'Plastic' Found On Saturn Moon Titan

Scientists have discovered an ingredient of plastic on one of Saturn's moons - the first time the material has been detected on another world.

Nasa's Cassini spacecraft made the remarkable discovery using its infrared spectrometer that can 'feel' heat radiation the same way our hands feel warmth from a fire.

Every chemical has a unique thermal fingerprint and Cassini's spectrometer has isolated traces of propylene - the same chemical used to make food containers - in the lower levels of Titan's atmosphere.

Cassini made the discovery after landing on Titan in 2004

Although it was previously suspected propylene might be present on Titan this is the first time scientists have confirmed its existence with a measure of certainty.

Researchers say the discovery is the missing link in Titan observations that date back to Nasa's Voyager 1 space probe which passed Saturn's moon in 1980.

Back then, Voyager discovered many of Titan's gases were hydrocarbons such as propane and propyne. But the middle chemical propylene has remained the elusive element until now.

An artist's impression of the hazy atmosphere and surface of Titan

Nasa scientist Scott Edgington said: "I am always excited when scientists discover a molecule that has never been observed before in an atmosphere.

"This new piece of the puzzle will provide an additional test of how well we understand the chemical zoo that makes up Titan's atmosphere."

Nasa's infrared spectrometer investigator Michael Flasar said: "This measurement was very difficult to make because propylene's weak signature is crowded by related chemicals with much stronger signals.

Nasa has been studying Titan since the first Voyager probe launched in 1977

"This success boosts our confidence that we will find still more chemicals long hidden in Titan's atmosphere."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a co-operative project of Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency managed by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Boris Backs Jamie Oliver's Work Ethic Concerns

Boris Johnson has risked a fresh row by backing celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's claim that migrant workers work harder than Britons.

The Mayor of London, speaking at the Tory Party conference, called for action to instil a work ethic in young British workers who are unwilling to do jobs they consider "menial".

He acknowledged he might get into trouble by agreeing Oliver "had a point" when he suggested eastern Europeans were more prepared to put in the long hours needed for restaurant work.

Mr Johnson told Tory activists: "Now I can see looks of apoplexy here ... and I can see looks of sad acknowledgement as well and I can see a vague depressed look of recognition.

Controversial: TV chef Jamie Oliver

"I know and you know that there are millions of British kids and young people who are as dynamic and go-getting as any millionaire masterchef.

"But my question to you is what if Jamie has a point? What if he has half a point or even a quarter of a point? Do you think he does?

"He is onto something, he may have phrased it in a provocative way but he was saying something that I think resonates, right?

"If he has a point, we need to think about the possible origins of that difference in motivation that he claims to detect. We need to consider what we politicians are doing about it, don't we?

The Mayor said welfare dependency, failures in education and low-esteem had to be tackled so that Britons can fulfil their "vast and latent" potential.

Mr Johnson said Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Education Secretary Michael Gove were both working to improve Britons' motivation to work.

But he also urged young people not to dismiss certain jobs as beneath them but to see them as "stepping stones" to greater things.

"I'm conscious that I'm speaking very frankly about this issue, and probably got myself into trouble," he told delegates.

His comments came as David Cameron signalled the high-profile politician could return to Parliament as an MP before his mayoral term ends in 2016.

The Prime Minister confirmed he had discussed the idea with Mr Johnson, although aides scotched the idea of him standing in a safe Tory seat in 2015.

Mr Cameron said: "My message to him is 'You're a brilliant Mayor of London, you've done a great job, you've got a lot more to give to public life, and it would be great to have you back in the House of Commons at some stage, contributing to public life'.

"But that's up to him, but I'll certainly be giving him a warm welcome."

Asked if he could foresee his ex-Eton schoolmate's comeback by 2015, he added: "Absolutely - but that's a matter for him. I think he needs to think about - it's his plan.

"All I know that he's a massive asset to the country, a massive asset to the Conservative Party. We could make a very strong team together, we do today."

The Mayor renewed speculation about his leadership ambitions over the weekend by saying the debate on intervention in Syria had fuelled a desire to be back in the Commons.

He repeatedly declined to rule out the possibility of serving as a MP at the same time as completing his term as mayor.

Speculation that he might throw his hat into the ring to replace Richard Ottaway in Croydon South were fuelled after he plugged the town in a rally speech on Monday night.

But a spokesman for the Mayor told the Press Association news agency that he was not putting his name forward for the seat.

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GTA V: Rockstar Warns Of 'Online Problems'

Grand Theft Auto V fans looking forward to the multiplayer version of the game could end up experiencing glitches and connection problems.

The UK developer of the hit game, Rockstar North, said "plenty of issues are bound to occur" and it was "working around the clock to buy and add more servers" to support Grand Theft Auto Online.

Some users - posting shortly after Tuesday's launch - said they were already having problems connecting.

Cal tweeted: "GTA V online is a waste of time at the minute. Absolute server overload!! Going to have to make do with reality."

The online game will let up 16 players team up

Tyler Deshaun ‏added: "Am I the only one that can't get online on GTA V right now?? Server is terrible."

Rockstar tweeted: "For those trying to get into GTA Online today, please bear w/ us on some day one tech connection issues that we're working to stabilize asap".

Sales of GTA V are estimated to have easily topped 10 million since its launch on September 17 - more than expected. It also broke sales records by pulling in £496m ($800m) in just 24 hours.

But the online feature could suffer as a result of its own success as gamers rush to team up with one another.

In a blog post ahead of launch, Rockstar said: "One thing we are already aware of, and are trying to alleviate as fast as we can, is the ... additional pressure on the servers due to a significantly higher number of players than we were anticipating at this point."

The game made nearly $1bn in its first day - a record for a game or film

The Edinburgh-based company will be hoping to avoid the backlash Electronic Arts received over its botched SimCity launch in March, when many gamers reported long delays logging on to the internet to play, as well as crashes.

SimCity developer Maxis later admitted it had been "dumb" not to anticipate the level of demand.

Rockstar also warned that potentially-amusing in-game "crashes, glitches, crazy bugs" would likely be discovered in the first few weeks of online GTA V.

As it noted, such teething troubles are not uncommon and it wants gamers to provide feedback so they can be ironed out.

GTA V Online will let up to 16 players team up over the internet to carry out heists or indulge in a spot of racing around the Southern California landscape. The multiplayer game narrative is set a few months before the storyline in the single-player mode.

Many players on the Rockstar blog are already posting invitations for other gamers to join their "crews".

The 18-rated guns and gangsters game - which had a £170m ($274m) budget - has been widely praised by critics and the public.

Games website IGN called it a "masterpiece", and one of the greatest video games ever made.

Edge magazine called it a "remarkable achievement" that sent a message to the rest of the industry.

However, the game has also reignited concerns among some people about video game violence and the portrayal of women.

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Mummified Boy: Mum Says She Wasn't Worried

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

A mother accused of starving her son to death has told a jury she knew he was thin, but thought he would grow out of it.

Hamzah Khan died in December 2009 aged four-and-a half, and his body lay undiscovered in Amanda Hutton's Bradford home for almost two years.

Experts say tests on his mummified remains show he had the bones of a 12 to 18-month-old baby, and his body had no muscle and almost no flesh when he died.

Amanda Hutton, giving evidence in her trial for manslaughter, said Hamzah's older brother Qaiser had been "really, really thin" until he was five.

Ms Hutton claimed Hamzah's father Aftab had been violent towards her

Asked by defending QC Stephen Meadowcroft if she was worried about Hamzah, she said: "No I wasn't, because Qaiser had been the same and he'd grown out of it. I thought he'd grow out of it."

Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, asked her: "You had a four-and-a-half-year-old child that fitted into a baby-gro for a six to nine-month-old baby, that hadn't been eating and you didn't seek medical attention for him."

The prosecutor showed the defendant a photograph of the baby-gro Hamzah's body was found in, as he asked the question.

Hutton replied: "No I didn't."

She said Hamzah's father Aftab Khan had been violent towards her for most of their long relationship, but admitted Mr Khan told her Hamzah needed help "on occasions".

Hutton denied drinking heavily before Hamzah's death. Mr Greaney said to her: "For a substantial period before Hamzah died drinking was more important to you than his welfare."

Hutton replied: "No, that's not true."

The jury has heard that Hamzah, whose body was found only after a neighbour complained about rubbish from the house, had not been eating enough for at least two years.

Earlier the jury was told when a police officer found his remains in September 2011 the fridge contained only rotten food and ready meals five months past their sell by date.

The oven contained a takeaway container with a slice of rotted pizza in it, and the freezer could not be opened because of the depth of rubbish piled up.

Hutton has admitted child neglect, but denies manslaughter, saying Hamzah would not eat the food she gave him.

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Anastacia: Singer Has Double Mastectomy

Singer Anastacia has undergone a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time earlier this year.

In February the US star cancelled her planned European tour, which was due to start in London on April 6.

The 45-year-old, who was a guest judge on The X Factor last year, has now updated her fans as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

She said in a statement: "In light of Breast Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to take the opportunity to support a cause particularly close to my heart.

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time earlier this year and am currently in the final stages of recovery after undergoing a double mastectomy."

Anastacia was first diagnosed in 2003

She added: "It has been an intense journey but I am feeling great and ready to start the next chapter.

"Breast Cancer Awareness Month gives all who are facing this disease a chance to gain strength and support from each other.

"Early detection has saved my life twice. I will continue to battle and lend my voice in any way I can."

The I'm Outta Love singer said she underwent a double mastectomy with Latissimus Dorsi flap surgical procedure, which involves using muscle and skin from the upper back to reconstruct the breasts.

She was first diagnosed with the disease in 2003 but made a full recovery following radiotherapy and surgery, before her second diagnosis this year.

Angelina Jolie revealed earlier this year that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer.

And X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne confirmed in November that she had undergone a double mastectomy.

She beat colon cancer a decade ago but opted for surgery after finding she carried a gene which increased the risk of developing breast cancer.

Former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton also had a double mastectomy late last year after she was diagnosed with a mutated BRCA2 gene, which meant she had an 80% chance of developing breast cancer and a 30% chance of ovarian cancer.

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Dave Lee Travis Charged With New Sex Offences

Broadcaster Dave Lee Travis has been charged with two further offences of indecent assault.

The allegations relate to a woman aged over 16 between January 1, 1992 and December 31, 1993, Scotland Yard said.

They are in addition to 11 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault the 68-year-old has already been charged with.

Travis, of Mentmore, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, has already appeared in court to face those 12 counts.

During that hearing he indicated he would be pleading not guilty to the charges.

He was released on bail on condition that he lives at his Bedfordshire home and does not contact the alleged victims.

The case was adjourned for a plea hearing on October 21. A trial date was also fixed for March 4 next year with a view to it lasting for up to five weeks.

Travis is due to appear on bail at Westminster Magistrates' Court in relation to the new charges on October 3.

He was charged when he attended a police station by prior appointment, the Metropolitan Police said.

The ex-Radio 1 DJ was first charged on August 15 as part of Operation Yewtree, the police investigation prompted by the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal.

However, the accusations against Travis have no connection to the disgraced television presenter.

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Cameron Supports Ed Miliband In Father Row

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

David Cameron has backed Ed Miliband's response to the Daily Mail over a story attacking his father as "The Man Who Hated Britain."

Speaking to Sky News' Political Editor Adam Boulton, Mr Cameron said that "if someone attacked my Dad I would do the same thing."

Mr Miliband said on Tuesday he was "furious" and "appalled" by the Mail's depiction of his father, Ralph, a top Marxist academic, who fled Belgium aged 16 to escape the Nazis and died in 1994.

David Cameron embraces his father, Ian, on the election trail in 2010

As an extraordinary war of words raged, Mr Miliband declared the newspaper had crossed the line and forced him to speak out to defend his family.

Mr Cameron, whose own father, Ian, a City of London stockbroker, died in 2010, at the age of 77, said he sympathised with Mr Miliband.

He told Sky News: "I haven't read the article but look, I completely understand. If I was in Ed's position if someone attacked my father I would want to also make pretty clear what I feel.

"When you have lost your Dad, there isn't a day that goes by when you don't think of what they meant to you and how much you miss them and if someone attacked my Dad I would do the same thing."

An article published by the Mail on Saturday claimed the Labour leader's father's views "should disturb everyone who loves this country".

Ralph Miliband with sons Ed and David

According to the paper, he wrote in his diary, aged 17: "The Englishman is a rabid nationalist. They are perhaps the most nationalist people in the world…

"You sometimes want them almost to lose [the war] to show them how things are. They have the greatest contempt for the continent. To lose their empire would be the worst possible humiliation."

The Labour leader was furious at the piece and hit back in a rebuttal which was published by the paper on Tuesday.

Pointing towards his father's service in the Royal Navy, he said: "I know they say you can't libel the dead but you can smear them.

"Fierce debate about politics does not justify character assassination of my father, questioning the patriotism of a man who risked his life for our country in World War Two."

Ralph Miliband in his Navy uniform in 1945

But the politician was further enraged because the Mail ran his response alongside an abridged version of the original article and an editorial headlined: "An evil legacy and why we won't apologise."

This prompted Mr Miliband to speak out publicly to defend his father's name, insisting that he always loved Britain because it gave him the security he craved.

"I am speaking out as a son. I was appalled when I read the Daily Mail on Saturday and saw they said he hated Britain. It is a lie," he said.

"I am even more appalled that they have repeated that lie today and gone further to describe my father's legacy as evil. Evil is a word reserved for particular cases and I wasn't willing to let that stand."

Ed Miliband and his father

He added: "It is an unusual step to speak out - I don't do it lightly but I am not willing to see my father's good name undermined in this way ...

"Britain saved his life and this paper is saying that he hated Britain. That is a lie, that is a lie and I am not willing to let it stand."

The politician stressed that the row had nothing to do with press regulation as he revealed he had spoken to his mother and brother David about the articles.

Ralph Miliband and his father shortly after arriving in England in 1940

He insisted that although he expected to be criticised because of his position, there were "boundaries" to political debate that the media and other public figures should respect.

Mr Miliband also attacked the Mail Online website for publishing a picture of his father's grave stone with a pun saying he was a "grave socialist".

"I am furious. What has political debate come to in this country when this happens?," he asked.

"I don't object to people writing about my father's political views - they are a matter of record. They are well known. What I object to is them turning that into him being unpatriotic," he said.

Ralph Miliband in Central Park, New York in 1989

The Press Complaints Commission has now received 12 complaints about the article.

Nick Clegg has also rallied in support of Mr Miliband.

Mr Clegg added on Twitter: "Politics should be about playing the ball, not the man, certainly not the man's family."

A Daily Mail spokesman said: "We ask fair-minded people to read our editorial today. For what this episode confirms is that you cannot allow politicians anywhere near regulating the press.

"While we respect Mr Miliband's right to defend his father - and he has done so in the Daily Mail today - it is worth stressing that Ralph Miliband wasn't an ordinary private individual but a prominent academic and author who devoted his life to promoting a Marxist dogma which caused so much misery in the world.

"He hated such British institutions as the Queen, the Church and the Army, and wanted a workers' revolution. Our readers have a right to know that.

Ralph Miliband and his sister in 1952

"Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is the leading advocate of statutory controls of the press in Britain under which politicians could ultimately decide what appears in newspapers.

"His father - to whom he constantly refers in his speeches - was a proponent of one of the world's most poisonous political doctrines under which freedom of expression was crushed and newspapers controlled by governments."

Hugh Grant - who campaigns for increased press regulation - tweeted: "Warning from Daily Mail. If you stand up to press barons expect to have your hero Dad smeared in national paper."

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New York Bike Path Stabbings: Five Injured

A man wielding a pair of scissors has stabbed five people, including a toddler, on a bike path in New York City.

Reports said a "madman" went on the rampage, attacking people at random near Riverside Drive in Manhattan on Tuesday morning.

Officers said all of the victims are expected to survive, although a woman in her 30s is in a critical condition.

"The guy is a nut. He just took a pair of scissors and started stabbing everyone randomly, including a two to three-year-old child," a police source told the New York Post.

A cyclist who had been slashed went to a Department of Sanitation building on West 59th Street and told workers people had been attacked near a bike path and were bleeding and needed help, the paper said.

A sanitation worker called 911 and ran to the scene to give victims first aid.

Vincent Mallard, 49, a security guard at a nearby building site, said he saw one of the victims, a female jogger about 18 to 20 years old, covered in blood.

"Three ladies were walking up 59th Street. As they got closer, I saw the blood on her neck, arm and back," he told the New York Post.

"She was crying in agony. She told me that a man cut her on the neck. She was panicked.

"I stopped her because I saw police cars down the other end of the street. I ran out into the middle of the street and flagged one down.

"The other two were trying to keep her calm, but they were frantic as well. The cops convinced them to get in the car, and they took off."

Police have arrested a man and are questioning him over the attack.

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Liam Adams Found Guilty Of Raping Daughter

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

Liam Adams, a younger brother of the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, has been found guilty of sexually abusing his daughter nearly 40 years ago.

The 58-year-old, from Bernagh Drive in Belfast, had denied all 10 charges – three of rape, three of gross indecency and four of indecent assault.

The offences were alleged to have occurred between March 1977 and March 1983 when his daughter Aine was aged between four and nine years old.

During a recorded interview, Aine Adams - who has waived her right to anonymity - told a detective that her mother and Uncle Gerry had confronted her father but he denied any wrongdoing.

Jurors heard that she and her mother reported the alleged abuse but then retracted their complaint because police seemed more interested in her father and his brother.

Aine's mother, Sarah Campbell, told her ex-husband's trial that she had learned of the alleged abuse following a disagreement with her daughter in December 1986.

Aine Adams arriving at Belfast Crown Court

She said a note found in her living room read: "Mummy, this is why I am like this. My daddy made me sleep with him."

Liam Adams said he had initially denied being confronted by his brother because he had been brought up not to talk to police about Gerry Adams.

He told the court he had been a community youth worker for 20 years and there had not been one single complaint made about him.

Aine's younger sister, Sinead Rosbotham, alleged that her father had confessed the abuse to her saying: "We will face our demons in our own time."

But Claire Smith, a daughter from his second marriage, and her younger sister, who can't be named for legal reasons, said they had never been abused.

The jury of nine men and three women at Belfast Crown Court had been told to decide the case on the evidence and not on rumour, gossip or speculation.

Bespectacled Adams, who was wearing a grey suit, cream shirt and blue tie, showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were returned.

Remanding him in custody Judge Corinne Philpott said: "Take him down."

In a statement read out by a police officer outside the court, Ms Adams said she could finally begin to move on after a long and hard road to achieve justice.

"I do not see this verdict as a victory or a celebration as it has taken its toll and has caused hurt, heartache and anguish for all those involved.

"I can now begin my life at 40 and lay to rest the memory of the five-year-old girl who was abused," she said.

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Shutdown 'Completely Preventable' - Obama

President Barack Obama has said a government shutdown that idles hundreds of thousands of workers and closes museums and parks nationwide was "completely preventable".

The US leader said he would try to get Congress to restart operations as soon as possible.

America woke up to the shutdown after a deeply polarised Congress failed to agree a new budget in a dispute over Mr Obama's signature health care law.

Mr Obama blames the shutdown on the Republicans

"This shutdown was completely preventable. It should not have happened," Mr Obama said in a letter to government employees.

As the shutdown entered into force, "closed" signs and barricades sprang up at the Lincoln Memorial, museums and federal workplaces across the country.

The White House was operating with minimum staff, including household workers taking care of the first family's residence and presidential aides working in the West Wing.

The shutdown means non-essential services are closing.

That includes some of America's most famous tourist attractions, such as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, and Alcatraz Island near San Francisco.

Almost all of NASA shut down, except for Mission Control in Houston, and national parks closed along with the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. Even the zoo's popular panda cam went dark, shut off for the first time since a cub was born there in late August.

The shutdown affects national parks such as Yellowstone

Workers classified as essential government employees, such as air traffic controllers or Border Patrol agents, continue to work. Members of parliament are deemed essential and will also continue to work.

Up to 800,000 government employees are furloughed. More than a million others could be asked to work without pay.

It is the first US shutdown in 17 years, with analysts concerned about its potential impact on Wall Street and global markets.

A lot will depend on how long it takes politicians to bridge their differences – and there was no immediate sign of compromise on Capitol Hill.

The last shutdown, under the Clinton Administration, lasted 21 days between December 1995 and January 1996.

For now, Democrats and Republicans keep blaming each other.

The Republicans had insisted on delaying the healthcare reform – known as Obamacare - as a condition for passing a bill.

But this approach was rejected by allies of the president, in a series of back-and-forth moves between the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-dominated Senate.

House Speaker John Boehner said Mr Obama refused to negotiate

In the last of such moves, the Senate reconvened in the morning and quickly rejected the House's call to form a negotiating committee to consider delaying the healthcare law in exchange for restarting the government.

Mr Obama's communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, said the White House was open to changes in the healthcare law in future negotiations, but not as part of passing a budget bill.

"What we're not going to do is entertain those kinds of solutions when there is a gun pointed to your head," Ms Palmieri told MSNBC.

The Republicans insisted the fault rested with Democrats who they said were unwilling to make any changes to Obamacare.

House Speaker John Boehner said he did not want a government shutdown, but added the health care law "is having a devastating impact. ... Something has to be done."

The Democrats accused the Republicans of succumbing to the Tea Party hard-line conservatives and seeking to gain political advantage at the expense of citizens.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: "The government is closed because of the irrationality of what's going on on the other side of the Capitol."

Meanwhile, Obamacare itself was unaffected and enrolment opened for millions of people shopping for medical insurance.

The president was to meet with citizens signing up for his healthcare programme and then make a lunch-hour speech in the Rose Garden.

The House of Liberty can be seen only from a distance

The shutdown is likely to further alienate citizens already largely disillusioned by their ruling class and for the most part disappointed with the president's performance, according to the latest polls.

Marc Cevasco, who works in the Department of Veterans Affairs, said the uncertainty of how long the shutdown would last made his uneasy.

"Even if it's just shut down for a week that's a quarter of your pay this month. That means a lot to a lot of people," he said.

The political dysfunction at the Capitol also raised fresh concerns about whether Congress can meet a crucial mid-October deadline to raise the government's $16.7trn debt ceiling.

This would force the country to default on its obligations, dealing a potentially painful blow to the economy and sending shockwaves around global markets.

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