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Senior Editor for Australia's Cleo magazine Sharri Markson confirmed on Wednesday that she will not be competing for the role of editor between the sudden merger of Dolly and Cleo titles. The news came only days after German-based Bauer Media announced the merger of two of their most popular Australian magazines, with an expected loss of half the production staff by early next year. The production team was informed of the merge in a staff meeting on Monday. Chief executive Matt Stanton and publisher Sebastian Kadas explained the merger proces

The Illinois House of Representatives voted 61–54 yesterday to approve a law allowing for same-sex marriage. Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill and ceremonies for same-sex couples are expected to start in June of next year. State Represeptative Greg Harris, the bill's sponsor, said, "what this bill is about is love, it's about family, it's about commitment". Bernard Cherkasov from the gay rights group Equality Illinois welcomed the passing of the bill. "The first thought that popped into my mind was all those families around the

Following incorrect statements by media organizations that include Fox News and the New York Post earlier in the week that the US Marine Corps were changing their hats in order to make them more gender neutral, the Corps issued a statement yesterday countering the claim, saying they are only changing the dress hat for women. In a statement on their website, they said this change is only "for female Marines because the current manufacturer is going out of business". Commandant of the Marine Corps General James F. Amos is quoted in the Corps st

Following an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruling on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior British politicians have criticised the actions of three police forces in England for allegedly covering up the behaviour of police officers involved in the investigation of former Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell. Andrew Mitchell resigned from his job in the Cabinet as Chief Whip following an incident in September 2012 at Downing Street. Mitchell had been told he could not ride his bicycle in Downing Street. The nex

Tourists were evacuated from Paris' Eiffel Tower just before 4:00pm (1800 GMT) yesterday following a threatening phone call. Security forces covered the area after the phone call was received and the Eiffel Tower was reopened about an hour and half later after the threats were dismissed. Threats and evacuations are a recurring problem for Paris’ famous landmark and marks the fourth evacuation for 2013. On August 9 and March 31, the monument was closed due similar circumstances after Police responded to bomb alerts. On June 18, the attraction w

Approximately four thousand people rallied in an anti-government protest in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday. The protest took place on the outskirts of the city to oppose alleged electoral fraud during the most recent presidential election that returned President Ilham Aliyev to office for his third consecutive term. The protesters accused the government of voter intimidation and ballot stuffing, and were rallying in a demand for a new poll. Although the protest had been initially approved by authorities, police began to use violence against p

Around 115 pilgrims were killed Sunday in a stampede in India's Madhya Pradesh region. Some 50,000 pilgrims were attempting to visit the Ratangarh temple as part of an annual Hindu festival. Sources indicate that rumors spread through the crowd that the bridge over the Sindh River could collapse, which caused widespread panic. The rumor provoked a stampede in which many people were trampled and others sought escape by jumping into the river, actions which resulted in many drownings. The death toll includes 30 children and may rise as bodies a

Yesterday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a 34 member international economic organization founded in 1961 that traces its origins back to the World War II-era Marshall Plan, published results on the state of adult skills in 24 countries, most of them European. Compared to other countries surveyed, Japan ranks as one of the best-performing surveyed countries in both literacy and numeracy. Internationally, Japan ranks first amongst surveyed countries for literacy proficiency amongst adults. At the highest pro

Unlike some parts of the US Federal Government, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been open during the federal government shutdown and recording a record-low number of complaints submitted by consumers against mortgage companies, credit card companies, student loan providers, banks, money transfer providers, companies who provide credit reports, and other companies providing consumer loans. With data not available for yesterday, the first four days of the shutdown had daily totals of 37, 16, 13, and 3 complaints. With the

A review this week by Wikinews of US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaints about mortgages in the United States shows Bank of America leads all lending institutions in complaints. Since mortgages complaints were recorded in December 2011, 77,622 total have been added to CFPB's database. 29.2% of these complaints involved Bank of America, with the second most received by Wells Fargo, accounting for 15.5% of all complaints. JPMorgan Chase ranked third by volume of complaints with 9.8%. Ocwen was fourth with 8.7% and Citibank was

A review this week by Wikinews of US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaints about student loans in the United States shows Sallie Mae leads all lending institutions in complaints. Of the 4,851 complaints dating back to March 2012 when the CFPB first began collecting student loan data, 2,262 or 46.6% of all complaints were about the lender. US Federal Reserve data from 2010/2011 shows Sallie Mae is the nation's largest student loan lender, responsible for 25% of the market The other major lenders in this space include Wells Fa

Yesterday at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Real Madrid lost 1–0 to crosstown rival Atlético de Madrid in this year's edition of the Madrid derby. Atlético de Madrid had last defeated Real Madrid in La Liga play in 1999. Diego Costa scored the game's only goal, following an early ten minutes where Real Madrid dominated on possession. Following the goal, Real Madrid was unable to keep up possession and Atlético successfully shut down much of Real Madrid's passing game. Atlético players also slowed down the play with a number of players