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NASA and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk`s rocket company SpaceX announced on Friday a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for NASA`s first full-fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.   from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/3kwc5KG

Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson says essaying the role of a parent has been an invaluable part of her career. Last year, the actress played the role of a mother in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit.           from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/3kDwDkB

Los Angeles, Nov 14 (IANS) Actress Sigourney Weaver says she and the team of the 1979 cult hit Alien are happy that the film still has an impact on audiences. The 71-year-old actress had played the central role of Ellen Ripley in the iconic sci-fi series and is glad that director Ridley Scott`s original 1979 sci-fi horror is still popular, reports femalefirst.co.uk. "I think all of us on `Alien` are very pleased the film still resonates with people," Weaver said. The Oscar-winning star revealed how she and the director wanted Ripley to be more than a damsel in distress. She explained: "Ripley was written as a kind of everyperson, and it was unusual, then especially, not to have a woman go, `Oh my goodness` (and be in distress). Ridley Scott did not want that, neither did I, and I think now we`re so far from that in terms of women`s strength and situation. We have a long way to go, but it`s changing rapidly." She also shared that she has little experience of working ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing intelligence officials. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in Tehran more than three months ago, the Times reported. The killing of Masri, who was seen as a likely successor to al Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, was kept secret until now, the newspaper said. It was unclear what if any role the United States had in the Aug. 7 killing of the Egyptian-born militant, the Times said. U.S. authorities had been tracking Masri and other al Qaeda operatives in Iran for years, it said. A U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, declined to confirm any of the details in the Times’ story or say whether there wa...

New York, Nov 14 (IANS) United States President Donald Trump has hinted that he may accept defeat by Joe Biden as media declared the Democrat the winner in Georgia while the counting was still going on, solidifying his lead in the electoral college. Trump, who has so far refused to concede the election to Biden and has vowed to continue to challenge some of the results in courts, said on Friday while discussing the possibility of a coronavirus-induced lockdown, "Whatever happens in the future, who knows, which administration will be, I guess time will tell." This was likely his first time thinking aloud in public of another administration taking over on January 20. There have been speculations about how he would finally deal with a defeat, with hyperbolic scenarios painted by some of his hard-core critics of him not leaving the White House leading to a constitutional crisis. An unidentified senior aide to Trump was quoted by NBC as saying that he was likely to accept the elec...

LONDON (Reuters) - Visitors to care homes in parts of England will be able to get tested for COVID-19 under a new pilot scheme aimed at reducing onerous restrictions in time for Christmas, the health ministry said on Saturday. With England under lockdown until December, care home visits can still go ahead in certain circumstances, but official guidance states that screens, windows or "visiting pods" should be used to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. "I know how heart-breaking restricting visits to care homes has been, not only for residents, many of whom will feel disoriented and confused by the situation, but also their loved ones who aren`t able to simply hug each other to support them in this difficult time," health minister Matt Hancock said. "Thanks to the expanding testing capacity we have in place we can now begin to trial a new way to allow safer visits to take place and prevent the spread of COVID-19." During the first wave of the pandemi...

New York, Nov 14 (IANS) Roughly 20 million people could be vaccinated against the coronavirus in December, the chief of the Donald Trump administration`s vaccine coordination program said today. Anywhere from 25 to 30 million people could be vaccinated each month afterward. The speed depends on a big `if` - the US Food and Drug Administration`s emergency use authorization for one or more vaccines. "And as of the month of February or March, if we have more vaccines approved such as the live vector vaccine, we may be able to immunize a large number of Americans on an ongoing basis," Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor, Operation Warp Speed (OWS), said during comments at the White House Rose Garden Friday evening. OWS is the Trump administration`s national program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. Slaoui`s comments come at an anxious time in America`s coronavirus chronicles. More than 244,000 are dead, mo...

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, who was recently elected for a third consecutive term from the congressional district representing Silicon Valley, is being considered as a potential contender to fill the US Senate seat from California that will fall vacant in January after Kamala Harris is sworn in as the country's vice president. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/2IA3YQ9

(Reuters) - Manchester United said late on Thursday its first-quarter revenue fell nearly 20%, as it continued to lose out on ticket sales from fans unable to attend matches due to the coronavirus crisis. The results were expected on Friday, but the company said the statement was released a day in advance due to an error by the publishers of its filings. The pandemic has played havoc with the sporting calendar, forcing the suspension of English Premier League fixtures for three months, with fans still unable to attend matches. United has failed to win at home in the league this season and had urged the government last month to allow fans back into stadiums, adding it can safely host 23,500 fans at Old Trafford while maintaining social distancing. It remains uncertain whether fans would be welcomed back any time soon after England imposed a one-month lockdown this month. Manchester United`s Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward said on Thursday the health crisis continued to cause "s...

New York, Nov 13 (IANS) Two Indian Americans have been named to head key teams that will help Joe Biden`s administration to hit the ground running as soon as he is sworn-in as president on January 20. Arun Majumdar, the director of the Precourt Institute of Energy at Stanford University is to head the team dealing with the Department of Energy, which also designs, manufacturers and tests nuclear weapons. The team includes University of California Berkely physics professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh, who is one of the 21 Indian Americans appointed to teams dealing with different departments and agencies. Kiran Ahuja is the head of the team dealing with the federal administration`s human resources agency, the federal investigation office for the civil service and the protection of whistleblowers. The agency review teams that are to ensure "a smooth transfer of power," according to the Biden-Harris transition organisation. Kamala Harris is to be the vice president. These review teams ar...

Former US president Barack Obama, in his memoir, has mentioned Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi. However, it was not praise that was heaped on the Gandhi scion.  from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/3eRvB32

Los Angeles, Nov 13 (IANS) Singer Kylie Minogue is all praise about her beau Paul Solomons and says he is very supportive and a great guy. "In a nutshell, he`s a great guy. He`s so caring and supportive. He has a wicked sense of humour, he has his own life and his own career going on. So we meet in the middle somewhere. And yeah, it`s just... it`s good -- and there`s a lot to be said for that," she told People magazine, reports femalefirst.co.uk. Kylie praised Solomons after he rescued her. The two have been dating for two-and-a-half years. She said Solomons got "thrown in at the deep end" when they first met, as she was still recovering from her split from former fiance Joshua Sasse. "He`s been great. He got thrown in at the deep end dating me," she said, adding: "He had to come to the rescue a few times on tour when I was really unwell. He`d swoop in and hold me in a way that no one else can. He cares about my fans, he cares about my world, but most...

Los Angeles, Nov 13 (IANS) Singer Dolly Parton, who will turn 75 in January, says she will never grow old. The country music star joined Oprah Winfrey for an episode of "The Oprah Conversation" where she spoke about her looks and more, reports people.com. "As you reach each milestone age, I want to know what impact, if any, does the number have on you?" Winfrey asked. "I don`t think about my life in terms of numbers. First of all, I ain`t never gonna be old because I ain`t got time to be old. I can`t stop long enough to grow old," she replied. Parton said she is going to "be the best I can be at whatever age". "I bet you I won`t look much different when I`m 95, if I live that long, because I`m like the Gabor sisters," she said referring to the late Hungarian socialites. "I`m gonna look like a cartoon," she jokingly said. "I`ll have on the make-up. I`ll look as young as my plastic surgeons will allow me and (with) the make...

Los Angeles, Nov 13 (IANS) Filmmaker Taika Waititi feels he is a great actor, and that is why he likes to take up acting jobs as well. Asked about the making of "Jojo Rabbit" being spread over six years, and his role in the film, Waititi said: "I wrote the script, and then I went off and made three films and then came back to it. At that point they were encouraging me to play that part and I didn`t need much encouragement because I think I`m probably the best actor." Based on the novel "Caging Skies" by author Christine Leunens, "Jojo Rabbit" is about a lonely German boy named Jojo and how his world view changes when he finds out that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. The anti-hate satire brings forward the vivid imagination of Jojo, and his experiences through fantasy and his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler. Waititi is seen playing the role of the imaginary Hitler. The movie got six Oscar nominations, in...

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A consortium of Chinese companies signed a contract with the government of Brazil`s Bahia state on Thursday to build a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) bridge across the entrance of the bay opposite the city of Salvador. The bridge to the island of Itaparica, slated to be the longest over water in Latin America, will take five years to build and cost 6.7 billion reais ($1.2 billion), Bahia officials said. The consortium is made up of China Communications Construction Co Ltd , CCCC South America Regional Company and China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation, a unit of China Railway Construction Corp Ltd . They will take one year to obtain licenses and prepare equipment needed to start building, the officials said. "It is the biggest investment by a Chinese group in Brazil," Bahia Governor Rui Costa said at the signing. The consortium`s shareholders are the world`s largest construction and infrastructure companies, he added. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by ...

The United Kingdom reached a bleak milestone in its battle with coronavirus on Wednesday as the official death toll passed 50,000 casting a shadow on the positive news about the effectiveness of a potential vaccine. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/32SPpOT

A British female healthworker has been charged with the murder of eight babies and trying to murder 10 others at a hospital in northern England, police said on Wednesday. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/2Ijkl3H

Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan are brother and sister in the new fantasy film "Come Away" that puts a new spin on two of the best-known British children`s classic stories. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/2GYpj5e

The leader of Lebanon`s Hezbollah said on Wednesday he was pleased about "the humiliating downfall" of U.S. President Donald Trump, but urged regional allies to be on alert for any U.S. or Israeli "folly" during the rest of his term in office. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/2UiRTRF

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. from Zee Business: World News https://ift.tt/2UkpWJm