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Taylor Swift Accused of Stealing Shake It Off Lyrics

Sonia Pantiss
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Taylor Swift Accused of Stealing Shake It Off Lyrics

Taylor Swift is being sued for $42 million for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her 2014 hit Shake It Off.

Jesse Braham has claimed in legal papers Taylor Swift stole the words from a song he wrote in 2013 called Haters Gone Hate.

As well as the monetary compensation, the R&B singer also wants his name added as a writer on the track.

Representatives for Taylor Swift have yet to officially comment on the legal case.

Shake It Off topped music charts around the world and reached No 2 in the UK. The video for the song has been watched more than 1.1 billion times on YouTube.

Jesse Braham – who goes by the stage name Jesse Graham – claims he has copyright ownership of the phrases “haters gone hate” and “playas gone play”, which appear in the chorus of Taylor Swift’s song.

In his song, the chorus comprises: “Haters gone hater, playas gone play/ Watch out for them fakers, they’ll fake you everyday.”Taylor Swift Shake It Off lyrics copyright

The chorus of Shake It Off features lyrics including: “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”

Taylor Swift sings another line: “And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake.”

Apart from the lyrical similarity, the songs bear no resemblance musically.

Jesse Braham, 50, told the New York Daily News he believed there was “no way” Taylor Swift could have penned the lyrics independently of his song.

“Her hook is the same hook as mine. If I didn’t write the song Haters Gone Hate, there wouldn’t be a song called Shake It Off,” he said.

The singer added he had spoken to Taylor Swift’s record label, Big Machine, four or five times about the issue.

He originally asked to be named as a writer and requested a selfie with the pop star, but was repeatedly dismissed and told his claim had no merit.

“At first I was going to let it go, but this song is my song all the way,” Jesse Braham said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLBMgm79mIw

Spectre Breaks All-Time Box Office Records

Sonia Pantiss
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Spectre Breaks All-Time Box Office Records

Spectre has broken all-time box office records in nearly every market in which it has been released so far.

The 24th James Bond movie’s launch in the UK set a new record for movies released on a Monday – as opposed to a Friday – taking more than £41 million ($65 million) in its first week.

Spectre beat previous Monday release record holder, 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which took £23.8 million.Spectre box office record

Records were also set in the Norway, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark.

Spectre took $80.4 million in all six released territories.

Skyfall, the previous James Bond movie, was the highest-grossing 007 movie in the franchise’s history, taking $1.1 billion worldwide.

Daniel Craig’s fourth outing as 007 has received widespread critical acclaim, with one saluting it as “pure action mayhem”.

Spectre opens in the US on November 6 where it is expected to top the box office, after a Halloween weekend of flops.

Cyclone Chapala Hits Socotra Island in Yemen

Diane A. Wade
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Cyclone Chapala Hits Socotra Island in Yemen

Cyclone Chapala, a rare tropical storm, has hit the remote Yemeni island of Socotra, killing at least one person before heading towards the mainland.

Many residents took shelter in schools and caves as Chapala brought hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and powerful waves to the island.

Photos and videos posted online showed water flowing through the streets of the provincial capital, Hadibu.

It is believed to be the most powerful storm that Yemen has seen in decades.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization described the cyclone as “extremely severe”, and said that sea conditions around the centre of the storm were “phenomenal”.

On November 2, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre reported that Chapala was generating gusts of up to 150mph, equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.Cyclone Chapala Yemen

Gusts of up to 100 mph are forecast for when the storm makes landfall just west of the city of Mukalla, on the south coast of the Yemeni mainland, on November 3.

The cyclone could deluge parts of the country with up to 20in of rain in two days – 10 times the annual average.

Socotra is situated 230 miles south of the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, to the east of Somalia.

It is home to about 50,000 people, who speak their own language, and hundreds of exotic plant species found nowhere else on earth, including dragon’s blood trees.

The mayor of Hadibu, Salem Zaher, told the AFP news agency that Chapala had damaged more than 80 houses and left hundreds of people needing hospital treatment.

More than 1,000 families had been evacuated and resettled in schools and camps inland before the storm hit, he added.

Residents of Mukalla, which has been controlled by a tribal council and jihadist militants from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) since April, meanwhile expressed concern about local preparations for when Chapala made landfall.

China One-Child Policy to End in March 2016

Diane A. Wade
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China One-Child Policy to End in March 2016

Chinese couples must continue to obey the country’s one-child policy until the law changes in March, China’s top family planning body has warned.

On October 29, the Chinese government announced it would relax the rules to allow all couples to have two children.

It said the decision was made because of China’s rapidly ageing population and to help support the economy.

However, officials have stressed that the one-child policy will continue to be enforced until the law is changed.

China’s controversial one-child policy was introduced nationally in 1979 to slow the population growth rate, and is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births.China two child policy 2015

Though there were exceptions to the policy, most couples who violated it faced punishment, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions.

On October 30, a local official was quoted as saying that women pregnant with a second child would no longer be punished, suggesting that the new policy was already effective.

However, on November 1, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said that local officials should continue to implement existing family planning laws until the two-child policy was ratified by lawmakers in March.

“The two-child policy must be implemented in accordance with the law,” an official with the commission said in a statement.

Until the new law was adopted, local officials “must seriously enforce existing policies” and “must not act of their own accord”, the statement added.

The Chinese government estimates that 90 million couples will be eligible for the new two-child policy.

Correspondents say that despite the relaxation of the rules, many Chinese couples may opt to have only one child, as one-child families have become the social norm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGMav9fFZ2Q

Fred Thompson Dies from Lymphoma Aged 73

Sonia Pantiss
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Fred Thompson Dies from Lymphoma Aged 73

Former Tennessee senator and actor Fred Thompson has died from lymphoma at the age of 73, his family said.

Fred Thompson had various film roles and starred in the TV series Law & Order and also mounted an unsuccessful bid for the presidency.

As a lawyer, Fred Thompson served as chief Republican counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee that investigated President Richard Nixon.

The former senator – his last term ended in 2003 – was known for his straight-talking style and booming voice.

“Fred was the same man on the floor of the Senate, the movie studio, or the town square of … his home,” his family said in a statement.

Fred Thompson ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2008 election but dropped out after failing to gain enough support.

The son of a used car salesman first achieved fame as a young lawyer for a Senate committee during the Watergate hearings in the 1970s.

His questioning of former Richard Nixon aide Alexander Butterfield uncovered the president’s secret tape recording system.

He asked the vital question: “Mr. Butterfield, are you aware of the installation of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the president?”Fred Thompson dead at 73

The lawyer’s acting career began when he was asked to read for a movie part based on one of his high-profile cases.

Fred Thompson ended up playing himself in the 1985 movie Marie, starring Sissy Spacek and Morgan Freeman.

Directors frequently turned to Fred Thompson to portray government power and he had roles as White House chief of staff, CIA director, FBI agent, rear admiral and senator.

He was also cast as a fictional president in the little-known film Last Best Chance and as President Ulysses S. Grant in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Years later, Fred Thompson became best known for his role as a district attorney in the New York crime series Law & Order.

“Fred believed that the greatness of our nation was defined by the hard work, faith and honesty of its people,” the statement issued by his family said.

“He had an enduring belief in the exceptionalism of our country, and that America could provide the opportunity for any boy or girl, in any corner of our country, to succeed in life.”

Fred Thompson is survived by five children, three of them from his first marriage Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey and two from his second to Jeri Kehn Thompson.

Azerbaijan Elections 2015: Ruling New Azerbaijan Party Wins Majority

Diane A. Wade
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Azerbaijan Elections 2015: Ruling New Azerbaijan Party Wins Majority

Azerbaijan’s ruling party, New Azerbaijan, has won the country’s parliamentary elections that were boycotted by the main opposition parties, the electoral commission said.

The New Azerbaijan party had won at least 70 seats in the 125-seat parliament, the commission said.

A host of small parties and candidates loyal to President Ilham Aliyev took almost all the rest.

The opposition has accused the government of jailing its opponents.

International monitors from the OSCE did not observe the vote, citing government restrictions.

Photo AP
Photo AP

More than a dozen political parties were vying for 125 seats in Azerbaijan’s National Assembly.

However, analysts say those that could be considered genuine in their opposition to the government refused to participate.

“The pre-election period was marred by massive violations. That’s why we decided not to participate,” opposition Musavat Party leader Arif Gajily told Reuters news agency.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the leading international monitoring group, has not considered any of Azerbaijan’s elections since independence to be free and fair.

In 2015 – for the first time in more than two decades – the OSCE chose not to send a mission, condemning the Azerbaijani government’s “crackdown on independent and critical voices”.

ISIS Captures Syrian Town of Maheen

Roy Siemens
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ISIS Captures Syrian Town of Maheen

ISIS militants have reportedly captured the Syrian town of Maheen, in central Homs Province, from government forces.

The fighters launched the offensive with two suicide car blasts on October 31, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

Clashes were also taking place in nearby Sadad, a mostly-Christian town.

The latest development comes amid air campaigns in Syria by Russia and a US-led coalition.

ISIS has been expanding from its mainly northern and eastern strongholds towards Homs in central Syria in recent months. The group overran the town of Tadmur – home to the ancient ruins of Palmyra – and al-Qaryatain town.

The latest offensive on Maheen and Sadad brings ISIS to within 13 miles of the main road that links the Syrian capital Damascus to Homs and other cities further north.ISIS captures Maheen in Syria

The Observatory said at least 50 government soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting. The attack on Maheen began late on October 31 with twin suicide car bombs, a favored tactic for ISIS militants launching an assault.

By November 1 the Observatory reported that the whole town was reported to be in ISIS hands. An ISIS statement also said the group had taken Maheen.

Maheen is home to a large military complex and arms depot.

Meanwhile, clashes between government troops and ISIS are said to be continuing on the outskirts of Sadad. The town is home to Syria’s Assyrian Christian minority, where the ancient language of Aramaic is still spoken.

It comes amid continued Russian air strikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which Russian officials say are targeting ISIS and other “terrorist groups”.

However, activists on the ground say the strikes have been hitting moderate rebels and civilians in western areas, where ISIS have little or no presence.

They said more than 60 people were killed by Syrian army raids and Russian strikes in the northern province of Aleppo on October 31.

On October 30, more than 70 people were reported killed and hundreds more wounded in an air strike and shelling on a market in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma.

In an attempt to ward off the attacks, rebel groups in Douma are reportedly using captured soldiers and other people associated with the government as human shields.

The US-led coalition, which is also hitting ISIS targets in Syria, said on November 1 it had conducted nine air strikes across the country, including in Mar’a and al-Hawl, in the north.

This week the White House announced that fewer than 50 US special forces troops would be sent to Syria to assist anti-government rebels in fighting ISIS.

Separately on November 1, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem met UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura in Damascus to discuss ongoing international talks on the Syria conflict.

Turkey Elections 2015: AKP Wins Majority

Diane A. Wade
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Turkey Elections 2015: AKP Wins Majority

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won Turkey’s parliamentary election, regaining the majority it lost in June.

Qccording to Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, with almost all ballots counted, AKP had won 49.4% of the vote, with the main opposition CHP on 25.4%.

PM Ahmet Davutoglu called the result a “victory for our democracy and our people”.

The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats.

The nationalist MHP will also take seats in Ankara.

Polls had indicated the AKP would receive only between 40-43% of the vote, in line with how it fared in June, when it lost its majority for the first time in 13 years.

Attempts to form a coalition government after the June election failed.Turkey elections 2015 ballot counting

With almost all of the results counted, the AKP won substantially more than the 276 seats needed to get a majority, allowing it to form a government on its own.

However, the AKP fell 14 seats short of the amount needed to call a referendum on changing the constitution and increasing the powers of the president, the party founder Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

With 60 more seats, the new government would have been able to bring in those changes without a referendum.

The AKP’s opponents had said the vote was a chance to curb what it sees as the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since elections in June, a ceasefire between the Turkish army and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) collapsed after a suicide bombing in July by suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

The attack near the border with Syria killed more than 30 Kurds.

Turkey then suffered its deadliest attack in its modern history when more than 100 people were killed after a peace rally in Ankara attended by mainly left-wing demonstrators, including many HDP supporters, was targeted by two suicide bombers.

The government said they were linked to ISIS.

Critics have accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of renewing violence to curb support for the HDP – something the government denies.

The HDP won 10.7% of the vote – enough to give it 59 parliamentary seats, 21 fewer than it claimed in June’s election.

The party cancelled rallies following the Ankara attack, and its co-chairman Selahettin Demirtas said on November 1 that it had not been “a fair or equal election”.

Clashes were reported in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir as the results were being counted. Reuters said police fired tear gas at protesters throwing stones.

Bucharest Nightclub Fire Death Toll Rises to 30

Diane A. Wade
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Bucharest Nightclub Fire Death Toll Rises to 30

Bucharest nightclub fire’s death toll has risen to 30 after three more people died of injuries, Romanian doctors say.

Dozens of others remain in critical condition after the fire in the Colectiv club, apparently caused by fireworks set off by a heavy metal band.

According to officials, it is possible the number of fatalities could double.

The news came as 12,000 people marched silently through the Romanian capital in memory of the victims.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

People carried flowers and lit candles at a memorial outside the nightclub.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said safety regulations seem to have been ignored at the club.

The fire broke out at about 22:30 local time on October 30 at the Colectiv club, which was hosting a free rock concert by the band Goodbye to Gravity. Up to 400 people are thought to have been inside.

Survivors say the fireworks caused the ceiling and a pillar to catch fire and produce heavy smoke.

A stampede for the exit followed. More than 140 people are being treated in hospital, some with severe burns.

On November 1 officials said all of the dead had been identified.

Romania has declared three days of national mourning after the tragedy.

Gulag Museum Opened in Moscow

James J. Williams
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Gulag Museum Opened in Moscow

A Gulag museum has been opened in Moscow on October 30, the Russian authorities have announced.

The museum is dedicated to the millions who were persecuted in Soviet labor camps in 1930-1950 – in the so-called Gulag system.

The opening coincided with a national day of remembrance for the victims of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Earlier, thousands of victims’ names were read out near the Lubyanka, the former base of the KGB secret police.

The new Gulag museum is bigger than a previous one founded in 2001.

Under President Vladimir Putin’s rule Russian officials have tended to downplay Stalin’s crimes, focusing more on Stalin’s role in the Soviet World War Two victory over Nazi Germany.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

Portraits of Joseph Stalin have reappeared in public – yet they were taboo for decades after his death and the 1956 denunciation of Stalinism by his Communist successor Nikita Khrushchev.

The new five-storey museum shows personal effects of Gulag prisoners, the dimensions of prison cells, and original doors from camps in remote Magadan, Anadyr and Vorkuta.

Up to 170 prisoners were crammed into one cell.

There are also grim discoveries from execution pits – bullets and casings, and wire used to tie up victims.

An estimated 20 million people died during Stalin’s reign of terror. At the height of the terror, in the 1930s, victims accused of plotting against Soviet power were executed en masse.

On entering the museum visitors hear the chilling clank of cell doors being shut and loud footsteps in prison corridors.

“I want visitors to be able to touch the doors and immerse themselves in this theme, to feel it,” said museum director Roman Romanov, quoted by the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

A huge map of Russia shows the camp locations – described in detail in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s chronicle The Gulag Archipelago, which was banned by the Soviet authorities.

Visitors can also read about the experiences and suffering of individual prisoners.

By focusing on the Stalin period the museum does not however include the persecution of dissidents that went on after Joseph Stalin’s death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sG3d8B0sE

China, Japan and South Korea Announce Complete Restoration of Trade and Security Ties

Diane A. Wade
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China, Japan and South Korea Announce Complete Restoration of Trade and Security Ties

China, Japan and South Korea have announced they have “completely restored” trade and security ties, at the first meeting of the countries’ leaders in three years.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, Chinese PM Li Keqiang and South Korean President Park-Geun-hye said in a statement they had agreed to resume regular trilateral meetings, not held since 2012.

They also agreed more economic co-operation.

The talks in the South Korean capital Seoul were an attempt to ease ill-feeling fuelled by territorial disputes and historical disagreements.

China and South Korea say Japan has not done enough to atone for its troops’ brutality in World War Two.

They talks were held regularly until three-and-a-half years ago, when they were called off as bad feeling towards Japan intensified.Asia trilateral summit November 2015

“We shared the view that trilateral cooperation has been completely restored on the occasion of this summit,” South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a joint statement, quoted by AFP.

Park Geun-hye said the three leaders had agreed to work together to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a 16-nation free trade area favored by Beijing.

She said they maintained their goal of “denuclearizing” North Korea, AFP reported.

South Korea and Japan are torn between their allegiance to the US and their need to get on economically with Beijing.

Li Keqiang met Park Geun-hye on October 31 and the two agreed to try to increase trade, particularly through more Korean exports of food to China and co-operation on research into robotics.

The two leaders were joined by Shinzo Abe on November 1.

Somalia Hotel Attack: At Least 15 People Killed in al-Shabab Assault at Sahafi Hotel

Roy Siemens
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Somalia Hotel Attack: At Least 15 People Killed in al-Shabab Assault at Sahafi Hotel

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide attack claimed by al-Shabab on a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, officials say.

A car bomb exploded at the main gate of the Sahafi Hotel early on November 1, with attackers then storming the hotel as they exchanged gunfire with security guards, police say.

A suicide bomber detonated a second set of explosives inside the hotel.

African Union troops and government forces say they have regained control of the hotel after a fierce gun battle.

The Sahafi Hotel is popular with Somalia’s members of parliament.

A website associated with al-Shabab claimed responsibility, saying that fighters from the al-Qaeda linked group had infiltrated the hotel after an explosion.Mogadishu Sahafi Hotel attack

Those killed in the attack included parliamentarian Mohamed Abdi Abtidoon and a freelance photographer.

Several prominent people were among the injured, including a journalist and a local businessman.

Medical sources confirmed that a top Somali military commander, General Gacma Duule, and Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdisalam Haji Adam, were also injured.

The attack comes a day after deadly clashes between jihadist fighters and African Union (AU) troops in the Bakool region near the border with Ethiopia.

The AU is helping the government battle al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Security in Somalia has improved, but al-Shabab still attacks Mogadishu regularly.

The militants have also targeted neighboring countries, killing almost 150 people in an assault on Garissa University College in Kenya in April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yF3SUCwqpE

Sinai Plane Crash: Egypt Rejects ISIS Claim

Roy Siemens
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Sinai Plane Crash: Egypt Rejects ISIS Claim

According to Egypt’s PM Sharif Ismail, a technical fault was the most likely to cause Russia’s Kogalymavia plane crash in Sinai dismissing claims from Islamic State militants that they were responsible.

An investigation is under way after all 224 people on board were killed.

However, three airlines – Emirates, Air France and Lufthansa – have decided not to fly over the Sinai Peninsula until more information is available.

The plane’s black boxes have been found and sent for analysis, officials said.

The Kogalymavia Airbus A-321 came down early on October 31, shortly after leaving the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

Egypt’s civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said there had been no sign of any problems on board the flight, contradicting earlier reports that the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing.

An Egyptian official had previously said that before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers, the pilot had said the aircraft was experiencing technical problems and he intended to try to land at the nearest airport.

Russian and French investigators have joined the Egyptian-led probe, along with experts from Airbus, which is headquartered in France.Egypt Sinai plane crash

A criminal case had been opened against Kogalymavia for “violation of rules of flight and preparation for them”, Russia’s Ria news agency reported.

Police have searched the company’s offices.

Kogalymavia spokeswoman Oksana Golovina insisted the 18-year-old plane was “fully, 100% airworthy” and added that the pilot had 12,000 hours of flying experience.

In Sinai itself, where jihadists groups are active, militants allied to IS made a claim on social media that they brought down flight KGL9268.

However, Egyptian PM Sharif Ismail dismissed the claim, saying experts had confirmed that a plane could not be downed at the altitude the Airbus 321 was flying at.

Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov told Interfax news agency that “such reports cannot be considered true”. No evidence had been seen that indicated the plane was targeted, he said.

Egypt’s civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 31,000ft when it disappeared.

Security experts say a plane flying at that altitude would be beyond the range of a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile (Manpad), which Sinai militants are known to possess.

However, German carrier Lufthansa said it would avoid flying over the Sinai peninsula “as long as the cause for today’s crash has not been clarified”.

On Saturday evening, Air France-KLM and Emirates said they were following suit.

British Airways and easyJet said their routes were regularly reviewed, but that they had no plans to alter their routes to and from Sharm el-Sheikh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZeDLS3VFio

Turkey Elections 2015: Security Is Key Issue after Weeks of Violence

Diane A. Wade
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Turkey Elections 2015: Security Is Key Issue after Weeks of Violence

Turkish voters are going to the polls in parliamentary elections for the second time in five months.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party failed to retain its majority in June’s poll.

Attempts to form a coalition government since then have proved unsuccessful.

Security is the key issue in the election after weeks of violence involving Kurdish militants and bomb attacks blamed on the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised a return to stability if his party wins a majority.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

“This election will be for continuity of stability and trust,” he said after praying at a new mosque in Istanbul on Saturday. He vowed to respect the result.

However, his opponents warn that an outright victory would fuel what they see as his increasingly authoritarian tendencies.

If the AK Party again fails to secure a single-party majority in the 550-seat parliament, it may be forced back to the negotiating table with either the country’s main secularist CHP opposition or the nationalist MHP.

At June’s election, Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic, but his Islamist-rooted AK Party fell short.

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) upset his ambitions by crossing the 10% threshold, securing seats in parliament for the first time.

In July, a ceasefire between the Turkish army and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) collapsed after a suicide bombing by suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants near the border with Syria, which killed more than 30 Kurds.

Turkey then suffered its worst terror attack when more than 100 people were killed after a peace rally attended by mainly left-wing demonstrators was attacked by two suicide bombers. The government said they were linked to ISIS.

Critics have accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan of renewing violence to curb support for the HDP – something the government denies.

The HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas said on October 31 that some of his party’s officials had been taken into custody, and questioned whether the election would be fair.

“We took the dictator down despite everything, and tomorrow we will show him how strong the power of the people is despite his impositions,” he said.

However, analysts say today’s vote is unlikely to resolve the deep divisions in Turkish society.

Sharp Operating Profit Falls by 86% in Q3 of 2015

Clyde K. Valle
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Sharp Operating Profit Falls by 86% in Q3 of 2015

Sharp’s operating profit fell by 86% in Q3 of 2015 from a year ago.

The Japanese tech giant’s operating profit fell to 3.5 billion yen ($29 million) in its fiscal second quarter from 24.5 billion yen in 2014.

The earnings were impacted by falling sales of smartphone displays and delays in reducing inventory.

The struggling consumer electronics maker has been bailed out two times in the last three years by its banks.

In May, Sharp announced losses in the year to March and cut more jobs.Sharp operating profit October 2015

The company has been under pressure from its lenders to sell its loss-making LCD business. The unit reported a loss of 12.7 billion yen in the quarter.

Sharp CEO Kozo Takahashi told a news conference in Tokyo that the company was in talks with several companies over a deal for its LCD unit.

“I cannot provide any names, but we are currently in negotiations with multiple companies,” he said, adding that he could not reveal a timeline for when a deal would be finalized.

In the six months to September, Sharp also saw an operating loss of 25.2 billion yen – which is its biggest half year loss in three years.

Sharp announced earlier this week that it would report an operating loss in the six month period and also lowered its annual operating profit forecast to 10 billion yen from 80 billion yen.

Eurozone Consumer Prices Remain Flat in October 2015

Clyde K. Valle
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Eurozone Consumer Prices Remain Flat in October 2015

The eurozone inflation returned to zero in October 2015 from (-0.1%) in the previous month.

According to Eurostat estimates, price growth in food, alcohol and tobacco increased slightly, while energy prices were still considerably lower than last year.

The EU statistics agency also estimated the unemployment rate in the 19 countries that use the euro was 10.8% in September, down from 10.9% in August.

The rate for the 28 EU members was 9.3%, down from 9.4% the month before.

The eurozone rate is the lowest since January 2012 while the rate for the whole EU is the lowest since September 2009.Eurozone inflation rate October 2015

Greece had the highest rate at 21.6%. The country is expected to be higher but has yet to report September figures, while Germany had the lowest at 4.5%.

The inflation figures are an early, flash estimate from Eurostat and so are not broken down by member state.

It does give broad indications of which groups of products have gone up or down.

Food, alcohol and tobacco prices were estimated to be rising 1.5% in October, compared with 1.4% in September.

Energy prices were falling an annual 8.7%, compared with 8.9% a month earlier.

Services prices were up 1.3% compared with 1.2% the month before.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi suggested this month that he might be prepared to extend the bank’s program of quantitative easing given the low levels of eurozone inflation.

Bucharest Nightclub Fire: Romania Declares Three Days of National Mourning

Nancy Clayson
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Bucharest Nightclub Fire: Romania Declares Three Days of National Mourning

Safety regulations seem to have been ignored by the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, where a fire killed 27 people last night, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said.

Survivors say the fire started after Goodbye to Gravity heavy metal band set off fireworks, causing the ceiling and a pillar to catch alight and producing heavy smoke.

A stampede for the exit followed. At least 184 people are being treated in Bucharest hospitals, some with severe burns.

Romanian government has declared three days of national mourning.

“I am saddened, but also revolted that a tragedy of this scale could have taken place in Bucharest,” President Klaus Iohannis said.

Photo Romania TV
Photo Romania TV

“We already have indications that the legal regulations had not been respected,” he said.

“I hope that the authorities manage their inquiry with speed and rigor.”

The fire broke out at about 22:30 at the Colectiv club, which was hosting a free rock concert by the band Goodbye to Gravity. Up to 400 people are thought to have been inside.

Some people initially thought the fire was part of the show, survivors said.

The Colectiv club was in a converted former factory with two small exit doors, only one of which was possible to open initially.

More than 180 people suffered injuries, including from burns and smoke inhalation. Officials have warned that the death toll may rise.

Hundreds of people who responded to appeals for blood donations queued outside hospitals and blood banks on October 31.

PM Victor Ponta cut short a visit to Mexico to return to Bucharest.

Faisal Arefin Dipon: Bangladeshi Secular Publisher Killed in Dhaka

Roy Siemens
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Faisal Arefin Dipon: Bangladeshi Secular Publisher Killed in Dhaka

Bangladeshi secular publisher Faisal Arefin Dipon has been hacked to death in the capital Dhaka in the second attack of its kind on October 31, police say.

Faisal Arefin Dipon, 43, was killed at his office in the city center, hours after another publisher and two secular writers were injured in an attack.

They are the latest victims in a series of deadly attacks on secularists since blogger Avijit Roy was hacked to death by suspected Islamists in February.

Both publishers published Avijit Roy.Bangladeshi Secular Publisher Faisal Arefin Dipon Killed in Dhaka

Faisal Arefin Dipon was found dead at the Jagriti Prokashoni publishing house, in his third-floor office.

Earlier on Saturday, armed men burst into the offices of publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul.

They stabbed Ahmedur Rashid Tutul and two writers who were with him, locked them in an office and fled the scene, police said.

The three men were rushed to hospital, and at least one of them is in a critical condition.

Avijit Roy, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin and critic of radical Islamism, was murdered in February. His wife and fellow blogger Bonya Ahmed was badly injured in the attack.

Three other Bangladeshi bloggers have since been killed.

China Building Collapse Kills 17 Construction Workers in Henan

Nancy Clayson
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China Building Collapse Kills 17 Construction Workers in Henan

At least 17 construction workers have died after a two-storey building has collapsed in China’s central Henan province, state media has reported.

Other 23 people are reported injured in the accident.

Rescue workers searched overnight pulling bodies and survivors from the debris in Beiwudu in Wuyang county.

Nine of the injured, being treated at a hospital in nearby Luohe city, are in a serious condition, officials said.

Renovation work was being carried out on the foundations of the building when the accident happened, they said.

The local government in Wuyang county has now called off the search for survivors.China building collapse October 2015

An investigation is under way to establish the exact cause of the accident, which happened on October 30.

It will renew concerns about enforcing building safety regulations in China, correspondents say.

In May, a nursing home in Henan province that was destroyed by fire, killing 38 people, was found to have been poorly constructed using flammable material.

One of the survivors from October 30 collapse told state-run CCTV that many of the workers had come from Nanyang city in south-west Henan province to work on the site.

Some of his colleagues had previously worked as farmers and had received little or no training, one man, Feng Guoqing, said.

They had been using a lifting jack to push up a corner of first floor, but the jack suddenly gave way leading to the collapse, he said.

Chinese officials said the building had been built in the 1990s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpxJgdV7Ua8

Al Molinaro Dies at the Age of 96

Sonia Pantiss
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Al Molinaro Dies at the Age of 96

Happy Days actor Al Molinaro has died at the age of 96.

Al Molinaro appeared as the owner of Arnold’s Drive-in, where the main characters would gather, from 1976 until 1982.

The actor, who also spent five years playing Murray the cop in the TV version of The Odd Couple, retired from acting in the 1990s.

Al Molinaro died in a California hospital of complications from a gallstone infection, his son Michael said.Al Molinaro dead at 96

He had taken over the role of Al two years into the series’ run and starred in more than 100 episodes, according to the LA Times.

The part had originally been played by Pat Morita, who went on to star as Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid.

Al Molinaro told the LA Times: “When you live with a character as long as I have, you know how he would talk in almost any situation.”

The actor also appeared in Happy Days spin-off series Joanie loves Chachi in the 1980s.

After retirement, Al Molinaro became best known for commercials and set up a chain of diners called Big Al’s. He also reprised the character of Al in the music video for Weezer’s song, Buddy Holly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJh7vs-cVDM

Denis Cuspert Dead: German Rapper Deso Dogg Turned ISIS Fighter Killed by US Strike in Syria

Roy Siemens
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Denis Cuspert Dead: German Rapper Deso Dogg Turned ISIS Fighter Killed by US Strike in Syria

Former German rapper Deso Dogg, real name Denis Cuspert, who had become an ISIS fighter, has been killed by a US air strike in Syria, defense officials have confirmed.

Denis Cuspert had been designated a global terrorist by the US State Department and had threatened President Barack Obama.

Officials said Denis Cuspert, who encouraged Muslims to work for ISIS, was killed in an October 16 air strike near Raqqa.

He used the stage name “Deso Dogg” before converting to Islam in 2010.Denis Cuspert killed in Syria

“Cuspert is emblematic of the type of foreign recruit IS seeks for its ranks – individuals who have engaged in criminal activity in their home countries who then travel to Iraq and Syria to commit far worse crimes,” the State Department wrote of Denis Cuspert in February.

A spokesman for Germany’s Interior Ministry would not confirm or deny his death.

In April 2014 Denis Cuspert was reported to have been killed in Syria but that claim was later retracted.

Denis Cuspert, whose rap career ended before he starting working for ISIS, would use social media to attract youth and Westerners, especially Germans, to the group.

He left his music career behind in 2010. Previously, he had toured with American rapper DMX in 2006, the New York Times reported.

In Germany, Denis Cuspert became popular for singing nasheeds – Islamic devotional music – in German.

Russian Plane Crashes in Sinai Killing over 220 People

Diane A. Wade
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Russian Plane Crashes in Sinai Killing over 220 People

A Russian plane with more than 220 people on board has crashed in central Sinai, the office of Egypt’s prime minister has confirmed.

The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The plane wreckage has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 31,000ft, Egyptian officials said.

Egyptian officials said most on board are likely to have died.

The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.

Russian authorities say it was carrying 217 passengers, 17 of them children, and seven crew. Most were Russian tourists.

Initially there were conflicting reports about the fate of the plane, some suggesting it had disappeared over Cyprus.Russian plane crash in Egypt

The office of Egyptian PM Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai”.

It added that Sharif Ismail had formed a crisis committee to deal with the crash.

Media reports say at least 40 ambulances have been sent to the scene.

The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said in a statement that flight 7K 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 06:51 Moscow time and had been due into St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport at 12:10.

The authority added that the aircraft failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control 23 minutes after take-off and disappeared from the radar.

Egypt’s civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 31,000ft when it disappeared.

Live flight tracking service Flight Radar 24’s Mikail Robertson confirmed the altitude.

A centre to help relatives of the passengers has been set up at Pulkovo airport, Tass news agency quoted St Petersburg city officials as saying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR6SYjolJJk

Hillary Clinton Rally Interrupted by Black Lives Matter Activists

Diane A. Wade
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Hillary Clinton Rally Interrupted by Black Lives Matter Activists

A Hillary Clinton campaing rally at Clark Atlanta University has been interrupted by Black Lives Matter activists as she began a speech about reforming the criminal justice system.

The Democratic presidential contender spoke over the shouting, saying if elected she would carry on the work on President Barack Obama.

The group of 10 Black Lives Matter protesters were quickly escorted away.

They have interrupted campaign events to highlight police brutality, racism and mass incarceration.

The activists have mostly targeted Democrats – including Hillary Clinton and her chief rival Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have responded to the protests with policy proposals, meeting activists and talking about racial issues on the campaign trail.

The Black Lives Matter movement was originally formed after George Zimmerman, a Hispanic man in Florida, was acquitted of the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Photo EPA
Photo EPA

It grew to greater prominence after a white police officer killed Michael Brown – an unarmed black teenager – in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

The protest movement has continued to gain strength over the past year after several controversial police-involved deaths of black people including those of Freddie Gray and Sandra Bland.

Friday’s rally was entitled “African Americans for Hillary”. Guests included pop singer Usher and civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis.

The crowd of about 2,000 chanted “Let her talk!” and John Lewis asked them to stop.

“I’m sorry they didn’t listen, because some of what they demanded I am offering and intend to fight for as president,” Hillary Clinton said.

“We have to come together as a nation.”

In 1994, Hillary Clinton lobbied for one of the largest crime bills in US history, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which provided billions for prisons. The law also introduced the “three strikes” policy, which called for mandatory life imprisonment without parole for federal offenders with three or more felony or drug trafficking convictions.

Hillary Clinton has changed her position since she has been on the campaign trail, calling for the end of mass incarceration and expressing her concern over police violence and black people.

On October 30, Hillary Clinton also proposed a legal ban on racial profiling by police.

The policy would forbid federal, state and local officers from “relying on a person’s race when conducting routine or spontaneous investigatory activities,” unless they have information linking a suspect to a crime.

Hillary Clinton also supported the “ban the box” movement, an effort to prevent job applicants from being disqualified because of their criminal history.

Bucharest Nightclub Fire: At Least 27 Dead and 155 Injured

Diane A. Wade
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Bucharest Nightclub Fire: At Least 27 Dead and 155 Injured

At least 27 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in an explosion and fire at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romanian government and health officials say.

The blast happened on Friday night at a heavy metal concert inside the Colectiv nightclub, and a large fire broke out.

The death toll was confirmed by Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and Health Secretary Raed Arafat.

Photo RomaniaTV
Photo RomaniaTV

Raed Arafat said 155 people were injured and were now being treated in Bucharest hospitals.

According to local media, fireworks may have been let off inside the club.

More than 500 people may have been inside the club, which was hosting a heavy metal concert.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis wrote on his Facebook page that he was “deeply grieved by the tragic events that happened this evening in downtown.”

He added: “It is a very sad day for all of us, for our nation and for me personally.”

Halloween Recipe: Pumpkin Cider Cake

Kathryn R. Bown
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Halloween Recipe: Pumpkin Cider Cake

Pumpkin cider cake recipe

Ingredients:

For the pumpkin purée:

  • 1 small pumpkin

For the cake:

  • butter for greasing
  • 9oz light brown sugar
  • 10½oz pumpkin purée
  • 3½fl oz medium dry cider
  • 3½fl oz vegetable oil
  • 2 large free-range eggs
  • 9oz plain flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves

For the decoration:

  • 2¾oz unsalted butter, softened
  • 7oz full fat cream cheese at room temperature
  • 3½oz icing sugar, sifted
  • brown fondant (optional)Pumpkin cider cake recipe

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
  2. To make the pumpkin purée halve the pumpkin, scrape out the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon and discard. Place the pumpkin halves, cut side down, onto a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes, until it feels soft to the touch. Allow to cool, then scrape out the cooked flesh and mash with a fork until smooth. Set aside to cool.
  3. Grease and lightly flour a small Bundt tin 8¼in in diameter.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, pumpkin purée, cider and oil. Beat with a handheld electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are completely mixed in.
  5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the spices. Beat this into the wet ingredients for 2-3 minutes until it is thick and smooth.
  6. Measure out half the batter into the prepared Bundt tin (it should be about 1lb 4oz of mixture). Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wash, dry, and grease and flour your Bundt tin again, and bake the other half.
  8. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Beat the softened butter in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar and beat until well incorporated.
  9. When both cakes are completely cool, use a sharp knife to slice off a thin layer of the bottom of the cake to flatten it (reserve the cake trimmings). Place the 2 cakes, cut sides together, to see if it makes a convincing pumpkin shape. If necessary, trim off a little more so that the curves of the Bundt tin line up with each other.
  10. Spread a little of the icing onto the bottom cake, then cover with the top cake layer. Use the reserved cake trimmings to fill in the hole in the middle of the cake. Spoon the icing onto the top of the cake and let it run down the sides. Create a fondant stem from the brown fondant, stick a toothpick in the end of the stem and secure it in the cake.
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