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.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that serum made from the blood of recovered Ebola patients could be available within weeks in Liberia.
Liberia is one of the West African countries worst hit by the Ebola virus.
Speaking in Geneva, Dr. Marie Paule Kieny said work was also advancing quickly to get drugs and a vaccine ready for January 2015.
The Ebola outbreak has already killed more than 4,500 people.
Most of the deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Dr, Marie Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director general for health system and innovation, said: “There are partnerships which are starting to be put in place to have capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparation that can be used for the treatment of infective patients.
“The partnership which is moving the quickest will be in Liberia where we hope that in the coming weeks there will be facilities set up to collect the blood, treat the blood and be able to process it for use.”
Serum made from the blood of recovered Ebola patients could be available within weeks in Liberia
It is still unclear how much will become available and whether it could meet demand.
If a person has successfully fought off the infection, it means their body has learned how to combat the virus and they will have antibodies in their blood that can attack Ebola.
Doctors can then take a sample of their blood and turn it into a treatment called serum – by removing the red blood cells but keeping the important antibodies – for other patients.
Teresa Romero, the Spanish nurse who became the first person to contract Ebola outside West Africa, tested negative for the virus after reportedly receiving human serum containing antibodies from Ebola survivors.
Dr. Marie Paule Kieny said the treatment was not without risks, and WHO has already issued guidelines to ensure safety. Any donor blood will need to be screened for infections such a hepatitis and HIV, for example.
She said trials of two possible Ebola vaccines could produce initial results by the end of the year.
The vaccines will be tested first to see if they are safe for humans, and if they can protect people from the Ebola virus.
Once these questions have been answered, the WHO hopes to extend the trials to a much wider group of people and start giving it to Africa.
“These trials will all start in the coming two weeks… and continue for six months to a year but to have initial results about safety and immunogenicity to have a choice of a dose level by the end of this year in December.”
Dr. Marie Paule Kieny said there were a number of drugs being tested and developed in different countries.
A partnership between Oxford University and the Wellcome Trust is now visiting sites in the three affected African countries to identify which treatment centers would be adequate and willing to start testing drugs soon, she said.
Cairo’s Court of Cassation has set the appeals hearing of three jailed al-Jazeera journalists for January 1, 2015, says Mohamed Fahmy’s family.
Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were jailed for seven years on June 23, 2014.
They were accused of spreading false news and supporting the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.
The court will either uphold the verdict or call for a retrial.
It is thought the Court of Cassation will take one or two sessions to deliver its ruling.
Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt
If the court rejects the sentences, the case will return to the criminal court for a retrial.
Should it uphold the verdict, the only other alternative is for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to offer a pardon.
Egyptian-Canadian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, Australian correspondent Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were arrested on December 29, 2013.
At the sentencing in June 2014, Mohamed Fahmy received a further three years on charges of possessing “unlicensed ammunition”.
Eleven other defendants, including three foreign journalists, tried in absentia at the same time received 10-year sentences.
The sentencing of the three sparked an international outcry and raised concerns over growing media restrictions in Egypt.
Journalists around the world held silent protests against their imprisonment.
Qatar-base al-Jazeera was banned from operating inside Egypt after the authorities accused it of broadcasting reports sympathetic to former President Mohamed Morsi and the now banned Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has consistently denied the allegations.
However, Qatar has supported the Brotherhood and is unpopular with Egypt’s government.
The head of Iran’s chief clerical body, Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani, has died at the age of 83.
Iran’s clerical body is in charged with choosing or dismissing the country’s supreme leader.
Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani, a former acting prime minister and interior minister in the 80s, had been in a coma since June
Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani was the chairman of the Assembly of Experts, a body of 86 senior clerics that monitors the supreme leader and picks a successor after his death, making it one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, though it doesn’t involve itself in daily affairs of state.
He held the post since March 2011, after his predecessor, Iran’s influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was forced out following a dispute with several hard-line clerics.
Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi-Kani, a former acting prime minister and interior minister in the 80s, had been in a coma since June. He was considered a moderate conservative.
Criminal negligence caused the plane crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport that resulted in the death of Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, Russian investigators have said.
Christophe de Margerie died along with three crew members when his corporate jet collided with a snow plough.
Federal investigators said that the driver of the snow plough was drunk.
Investigators also said that “negligent” managers at the airport had failed to co-ordinate the actions of their employees.
The Investigations Committee of Russia, a federal agency which answers to President Vladimir Putin, is investigating the crash.
“It is already obvious that the cause of the events was not at all a horrific tragic confluence of circumstances, which is how representatives of the airport are trying to present it, but criminal negligence by officials who could not ensure the coordinated actions of airport employees,” said committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.
Several officials at the airport were likely to be suspended, according to Vladimir Markin.
Criminal negligence caused the plane crash at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport that resulted in the death of Total CEO Christophe de Margerie
Russia’s transport regulator is also investigating the crash, which it said happened in “bad visibility”.
Christophe de Margerie’s jet had been due to fly to Paris from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport.
Vnukovo is located south-west of Moscow and is used by President Vladimir Putin and other government officials.
Pictures from the scene show the driver of the snow plough looking shocked, but walking unaided and without any obvious serious injury.
Christophe de Margerie, 63, had been chief executive of Europe’s third largest oil company since 2007. He was highly regarded within the oil industry.
According to Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper, Christophe de Margerie had met Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev at his country residence outside Moscow to discuss foreign investment in Russia.
Total is one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia and is planning to double its output from the country by 2020.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been given a pay package worth $84.3 million, making him one of the top earners in the tech industry.
The total pay package is largely made up of share awards, and most of the payments will be made over several years.
News of the package comes less than a month after Satya Nadella advised women not to ask for a pay rise but to have “faith in the system”.
He later apologized for the remark.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been given a pay package worth $84.3 million
In a regulatory filing, Microsoft said the promotion of Satya Nadella had meant it had a chief executive without a major equity stake in the firm for the first time.
Microsoft previous chief executives, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, both had multi-billion dollar holdings in the company.
“In approving the initial annual total compensation opportunity for Mr. Nadella, our board was mindful of both the fierce competition for talented executives in the technology sector and the demands on and responsibilities of the leader of a global organization with the scope and stature of Microsoft,” it said in the filing.
Excluding the long-term share awards, Stya Nadella’s pay package for this year totals $11.6 million.
Satya Nadella was named as chief executive in February, and is only the third chief executive in the company’s history.
McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have posted sharply lower profits for Q3 2014.
McDonald’s saw earnings fall 30%, while Coca-Cola’s fell 14%, with both citing lower US sales as key reasons.
The fast-food chain’s profits of $1.07 billion were also hit by a food scandal in China, contributing to a 4.6% fall in revenues to $6.99 billion.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest drinks group made a $2.1 billion profit on revenues that were broadly flat at $11.9 billion.
McDonald’s US sales have been under pressure as consumers switch to other chains, notably the fast-growing Chipotle Mexican Grill.
McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have posted sharply lower profits for Q3 2014
Sales also fell in Russia, Germany and especially in China, where McDonald’s was hurt by a scandal over meat supplies.
McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson admitted that the trading performance was not good enough: “McDonald’s third-quarter results reflect a significant decline versus a year ago.
“By all measures, our performance fell short of our expectations.”
Meanwhile, Coca Cola said that its US sales were down 1% during the quarter. Consumers are increasingly turning to alternatives to sweet, fizzy drinks. The company’s profits also suffered because of currency fluctuations and strengthening of the dollar.
In August, Coca-Cola spent $2.15 billion for a 16.7% stake in Monster Beverage energy drinks business.
As part of the deal, Coca-Cola transferred ownership of its own, less successful energy drinks, including brands NOS, Full Throttle and Burn, to Monster.
Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr., the man suspected in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, has been charged with abducting and raping another woman in 2005.
Jesse Leroy Matthew, 32, was indicted on charges of attempted capital murder in Fairfax County, Virginia, on October 20.
The suspect is being held in connection with Hannah Graham’s disappearance on September 13.
On October 18, authorities discovered a body which may be Hannah Graham’s in Albemarle County.
In the newest charges, Virginia officials have thus far declined to offer further details regarding the investigation and victim, a 26-year-old woman abducted from suburban Washington DC in 2005.
Hannah Graham’s abductor Jesse Leroy Matthew was also indicted on charges of attempted capital murder in Fairfax County (photo AP)
“The victim… is grateful that the case will go forward,” Fairfax County commonwealth attorney Raymond Morrogh told reporters on October 20.
Jesse Leroy Matthew is currently being held in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he has been charged with abduction with intent to defile.
Hannah Graham, 18, was last seen on September 13, when she disappeared after an evening of drinking and socializing with friends.
She had been in her second year of study at the University of Virginia, where she was described as a bright student who got top marks in her exams.
Hannah Graham was born in Reading, southern England, and moved to the US with her parents at the age of five.
On October 18, a body was discovered in an abandoned property in Albermarle County.
Charlottesville police chief Timothy J Longo earlier said officers had contacted Hannah Graham’s parents shortly after a search team found the body and made a preliminary identification.
Positive identification will only be made after a post-mortem is conducted by the state medical examiner, Detective Sgt James Mooney of the Charlottesville Police Department told local media.
Jesse Matthew, a nursing assistant, was identified as a suspect soon after Hannah Graham’s disappearance. He was taken into custody by police in Galveston, Texas, 1,300 miles from where Hannah Graham was last seen.
Authorities say Jesse Matthew’s arrest had also provided a “forensic link” to the case of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, 20, who went missing from Charlottesville in October 2009.
Her body was found on a farm in Albemarle County three months after she went missing.
Morgan Harrington’s case has been linked by DNA evidence since 2012 to the rape of a woman in Fairfax, Virginia, who survived after a passer-by startled her attacker, the FBI says.
Iba Halal Care, India’s first halal cosmetics brand, was launched last month in Ahmedabad by Ecotrail Personal Care, a company headed by two Jain sisters.
Announcing the launch of Iba Halal Care, Mauli Teli, CEO of the company, said: “We are creating an entirely new category of cosmetic products – halal cosmetic products. Halal [meaning lawful] cosmetic products are entirely hygienic, ethically manufactured products and meant for use by everyone.”
Iba Halal Cosmetics range of around 60 products includes face creams, body lotions, hair oil, shampoo, conditioners, lipsticks, kajal, soap and perfumes.
Muslim women are religiously conscience towards main stream cosmetic products due to fear of alcohol and pig residues used during the preparation
“These cosmetics products are free of alcohol and are popular in countries like Saudi Arabia, Canada, the UK, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia. They are known as mineral makeup products in European markets,” Mauli Teli said.
India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world and is a growing consumer society.
More than 19.6 million Muslim women population between 20 to 40 years could be a huge market to introduce cosmetics products. Indian Muslim women are religiously conscience towards main stream cosmetic products due to fear of alcohol and pig residues used during the preparation. Use of cosmetics and beauty enhance products in front of husband and other relatives are permissible according to Islamic laws if not exposed publicly to control the adultery and filthy in society.
In a recent interview, Kris Jenner said she just wants her soon-to-be ex-husband Bruce Jenner to be happy, regardless of who he dates.
While on the Today show on October 20 to speak about her new cookbook, Kris Jenner was slightly grilled over her family, but her most telling comments may have come when asked about Bruce Jenner.
Segueing from talk of the cookbook to Bruce Jenner, host Hoda Kotb asked about the latest news that Bruce is dating one of her friends.
Kris Jenner spoke about her new cookbook on Today Show (photo Today Show)
“I don’t care who he goes out with and I don’t know who he’s dating. He doesn’t check in with me and give me a play-by-play,” Kris Jenner said.
“But it’s his life and you just want the guy to be happy. He’s still the father of two of my children and so we’re friends.”
Oddly, the cookbook, In the Kitchen with Kris: A Kollection of Kardashian-Jenner Family Favorites, is dedicated to her family, but she doesn’t mention Bruce Jenner.
“I did it for the kids this time,” Kris Jenner said on Today.
“Bruce and I were getting a divorce. I mean, he’s a great guy, but I just did it for the kids and the grandkids.”
Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa, issuing the ruling in court in Pretoria, also gave Oscar Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge.
The prosecution had called for a minimum 10-year sentence; the defense for community service and house arrest.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said: “Sentencing is about achieving the right balance. Sentencing is not a perfect exercise.”
She said there must be a balance between retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation.
The judge began summarizing the evidence brought before the trial.
Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (photo AP)
She described the evidence of defense witness and social worker Annette Vergeer as “slapdash and disappointing”.
Annette Vergeer had argued Oscar Pistorius would be “a lot more vulnerable than the normal man” in jail.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said she was sure prisons were equipped to cater for the requirements of a special needs inmate.
She also said she had a “feeling of unease” at what she called an overemphasis on the athlete’s vulnerability.
However, she said Oscar Pistorius had made an “enormous contribution to society”, in his charity work and in changing the public perception of disability.
The judge then read out a quote from previous legal opinion, saying that if sentences were too lenient, the administration of justice may fall into disrepute.
She said she found the suggestions of sentences made by defense witnesses “not appropriate”.
Oscar Pistorius, an amputee sprinter who became the first athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, killed Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
Total CEO Christophe de Margerie has died in an air crash in Moscow.
Christophe de Margerie’s corporate jet collided with a snow plough and then was engulfed in flames. All four people on board were killed.
The driver of the snow plough was drunk, according to Russian investigators.
Christophe de Margerie, 63, had been chief executive of Europe’s third largest oil company since 2007. He was highly regarded within the oil industry.
“France is losing an extraordinary business leader who turned Total into a world giant,” French PM Manuel Valls said in a statement.
“France is losing a great industry captain and a patriot.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences.
Christophe de Margerie had been chief executive of Europe’s third largest oil company since 2007 (photo Reuters)
News agency Tass quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying: “The President highly appreciated de Mergerie’s business skills, his continued commitment to the development of not only bilateral Russian-French relations, but also on multi-faceted levels.”
Christophe de Margerie joined Total Group after graduating from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Paris in 1974.
At the company, where he had spent his entire career, he was nicknamed “Big Moustache”.
According to Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper, Christophe de Margerie had met Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev at his country residence outside Moscow to discuss foreign investment in Russia.
Total is an important player in the Russian energy market and Christophe de Margerie was a staunch defender of maintaining ties, despite Western sanctions against Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
Total is one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia and is planning to double its output from the country by 2020.
Christophe de Margerie’s jet had been due to fly to Paris from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport.
Vnukovo, is located to the southwest of Moscow and is used by President Vladimir Putin and other government officials.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said in a statement the accident had involved a Falcon-50 plane shortly before midnight local time on October 20.
Darek Fidyka, who was paralyzed for four years, has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.
Darek Fidyka, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.
The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.
Details of the research are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.
Darek Fidyka, 40, was paralysed after being stabbed repeatedly in the back in the 2010 attack.
He said walking again – with the support of a frame – was “an incredible feeling”, adding: “When you can’t feel almost half your body, you are helpless, but when it starts coming back it’s like you were born again.”
Darek Fidyka, who was paralyzed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame
Prof. Geoff Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London’s Institute of Neurology, led the UK research team.
He said what had been achieved was “more impressive than man walking on the moon”.
The treatment used olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) – specialist cells that form part of the sense of smell.
OECs act as pathway cells that enable nerve fibers in the olfactory system to be continually renewed.
In the first of two operations, surgeons removed one of the patient’s olfactory bulbs and grew the cells in culture.
Two weeks later they transplanted the OECs into the spinal cord, which had been cut through in the knife attack apart from a thin strip of scar tissue on the right. They had just a drop of material to work with – about 500,000 cells.
About 100 micro-injections of OECs were made above and below the injury.
Four thin strips of nerve tissue were taken from the patient’s ankle and placed across an 8mm (0.3in) gap on the left side of the cord.
The scientists believe the OECs provided a pathway to enable fibers above and below the injury to reconnect, using the nerve grafts to bridge the gap in the cord.
