Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, has bought the Armand de Brignac champagne brand.
New York wine and spirits company Sovereign Brands said it had sold the luxury brand to Jay-Z for an undisclosed amount.
The champagne, also known as “Ace of Spades”, is produced in the French town of Chigny-les-Roses by eight people.
Jay-Z has bought the Armand de Brignac champagne brand
The golden-bottled champagne, which featured in a 2006 Jay-Z music video, sells for $300.
Jay-Z, 44, has been known for his love of the champagne, which is bottled at a winemaking house founded in 1763. He reportedly displayed 350 bottles of the drink at a fundraiser that he and his wife Beyonce Knowles threw for President Barack Obama in a New York night club in 2012.
The acquisition is the latest addition to Jay-Z’s vast business interests outside of his music, which include a clothing line, restaurants and a recording label.
Jay-Z is considered the third richest hip-hop artist in the world with an estimated net worth of $520 million, according to Forbes magazine.
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has appeared in a New Zealand court on charges of attempting to arrange a murder.
Phil Rudd, who was born in Australia, has also been charged with possessing the drugs methamphetamine and cannabis, and of making threats to kill.
The musician’s waterfront house in Tauranga, on New Zealand’s North Island, was raided on Thursday morning, November 6.
AC/DC are due to release a new album later this year.
Phil Rudd, 60, was released on bail after a brief appearance at Tauranga district court.
As part of his bail conditions, he must not have any contact with anyone involved in the alleged murder plot.
Phil Rudd has appeared in a New Zealand court on charges of attempting to arrange a murder
Local media reports say that the alleged plot targeted two men. The judge ruled that their names as well as that of the alleged hit-man cannot be revealed.
Phil Rudd will appear in court again on November 27. He has yet to enter a plea.
Under New Zealand law, the charge of attempting to “procure” a murder carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
A police official quoted by the SunLive news website said the information that led to the raid on the house was provided by a member of the public.
Phil Rudd was kicked out of the band in 1983 and rejoined in 1994.
Phil Rudd did not appear in a new photo of AC/DC members released last month to promote their upcoming album Rock Or Bust, and was reportedly absent from the filming of a new music video, prompting online speculation about whether he was still in the band.
The US stock market closed higher with investors relieved that the midterm elections produced a clear result.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit fresh records.
Sentiment was also boosted by an upbeat jobs survey, raising hopes that the official payroll figures on Friday will be strong.
The Dow Jones closed after adding 100.69 points at 17,484.53.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 11.47 points to 2,023.57 while the NASDAQ lost early gains and fell 2.91 points to 4,620.72.
The US stock market closed higher with investors relieved that the midterm elections produced a clear result (photo Reuters)
Energy shares rose on hopes that the Republican majority in the Senate could lead to new energy-friendly legislation.
The midterm vote also boosted the dollar, which jumped to a seven-year high against the yen of 114.65 yen.
Meanwhile, investors were impressed by a report from payroll processor ADP which said that private firms in the US added 230,000 jobs in October. This was ahead of forecasts and the largest increase since June.
Among individual firms, shares in TripAdvisor dived 14% after the travel review website’s third quarter results fell short of expectations.
Net income for the quarter fell to $54 million from $56 million a year earlier, following a big increase in marketing costs.
Time Warner shares rose 4% after its third quarter profit and revenue beat expectations. It posted net income of $967 million with revenue up 3.3% to $6.24 billion.
Beyonce has topped Forbes’ Highest-Paid Women In Music List in 2014 with more than $115 million.
Beyonce had the “biggest year of her career”, playing 95 shows, bringing in an average $2.4 million per city, according to Forbes magazine.
Endorsement deals with companies like Pepsi and H&M, along with the surprise album she released in December 2013, helped Beyonce to the top spot.
The self-titled album was released on iTunes with no prior promotion.
Beyonce has just announced she’ll be releasing a platinum version of that album later this month, which will include new songs and a concert video.
Taylor Swift came in second on the Forbes list, taking home an estimated $64 million.
Completing the top three is Pink, who played 85 dates during the time period Forbes used to make its estimates.
Beyonce has topped Forbes’ Highest-Paid Women In Music List in 2014
Her earnings were valued at $52 million.
Other artists on the list include Rihanna in fourth with $48 million and Katy Perry, who took home $40 million, in fifth.
Forbes calculated earnings by looking at income from “touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures” between June 2013 and June 2014.
They also interviewed managers, lawyers and executives and looked at data from organizations such as Nielsen SoundScan.
Some of the high-profile artists who missed out on a spot in the top 10 included Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Alicia Keys.
Stars including Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker have paid a farewell in song to their former Cream bandmate Jack Bruce at his funeral.
Jack Bruce died on October 25 as a result of liver disease.
Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker were among a number of musicians who joined Jack Bruce’s family at Golders Green Crematorium in north London.
They sang songs including Morning Has Broken and Strawberry Fields Forever.
Jack Bruce died on October 25 as a result of liver disease
The order of service described Jack Bruce, who was 71 when he died, as a “beloved husband, father, granddad and all round legend”.
His friend and Cream lyricist Pete Brown shared reminiscences with guests, which also included contributions from Jack Bruce’s son Malcolm, daughters Natasha and Kyla, a poem written by another son Corin and a tribute from his wife Margrit.
Jack Bruce, who was originally from Bishopbriggs near Glasgow, was said to have been one of the best bass players in the history of rock music.
He was most famous for his role alongside Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in Cream. The 1960s supergroup created enduring tracks such as White Room, Sunshine Of Your Love, I Feel Free and Badge.
The trio reformed for a series of shows in 2005, which included dates at the Royal Albert Hall.
Also attending the funeral service were the Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera, Procol Harum star Gary Brooker, guitarist Vernon Reid and the musician and composer Nitin Sawhney.
At least one person has been killed after a Palestinian driver has rammed a car into several pedestrians in Jerusalem, hours after clashes erupted at the city’s holiest site.
About a dozen people were injured and the driver was shot dead by police.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was “a direct result of incitement” by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
A similar car attack by a Palestinian took place in the same area two weeks ago which left a woman and a baby dead.
Meanwhile Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel over what it called the “unprecedented Israeli escalation” at holy and sensitive sites in Jerusalem.
Also citing continued settlement activity, Jordan is to lodge a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council in protest, the Jordanian state news agency Petra reported.
Israeli media reports say the driver – named as Ibrahim al-Akari – was from Shuafat refugee camp in the east of the city.
At least one person has been killed after a Palestinian driver has rammed a car into several pedestrians in Jerusalem
His Facebook page states that he is a member of Hamas, and the Twitter account for the group’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, described him as a member and a martyr.
Two weeks ago a Palestinian from the Abu Tor area drove his car into a tram station, killing a three-month-old baby and an Ecuadorean woman.
East Jerusalem has experienced growing unrest in recent months with Palestinians angry at Israeli settlement expansion on occupied land and restricted access to the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
At times of tension, Israeli police bar male Muslim worshippers under the age of 50 from entering the compound as a security measure.
The Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif compound was briefly closed earlier to visitors after dozens of Palestinian protesters fought with police.
Teresa Romero, the Spanish nurse who became the first person known to have contracted Ebola outside West Africa in the latest outbreak, has given an emotional account of her ordeal as she left hospital.
Teresa Romero, 44, said she had clung to memories of family when she thought she was dying and still does not know how she caught the disease.
She had treated two returning Spanish missionaries who later died.
Teresa Romero vowed to donate blood to other Ebola victims until she “ran dry”.
In her first press conference after being discharged from the Carlos III hospital, she also condemned Spanish officials for putting down her dog.
She said they had unnecessarily “executed” the mixed breed Excalibur.
On her release from hospital, Teresa Romero read a statement, saying: “When I felt I was dying I would cling to my memories, to my family and my husband, I was isolated and I did not have any contact with the exterior except with (husband) Javier by telephone.”
She said she felt the disease “did not matter to the Western world until there was an infection here”.
Teresa Romero became the first person known to have contracted Ebola outside West Africa in the latest outbreak (photo AFP)
She added: “I don’t know what failed, or if anything failed. I just know that I don’t hold any grudges.”
Teresa Romero recovered after being given a variety of treatments including blood plasma from survivor Paciencia Melgar.
She said that she wanted to meet the nun and “give her a big hug”.
“I can never be grateful enough,” she said.
An antiviral drug was also given to Teresa Romero but the hospital was unable to say which method had been successful.
The nurse said that if her blood helped cure another Ebola sufferer she would “repeat it again until I run dry”.
Teresa Romero also thanked the hospital staff for their support and said it would have been “impossible” to save her life without it.
Hospital chief Rafael Perez-Santamarina told reporters it was “excellent news after a very complicated month for everyone”.
Teresa Romero no longer posed a risk and could lead a normal life, said Jose Ramon Arribas, the head of the Carlos III hospital’s infectious diseases unit.
Although she would be able to return to home, she would need “time for a full recovery from a very dramatic event,” his colleague Jose Ramon Arribas added.
“The main joy is that finally it’s been possible to save someone with Ebola and more importantly a colleague,” fellow nurse Esther Bellon said.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed some 5,000 people. The vast majority of the deaths have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Mitch McConnell, the presumptive Republican leader of the US Senate, has vowed to “work together” with President Barack Obama on issues where they can agree.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said working within a two-party political system did not mean “we have to live in perpetual conflict”.
Mitch McConnell and a host of Republicans swept to victory in the Senate, and now control both chambers of Congress.
President Barack Obama will respond later to what was a terrible result for Democrats.
Mitch McConnell is the presumptive Republican leader of the US Senate
As the new Senate majority leader when the new Congress sits in January, Mitch McConnell will control the chamber’s legislative agenda and floor proceedings.
He has been a fierce critic of the president’s healthcare overhaul and once vowed to block Barack Obama at every turn. But in the glow of victory, he hinted at compromise.
“Tonight we begin another [race]… the race to turn this country around, to restore hope and confidence and optimism to this commonwealth and across this nation,” Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday evening.
“Too many in Washington have forgotten that their job is to serve,” he added.
“We do have an obligation to work together on issues where we can agree.”
Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Barack Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the first results came in late on November 4, it became clear they had made the six gains they needed to win control of the Senate.
The Republicans won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. The party now controls 52 seats, and is tipped to win at least one more as votes are counted in other states.
The Republicans are also projected to increase their majority – by at least 10 seats – in the House of Representatives to levels not seen since before World War Two.
They also made gains among the 36 governorships up for re-election.
The Republicans will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Barack Obama’s agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House.
Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.
Turkey’s new presidential palace costs about $615 million – nearly twice the previous estimate, officials say.
The controversial 1,000-room palace known as Ak Saray (White Palace) was built on a forested hilltop on the edge of the capital Ankara, on more than 1.6 million sq ft of land.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the palace on August 30 after becoming president.
His AK Party has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade.
The palace is bigger than the White House in Washington, the Kremlin in Moscow and even the Palace of Versailles near Paris.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, quoted by Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper, said most of the 1.37 billion Turkish lira ($615 million) cost had been paid, but another $135 million had been budgeted for it in 2015.
The palace has sumptuous marble corridors and atriums, as well as high-tech systems to prevent electronic eavesdropping.
The controversial 1,000-room palace known as Ak Saray was built on a forested hilltop on the edge of Ankara, on more than 1.6 million sq ft of land (photo EPA)
Environmentalists accuse Recep Tayyip Erdogan of spending public money on lavish construction projects to the detriment of green areas. Activists defending Istanbul’s Gezi Park clashed with police in June 2013.
Hurriyet says the palace project was controversial because hundreds of trees were cut down to make space for it, in what had been a forest reserve bequeathed to the nation by modern Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The finance minister also said $185m would be spent on a new Airbus A330-200 presidential jet.
A presidential aide, Fahri Kasirga, said other presidential properties would be renovated next year, notably the Huber Palace in Istanbul and a guest house in Marmaris, on the Aegean coast.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has moved out of the more modest Cankaya Palace in Ankara, which will now be used by PM Ahmet Davutoglu.
An Indian man organized a Hindu wedding ceremony for his monkeys.
More than 200 villagers in northern India have attended the elaborate wedding ceremony for the two monkeys.
The owner, Udesh Mahto, said the male was “like an adopted son” to him.
The ceremony took place on Monday evening in Bettiah district in Bihar state, with the “bride” dressed in an orange frock and the “groom” wearing a yellow T-shirt.
Monkeys are revered idols in Hindu mythology.
Ramu and his bride, a female monkey called Ramdulari
The 13-year-old male monkey named Ramu and his bride, a female monkey called Ramdulari, were taken in a procession on top of a flower-bedecked SUV, accompanied by music and dancing. Hundreds of villagers lined the route to greet the “couple”.
Udesh Mahto, a daily wage worker who has three sons, said Ramu was “like my eldest son”.
He brought Ramu from Nepal about seven years ago, and later bought Ramdulari from a village fair.
A local Hindu priest Sunil Shastri “solemnized” the wedding.
Wedding cards were printed and a band was hired to play at the wedding. Guests were served a feast.
Many people from neighboring villages turned up to see the procession and take pictures which they posted on social networking sites.
Kim Jong-un has been pictured by North Korean media walking without a cane at an army meeting, following speculation about his health.
The North Korean leadr was not seen in public for nearly six weeks before appearing at an event using a walking stick last month.
South Korean intelligence said Kim Jong-un had surgery to remove an ankle cyst.
Kim Jong-un’s health has been the subject of much rumor in recent years, with some saying he may be suffering from gout or hip problems.
The latest pictures, which came out in newspaper Rodong Sinmun on November 5, show Kim Jong-un meeting with military commanders.
Kim Jong-un pictured walking without a cane at an army meeting, following speculation about his health
North Korea agency KCNA said Kim Jong-un had attended the army meeting on November 3 and November 4 and posed with participants for photographs.
He was accompanied by right-hand man Hwang Pyong-so and other top leaders.
Kim Jong-un missed a key political event in October – the anniversary of his ruling party. But South Korea said it believed he remained in control.
South Korean intelligence later said that Kim Jong-un had developed a cyst on his left ankle in May, pinching a nerve and causing the ankle to swell.
A team of European medical experts were said to have flown to Pyongyang in September or October to operate on Kim Jong-un’s left ankle and remove the cyst.
Canadian Jordan Axani is offering free plane tickets to a female compatriot to fly “around the world”.
The man has made the offer on one condition – his fellow traveler must be called Elizabeth Gallagher.
Jordan Axani, 28, broke up with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Gallagher, in March and needs someone with the same name who can use the tickets.
He wants to give the tickets away rather than change the name on them.
Jordan Axani said it would be “the headache or money to cancel” them.
The itinerary for the trip to Europe, the US and India includes stops in Milan, Prague, Paris, New York and Delhi between December and January.
Jordan Axani is offering free plane tickets around the world to a female compatriot called Elizabeth Gallagher
Jordan Axani has advertised the tickets on Reddit.
He wrote: “I need your help.
“You see, in March I booked a fairly wicked trip around the world for this Christmas for my ex and I.
“While our relationship has come to a close, I am still planning on going on the trip and she is not (naturally).
“And because I hate the idea of a ticket around the world going to waste, I am looking for a Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher who could use the ticket.”
Until now, no one has been selected yet.
Jordan Axani explained that he created the advert because the “archaic system that is modern air travel” meant changing the name on the ticket would be “damn near impossible”.
He describes himself as “a totally normal 28-year-old guy living in Toronto” and insists that he is “not looking for anything in return”.
“I am not looking for companionship, romance, drugs, a trade, or to take selfies with you in front the Christmas market in Prague,” Jordan Axani wrote.
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The party won in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
It is expected to post more gains as votes are counted in other states.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, poised to lead the chamber, said the result was a vote against “a government that people can no longer trust”.
In the midterms, so-called because they fell half way into Barack Obama’s second four-year term in office, about one-third of the Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 36 of 50 state governors, and countless state and local offices were up for election.
Throughout the campaign, Republicans focused on voter dissatisfaction with Barack Obama, a Democrat, describing the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the first results came in late on November 4, it became clear they had made convincing gains in the chamber.
With the votes still being counted in many states, the Republican Party easily won the six seats it needed to win control of the Senate.
The party controls 52 seats, and is tipped to win more.
The Republicans have won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, increasing their power in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency
When the new Congress is sworn in January, it will mark the first time the Republicans have held both chambers since 2006.
They will now have the power to complicate, if not block completely, Barack Obama’s agenda in the last two years of his tenure in the White House.
Control of the Senate will also enable the Republicans to stymie his ability to name new federal judges, cabinet members and senior government officials.
In addition to seats the party won from the Democrats, the Republicans retained seats in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
In Louisiana, neither of the top two candidates gained 50% of the vote, forcing a run-off election in early December.
In Virginia, Democrat Mark Warner was expected to retain his Senate seat amid a much tighter than expected race with Republican ex-lobbyist Ed Gillespie.
One of the night’s key early results came in Kentucky, where Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate minority leader, fended off Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.
Mitch McConnell will now become the Senate majority leader, giving him control over the chamber’s legislative agenda and floor proceedings.
“It wasn’t about me or my opponent,” he told supporters as he declared victory, “it was about a government that people can no longer trust.”
Current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid congratulated Mitch McConnell in a short statement.
“The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together,” said Harry Reid of Nevada, whose role in the soon-to-be Democratic minority remains uncertain.
“I look forward to working with Senator McConnell to get things done for the middle class.”
As well as taking the Senate, the Republicans are projected to increase their majority in the House of Representatives, where all 435 members were up for re-election.
They also made gains among the 36 governorships up for re-election.
Republican governors survived tough re-election battles in Florida, Maine and Wisconsin.
In two results that illustrate the breadth of the Republican sweep, the party’s candidates won in Maryland and Massachusetts, two of the most Democratic-friendly states in the nation. Republican Bruce Rauner also won in Illinois – Barack Obama’s home state – against incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.
Political gridlock in Congress has already reached historic levels and was a major concern among voters, with many expressing their frustration with the lack of progress on the key issues facing the nation.
Analysts say the Republicans’ victory could make the situation even worse before the president poll in 2016.
Republican leaders have already pledged to move forward on their key policy priorities, pressing Barack Obama to negotiate on their terms
“It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy,” said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of recklessly assaulting his four-year-old son.
The NFL star will avoid a jail sentence after reaching a plea agreement with a court in Texas.
Adrian Peterson, who used a wooden implement to discipline his son in the Texas town of Spring in May, was put on probation and fined $4,000.
The player has been on paid leave pending resolution of the case.
He had been facing a possible two years in prison but the judge in Conroe, 40 miles north of Houston, accepted the plea agreement.
Adrian Peterson used a wooden implement to discipline his four-year-old son
Adrian Peterson will also do 80 hours of community service.
He was said to have punished his son after the boy pushed another of his children off a motorbike video game.
The “whooping” – how Adrian Peterson allegedly referred to the incident in a police interview – resulted in cuts and bruises to the boy’s back, buttocks and legs, local media reported.
Adrian Peterson’s defense attorney Rusty Hardin earlier described his client as a “loving father” who had “used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas”.
“It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury,” Rusty Hardin said.
Crude oil prices have reached a four-year low after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut the price of oil sold to the US.
Brent crude fell to near $82 a barrel as worries about global growth also spooked investors.
Earlier, the European Commission reduced its growth forecasts for the eurozone.
Investors are concerned about the US oil industry in the face of slowing growth and lower prices.
Crude oil prices have reached a four-year low after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly cut the price of oil sold to the US
Some worry that low oil prices could hurt domestic US producers dependent on high prices for profitability.
The price cut also sent shares in many energy firms lower, pushing down all three US share indexes.
Surging revenues from the US oil boom have led to calls on the government to remove regulations restricting the sale of US crude oil abroad.
In the interim, the growth in domestic oil production has helped the US trade deficit, as the US has become less dependent on importing foreign oil.
Separately on November 4, the Commerce Department’s latest release showed that the US trade deficit unexpectedly widened in September as exports hit a five-month low, mostly due to economic weakness in Europe.
The Commerce Department said the trade gap increased by 7.6% to $43.03 billion, as China and eurozone orders decrease and the strength of the US dollar hurt exports.
In a recent interview, Honey Boo Boo’s sister Anna Shannon Cardwell has opened up about the alleged incidents that happened as a child.
The reality star has been in the center of ongoing controversy after she said she was molested as a child by her mother’s then-boyfriend Mark McDaniel.
“Mama can be very selfish,” Anna “Chickadee” told E! News during a one to one interview with Catt Sadler.
“She ain’t tell me she love me in a long time.”
Anna Shannon Cardwell then spoke: “You’re 8 years old, you don’t know. To me, it was kinda like, oh, get off me, it hurts. Stay off and leave me alone. And I’d just go to sleep and cry.”
As for June Shannon’s relationship with Mark McDaniel, Anna Chickadee said: “She’s always loved him.”
The 20-year-old added: “She’s using Sugar Bear to cover her ass.”
Anna Shannon Cardwell has been in the center of ongoing controversy after she said she was molested as a child by her mother’s then-boyfriend Mark McDaniel
Anna Chickadee Shannon told E! News that there are trust funds for all the girls, noting that $30,000 was set aside from show earnings, and claimed that she called the bank and was told there was only $17.90 in the account.
“I have a feeling Mama used that money to buy a car or buy him what he wanted,” Anna Shannon Cardwell told E! News.
June Shannon denies these claims: “Not true. I have never brought a car for him and all her money is there, beside the money I have given her to live on – $400 every month and pay her $475 each month for cell phone bills for the last two years. That’s the only money I have taken out of there.”
Mama June has also denied reports that she and her ex Mark McDaniel, who served 10 years in prison for a 2004 aggravated child molestation conviction, were back together.
President Petro Poroshenko has ordered more troops to key southern and eastern Ukraine cities in case of a new rebel offensive.
Petro Poroshenko said the units were to protect Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kharkiv and the north of Luhansk region.
He spoke after meeting security chiefs in the wake of disputed polls in rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Petro Poroshenko said he was still committed to the current peace process but has proposed cancelling a key plank of the plan.
The peace process was laid out in a September 5 ceasefire deal agreed in Minsk, Belarus.
President Petro Poroshenko has ordered more troops to key southern and eastern Ukraine cities in case of a new rebel offensive
Angered by the elections, Petro Poroshenko has proposed scrapping a law that gives special status to Donetsk and Luhansk.
Both regions staged swearing-in ceremonies for their pro-Russian leaders on Tuesday, following the elections there on November 2.
Alexander Zakharchenko was inaugurated president of the Donetsk People’s Republic while Igor Plotnitsky was sworn in as president of the Luhansk People’s Republic.
The polls were held against the background of a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April.
Ukraine accuses Russia of arming the rebels and sending Russian regular troops across the border – a claim denied by Moscow.
Both the government and rebel sides have repeatedly violated the ceasefire.
Ukraine and its Western allies have condemned the elections in the east.
At the meeting of his security chiefs, Petro Poroshenko said the Ukrainian reinforcements would be for the “construction of fortifications” against a “possible offensive in the direction of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kharkiv and Luhansk north”.
He said Ukraine remained “a supporter of the peace plan” and would adhere to its terms, which were agreed in Minsk by delegations from Ukraine, Russia, rebels and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Rolls-Royce has announced it is planning to cut 2,600 jobs over the next 18 months.
The company said most of the jobs would go in its aerospace division, with most of the posts being shed in 2015.
It is not clear where the cuts will be made from Rolls-Royce’s global workforce of 55,000, 24,000 of whom are in the UK.
The company’s chief executive John Rishton said: “The measures announced today will not be the last, however they will contribute towards Rolls-Royce becoming a stronger and more profitable company.”
Last month, Rolls warned that its underlying revenues for 2014 would be 3.5-to-4% lower than expected.
Rolls-Royce has announced it is planning to cut 2,600 jobs over the next 18 months
The company said voluntary redundancy would be offered, although it could not rule out compulsory redundancies.
The company’s UK staff are employed at four locations in the East Midlands, as well as 1,500 at five sites in the North West and 2,400 employees at six locations across Scotland.
The two largest sites are in Bristol and Derby.
Rolls-Royce said it had become more efficient, and cited the fact a large engineering team, needed for the development phase of two Trent engines, were no longer needed as both these were now in production.
That would point to job losses in Derby, where the Trent engines, used by many international airlines, are built.
Rolls-Royce is the second largest aero-engine maker in the world.
The company has customers in more than 120 countries, including more than 380 airlines and leasing firms, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and 1,600 energy and nuclear customers.
Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson appeared on Sean Hannity show on Fox News on Monday night to talk about nephew Zach Dasher’s Senate race.
Republican candidate Zach Dasher is trying to unseat Rep. Vance McAllister, who benefited from the Robertson family endorsement during last year’s special election in Louisiana.
Zach Dasher and Phil Robertson talked about the role of God in American politics.
“Religion, morality and freedom. It’s the only way to go,” Phil Robertson said.
Louisiana Republican candidate Zach Dasher is Phil Robertson’s nephew
Zach Dasher has embraced his position as the most conservative candidate running in the 5th District. He believes Americans’ rights come from God. He said America is not living by the values set forth in the Declaration of Independence and allowing federal takeover of American life.
“The reason we’ve shredded our Constitution is because we’ve shredded the Declaration of Independence, which tells us where our rights come from. They come from the Creator,” Zach Dasher said.
Phil Robertson’s appearance on Hannity showed he’s doing all he can for Zach Dasher. He also appears in two television ads running in the district where he talks about Zach Dasher’s character.
Zach Dasher is hoping his family’s star power and strong following can help him make the run off. The race is expected to be very close.
Kansas might elect an independent candidate, businessman Greg Orman, who is looking strong in a battle against Republican incumbent Senator Pat Roberts.
Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and will not again in 2014.
The Democratic Party removed its candidate from the ballot, deeming Greg Orman the best chance at unseating Pat Roberts.
Pat Roberts was first elected to the Senate in 1996, and has not faced a challenge this tough since.
Independent Greg Orman is looking strong in Kansas battle against Republican incumbent Senator Pat Roberts
He is among the more conservative members of the Senate, according to an analysis by GovTrack, which is not necessarily a liability in a state that pioneered anti-abortion politics, has one of the most conservative governors in the country, and has not voted for a Democrat since 1964.
Pat Roberts’ political opponents have portrayed him as out of touch with his constituents, playing up a report that he did not own a home in Kansas and had scant ties to the state.
Greg Orman has not said which party he would caucus with if elected, suggesting he will side with whichever has the majority.
As polls suggest Greg Orman is leading Pat Roberts, Republicans have sought to portray him as a Democrat in all but name and highlighted his business connections with Rajat Gupta, who was of convicted securities fraud.
In Iowa, Republican Senator Joni Ernst and Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley are vying for the Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of long-time Democratic Senator Tom Harkin.
Joni Ernst is a military veteran and has served in the Iowa senate since 2011. She opposes a national federal minimum wage, supported an anti-abortion law that would define foetuses as legal persons, and calls for the repeal of Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst and Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley are vying for Iowa Senate seat left vacant by the retirement of long-time Democratic Senator Tom Harkin
Bruce Braley, a lawyer who has represented the north-eastern part of the state in Congress since 2007, was initially projected to win the seat.
However, Joni Ernst has leapt on a video that surfaced in which Bruce Braley appeared to denigrate Iowa’s sitting senator Chuck Grassley as a mere farmer, rather than a lawyer.
Also, Joni Ernst has made the most of a dispute Bruce Braley had with a neighbor at his vacation property over chickens she allowed to roam free across his land.
In Georgia, non-profit executive Michelle Nunn and businessman David Perdue are running for a senate seat left empty by the retirement of Republican Saxby Chambliss.
Michelle Nunn, who until recently was the chief executive of Points of Light, a charity focused on volunteering, is the daughter of long-time Senator Sam Nunn. She is trying to become the first Democratic senator elected in Georgia since 2000 and has run on a platform of targeted spending cuts, immigration reform and a lifetime ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists.
Non-profit executive Michelle Nunn and businessman David Perdue are running for Georgia senate seat left empty by the retirement of Republican Saxby Chambliss
David Perdue, a business executive, has campaigned on a complete overhaul of America’s income tax system and disbanding the US education department. Like most Republicans, he has come out strongly in opposition to Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul.
The Georgia Senate race is rare in that it features two candidates who have never held public office and thus have no voting records.
The race has turned extremely negative. David Perdue has run adverts accusing Michelle Nunn’s charity of funding terrorists.
Michelle Nunn’s line of attack features a quote from David Perdue in which he said in a court case that had had spent most of his business career “outsourcing” US jobs.
In Colorado, Republican Congressman Cory Gardner hopes to unseat Democratic Senator Mark Udall in a race that highlights the state’s geographic and cultural divisions.
Cory Gardner represents the eastern, rural part of Colorado in the US House, while Mark Udall is a first-term senator from the liberal enclave of Boulder. According to the political forecasting website 538.com, the ideological divide between the two candidates is the largest of any competitive Senate race.
Republican Congressman Cory Gardner hopes to unseat Democratic Senator Mark Udall
Mark Udall, the son of long-time liberal Democratic Congressman Mo Udall, ran Outward Bound, a company that sponsors outdoor activities for children and teens and spent ten years in the House of Representatives before his election to the Senate in 2008. He has focused his race on the environment and his experience working with both senators of both parties, and has sought to portray Cory Gardner as an extremist, particularly on abortion.
Cory Gardner was first elected to Congress in 2010 after representing the area in the state legislature. He hails from a prominent family of tractor dealers.
The Colorado lawmaker has attempted to moderate his conservative platform of spending cuts and increased US energy production with a pro-conservation stance to appeal to outdoor-minded Coloradans.
In Arkansas, Democrat Senator Mark Pryor is running for re-election against Republican Tom Cotton, a freshman congressman.
Mark Pryor was elected to the Senate in 2002 after stints as Arkansas’ attorney general and in the state legislature. He is a centrist Democrat who sometimes crosses the aisle to join Republicans, for instance by opposing a bill to raise the federal minimum wage. He voted for Barack Obama’s signature 2010 healthcare overhaul, which is roundly despised by the Republicans.
Democrat Senator Mark Pryor is running for re-election against Republican Tom Cotton in Arkansas
Tom Cotton, a Harvard-educated lawyer who served as an Army officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, is among the most conservative members of the House.
In the past decade the Republican Party has taken control of the Arkansas state legislature and won five out of the six federal offices, with Mark Pryor the last Democrat representing the state in Washington. That leaves Mark Pryor among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents of this election cycle.
