August Oetker – the head of Dr. Oetker company – has revealed the family firm’s links to Germany’s Nazi party.
Company chairman August Oetker was speaking ahead of a new book that studies the history of the family’s links with the Nazis.
His father, Rudolf-August Oetker, was a member of Adolf Hitler’s Waffen SS.
Rudolf-August Oetker ran the company, based in Bielefeld, northern Germany, after World War II and died in 2007.
August Oetker revealed the family firm’s links to Germany’s Nazi party
“My father was a National Socialist,” August Oetker said in an interview with Die Zeit newspaper.
“He didn’t want to talk about this time. He said, <<children, leave me in peace>>.”
August Oetker said his father, who had joined the Nazi party in the 1930s, had been influenced by his step-father, Richard Kaselowsky, who was a staunch supporter of Hitler and ran Dr. Oetker before him.
August Oetker said he welcomed the publication next week of the book Dr. Oetker and National Socialism, written by a German historian and funded by the company.
“I feel now we know the facts, now the fog has lifted,” he said.
Over the decades, many German companies have come under pressure to come to terms with their links to the Nazis and their actions during the 1930s and 1940s.
Australia wildfires claimed one life and destroyed at least 100 homes in New South Wales after forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.
Authorities warned on Friday more homes could be lost as fires burned out of control.
The blazes are continuing to burn on the outskirts of Sydney, despite the easing of temperatures and winds.
One man has died while trying to protect his home.
PM Tony Abbott visited Winmalee in the Blue Mountains, one of the areas worst-hit by the fires, around 45 miles west of Sydney.
Correspondents say bushfires are common in Australia but they have come earlier than normal this year, sparking concerns of further problems to come.
Australia wildfires claimed one life and destroyed at least 100 homes in New South Wales after forcing thousands to evacuate their homes
Hundreds of residents spent Thursday night in evacuation centres, with many returning home to find their houses razed.
Fire fighters described blazes as tall as 60 to 100ft.
A 63-year-old man died from a heart attack as he tried to defend his home in Lake Munmorah, in the Central Coast region of NSW, on Thursday afternoon.
Around 2,000 fire fighters across the state worked to try and contain the fires but many are still burning out of control.
PM Tony Abbott, in Winmalee, said of those helping to battle the fires: “These are ordinary people who, on an extraordinary day, come together to support their community and to protect their fellow Australians.”
At least three fire fighters have been reported injured.
The NSW Rural Fire Service said an initial assessment of the Winmalee and Springwood areas showed that 81 properties had been destroyed, with 37 damaged.
“Approximately 30% of the fireground has been assessed,” it said.
“The number of properties destroyed or damaged will rise.”
Reports estimate that as many as 200 homes could be lost in total.
The fires have been caused by unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds. While these have now died down, more hot weather is forecast next week.
Google has reported a profit of $2.97 billion for July -September period, beating expectations.
The company missed forecasts during the last quarter.
However, a closely watched measure, cost per click – how much advertisers pay to place an advert – declined by 8% from the same period last year.
Google shares jumped to an all time high in after hours trading, rising 6% to $941.25.
The company’s boss Larry Page said in a statement that: “Google had another strong quarter with…great product progress.”
Google has reported a profit of $2.97 billion for July -September period
Overall, paid clicks increased by 28% from the same time last year, and were up 8% from the previous quarter.
This is taken as a good sign by analysts, as advertising makes up the dominant share of Google’s profits.
In a call to discuss earnings with investors, Larry Page highlighted just how dominant mobile has become among consumers.
He said that 40% of users reached YouTube through their mobile phones compared to just 6% two years earlier.
Analysts were closely watching how Google is faring in this mobile transition, particularly as it relates to advertising.
Google charges less for mobile than for its traditional web browser ads, which is why even though ad sales increased throughout the quarter, the cost per click figure declined.
Google’s market share in the ad market is $6.9%. This has recently slipped slightly as rival Facebook has made inroads. Facebook now has 14.9% of the market, a jump from 9% last year.
Toyota has decided to recall 885,000 vehicles to fix a problem that could cause a water leak from the air conditioning unit.
The carmaker said water could leak into the airbag control module, causing a short circuit and triggering a warning light.
In some cases airbags “could become disabled or could inadvertently deploy” and in limited cases the power steering function could be disabled, it added.
The models affected by the recall are the Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, and Venza made in 2012-13.
Some 847,000 cars will be recalled in North America, while the rest will be in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Toyota has decided to recall 885,000 vehicles to fix a problem that could cause a water leak from the air conditioning unit
A spokeswoman for Toyota said that the company it had received reports of two minor injuries due to the issue, but there had been no reports of any vehicles crashing.
This is the third major recall that Toyota has issued in recent weeks.
Last month, Toyota called back more than 780,000 vehicles in the US to address a suspension defect in its RAV4 and Lexus HS 250h models, after fears that an initial recall last year did not fix the problem.
In September, it recalled 615,000 Sienna minivans in the US to fix a lever problem that could cause vehicles to shift out of park mode “without the driver depressing the brake pedal”.
Toyota said at the time that it was aware of 24 “minor accidents” due to the issue.
In recent weeks more than 2.2 million vehicles have been recalled.
Analysts said the recalls could have an impact on its reputation with the customers.
The latest move takes the total number of cars recalled by Toyota this year to six million vehicles.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow has been identified as the Norwegian suspect in Kenya’s Westgate shopping centre attack, the BBC revealed.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, 23, is a Norwegian citizen of Somali origin and he is suspected of helping to plan and carry out the attack.
At least 67 people died in the attack in Nairobi, which the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab says it carried out.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow has been identified as the Norwegian suspect in Kenya’s Westgate shopping centre attack
Last week Norway’s intelligence agency, the PST, said it had sent officers to Kenya to verify reports that a Norwegian citizen had been involved in the assault on the shopping centre, which began on Saturday September 21 and lasted four days.
It is unclear how many militants were involved. Police had initially estimated that there were 10-15 attackers inside the complex, but the CCTV footage which has so far been released by the Kenyan authorities shows just four men.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow is believed to be one of those four.
Forensic investigators are still combing through the rubble of Westgate – no bodies have yet been identified and it is not known whether the attackers are alive or dead.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow was born in Somalia, but he and his family moved to Norway as refugees in 1999.
Mystery continues to surround the fate of Vittorio Missoni, the Italian fashion executive, after reports that his body had been recovered from an aircraft off the Venezuelan coast went unconfirmed by his relatives.
Contrary to reports this afternoon that the body of Vittorio Missoni and the passengers travelling on his missing aircraft have been found, the families involved said they have not yet received any official confirmation or detail about their identities.
A joint statement from the Missoni, Castiglioni, Foresti and Scalvenzi families read: “With regard to the news distributed in the media this morning relating to the possible recovery of bodies off shore at Los Roques, where previously the wreck of the plane YV2615BN-2A had disappeared on January 4 carrying the Missoni, Castiglioni, Foresti and Scalvenzi families, they would like to state they have not received any official and detailed communication connected to this.”
The Italian Ansa news agency reported on Thursday morning that the remains of five people – including Vittorio Missoni and Maurizia Castiglioni – had been recovered from the Islander plane in which they were last seen in January.
Vittorio Missoni and his life partner, Maurizia Castiglioni, were returning from a Christmas holiday with two friends, Elda Scalvenzi and Guido Foresti when their plane vanished
The aircraft carrying the couple, along with two of their friends and two pilots, went missing on January 4 during the flight from the resort islands of Los Roques to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
Ansa originally said that the remains of five bodies had been found in the plane. But later on Thursday it said that the remains of only three people had been found, and did not identify who. The recovery mission had begun today, it said, and DNA tests would need to be run on the remains.
Vittorio Missoni and his life partner, Maurizia Castiglioni, were returning from a Christmas holiday with two friends, Elda Scalvenzi and Guido Foresti when their plane vanished. Two Venezuelan pilots were also on the BN-2 aircraft.
Vittorio Missoni, who was 58 when the plane went missing, was the son of Ottavio Missoni, the man who started a small Italian knitwear shop in 1953 and turned it into a hugely successful name famed for its multicolored zigzags and other striking patterns.
Ottavio Missoni died in May, aged 92, before his son’s body was discovered.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, egg, bread crumbs, and meatloaf seasoning. Use your hands to mix until well blended. Measure out 1/3 cupfuls of the meat mixture and mold around a cube of cheese like a meatball. Shape into a point at one end and lengthen the body a bit by rolling between your hands. Place your ”rat” into a shallow baking dish, and continue with the remaining meat. Insert pieces of uncooked spaghetti into the rounded end of the rats to make tails.
In a medium bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the rats in the dish and cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce to glaze the rats.
While the rats finish baking, heat the peas and carrots in a small bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
Carefully transfer the rats to a serving platter so that their delicate tails don’t fall off. Press peas into the pointy end to make eyes, and insert carrot slices to make ears. Spoon some of the tomato sauce around them and serve.
This year’s final penumbral lunar eclipse is set to take place on Friday, October 18, when the moon will appear much dimmer and redder than normal.
The lunar eclipse will be visible to people living in Europe, Africa, the Americas and parts of Asia just before midnight GMT.
The partial lunar eclipse will be visible Friday into Saturday night for those living from eastern Canada and the upper Northeast to Africa and most of Europe.
The eclipse will be most visible for the US and Canada at 7.50 p.m. EDT.
At 23:51 UTC, the fullest coverage of the moon by Earth’s shadow will occur, lasting for 239 minutes. Due to the timing of the eclipse, the moonrise will not be high enough for western parts of North America to view; its peak will not reach so far west and will only be visible for Africa and Europe.
A penumbral lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow – the penumbra is the wider region where only a portion of light source is obscured by the planet.
The phenomenon only occurs when the moon passes directly behind Earth into its shadow, leaving all three celestial bodies aligned. The lunar eclipse will be visible for several hours.
Stargazers in Europe look set to get the best view of the eclipse as it will occur when the night sky is at its darkest.
This year’s final penumbral lunar eclipse is set to take place on Friday, October 18
For the parts of the US and Canada that the eclipse will reach, cloud coverage will hinder the view for a large area, especially in Canada. Two slow-moving storm systems will bring rainy and cloudy conditions to much of Canada Friday evening. Some areas in the Saint Lawrence River Valley may get breaks to catch a glimpse of the moon, but most of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will miss out on the viewing. Conditions will be mostly clear for the small portion of the northeastern US that the eclipse will extend into.
During a penumbral eclipse, the moon appears darker and redder because the sun’s light is being filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere, which eliminates much of the “blue light”.
Unlike viwing a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses may be viewed by staring directly at them. They also won’t require any additional equipment, such as telescopes or binoculars. Areas that have clear skies will be able to see it the same way they’d typically view the moon. Because this eclipse will only have a partial shadow, the difference may not be as noticeable to the general public.
Most of Europe will have fair to good conditions at the time of the eclipse, where it will be visible at 12:50 a.m. WEST in Lisbon, Portugal, to 3:50 a.m. MSK Saturday in Moscow, Russia.
The best viewing conditions are expected in parts of Scandinavia as well as farther south across the Balkans. High pressure over these areas should promote mainly clear skies. These good viewing conditions will be sandwiched between two areas of poor viewing conditions. To the west, a large storm system will spread clouds across the British Isles and the western Iberian Peninsula, while another shield of clouds will cover the sky east of the Black Sea.
Elsewhere, a few clouds can spread eastward across central europe, but many people will be able to view the eclipse from Barcelona to Paris to Berlin and Rome.
Lunar eclipses occur about two to four times a year. Some of these are penumbral eclipses, which are so subtle that they hardly look like anything to the average observer.
This penumbral lunar eclipse will be the last one of the year. The next will not take place until April 2014.
Glenn Greenwald – The Guardian journalist who broke the Snowden leaks story – is to join a new media project being set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Glenn Greenwald confirmed he was leaving The Guardian for the mass media outlet being planned by French-born billionaire Pierre Omidyar.
Laura Poitras, the documentary-maker who connected Glenn Greenwald with Edward Snowden, is also expected to join.
Edward Snowden leaked details of US government surveillance programmes.
He is now living in Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum after fleeing Hong Kong in June, shortly after the revelations were published.
On Wednesday, British PM David Cameron accused The Guardian of having knowingly compromised national security by publishing the leaks.
Glenn Greenwald is to join a new media project being set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar
Glenn Greenwald, a US citizen based in Brazil, insists that none of the information he published could have damaged national security.
Announcing his new project in a statement, Pierre Omidyar said he wanted to support “independent journalists in a way that leverages their work to the greatest extent possible, all in support of the public interest”.
His project, he said, was in its early stages but he had approached Glenn Greenwald and found that he and fellow Americans Poitras and Jeremy Scahill, an investigative journalist, were already contemplating something similar.
“We had a lot of overlap in terms of our ideas, and decided to join forces,” said Pierre Omidyar.
Pierre Omidyar said his new outlet would be independent of other media with the focus on allowing independent journalists to “pursue the truth in their fields”.
“And, I want to find ways to convert mainstream readers into engaged citizens,” he said in the statement.
Pierre Omidyar’s existing projects include the US-based Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm which operates in some of Africa’s most troubled countries.
Forbes magazine estimated Pierre Omidyar ‘s net worth to be $8.5 billion (6.3 billion euros) last month.
Announcing his departure in a statement on Tuesday, Glenn Greenwald said he was embarking on a “once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity”.
Amnesty International has urged Iran not to go ahead with a repeat execution for drug smuggler Alireza M who survived a botched hanging.
Alireza M was found alive in a morgue after being hanged at a jail in the north-eastern city of Bojnord last week.
The condemned man is now being nursed to recovery in preparation for his repeat execution.
“The verdict was the death sentence, and it will be carried out once the man gets well again,” an official said.
Human rights groups believe Iran is second only to China in the number of people it puts to death for crimes ranging from murder and rape to spying and drug-trafficking.
Amnesty International has urged Iran not to go ahead with a repeat execution for drug smuggler Alireza M who survived a botched hanging
In a separate incident reported by Iranian media on Monday, relatives of a condemned murderer in the western province of Ilam tried to stop his execution at a prison by hurling a grenade.
Around 30 people were injured but the hanging went ahead.
Alireza M, 37, was left to hang for 12 minutes, after which a doctor declared him dead.
But when the prisoner’s family went to collect his body from the prison morgue the next day, they found he was still breathing.
“We found him alive again, which made his two daughters very happy,” an unnamed family member told Iranian state media.
Alireza M was then moved to a hospital where he was being kept under armed guard.
“The horrific prospect of this man facing a second hanging, after having gone through the whole ordeal already once, merely underlines the cruelty and inhumanity of the death penalty,” said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, in a press release.
Philip Luther called for both a stay of execution for the hanging survivor and a moratorium on all executions in Iran.
According to Amnesty International, at least 508 people may have been executed in Iran this year to date. Most of those killed had been convicted of drug trafficking, it said.
Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson reveals his daughter Trasa Cobern’s biography in his latest book Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle.
Trasa Robertson was born on August 30, 1975, at a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Trasa was named after her mother Christine Robertson’s father, Asa Lee Raney.
Si Robertson’s daughter has a double citizenship as she was born in Germany while he was stationed there.
From the time she was born, Trasa was Daddy’s girl.
Trasa Robertson met her future husband, Kyle Cobern, during her freshman year at Texas A&M
When she was only a toddler, her parents realized she was an exceptional child.
Trasa Robertson graduated from high school in 1993 and she received a Presidential Scholarship to Texas A&M University in College Station.
In high school she was named a student delegate to the United Nations and visited the Hague in the Netherlands. As a National Merit Scholar, Trasa was invited to the White House where she met First Lady Hillary Clinton.
During her sophomore year of college, Trasa became a model in advertisements around the country.
Trasa Robertson met her future husband, Kyle Cobern, during her freshman year at Texas A&M.
Kyle Cobern, now 47, and Trasa Robertson, have been married for 17 years now.
Trasa Cobern has four sons – Brady Silas, Caden, Jaxon and McCrae – and she teaches middle school in Hurst, Texas.
The latest episode of Duck Dynasty shows John Luke Robertson totaling his father’s truck, and how Willie Robertson realizes he may be raising the two worst drivers in all of Louisiana.
John Luke Robertson did a number of Willie’s pick-up truck, so Korie and Jessica drive him to the Chevy dealer to pick up a loaner. In a rush to get to their mani-pedis, the women leave niece and nephew, Silla and River, with Willie Robertson.
Willie Robertson, 40, then remembers that all kids are trouble when he takes his niece and nephew for a ride in his loaner, a 2014 Chevy Silverado, and they cover it in ice cream.
John Luke Robertson totals his father’s truck, and Willie Robertson realizes he may be raising the two worst drivers in all of Louisiana
Despite River’s constant whacking on his leg with a toy sword, Willie Robertson explains: “I’m gonna win points with Korie.”
The kids want ice cream and Willie Robertson wants to be “the best uncle in the world.” As he explained: “Saying no is a lot more difficult than saying yes, especially when they’re not your kids.”
Before Willie Robertson drives the new loaner truck out of the ice cream shop’s parking lot, Silla has had the first spill in the back seat. That eventually degenerates into the kids actually pouring melted ice cream onto the seats.
Lucky for Willie Robertson, John Luke shows up as he’s beginning to clean the truck cab.
This week’s Robertson family moral came from Willie: “Things are replaceable. Family isn’t. Especially Si.”
Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson discovered YouTube for the first time, and, after watching a series of instructional videos, decided he can make something better.
Uncle Si notes: “They got everything in this thing. Fainting goats. Sneezing pandas. Double rainbows, all the way to both ends… Where’s this thing been all my life?”
Jase, Jep, John Godwin, and Justin Martin helped Uncle Si shoot an instructional golf video, and upload Si’s “four point philosophy” to the web.
Si Robertson discovered YouTube for the first time
He’s so hooked on the videos that he skips lunch with the gang from the Duck Commander warehouse and then is shocked when he learns he’s been watching the laptop screen for an hour when they return.
Si Robertson decides he will make some instructional videos on subjects like “training dogs, how to walk, how to talk, how to eat a hard-shell taco,” but eventually settles on a golfing video because he was once a greens keeper at a golf course.
Dressing the part, Si Robertson later shows up in stereotypical golfing garb, including loud plaid pants, bright sweater-vest and a flat-cap.
Uncle Si explains: “You can’t go out there dressed like a baffoon.”
With Jep Robertson manning the camera, Uncle Si begins his video: “I am an amateur golfer, but a professional golf instructor.”
The final product includes Si Robertson’s four steps to better golf: Stance, swing, long putts and “don’t overdo it.”
A British research has concluded that the legendary Himalayan yeti may in fact be a sub-species of brown bear.
DNA tests on hair samples carried out by Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes found that they matched those from an ancient polar bear.
Prof. Bryan Sykes subjected the hairs to the most advanced tests available.
He says the most likely explanation for the myth is that the animal is a hybrid of polar bears and brown bears.
Prof. Bryan Sykes conducted the DNA tests on hairs from two unidentified animals, one from Ladakh – in northern India on the west of the Himalayas – and the other from Bhutan, 800 miles further east.
The legendary Himalayan yeti may in fact be a sub-species of brown bear
The results were then compared with the genomes of other animals that are stored on a database of all published DNA sequences.
Prof. Bryan Sykes found that he had a 100% match with a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway, that dates back to between 40,000 and 120,000 years ago – a time when the polar bear and closely related brown bear were separating as different species.
The species are closely related and are known to interbreed where their territories overlap.
The sample from Ladakh came from the mummified remains of a creature shot by a hunter around 40 years ago, while the second sample was in the form of a single hair, found in a bamboo forest by an expedition of filmmakers around 10 years ago.
Prof. Bryan Sykes said that his results were “completely unexpected” and that more work needed to be done interpreting them.
He said that while they did not mean that “ancient polar bears are wandering around the Himalayas”, there could be a sub-species of brown bear in the High Himalayas descended from an ancestor of the polar bear.
“Or it could mean there has been more recent hybridization between the brown bear and the descendant of the ancient polar bear,” Prof. Bryan Sykes said.
Eleven Nobel prize-winners have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking him to drop charges against 30 Greenpeace activists and journalists.
They were held last month during a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.
The signatories – including Archbishop Desmond Tutu – described the charges of piracy as “excessive”.
Eleven Nobel prize-winners have written to Vladimir Putin asking him to drop charges against 30 Greenpeace activists and journalists
But Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, responded that the president had no power to influence the courts.
The Greenpeace activists, who complain of being detained in harsh conditions, face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
In the letter, which was released by Greenpeace, the laureates urge Vladimir Putin “to do all you can to ensure that the excessive charges of piracy against the 28 Greenpeace activists, freelance photographer and freelance videographer are dropped, and that any charges brought are consistent with international and Russian law”.
It is also signed by former East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta and Northern Irish peace campaigner Betty Williams.
Prince George’s christening service will take place next week, on October 23, and Kensington Palace has shared details concerning the event.
According to People magazine, Prince William and Kate Middleton will bring their 3-month-old son before the Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday, October 23, at 3 pm, at the chapel at St. James Palace. The service will last 45 minutes.
St. James Palace chapel holds special meaning for Prince William as it housed the coffin of his late mother Princess Diana for one week before her burial. There has been some speculation that Prince William chose the location to pay tribute to his mother, as he did with the royal wedding that was held in Westminster Abbey, where Princess Diana’s funeral took place.
Prince William and Kate Middleton will bring their 3-month-old son before the Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday, October 23
Those expected to attend Prince George’s christening service include Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Harry and the Middletons.
The guest list for the christening has not been released but Kensington Palace has said “close members of both families” will attend.
The names of Prince George’s godparents are also yet to be announced.
Following the christening, a picture will be released showing the Queen with three future monarchs – Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
The last time such a gathering of a monarch and her three heirs occurred was in Queen Victoria’s time.
That photograph, taken at the christening of the future Edward VIII in July 1894 showed the royal baby with his father, later George V; grandfather, the future Edward VII; and great grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Meanwhile, the Royal Mint is to create a set of commemorative coins to mark the christening.
President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill to re-open the government and extend the debt ceiling, just hours after the House and Senate passed the measure with broad bipartisan support.
Barack Obama said the measure would immediately restart federal programs that had been put on hold during the funding lapse.
The world reaction to the debt deal was one of relief Thursday, but there were signs the drawn-out process has undermined confidence in America’s global standing in both finance and politics. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Washington to build a more stable management of U.S. finances, mindful that Wednesday night’s deal only suspends the debt limit until February 7, 2014.
Asian money markets rose after the deal, but key European markets fell in early trading, Reuters reported.
After weeks of stalemate that shuttered the government for 16 days, the standoff is finally over
The GOP-dominated House passed the measure 285-144, with 87 Republicans joining all Democrats in support. The Senate passed it 81-18. In both chambers, only Republicans voted against the measure.
Office of Management and Budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell told federal employees to expect to return to work on Thursday morning.
Federal employees who were furloughed as a result of the shutdown will receive back pay “as soon as practicable,” according to the bill’s text.
The bill will fund the federal government through January 15 and extend the government’s borrowing power through February 7. It also calls for a congressional agreement by mid-December on a long-term budget plan.
After more than two weeks of standoff over the government shutdown, Republicans -faced with Thursday’s debt ceiling deadline – were forced to accept a deal with only minor concessions from Democrats.
Microsoft is launching the Windows 8.1 update for its flagship operating system today.
The download seeks to address some of the criticisms leveled at the original version of Windows 8.
In particular, Windows 8.1 restores the start button and allows a computer to boot up with a traditional desktop interface.
Windows 8.1 launch comes at a critical time for Microsoft as it seeks a new boss, with PC sales experiencing a long decline.
Windows 8 sought to bridge the gap between touchscreen devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and more traditional form laptops and desktop machines. As such it had an interface built of tiles that could be tapped or swiped to open applications.
Microsoft is launching the Windows 8.1 update for its flagship operating system
However, many people found the tiled interface did not work well for some of the things they were used to doing with a computer.
Windows 8.1 changes include:
Start button – tapping once on this brings up the tiled interface and a long press opens up system controls
desktop mode – lets people avoid the tiled interface entirely
keyboard shortcuts – removes the need to toggle between different on-screen keyboards when typing numbers and letters
gesture control – some applications, such as those for cooking, can now be paged through without touching a screen
tile sizing – the blocks on the touchscreen interface can be in one of four sizes
web browsing – Windows 8 machines will now display separate web pages side by side
A host of other changes, including better support for multi-tasking and improved links to Microsoft’s Xbox game console, are also in the update.
Windows 8 was created to capitalize on the growing popularity of tablets and other portable gadgets. Microsoft needs to get people using its software on these machines because sales of desktop machines are in sharp decline.
The shrinking sales are important for Microsoft because traditionally the bulk of its revenue comes from people and companies buying laptops and desktops and office software to run on them.
It is not clear that Microsoft is adjusting to the changes in the types of gadgets that people use. In July, Microsoft was wrote off $900 million following poor sales of its own-brand Surface touchscreen devices.
Servers ready to dispense Windows 8.1 are scheduled to be turned on at 07:00 New York time. The update is free to those already running Windows 8. Charges will apply if users upgrade to 8.1 from Windows 7. The update comes just over a year after the launch of Windows 8.
Character actor Ed Lauter has died aged 74, it has been announced.
Ed Lauter, recently seen in the Oscar-winning The Artist, played chauffer to the female character Peppy Miller, played by Oscar nominee actress Berenice Bejo.
Publicist Edward Lozzi said Ed Lauter died on Wednesday of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung, commonly caused by asbestos exposure.
The character actor also starred in ER and opposite Burt Reynolds in 1974’s The Longest Yard.
Ed Lauter played a sadistic prison guard whose team squares up to Burt Reynolds’ team of misfit convicts in a game of American Football.
He also starred in a 2005 remake, starring Adam Sandler.
The original landed him a starring role in Alfred Hitchcock’s final movie Family Plot in 1976.
Ed Lauter, who started out as a standup comic, was also famed for his impersonations of movie stars
Last year, Ed Lauter starred with Clint Eastwood and Justin Timberlake in the baseball movie Trouble With the Curve.
Ed Lauter, who started out as a standup comic, was also famed for his impersonations of movie stars.
Edward Lozzi told the Hollywood Reporter: “He called me as Clint Eastwood from the set of Trouble With the Curve last year. We really thought it was Eastwood!”
Ed Lauter was also known to do impersonations of black and white stars James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
Born in Long Island, New York in 1938, Ed Lauter made his Broadway debut in the original 1968 stage production of The Great White Hope, which also starred James Earl Jones.
His TV debut was came in a 1971 episode of private eye series Mannix and he made his first big screen appearance in the Western, Dirty Little Billy.
Standing at 6ft 2in and prematurely bald with a long, square face, Ed Lauter was often cast as thugs or stern authority figures.
He was quoted as saying: “I like those roles. Lee Marvin once told me, <<When you play a heavy, every once in a while make the audience like you a little bit. Then they’ll think, “Wait a minute, he’s not such a bad guy. Did you see the way he petted that dog?”>>”
Ed Lauter played the recurring character Dick Healy in the US version of Shameless and had several projects in post-production.
Morrissey’s autobiography has revealed his first full relationship came with a man when he was in his 30s.
The former Smith singer also used his autobiography to criticize the UK legal system and music business.
Morrissey, 54, was scathing about the judges in his 1990s legal battle with former bandmate Mike Joyce, describing one as the “pride of the pipsqueakery”.
The Smiths’ record label Rough Trade, he said, had been “brutally drab”.
The singer accused music paper NME of being out to “get Morrissey” in the 1990s.
Morrissey, who is normally protective of his private life, opened up about a relationship with Jake Walters that began in 1994.
Morrissey’s autobiography has revealed his first full relationship came with a man when he was in his 30s
He wrote about how Jake Walters followed him back to his house after meeting him at a restaurant and “steps inside and stays for two years”.
“For the first time in my life the eternal <<I>> becomes <<we>>, as, finally, I can get on with someone,” he wrote.
Morrissey also revealed how he later discussed having a baby – or, as he put it, a “mewling miniature monster” – with Tina Dehgani, with whom he described having an “uncluttered commitment”.
Giving his version of his 1996 court battle with Mike Joyce, who was seeking 25% of The Smiths’ earnings, Morrissey accused the drummer of “constant inaccuracies and assumptions vomited out with leaden fatigue” in court.
The group, one of the most revered bands in British music, split up in 1987 after five years together.
The presiding judge, John Weeks, came in for particularly scathing criticism, portrayed caustically as an “unsmiling Lord of the Hunt, with an immutable understanding of the world of The Smiths”.
“The pride of the pipsqueakery, John Weeks begins his judgment by falling flat on his face: He brilliantly announces to the world how The Smiths formed in 1992 – his judicial accuracy not to be questioned!” Morrissey wrote.
Morrissey autobiography was published on Thursday as a Penguin Classic. It had been due for release in September, but was delayed by what Morrissey described as “a last-minute content disagreement”.
The US government is to reopen after Congress has passed a bill to raise the federal debt limit, with hours to spare before the nation risked default.
The Democratic-controlled Senate passed the measure by 81 votes to 18, and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives by 285 votes to 144.
Despite reluctant support from the House Republican leadership, most of the party’s lawmakers voted against it.
It came hours before the deadline to raise the $16.7 trillion limit.
The bill yanked the US back from the brink of a budgetary abyss by extending the treasury’s borrowing authority until February 7.
It also funds the government to January 15, reopening closed federal agencies after 16 days of partial government shutdown and bringing hundreds of thousands of employees back to work.
President Barack Obama signed the bill into law early on Thursday morning.
The US government is to reopen after Congress has passed a bill to raise the federal debt limit, with hours to spare before the nation risked default
The White House budget office said federal workers should return to work on Thursday.
The deal, however, offers only a temporary solution and does not resolve the budgetary issues that fiercely divide Republicans and Democrats.
President Barack Obama warned that US lawmakers must “earn back the trust of the American people”.
“We’ve got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis,” Democratic Barack Obama added, speaking after the Senate vote on Wednesday evening.
“My hope and expectation is everybody has learned there’s no reason why we can’t work on the issues at hand, why we can’t disagree between the parties without still being agreeable and make sure that we’re not inflicting harm on the American people when we do have disagreements.”
Also speaking after the first vote, Senate Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid said: “Let’s be honest, this is pain inflicted on a nation for no good reason and we cannot, cannot make the same mistake again.”
The US Treasury has been using what it called “extraordinary measures” to pay its bills since the nation reached its current debt limit in May.
It said those methods would be exhausted by October 17, leaving the US unable to meet all of its debt and other fiscal obligations.
Politicians, bankers and economists had warned of dire global economic consequences unless an agreement to raise the US government’s borrowing limit was reached.
Meanwhile, ratings firm Standard & Poor’s said on Wednesday that the partial US government shutdown, the first in 17 years, had already shaved $24 billion from the American economy and would cut growth significantly in the fourth quarter.
According to Global Slavery Index 2013 – ranking 162 countries – nearly 30 million people around the world are living as slaves.
The index says India has the highest number of people living in conditions of slavery at nearly 14 million.
However, Mauritania has the highest proportional figure with about 4% of its population enslaved.
The report’s authors hope it will help governments tackle what they call a “hidden crime”.
Nearly 30 million people around the world are living as slaves
The index was compiled by Australian-based rights organization Walk Free Foundation (WFF) using a definition of modern slavery that includes debt bondage, forced marriage and human trafficking.
“A lot of governments won’t like hearing what we have to say,” WFF chief executive Nick Grono told AFP news agency.
“Those governments that want to engage with us, we will be very open to engaging and looking at ways in which we can better measure the issue of modern slavery.”
The organization’s estimate of 29.8 million slaves worldwide is higher than other attempts to quantify modern slavery. The International Labour Organization estimates that almost 21 million people are victims of forced labor.
India, China, Pakistan and Nigeria have the highest numbers of people enslaved, the charity said.
Together with five other countries, they account for three-quarters of the total estimated number of people in modern slavery worldwide.
The report said India’s ranking was mostly due to the exploitation of Indians citizens within the country itself.
While the highest proportion of slaves is in Mauritania, with many people inheriting slave status from their ancestors, Haiti is second in the index and Pakistan is third.
The new survey has the backing of world figures including former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ex-British PM Tony Blair.
Hillary Clinton said that although the index was not perfect, it provided a starting point, according to the Associated Press.
“I urge leaders around the world to view this index as a call to action, and to stay focused on the work of responding to this crime.”
