Ann Romney, the wife of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has denied he will make a third bid for the White House, amid reports his backers are pressing him to run in 2016.
Ann Romney told NBC News her family was “done done done”.
Mitt Romney, a businessman and ex-Massachusetts governor, lost to Barack Obama in 2012 and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2008.
The 2016 Republican field is expected to be wide open.
Ann Romney has denied Mitt Romney will make a new bid for the White House in 2016
Democrat Barack Obama is barred by term limits from running again. With the future direction of the Republican Party being hotly debated, some Republican donors are pushing Mitt Romney to consider another presidential run.
A recent opinion poll suggested Mitt Romney led the field including Congressman Paul Ryan, Senator Rand Paul, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, among others.
On October 14, Ann Romney denied the family was even weighing a run, in an interview promoting the launch of a new neurological disease centre at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston bearing her name.
Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease, in 1998.
At least 21 people, 10 of them foreigners, have died in central Nepal after a severe snow hit the Himalayas.
The highest number of deaths – two Israelis, two Poles and eight Nepalese – happened when a blizzard hit a point on the Annapurna Circuit.
Scores of trekkers remain out of contact while returning from an Annapurna Circuit pass.
Meanwhile five more climbers are presumed dead after an avalanche in nearby Manang district.
Officials say four were from Canada and one from India.
Three Nepalese farmers have also been killed in a separate avalanche in the same area.
At least 21 people, 10 of them foreigners, have died in central Nepal after a severe snow hit the Himalayas
Severe rain and snowstorms in Nepal appear to have been triggered by Cyclone Hudhud in neighboring India.
Cyclone Hudhud hit south-east India earlier this week – satellite pictures now show it moving away from Nepal towards China.
The bad weather hit a resting place 14,800ft above sea level, not far below the Circuit’s highest point, the Thorung La pass.
The trekkers who were killed or remain missing were on their way down.
An army official co-ordinating the search operation said two military helicopters had been sent from the capital Kathmandu to assist the rescue operation.
Thousands of trekkers visit the Annapurna Circuit every October, when weather conditions are usually favourable for hiking trips.
What appears to be a freak snowstorm a little under the highest pass caused mayhem, with many people still believed to be trapped in snow.
Only a little to the east, near Mount Manaslu, a French man died after being swept into a river.
The deaths come just months after 16 Sherpa mountain guides died in Nepal’s worst ever accident on Mount Everest.
Nepal’s high peaks attract some of the world’s best climbers – but trekking is generally safe and appeals to masses of ordinary outdoor enthusiasts.
David Greenglass, an American spy who passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union in one of the most high-profile espionage scandals of the Cold War, has died at the age of 92.
David Greenglass stole atomic research data while working on the wartime Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
After being arrested he then lied on oath and gave evidence which sent his own sister to the electric chair.
David Greenglass’s death was in July but it has only now been reported.
A native New Yorker, David Greenglass secured a role on the Manhattan Project after being drafted into the army following the outbreak of World War Two.
Manhattan Project was America’s top secret attempt to develop the world’s first nuclear weapon.
David Greenglass was an American spy who passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union in one of the most high-profile espionage scandals of the Cold War (phoot Wikipedia)
David Greenglass, a young convert to Communism, began passing highly classified information to his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg – a Soviet spy who was married to his sister Ethel.
After being arrested in 1950, David Greenglass testified that during one meeting with Julius Rosenberg he had seen Ethel typing up notes.
Speaking to a reporter years later, David Greenglass admitted that he had lied in order to save the life of his own wife Ruth, who had also been arrested after attending the same meeting.
Over the following years serious doubts began to emerge about Ethel Rosenberg’s execution.
“As a spy who turned his family in… I don’t care. I sleep well,” David Greenglass told the journalist in 2001.
The Rosenbergs were both executed for treason. David Greenglass, meanwhile, served 10 years of a 15-year sentence for espionage and was released in 1960.
David Greenglass died in New York City on July 1, according to the Rosenbergs’ sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol.
Michael and Robert Meeropol were aware of the death earlier but did not seek media attention.
Amal Clooney has had talks with Greek PM Antonis Samaras as part of a campaign to return the Parthenon sculptures from Britain.
Greece has hired Amal Clooney’s London law firm to ramp up its claim to the sculptures.
The 5th Century BC treasures, known as the Elgin Marbles in the UK, are kept in the British Museum in London.
Fellow lawyer Norman Palmer said he hoped a “conciliatory and amicable resolution” could be found.
“If it cannot, then other considerations will have to be examined,” he added.
The marbles – depicting gods, men and monsters – were removed from the Parthenon in Athens in 1811 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Greece at the time.
Amal Clooney has had talks with Greek PM Antonis Samaras as part of a campaign to return the Parthenon sculptures from Britain (photo AFP)
George Clooney’s new wife and her colleagues from Doughty Street Chambers in London were visiting the Parthenon on October 15 after taking part in a news conference with Culture Minister Costas Tassoulas.
Costas Tassoulas told reporters his country was campaigning to have the marbles returned in the name of Greece but also “in the name of world heritage”.
Greece maintains the marbles were illegally removed and should be returned for display in a new Athens museum.
However, the British Museum and British government reject the argument.
A leading Oxford expert on classical archaeology, John Boardman, recently warned that such a move would set an “appalling precedent” for the British Museum and museums like it.
Correspondents say the hiring of Amal Clooney will raise the profile of the Greek campaign.
Bono has said sorry after U2’s latest album Songs of Innocence was automatically added to the libraries of all iTunes users around the world.
Speaking in a session on Facebook, Bono said the move was a “drop of megalomania, [a] touch of generosity”.
In response to a questioner who told him it was “rude” to impose their music upon everyone, Bono said: “Oops, I’m sorry about that.”
Apple later released a one-click tool enabling iTunes customers to remove it.
Some users complained that the 11-track Songs of Innocence had been added to their music library without permission and that it was not clear how to delete it.
The questioner on the Facebook session said: “Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to peoples playlists ever again? It’s really rude.”
U2’s latest album Songs of Innocence was automatically added to the libraries of all iTunes users around the world
Bono replied: “I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing.
“Drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion, and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years mightn’t be heard.
“There’s a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it,” he said.
The music was made available for free to more than 500 million iTunes customers in 119 countries last month. It has been reported that around 5% of those have downloaded U2’s latest opus.
At the time, Bono acknowledged that not everyone would appreciate the move.
“For the people out there who have no interest in checking us out, look at it this way… the blood, sweat and tears of some Irish guys are in your junk mail,” he wrote on the band’s website.
Bono’s apology comes after rock legend Iggy Pop criticized U2 for “giving away music before it can flop, in an effort to stay huge”.
The physical version of Songs of Innocence, including a six-track acoustic session, went on sale on October 13.
North Korea and South Korea have held talks for the first time in seven years, South Korean Yonhap news agency reports.
The news agency, citing an unnamed source, said the talks began at 10:00 at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.
In recent weeks the two Koreas have exchange limited gun fire across both their land and sea borders.
South Korean ministry officials have not formally confirmed the talks.
Yonhap, citing its parliamentary source, said it was because North Korea did not want the talks made public.
An opposition lawmaker gave the same information to a party meeting, a statement from his party said.
North Korea and South Korea have held talks for the first time in seven years
The talks were widely expected to focus on reducing tensions after two small military incidents across the border that divides the two nations – which remain technically at war.
Last week, gun fire was exchanged after a North Korean patrol ship crossed the disputed western maritime border, South Korea said.
On October 10, there was also an exchange of fire across the land border, something that happens rarely.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing military officials, said North Korea fired towards balloons carrying propaganda leaflets that had been launched across the border by South Korean activists.
South Korea responded after some shots landed south of the border, its officials said.
The two sides last held working-level military talks in February 2011 and general-level talks in December 2007, Yonhap said.
In February, Pyongyang and Seoul also had two rounds of high-level meetings in Panmunjom, without providing any details on how the talks went.
A second Texas health care worker has tested positive for Ebola, health officials say.
A 26-year-old female nurse is already receiving treatment after becoming infected by Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan who died from the deadly virus last week.
Health officials say they are monitoring 48 contacts of the Liberian national and the healthcare workers who treated him.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says 4,447 people have died from the Ebola outbreak, mainly in West Africa.
A second health care worker has tested positive for Ebola at Dallas hospital
Nina Pham was exposed to Ebola at a Dallas hospital when she treated Liberian Thomas Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the virus on US soil.
Doctors at the Health Presbyterian hospital said she was in good condition on October 14.
The identity of the second health worker has not yet been revealed, however, the person also cared for Thomas Eric Duncan while he was in hospital.
The health worker was immediately isolated after reporting a fever on October 14, the Texas state department for health said in a statement.
“Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored,” the department said.
Jack White’s keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens died on Mexico tour at the age of 38.
The band has cancelled the remaining concerts in Mexico after Ikey Owens was found dead in his hotel room in Puebla. The cause of his death has yet to be established.
Ikey Owens, from California, had played in other bands including The Mars Volta and had worked with the former White Stripes star since 2012.
Jack White’s Third Man Records label said Isaiah Owens was “an incredible artist”.
Jack White and his backing musicians were due to play further concerts in Mexico, including shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Ikey Owens performed on both of Jack White’s solo albums and was a regular fixture in his backing band The Buzzards
A statement posted on the websites of Jack White and Third Man said: “It is with great sadness that we tell the world of the passing of the incredible musician Isaiah <<Ikey>> Owens.
“He will be missed and loved forever by his family, friends, bandmates and fans.
“Ikey Owens was an astounding keyboard player in Jack White’s backing band. He also played with Mars Volta, Free Moral Agents, and many other projects.
“Out of respect for Ikey, the remaining shows of the Jack White Tour in Mexico have been cancelled.
“We will all miss you Ikey. You were and are an incredible artist.”
The keyboardist performed on both of Jack White’s solo albums and was a regular fixture in his backing band The Buzzards.
Ikey Owens, along with the rest of the Mars Volta, won a Grammy Award in 2009 for best hard rock performance.
Toyota is recalling 1.75 million vehicles worldwide over faulty brake installations and fuel component issues.
The latest brake defect is found in some models of Toyota’s Crown Majesta, as well as the Noah and Voxy models produced between June 2007 and 2012.
The Japanese carmaker said approximately 802,000 vehicles globally had a faulty brake system, which could crack and result in the brake fluid leaking.
This recall affects the Crown Majesta, Crown, Noah and Voxy models produced between June 2007 and June 2012.
Toyota will replace a rubber seal ring in the brake master cylinder to prevent brake fluid from leaking. If brake fluid has already leaked, the brake booster will be replaced.
Toyota is recalling 1.75 million vehicles worldwide over faulty brake installations and fuel component issues
In another set of recalls announced at the same time, Toyota said 759,000 vehicles globally had a faulty fuel delivery pipe system which could result in a leak and increased the risk of the vehicle catching fire.
The fuel pipe issue applies to various Lexus models manufactured between January 2005 and September 2010.
This fuel delivery pipe problem affects about 423,000 vehicles in the US, 240,000 cars in Japan and nearly 70,000 vehicles in Europe and the Middle East combined.
Toyota also disclosed that approximately 190,000 vehicles had faulty fuel suction plates in them, which could lead to a fuel leak and increase the risk of the cars catching fire.
This recall affects only vehicles in Japan, specifically the Corolla Rumion and Auris models manufactured between October 2006 and October 2014.
Last month, Toyota recalled 690,000 Tacoma pickup trucks in the US because of a potential vulnerability in the vehicles’ suspension systems.
Earlier this year in April, Toyota issued a recall of 6.4 million cars worldwide because of several issues, including problems with the airbag cable and windscreen wiper motors not working properly.
The latest recalls came to light after the close of trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Before the news, Toyota shares closed up by 0.2% at 5,990 yen ($55) apiece.
The Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania was abandoned after a drone carrying a political message sparked clashes involving players and fans on the Partizan Stadium pitch.
The match, refereed by English official Martin Atkinson, was suspended in the 41st minute at 0-0.
Trouble flared when an Albanian flag and message flew above the pitch and was caught by a Serbia player.
Albania players tried to take it before several fans broke onto the pitch.
Martin Atkinson led the players off the field and, after a delay of around 30 minutes, UEFA confirmed the match had been abandoned.
Albanian fans had been banned from attending the qualifier between the two Balkan rival nations.
The Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania was abandoned after a drone carrying a political message sparked clashes involving players and fans on the Partizan Stadium pitch
Serbia and Albania have a history of turbulent relations, predominantly in relation to the former Serbian province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.
Kosovo has been recognized by the United States and major European Union countries, but Serbia refuses to do so, as do most ethnic Serbs inside it.
“It is a regretful situation on which we will report; the referee, myself and the security adviser. The circumstances were such that we couldn’t continue the match,” UEFA match delegate Harry Been said.
“You all saw what happened and I cannot comment on who is to blame or what to blame. I will submit a report with my colleagues to UEFA and UEFA will decide what will happen further.”
Serbian national broadcaster RTS reported that Olsi Rama, the brother of Albanian PM Edi Rama, was arrested in the stadium’s VIP box for instigating the drone stunt, but this could not be confirmed.
Hong Kong police is investigating reports that officers used excessive force against pro-democracy protesters.
Local TV showed images of officers apparently beating a handcuffed protester on October 15 in some of the worst clashes since the protests began.
Hong Kong’s security chief said the officers had been “temporarily removed from their current duties”.
The incident occurred as police cleared an underpass near government buildings.
The police advance came when protesters blockaded the underpass after being cleared out of other areas of the city on October 14.
Overnight police used pepper spray and batons to remove protesters from Lung Wo Road which they said earlier had to be cleared as it was a major thoroughfare. They also arrested 45 people for “unlawful assembly”.
Local TV network TVB aired footage that appeared to show a group of plainclothes policeman dragging a handcuffed and unarmed protester and placing him on the ground.
Hong Kong police is investigating reports that officers used excessive force against pro-democracy protesters
They then assault him, kicking him repeatedly.
The man was named as Ken Tsang, a social worker and member of the opposition Civic Party. He was later taken to hospital.
Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said there was “concern” over a video clip “showing police officers who used inappropriate force against an arrested person”.
He said the officers seen on the video would be removed from their current duties and that an investigation would be carried out.
The protesters are now in their third week of occupying key parts of the city in a bid to put pressure on China and Hong Kong’s authorities to answer their calls for political reform.
Thousands of people took to the streets at the beginning of the demonstrations but the numbers have dwindled in recent days.
They are demanding fully free elections in the next vote for the territory’s leader. China, which has control over Hong Kong, says residents can vote – but it will vet which candidates are eligible to stand.
The clashes came on the third day of operations that police say are necessary to ease traffic disruption, but which they insist are not aimed at clearing the protesters.
Tsui Wai-Hung, a police spokesman, said none of the 37 men and eight women who were arrested had been hurt. Four police officers were said to have been injured.
Joshua Wong, a prominent student leader, told AFP news agency that trust between police and the activists was at a low point.
“The proper action police should take is to bring the protester to the police car, not to take him away and then punch and kick him for four minutes,” he said.
On October 15, China’s The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, said the protests were “doomed to fail” in a front-page editorial.
“Numerous facts and history tell us that if people start radical and illegal acts and there is submission to political blackmail, it will only result in more and more illegal activities and exacerbate instability and chaos,” the paper said.
Oscar Pistorius offered a lump sum of $34,000 to the parents of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after he killed her, a South African court has heard.
However, Reeva Steenkamp’s family rejected the sum as “blood money”, prosecutor Gerrie Nel revealed during his sentencing hearing.
Earlier, a defense witness told the court that Oscar Pistorius, 27, would be physically at risk if sent to prison.
The Paralympic champion has been found guilty of culpable homicide, but cleared of murder.
The defense is trying to show that prison would be an inappropriate punishment.
Oscar Pistorius’ offer of a lump sum of 375,000 rand to the Steenkamp family emerged on the second day of his sentencing hearing, during the cross-examination of defense witness Annette Vergeer.
Oscar Pistorius offered a lump sum of $34,000 to the parents of Reeva Steenkamp after he killed her
Gerrie Nel told Annette Vergeer that Oscar Pistorius raised the funds from selling his car.
The prosecutor added that Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, had rejected the offer.
“She does not want blood money,” he said.
Gerrie Nel also highlighted separate monthly payments of 6,000 rand ($540) made by Oscar Pistorius to the Steenkamps – who were short of money after their daughter’s death.
The prosecutor said these funds – mentioned in Annette Vergeer’s report – would be “paid back to the accused in full – every cent”.
The Steenkamps’ lawyer, Dup De Bruyn, explained that the couple were now “reasonably comfortable” after he had negotiated a series of media deals concerning their daughter’s death.
The Pistorius family later accused Gerrie Nel of giving a distorted picture in court of the financial agreement with the Steenkamps, and said they would provide a full statement on Wednesday, October 15.
Islamic State (ISIS) has killed two Iraqi journalists in the past four days, Reporters Without Borders says.
Mohanad al-Akidi, the correspondent for the Sada news agency in the ISIS-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul, was shot dead at the Ghazlani base on October 13.
He was abducted in July while he travelled to Dohuk province.
On October 10, Raad Mohamed al-Azzawi, a cameraman for Sama Salah Aldeen TV, was beheaded by IS militants in the city of Samarra. He had been held for a month.
Reporters Without Borders, which promotes and defends world media freedom, said it was “horrified by the jihadist group’s constant crimes of violence”.
“Islamic State is pursuing a policy of indiscriminate criminal violence that shows no pity towards journalists and does not hesitate to kidnap, torture and murder them,” said its program director, Lucie Morillon.
Islamic State militants has killed two Iraqi journalists in the past four days
“Media personnel need the support and protection of the local authorities more than ever,” she added.
The vast majority of foreign journalists have fled the large parts of Iraq and Syria controlled by ISIS because of the danger, leaving local reporters to document events.
ISIS has beheaded the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in the past two months, and is holding the British journalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in a series of propaganda videos.
Earlier this month, ISIS issued guidelines for journalists operating in the Syrian province of Deir al-Zour.
They were told to swear allegiance as “subjects of the Islamic State”, submit stories for approval, and inform the group of any social media accounts. Anyone violating the guidelines will be “held accountable”.
Reporters Without Borders said Raad Mohamed al-Azzawi had been threatened with death by ISIS in September because he refused to work for the group.
A new research suggests that middle-aged women with a neurotic personality style and prolonged stress may have a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
The Swedish study on 800 women over nearly four decades found that those who were most anxious, jealous and moody – which they defined as neurotic – and experienced long-standing stress had double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to women scoring lowest in these traits.
Study author Lena Johansson, a researcher at University of Gothenburg, said: Continue reading below…
“No other study has shown that [one style of] midlife personality increased the risk of Alzheimer’s disease over a period of nearly 40 years.”
However, the study results don’t prove that neuroticism triggers Alzheimer’s, but they do suggest an association between the two.
The study was published this month in the journal Neurology.
The most common type of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease causes profound memory loss and impairments in language, focus, judgment and visual perception, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Middle-aged women with a neurotic personality style and prolonged stress may have a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
About 5.2 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which is progressive, incurable and ultimately fatal.
Lena Johansson said she believes the results would also be true for men. But study data – pulled from research that began in the 1960s – happened to include only women in an era when few medical studies focused on females.
In the new study, participants with an average age of 46 were tracked for 38 years and given memory tests and personality tests measuring their levels of neuroticism and extraversion (defined as being outgoing) and introversion (defined as reserved or shy).
Study authors defined neuroticism as being easily distressed and exhibiting personality traits such as anxiety, jealousy or moodiness. People with this personality style are more likely, they said, to express guilt, anger, envy, worry and depression.
The women were also asked if they had experienced any period of prolonged stress lasting one month or longer and to rate their stress on a scale from zero to five, which represented constant stress during the previous five years. Stress responses included nervousness, sleep disturbances, fearfulness, irritability and tension.
Being introverted or extroverted alone didn’t seem to affect dementia risk, but women who were both easily distressed and withdrawn (introverted) had the highest risk of Alzheimer’s among all women analyzed. One-quarter of them developed the disease, compared to only 13% of those considered outgoing (extroverted) and not easily distressed.
Ariana Grande has confirmed her relationship with Big Sean for the first time.
In a recent interview with the Telegraph Magazine, Ariana Grande was asked if it’s true that she is dating Sean Anderson, aka Big Sean.
The 21-year-old replied: “Yes, he is one of the most amazing men in the whole world, and that includes my grandfather and my brother. I think the world of him, and he’s an amazing person. That’s kind of all there is to it.”
Ariana Grande has confirmed her relationship with Big Sean for the first time
Ariana Grande and Big Sean have been linked since the 26-year-old hip hop artist contributed to her second album My Everything.
Big Sean is a featured artist on album track Best Mistake and stars as the uncredited “whisperer” on Ariana Grande’s breakthrough single Problem.
Ariana Grande recently became the first female solo artist in the US to achieve two number one albums within 12 months since 2010.
George Clooney’s new wife, Amal Alamuddin, has professionally changed her last name to Clooney.
Her London law firm’s website, Doughty Street Chambers, now shows a stunning photo of the newlywed and her bio reads “Amal Clooney”.
The 36-year-old human rights lawyer and George Clooney married in a lavish ceremony in Venice, Italy, over the weekend of September 27 at the seven-star Amana Canal Grande hotel.
On Doughty Street Chambers’ website now Amal Alamuddin’s bio reads Amal Clooney (photo Doughty Street Chambers)
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin exchanged vows in front A-lists guests including Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Bill Murray, Cindy Crawford and more.
Nine days after becoming husband and wife, George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin closed a deal on a dream home, The Mill House, which is a 17th-century manor on the River Thames in the British countryside.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly bought two adjacent chunks of land in Hawaii for more than $100 million.
Mark Zuckerberg bought part of Kauai, the fourth largest of the Hawaiian islands, Forbes magazine reported.
The 700 acres on the north shore of the island includes Pila’a Beach – an isolated 393-acre swathe of land with a pristine white sand beach – and the adjacent 357-acre Kahu’aina Plantation, and an organic farm reports the Daily Mail.
Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly bought two adjacent chunks of land in Hawaii for more than $100 million
The Pila’a Beach property consists of five separate parcels, each which could be developed into private homes.
However, according to Forbes, Mark Zuckerberg, 30, plans to build just one home.
Facebook chief executive plans to create a private getaway for his family but the beach will have to remain open to public as the state has no private stretches of sand.
Mark Zuckerberg, who is worth around $33 billion, is the second Silicon Valley billionaire to buy up part of Hawaii, reports the Telegraph.
Ferrari has unveiled the new F60 America, a car designed to celebrate the carmaker’s 60th anniversary in North America, on October 10.
F60 America is the latest in a long line of beautiful one-offs and limited-run cars based on standard Ferrari models, with bespoke bodywork and interior clothing the mechanicals of an F12 Berlinetta.
In the tradition of pure roadsters of the Fifties, the F60 America has a light fabric top that Ferrari promises will remain in place up to 75 mph. But the twin roll hoops and flying buttresses notwithstanding, this is about as pure a roadster as one can hope to buy in the 21st Century, meant to be driven with the top completely removed, the cabin open to the sky.
Ferrari has unveiled the new F60 America, a car designed to celebrate the carmaker’s 60th anniversary in North America
F60 America is powered by a variation on the 731 horsepower 6.3-liter V12 of the F12berlinetta, mounted front-mid-engine. With all that power shooting through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, F60 America should run past 60 MPH in about three seconds, and beyond 100 MPH in just over seven seconds.
Just 10 F60 Americas will be built and Ferrari says that they have already been sold, with each car costing an eye-watering $2.5 million.
Richard Gere has split from Top Chef star Padma Lakshmi after six months of relationship.
According to reports, the stars have called time on their romance because they were too busy with their respective careers.
A source added to the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “They decided they would be better as friends.”
Richard Gere, 65, who split from Carey Lowell after 11 years of marriage last September, has been busy filming Time Out of Mind in New York, in which he plays a homeless man.
Richard Gere has split from Padma Lakshmi after six months of relationship
Last week, the actor joked of filming: “What probably really helped was I was right in the middle of a divorce, so the emotions were right on the surface.”
Meanwhile, Padma Lakshmi, 44, was filming a new season of Top Chef in Boston over the summer and then went travelling. The couple were first romantically linked in April but stayed low key and were not spotted together very often.
Richard Gere and Carey Lowell – who have 14-year-old son Homer together – never officially confirmed they were separating but were said to have been living apart for some time before their split.
He was also previously married to Cindy Crawford for four years until 1995.
Former model Padma Lakshmi was previously married to author Salman Rushdie for three years until 2007 and dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until he died of brain cancer in 2011 at the age of 71.
Padma Lakshmi has a three-year-old daughter, Krishna, with Adam Dell.
JP Morgan Chase has reported a $5.6 billion profit for Q3 2014.
The quarterly results represent a marked improvement on a year earlier, when the bank made a $380 million loss.
This was the result of setting aside billions of dollars to settle charges relating to the sale of mortgage-related investment products.
Separately, rival Citigroup posted profits of $3.44 billion and said it would exit consumer banking in 11 markets.
JP Morgan and Citigroup are the first major US banks to report third-quarter results.
Other big US banks will post their results later this week.
The JP Morgan results were due to be published at 08:30 local time, but were posted early.
JP Morgan Chase has reported a $5.6 billion profit for Q3 2014
They showed total revenue for the quarter of $25.2 billion, up 5% on a year earlier. Revenue at the investment banking business fell by $600 million, with profits down by 34%.
Revenue at the asset management arm grew by $250 million to $3 billion, with profits up 20%.
“Our businesses continue to perform well,” said chief executive Jamie Dimon.
“While challenges remain in the global economic recovery, the US economy is an exception, showing signs of steady improvement.
“Corporate America is in good shape, with strong balance sheets, and employment trends continue to be positive.”
Citigroup saw its profits rise 7% to $3.44bn on revenues of $19.6 billion.
The bank also said it would accelerate plans to focus on markets “where it has the greatest scale and growth potential”.
As a result, it said it would be exiting consumer banking in 11 markets – Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, as well as its consumer finance business in South Korea.
“Our consumer bank and institutional business each had solid performance during the quarter and generated stronger revenues both sequentially and year-on-year,” said the bank’s chief executive Michael Corbat.
“I am committed to simplifying our company and allocating our finite resources to where we can generate the best returns for our shareholders.”
Meanwhile, smaller rival Wells Fargo reported a $5.7 billion profit for the third quarter, up 1.7% on the same period last year.
Mel Greig, the Australian radio DJ who took part in the royal hoax call after which nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself, has told of her own fears after receiving death threats and bullets in the post.
In a recent interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight, Mel Greig said: “I was in lockdown for months. There were bullets with our name on it sent to police stations.”
She also revealed that that at one point someone had rung her mother and said “eye for an eye, you deserve to die”.
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha died in 2012, after the hoax call to a London hospital treating the pregnant Kate Middleton.
Mel Greig and colleague Michael Christian made their prank call to King Edward VII’s Hospital in December 2012.
Mel Greig took part in the royal hoax call after which nurse Jacintha Saldanha killed herself
They pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles asking about Kate Middleton’s treatment for severe morning sickness.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, answered the call and transferred it to a colleague, who gave details of the duchess’s condition.
The nurse was found hanged three days later.
In her first UK broadcast interview, Mel Greig said she will always feel at fault “to an extent” about her death.
“I was mentioned in Jacintha’s suicide note – not the Australian DJ, my name,” she said.
“She thought of me before she took her own life. How can you not feel guilt and blame? And I always will, but I have learnt to deal with it now.”
Mel Greig revealed how she had been the victim of death threats since the incident.
“I don’t want to sit here and go <<poor me, it was terrible>>,” she said.
“[The Saldanha family] have lost a wife and a mother, but the trolling and the death threats were disgusting.”
Mel Greig said as well as the bullets being sent in the post, she had been stalked and harassed for 18 months.
She said the worst point was when someone rang her mother and threatened her with revenge.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian were working for Sydney’s 2Day FM when they made the hospital call.
She quit at the end of last year.
Mel Greig said she would urge anyone in the radio industry thinking about making a prank call to seriously consider the potential consequences.
The Walking Dead Season 5 opener has been watched by 17.3 million people, breaking cable viewing records.
It marks the biggest cable audience for a non-sports program in the US, according to television viewing figures tracking company Nielsen.
The Walking Dead, which stars British actor Andrew Lincoln, held the previous record of 16.1 million for its fourth season debut last year.
The end of the series also set a new benchmark for a finale with 15.7 million.
The Walking Dead Season 5 opener has been watched by 17.3 million people, breaking cable viewing records
Sunday’s return to the air also triumphed in the valuable 18-49 age range with 11 million viewers. Its nearest scripted rival was popular comedy The Big Bang Theory, which pulled in 6.9 million people in that key demographic.
Variety reported that the AMC show also reached record levels for the number of people obtaining the show illegally, with piracy tracking firm Excipio logging 1.27 million downloads in the first 24 hours after transmission.
But the level of piracy for TV series Game of Thrones pushes The Walking Dead into second place, with its fourth series premiere registering 1.86 million illicit downloads.
It added that Fox has rushed the show to some 125 markets around the world in a bid to thwart piracy.
The hit show tracks the fortunes of sheriff Rick Grimes – played by Andrew Lincoln – as he attempts to survive flesh-eating zombies.
A UN medical worker infected with Ebola has died at St Georg hospital in Leipzig, Germany.
The 56-year-old man, originally from Sudan, died despite receiving experimental drugs to treat the virus, German doctors say.
The Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people since March – mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the outbreak is the “the most severe, acute health emergency in modern times”.
The man had been working as a UN medical official in Liberia – one of the worst affected countries – when he caught Ebola.
A UN medical worker infected with Ebola has died at St Georg hospital in Leipzig
He arrived in Germany on October 9 for treatment and was put into a hermetically sealed ward, accessed through airlock systems.
“Despite intensive medical measures and maximum efforts by the medical team, the 56-year-old UN employee succumbed to the serious infectious disease,” a statement from St Georg hospital said.
He was the second member of the UN team in Liberia to die from the virus.
The man was the third Ebola patient to be treated for the deadly virus in Germany after contracting the disease in the outbreak zone in West Africa.
One patient – a Ugandan doctor infected in Sierra Leone – is still receiving treatment in a hospital in Frankfurt, while a Senegalese aid worker was released from a hospital in Hamburg after five weeks of treatment.
The WHO says it is alarmed by the number of health workers who have been exposed to the disease.
Oscar Pistorius’ charity work has been scrutinized by the prosecution on a second day of his sentencing hearing in Pretoria court.
The South African athlete’s main motive was to further his career, the prosecutor said, in an attempt to show he deserves jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, was found guilty of the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp last month – but was cleared of murder.
The defense is trying to show prison would be an inappropriate punishment.
It produced a second witness to say Oscar Pistorius showed real remorse and his disability would be a problem in jail.
On October 13, the prosecutor was angered by a call for the sentence to be house arrest and community service.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel labeled the suggestion as a “shockingly inappropriate” punishment.
Oscar Pistorius faces up to 15 years in jail, although Judge Thokozile Masipa may suspend the sentence or impose a fine.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said Oscar Pistorius had acted negligently when he shot his girlfriend through a toilet door, but had genuinely thought her to be an intruder.
The sentencing hearing is expected to last several days, with lawyers for Oscar Pistorius hoping they can prevent a jail sentence.
Proceedings began with Gerrie Nel’s cross-examination of Oscar Pistorius’ manager Peet Van Zyl.
Oscar Pistorius’ charity work has been scrutinized by the prosecution on a second day of his sentencing hearing in Pretoria court
At Tuesday morning’s session, Gerrie Nel tried to show that Oscar Pistorius’ honorary doctorate at the UK’s Strathclyde University was for his achievements “from a young age”, rather than recent charitable work.
Peet Van Zyl had said that the doctorate was for the athlete’s support for prosthetic limb development, but Gerrie Nel said there was no mention of that in the citation.
And he suggested to Peet Van Zyl that sportsmen often took on charity work for pragmatic reasons.
Later the prosecutor questioned whether Oscar Pistorius used his own funds to pay for prosthetics for disadvantaged young people, but Peet Van Zyl insisted that money earned for speaking which he asked to be paid not to himself but to charity was his own funds.
He also asked whether Peet Van Zyl had discussed future plans with the athlete, to which he replied that everything depended on the outcome of the trial.
Defense counsel Barry Roux then continued the line of questioning about Oscar Pistorius’ motivation for his charity work.
The athlete’s manager said that while he had contractual obligations to his sponsors, he was always available for them and never complained.
He also made himself available on other occasions and “went the extra mile” for disabled children, Peet Van Zyl added.
The prosecutor has reminded the court that the relationship between celebrity, charity and business is a quid pro quo, but it is not clear that he has done any more than that.
He says the judge’s verdict suggests that Gerrie Nel’s aggressive style may not work with her.
The next defense witness was Annette Vergeer, a probation officer who said she was working in a private capacity.
Reading out what she said was an objective report, she said Oscar Pistorius should receive a suspended sentence, community work, therapy, and correctional supervision.
Prison would punish him in a way that was not constructive, Annette Vergeer said, adding that he was “extremely broken” and would “only deteriorate” there.
“It is virtually impossible in prison to teach a person how to become a useful member of society, as there is no opportunity to practice these skills,” she said.
She said he had showed what she believed to be sincere grief and regret at the crime scene, and subsequent depression.
Oscar Pistorius had denied murdering Reeva Steenkamp after a row on Valentine’s Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake.
London’s Heathrow airport is to start screening for Ebola among passengers flying into the UK from countries at risk.
A “handful” of cases – thought to be fewer than 10 – are expected to reach the UK before Christmas.
Screening will start at Terminal 1, before being extended to other terminals, Gatwick airport and Eurostar by the end of the week.
In September, around 1,000 people arrived in the UK from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa.
People flying from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be identified by Border Force officers.
Nurses and consultants from Public Health England will then carry out the actual screening.
Passengers will have their temperatures taken, complete a risk questionnaire and have contact details recorded.
Anyone with suspected Ebola will be taken to hospital.
Heathrow airport is to start screening for Ebola among passengers flying into the UK from countries at risk
Passengers deemed to be at high risk due to contact with Ebola patients, but who are displaying no symptoms, will be contacted daily by Public Health England.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
A spokesman for Heathrow said the welfare of “our passengers and colleagues is always our main priority”.
He added: “We would like to reassure passengers that the government assesses the risk of a traveler contracting Ebola to be low.”
There is no direct flight to the UK from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea so people could arrive at airports that do not screen passengers.
Instead “highly visible information” will be in place at all entry points to the UK.
The Department of Health estimates that 85% of all arrivals to the UK from affected countries will come through Heathrow.
However, screening arrivals marks a rapid shift in policy from the UK government.
Just last week, it said there were no plans for screening as people were tested before leaving affected countries.
The WHO said it was unnecessary and that it would mean screening “huge numbers of low-risk people”.
Anyone in the UK with suspected Ebola will be taken to hospital and blood samples will be taken to Public Health England’s specialist laboratory for rapid testing.
If the test is positive, then the patient will be transferred to an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London. It is the centre that cared for the British nurse William Pooley, who contracted Ebola in West Africa.
Hospitals in Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield are on standby to offer similar facilities if there is a sudden surge in Ebola cases. A total of 26 isolation beds could be prepared at the four hospitals.
