Typhoon Wipha passed close to the Japanese capital killing at least 13 people, reports say.
Typhoon Wipha caused landslides and flooding on Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo, with several houses destroyed.
Many people died when their homes collapsed or were buried in mudslides on the island. Two were found dead near a river.
In Tokyo, flights were cancelled, bullet train services suspended and schools closed.
Typhoon Wipha caused landslides and flooding on Izu Oshima island, south of Tokyo, with several houses destroyed
“It is the strongest typhoon in 10 years to pass the Kanto [Tokyo area] region,” Hiroyuki Uchida, the Japan Meteorological Agency’s chief forecaster, told journalists on Tuesday.
The storm brought strong winds and record rainfall – 4.8 inches in one hour on Wednesday morning – to Izu Oshima island, which lies some 75 miles south of Tokyo.
Officials on the island said that 13 bodies had found and more than 50 people were unaccounted for.
“We have no idea how bad the extent of damage could be,” town official Hinani Uematsu said.
Local media described mud and debris strewn around houses.
Democrats have rejected a proposal from House of Representatives Republicans to extend the debt limit and reopen the federal government.
The White House criticized what it called an attempt to appease a small group of conservatives, but praised a parallel bipartisan Senate plan.
The White House balked at the House’s proposed amendments to President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
The US must raise its $16.7 trillion debt limit by Thursday or risk default.
It remains unclear whether Congress can agree a deal in time to avert the economic calamity in the US and across the world that economists say could result.
The House of Representatives would vote on Tuesday night on its bill to reopen the government and avoid default, said Republicans.
Meanwhile, Fitch credit agency placed the US AAA rating under review for a downgrade.
The Senate plan, outlined on Monday evening, would fund the government through mid-January and raise the debt ceiling until February, creating room for negotiators to agree a longer-term budget.
Democrats have rejected a proposal from House of Representatives Republicans to extend the debt limit and reopen the federal government
The House plan largely mirrored the Senate timeline until Representative Devin Nunes said on Tuesday afternoon it had been amended to fund the government only until December 15.
The California Republican said the revised House plan also dropped earlier attempts to delay a medical device tax used to pay for healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The House plan would also eliminate healthcare subsidies for the president, vice-president, members of the president’s cabinet, and members of Congress and their staff.
The health law passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the Supreme Court, and was a central issue in the 2012 presidential election, which Barack Obama won handily. Many key provisions have already taken effect, and more begin next year.
On Tuesday, Barack Obama rejected what an aide described as Republicans’ attempts to extort “ransom” while the government remained shut and the threat of a debt default loomed.
“Unfortunately, the latest proposal from House Republicans does just that in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place,” said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage, referring to a faction of hardline conservatives who hold significant sway in the House.
Later, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said that both parties were trying to find a way forward and that Tuesday morning’s House plan was focused on “fairness for the American people under Obamacare”.
“There have been no decisions about exactly what we will do,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“There are a lot of opinions about what direction to go.”
But following a meeting with John Boehner and GOP moderates on Tuesday Republican representative Charlie Dent told the media his “best estimate is that there aren’t the votes to pass it”.
House and Senate Democrats immediately joined Barack Obama in denouncing the House Republican proposal.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the plan was “an extreme piece of legislation and it’s nothing more than a blatant attack on bipartisanship”. He said it would never pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet House Democrats on Tuesday afternoon as the clock ticks to Thursday’s debt ceiling deadline.
Even if a deal is reached in the Senate, it is unclear whether Congress could act in time to pass legislation that would avert the October 17 default deadline.
Hans Riegel, the boss of German gummi bear maker Haribo, has died of heart failure at the age of 90.
Hans Riegel, the son of Haribo founder, died in Bonn, Germany, the company said in a statement.
He was in charge of marketing and distribution for Haribo and invented its “kids and adults love it so” slogan.
Hans Riegel, the son of Haribo founder, was in charge of company’s marketing and distribution
Hans Riegel inherited the company from his father in 1946 and built it up into a firm that now employs 6,000 people.
Haribo, which also makes sweets in the shape of cola bottles, jelly beans and milk bottles, has 20 factories across Europe and an annual turnover of about $2.5 billion.
Haribo is derived from the founder’s name and the German city where it is based – HAns RIegel, BOnn.
Pietro Parolin has been appointed by Pope Francis as the new prime minister of Vatican.
Veteran diplomat Pietro Parolin is replacing Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone as part of Pope Francis’ initiative to reform the Vatican.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, had been widely criticized over last year’s so-called “Vatileaks” scandals.
Leaked documents revealed corruption and infighting at the Vatican.
In September Tarcisio Bertone said he had been the victim of “moles and vipers”.
Pietro Parolin is replacing Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone as part of Pope Francis’ initiative to reform the Vatican
“Of course there were a lot of problems, particularly in the last two years, and some accusations were levied against me,” he said.
“But this should not darken what I see as a positive overall result. We missed some things, also because problems were kept locked away by some people who did not contact the Secretariat of State,” Tarcisio Bertone added.
Cardinals welcomed the choice of Pietro Parolin who is seen as a reformer and known for his efforts to improve relations with China and Israel.
The French cardinal, Jean-Louis Tauran, told Vatican radio that Pietro Parolin was “an excellent choice, an efficient man, a good negotiator, very balanced.”
Pope Francis has already set in motion the reform of the Vatican Bank which has allegedly been turning a blind eye to money-laundering by some of its clients. He has also appointed a committee of Catholic economists to advise him on improving accounting methods and financial transparency.
The appointment of Pope Francis’ new secretary of state is seen by Vatican watchers as the most important single administrative act carried out by the new Pope since his election last March.
A state of emergency has been declared in Sicily because of the large numbers of African migrants it has to deal with.
According to the Italian navy, almost 300 migrants have been rescued from two boats near the island of Lampedusa in the waters between Libya and Sicily.
The first, about 60 miles to the south of Lampedusa, was carrying 80 migrants, a navy statement said.
The second, said to be at danger of sinking was carrying 210 people.
It was 45 miles from the island.
A state of emergency has been declared in Sicily because of the large numbers of African migrants it has to deal with
The latest rescues come a day after Italy announced increased patrols following the deaths of hundreds of migrants sailing in overcrowded boats.
The migrants were all being transferred to Lampedusa, the navy said.
On Friday, at least 33 people died when their boat capsized between Malta and Lampedusa.
A week earlier, more than 350 migrants died in another shipwreck off the island, one of the deadliest such incidents in recent years.
Italy has previously called for EU help in dealing with the thousands of desperate migrants who wash up on its beaches every year.
Many are families fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East who hope for a better life in Europe.
The recent loss of life has led to further calls for EU action.
On Monday, Italian Defense Minister Mario Mauro said the country intended to triple its presence in the southern Mediterranean.
“We need strong action to stop these shipwrecks,” he told Italian newspaper Avvenire.
In addition to coastguard and border police vessels, the Italian navy currently has three ships supported by four helicopters patrolling the area. It can also call on two surveillance aircraft with night-vision capabilities.
According to the UN, some 32,000 migrants have arrived in Malta and Italy this year.
According to a document leaked by Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency (NSA) collects up to 250 million online address books each year.
The NSA document was leaked to the Washington Post and shows a collection of contact lists from both foreign and US email and instant message accounts.
Scrutinizing such lists allows the NSA to find hidden connections between people of interest to them, it says.
The web firms involved said that they did not give direct access to the NSA.
During a single day last year, the NSA collected 444,743 email address books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook and 33,697 from Gmail, according to the alleged internal NSA Powerpoint presentation.
Another 22,881 address books were harvested from unspecified providers, according to the Washington Post.
In response to earlier allegations, Yahoo said that it would begin to encrypt email connections from next year. Meanwhile Facebook called for greater government transparency about data collection and Microsoft said the revelations raised “significant concerns”.
According to a document leaked by Edward Snowden, the NSA collects up to 250 million online address books each year
The data collection, which the paper says takes place overseas, happens when users log in, compose a message or sync devices.
According to the leaked document, the information is collected at least 18 key access points controlled by telecommunication companies based outside the US.
Because American web communications can flow outside of the country, the contact lists of US citizens also cross the international collection points, known as Sigads (Signals Intelligence Activity Designators).
This is particularly significant because President Barack Obama has previously said that US citizens were not targeted by the surveillance, which he said struck “the right balance” between security and privacy.
Address books include names and email addresses but can also include telephone numbers, home addresses, and business and family information.
Many web-based email services generate contact lists automatically once an email has been sent. These lists allow users to write emails more quickly by providing an auto-complete suggestion.
For an intelligence analyst, access to such data would allow them to reconstruct a network of who knows whom among criminals and terrorists.
Previous Edward Snowden allegations have suggested large-scale NSA spying and attempts to weaken internet encryption.
The NSA said that such surveillance is used to combat terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking among other crimes.
It has always maintained it has no interest in the personal information of ordinary Americans.
NSA director general Keith Alexander has defended the bulk collection of internet communications, saying that counter-terrorism and serious crime-fighting requires “the haystack to find the needle”.
Tim Guraedy, better known as Duck Dynasty’s Mountain Man, paid a visit to the mid-south last Sunday.
Mountain Man spent the day at the opening of Collierville’s new Academy Sports Store in Tennessee. He signed autographs and took pictures with fans.
Tim Guraedy is better known as Duck Dynasty’s Mountain Man
Duck Dynasty is an A&E reality TV show based on a down home Louisiana family that struck it rich making duck callers.
Mountain Man is the Robertson family’s neighbor who owns his own air conditioning repair business, co-hosts a local radio talk show on KXKZ and appears regularly on Duck Dynasty reality show.
GOP operatives in Louisiana were trying to court Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson for retiring Rep. Rodney Alexander’s, R-La., Congressional seat, but this time around, that’s not happening.
“I ran for about a week, but I wasn’t aware that I was running,” Willie Robertson said in Washington last week.
“I never rule anything out,” he added.
“I like staying involved in politics, in trying to help shape things.”
Willie Robertson and his wife Korie were in Washington DC for the annual Angels in Adoption gala
Willie Robertson also advised current Members of Congress on how to solve the government shutdown: “I’m trying to get people to work in my duck call room, that’s hard enough.”
The Duck Dynasty star revealed he didn’t suffer from the shutdown on this Washington trip.
“No, it didn’t affect me getting in here at all, we’ll be back to work tomorrow,” Willie Robertson said.
“See, we still have to work down in Louisiana, so we’ve got to go to work and make some duck calls, try them out and keep making the TV show.”
Willie Robertson and his wife Korie were in Washington D.C. for the annual Angels in Adoption gala and were honored for the positive portrayal of adoption on their reality show.
“I asked Korie to marry me when she was 17, so really, I feel like I adopted her,” Willie Robertson joked.
Christina Aguilera has revealed her weight loss plan after shedding 30 lbs off her small frame.
In addition to limiting alcohol, Christina Aguilera, 32, now avoids unhealthy favorites like Nate ‘n Al’s restaurant, a place with everything from chocolate chip pancakes to corned beef.
For breakfast, Christina Aguilera starts with blueberries, half an avocado and turkey bacon, an ideal combo of healthy fats and protein.
Christina Aguilera has revealed her weight loss plan after shedding 30 lbs off her small frame
For a snack, the singer relies on celery with almond butter. For lunch she goes lean, eating chicken breast over a veggie-filled salad. No creamy dressings are added.
Christina Aguilera also loves shrimp cocktail as a healthy snack. For dinner, she loves chicken or fish curry and splurges with a glass of wine.
Capital One secret agent girl Tiffany Dupont is best known for playing the lead character, Hadassah, a Jewish girl, who will become the Biblical Esther, Queen of Persia, in One Night with the King.
Tiffany Dupont, 32, co-starred on the ABC Family series Greek between 2007 and 2009, where she played Frannie, who was head of the Iota Kappa Iota house which she founded on campus to rival ZBZ.
Tiffany Dupont as secret agent girl in Capital One commercials
The actress grew up in Burke, Virginia, attending high school at Lake Braddock Secondary School. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and also served as Miss University of Georgia during her junior year.
While attending the University of Georgia, Tiffany Dupont was a violinist and original member of The Dave Matthews Cover Band, a nationally touring tribute act.
She has been described as a “committed Christian” and at the time of her appearance as Esther said she only wanted to play wholesome roles.
Tiffany Dupont also appeared on TV shows such as Hawaii Five-0, Supernatural, Franklin & Bash, Castle, and CSI: Miami and will be in a film in 2013 called Born to Race: Fast Track.
Bob Costas found himself in a controversy over the nature of the Washington Redskins’ name, which has stirred debate amid the NFL team’s refusal to change its moniker.
During his half-time essay segment during NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast of the Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game, Bob Costas parsed the uproar over the Redskins and other sports franchise names that have been seen as insensitive in the modern era to various minority groups.
Bob Costas noted that some teams have adjusted their names over the years in light of modern-day sensitivities, including other teams dubbed “Redskins”, a derogatory term for Native Americans.
The NBC Sports anchor, an influential voice in the sports world, acknowledged that the name is used with “benign” intent in the present day by the team and its owner, Daniel Snyder. But he left no doubt about his reasoning on why there is a public campaign to pressure the team to change the name.
Bob Costas found himself in a controversy over the nature of the Washington Redskins’ name
“Think for a moment about the term <<Redskins>>, and how it truly differs from all the others. Ask yourself what the equivalent would be, if directed toward African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or members of any other ethnic group,” Bob Costas said.
“When considered that way, <<Redskins>> can’t possibly honor a heritage, or noble character trait, nor can it possibly be considered a neutral term. It’s an insult, a slur, no matter how benign the present-day intent. It is fair to say that for a long time now, and certainly in 2013, no offense has been intended. But, if you take a step back, isn’t it clear to see how offense <<might>> legitimately be taken?”
Robert Quinlan “Bob” Costas, 61, is on the air for NBC Sports television since the early 1980s.
He has been prime-time host of a record 9 Olympic games.
He also does play-by-play for MLB Network as well as hosting an interview show called Studio 42 with Bob Costas.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled plans to “take 3D printing into the metal age” by building parts for jets, spacecraft and fusion projects.
The AMAZE project brings together 28 institutions to develop new metal components which are lighter, stronger and cheaper than conventional parts.
Additive manufacturing (or “3D printing”) has already revolutionized the design of plastic products.
Printing metal parts for rockets and planes would cut waste and save money.
The layered method of assembly also allows intricate designs – geometries which are impossible to achieve with conventional metal casting.
Parts for cars and satellites can be optimized to be lighter and – simultaneously – incredibly robust.
The AMAZE project brings together 28 institutions to develop new metal components which are lighter, stronger and cheaper than conventional parts
Tungsten alloy components that can withstand temperatures of 3,000C were unveiled at AMAZE’s launch on Tuesday at London Science Museum.
At such extreme temperatures they can survive inside nuclear fusion reactors and on the nozzles of rockets.
“We want to build the best quality metal products ever made. Objects you can’t possibly manufacture any other way,” said David Jarvis, ESA’s head of new materials and energy research.
“To build a [fusion reactor], like Iter, you somehow have to take the heat of the Sun and put it in a metal box.
“3,000C is as hot as you can imagine for engineering.
“If we can get 3D metal printing to work, we are well on the way to commercial nuclear fusion.”
AMAZE is a loose acronym for Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste and Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products.
The 20 million-euro project brings together 28 partners from European industry and academia – including Airbus, Astrium, Norsk Titanium, Cranfield University, EADS, and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
Factory sites are being set up in France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK to develop the industrial supply chain.
AMAZE researchers have already begun printing metal jet engine parts and aeroplane wing sections up to 2m in size.
These high-strength components are typically built from expensive, exotic metals such as titanium, tantalum and vanadium.
Using traditional casting techniques often wastes precious source material.
Justin Bieber tweeted a message along with his newly released song Heartbreaker, admitting he’s still going through a hard time after his breakup with Selena Gomez.
Justin Bieber, 19, wrote: “It’s a song for people going through heartbreak – like I was when I wrote it. It means so much to me to be able to share what I was, and still am going through, with my fans. I’m very proud of this song and I hope it gives my fans some insight into my heart. – JB.”
Justin Bieber tweeted a message along with his newly released song Heartbreaker, admitting he’s still going through a hard time after his breakup with Selena Gomez
Despite releasing the revealing song, however, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez don’t talk anymore.
Heartbreaker lyrics are truly telling that Justin Biber was devastated about his breakup with Selena Gomez.
Justin Bieber sings: “Despite all the imperfections of who I am I still wanna be your man/I know it hasn’t been easy for us to talk with everyone being around/But this is.. this is personal, this is for me and you/And I want you to know that I still love you.”
Outer space drama Gravity has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend.
The astronaut thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney took $44.3 million, according to early estimates.
Gravity easily beat Tom Hanks’ latest film, Captain Phillips, which took $26 million.
The movie tells the true story of the cargo ship captain who was taken hostage by Somali pirates after his ship was hijacked in 2009.
Gravity and Captain Phillips have earned critical acclaim with both Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks tipped as likely Oscar contenders.
Gravity‘s successful second week haul brings its total US domestic takings to $123.4 million.
“They say what goes up must come down, but that’s not really true with Gravity,” box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said.
“To have opened as big as it did last week and only drop 21% [in revenue], that’s really an amazing hold. It’s a direct testament to the word of mouth on the movie.”
Gravity has topped the North American box office for a second consecutive weekend
Animated sequel Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 was at three in its third week of release with $14.2 million.
The weekend’s only other new release, Machete Kills, opened in fourth place with $3.8 million.
The gun-toting sequel from director Robert Rodriguez and starring Danny Trejo and Michelle Rodriguez is the follow-up to Machete, which earned $11.4 million when it opened in 2010.
Runner Runner, starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, fell two places to five with $3.7 million.
North American box office top 5:
1.Gravity – $44.3 million
2.Captain Phillips – $26 million
3.Cloudy with a Chance Of Meatballs 2 – $14.2 million
Selena Gomez took a nasty spill during her show at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Vancouver, on October 10.
Selena Gomez, 21, was rocking out hard to her song Slow Down, jumping up and down fervently, when she accidentally landed on an uneven part of the stage and crashed down to her knees.
Selena Gomez took a nasty spill during her show at Patriot Center in Fairfax
However, the singer played the moment cool, and used it as an excuse to high five a few lucky fans. In no time, Selena Gomez was back to performing and hitting her dance moves with precision.
There didn’t seem to be any long-term damages from Selena Gomez’s collapse either, as she managed to take pictures with her fans after the show like always.
British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have said they had an “overwhelming response” to an appeal on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.
Officers suggested that Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in Portugal in 2007 bore hallmarks of a “pre-planned abduction”.
Scotland Yard said it was also looking into possible links to burglaries and bogus charity collections in the area.
It said officers would be following up the lines of inquiry provided by more than 300 phone calls and 170 emails.
Madeleine McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was 3-year-old when she disappeared from her parents’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.
Detectives investigating the case released two e-fits of a man seen carrying a child in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine McCann went missing.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior Metropolitan Police investigating officer, said a number of men had been seen by witnesses in the area on the day Madeleine McCann vanished and one theory was they could have been carrying out reconnaissance.
He said they wanted to track down men seen “lurking suspiciously” near the McCanns’ apartment block.
The Metropolitan Police say their inquiries have led to the timeline and “accepted version of events” surrounding Madeleine McCann’s disappearance being significantly changed.
Andy Redwood said it had been a “revelation moment” when police discovered a man seen by the McCanns’ friend Jane Tanner at 21:15 was almost certainly an innocent British holiday-maker collecting his two-year-old daughter from a nearby crèche.
He said: “Our focus in terms of understanding what happened on the night of 3 May has now given us a shift of emphasis.
Madeleine McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was 3-year-old when she disappeared from her parents’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007
“It takes us through to a position at 10pm when we see another man who is walking towards the ocean, close by to the apartment, with a young child in his arms.”
Crimewatch featured a detailed reconstruction lasting close to 25 minutes and covering events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance.
The film is also to be shown in the Netherlands, Germany and Irish Republic this week as tourists from those countries were known to be in the resort at the time.
Andy Redwood said he would be travelling to the Netherlands and Germany to continue the appeal.
Madeleine McCann’s parents Kate and Gerry told the programme they were “hopeful and optimistic” after the fresh appeal for information.
Kate McCann said: “We’re not the ones that have done something wrong here. It’s the person who’s gone into that apartment and taken a little girl away from her family.”
The two e-fit images released are of a man a family had seen with a blond-haired child of 3 or 4, possibly wearing pyjamas, heading away from the McCanns’ holiday apartment.
Andy Redwood said he could be the man who took Madeleine McCann – but there could be an innocent explanation.
He also said there had been a four-fold increase in the number of burglaries in the area between January and May 2007 and one possible scenario was that Madeleine McCann had disturbed a burglar.
Police are also looking at possible bogus charity collectors operating in the area at the time and have released two e-fit images of Portuguese men they would like to identify.
Police have also released e-fit images of two men seen in the area around the time that Madeleine McCann disappeared. Two are of fair-haired men who fit similar descriptions.
Portuguese police shelved their inquiry in 2008 but Scotland Yard began a review of the case in May 2011 and opened a formal investigation in July this year.
Kate McCann described the moment that “panic kicked in” after returning to the apartment to find her daughter missing.
Madeleine McCann and her brother and sister were left in the apartment at 20:30 while her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant.
Gerry McCann checked on them at 21:05 and Kate McCann raised the alarm at 22:00.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has hit the central Philippines, killing at least 20 people, reports say.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck underneath the island of Bohol, in a region popular with tourists.
People were killed as buildings and markets collapsed in Bohol and nearby Cebu province. Several buildings and churches were damaged by the quake.
The quake struck at 08:12 on a national holiday in Philippines.
Officials say that most of those killed were in Cebu, considered the second major city in the country.
At least five people died when part of a fishing port collapsed, reports the Associated Press (AP) news agency. Two more people died and others were injured when a roof at a market fell, AP adds.
Neil Sanchez, head of the Cebu disaster management office, told broadcaster ABS-CBN that they were trying to confirm reports that a school had collapsed.
Several buildings and churches were damaged by the Philippines earthquake
“Communication lines are quite difficult here,” he said.
“Even the disaster risk reduction management office has been damaged. We had to move elsewhere.”
The tremor triggered power outages in parts of Bohol, Cebu and neighboring areas, reports cited Philippines’ disaster management agency as saying.
Edgardo Chatto, the governor of Bohol, said that a church and a city hall building were damaged.
At least four people have been reported killed in Bohol and one on neighboring Siquijor island, reports say.
British man David Venables, who has lived in Cebu for seven years, said it was the strongest quake he had experienced.
“It’s a very strange and frightening experience when the very foundations of the house and surrounding area shake uncontrollably,” he said.
There were reports of aftershocks following the quake.
Cebu province, with a population of more than 2.6 million, is about an hour away by plane from Manila. Neighboring Bohol, a favorite of tourists because of its sandy beaches, is a short boat ride away from Cebu.
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovnyreunited at the Paley Center in New York Cityon Friday to celebrate The X-Files 20th anniversay.
Fans have long suspected that Gillian Anderson (Scully) and David Duchovny (Mulder) are a couple in real life and have been waiting to find photo proof that what they know is true.
To promote their appearance at Paley Center, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny did a Q&A session with fans on Reddit and the couple encouraged fans to, “Come hang with us for the next two hours during our Ask Us (almost) Anything reddit!” and that is just what the fans did.
Fans have long suspected that Gillian Anderson (Scully) and David Duchovny (Mulder) are a couple in real life and have been waiting to find photo proof that what they know is true
When he was asked: “One word to describe your 20-year journey together?” David Duchovny answered: “Amazing!”
The fans asked them a variety of question, one fan asked them about a new movie X-Files 3. David Duchovny was very straightforward and encouraged the fans to start a campaign: “I think Chris is working on a script. Chris is shooting a pilot right now, so he might not be working on a script, but he claims to be working on a script, and if he does do that and Fox wants to make it… Gillian will do it, I will do it, so start your writing campaign now. Seriously. We’d all love to do it. The ball is in Fox’s hands. And not Fox Mulder, Fox the studio.”
At one point in the chat someone mentioned that Gillian Anderson was hot and David Duchovny replied: “Yes. Gillian is every bit as hot, and hotter. It’s somewhat shocking.”
That was the tease and at the end of the chat they uploaded a photo with the following comment:“Thank you so much for coming by to ask us questions. We know it’s early. See you next time. We’re going to take a proof photo since so many of you have asked for it. Photo Proof!”
Queen Elizabeth has invited Kate Middleton’s parents Caroleand Michaelto spend time with the royals at Sandringham for Christmas, The Sun reported.
And Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly furious at the amount of time she is forced to spent with the Middletons.
Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly hating to spend time with the Middletons, and she believes it’s below her station to associate with them
This is not the first time that the Queen has chosen the Middletons over Camilla, and it’s making her spitting mad. Camilla was never a priority when it came to Prince George’s first few days, which was also spent at Bucklebury.
Camilla Parker-Bowles is reportedly hating to spend time with the “commoner” Middletons, and she believes it’s below her station to associate with them.
The White House has potsponed a meeting with Democrats and Republicans congressional leaders as lawmakers continue talks on raising the nation’s debt limit.
The talks were to take place between President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The US government shutdown, also a result of the political deadlock, has now entered its third week.
Officials warn of economic calamity should the US default on its debt.
In a statement, the White House said Monday afternoon’s meeting had been postponed to “allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress towards a solution that raises the debt limit and reopens the government”.
It is unclear when it will be rescheduled.
The White House has potsponed a meeting with Democrats and Republicans congressional leaders as lawmakers continue talks on raising the nation’s debt limit
President Barack Obama sounded his own warning as he toured a soup kitchen for the poor in Washington D.C. earlier on Monday.
“This week if we don’t start making some real progress, both the House and the Senate – and if Republicans aren’t willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what’s right for the country – we stand a good chance of defaulting,” he said.
“And defaulting would have a potentially devastating effect on our economy.”
Barack Obama said he saw “some progress” in the talks, ahead of Thursday’s deadline for the US to raise its $16.7 trillion borrowing limit or risk default on its debt.
Expected to attend the White House meeting were Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
On Monday, Harry Reid told the Senate he was “very optimistic we will reach an agreement”. Mr McConnell also expressed optimism, following what he described as “a couple of very useful discussions” with the Democratic leader.
Republican Senator Susan Collins acknowledged the Senate did not have a finished agreement, but said senators were “making very good progress”.
A separate bipartisan group led by Susan Collins also met for several hours earlier in the day to discuss possible solutions, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Congressional Democrats are now said to be using the looming debt ceiling deadline as leverage to push back against previously enacted cuts to the US government budget.
Those deep military and domestic spending cuts, known as the “sequester”, went into effect in January 2013 after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a budget compromise.
Cosmetics giant Avon Products has decided to close its French operations by the end of the month.
Avon office in Paris says only current orders will be guaranteed and it is unsure if its self-employed representatives will be able to get supplies after the end of October.
Avon has been in France for almost 50 years.
It employs about 120 staff in Paris, supporting 11,000 representatives who visit customers in their own homes.
Avon Products has decided to close its French operations by the end of the month
Angry workers in France have accused Avon of keeping them in the dark for months and not acting in line with Avon’s publically stated values of being a socially responsible company that upholds values of trust, respect and integrity and a culture of “open and candid communication”.
Further meetings are taking place between workers’ representatives and the management.
Avon is one of the world’s largest beauty companies and sells most of its products through direct selling by self-employed representatives who visit customers in their homes.
The US parent company has been through a string of reorganisations and management changes.
Two years ago, Avon turned down a takeover offer from rival cosmetic company Coty.
British police investigating Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has released two e-fits of a man who was seen carrying a child towards the beach in Portugal.
Police say a family saw the man with a blond-haired child of three or four, possibly wearing pyjamas, heading away from the McCanns’ holiday apartment.
Madeleine McCann, from Rothley, Leics, was 3-year-old when she went missing on May 3, 2007, in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
The e-fit images will feature in a BBC Crimewatch appeal later.
The witnesses said the man was white, 20 to 40 years old and of medium build. He had short brown hair, was clean-shaven and of medium height, they added.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior Metropolitan Police investigating officer, said he could be the man who took Madeleine but there could be an innocent explanation.
The Met Police opened up a new investigation earlier this year and have been reassessing all the gathered material.
British police investigating Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has released two e-fits of a man who was seen carrying a child towards the beach in Portugal
As a result, according to the police, the timeline and “accepted version of events” surrounding Madeleine McCann’s disappearance have significantly changed.
Andy Redwood said he was now attaching more weight to the sighting of the man and the child at 10pm, which was later than the time it was previously believed Madeleine McCann was taken.
Madeleine McCann and her brother and sister were left in the apartment at 8.30 p.m. while her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant. Her father, Gerry McCann, checked on them at 9.05 p.m. and her mother, Kate, raised the alarm at 10 p.m.
Andy Redwood said the child in the man’s arms had not been crying, nor looked in distress.
He added: “Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us.
“This is far from our only line of inquiry and there will be e-fits released of other sightings as well, who we are equally keen to trace.
“These people were seen on the day of Madeleine’s disappearance and the days leading up to it.”
UK’s PM David Cameron said he was “very pleased” Scotland Yard were doing this work, which the government was helping to fund.
HTC One Max – its latest handset – has been announced a day earlier than planned after its details leaked on to the net.
The Android-powered One Max – which includes a fingerprint scanner and a 5.9 in screen – had been scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference in China on Tuesday.
The device is a larger “phablet-sized” version of its flagship model.
HTC’s original One was well-reviewed but has been outsold by Samsung’s Galaxy S4.
That helped cause HTC to post its first ever quarterly loss earlier this month.
The Taiwanese firm announced a deficit of just under 3 billion Taiwan dollars ($100 million) for its July-to-September quarter.
By contrast Samsung Electronics has forecast record profits for the same period.
HTC said it decided to abandon the restrictions it had placed on information about the One Max after a member of the media broke a Tuesday embargo placed on its specifications. A spokeswoman for the firm said she was unable to name the publication responsible.
The HTC One Max’s inclusion of a fingerprint scanner makes it the first and only Android handset to do so since the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5S in September, which included a similar component.
However, both were preceded by Motorola’s Atrix handset, released in 2011. It also included a scanner on its rear, but struggled to take accurate readings, leading the firm to ditch the feature in later models.
HTC One Max has been announced a day earlier than planned after its details leaked on to the net
“The fingerprint scanner allows users to lock or unlock the screen and quickly launch up to three favorite applications by assigning an individual finger to each,” HTC said in a statement.
Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, recently told the Bloomberg news agency it had designed a “walled off” enclave on its custom-designed A7 processor to store iPhone owners’ fingerprint data to ensure the biometric information could not “escape”.
By contrast the new HTC handset uses an off-the-shelf Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, but the firm offered the following assurance to consumers: “The fingerprint data is encrypted and stored in local memory and can’t be readily accessed or copied. The fingerprint data cannot be easily converted into any other form or used by a third party.”
However, one security expert suggested the firm still needed to provide more detail.
“The obvious question is: What kind of encryption is the company using?” said Alan Woodward, chief technology officer at the consultancy Charteris.
“The bottom line is that whenever your biometric data is being stored for security purposes it could potentially be misused.
“So, consumers will always want to be sure it is stored in such a way that if you lose the phone, it is hacked into or there’s some other kind of unauthorized access, that it can’t be readily obtained.”
The new mobile expands the HTC One family following the launch of a “mini” 4.3in-screened handset in July.
The original HTC One – which has a 4.7in screen – obtained a higher review score than Samsung’s rival S4 on The Verge and Techradar news sites and recently beat its competitor to be named T3 magazine’s gadget of the year.
However, HTC has repeatedly blamed marketing problems for its failure to match its South Korean rival’s sales.
In August HTC employed the Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr. to head a new campaign, however its share price remains about 90% below its 2011 high.
“If you look at Samsung Electronics’ financials, in the June quarter it spent $2.1 billion on marketing – most of which went on mobile phones – that’s more than all HTC’s revenue for the same period by quite a margin,” said Benedict Evans, from the media and tech advisory firm Enders Analysis.
“HTC does have a marketing problem – but it’s not the creative part that’s the issue, it’s the scale.
“It’s also worth bearing in mind that when you talk about Samsung’s marketing spend over half of the sum is below the line: sales commissions mostly. And this isn’t just an HTC-specific problem – it’s a problem that applies to LG, Sony, Motorola and others as well.”
Samsung’s next earning figures are due to be released on October 25.
According to US scientists, diamonds big enough to be worn by Hollywood film stars could be raining down on Saturn and Jupiter.
New atmospheric data for the gas giants indicates that carbon is abundant in its dazzling crystal form, they say.
Lightning storms turn methane into soot (carbon) which as it falls hardens into chunks of graphite and then diamond.
These diamond “hail stones” eventually melt into a liquid sea in the planets’ hot cores, they told a conference.
The biggest diamonds would likely be about a centimetre in diameter – “big enough to put on a ring, although of course they would be uncut,” says Dr. Kevin Baines, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Kevin Baines added they would be of a size that the late film actress Elizabeth Taylor would have been “proud to wear”.
“The bottom line is that 1,000 tonnes of diamonds a year are being created on Saturn.
“People ask me – how can you really tell? Because there’s no way you can go and observe it.
Diamonds big enough to be worn by Hollywood film stars could be raining down on Saturn and Jupiter
“It all boils down to the chemistry. And we think we’re pretty certain.”
Kevin Baines presented his unpublished findings at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Denver, Colorado, alongside his co-author Mona Delitsky, from California Speciality Engineering.
Uranus and Neptune have long been thought to harbor gemstones. But Saturn and Jupiter were not thought to have suitable atmospheres.
Kevin Baines and Mona Delitsky analyzed the latest temperature and pressure predictions for the planets’ interiors, as well as new data on how carbon behaves in different conditions.
They concluded that stable crystals of diamond will “hail down over a huge region” of Saturn in particular.
“It all begins in the upper atmosphere, in the thunderstorm alleys, where lightning turns methane into soot,” said Kevin Baines.
“As the soot falls, the pressure on it increases. And after about 1,000 miles it turns to graphite – the sheet-like form of carbon you find in pencils.”
By a depth of 6,000km, these chunks of falling graphite toughen into diamonds – strong and unreactive.
These continue to fall for another 30,000km – “about two-and-a-half Earth-spans” says Kevin Baines.
“Once you get down to those extreme depths, the pressure and temperature is so hellish, there’s no way the diamonds could remain solid.
“It’s very uncertain what happens to carbon down there.”
One possibility is that a “sea” of liquid carbon could form.
“Diamonds aren’t forever on Saturn and Jupiter. But they are on Uranus and Neptune, which are colder at their cores,” says Kevin Baines.
German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst has flown – reportedly with a budget airline – to the Vatican in Rome to discuss his lavish spending.
Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst – dubbed the “Luxury Bishop” – is facing calls for his resignation after spending 31 million euros ($42 million) on his residence.
He is also accused of lying about the over-spend on the property in Limburg.
In Rome, Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst will meet the head of the Catholic Church in Germany, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch. It is not clear if Pope Francis will intervene.
Since taking office in March, Pope Francis has urged the Church to promote a lifestyle of frugality and simplicity.
The allegations have stoked controversy among Catholics in Germany, where Martin Luther launched the Reformation in Europe five centuries ago in response to what he said were excesses and abuses within the Church.
Active German Catholics also pay a tax to the Church as part of their income tax, and many are shocked by the apparent financial waste – prompting some to stage demonstrations outside the bishop’s residence in Limburg, a town in Hesse near Frankfurt-on-Main.
Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, dubbed the “Luxury Bishop”, is facing calls for his resignation after spending $42 million on his residence
“The bishop has made it clear that any decision about his service as a bishop lies in the hands of the Holy Father [Pope Francis],” said a statement issued by the diocese on Saturday.
“The bishop is saddened by the escalation of the current discussion. He sees and regrets that many believers are suffering under the current situation,” it said.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, is also accused of twice lying under oath about a flight he took to India on a trip to visit poor children.
He had filed a civil court claim against Der Spiegel magazine, which is based in Hamburg, for reporting that he had flown first-class on the trip.
After being forced to print a retraction, the magazine filed a legal complaint of its own. As evidence, it published mobile phone video (in German) of its interview with Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, in which he clearly stated that he had flown business class.
Asked by the German daily Bild about the high cost of his new residence, the bishop said: “I understand that the high cost of 31 million euros sounds frightening. Those who know me know that I don’t have a pompous lifestyle.”
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch said he had set up a commission to investigate the finances of Limburg diocese.
Robert Zollitsch said he would “speak to the Holy Father and the relevant people” about the issue in Rome.
