Researchers suggest smells could be used to calm fears while people sleep.
People were trained to associate two images, linked to smells, with fear.
During sleep they were exposed to one of those smells – and when they woke they were less frightened of the image linked to that smell.
The Nature Neuroscience study could help treat phobias and perhaps even post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).
People with phobias are already commonly treated with “gradual exposure” therapy while they are awake, where they are exposed to the thing they are frightened of in incremental degrees.
This study suggests that the theory could be extended to therapy while they are in slow-wave, or deep, sleep.
Researchers suggest smells could be used to calm fears while people sleep
This is the deepest period of sleep, where memories, particularly those linked to emotions, are thought to be processed.
The researchers showed 15 healthy people pictures of two different faces.
At the same time they were given a mild electric shock. They were also exposed to a specific smell, such as lemon, mint, new trainers, clove or wood.
They were then taken into a sleep lab. While they were in slow-wave sleep they were exposed to a smell linked to one of the faces they had been shown.
Later, when they were awake, they were shown both faces – without the scents or shocks.
They showed less fear when shown the face linked to the scent they had smelt while asleep than when shown the other face.
Their response was measured through the amount of sweat on the skin and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans.
These showed changes in the areas linked to memory, such as the hippocampus, and in patterns of brain activity in regions associated with emotion, such as the amygdala.
People were in slow-wave sleep for between five and 40 minutes, and the effect was strongest for those who slept for longest.
Dr. Katherina Hauner, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, who led the study, said: “It’s a novel finding. We showed a small but significant decrease in fear.
“If it can be extended to pre-existing fear, the bigger picture is that, perhaps, the treatment of phobias can be enhanced during sleep.”
She said phobias would be the most obvious area to pursue, as cues tended to be relatively simple, compared with the more complex PTSD.
Dr. Katherina Hauner said much more research was needed to fully understand the effects this therapy could have.
“This was just one day. We really need to see if it can last weeks, months or years.”
At least 25 people are dead and dozens wounded after an explosion has ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials say.
Police said a bomb had exploded in the Kissa Khwani market, with shops and vehicles set alight.
The blast comes a week after a double suicide bombing that killed at least 80 people at a church in the city.
On Friday, at least 17 people were killed in the bombing of a bus carrying government employees near Peshawar.
Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by numerous bomb and gun attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents in recent years.
At least 25 people are dead and dozens wounded after an explosion has ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar
Police said they suspected the explosion was caused by a car bomb.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper quoted the health minister as saying that the main Peshawar police station may have been the main target.
An emergency situation was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital as it received the injured, many of them badly burned.
Rising violence has hindered new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s overtures to end the insurgency through peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban have consistently rejected Pakistan’s constitution and demand the imposition of Sharia law.
Nawaz Sharif is in New York at the UN and is to meet Indian PM Manmohan Singh later on Sunday.
Ahead of the talks, Manmohan Singh said Pakistan must stop being “the epicentre of terrorism”.
Last Sunday’s attack on the historic All Saints church – thought to be the deadliest attack against Christians in Pakistan – sparked angry protests nationwide.
Two Islamist militant groups with Taliban links said they had ordered the attack to hit back at US drone strikes.
More than 120 people were wounded.
Friday’s bus bomb targeted government employees returning home in the Gulbela area, some 9 miles north-east of the city.
In addition to those killed, at least 34 people were injured.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has rejected proposed mediation by Rev Jesse Jackson over FARC rebel-held hostage.
Juan Manuel Santos said only the Red Cross would be allowed to be involved, because he did not want “a media spectacle”.
Jesse Jackson had agreed to go to Colombia next week to seek the release of former US marine Kevin Scott Sutay, held by leftist FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) rebels since June.
The FARC say they want to free Kevin Scott Sutay to boost peace talks.
During a visit to Cuba on Saturday, Rev Jesse Jackson had agreed to mediate, following a FARC statement saying his “experience and probity” would speed up the process of freeing Kevin Scott Sutay, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
However, President Juan Manuel Santos reacted quickly, writing on Twitter: “Only the Red Cross will be allowed to facilitate the release of the North American kidnapped by the FARC. We won’t allow a media spectacle.”
Rev Jesse Jackson had agreed to go to Colombia next week to seek the release of former US marine Kevin Scott Sutay, held by leftist FARC rebels since June
Earlier this month, during a visit to Colombia, Jesse Jackson had called on Colombia’s largest rebel group to release Kevin Scott Sutay.
The left-wing rebels responded by releasing a statement on Saturday inviting the civil rights leader to participate in the negotiations over the ex-soldiers’ release.
Hours later, Jesse Jackson accepted the invitation in Cuba, where he had met rebel leaders who are in Havana for peace talks with the Colombian government, as a service “to Kevin Scott, his family and our nation.”
“We have made contact with the State Department urging them to contact as quickly as possible the nearest of kin of Kevin Scott because his release is imminent,” he said.
In their statement, the FARC say they have not yet released Kevin Scott because the government has not “fulfilled the minimum conditions required” for freeing him.
Earlier this week, the left-wing rebels had requested the involvement of former Senator Piedad Cordoba in the release process, but President Juan Manuel Santos also dismissed this to avoid a “media spectacle”.
As a result, on Friday Piedad Cordoba sent a letter to the FARC declining to participate.
The freeing of Kevin Scott would “contribute to a positive mood” in the continuing peace talks with the Colombian government in Cuba, the FARC says.
So far, officially there has been agreement on only one of six points on the agenda – land reform.
Five decades of internal conflict in Colombia have led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is considering ways out of an acute political crisis after ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi’s ministers left the coalition government.
Giorgio Napolitano hinted that he would try to oversee the formation of a new coalition without calling elections.
This follows weeks of worsening ties between Silvio Berlusconi’s party and PM Enrico Letta’s centre-left grouping.
Silvio Berlusconi had already threatened to withdraw his ministers if he was expelled from the Senate for tax fraud.
The current coalition government was put together after inconclusive elections in February, and the latest developments cast a further shadow over Italy’s struggling economy, the eurozone’s third-largest.
It is feared that the crisis could hamper efforts to enact badly-needed reforms to tackle Italy’s economic problems, including debt, recession and high youth unemployment.
The IMF has warned that coalition tensions represent a risk to the Italian economy.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is considering ways out of an acute political crisis after ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi’s ministers left the coalition government
Speaking on Saturday, Giorgio Napolitano called for political continuity in the country.
“We need a parliament that discusses and works, not that breaks up every now and then,” he said.
“We do not need continuous election campaigns, we need continuity of the government’s actions, decisions and its measures to resolve the problems of this country.”
Later on Sunday, Giorgio Napolitano is expected to meet Enrico Letta, and their talks will be closely watched for the first indications as to how this crisis will play out.
Enrico Letta, of the centre-left Democratic Party, warned late on Friday that he would quit unless his coalition cabinet won a confidence vote due next week.
Silvio Berlusconi pre-empted that, describing Enrico Letta’s comments as “unacceptable”. He later said all five ministers of his People of Freedom (PDL) party were resigning.
The PDL is objecting to a planned increase in sales tax, which is part of wider government policy to reduce big public debts.
Interior Minister and PDL Secretary Angelino Alfano accused Enrico Letta of “a grave violation of the pacts that this government is founded on”.
But the prime minister responded angrily to the resignations, accusing the PDL leader of telling Italians a “huge lie” in using the sales tax as an alibi for his own personal concerns.
“In parliament, everyone will have to assume responsibility for their actions before the nation.”
Silvio Berlusconi’s legal problems are seen as a cause of much of the tension inside the coalition.
A committee of the Senate decides next week if he should be expelled after the Supreme Court recently upheld his conviction for tax fraud.
It was his first conviction to be confirmed on appeal in two decades of fighting legal cases.
Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to a year in jail, but is expected to serve house arrest or community service because of his age.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has warned that his Democratic-led chamber will reject a House Republican bill to avert a government shutdown.
Early on Sunday, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed its amended version of the Senate bill, removing funding from President Barack Obama’s healthcare law.
There is now less than 48 hours to avert a shutdown, which will begin on Tuesday if no spending bill is passed.
The Senate is not due to meet again until Monday afternoon.
In a statement, Senator Harry Reid said that “after weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one”.
Harry Reid added that Republican efforts to change the bill – that would delay the healthcare law for a year and repeal a tax on medical devices – were pointless.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has warned that his Democratic-led chamber will reject a House Republican bill to avert a government shutdown
Speaking for the president, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “Any member of the Republican Party who votes for this bill is voting for a shutdown.”
The president, he said, would also veto the Republican bill.
However, House Republicans went ahead with the changes, ignoring the veto threat and passing the bill in a late-night session by 231 votes to 192.
The Senate is controlled by Barack Obama’s Democratic party, while the Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives.
“House and Senate like two locomotives barreling toward one another … in slow motion,” tweeted Republican Representative Scott Rigell.
The looming shutdown ,which would be the first in 17 years, is one of two fiscal crises facing the US government. On October 17, the US treasury department’s authority to borrow money to fund its debt obligations expires unless Congress approves a rise in the so-called debt ceiling.
On Friday, President Barack Obama urged House Republicans to pass the Senate’s stopgap budget bill and to extend the debt limit, and demanded they not threaten to “burn the house down because you haven’t gotten 100% of your way”.
Barack Obama said if the nation were to default on its debt, it would have a “profound destabilizing effect” on the world economy.
“Voting for the treasury to pay its bills is not a concession to me,” Barack Obama said.
“No-one gets to hurt our economy… just because there are a couple of laws [they] don’t like.”
Miss Philippines, Megan Young, has been crowned Miss World 2013 on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Megan Young, 23, beat 126 other contestants and pledged to be “the best Miss World ever”.
The competition was moved to Bali from the capital, Jakarta, because of protests from hardline Muslim groups.
Security for Saturday’s event was high in Bali, a resort island with a majority Hindu population, but no further demonstrations were reported.
Miss France, Marine Lorphelin, came second in the contest and Miss Ghana, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, took third place.
Miss Philippines, Megan Young, has been crowned Miss World 2013 on the Indonesian island of Bali
Wearing a glittering gown, US-born Megan Young, who moved to the Philippines at the age of 10, wept as the Miss World sash was put over her shoulder by 2012 winner Miss China.
Megan Young told the cheering crowd in Nusa Dua in southern Bali she would “be myself in everything I do, to share what I know and to educate people”.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and the organisers had originally offered to abandon the contest’s bikini round in an attempt to address complaints of immorality.
Protests were led by the hardline Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), which had planned to cross to the island from East Java but were prevented when the port was shut late on Friday.
Miss World pageant, broadcast in 180 countries, was guarded by heavily armed police with water cannon while some 1,000 FPI members held a prayer session at a mosque outside Jakarta.
A supermarket in Boston is going to sell only food that’s past its sell-by date.
In the US alone, 40% of food is thrown out, partly because of confusing date labels, telling consumers to “use by”, “sell by” and “enjoy by” a certain time.
Some of the dates are not about safety but taste, says Dana Gunders, a food scientist from the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), which has issued a report saying much of the food labelled bad is actually perfectly edible.
At the beginning of next year, businessman Doug Rauch, once behind the successful Trader Joe’s chain in the US, is opening a supermarket and restaurant which will sell outdated food.
So what are some of those foods?
Tortilla chips aren’t going to make you sick a month after its sell-by date
Tortilla chips aren’t going to make you sick after a month, says Dana Gunders, although they might start tasting stale. Putting them in a toaster with oil will re-crisp them again, while storing in a sealed container extends their life by keeping moisture out. Dana Gunders says yogurt can last beyond six weeks and she often scrapes off the mould.
“I eat yogurt months past its date, I haven’t ever had a problem.”
Chocolate can last a long time, Dana Gunders adds, but it often develops a white coating, known as the “bloom”, when it’s exposed to the air. This happens when some of the crystalline fat melts and rises to the top. It’s not mould, she says, and it’s fine to eat.
People throw out eggs much earlier than they need to, says Dama Gunders – they can last 3-5 weeks. Keep them at a temperature below 5C (41F), says Ted Labuza, a professor of food science at the University of Minnesota, because that helps prevent potential growth of Salmonella enteritidis.
Milk will smell or taste bad long before it makes you sick, says Ted Labuza. Don’t let the container sit out at room temperature because microbes in the air will spoil the milk – close it up quickly and return it to the refrigerator, which should be set at around 36F (2C) to help prolong the life of milk.
One of Willie Robertson’s favorite recipes is Garlic Frog Legs.
Excerpts from the book The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson.
The Duck Commander CEO and Duck Dynasty star said: “Many things in life – whether it’s food, business, or even someone’s personality – slowly evolve over time. They don’t necessarily get better overnight, but if you keep working at them and stay focused, chances are they’re going to end up being better than when you started. Take for instance my recipe for frog legs. When I was growing up, Kay’s frog legs were one of my favorite meals. But as I got older, I started experimenting with ways to cook frog legs and added my own personal touch to her recipe. Kay has probably never heard of garlic-infused grape seed oil (she’s never used anything but butter or Crisco), but that’s what I like to use to fry my frog legs. And for the record there are many infused olive oils I like using nowadays. Kay still doesn’t understand how they “infuse” oil, but I tell her, <<Don’t question, just enjoy>>.
“I had some frogs and garlic and dreamed this up one night. It is so good. For the few hundred who will actually go get frogs, try it. The rest, well… use chicken instead. Good luck.”
One of Willie Robertson’s favorite recipes is Garlic Frog Legs
Ingredients:
Fresh mushrooms
Bunch of frog legs
Butter
Garlic-infused grape seed oil
Flour
Can of beer
White wine
Phil Robertson’s Zesty Cajun Style Seasoning
Bulb of garlic
Directions:
Soak frog legs in beer for an hour or so.
Season frog legs with Zesty Cajun Style Seasoning.
Roll frog legs in flour and set aside.
In a large black skillet bring butter and grape seed oil up to high (don’t burn the butter, it will brown when burning). It doesn’t take much oil and butter, just about a half-inch or so.
When oil and butter starts sizzling, put frog legs in and brown on each side. It should be about halfway up on frogs, just enough to brown.
If butter gets low, throw another half stick in. Set browned frog legs aside.
With what’s left in the pan, add white wine, garlic (whole pods, peeled), mushrooms, and cook for three to four minutes.
Add frog legs to white wine mix. Cover and cook at 300 degrees F for thirty minutes until meat is falling off bone. (You will know it’s done, believe me!)
Prince George will wear a replica of a 172-year-old gown for his christening day on October 23.
For 167 years, Britain’s royal babies wore a one-of-a-kind, custom-made, hand-me down Christening gown.
Ever since Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, over 30 newborns including Prince William, Prince Charles and the Queen, have all worn the same Honiton lace and white satin gown to mark their entrance into the Church of England.
Prince George, however, will wear a new form of the family heirloom to celebrate this historic and religious rite of passage.
Following the baptism of Lady Louise Windsor in 2004, it was decided the ancient garment was too delicate to be used again. As a result, the Queen commissioned an exact replica of the 1841 christening gown to replace the original robe.
Prince George will wear a replica of a 172-year-old gown for his christening day on October 23
In keeping with tradition, Prince William and Kate Middleton are also expected to serve the first tier of the wedding cake at the ceremony for their son.
Usually just one official photo of the royal baby is released in keeping with the private nature of the royal christening. It is expected that a single photograph of George in his robe will be released after the event.
Designed by the Queen’s senior dresser Angela Kelly, and her creative team at Buckingham Palace, the replica retains the same features of the original, including the lengthy skirt and elaborate collar and bow.
Prince George will be christened on Wednesday, October 23, at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace – just over three months after his birth.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, will perform the christening.
Prince George, who was born on July 22 at St Mary’s Hospital in London, is third in line to the throne.
Prince George’s christening will be marked with a set of commemorative coins, the Royal Mint said Saturday.
Prince William and Kate’s firstborn will be christened at the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace on October 23, just over three months after his birth, the Kensington Palace announced yesterday. The Chapel Royal is where the coffin of William’s late mother, Princess Diana, was laid before her funeral in 1997.
The commemorative coins, approved by Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth II, are produced for the first time to mark a royal christening in Britain.
The 5-pound coins will be made of solid gold, silver, and a more affordable option, and will sell for as much as thousands of pounds (dollars). The designs of the coins have not yet been revealed.
The first Royal Australian Mint coin dedicated to Prince George Alexander Louis
Buying the coins may be the only way the public can take part in celebrating Prince George’s christening, which will be a private event, attended only by close family. Official photographs will be released after the ceremony, Kensington Palace said.
The venue of the ceremony is a break from recent tradition: Prince William, his father Prince Charles and the Queen were all christened at Buckingham Palace, while Prince Harry was christened at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace is a lesser known and more intimate venue. Constructed by Henry VIII, it was decorated by Hans Holbein in honor of the king’s short-lived marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Prince George is the third in line to the throne, after Prince William and Prince Charles. His christening will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Prince George will wear a replica of a christening gown made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter in 1841.
A new 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Pakistani province Balochistan, where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week.
Reports said the new quake hit remote Awaran district, killing at least 12 people and burying others under rubble.
An official told Pakistan television that communications already damaged by last Tuesday’s quake had been cut off.
Efforts to help thousands left homeless by the first earthquake have struggled against poor roads and separatists.
The US Geological Survey said Saturday’s tremor measured 6.8-magnitude and could be felt across Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department classed it as an aftershock measuring 7.2 magnitude.
Abdul Rasheed Baloch, the deputy commissioner of Awaran district, told Pakistani television that one village, Nokjo, had suffered damage to most of its buildings, leaving people trapped under debris.
A new 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck Pakistani province Balochistan, where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week
“The telephone system has been damaged and we are not able to talk to someone and find out the exact information about the losses… but we have reports of severe losses in that area,” he said, according to Associated Press.
Eight of those who died in Saturday’s tremor were from Nokjo, officials said, with another four killed in the Mashkay area.
An AFP reporter in Awaran said hundreds of patients being treated after the last quake fled a hospital in panic as the latest tremor struck.
Saturday’s quake was felt as far away as Karachi.
An office worker there described his chair shaking: “At first I thought it was a delusion or a false feeling. But all my colleagues ran out of the office. The shakes were heavy.”
Officials have estimated that about 300,000 people were affected by the earlier, 7.7-magnitude quake which leveled mud and homemade brick homes, injuring hundreds.
Many survivors have been sleeping in the open air or in tents.
Rescue and relief efforts after the earlier quake have been hampered by the region’s poor road network.
Officials have appealed to separatist military groups operating in the area following attacks on army units involved in providing assistance.
Pakistan’s official paramilitary force, the Frontier Corps, has been leading rescue and relief operations.
It already had thousands of soldiers deployed in the area because it is fighting a long-running separatist insurgency by Baloch nationalist rebels.
The violent force of Tuesday’s 7.7-magnitude quake caused the creation of a new 56ft long island off the coast of Pakistan near the port of Gwadar.
Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been moved from prison to a medical unit at the penal colony where she is on hunger strike.
The news about Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was reported on Twitter by her husband, Pyotr Verzilov.
“Nadya is now in hospital, but they’re refusing to provide documents about that, or to meet the defence [team]. A blockade has begun,” he said.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has complained of abuses by the prison staff in Mordovia.
Her lawyer Dmitry Dinze, quoted by Russian media, said she was very weak, with low blood pressure and low blood sugar. She began a hunger strike on Monday.
Dmitry Dinze was also quoted as saying the administrators of penal labor colony No 14, where she is serving a two-year sentence, had been summoned to Moscow. It is not yet clear what the Moscow consultation is about.
After she went on hunger strike, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was moved to an isolation cell for her own safety, the prison authorities said.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been moved from prison to a medical unit at the penal colony where she is on hunger strike
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and another band member, Maria Alyokhina, were jailed after performing a crude protest song in a Moscow cathedral. A third band member was released on appeal.
Their act was regarded as blasphemous by many Russians, but their prosecution caused an international outcry.
Mordovia, some 275 miles east of Moscow, has labor camps dating back to the notorious Gulag system set up by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Requests by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina for parole were rejected. Nadezhd Tolokonnikova’s release date is expected to be March 3rd, 2014.
On Thursday Nadezhda Tolokonnikova alleged that she had been left without drinking water in her cell and that a guard had grabbed her arms and shoulders. She described it as the first use of physical force against her, and urged the authorities to transfer her to a different prison.
The prison service denied her account, saying her water bottles had been replaced with warm water on doctors’ advice and physical force had not been used against her.
In a letter released to media this week, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said she had complained that she faced threats from other inmates, and also about long hours of forced labor.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said female inmates were treated like “slaves”, working 17 hours a day sewing police uniforms.
If they failed to meet their quotas they were punished by being denied food, prevented from using the bathroom or made to stand outside in the cold, she wrote.
The prison service denied those allegations, saying women worked no more than eight hours a day.
A United Airlines plane with 161 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing after the pilot suffered what was later proved to be a fatal heart attack.
The flight from Houston, Texas to Seattle, Washington was diverted to Boise, Idaho on Thursday evening.
Passengers on board with medical training attempted life saving manoeuvres prior to landing.
Pilot Henry Skillern, 63, later died in hospital.
The flight from Houston, Texas to Seattle, Washington was diverted to Boise, Idaho
He had worked for the airline for 26 years.
The flight’s first officer radioed the Boise airport’s control tower at 19:55 on Thursday to report a medical emergency.
Two military medical residents onboard tended to Henry Skillern as the plane made its emergency approach, according to media reports.
The plane landed at the airport by 20:10 and was greeted by firefighters who removed Henry Skillern and transported him to a local hospital.
The Texas resident later succumbed to a fatal heart attack.
An airport official told the Associated Press news agency the 161 passengers on board the Boeing 737 aircraft appeared to handle the incident well.
“It seemed like they felt that everything that could be done, was being done. The passengers were concerned for him, but everyone was very calm,” Boise airport spokeswoman Patti Miller said.
Another pilot later joined the crew and flew the original plane on to its final destination in Seattle.
Dita Von Teese turns 41 today but she is not afraid of her age.
With her powder-pale face, blood-red lips and dark, cascading hair, the burlesque star looks as though she stepped out of one of Bram Stoker’s fantasies.
Dita Von Teese turns 41 today but she is not afraid of her age
Dita Von Teese appeared on Vanity Fair’s 2013 Best Dressed list alongside Kate Middleton, Gisele and Kerry Washington. The magazine claimed she was the antidote to a Girls Gone Wild generation and described her as “a curvaceous, alabaster-skinned, immaculately coiffed stripper with a fondness for retro fashions and the attention to detail to do it right.” She has been a featured guest on America’s Next Top Model, celebrated on the cover of Playboy, modeled in haute fashion shows for Jean Paul Gaultier and starred in a MAC Cosmetics campaign.
Dita Von Teese, who is bringing her show Strip, Strip Hooray to the Gramercy Theater from September 30 to October 4, is renowned for being one of the most beautiful and stylish women in the world.
Robert Pattinson is reportedly dating Dylan Penn, the daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright.
Robert Pattinson, 27, was spotted with Dylan Penn, 22, at the Viper Room in Los Angeles for a Mickey Avalon show, with the pair reportedly heading to the Chateau Marmont for drinks after the appearance.
Robert Pattinson is reportedly dating Dylan Penn, the daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright
The actor has been split up with his former Twilight co-star Kristin Stewart since May and he hasn’t been closely linked with anyone else in the interim period.
Robert Pattinson dated Kristin Stewart for three years before a scandal erupted over images of the actress making out with Rupert Sanders.
Author Christopher John Koch, best known for writing The Year of Living Dangerously, has died of cancer in Tasmania at the age of 81, his agent Margaret Connolly confirmed.
The Australian author’s work came to wider attention when The Year of Living Dangerously was adapted into a Hollywood film, starring Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver.
However, CJ Koch believed some of his later novels were better.
“If a book is made into a film, they hang it around your neck forever,” he said last year.
“I’ve written other books since, that I think might be better, but people always come back to that one and it’s because it was a film,” CJ Koch told the Weekend Australian newspaper.
“That’s how much film dominates our culture.”
Christopher John Koch was born on 16 July, 1932, in Hobart, on the southern Australian island of Tasmania.
Author Christopher John Koch is best known for writing The Year of Living Dangerously
He left Hobart for Britain as a young man, detouring via south Asia. He worked in London for several years but returned to Australia after being told he would have to do national service in the British Army.
CJ Koch published his first novel, The Boys in the Island, in 1958, a coming-of-age story about a young man growing up in Tasmania but dreaming of moving to the mainland.
Positive reviews led to a creative writing fellowship at Stanford, where he studied alongside Larry McMurtry and Ken Kesey.
After more than a decade living in Sydney as a writer and radio producer for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, CJ Koch devoted himself full time to writing in 1972.
The Year of Living Dangerously, published in 1978, follows a reporter after the fall of Indonesia’s Sukarno regime in 1965. The character was loosely based on CJ Koch’s brother Philip, who was a foreign correspondent.
It was adapted for the big screen in 1982, earning a best supporting actress Oscar for actress Linda Hunt’s portrayal of Hamilton’s male photographer friend and mentor, Billy Kwan.
Christopher John Koch was credited as a co-writer of the film’s screenplay, but he had a dispute with the director, Peter Weir, during the making of the movie – in particular over the casting of Hunt.
“My feeling was that it was worth a gamble,” Peter Weir, whose hits include Witness and The Truman Show, told the New York Times in 1983.
“But can you imagine how horrified Chris Koch must have been to hear that a woman was going to play his precious creation?”
Over the course of a 55-year career, Christopher John Koch wrote some eight novels, often exploring Australia’s relationship with its Asian neighbors.
Two later novels, 1985’s The Doubleman and 1996’s Highways to a War, won him Australia’s prestigious Miles Franklin Award.
Despite moving around for much of his life, CJ Koch eventually settled back in Tasmania, in the town of Richmond.
Last year, Christopher John Koch was diagnosed with cancer and given only weeks to live but went on to see his final novel, Lost Voices, published to critical acclaim in September 2012.
Christopher John Koch is survived by his second wife, Robin, and his son, the classical guitarist Gareth Koch, from his first marriage.
Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, leader of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party, has been arrested on charges of forming a criminal organization.
Another Golden Dawn MP has been held and more warrants issued, Greek police say.
The arrests and warrants come amid anger over the murder on September 18 of anti-racist musician, Pavlos Fyssas.
A man arrested for the stabbing told police he was a supporter of Golden Dawn, though the party strongly denies any link.
“The Secretary General and one lawmaker of the Golden Dawn Party were arrested a short while ago after arrest warrants were issued,” Greek police said in a text message.
Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos has been arrested on charges of forming a criminal organization
The other MP arrested was said to be Ilias Kasidiaris.
The killing of Pavlos Fyssas – whose stage name was Killah P – has sparked protests in Athens and across Greece.
George Roupakias, who said he was a supporter of Golden Dawn, was arrested.
The government launched a crackdown, including raids on Golden Dawn premises and the suspension of police believed to be sympathizers.
Police arrested one of their own colleagues who was reportedly working as a bodyguard for the party, during a raid on its offices in the western town of Agrinio on Tuesday.
The government also began an inquiry into the activities of Golden Dawn, which won nearly 7% of the vote in 2012 elections.
In recent months, Golden Dawn has been accused of perpetrating attacks on migrants and political opponents – including an attack on Communist Party members earlier this month which is said to have left nine people in hospital.
President Barack Obama has spoken by phone to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani – the first such top-level conversation in more than 30 years.
Barack Obama spoke of a “unique opportunity” to make progress with Iran’s new leadership, amid a flurry of diplomacy over its nuclear programme.
Earlier, Hassan Rouhani said Iran was keen to reach a deal soon.
Hassan Rouhani also asserted that Iran did not seek a nuclear bomb, as Western powers have long suspected.
Describing meetings at the UN this week as a “first step”, he said he believed the nuclear issue could be settled “within the not too distant future”.
Hassan Rouhani said initial discussions had taken place in an environment that was “quite different” from the past.
On his arrival back in Tehran from the UN General Assembly forum in New York, Hassan Rouhani was met by a number of key political figures, as well as both supporters and opponents from the public.
President Barack Obama in historic phone call with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani
A New York Times reporter described the scene as chaotic, with dozens of hardliners hurling eggs and shoes at the president’s convoy.
The call with Barack Obama was made just before Hassan Rouhani left New York, where he has been attending the annual summit of the UN General Assembly, Iranian news agency Irna said.
White House officials described the 15 minute conversation – apparently initiated by Hassan Rouhani – as cordial.
Barack Obama raised concerns about American prisoners in Iran, but the bulk of the call was about efforts to reach a solution on the nuclear issue, she says.
Afterwards, Barack Obama said: “While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution.”
Hassan Rouhani, who is regarded as a moderate and was elected in June, has said he wants to reach a deal over the nuclear issue in three to six months.
The president says he is fully empowered by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to negotiate.
On Friday, Hassan Rouhani told a press conference at the UN: “Whatever result we achieve through negotiations my government will have the full backing of all the main branches of power in Iran as well as the support of the people of Iran.”
Hassan Rouhani said he wanted a deal “within a very short period of time”.
According to an analysis done onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover, there is a surprising amount of water bound up in the soil of Mars.
When it heated a small pinch of dirt scooped up from the ground, the most abundant vapor detected was H2O.
Curiosity researcher Laurie Leshin and colleagues tell Science Magazine that Mars’ dusty red covering holds about 2% by weight of water.
This could be a useful resource for future astronauts, they say.
Curiosity soil samples showed that Mars’ dusty red covering holds about 2 percent by weight of water
“If you think about a cubic foot of this dirt and you just heat it a little bit – a few hundred degrees – you’ll actually get off about two pints of water – like two water bottles you’d take to the gym,” Dr. Laurie Leshin explained.
“And this dirt on Mars is interesting because it seems to be about the same everywhere you go. If you are a human explorer, this is really good news because you can quite easily extract water from almost anywhere.”
The revelation about the amount of water chemically bound into the fine-grained particles of the soil is just one nugget of information to come from a series of five papers in the respected journal describing the early exploits of the rover.
Some of this data has been reported previously at science meetings and in NASA press conferences, but the formal write-up gives an opportunity for the wider research community to examine the detail.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom married four years ago in a beautiful ceremony in front of their family and friends.
However, the couple did not celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary together.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom married four years ago in a beautiful ceremony in front of their family and friends
On Friday, September 27, Khloe Kardashian, 29, hit the gym in L.A. looking stylish and svelte in head-to-toe spinning gear. Although other family members were working on the upcoming season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Khloe herself wasn’t a part of the day’s production.
While it seems that Lamar Odom is trying to get his legal affairs in order, his marriage is still up in the air.
The UN has unanimously voted to adopt a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons.
At a session in New York, the 15-member Security Council backed the draft document agreed earlier by Russia and the US.
The deal breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria, where fighting between government forces and rebels rages on.
The vote came after the international chemical watchdog agreed on a plan to destroy Syria’s stockpile by mid-2014.
Speaking after the vote in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the decision as “historic”.
“Tonight the international community has delivered.”
Ban Ki-moon urged the Syrian government to implement the resolution “faithfully and without delay”, and also announced a tentative date of mid-November for a new peace conference in Geneva.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the UN demonstrated that “diplomacy can be so powerful that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war”.
John Kerry said the resolution would for the first time seek to eliminate entirely a nation’s chemical weapons capability.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also hailed the move, saying Moscow “war ready to take part in all operations” in Syria.
The UN has unanimously voted to adopt a binding resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons
However, he stressed that the success of international efforts was “not only on Damascus’ shoulders” and that Syrian opposition must co-operate.
The UN resolution condemns the use of chemical weapons but does not attribute blame.
The text has two legally binding demands: that Syria abandons its weapons stockpile and that the chemical weapons experts be given unfettered access.
Although the draft refers to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the use of military force, a second resolution authorizing such a move would be needed.
President Barack Obama earlier said agreement on the issue by council members would be a “potentially huge victory for the international community”.
Previous attempts at a resolution stumbled amid disagreements between Russia and the US on how to deal with the crisis in Syria.
The US – backed by France and the UK – had pushed for a resolution carrying the threat of military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces. Russia had opposed this.
Reacting to the vote, Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said the resolution covered most of Damascus’ concerns.
But he stressed that countries supporting Syrian rebels should also abide by the adopted document.
The UN vote came just hours after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted what it called “a historic decision on the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons”.
In a statement after a late-night meeting in The Hague, the watchdog said its executive council “agreed on an accelerated programme for achieving the complete elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014. The decision requires inspections in Syria to commence from 1 October 2013”.
“The decision also calls for ambitious milestones for destruction which will be set by the (executive) council by 15 November.”
OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu said the move “sends an unmistakable message that the international community is coming together to work for peace in Syria”.
Italy’s PM Enrico Letta has threaten to resign unless his cabinet gets clear backing in a parliamentary vote expected to be called next week.
Enrico Letta’s warning came after the government failed to approve key budget measures.
His government is an unstable coalition between his party and that of ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi.
Silvio Berlusconi could lose his Senate seat after his fraud conviction. His backers say they would leave the cabinet in protest.
“I have no intention of limping along or being the subject of continuous threats,” Enrico Letta said in a statement after the government meeting late on Friday.
“Either we go forward, and the interests of the country and citizens are put first, or this experience ends here.”
PM Enrico Letta has threaten to resign unless his cabinet gets clear backing in a parliamentary vote expected to be called next week
Two government ministers said that Enrico Letta was now planning to call a confidence vote in parliament next week.
The cabinet is close to collapse just at a time when Italy desperately needs political stability if it is to begin to emerge from its long economic crisis.
If Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL pulled out of the government, it would lead to snap elections.
President Giorgio Napolitano and business leaders have warned against new polls while is still mired in recession, saying they could reignite fears about the country’s stability and financial position.
According to a 2012 anti-corruption law, Silvio Berlusconi should be ejected from the upper house after the Supreme Court last month upheld his fraud conviction.
After a party meeting on Wednesday, Silvio Berlusconi’s MPs threatened to resign en masse if the Senate votes next week o expel their mentor.
The Italian news agency Ansa cited sources who said PDL members were already writing out their resignations and threatening to hand them in to the party whips.
Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to a year in prison, but because of his age is expected to serve house arrest or community service.
It was his first conviction to be confirmed on appeal in two decades of fighting legal cases.
Last week Silvio Berlusconi vowed to stay in politics even if he lost his place in the Senate.
The US government careens toward a potentially devastating shutdown as Republicans and Democrats in Congress remain deadlocked on a budget to continue its funding.
Agencies have begun making contingency plans ahead of the October 1st deadline to pass a new funding resolution.
The Senate has passed a bill to fund the government through November 15.
But House Republicans have said they refuse to approve the bill absent a provision to strip funding from President Barack Obama’s health law.
The Senate is controlled by Barack Obama’s Democratic party, while the Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives.
As a result, lawmakers are at a stalemate as the deadline approaches.
Government agencies have been selecting workers considered essential should funds stop flowing.
The looming shutdown is one of two fiscal crises facing the US government. On October 17, the US treasury department’s authority to borrow money to fund its debt obligations expires unless Congress approves a rise in the so-called debt ceiling.
On Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama urged House Republicans to pass the Senate’s stopgap budget bill and to extend the debt limit, and demanded they not threaten to “burn the house down because you haven’t gotten 100% of your way”.
President Barack Obama urged House Republicans to pass the Senate’s stopgap budget bill and to extend the debt limit
Barack Obama said if the nation were to default on its debt, it would have a “profound destabilizing effect” on the world economy.
“Voting for the treasury to pay its bills is not a concession to me,” he said.
“No-one gets to hurt our economy… just because there are a couple of laws [they] don’t like.”
The president described the healthcare law as “a done deal” and said the Republican-backed repeal effort was “not going to happen”.
Barack Obama said the Senate had “acted responsibly” in passing the budget measure and that now it was up to Republicans in the House of Representatives “to do the same”.
If the government does shut down on October 1st, as many as a third of its 2.1 million employees are expected to stop work – with no guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is resolved.
National parks and the Smithsonian museums in the nation’s capital would close, pension and veterans’ benefit cheques would be delayed, and visa and passport applications would be stymied.
Programmes deemed essential, such as air traffic control and food inspections, would continue.
The defense department has advised employees that uniformed members of the military will continue on “normal duty status”, but “large numbers” of civilian workers will be told to stay home.
Last week, the US House of Representatives a bill that would maintain the US government’s funding levels through November 15 but strip funding from Barack Obama’s health law, known as Obamacare.
On Friday the Senate passed a version of the bill with the defunding provision removed 54-44, largely on party lines.
“The Senate has acted and we’ve done it with bipartisan co-operation. We’ve passed the only bill that can avert a government shutdown Monday night,” Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said.
“This is it, time is gone.”
The House is now expected to take up that bill at the weekend. Unless the two chambers can come to a consensus and pass a bill for Barack Obama to sign, the federal government will close on October 1st.
One of Willie Robertson’s favorite recipes is Duck Wraps.
Excerpts from the book The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson.
The Duck Commander CEO and Duck Dynasty star said: “I like to say Duck Commander is a lot like duck wraps. Huh? No, really it is. It’s a bunch of things that may not seem like they belong together, but when they all come together they make something spectacular. Everyone at Duck Commander brings something special to the table, and rather than fighting against one another, we complement each other. Do we have our disagreements? Of course! But we don’t take away from the unique flavors each one brings. We are all held together by a common love for family and for ducks, but more importantly we are fortunate to share a common faith. Our faith is the toothpick that holds the entire wrap together. If it wasn’t for our faith in God, I can assure you, we would fall apart.
“Simply the best way for my taste buds to eat a duck. I wrap many things but duck has such a good flavor. Play with it and add different types of “sweets” for topping. Honey is great but there are others. If you bite into the first one and don’t think it’s done, don’t panic, put them all in a pot and let them steam on low fire.”
One of Willie Robertson’s favorite recipes is Duck Wraps
Ingredients:
8 to 12 duck breasts
1 pound thin-sliced bacon
8 to 12 jalapeno slices
1 package cream cheese
1 package Duck Commander Rub
1 jar of honey
Directions:
Soak duck breasts in salt water overnight in the refrigerator.
Cut an incision down the length of each breast and stuff with cream cheese and one jalapeno slice.
Coat each stuffed duck breast with Duck Commander Rub and wrap each with one slice of bacon, securing the wrap with a toothpick.
Cook wraps on an open grill until bacon is crisp and cream cheese starts to ooze out (it’s okay for the wrap to be medium-rare; don’t overcook or it will dry out).
Drizzle wraps with honey and cook for an additional two minutes.
