Brazilian student sells her virginity for $780,000 online
Catarina Migliorini, 20, was the subject of 15 bids, with a Japanese man named only as Natsu winning on Wednesday night, Australian media reported.
They said Miss Migliorini would be "delivered" to her buyer on board a plane to Australia and that she would be interviewed before and after losing her virginity at a secret location.
Filmmaker Jason Sisely, who reportedly began his project in 2009 and caused outrage when he put posters up in Sydney and Melbourne saying "Virgins Wanted", said Miss Migliorini was ecstatic and had not expected such a high level of interest.
"The auction closed last night and Catarina is extremely excited. She was speaking to her family in Brazil online and they were extremely happy for her," he told Australian online news site Ninemsn.
"But I guess they didn't expect her to do something like this." He said the act would be consummated, but not filmed, in the next few weeks.
"We will fly over the winner to Australia and obviously, for the sake of the film and privacy, we can't disclose where and when the act will take place," he said. "I have to leave some details for the documentary."
Miss Migliorini defended the move.
"I saw this as a business. I have the opportunity to travel, to be part of a movie and get a bonus with it," she told Folha newspaper.
"If you only do it once in your life then you are not a prostitute, just like if you take one amazing photograph it does not automatically make you a photographer."
Sisely told Ninemsn that under the terms of the auction a condom was compulsory and Natsu must be tested beforehand for any sexually transmitted diseases.
"I'm looking forward to my audience's response to the film," he said.
Hurricane Sandy kills 21
At least 21 were killed across the Caribbean after Hurricane Sandy lashed the Bahamas with heavy rains and high waves on its way to the US east coast as a powerful 'Frankenstorm'
Forecasters warned that the massive hurricane could collide with a seasonal "nor'easter" weather system as it churns northward parallel to the East Coast, before swerving into the heavily populated mid-Atlantic just north of Washington, DC early Tuesday.
The meteorologists said the combination of adverse weather conditions could affect the area through Halloween on October 31, "inviting perhaps a ghoulish nickname for the cyclone along the lines of 'Frankenstorm'."
The Bahamas reported power and phone lines downed, tourists stranded and trees uprooted. Schools, government offices, airports and bridges were to remain closed Friday.
The storm was downgraded late Thursday to a category one hurricane on the five-point wind scale, with Sandy's winds at 80mph.
Although weakened, storm gusts and high waves were reported in south Florida as Sandy churned north.
Sandy claimed 11 lives in eastern Cuba, including several who died in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the fury of the massive storm.
The hurricane damaged hundreds of homes, flooding crops and downing trees, according to media reports.
"It was terrible. Roofs were flying off lots of houses. Doors too, and windows," said Laquesis Bravo, 36, who lives outside the southeastern coastal city of Santiago de Cuba.
Nine people died in Santiago, including a four-month-old infant who was among four people who perished when a house caved in.
Five more people in the province died during the storm for unspecified reasons, while two people in the nearby town of Guantanamo were killed by falling trees.
On Wednesday, Sandy unleashed its wrath on Jamaica, where one person died, and on Haiti, where nine people died and three others were reported missing.
Source: AFP
Panama debates land sale law repeal
Panama's National Assembly has taken the first step towards repealing a controversial law allowing the sale of land in Colon Free Zone, Latin America's biggest duty-free zone.
The assembly debated the law on Friday and is expected to hold a final vote on its repeal on Sunday.
The decision to abandon government plans to sell the land in the city of Colon follows a week of protests.
At least three people have died, including a nine-year-old boy.
On Friday, dozens of looters ransacked shops, smashed store windows and stoned vehicles in Panama City after protesting outside the assembly.
The police clashed with protesters in Colon too.
'Little acceptance'
President Martinelli, who was returning home from a trip to Asia on Friday, tweeted that the controversial law would be repealed in its entirety.
"The law sought the best for Colon but it had little acceptance", he wrote. "We will proceed with its definitive repeal."
The government had said the privatisation would boost development in Colon, but trade unions and residents argued it would cost jobs and push down wages.
Opponents of the law included trade unions, members of the Colon Chamber of Commerce and a variety of civil society groups.
The protests flared in Panama soon after president Martinelli signed the controversial law on 19 October.
Four days later he announced the government would scrap its plans to sell the land to private investors.
Mr Martinelli tweeted: "If the people of Colon don't want the sale of lands in the free trade zone, the sale will be repealed."
The president said instead that commercial rents would be increased and the money reinvested in the region, as protesters had been demanding.
The Colon region is the biggest duty-free zone in Latin America but is blighted by poverty and crime.
Panama's economy has boomed in recent years, but sections of the population remain excluded from its commercial success.
The city of Colon - one of the largest free trade ports in the world and in operation since the 1950s - sits at the end of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean, just outside the former Panama Canal Zone.
The canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, is Panama's main source of revenue.
Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, ex-revolutionary and dissident, dies in Cuba
Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo, a former Cuban revolutionary who later became a dissident, has died aged 77, friends and family have said.
His wife, Flor Ester Torres Sanabria, told AP news agency that her husband died in a Havana hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo was a commander during the 1959 Cuban revolution.
However, he later led an armed uprising against former comrade Fidel Castro and spent 22 years in prison.
A close friend in Cuba, radio commentator Max Lesnik, said the opposition activist had died on Friday morning, the Miami Herald reported
Born in Madrid, Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo was the son and brother of men who fought in the Spanish civil war against Gen Francisco Franco.
The family moved to Cuba in 1945 and Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo later joined rebels opposing dictator Fulgencio Batista.
However, after the revolution he lost faith in the communist leadership and by 1961 was in exile in Miami helping to form Alpha 66, an armed commando group.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo and his fighters returned to Cuba in December 1964 hoping to launch an uprising, but they were captured after a month.
He then spent 22 years in Cuban prisons until being freed through a petition of the Spanish government in 1986.
He later moved back to Miami where he founded Cambio Cubano - a centrist group that promoted dialogue and reconciliation among Cubans of all political backgrounds.
Mr Gutierrez-Menoyo returned to Cuba in 2003. The authorities allowed him to stay despite his frequent criticisms of the government.
In 2008 he expressed his disappointment that Cuba's communist system had remained unchanged.
"Cuba cannot continue to corner itself, trying to convince the world that there is democracy here when a one-party system will never be a democracy," he said.
Romney promises 'real change' to Obama's 'status quo'
Republican nominee Mitt Romney has called for "real change" against President Barack Obama's "status quo", on the final stretch of an election race that is too close to call.
Mr Romney dismissed the Democratic incumbent as a shadow of his former self, in an economic speech in the key battleground state of Iowa.
On Friday, new figures showed US gross domestic product grew by 2% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations.
The US goes to the polls on 6 November.
In a speech seeking to outline his core economic argument, Mr Romney said: "This election is a choice. A choice between the status quo, going forward with the same policies of the last four years, or instead choosing real change. Change that offers promise, promise that the future will be better than the past."
The former Massachusetts governor also accused Mr Obama of distracting the nation's "attention from the biggest issues to the smallest".
Climate 'crucial'
Mr Obama was taking a break from the campaign trail on Friday, after an intense 48-hour eight-state tour earlier in the week.
He spent the day in Washington, recording interviews and meeting fellow Democrats.
In one interview with radio host Michael Smerconish, Mr Obama stressed he would work with Congress to pass a budget deal to reduce the country's deficit and debt.
"I'll go to Capitol Hill, I'll wash John Boehner's car, I'll walk Mitch McConnell's dog," Mr Obama said, referring to the Republican House Speaker and Senate minority leader respectively. "I'll do whatever is required to get this done."
In a later interview with MTV, Mr Obama emphasised the importance of voting for young adults, saying "there's no excuse" not to and attacked Mr Romney on climate change, calling it a "critical issue" for MTV viewers.
"[Romney] says he believes in climate change... but he says he's not sure man-made causes are the reason," Mr Obama said. "I believe scientists, who say we're putting too much carbon emissions into the atmosphere and it's heating the planet and it's going to have a severe effect."
Disputing the data
Mr Romney's comments in Iowa come as the Department of Commerce figures showed the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2% in the three months to September.
The Obama campaign said the data showed the economy was moving in the right direction.
"While we have more work to do, today's GDP growth report, showing the 13th straight quarter of growth, is more evidence that our economy continues to come back from the worst recession since the Great Depression under President Obama's leadership," it said in a statement.
Democrats also pointed out that Mr Romney spoke in Iowa outside Kinzler Construction Services, which benefited from more than $650,000 (£403,000) in stimulus funding from the 2009 law Mr Obama signed into law - the same stimulus the Republican nominee often criticises.
At a campaign stop, Mr Romney broadly attacked Mr Obama's record. "Despite all that he inherited, President Obama did not repair our economy, he did not save Medicare and Social Security, he did not tame the spending and borrowing, he did not reach across the aisle to bring us together."
An average of national opinion polls released on Friday show Mr Romney opening a modest lead of 0.9% over Mr Obama. Mr Obama is leading slightly in the key election states of Ohio and New Hampshire, but trailing slightly in Virginia and Florida.
In other news on Friday:
- Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu retreated from his comments suggesting that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Mr Obama because both men were black
- Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the Republicans' top donor, has given $10m (£6.2m) to a group supporting Mr Romney
- The presidential campaigns' combined fundraising total has crossed the $2bn mark, on track to become the most expensive race in history.
- Mr Romney and Vice-president Joe Biden both cancelled campaign appearances on Sunday because of the threat to the US east coast from Hurricane Sandy.
Barack Obama casts vote early in Chicago
President Barack Obama has cast his vote in his hometown of Chicago as his campaign seeks to boost early ballots in a neck-and-neck election race.
Mr Obama, who is on a two-day campaign marathon across eight states, is the first president to vote early.
His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, is in Ohio, a swing state which could hold the key to the White House.
Thirteen days from the election, a new national poll says Mr Romney has 50%-47% support among likely voters.
The survey, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, finds that when asked about which candidate they would trust more to handle the economy, 52% backed Mr Romney versus 43% for Mr Obama - the first time a candidate has held a clear lead on the issue.
The president's ballot casting on Thursday was part of his campaign's wider effort to encourage early voting, with many states holding open in-person polls this week.
First Lady Michelle Obama voted by absentee ballot on 15 October.
It is estimated that 7.2 million people have already cast early ballots, and that about 35% of the electorate will have already voted by polling day.
The Obama campaign also announced on Thursday that it backs gay marriage laws in three states that are holding referendums on the issue in November.
In Maryland and Washington, ballot measures are seeking to overturn gay marriage bills that were signed into law earlier this year. Meanwhile, Maine is voting on whether to reinstate a gay marriage law that was overturned in a popular vote in 2009.
Mr Obama first voiced support for the right of same-sex couples to marry in May.
Key states
Because the US election is a state-by-state contest, a presidential candidate must win key battlegrounds like Ohio, Virginia and Florida, which do not reliably vote for either party. No Republican has ever won the White House without taking Ohio.
The Obama campaign recently won a court ruling to keep Ohio's early voting open through the weekend before the election.
Former Massachusetts Governor Romney made three stops across the Mid-Western state on Thursday, while his running mate Paul Ryan spent the day in Virginia.
But they have been distracted by the fall-out from a fellow Republican candidate's remarks on Tuesday night that pregnancy from rape was part of God's plan.
The Romney campaign has said it disagreed with the comments by anti-abortion Indiana Senate hopeful Richard Mourdock, although it did not withdraw support from him.
"We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest, but still support him," a campaign spokeswoman said.
Republicans running in tight contests elsewhere have repudiated Mr Mourdock's remarks.
Mr Obama criticised Mr Mourdock on a US late-night talk show on Wednesday.
"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas... rape is rape. It is a crime," Mr Obama told host Jay Leno, adding that politicians had no business making decisions for women about their bodies and health choices.
On Thursday, the president makes campaign stops in Florida, Virginia and Ohio. On Monday, he will appear for the first time at a campaign event this election cycle with former President Bill Clinton.
Italy’s Berlusconi Guilty of Tax Fraud
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to a year in prison.
A Milan court Friday found the 76-year-old media magnate guilty in a case linked to the purchase of U.S. film and television rights on behalf of Mediaset, Italy's largest private television company that he controls. Prosecutors had accused Berlusconi and other officials of fraudulently declaring the cost of the U.S. productions in order to cut their tax bills.
Despite years of criminal probes of his activities, it is the first time that Berlusconi has been handed a prison term. The court at first imposed a four-year term, but then cut it to one.
Mr. Berlusconi had either been acquitted or the statute of limitations had run out on other cases. He is expected to appeal the tax fraud conviction, with Italian law requiring two levels of review before a verdict is considered final.
The flamboyant Berlusconi is still on trial on charges of paying an underage woman for sex and abusing his office as prime minister.
The Milan court banned Berlusconi from holding office for three years. Just this week, he announced he would not seek another term as prime minister. He was ousted from the government last November as Italy became one of the focal points of the governmental debt crisis in the euro currency bloc.
Russian Activist Udaltsov Charged in Plotting Riots
Russian investigators have charged another opposition activist with plotting riots as part of an apparent Kremlin crackdown on the anti-Putin protest movement.
Russia's State Investigations Committee filed charges Friday against Sergei Udaltsov, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
He was not detained but has been ordered to stay in Moscow pending further investigation.
Udaltsov says he is innocent of the charges. He described them as “absurd” and called for protests in support of political prisoners of “Putin's regime.”
The charges come a few days after Russia's Investigations Committee brought charges against Leonid Razvozzhayev, an assistant deputy of the opposition Just Russia party, who said he was kidnapped and forcibly taken to Moscow.
Russia's Investigations Committee said Razvozzhayev turned himself in on Sunday in Ukraine and admitted to involvement in organizing mass disturbances in Russia. The activist said he was tortured into confessing, and his lawyer later said his client retracted his confession. He also faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Authorities launched a criminal probe last week against Udaltsov and his aide, Konstantin Lebedev, on charges they organized riots in May in Moscow. Lebedev is in police custody.
Since starting his third mandate earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed for laws restricting civic freedoms and foreign influence. The lower house of parliament, or Duma, passed a new bill Tuesday widening the definition of high treason – a move that critics say is part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Current law describes high treason as espionage or other aid to a foreign state that damages Russia's external security. The new bill expands it to include moves against Russia's “constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and state integrity.''
The bill drafted by the Federal Security Service also changes the interpretation of treason to include activities such as financial or consultative assistance to a foreign state or an international organization. It is certain to pass easily in the upper house, and President Putin can then sign it into law.
EU Awards Rights Prize to 2 Iranian Dissidents
The European Parliament has awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights and freedom of thought to two Iranian dissidents.
European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced Friday in Strasbourg, France, that human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi received the annual prize.
Schulz said the award is a message of “solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation.”
He said he hopes the two will be able to come to Strasbourg in December to receive their award, and he urged Iranian authorities to make that possible.
Sotoudeh was arrested in 2010 for spreading propaganda and for behavior deemed “detrimental to national security.” She is serving a six-year jail sentence and is banned from practicing law for 10 years.
Panahi, a winner of international awards for his films, supports Iran's opposition movement. He is under house arrest and has been banned from making movies or traveling abroad.
Jailed Belarusian dissident Ales Beliatsky and the anti-Kremlin Russian punk band Pussy Riot were also nominated for the Sakharov Prize this year.
Three members of the band were convicted in August on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” after bursting into an Orthodox cathedral to stage protest songs against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Two were sentenced to two-year prison terms.
The trio has argued their impromptu performance was political in nature and not an attack on religion.
The Sakharov prize is named for the late Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
Suicide Bomber Kills 40 in Afghan Mosque
Officials in northern Afghanistan say a suicide bomb attack on a mosque has killed at least 40 people, in one of the deadliest such attacks in recent months.
Authorities say the bomber struck the mosque in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province, on Friday, at the start of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Local officials say the bomber was targeting a regional police official who was inside the mosque for Eid prayers. The official reportedly survived the blast, but more than 20 of the dead were security personnel. Officials say several civilians, including children, were also killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials blamed the Taliban.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the attack, saying those behind the bombing were “enemies of Islam and humanity.” In an earlier statement for the Eid holiday, Mr. Karzai had urged the Taliban to lay down their weapons.
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen, condemned the “heinous act,” which he said is an affront to human life, to religious devotion and to the peaceful aspirations of the Afghan people.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul also condemned the attack.
Also Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest so-called “insider attack” on international forces.
The U.S. military said two American service members were killed Thursday after a man wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon on them in the southern province of Uruzgan.
So far this year, at least 53 coalition troops have been killed by members of the Afghan security forces or militants wearing a police or army uniform.