*** Food in Venezuela shows remarkable rates of improvement despite global difficulties, said the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the country, Alexis Bonte. He explained that, in his opinion, these improvements are the result of the increase of investments in the country, the positive changes generated in the oil income and the increase of stability, which generates greater confidence to carry out commercial activities in Venezuela.
*** Brazil's Quaest institute registered this Friday that former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is still leading the presidential race with a lead of eight percentage points over current president Jair Bolsonaro. In this sense, the result of the survey specified that the leader of the Workers' Party, Lula da Silva, has 49 percent of the voting intentions, while Bolsonaro obtained only 41 percent. In the first survey conducted by the institute after the first round of the general elections, the former president had 48 percent of voting intentions, compared to Bolsonaro's 41 percent.
*** Madonna revolutionized the networks after confessing her sexual orientation to her followers. The singer and dancer uploaded a video to her Tik Tok account in which she implied that she made a change in her gender identity.in the video shared by "The Queen of Pop", she can be seen with a pink undergarment and a basket at a relatively short distance. Inside the challenge that the actress made, you can read: "If I fail, I'm gay". And immediately after, it can be seen how she did not make any effort to try to funnel the garment.
*** The death toll from the explosion in a coal mine in the Turkish town of Amasra rose to 28, the Türkiye health minister said Saturday. Through his Twitter account, the Turkish official indicated that they are doing everything necessary to treat 11 injured from the explosion. Rescue teams were continuing Saturday to search for signs of life at the coal mine in northwestern Türkiye after an explosion that left dozens trapped underground.
*** China reserves the right to use force as a last resort against Taiwan if circumstances require it, although peaceful reunification is its preferred option, a Chinese Communist Party spokesman said Saturday. The reunification of China and Taiwan is in the interests of everyone, including Taiwan compatriots, Sun Yeli, who serves as spokesman for the party congress, told a news conference in Beijing. President Xi Jinping is set to win a third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling party, the country's most powerful post, at this Congress, which will be held from tomorrow until next Oct. 22 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Yeli confirmed. The day after the closing, that is to say on October 23, the composition of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, the group of seven or nine personalities that embodies the top echelon of power, including the General Secretary of the CPC, currently Xi Jinping, will be revealed.
*** Australian tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whose decades-long enormous influence in the media have earned him the nickname 'media shark', is considering merging again the companies Fox Corporation and News Corporation, thus unifying the two pillars of his media empire, which was divided in 2013. Both companies reported Friday in respective statements that they have created special committees composed of independent members of their boards of directors to evaluate the possible agreement and its stipulations, after receiving the corresponding letters from Murdoch and his family's foundation. Both Fox Corp and News Corp detailed that "there can be no certainty" that they will be able to reach an agreement.
*** The value of the dollar in Colombia reached its historical maximum this Friday, reaching 4,707 pesos, according to data from the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC). The U.S. currency opened the day with a value of 4,555 pesos and registered a final price of 4,698 pesos. According to experts, the rise in the price of the dollar is due to the cost of living in the US, which in September reached a rate of 8.2%, and to the fall in oil prices. The price of Brent oil futures fell this day by 3.3%, by more than three dollars, to stand at 91.42 dollars per barrel.
*** A group of astronomers has detected barium in the atmospheres of two hot gas giants outside the solar system, WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Barium is the heaviest element found so far on a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun. This finding could contribute to further research into the exotic conditions of 'hot Jupiter' exoplanets, which can have temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius. The gas giants orbiting close to their stars have a fiery day side and a space-facing night side that is very cold.
*** Chinese exporters of winter clothing have been forced to work overtime to fill orders from Europe as the winter season approaches and the energy crisis intensifies. Demand for turtleneck sweaters, coats and winter clothing from Europeans began arriving since April, however, it has multiplied over the past month, Luo Jun, director of Xiamen Premium Import & Export Co, told The Global Times. "Over the past 30 days, the number of requests for men's turtlenecks [garments] in our company's online store increased 13-fold," the executive said, adding that orders "are being shipped and will arrive in Europe soon."
*** British actor Robbie Coltrane, who played Rubeus Hagrid in the 'Harry Potter' films, has died at the age of 72, reports the Hollywood Reporter. Coltrane's agent, Belinda Wright, quoted by Bloomberg, reported that the artist died Friday and thanked the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in the town of Larbert, Scotland, for their "care and diplomacy." The Scottish-born artist, known for his leading roles in the crime series 'Cracker' and in the film franchise based on the books by J. K. Rowling, began his career in comedy and theater. Coltrane is also famous for his appearances in two 'James Bond' films playing the character of Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky, a former Soviet secret service agent turned mobster.