Amazon.com has launched Handmade at Amazon service, a new online store for handicraft goods.
Handmade at Amazon is currently invitation-only, with an initial 5,000 sellers on the site.
Goods must be “factory-free”, with items such as wooden cufflinks and handstitched baby bibs already on sale from around the world.
Handmade at Amazon’s competitor, artisan website Etsy, was valued at $1.8 billion when it launched on the stock market in April.
“We had thousands of searches every day from customers looking for handmade or handcrafted items,” said Peter Faricy, vice-president for Amazon Marketplace.
“Knowing an item has a unique story behind it creates a personal experience that customers have told us makes owning handmade items special.”
Amazon will initially take a 12% sales fee from its handmade retailers with no other charges.
Etsy, which was founded 10 years ago, takes a 3.5% sales fee from its 1.5 million sellers and also charges a listing fee of $0.20 per item.
The company’s CEO, Chad Dickerson, told the Associated Press that almost half of the site’s sellers already used other retail outlets in addition to Etsy but that the site was still “usually” their main source of income.
“We believe that Etsy is the best platform for the creative entrepreneur,” he said.
“Etsy has a decade of experience understanding the needs of artists and sellers and supporting them in ways that no other marketplace can.”
Glencore is slashing its annual zinc production by more than a third in reaction to a 30% plummet in the price in the past few months.
The mining giant is cutting 500,000 tonnes of zinc production, 4% of the world’s total supply.
Zinc prices have been at five-year lows, but news of Glencore’s actions sent its price up 6%.
Most of the cutbacks will be in Australia where more than 500 jobs will be lost.
Other centers of output that will be trimmed are in South America and Kazakhstan.
The company said in a statement: “Glencore remains positive about the medium and long term outlook for zinc, lead and silver, however we are taking a proactive approach to manage our production in response to current prices.”
Photo Getty Images
Glencore is in the throes of trying to reduce $30 billion of debt, created by its ambitious 2013 takeover of Xstrata. That deal added dozens of mines in numerous countries to the commodity trader’s business leaving it as one of the world’s biggest miners and traders of the products of those mines.
It has so far cut copper production, suspended dividend payments to shareholders and is issuing new shares to raise money.
Shares in Glencore rose 6.5% to 128.50p in early trade in London.
Glencore’s shares are listed in London and Hong Kong, although its headquarters are in Switzerland.
Last week, its share price fell by one third in one day to a record low after analysts at Investec warned that Glencore’s high debts together with low metals prices “could see almost all equity value eliminated”.
However, Glencore responded by saying it was “operationally and financially robust”.
On October 5, Glencore’s shares jumped 17% on reports that it was in talks to sell a stake in its agricultural business.
The California Coastal Commission has approved a $100 million killer whale habitat expansion at SeaWorld in San Diego, but banned breeding of the captive orcas that would live in the new tanks.
The ruling came after a request by the San Diego aquarium to build new tanks for its orcas.
In a statement SeaWorld said it was “disappointed” with October 8 ruling.
SeaWorld plans to build two additional tanks for viewing and research.
“Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane,” said SeaWorld San Diego Park President John Reilly.
The building project was approved “under a condition that would prohibit captive breeding, artificial insemination, and the sale, trade or transfer of any animal in captivity.”
The commission received more than 120,000 emails from people about the proposed expansion, mostly from those opposing the project, said commission spokeswoman Noaki Schwartz.
The ruling affects SeaWorld’s San Diego business, but not its locations in Florida or Texas.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) praised the ruling, saying this would effectively end the orca whale exhibit.
In a statement they said that it “ensures that no more orcas will be condemned to a nonlife of loneliness, deprivation and misery.”
SeaWorld has come under heavy criticism in recently years, particularly after the 2013 release of the documentary Blackfish which specifically criticized the company’s orca program.
Blackfish claims that whales in captivity become bored in their sterile environment which makes them aggressive towards their human trainers.
SeaWorld has called the film “false and misleading”.
Numerous celebrities have condemned SeaWorld’s treatment of its captive animals in the past years.
In August 2015, SeaWorld Entertainment reported an 84% drop in earnings in Q2 of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014, and a 2% drop in visitor numbers.
Russia and the US have agreed to resume talks on air safety during Syria bombing campaigns, the Pentagon has announced.
The talks “are likely to take place as soon as this weekend,” said press secretary Peter Cook.
There have been concerns that there could be an accidental clash as Russia and the US pursue separate bombing campaigns over Syria.
The US and its NATO allies have also been alarmed at violations of Turkish air space by Russian jets.
US and Russian officials conducted talks on air safety via video conference on October 1, but the US had complained that they had heard nothing from Moscow since then.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials said they had had to carry out at least one “safe separation” maneuver to avoid a US jet coming too close to a Russian aircraft over Syria.
They said this happened after October 1, without giving a specific date.
Talks are likely to deal with how much separation there should between US and Russian aircraft and which language and radio frequencies crews should use for communications.
Russia has said it is targeting positions of so-called Islamic State (ISIS) but there are concerns that it is bombing other rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
Reports on October 9 said IS had seized several villages near the northern city of Aleppo from rival insurgents.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on the same day accused Russia of running “fundamentally flawed” operations in Syria which would “inflame the civil war and therefore extremism”.
But Moscow has dismissed claims that its week of strikes has mainly hit non-ISIS targets.
Russia has also launched cruise missiles against targets in Syria from warships in the Caspian Sea, about 930 miles away.
Ashton Carter said there were indications that four missiles that crashed in Iran before reaching their targets in Syria had malfunctioned.
Russia has denied that any of its missiles crashed, saying all 26 hit their targets.
A peace rally in the Turkish capital Ankara has been hit by two explosions, causing multiple casualties, reports say.
At least 20 people have been killed, Turkish news agency Dogan said. TV footage shows scenes of panic and people lying on the ground covered in blood, amid protest banners.
The blasts took place near the city’s central train station.
The target appears to have been a march calling for an end to the violence with the Kurdish separatist group, the PKK.
Photo YouTube
PM Ahmet Davutoglu is being briefed by the interior and health ministers, state news agency Anadolu says.
The blasts were a terrorist attack and are investigating reports that a suicide bomber was behind at least one of the explosions, government officials say.
The leader of the pro-Kurdish HDP party has blamed the state for the attack, and canceled all election rallies.
The HDP was among those calling for Saturday’s rally for “peace and democracy”, which was due to start at 12:00 local time.
The party tweeted that there were “numerous dead and injured”, and that police “attacked” people carrying the injured away.
An HDP rally in the city of Diyarbakir was bombed in June, ahead of general elections.
North Korea is marking the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party with huge parades in capital Pyongyang.
It is expected to be one of North Korea’s biggest celebrations ever.
A cavalcade of armored vehicles and ballistic missiles rumbled through Pyongyang, accompanied by marching troops.
North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un presided over the ceremony, but no world leaders attended.
Kim Jong-un said that North Korea was ready to fight any war waged by the US.
“The party’s revolutionary armament means we are ready to fight any kind of war waged by the US imperialists,” he said at Pyongyang’s main Kim Il-sung Square.
The celebrations featured thousands of soldiers – many carrying red party flags or banners – in tight square formations goose-stepping to martial music.
Tanks rolled past the podium where Kim Jong-un spoke, with an aircraft flypast forming the number 70.
When it announced plans for the anniversary earlier this year, the government spoke of “cutting-edge” weaponry suitable for modern warfare, and the day’s event will be closely watched for any new military hardware indicating North Korea’s military development.
China, North Korea’s closest ally, sent a senior Communist Party official to the anniversary.
Kim Jong-un began the day by paying respects to his late father and grandfather at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, official media reported.
Officials did not divulge details of the day’s celebrations, although thousands of Pyongyang citizens have been seen in public squares across the city practicing for a torchlight parade to be held in the evening.
A stage has also been set up on a river for a late-night concert featuring the all-female Moranbong Band – North Korea’s most popular musical group.
The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which is backed by 28 other bodies, has called for a Federal investigation into Experian, following a major hack at the credit database company.
Experian claims personal data on 15 million T-Mobile customers was stolen in the breach.
However, the PIRG fears the hack may have extended to the rest of Experian’s credit database.
This holds personal information about some 200 million Americans, it said.
“A data security breach that affected Experian’s credit report files would be a terrifying and unmitigated disaster,” it added.
The Experian breach occurred at Decisioning Solutions, a subsidiary of the credit agency which T-Mobile uses to process information on subscribers.
Names, birth dates and social security numbers were among data stolen, but not financial details, the firms said.
Experian has said the business was “completely separate” from its main credit bureau business, which was “not affected”.
However, in a statement, PIRG’s consumer program director, Ed Mierzwinski, urged both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Agency to investigate whether other Experian databases had been breached.
He said: “If the server holding the T-Mobile files was subject to fewer security protections than the full Experian credit reporting database, why?
“If it was subject to the same protections as the credit reporting server, doesn’t this raise the troubling possibility that the server holding highly sensitive credit and personal information of over 200 million Americans is vulnerable to a data hack by identity thieves?”
Prominent cybercrime journalist Brian Krebs has also raised concerns about Experian’s internal data protection policies.
In a blog, published on October 8, Brian Krebs claimed to have interviewed “half a dozen security experts” who recently left Experian frustrated with its approach.
“Nearly all described Experian as a company fixated on acquiring companies in the data broker and analytics technology space, even as it has stymied efforts to improve security and accountability at the firm,” he said.
Experian data has been breached before – such as in 2012, when an attack on an Experian subsidiary exposed social security numbers of 200 million Americans.
This prompted an investigation by at least four states, including Connecticut.
Commenting on PIRG’s campaign, an Experian spokesman said: “Experian understands the concerns raised and we are prepared to respond promptly to requests from regulatory agencies for more details about the incident.”
He added: “Security is a top priority for the company, and Experian is committed to continuous investments in upgrading talent, processes, and technologies needed to protect our systems.”
He also said the Experian had invested of “tens of millions of dollars” in the last three years to strengthen its security.
A number of lawsuits seeking class action status are under way against T-Mobile and Experian, on behalf of victims affected by the breach.
Hillary Clinton has unveiled her plan to curb Wall Street abuses.
The Democratic presidential front-runner’s proposals include harsher penalties for executives, including forcing them to share fines imposed against their institutions.
Hillary Clinton said there was still too much risk in the financial system:“<<Too big to fail>> is still too big a problem.”
The plan focuses on reining in Wall Street and holding individuals more accountable. If a bank engaged in trading that risked its financial stability, senior managers would not be eligible for bonuses.
Hillary Clinton’s plan included imposing a “risk fee” on big financial institutions to discourage short-term borrowing and encourage them to hold more cash.
She would also impose new taxes on high frequency trading, which has been blamed for market disruptions.
The proposals also strengthen the Volcker rule, which prevents banks from using their own money in certain trades.
Senator Barney Frank helped the Clinton camp draft the proposal. He was the co-author of the Dodd-Frank Act, the most significant Wall Street regulation to emerge since the financial crisis.
However, Hilary Clinton stopped short of calling for the reinstatement of the Glass Steagall Act – a law that separated high street banks from investment banks – saying she prefers “a different way”. Glass Steagall was repealed by former President Bill Clinton during his Presidency.
One Delta Chi fraternity member was killed and three others injured in a shooting at Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus, university police confirmed.
Police were called at 01:20 local time after gunfire was heard in a car park outside a dormitory on the campus in Flagstaff.
Another shooting took place at a student complex near Texas Southern University, which left one person dead.
President Barack Obama is due in Oregon on October 9 to meet victims of another deadly college shooting.
Last week a gunman killed nine people at Umpqua Community College before taking his own life in a shootout with police.
Photo Washington Post
That tragedy has renewed the debate about the nation’s gun laws, an issue that sharply divides the country.
The suspected gunman in the latest incident in Flagstaff is 18-year-old student Steven Jones, who surrendered to police.
The university has identified the student who died as Colin Brough and it said the three students wounded are being treated at Flagstaff Medical Center.
“This is not going to be a normal day at NAU,” said the school’s president, Rita Cheng.
“Our hearts are heavy.”
Representatives from the Delta Chi fraternity’s national organization said its members were involved in the confrontation but did not have information about the victims.
The second shooting in Texas happened later on Friday morning at the University Courtyard Apartments on the edge of the Houston campus.
Police said one person was killed and another arrested.
FIFA’s suspended president Sepp Blatter is appealing against his 90-day ban from soccer’s world governing body.
Sepp Blatter, 79, has been suspended from all duties while FIFA’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims against its leader.
The Swiss was suspended on October 8 along with secretary general Jerome Valcke and Vice-president Michel Platini.
Michel Platini will contest the ban “in the appropriate manner at the appropriate time”. All three deny any wrongdoing.
David Gill, a FIFA vice-president and the vice-chairman of the FA, has written to Markus Kattner, FIFA’s acting secretary general, to request an emergency meeting of the governing body’s executive committee.
FIFA’s ethics committee began its investigation into Sepp Blatter after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against him in September.
Photo Getty Images
Sepp Blatter is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to Michel Platini.
The ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Michel Platini over the 2 million euros payment, which was made nine years after the 60-year-old Frenchman carried out consultation work for Sepp Blatter.
Jerome Valcke was already on gardening leave from his FIFA position following newspaper allegations last month which implicated the 55-year-old in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.
His lawyer said that his client was “confident” he will be fully cleared of the “false allegations” when “all the facts come out”.
Sepp Blatter won a fifth consecutive presidential election in May, but he announced he would be stepping down just days later following the launch of two investigations into FIFA by US and Swiss authorities.
He is due to finish his term on February 26, when a new president will be elected.
Michel Platini, who also heads European soccer body UEFA, is one of the favorites to replace Sepp Blatter and still plans to stand.
Caleb Logan Bratayley unexpectedly died on October 1 from “natural causes” at the age of 13, his family announced on an Instagram post.
The YouTube star’s family wrote an updated Instagram post on October 5: “Tests have confirmed today that Caleb passed away from an undetected medical condition. We’ll have more definitive answers in the coming weeks but ask that you help us celebrate his life instead of focus on his death.”
Caleb Logan Bratayley’s cousin, David Cooper, hanged himself at the age of 10, People magazine reported, but Caleb’s death was not a suicide. Drugs also were not involved in his death, TMZ reported.
His family was in shock after their loss.
“Words cannot describe how much we will miss him. His incredibly funny, loving and wonderful spirit made us all fall in love with him as a YouTuber, friend, brother and son,” Caleb Logan Bratayley’s mother wrote on October 2.
Photo YouTube
Foul play is not suspected in the death of Caleb Logan Bratayley, the Anne Arundel County Police Department in northern Maryland said via People magazine.
However, the cause of death remains a mystery.
In 2013, Caleb’s cousin David Cooper unexpectedly died at age 10. The medical examiner determined David’s cause of death was suicide by hanging, People magazine reported.
The YouTube channel that made the Bratayley family famous has over 1.6 million subscribers and more than 1.26 billion views.
The channel also stars Caleb Logan Bratayley’s sisters: Annie, 10, and Hayley, 7.
The Bratayleys said they were going to take a break from making videos to mourn Caleb.
Caleb Logan Bratayley’s cause of death is still undetermined.
However, in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on October 6, his parents revealed the family’s history of heart disease, specifically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is described as a condition where the heart muscle “becomes abnormally thick,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
Photo YouTube
It can go undetected since those who suffer with it “have few, if any, symptoms.” In some cases, people “can lead normal lives with no significant problems”. The small number of people who do experience symptoms of HCM can experience “shortness of breath, chest pain or problems in the heart’s electrical system,” the Mayo Clinic said.
Caleb Logan Bratayley died on October 1 from “natural causes” at the age of 13, his family announced on an Instagram post.
The YouTube star’s family wrote an updated Instagram post on October 5: “Tests have confirmed today that Caleb passed away from an undetected medical condition. We’ll have more definitive answers in the coming weeks but ask that you help us celebrate his life instead of focus on his death.”
Caleb Logan Bratayley died in a Maryland hospital after being brought in for emergency treatment.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.
They were among some 273 contenders for the prestigious prize.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis were among those tipped.
The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was made up of four organizations: the Tunisian General Labor Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.
“These organizations represent different sectors and values in Tunisian society: working life and welfare, principles of the rule of law and human rights,” said committee chairman Kaci Kullmann Five.
“On this basis, the Quartet exercised its role as a mediator and driving force to advance peaceful democratic development in Tunisia with great moral authority.”
Taylor Swift has announced she is taking a break from music.
The singer’s 1989 tour comes to a close in December and she admits that she hasn’t got any big plans for time away from touring.
Taylor Swift told NME Magazine: “I think I should take some time off. I think people might need a break from me.”
“I’m going to hang out with my friends. Write new music. Maybe not write new music. I don’t know.”
She also admitted she is paranoid the world is waiting for her to mess up.
Taylor Swift told the publication that she relies on phone calls to her mother to keep her anxiety under control.
“I’m in the news every single day for multiple different reasons.
“It can feel, at times, if you let your anxiety get the better of you, like everybody’s waiting for you to really mess up – and then you’ll be done.
Photo Instagram
“A lot of the time I need to call my mom and talk for a really long time, just to remind myself of all the things that are great and all the things that matter.”
Taylor Swift has also opened up about a few celebrity rows she’s had in the past few years.
In July, the singer got into a Twitter exchange in July with Nicki Minaj which started when she thought one of her tweets was an attack.
Taylor Swift declined to talk about her recent verbal bust-up with Nicki Minaj but revealed she calmed the situation with a text message.
“I send text messages now. If there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding, I go to someone’s management, I get their number and I text them.
“It’s an important lesson for anyone to learn in 2015.”
Taylor Swift says things “took a while” to make up with Kanye West but she is on “such good terms now” with the rapper.
Kanye West infamously took the microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV VMAs to say she didn’t deserve her award.
The City of North Charleston in South Carolina has reached a $6.5 million settlement with the family of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man shot dead by a white police officer in April 2015.
North Charleston City Council approved the deal in a unanimous vote.
Walter Scott, 50, was shot in April by Officer Michael Slager while running from a routine traffic stop.
It was one of several cases across the US in which unarmed black men died during encounters with police officers.
Officer Michael Slager was charged with murder and dismissed from the police force.
A police dashboard camera caught the moment Walter Scott ran from his car, while footage from a bystander’s mobile phone showed the officer firing eight shots at him as he fled.
“This is a very difficult period for the Scott family. I know they are glad to have this part behind them so their healing process can continue,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey in a statement quoted by the Washington Post.
“As a result of this tragedy, important issues have been discussed, not only in North Charleston, but around the country. Citizens have become engaged in this process and government officials are listening.”
In July, New York City agreed to pay $5.9 million to the family of Eric Garner, who died after allegedly being put in a chokehold by a police officer.
In September, the City of Baltimore agreed to pay $6.4 million to the family of Freddie Gray, who died of a critical spine injury while in the back of a prisoner transport van in April.
Michael Slager has been detained in solitary confinement pending his trial. If convicted, the former officer faces from 30 years to life in prison without parole.
Rome’s Mayor Ignazio Marino has resigned following a scandal over his credit card expenses.
Ignazio Marino has denied allegations he paid personal restaurant bills using official funds.
The mayor offered to pay back €20,000 ($22,5000) on October 8 but later said he would stand down, when his Democratic Party withdrew its support.
Ignazio Marino was already under pressure over the dilapidated state of Italy’s capital.
He faced calls to resign last year for a series of unpaid parking tickets, and saw his popularity slump after a corruption scandal implicated several politicians, including his predecessor.
He said his resignation should not be taken as an admission of guilt, but said “political conditions” had made it impossible to continue.
Ignazio Marino, who took office in 2013, was also criticized for not stopping an alleged mafia boss being given a glitzy funeral in Rome.
Not all dating rules should be strictly followed. Thus, if you have a strong desire to call a girl, you should not wait 3 days (as one of the first date rules tells) to hear her voice or to ask her for another date. Just follow the dictates of heart. However, there are several rules that you should never break, otherwise you risk to mess up your relationships.
Here are 5 important dating rules by Russian Brides Agency that will help you build sturdy relationships.
Be Yourself
It is crucial to date a person, who will love you with all your good and bad traits, with all your little peculiarities and weaknesses incident to human nature. Otherwise saying, give your date a chance to know you and to accept you as such. Never pretend to be someone else, laugh at things that make you laugh, wear your favourite clothes, talk about the things you are interested in, visit your favourite places together and so on. Your date has the right to know the real you! Do not be afraid of being rejected, as if a person does not understand you, he/she is definitely not your match.
Do Not Lie
Statistics shows that dishonesty is one of the most common reasons that trigger breach in relations. Sturdy relationships can be built only on a solid foundation and this foundation is nothing else but an absolute trust between the two people. Even the most innocent lie can ruin even the most long-lasting relationships. So, always be honest and do not let dishonesty ruin your life.
Photo Tumblr
Do Not Compare
No one likes to be compared to some other person. So never compare your date with your ex, friends of parents. You are dating a person you do not know well, so give your date an opportunity to feel at ease and open his/her heart. When trying to compare your date with your ex, you have no chances to know your date and to sort out your feeling toward the person sitting in front of you. Better focus on getting to know your date and forget about comparison, as each person is unique.
Pay Attention to Red Flags
When you date someone, you need to be at ease. If you feel any discomfort, or if there is
something about your date’s behavior that makes you feel uncomfortable never force yourself to continue the date. Also never agree doing things that may threaten your health and never join activities that you believe are improper.
Know What You Want
Before dating someone, it is crucial to understand what you are looking for and what kind of relationships you expect to have. Take time to get priorities straight and decide what exactly you are looking for in relationships. Is it just a gentle dalliance or are you looking for a life partner? Are you dating someone just because your are tired of being lonely or do you really want to have sturdy relationships? If you find answers to these questions, building relationships will be a lot easier.
Building relationships is not easy, as just one interesting development can ruin all your plans and expectations. Indeed, human relationships never develop according to a formula, so there are no universal rules and recommendations that will help you predict and avoid difficulties. The mentioned above rules are also not universal ones, but hopefully, they will help you avoid disappointment in love.
The New Horizons probe has captured the first color image of Pluto’s atmospheric hazes and shows them to have a blue tinge.
According to scientists, it is a consequence of the way sunlight is scattered by haze particles.
The NASA’s mission continues to downlink the information gathered during its historic flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14.
As this data arrives on Earth, the team processes it and studies it.
A black and white image of the hazes was previously released, showing them to be as high as 80 miles above Pluto’s surface.
That picture came from the Lorri camera and was acquired as New Horizons departed the dwarf, looking back to see sunlight skim the edge of the distant world.
This new view comes from the Ralph color camera system. Again, it is taken with Pluto backlit.
Like Earth, the dwarf has a predominantly nitrogen atmosphere (albeit much more spare).
Photo NASA
It is the interaction of this nitrogen with the Sun’s ultraviolet light, in presence of another atmospheric constituent, methane, that is able to create the chunky haze particles.
“That striking blue tint tells us about the size and composition of the haze particles,” said New Horizons team member Carly Howett from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado.
“A blue sky often results from scattering of sunlight by very small particles. On Earth, those particles are very tiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto they appear to be larger – but still relatively small – soot-like particles we call tholins.”
The principal investigator on the mission, Alan Stern, had teased Pluto fans in recent days, telling them to expect something special from this week’s regular Thursday release of new images.
“Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It’s gorgeous,” Alan Stern said in a NASA statement.
If you stood on Pluto and looked straight up, the sky would actually appear black because of the rarity of the atmosphere.
The other important piece of news to come out concerns the detection of water-ice at many locations on the 2,300km-wide dwarf’s surface.
More volatile ices tend to dominate the surface, so understanding why the water-ice is seen strongly in some places is an interesting observation that will need to be followed up, the team says.
“We expected water-ice to be there, but we’ve searched for water-ice in Pluto’s spectrum for decades and not seen it before now,” tweeted Alex Parker, also from SwRI.
Since July 14, New Horizons has moved more than 100 million km beyond Pluto. And this puts it about five billion km from Earth.
The vast separation makes for very low data rates. It will be well into 2016 before all the information is on the ground.
Airman Spencer Stone, one of three Americans that helped to thwart a terror attack on a French train in August, has been stabbed in Sacramento, California.
Spencer Stone, 25, was attacked while defending a friend, and is currently in a stable condition at a local hospital, an Air Force official said.
Police say the stabbing took place on a Sacramento street corner in the early hours after an argument escalated. No arrests have been made.
They hope to release more information later today.
Spencer Stone two others, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, were hailed as heroes for tackling a man who was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle, an automatic pistol with ammunition clips and a box cutter knife.
The men, assisted by other passengers, threw him to the floor of the carriage, removed his guns and restrained him.
Spencer Stone was slashed by the attacker and later required surgery to reattach part of his hand.
The three Americans were hailed by French President Francois Hollande and greeted as heroes upon their return to the US.
They received awards from Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and met President Barack Obama at the White House.
Investigators said on October 8 they did not expect Spencer Stone to survive the attack in Sacramento and initially treated the crime as a homicide.
Selena Gomez has revealed she is receiving chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lupus.
Concerns about Selena Gomez’s health were first raised in 2013, when she canceled a tour of Asia and Australia.
Selena Gomez, now 23, later sought treatment at the Dawn at the Meadows rehab facility, with her representatives denying she was dealing with substance abuse.
The singer has revealed her break was “really about” her lupus diagnosis, adding: “I could have had a stroke.”
Speaking to Billboard magazine, Selena Gomez was scathing about the gossip websites who suggested she was addicted to drugs.
“I wanted so badly to say: <<You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a**holes>>.
“I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”
Photo Instagram
Selena Gomez went on to criticize the tabloid press, who have spent years picking apart her relationship with ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, as “vile”.
“I’ve been working since I was seven. I’ve been a UNICEF ambassador since I was 17. It’s so disappointing that I’ve become a tabloid story,” she said.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal tissue.
This process can lead to destruction of the kidney, heart, brain, spine, and lung tissue.
It can affect almost any system in the body but its exact cause is unknown.
Symptoms can include fever, a “butterfly” shaped rash on the face, hair loss, fatigue and painful joints.
Lupus is currently treated by drugs, and by chemotherapy designed to suppress the action of the immune system.
Selena Gomez, who began her career as a child star on programs like Barney and Friends and Wizards of Waverley Place, is currently promoting her new album Revival, and appears in the animation movie Hotel Transylvania 2.
Volkswagen USA CEO Michael Horn has made a “sincere apology” for installing “defeat devices” to cheat emissions tests on the automaker’s diesel cars.
Michael Horn said the events were “deeply troubling”.
He added: “I did not think that something like this was possible at the Volkswagen group.
“We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships, employees as well as the public and the regulators.”
Michael Horn was giving evidence before a Congressional committee.
He said: “Let me be very clear: we at Volkswagen take full responsibility for our actions and we are working with all the relevant authorities in a cooperative way.”
Michael Horn said he was told about a “possible emissions non-compliance” in the spring of 2014.
However, he said he first learned about so called defeat devices being installed on VW diesel cars to manipulate emissions tests at the beginning of September, just before the scandal was made public.
Meanwhile, German public prosecutors have searched Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters as part of their investigation into the emissions scandal.
The prosecutor’s office said they were looking for data linked to the defeat devices.
German prosecutors launched their investigation into the scandal last week after receiving about a dozen criminal complaints from citizens and one from VW itself.
They say they are trying to find out who was responsible for the alleged manipulation and how it was carried out.
Michael Horn said he was told about problems with VW’s diesel cars meeting US emissions tests after the publication of a study by West Virginia University.
“I was informed that EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] regulations included various penalties for non-compliance with the emissions standards and that the agencies can conduct engineering tests which could include <<defeat device>> testing or analysis,” he said.
He told the members of the committee: “I had no idea what a defeat device was or that Volkswagen used them.”
Michael Horn said in the written evidence it was not until September 3, 2015, that Volkswagen told US authorities about the “defeat device” in emissions software in diesel vehicles for the model years 2009 to 2015.
The software allowed a vehicle to recognize whether it was being driven on the road or running in a test laboratory, and turn engine emissions controls on or off.
He said the company took full responsibility for its actions and was co-operating with all relevant authorities.
Michael Horn gave evidence to the House Energy committee and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations before being questioned by the politicians about the scandal, which affects half a million cars in the US.
Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has decided to suspend its president Sepp Blatter, secretary general Jerome Valcke and vice-president Michel Platini for 90 days.
The sanctions were handed out by the FIFA’s ethics committee, which is investigating the three over corruption allegations.
It also banned ex-FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon for six years.
Issa Hayatou, who heads Africa’s soccer confederation (CAF), will act as FIFA president during Sepp Blatter’s ban.
Spain’s Angel Maria Villar is expected to perform the same role at UEFA – European soccer’s governing body – while Michel Platini is suspended.
Photo Getty Images
Both Chung Mong-joon and Michel Platini are hoping to replace Sepp Blatter when he steps down as president in February 2016.
“The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee,” the FIFA said in a statement.
Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Michel Platini are banned from any soccer activity in the interim. They deny any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, US authorities indicted 14 FIFA officials and associates on bribery and racketeering charges. A simultaneous Swiss investigation was started into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Michel Platini and South Korean billionaire Chung Mong-joon – who was also fined 100,000 Swiss Francs by the ethics committee – are two of the leading candidates to replace Sepp Blatter in February.
This year’s Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to the Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”.
Announcing the prize in Stockholm, the chair of the Swedish Academy, Sara Danius, called Svetlana Alexievich’s writing “a monument to courage and suffering in our time”.
The award, presented to a living writer, is worth 8 million kronor ($1.1 million).
Previous winners include literary heavyweights Rudyard Kipling and Ernest Hemingway. French historical author Patrick Modiano won in 2014.
It has been half a century since a writer working primarily in non-fiction won the Nobel – and Svetlan Alexievich is the first journalist to win the award.
Her best-known works in English translation include Voices From Chernobyl, an oral history of the 1986 nuclear catastrophe; and Boys In Zinc, a collection of first-hand accounts from the Soviet-Afghan war. The title refers to the zinc coffins in which the dead came home.
Boys In Zinc caused controversy and outrage when it was first published in Russia, where reviewers called it a “slanderous piece of fantasy” and part of a “hysterical chorus of malign attacks”.
Svetlana Alexievich has also been critical of the Belarusian government, leading to a period of persecution – in which her telephone was bugged and she was banned from making public appearances.
Photo Getty Images
She spent 10 years in exile from 2000, living in Italy, France, Germany and Sweden, among other places, before moving back to Minsk.
Svetlana Alexievich was born in 1948 in the Ukrainian town of Ivano-Frankivsk, then known as Stanislav, to a Belarusian father and Ukrainian mother.
The family moved to Belarus after her father completed his military service, and Svetlana Alexievich studied journalism at the University of Minsk between 1967 and 1972.
After graduation, she worked as a journalist for several years before publishing her first book, War’s Unwomanly Face, in 1985.
Based on interviews with hundreds of women who participated in the World War Two, it set a template for her future works, constructing narratives from witnesses to some the world’s most devastating events.
On her personal website, Svetlana Alexievich explains her pursuit of journalism: “I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves.”
She has previously won the Swedish PEN prize for her “courage and dignity as a writer”.
Sara Danius said Svetlana Alexievich had spent nearly 40 years studying the people of the former Soviet Union, but that her work was not only about history but “something eternal, a glimpse of eternity”.
“By means of her extraordinary method – a carefully composed collage of human voices – Alexievich deepens our comprehension of an entire era,” the Swedish Academy added.
Svetlana Alexievich was the bookmakers’ favorite to win 2015 Nobel award, according to Ladbrokes.
She beat other hot favorites Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami and Kenyan novelist Ngugi Wa Thiong’o.
Svetlana Alexievich is the 14th woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its history.
A total of 112 individuals have won it between 1901 and 2015. The prize was suspended several times during the first and second world wars.
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Photo Source: dorian.pro
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Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff broke the law in managing the country’s budget for 2014, an audit court has ruled.
Dilma Rousseff’s government was accused of borrowing money illegally from state banks to make up for budget shortfalls.
The opposition says the ruling by the Federal Accounts Court – which reports to Congress – paves the way for impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff.
She was re-elected less than a year ago but has record low popularity ratings.
The Brazilian government says it would challenge the audit court’s ruling in the Supreme Court.
“The game is not over,” said Attorney General Luis Adams.
The minister who handled the case in the Accounts Court, Augusto Nardes, said the government disregarded fiscal and constitutional principles in the handling of the 2014 accounts.
Dilma Rousseff’s government raised spending “without fiscal sustainability and without the required transparency”, said Augusto Nardes.
The irregularities amount to more than $26 billion (100 billion reais), according to the court.
If the decision is upheld by the Supreme Court, the government’s accounts will then be assessed by the Congress, where Dilma Rousseff’s coalition has a majority.
This is the latest in a series of setbacks for Dilma Rousseff.
On October 6, Brazil’s top electoral authority said that it would re-open an investigation into alleged misuse of funds during Dilma Rousseff’s re-election campaign.
The Supreme Electoral Court will try to determine if Dilma Rousseff’s and Vice-President Michel Temer’s campaign drew on donations from illegal sources.
The probe was requested by the opposition PSDB party.
The Brazilian economy has gone into recession and is expected to shrink by 3% in 2015.
The Brazilian government’s popularity has fallen amid corruption scandals involving senior politicians from Dilma Rousseff’s Worker’s Party and other coalition members.
