London in 1942, his hits included My Coo Ca Choo, Jealous Mind and I Feel Like Buddy Holly.
The former glam rock star had been due to release his first studio album in 30 years this autumn.
Alvin Stardust had recently been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and died at home with his wife and family around him
He recently announced the record, titled Alvin, was finished and would represent “a new and exciting departure” of which he was “immensely proud”.
Once described as “the Godfather of British Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Rolling Stone Keith Richards, he made sporadic acting appearances in Hollyoaks, The Grimley’s and Doctors.
He also appeared on stage in such musicals as Godspell, The Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which he played the fearsome Child Catcher.
Before reinventing himself as Alvin Stardust in the 1970s, he recorded under the name Shane Fenton with his band the Fentones.
Alvin Stardust was married three times. His second wife was the actress Liza Goddard, who said she had been “bowled over by his charm”.
White House intruder Dominic Adesanya was attacked by dogs before being arrested, in the latest security breach at the president’s official residence.
Dominic Adesanya, 23, was stopped on a lawn near the building. He was unarmed.
Video footage of the incident showed Dominic Adesanya kicking and punching Secret Service dogs who had been set on him.
The latest incident comes a month after a man armed with a knife scaled the fence and made it inside the White House.
Dominic Adesanya was attacked by dogs after jumping the White House fence
That, and other questions about security at the White House, lead to the resignation of the head of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson.
A spokesman for the agency said charges were pending against Dominic Adesanya.
Two dogs have been taken to the vet for treatment for their injuries, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that in 2011, the Secret Service diverted agents from their duties at the White House to the home of an agency employee caught in a personal dispute with a neighbor.
The inspector general of the Homeland Security Department, John Roth, called the conduct a “serious lapse of judgement”.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has expanded a recall of vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to 7.8 million.
The NHTSA warned that owners should take “immediate action”.
If deployed with force, the airbags have the potential to eject deadly shrapnel at passengers.
The NHTSA has identified 10 manufacturers who used Takata as a supplier, including General Motors, Honda, and Toyota.
The agency has told those who might own affected vehicles to check the list at www.safercar.gov, and specifically warned those living in more humid climates such as Florida and Hawaii to get their vehicles inspected.
“Responding to these recalls, whether old or new, is essential to personal safety and it will help aid our ongoing investigation into Takata airbags and what appears to be a problem related to extended exposure to consistently high humidity and temperatures,” said NHTSA deputy administrator David Friedman in a statement.
The NHTSA has expanded a recall of vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata airbags to 7.8 million
Initially, the NHTSA said that only 4.7 million cars could be affected, but it has increased the number of vehicles twice in recent days.
Japanese supplier Takata warned recently that older airbags could explode with too much force, which would send plastic and metal parts towards passengers with enough force to injure them.
Takata said it estimated that around 12 million vehicles around the globe may contain the parts.
The recall notices have been ongoing for the past 18 months, but regulators and car manufacturers have warned that only a small percentage of those cars potentially affected have been returned and inspected.
The majority of the affected vehicles – more than five million – are Honda cars manufactured between 2001 and 2011, including the Accord, Civic, and Pilot models.
Americans who rely on federal benefits will get a 1.7% increase in their monthly payments in 2015, the US government announced on October 22.
It’s the third year in a row the increase will be less than 2%.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) affects payments to more than 70 million Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees. That’s more than a fifth of the country.
The increase amounts to about $20 a month for the typical Social Security recipient.
The government announced the benefit increase on October 22, when it released the latest measure of consumer prices. By law, the increase is based on inflation, which is well below historical averages so far this year.
For example, gasoline prices have dropped over the past year while the cost of clothing is up by less than 1 percent, according to the September inflation report released today.
The cost of meat, fish and eggs is up by nearly 10%, but the overall cost of food is up just 3.1%.
Medical costs, which disproportionately affect older Americans, are up 1.9% over the past year.
Americans who rely on federal benefits will get a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly payments in 2015
Congress enacted automatic increases for Social Security beneficiaries in 1975, when inflation was high and there was a lot of pressure to regularly raise benefits.
For the first 35 years, the COLA was less than 2% only three times. Next year, the COLA will be less than 2% for the fifth time in six years. This year’s increase was 1.5%, the year before it was 1.7 percent.
Social Security is financed by a 12.4% payroll tax on the first $117,000 of a worker’s wages – half is paid by the worker and half is paid by the employer. Next year, the wage cap will increase to $118,500, the Social Security Administration said.
About 59 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The average monthly payment is $1,192.
The COLA also affects benefits for about 4 million disabled veterans, 2.5 million federal retirees and their survivors, and more than 8 million people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor.
By law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.
The COLA is calculated by comparing consumer prices in July, August and September each year with prices in the same three months from the previous year. If prices go up over the course of the year, benefits go up, starting with payments delivered in January.
Warren Buffett has lost $2.5 billion only this week after a sharp decline in IBM and Coca-Cola shares.
IBM and Coke represent two of Berkshire Hathaway’s three biggest investments, but their operational missteps have already cost Warren Buffet $2.52 billion this week.
On October 20, Warren Buffett lost nearly $1 billion on his third-largest investment, IBM, after the company posted disappointing earnings.
Warren Buffett has lost $2.5 billion only this week after a sharp decline in IBM and Coca-Cola shares
On October 21, Coca-Cola did the same thing, posting Q3 2014 revenue that fell short of expectations and warning of currency headwinds.
The losses in IBM and Coke add to a recent rough patch for Warren Buffett, who slashed Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in British grocer Tesco earlier this month.
Warren Buffet has described buying into the stock as a “huge mistake”.
However, Warren Buffett’s favorite bank, Wells Fargo, is up more than $816 million since Monday morning.
Renee Zellweger looked different as she attended Elle‘s Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on October 20.
On the next day, the 45-year-old actress explained: “I’m glad folks think I look different! I’m living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows.”
Renee Zellweger last appeared in 2010’s My Own Love Song.
Though she thinks discussions about her appearance are “silly,” Renee Zellweger told People magazine: “It seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn’t exist won’t get off my porch until I answer the door.”
Renee Zellweger, who next stars in The Whole Truth, doesn’t understand the hubbub.
“My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy,” she said.
Renee Zellweger looked different as she attended Elle’s Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills
“For a long time I wasn’t doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn’t allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things.”
“I did work that allows for being still, making a home, loving someone, learning new things, growing as a creative person and finally growing into myself,” said Renee Zellweger, who’s still dating Doyle Bramhall II, 45.
“People don’t know me in my 40s,” added Renee Zellweger, who famously gained weight for her roles in 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
“People don’t know me [as] healthy for a while. Perhaps I look different. Who doesn’t as they get older?! Ha. But I am different. I’m happy.”
Renee Zellweger tends to avoid the limelight, though she agreed to attend the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards to honor her friend and co-star Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Lady Gaga is the new owner of a $24 million estate in Malibu, California, TMZ reported.
The pad sits on six acres of prime real estate near Zuma Beach and comes complete with a bowling alley, horse farm, wine cellar and plenty of walk-in closets to hold all those wigs and liquid liner pens.
Lady Gaga is the new owner of a $24 million estate in Malibu
Lady Gaga is likely to move into the property with her main squeeze Taylor Kinney, an actor and model who has starred in movies such as Zero Dark Thirty. The couple’s relationship appears to be stronger than ever, with Lady Gaga recently telling Ellen DeGeneres that Taylor Kinney is her soul mate.
Several shots have been fired inside and outside the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, leaving one soldier wounded.
A gunman fired at the National War Memorial and then ran into parliament nearby, continuing the attack.
Canadian broadcaster CBC and several lawmakers report that one gunman has been killed but that is unconfirmed.
The incident came hours after Canada raised its terror threat level following a fatal hit-and-run attack on two soldiers earlier in the week.
“Shots fired at War Memorial at 9:52am today; one person injured,” Ottawa Police tweeted on Wednesday as a witness reported seeing authorities search from room to room for the suspect.
Police have told those in the vicinity to stay away from windows and roofs as they search for additional suspects.
One gunman – said to be carrying a rifle – fired on soldiers guarding Canada’s main war memorial and then ran into the parliament.
There are no reports yet of anyone inside the building being hurt.
Meanwhile, PM Stephen Harper “is safe and has left Parliament Hill”, his director of communications wrote on Twitter.
Several shots have been fired inside and outside the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, leaving one soldier wounded
Senior government member Tony Clement said on Twitter shots were fired near an in-progress cabinet meeting in parliament.
A government official earlier said the raised threat level was in response to an increase in online “general chatter” from radical groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Ministry spokesman Jean-Christophe de Le Rue said on October 22 that the increased level “means that intelligence has indicated that an individual or group within Canada or abroad has the intent and capability to commit an act of terrorism”.
On October 22 a Muslim convert was killed by Quebec police after deliberately hitting two soldiers in his car, killing one and injuring another.
A minister said it was a “terrible act of violence against our country”.
Earlier this month, Canada announced plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq.
Romanian Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore on October 22.
Simona Halep, 23, took advantage of an error-strewn display from the defending champion to make it two wins out of two in the Red Group, coasting to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just 65 minutes.
An out-of-sorts Serena Williams, 33, was made to pay for 36 unforced errors and seven double faults as Simona Halep beat a player ranked in the top three in the world for the first time at the ninth attempt.
Eighteen-time grand-slam winner Serena Williams allowed her frustration to get the better of her as the ruthless Simona Halep took a giant stride towards the semi-finals in her first appearance in the season-ending event.
Simona Halep wrapped up the first set in just 20 minutes, with Serena Williams suffering the embarrassment of losing 6-0 in a set for the first time this year and only the eighth time in her remarkable career.
Simona Halep beat Serena Williams for the first time as the world No 1 was swept aside in the WTA Finals in Singapore
Serena Williams struggled on serve throughout and French Open finalist Simona Halep made her pay, taking three of the four break points that she fashioned and not giving her opponent an opportunity to break back.
Six of Serena Williams’ double faults came in the opening set and that set the tone for a one-sided match, as she was unable to turn the tide.
Simona Halep broke yet again in the first game of the second set and fended off two break points to go 2-0 up.
It took the favorite 37 minutes to get on the board by making it 2-1, but even that proved to be a false dawn as Simona Halep had a spring in her step and broke again to lead 4-1.
Serena Williams was unable to take a break point that might have given her a glimmer of hope in the following game and Simona Halep sealed a memorable victory by converting her third match point to leave the defending champion stunned.
Jodi Arias is back in court for her sentencing retrial in Travis Alexander murder case.
As he delivered his opening statement, prosecutor Juan Martinez displayed a crime-scene photo of Travis Alexander saying: “She loved him so much that this is what she did to him.”
Prosecutor Juan Martinez urged jurors to sentence Jodi Arias to death.
The opening statements came as a jury was seated and testimony began in a retrial to determine whether Jodi Arias lives or dies for her crimes.
It was less of a spectacle than the initial case in early 2013, when onlookers from around the country traveled to Phoenix and lined up outside court for the trial that became a tabloid TV sensation. Still, some of the people who regularly attended the first trial were back in court on October 21.
Jodi Arias has acknowledged killing Travis Alexander but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her. Prosecutors said it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman.
Jodi Arias is back in court for her sentencing retrial in Travis Alexander murder case
Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi said that Jodi Arias was the victim of profound humiliation by Travis Alexander, and that she is mentally ill and a victim of child abuse.
Kirk Nurmi urged jurors to sentence Jodi Arias to life in prison, saying she is remorseful about killing the man who never acknowledged to others that she was his girlfriend.
“Jodi Arias was always the girl behind the closed door in the bedroom,” Kirk Nurmi told jurors.
He suggested his client would testify during the proceedings expected to last until December.
“She will tell you how horrified she is that she killed the man she loved,” Kirk Nurmi said.
Jodi Arias, a 34-year-old former waitress, was convicted of murder last year in the killing of Alexander at his suburban Phoenix home.
Jurors couldn’t agree on a sentence then. Prosecutors have one more chance with a new jury to secure the death penalty. If the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, the judge will then sentence Jodi Arias to spend the rest of her life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25 years.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens told the new jury that they had to accept the guilty verdict on the murder charge.
The first trial was broadcast live, but Judge Sherry Stephens imposed restrictions on the sentencing retrial. Cameras are allowed at the retrial, but no footage can be broadcast until it’s finished.
Paul Cantlie, the father of British hostage John Cantlie who is being held by militant group Islamic State (ISIS), has died, his family have said.
Paul Cantlie, 80, recorded a video message from his hospital bed earlier this month, urging those holding John Cantlie to release him.
A family statement said Paul Cantlie had died from “complications following pneumonia” on October 16.
Journalist John Cantlie, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, has appeared in a series of ISIS videos.
In a statement, Paul Cantlie’s family said: “Paul died not knowing whether John’s captors had received any of the messages he had sent to them.
Paul Cantlie recorded a video message from his hospital bed earlier urging ISIS militants to release John Cantlie
“The failure of communication to date has inevitably led to a terrible sense of abandonment, particularly for John’s father, with the family feeling ignored.”
The statement also said the family had been urgently trying to contact John Cantlie in the last few days to let him know of his father’s death ahead of the news being made public.
“Many in the country will recall the recent broadcast from his [Paul’s] hospital bed, when so demonstrably ill, but determined that his journalist son John should hear from his father <<how very proud I am of him>>,” the family said.
Since August, ISIS has killed four Western hostages – US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
The group, also known as ISIL, has taken control of large areas of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate.
Studying requires focus, and the ability to completely submerse yourself in a subject. It is absolutely necessary in college to absorb all of the information you are taking in, and to make the investment in your education worthwhile. So, all college students must have their own quiet and private place where they go to fully focus, right?
Well it turns out this is not so much the case. While a library or quiet room seems ideal, college life can be pretty hectic. Between classes, friends, social activities, family, work and whatever else may come up, studying becomes something that gets fit in wherever possible. Although the ideal scenario is studying without distractions, here are 7 unusual places studying actually happens:
On the Way to Class
Yikes, talk about procrastination. One very common place for studying is while actually walking to class. This is unusual because you are multi-tasking to the extreme. How effective can this study walking be? Well you are taking in some information, while also watching where you are walking, watching out for other people and processing anything that happens along the way. This is obviously not the best use of time out there, and may result in injuring yourself, but it happens.
Waiting in Line
Why not make the best use of your time while waiting? This can be a bit difficult when standing in a short line, but in long lines like at the DMV where you can sit down, this can be a great opportunity to get in some cramming. Just make sure you don’t miss your turn!
At Work
This is a big one for many students who have down time at work. Whether it is on their lunch hour, or after their boss goes home for the day, down time at work can be an opportunity to pull out the books. Students should be cautioned though, most employers aren’t paying you to study, so you may be without those much needed paychecks if you keep studying on the clock.
At the Gym
Have you ever seen a person running on a treadmill and flipping through pages? This may actually not be a bad idea, as it can make the time pass by more quickly and keep your body in shape. The mind is also actually more alert when the heart rate is elevated. However, you may get your book a bit sweaty. Also, the treadmill or stationary bike is a lot easier to study on than say, an ab machine or bench press, so choose your study workout wisely.
In the Bathroom
Okay this one is a bit gross, but students report that one
Most Unusual Places to Study
of the top places to study is in the bathroom. Hey after all, it is a place you can be alone and should be pretty quiet.
In the Passenger Seat of a Car
Sometimes you have time to kill while riding in the car, so keeping your study materials with you can be helpful when in the passenger seat. Just make sure not to attempt this while driving for obvious reasons.
At a Party
Studying at a party may be hard to imagine, but think about this scenario. You are reading and your roommate invites over some friends, then picks up some beer, turns on some music and all of a sudden you are studying in the middle of a party. Drinking and get-togethers are quite common during the college years, and studying needs to be done, so sometimes they happen together. The real concern is will you remember what you studied in the morning?
In the real college world, there are the 7 unusual, but common, places college students study. How many of these places have you studied?
About the Author: Jane Copland is a passionate PR manager at ThePensters.com – the community of freelance academic writers. She’s into writing, technology and psychology.
South Korea has taken down a tower used to construct a Christmas tree at the border with North Korea.
The ritual, in which the 60ft tower was covered in colorful lights and topped with a cross, was seen by the North as propaganda by the South.
North Korea repeatedly demanded its demolition and threatened to shell it.
The move came a week after senior military officials from the two Koreas held talks for the first time in seven years.
Two weeks ago, the two countries briefly exchanged gun fire across their land border, in a rare incident.
Gunfire was also exchanged recently when a North Korean patrol ship crossed the disputed western maritime border.
South Korea has taken down a tower used to construct a Christmas tree at the border with North Korea (photo AFP/Getty Images)
The tower, which stood about 2 miles from the border, could be seen by North Koreans living in nearby towns.
Citing a defense official, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the tower, built in 1971, was being removed because it could collapse.
The official refuted speculation that the demolition had to do with relations with North Korea, and said the tower had been awarded a low grade during a safety check.
In 2004, South Korea stopped allowing groups to erect the Christmas tree after dialogue with North Korea in which both sides agreed to stop propaganda activities by the border.
However, it allowed Christian groups to put up the tree in 2010 when a South Korean warship was sunk by, Seoul says, a North Korean submarine.
News of the tower’s demolition came as North Korea freed Jeffrey Fowle, one of three US citizens currently detained.
Washington Post former editor Ben Bradlee, who played a key role in the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon, has died aged 93.
According to the newspaper, Benjamin C. Bradlee died at his Washington home of natural causes.
As executive editor from 1968-1991, Ben Bradlee was credited for transforming the Post into one the most respected newspapers in America.
In 2013, Bed Bradlee was given the country’s highest civilian honor – the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“For Benjamin Bradlee, journalism was more than a profession – it was a public good vital to our democracy,” President Barack Obama said in a statement released by the White House on Tuesday evening.
“A true newspaperman, he transformed the Washington Post into one of the country’s finest newspapers, and with him at the helm, a growing army of reporters published the Pentagon Papers, exposed Watergate, and told stories that needed to be told – stories that helped us understand our world and one another a little bit better.”
“Ben Bradlee was the best American newspaper editor of his time and had the greatest impact on his newspaper of any modern editor,” said Donald Graham, the former publisher of the Washington Post.
Ben Bradlee played a key role in the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon
Ben Bradlee – who fought in the Navy during World War Two – became a reporter in the 1950s.
He soon became close friends with the then senator and future President John F. Kennedy.
Ben Bradlee became managing editor at the Washington Post in 1965 and was promoted to executive editor three years later.
“From the moment he took over The Post newsroom in 1965, Mr. Bradlee sought to create an important newspaper that would go far beyond the traditional model of a metropolitan daily,” the newspaper wrote in its obituary.
“He achieved that goal by combining compelling news stories based on aggressive reporting with engaging feature pieces of a kind previously associated with the best magazines.”
In 1971, Ben Bradlee decided to publish the so-called Pentagon Papers – a secret study of the Vietnam War broken by The New York Times.
Ben Bradlee acted against the advice of lawyers and the entreaties of top government officials. A legal battle then began, with the Supreme Court later upholding the right of newspapers to print the leaked papers.
He played a key role in toppling President Richard Nixon in 1974.
Ben Bradlee encouraged two journalists – Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – to pursue relentlessly the unfolding story in which some of Richard Nixon’s closest aides became involved in illegal activities, followed by a political cover-up in which the president himself was implicated.
The story of the newspaper’s coverage of the Watergate scandal was later portrayed in the film All The President’s Men, with Ben Bradlee played by Jason Robards.
American citizen Jeffrey Fowle has been released by the North Korean authorities, US officials say.
Jeffrey Fowle, 56, was one of three US citizens detained in North Korea.
State department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed that Jeffrey Fowle was on his way home on October 21 following negotiations.
Marie Harf said the US was working to secure the release of two other US nationals, Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae, who remain in detention in North Korea.
The US has accused North Korea of using the detained Americans as pawns in a diplomatic game.
Jeffrey Fowle entered North Korea on April 29 and was detained in early June as he was leaving the country. He was charged with “anti-state” crimes.
He was reported to have left a Bible in the toilet of a restaurant in the northern port city of Chongjin but his family has insisted that he was not on a mission for his church.
Jeffrey Fowle entered North Korea on April 29 and was detained in early June as he was leaving the country
Missionary activity is considered a crime in North Korea.
In August, Jeffrey Fwle and fellow detainee Matthew Miller made a televised appeal to the US government to help secure their release.
Responding to the appeal, the US authorities vowed to make securing the release of the detainees a “top priority”.
Matthew Miller was later sentenced to six years’ hard labor for committing “hostile acts”.
The state department’s Marie Harf said Washington welcomed Jeffrey Fowle’s release, adding that US officials “remain focused on the continued detention of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller and again call on the DPRK [North Korea] to immediately release them”.
She said North Korea had asked the US government to transport Jeffrey Fowle out of the country as a condition of his release.
Marie Harf also thanked Sweden, which serves as the US protecting power in North Korea, for the “tireless efforts” of its embassy in Pyongyang.
No reason was given for Jeffrey Fowle’s release.
Washington has been trying to send high-level representatives to negotiate the detainees’ release, but these visits have been cancelled by North Korea in recent months.
Oscar Pistorius has begun jail sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The South African Paralympic champion was driven to Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru prison where he is expected to be housed in the hospital wing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Oscar Pistorius a five-year jail sentence for culpable homicide, but cleared him of murder.
Oscar Pistorius’ defense said it expected him to serve about 10 months, with the remainder under house arrest. His family say he will not appeal.
Reeva Steenkamp’s parents said they were happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defense had argued for community service and house arrest.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, an amputee sprinter who became the first athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, killed Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Oscar Pistorius has begun jail sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
He says he shot Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in his house in Pretoria.
Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by Oscar Pistorius through a toilet door.
Oscar Pistorius showed little reaction to the sentence other than to wipe his eyes before being led away to a holding cell downstairs.
He was then driven away from court in an armored police van to Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru prison, where he was expected to undergo a medical assessment.
It is likely that he will be held in a one-man cell in the hospital wing, thought to be most appropriate for the athlete’s disability.
Correctional services spokesman Manelisi Wolela told AFP news agency Oscar Pistorius was “already accommodated at Kgosi Mampuru”.
He could be released after serving a sixth of his sentence, or 10 months, for good behavior.
However, Dup De Bruyn, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, told Reuters that he believed Oscar Pistorius would probably serve two years.
Oscar Pistorius’s uncle, Arnold, said the family would not appeal against the sentence.
“We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace the opportunity to pay back to society,” he said.
He appealed to the media to “accept the ruling of court and let us move forward in this process and give us some degree of dignity and privacy”.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said she considered her sentence “fair and just, both to society and to the accused”.
She said: “A non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community. On the other hand, a long sentence would also not be appropriate either, as it would lack the element of mercy.”
The judge said Oscar Pistorius had made an “enormous contribution to society”, in his charity work and in changing the public perception of disability.
But she added: “It would be a sad day for this country if an impression were to be created that there was one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and another for the rich and famous.”
Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave Oscar Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a separate incident – firing a gun in a restaurant.
The prosecution service said it would consider an appeal but expressed satisfaction that Oscar Pistorius had been given jail time.
However, the Women’s League of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said it did plan to appeal.
“We’re doing this not only for Reeva but for the millions of South African women who are killed at the hands of their partners, people who are supposed to protect them,” said spokeswoman Khsuela Sangoni.
“A five-year sentence like this sends a message to society that it is fine to commit such heinous crimes as femicide, and you will be able to get away with a slap on the wrist.”
Kate Middleton has made her first public appearance since announcing her second pregnancy, joining Prince William to welcome the president of Singapore in the UK.
Kate Middleton, who is about 12 weeks pregnant, is suffering from extreme morning sickness which has forced her to miss recent engagements.
However, her condition has improved and the duchess said she “had been looking forward to getting out of the house”.
Kate Middleton has a second engagement at an awards ceremony on Tuesday evening.
Kate Middleton has made her first public appearance since announcing her second pregnancy, joining Prince William to welcome the president of Singapore (photo Reuters)
The duchess last appeared in public at the start of August, when she visited the World War One poppy installation at the Tower of London.
Kate Middleton’s pregnancy was announced in September and the April due date was announced on October 20.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s second baby will become fourth in line to the throne, behind older brother Prince George, who was born in July last year.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met Singapore’s President Tony Tan and his wife in the presidential suite of London’s Royal Garden Hotel.
Later this evening, Kate Middleton is due to attend the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards gala at the National History Museum.
