US stocks pare steep losses: Dow down 1.6 per cent
Wall Street stocks tumbled Wednesday as US oil prices sank to fresh 12-year lows, but an afternoon rally significantly cut the session's losses.
US markets were seized much of the day with a selling frenzy following deep losses in overseas equity markets and another plunge in oil prices.
But the market shifted in mid-afternoon, briefly taking the Nasdaq into positive territory and sharply cutting losses for the Dow and S&P 500. At its low point, the Dow was down to 15,450.56, a fall of about 3.5 per cent.
Researchers find possible ninth planet beyond Neptune
The solar system may host a ninth planet that is about 10 times bigger than Earth and orbiting far beyond Neptune, according to research published on Wednesday.
Computer simulations show that the mystery planet, if it exists, would orbit about 20 times farther away from the sun than Earth, said astronomers with the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) in Pasadena.
The object follows a "bizarre, highly elongated orbit in the distant solar system," said a statement by Caltech researchers. "In fact, it would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the Sun."
Jamie Foxx hugs dad of man he saved from burning truck
Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx turned real-life hero on Monday when he pulled a 32-year-old man from a burning truck.
The next day, the man's dad visited Foxx at his home to thank him, and the actor shared their touching embrace on his Instagram account.
"This is all that matters," the Oscar-winning actor wrote. "That a man, a son, a brother's life was spared last night. God had his arms wrapped around all of us... No heroes... Just happy fathers."
A two-year wait for next Star Wars movie, as Disney pushes release date back
Fans of the blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens will have to wait two more years for the next installment as Walt Disney on Wednesday pushed back the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII by seven months.
Episode VIII, written and directed by Rian Johnson, will now be released on Dec 15, 2017, rather than the previously scheduled May 26, 2017, date.
Episode VIII will start filming in London in February.
Football: Anthony Martial and Jamie Vardy sport fastest feet in English Premier League
Manchester United's Anthony Martial and Leicester City's Jamie Vardy are the fastest men in the English Premier League with both strikers clocked at 35.4km/h over five seconds, figures showed Wednesday.
According to the EA Sports' Player Performance Index, Leicester and England striker Vardy set the pace in August in a 2-1 win at West Ham.
Manchester United's French international Martial then matched the Englishman's pace in a 3-3 draw against Newcastle at St James' Park last week.
