বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩১ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Iran, Hezbollah eye terror targets in the West

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Iran's elite Quds Force and Hezbollah militants are learning from a series of botched terror attacks over the past two years and pose a growing threat to the U.S. and other Western targets as well as Israel, a prominent counterterrorism expert says.

Operating both independently and together, the militant groups are escalating their activities around the world, fueling worries in the U.S. that they increasingly have the ability and the willingness to attack the U.S., according to a report by Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies. His report points to two attacks last year ? one successful and one foiled by U.S. authorities ? as indications that the militants are adapting and are determined to take revenge on the West for efforts to disrupt Tehran's nuclear program and other perceived offenses.

The report's conclusions expand on comments late last year from U.S. terrorism officials who told Congress that the Quds Force and Hezbollah, which often coordinate efforts, have become "a significant source of concern" for the U.S. The Quds Force is an elite wing of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, the defenders of Iran's ruling clerics and their hold on power.

The report comes amid ongoing tensions between Iran and the West, including a persistent stalemate over scheduling six-party talks on Tehran's nuclear program and anger over reports that the U.S. and Israel were behind the Stuxnet computer attack that forced the temporary shutdown of thousands of centrifuges at an Iranian nuclear facility in 2010.

More than 20 terror attacks by Hezbollah or Quds Force operatives were thwarted around the world between May 2011 and July 2012, with nine coming in the first nine months of 2012, Levitt said in the report.

"What is particularly striking is how amateurish the actions of both organizations have been: Targets were poorly chosen and assaults carried out with gross incompetence," Levitt said in the report. "But as the groups brush off the cobwebs and professionalize their operations, this sloppy tradecraft could quickly be replaced by operational success."

Levitt is a senior fellow and director of the Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. From 2005 to early 2007, he served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Treasury Department.

The two key attacks, the report said, include the plot by a Texas man to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. Manssor Arbabsiar, a U.S. citizen with an Iranian passport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder-for-hire last October and told the court that Iranian military officials were involved in the planning. Iran has denied that link.

His effort was foiled when he tried to hire what he thought was a drug dealer to carry out the attack in a Washington restaurant. The man was actually a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confidential source.

While that plot highlighted a growing willingness to wage attacks in the U.S., a second, more successful plot in Bulgaria suggests that militants may be learning from their missteps.

Last July, a bomb killed a bus driver and five Israelis, and wounded 30 others, when it struck a tour bus in a caravan. Officials have blamed the attack on Hezbollah.

Other attacks over the past two years have also identified repeated links between Hezbollah and the Quds force ? a long alliance that historically involved the Iranians arming, funding or training the Lebanon-based militants and using them as proxies.

In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last September, Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said "the Quds force, as well as the group that it coordinates with, Lebanese Hezbollah" posed a significant source of concern.

FBI associate deputy director Kevin Perkins added, "We look at it as a serious threat, and ... we are focusing intelligence analysts and other resources on that on a daily basis to monitor that threat."

According to Levitt, the efforts to disrupt Iran's nuclear program have only made Tehran more eager to see a successful attack carried out. He said that both Hezbollah and the Quds Force have been hampered by the increased security triggered by the 9/11 attacks.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-iran-hezbollah-terror-threat-rising-080616459--politics.html

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Cyprus president: Russia ready to help in bailout

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Cyprus' president said Wednesday that Russia is ready to join the European Union in putting together a rescue package for the crisis-hit country.

Dimitris Christofias said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin assured him of Moscow's readiness to "extend a helping hand" to Cyprus in a telephone conversation the previous day.

Christofias didn't specify how much Russia would offer, but said this help could "save" the country.

"It's natural for the Russian Federation to want Cyprus to receive a loan from the EU because it's a member. But at the same time, as an old friend of Cyprus, it would like to help in cooperation with the EU," Christofias told reporters in Belgrade, adding that he's hopeful EU-Russia talks on the issue would be successful.

Christofias said that Cyprus would stick to bailout obligations to reform its economy, even with Russian help.

Cyprus' Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly told the Associated Press in an interview Monday that Russia's contribution to a Cyprus bailout was "probable" and only a "question of time."

Cyprus is trying to finalize with its euro partners a bailout of as much as ?17 billion ($22.8 billion) ? roughly equal to its annual gross domestic product ? to prop up its ailing banks and flagging economy. That amount has raised questions over whether Cyprus could pay off any rescue loan, as its economy is projected to shrink by more than 3.5 percent of GDP and a jobless rate of 14 percent.

A draft of the bailout deal puts the recapitalization needs of Cypriot banks, which were hit hard because of their exposure to bad Greek debt, up to ?10 billion. But Cypriot officials insist the banks' real needs are significantly lower than that.

Cyprus received a low-interest, ?2.5 billion loan from Russia in 2011 when it could no longer borrow from international markets. It has formally asked to extend repayment of the loan from 2016 to 2021. The country sought another ?5 billion from Moscow last year without result.

Cyprus' close ties with Moscow stretch back decades. Most of the ?24 billion Cypriot banks hold in non-resident deposits comes from Russia, while billions in Russian money is reinvested back into the country through Cyprus.

Those ties have given rise to allegations, mainly from Germany, that Cypriot banks are laundering dirty Russian cash and are acting as havens for tax dodgers. Cypriot officials insist the country gets high marks from international anti-money laundering organizations. But German opposition politicians are insisting they see the results of an independent audit of the Cyprus' banks before they approve any bailout.

"The results of the audit need to be made available before the German Parliament votes on the aid package for Cyprus. Promises to improve things alone aren't enough. We deputies need to know what we are voting on," said Joachim Poss, deputy parliamentary chairman of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) in a statement.

____

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-president-russia-ready-help-bailout-103300678--finance.html

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বুধবার, ৩০ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

BlackBerry Z10 spotted at retailers prior to BB10 event

BlackBerry Z10 spotted at retailers prior to BB10 event

Looks like retailers might be jumping the gun a bit on the about-to-be-announced BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. Twitter user @bandozer spotted one at a UK Phones4U retailer and managed to snap a pic (after the break), saying that "it looks and feels good," while our own tipster forwarded us the above image that came from another store. Looks like the only thing that'll stop the numerous leaks is when RIM finally announces the darned thing -- sometime in the next hour or two.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: The Verge

Source: @Bandozer (Twitter)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-z10-spotted-at-uk-retailer-prior-to-bb10-event/

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Top 5 iPhone Apps for Biology Students In 2013

iPhone is not just a source of fun and entertainment;?it is also a valuable device for all the people belonging to various occupations, it is useful in each and every aspect of life, no matter if you are student or a business man, it automatically help you in your professional life. So, if you?re a biology major and want to become a doctor in your life, here are some apps that will help you achieve that. Check out the top 5 iPhone apps for biology students in 2013.

5. Heart Pro III iPhone App

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This is the perfect app for doctors and heart specialist as it allows, them to see the various areas of heart in animated form, so they can easily find out about ailments and injuries. Heart Rate Pro III application contains 19 free animations, 2 types of Quiz, 62 images defining elements of the heart and much more. It also provides you the option of Public Notes, Mix layers and Graphical Hints through which you can adjust animated figure according to ?your choice. Similarly you can zoom picture by just tapping on the screen.

Price: 2.99

Download?Heart Pro III iPhone App from app store.

4.?Pocket Lab Values iPhone App

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Pocket Lab Values is another useful app from the App Store. It is a great app for all medical providers during their training and ?practice sessions, as it contains thousands of information related to medicine, differential diagnoses, relevant websites and critical lab values. In the medical fields sometimes the data may vary from hospital to hospital but using this brilliant app?you can the edit particular data to match with exact institution. You can also write and save notes for you to view later for your reference through Pocket Lab values iPhone app.

Price: 2.99

Download Pocket lab Values iPhone App from app store.

3.?3D Brain iPhone App.

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It is an amazing iPhone app related with brain and its various parts. The application provides you information about every single part of the?brain along with its functions.Using your iPhone touch screen you can easily zoom and rotate around 29 interactive structure. You can also search for case studies, structure, functions, disorders, brain damage and much more through this useful app. All you need to download this wonderful app from the link below..

Price: Free

Download 3D Brain iPhone App from app store.

2. UpToDate iPhone App.

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If?you are looking for?an app which?provides you all the answers, of various question related to biology, then download UpToDate iPhone app from App Store. The application is fully loaded with countless features. The most advanced features of this fantastic app are easy search along with auto complete?option, bookmarks and history and?Mobile-optimized calculators. Using this app you can also email topics and graphics to you patients and colleagues. All you need to download this fascinating app as it is free of cost.

Price: Free

Download Up ToDate iPhone App from app store.

1.?Epocrates iPhone App.

epocrates

The best iPhone app for biology students in this list is Epocrates. It includes wide range of?OTC drugs?, generic and brand of various drugs, along with countless national and regional healthcare insurance policies for drugs coverage information. Using this application you will able to check for potentially harmful drugs and drugs interactions for particular time period. You can also upgrade this app for alternative disease information, medications, lab guides and clinical tools. All you need to download this amazing app which is free of cost!
Price: Free

Download Epocrates iPhone App from app store.

Stay?tuned at?Maypalo?and follow us on?Twitter?or join our?Facebook Fanpage?to keep yourself?updated?on all the latest News.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Maypalo/~3/XdLvOThrnxg/

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The Importance Of Branding Your Business - Graphics/Video ...

The Importance Of Branding Your Business by erad(m): 11:30am On Jan 28Prior to launching an advertising campaign or developing a marketing strategy, it is crucial that you determine your brand?s identity. Simply put, a brand?s identity is its singular ?personality? that serves to identify a company or business and distinguish it from its competitors. Although ?branding? has become a buzzword popularized by entrepreneurs, many people still have trouble grasping what the term means.

So what is branding, exactly? Branding is successfully creating a brand identity that will not only make your business more appealing in comparison to your competitors, but it will also convince consumers that in a sea of prospects, your business is the only one capable of satisfying their needs. Many different components can go into developing a brand, including eye-catching designs and a unique name; however, a brand encompasses more than just a logo. It?s what clients take away from the experience of working with you. It?s what your company stands for and is known for within your market. Coming up with a brand means coming up with what your company promises to deliver, whether that?s perfectly seasoned gourmet pizzas or impeccably tailored shirts. Branding includes the overall style of your company and the meaning it has to clients. Ideally, it would motivate people to buy your products or use your services.

If you don?t define your brand, you create the possibility that someone else will do it for you, including your competitors. Defining you brand allows you to control?or at least influence?how others perceive you. An effective brand marketing strategy minimizes your company?s chances of fading into the background and solidifies your reputation as a veritable force to be reckoned with. Strong branding demonstrates that a company aspires to something greater than just business as usual. By raising your status from a basic commodity to a brand, consumers will be willing to pay a premium for your services or products.

Ultimately, branding is perhaps most essential because it increases the chances that people will remember you, even as the battle for consumers? attention (and money) rages on. A fully-developed brand identity will push your business to the forefront of consumers? minds, making them more likely to recognize you, enlist your services, and remain loyal long after the conclusion of your professional relationship. It takes a lot of time to build (and maintain) these valuable customer relationships. Let me give you a few examples of successful branding:

-Coca Cola: The majority of people instantly recognize this brand. Their logo, the Christmas songs, TV commercials, ads and cans are a part of the Coca Cola branding strategy. This brand has been around for decades, allowing its message to go from generation to generation, and all of Coca Cola?s efforts have paid off. Wouldn?t you agree it is quite hard to imagine a world without Coca Cola?

-McDonald?s: Remember when you were a kid and going to McDonald?s was a treat? Of course you do! This is why you will probably take your (future) children to come and have a quick bite here every once in a while. McDonald?s introduced Happy Meals for children, including a small toy in every meal box. A smart move, given the fact that competitors soon offered similar deals. Furthermore, they incorporated the word ?Mac/Mc? into their product names, like ?McNuggets? or the famous ?Big Mac.? These decisions have had major influence on the way customers perceive the brand.

-Apple: Apple has found a way to become one of the most popular brands in the world by branding themselves successfully. Mac computers aren?t for just anyone, nor are the iPad or the iPhone. The late Steve Jobs was known for his way of presenting new products to the public and used his black turtleneck sweater as part of his strategy. Even the use of putting an ?i? in their product names is all part of Apple?s branding strategy. The designs of the products, the campaigns and product launches are all in sync with Apple?s style and its branding.

You can say that these companies have become experts in business branding, based on their successes. Branding could be perceived as part of marketing or as a separate component, but it is definitely closely related to marketing. Before you start diving into concepts to market your business, make sure you have determined a brand identity and are aware of all the aspects that come with brand management.

from http://www.onlineadvertisingagency.info/2012/02/27/the-importance-of-branding-for-businesses/

2 Likes

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by bigx(m): 5:08pm On Jan 28

Ok.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by yuzedo(m): 5:10pm On Jan 28

Ok.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by cr8v(f): 5:23pm On Jan 28The beautiful symphony of art and business has transformed many kiosk into departmental stores

A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and others

Below is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries

4 Likes

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by ocman: 5:31pm On Jan 28

a business with sign is a dumb one

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by gees_02(m): 5:33pm On Jan 28

finally, a front page thread that actually educates. nice one op.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by braine: 5:34pm On Jan 28Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by cash22(m): 5:45pm On Jan 28

me too

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by Pharoh: 5:49pm On Jan 28

Very educative thread.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by Mr.thunzzz09(m): 6:08pm On Jan 28

this is gr8.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by tripledub: 6:11pm On Jan 28

op.
Thanks for d post. Branding is one critical success factor dat if properly done can skyrocket any business frm zero 2 cash in less than 3yrs. Our business men here in nigeria need to b taught d powers of branding to their business. Although branding is very expensive but if professionally done ll yield more profits to any business on d long run.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by kenbee(m): 6:19pm On Jan 28

thats the key identity of any serious entity. just got mine and it affected my biz positively

This post has been hiddenRe: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by bigfat01: 6:35pm On Jan 28

branding in nIgeria

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by kaysy(m): 6:57pm On Jan 28

thanks to op, i think the only thing am missing out here is the slogan, my business is yet to have a singular slogan that will encapsulate all part/sections of what i really do. well i have to start thinking seriously about it now.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by Brand_new(m): 6:57pm On Jan 28Creating a great brand also goes beyond colours and logo. It includes meeting up with customers expectation thereby getting good reviews and referrals from such customers. Facebook and twitters logos would be useless without giving users a great social networking experience. Same goes for other brands who are into other kinds of business.

So branding also includes meeting up with customers expectation or giving users a wholesome experience. It is when a business achieves this that their customers would be proud to identify themselves with such businesses.

Same also goes for creating a wholesome online presence.

1 Like

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by mich2012: 6:59pm On Jan 28

Nice piece

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by okpara ugo: 7:02pm On Jan 28A girl will never take you serious until you give her your complimentary card, your calendar with your business name on it or a sourvenir.

Am very sure of that one. So i agree that branding is good.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by KBARBIE: 7:05pm On Jan 28

Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by omanifrank(m): 7:08pm On Jan 28

everytin bores to concept

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by erad(m): 7:17pm On Jan 28
KBARBIE: Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?
Yes it's possible... alot of factors need to be taken into consideration though, because an image already exists and the new image is either going to enhance or correct a negative shadow the previous image might have cast on the business.Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by Brand_new(m): 7:26pm On Jan 28
okpara ugo: A girl will never take you serious until you give her your complimentary card, your calendar with your business name on it or a sourvenir.

Am very sure of that one. So i agree that branding is good.

A good enough reason for young entrepreneurs to start branding. Lol!Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by ibide(m): 7:42pm On Jan 28

Op thank u very much even my lectural do not come as far as this

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by ibide(m): 7:43pm On Jan 28

Op thank u very much even my lectural didn't come as far as this

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by GraphicsPlus: 8:10pm On Jan 28Good thread. But u should have changed MacDonalds to Mr. Biggs or ShopRite owing to the fact that MacDonalds hasnt come to Nigeria.

Who says Indomie needs rebranding? Pls dont say that again. Indomie currently remains the leader in the world of noddles in Nigeria.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by erad(m): 8:12pm On Jan 28
GraphicsPlus: Good thread. But u should have changed MacDonalds to Mr. Biggs or ShopRite owing to the fact that MacDonalds hasnt come to Nigeria.

Who says Indomie needs rebranding? Pls dont say that again. Indomie currently remains the leader in the world of noddles in Nigeria.

KBARBIE didn't mean that, she was just using indomie as a brand example to drive in the point of her question.Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by justmenoni: 9:32pm On Jan 28Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by osisey2010: 11:03pm On Jan 28
cr8v: The beautiful symphony of art and business has transformed many kiosk into departmental stores

A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and others

Below is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries

I'd like you to help me create a complimentary card for my business... How do I go about it and how much will it cost me?Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by osisey2010: 11:04pm On Jan 28
cr8v: The beautiful symphony of art and business has transformed many kiosk into departmental stores

A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Your brand is your corporate signature in the market place. It makes you stand out.
Colors
Coming up with your brand identity begins from your choice of colors. Colors convey different meaning in the mind of the beholder. Green for instance stands for nature, renewal, health etc. It will be a good color for a pharmaceutical firm for instance
Logos
With your colors in tact, you can go ahead to create a logo.?Logos are the chief visual component of a company's overall brand identity. Logo should help convey some information about the company, or be designed in a way that gives some sense of meaning about the company or its industry
Tag line
What is the slogan you should be known with. Your tagline summarizes what you stand for in a nutshell.
others
After all these are in place you can go ahead to design your corporate stationeries and others

Below is an example of our branding project, from logo creation to business cards and other stationeries

I'd like you to help me create a complimentary card for my business... How do I go about it and how much will it cost me? N.B. Subsidized rate plsRe: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by Youngzedd: 11:10pm On Jan 28
KBARBIE: Is it possible to brand an existing product? If yes, how do you rebrand a product like indomie?

Tommy tommy suppose answer this question.

What is the difference b/w Tommy tommy and Indomie, I gues you know that, the vegetables inside and packing.
Do something better than that, I product must like something, your work is to fish out what it lacks and ammend urs.

This thread reminded me of what Ewen Chai taught me then.

Re: The Importance Of Branding Your Business by gwuraiyke: 11:13pm On Jan 28NICE NIGERIAN BRANDS....THIS SHOWS THAT WE ARE NOT LEFT BEHIND!
...EHEN THIS KEDRA SPRING WHAT PRODUCT IS THAT. IT SEEMS NOT TO BE COMMON
bigfat01: branding in nIgeria
This post has been hidden

Source: http://www.nairaland.com/1177456/importance-branding-business

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Jamie-Lynn Sigler: Engaged to Cutter Dykstra!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/jamie-lynn-sigler-engaged-to-cutter-dykstra/

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মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it had launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off missile systems that have alarmed the West because the technology could potentially be used to deliver a nuclear warhead.

The Defense Ministry announced the launch as world powers sought to agree a date and venue with Iran for resuming talks to resolve a standoff with the West over Tehran's contested nuclear program before it degenerates into a new Middle East war.

Efforts to nail down a new meeting have failed repeatedly and the powers fear Iran is exploiting the diplomatic vacuum to hone the means to produce nuclear weapons.

The Islamic Republic denies seeking weapons capability and says it seeks only electricity from its uranium enrichment so it can export more of its considerable oil wealth.

The powers have proposed new talks in February, a spokesman for the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday, hours after Russia urged all concerned to "stop behaving like children" and commit to a meeting.

Iran earlier in the day denied media reports of a major explosion at one of its most sensitive, underground enrichment plants, describing them as Western propaganda designed to influence the nuclear talks.

The Defence Ministry said the space launch of the monkey coincided "with the days of" the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, which was last week, but gave no date, according to a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

The launch was "another giant step" in space technology and biological research "which is the monopoly of a few countries", the statement said.

The small grey monkey was pictured strapped into a padded seat and being loaded into the Kavoshgar rocket dubbed "Pishgam" (Pioneer) which state media said reached a height of more than 120 km (75 miles).

"This shipment returned safely to Earth with the anticipated speed along with the live organism," Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi told the semi-official Fars news agency. "The launch of Kavoshgar and its retrieval is the first step towards sending humans into space in the next phase."

There was no independent confirmation of the launch.

SIGNIFICANT FEAT

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters she could not confirm whether Iran had successfully sent a monkey into space or conducted any launch at all, saying that if it had done so "it's a serious concern."

Nuland said such a launch would violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, whose text bars Iran from "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology."

The West worries that long-range ballistic technology used to propel Iranian satellites into orbit could be put to use dispatching nuclear warheads to a target.

Bruno Gruselle of France's Foundation for Strategic Research said that if the monkey launch report were true it would suggest a "quite significant" engineering feat by Iran.

"If you can show that you are able to protect a vehicle of this sort from re-entry, then you can probably protect a military warhead and make it survive the high temperatures and high pressures of re-entering," Gruselle said.

The monkey launch would be similar to sending up a satellite weighing some 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds), he said. Success would suggest a capacity to deploy a surface-to-surface missile with a range of a few thousand kilometers (miles).

Michael Elleman, a missile expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank, said Iran had demonstrated "no new military or strategic capability" with the launch.

"Nonetheless, Iran has an ambitious space exploration program that includes the goal of placing a human in space in the next five or so years and a human-inhabited orbital capsule by the end of the decade," Elleman said. "Today's achievement is one step toward the goal, albeit a small one."

The Islamic Republic announced plans in 2011 to send a monkey into space, but that attempt was reported to have failed.

Nuclear-weapons capability requires three components - enough fissile material such as highly enriched uranium, a reliable weapons device miniaturized to fit into a missile cone, and an effective delivery system, such as a ballistic missile that can grow out of a space launch program.

Iran's efforts to develop and test ballistic missiles and build a space launch capability have contributed to Israeli calls for pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and billions of dollars of U.S. ballistic missile defence spending.

MANOEUVRING OVER NEXT TALKS

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the powers had offered a February meeting to Iran, after a proposal to meet at the end of January was refused.

"Iran did not accept our offer to go to Istanbul on January 28 and 29 and so we have offered new dates in February. We have continued to offer dates since December. We are disappointed the Iranians have not yet agreed," Michael Mann reporters.

He said Iranian negotiators had imposed new conditions for resuming talks and that EU powers were concerned this might be a stalling tactic. The last in a sporadic series of fruitless talks was held last June.

Iranian officials deny blame for the delays and say Western countries squandered opportunities for meetings by waiting until after the U.S. presidential election in November.

"We have always said that we are ready to negotiate until a result is reached and we have never broken off discussions," IRNA quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying.

Salehi has suggested holding the next round in Cairo but said the powers wanted another venue. He also said that Sweden, Kazakhstan and Switzerland had offered to host the talks.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference: "We are ready to meet at any location as soon as possible. We believe the essence of our talks is far more important (than the site), and we hope that common sense will prevail and we will stop behaving like little children."

Ashton is overseeing diplomatic contacts on behalf of the powers hoping to persuade Tehran to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment and accept stricter U.N. inspections in return for civilian nuclear cooperation and relief from U.N. sanctions.

IRAN DENIES FORDOW BLAST

Reuters has been unable to verify reports since Friday of an explosion early last week at the underground Fordow bunker that some Israeli and Western media said wrought heavy damage.

"The false news of an explosion at Fordow is Western propaganda ahead of nuclear negotiations to influence their process and outcome," IRNA quoted deputy Iranian nuclear energy agency chief Saeed Shamseddin Bar Broudi as saying.

In late 2011 the plant at Fordow began producing uranium enriched to 20 percent fissile purity, well above the 3.5 percent level normally needed for nuclear power stations.

While such higher-grade enrichment remains nominally far below the 90 percent level required for an atomic bomb, nuclear proliferation experts say the 20 percent threshold represents the bulk of the time and effort involved in yielding weapons-grade material - if that were Iran's goal.

Tehran says its enhanced enrichment is to make fuel for a research reactor that produces isotopes for medical care.

Diplomats in Vienna, where the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is based, said on Monday they had no knowledge of any incident at Fordow but were looking into the reports.

"I have heard and seen various reports but am unable to authenticate them," a senior diplomat in Vienna told Reuters.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which regularly inspects declared Iranian nuclear sites including Fordow, had no immediate comment on the issue.

Iran has accused Israel and the United States of trying to sabotage its nuclear program with cyber attacks and assassinations of its nuclear scientists. Washington has denied any role in the killings while Israel has declined to comment.

(Additional reporting by William Maclean and Marcus George in Dubai, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Robin Pomeroy, Jon Hemming and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-monkey-space-showing-missile-progress-003037176.html

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IRL: HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

We swear we didn't plan it this way, but it looks like we've got a little trifecta this week, with write-ups pertaining to Apple, Google and, last but not least, Microsoft. On the pessimistic end of the spectrum, Dana would rather have the third-generation iPod shuffle than the model she's using. Terrence is hooked on Google Now and Jon likes the HTC 8X -- just not as much as the Lumia 920.

HTC 8X

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle What's this? Another Windows Phone 8 test? Yes, while I was trying the Lumia 920 and before I reviewed the ATIV S, I felt it was only fair to give the third flagship of the platform, HTC's Windows Phone 8X, a proper shakedown. I spent a few weeks with one to gauge the differences and came back with the impression that HTC has a worthy flagship -- but not necessarily the one I'd choose for myself.

If you talk solely about ergonomics, the 8X is undoubtedly my first pick. It's much lighter and grippier than the Lumia 920, and the smaller screen makes it easier to reach every corner with one hand than the ATIV S. About the only reservations I have are that hard-to-press power button and the relatively sharp edges. The stand-out appearance can't help but sway me, too. If you get the phone in one of the bolder colors (read: not black), it's simply iconic. No one will mistake an 8X for another phone, while both the ATIV S and Lumia 920 have familiar-looking peers.

Yet there are a few ingredients missing that make it hard to call HTC's creation my perfect Windows Phone 8 device. Simply speaking, the camera just isn't as good as it needs to be in early 2013. While the 8X is sometimes a better pick for up-close photography than the Lumia 920, it falls apart in low-light situations where the Lumia is a champ. Nokia Maps isn't vital, but I missed its navigation when I switched devices -- at least there's now the Drive+ beta for those that need it. And I'll have to admit that being Canadian skews my preferences towards the Nokia phone's glove-friendly screen: it's great to avoid the binary choice of making a phone call versus preserving my fingers. While I'd be inclined to choose the 8X over the ATIV S as long as storage wasn't a priority, I would still give Nokia the ultimate nod as the most relevant to real-world use.

-- Jon Fingas

Google Now

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle Pretty much from the moment I first launched Google Now it changed the way I interacted with my phone. I've used Siri and toyed with S Voice, but Now is the only virtual assistant that seems like more than an occasionally useful gimmick. Truth is, at this point I unlock directly into it almost as often as I go to the home screen. Sure, in the early days its functionality was fairly limited (and still is), but there was enough information presented by default to keep me coming back. When Gmail was added to its repository of information, the app became a true game-changer for me. While other "assistant" apps are little more than voice commands with personality, Now actually helps track information for you and presents it at valuable times. I don't have to ask what the weather is like or how long it'll take me to get to my next appointment -- it just tells me without prompting.

Of course, things aren't perfect. Now still has a lot of rough edges to work out. For one, the mobile boarding pass feature has yet to work as advertised for me, though, its flight tracking feature turns out to be quicker and more accurate than United's own app. It also stumbles a bit on tracking packages. I like that it recognizes tracking numbers and presents them to me with a quick link, but Now doesn't actually do any tracking itself. Instead it simply shows the card to you for a predetermined amount of time. That's fine if you're enjoying free two-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime, but if your delivery takes more than a couple of days the card disappears before the box hits your doorstep. It also has an unfortunate habit of presenting me directions to a "new place" almost any time I perform a web search. Oh, and some higher-res icons for the sports score cards would be greatly appreciated.

None of that is enough to ruin the experience, however. If I need to know when my bus is coming, what the temperature is, if my flight is on time or even how many steps I took this month I simply swipe up on my Nexus lock screen and let Google do the work for me. What's more, things can only get better as the company improves its algorithms, opens up new sources of data and, hopefully, develops an API to let other apps tap into the power of Now.

-- Terrence O'Brien

iPod shuffle (fourth generation)

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle We runners are a superstitious bunch. In my training group, "Nothing new on race day" is our mantra, and it's one to which I've adhered earnestly. It goes without saying that new shoes, running shorts and Snozberry-flavored energy gels are out of the question, but I even get antsy about wearing my Spibelt around my waist instead of my hips. Yeah, I'm neurotic, but running 26.2 miles is scary, yo.

So I was none too pleased when I had a gadget emergency the week before the 2011 New York City Marathon. I'd been training with the Sansa Clip Zip for two months when it abruptly began having mood swings. It started repeating songs, even when I had set my library to shuffle. Sometimes, if it encountered a song it didn't like, it just froze. On a good day, I could side-step the issue by selecting a different artist or song. At its worst, the only way to revive it was to perform a hard reset.

Obviously, that wasn't going to cut it for my epic run, so I did what any desperate person would do: I went to Best Buy and spent $50 on an iPod shuffle. Truly, I would have preferred something like the nano, which would have let me choose specific songs, but I wasn't about to drop $149 on what was essentially an impulse buy. Fifty bucks was about as much as I was willing to spend without having had the opportunity to hem and haw over my purchase.

So I used it. And it was okay. The clip doesn't feel as strong as on the third-generation model. Also, it came with regular headphones (i.e., ones without inline controls), which meant I had to press the player on the device to pause the music and skip tracks. To this day, I find the keys a bit too small, and I often hit the wrong one, mistaking pause for fast-forward, etc. Fortunately, I've since subbed in a pair with an inline remote, which means I barely have to touch the device anymore (except, perhaps, to reposition it in a place where the clip will stay put). Battery life was initially awesome -- I got through that nearly six-hour marathon (oof) with plenty of juice to spare. It's since seen better days, though, to the point where I now have to recharge it several times a week. Faint praise, if ever you've heard it, but at least it doesn't force me to listen to the same Madonna song over and over. That would just be cruel.

-- Dana Wollman

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OgdAIHqtN2o/

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Engineers use evolution to improve solar cell design

15 hrs.

Scientists are using principles of natural selection to evolve a more efficient solar cell.

Engineers at Northwestern University wrote a computer program that "mates" design elements and assesses the fitness of their "offspring" to come up with the most efficient possible organic solar cell. Organic solar cells are made with the so-called organic elements ? carbon, oxygen and nitrogen ? and are cheaper to make, lighter and more flexible than the traditional silicon cells available in solar panels today.

Organic cells aren't as efficient at turning the sun's energy into electricity as silicon cells, however. Many research groups are working to improve organic solar cells' efficiency. If they work well, such cells could go into? electricity-producing windows ?or clothes.

In their work, the Northwestern researchers focused on the top layer of an organic solar cell, called the scattering layer, which traps photons from sunlight. They wanted a scattering layer that would hold photos for a greater amount of time.

"We wanted to determine the geometry for the scattering layer that would give us optimal performance," Cheng Sun, a mechanical engineer and one of the creators of the new organic solar cell,? said in a statement. "But with so many possibilities, it's difficult to know where to start, so we looked to laws of natural selection to guide us."

Sun and his colleagues' program simulated more than 20 generations of matings to come up with their final design. The program also mimicked the biological processes of mutation and an exchange of traits called crossing over.

The resulting design traps photons for three times as long as the Yablonovitch Limit, which describes how long a photon is likely to stay in a semiconducting material. Researchers have only been able to reach and break the Yablonovitch Limit in the last few years.?

The engineers? published their work ?Jan. 3 in the journal Scientific Reports.

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/engineersscientists-evolve-super-efficient-solar-cell-1C8124835

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Poor sleep in old age prevents the brain from storing memories

Jan. 27, 2013 ? The connection between poor sleep, memory loss and brain deterioration as we grow older has been elusive. But for the first time, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found a link between these hallmark maladies of old age. Their discovery opens the door to boosting the quality of sleep in elderly people to improve memory.

Postdoctoral fellow, Bryce Mander, demonstrates how the sleep study was conducted.

UC Berkeley neuroscientists have found that the slow brain waves generated during the deep, restorative sleep we typically experience in youth play a key role in transporting memories from the hippocampus -- which provides short-term storage for memories -- to the prefrontal cortex's longer term "hard drive."

However, in older adults, memories may be getting stuck in the hippocampus due to the poor quality of deep 'slow wave' sleep, and are then overwritten by new memories, the findings suggest.

"What we have discovered is a dysfunctional pathway that helps explain the relationship between brain deterioration, sleep disruption and memory loss as we get older -- and with that, a potentially new treatment avenue," said UC Berkeley sleep researcher Matthew Walker, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study to be published Jan. 27, in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The findings shed new light on some of the forgetfulness common to the elderly that includes difficulty remembering people's names.

"When we are young, we have deep sleep that helps the brain store and retain new facts and information," Walker said. "But as we get older, the quality of our sleep deteriorates and prevents those memories from being saved by the brain at night."

Healthy adults typically spend one-quarter of the night in deep, non-rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Slow waves are generated by the brain's middle frontal lobe. Deterioration of this frontal region of the brain in elderly people is linked to their failure to generate deep sleep, the study found.

The discovery that slow waves in the frontal brain help strengthen memories paves the way for therapeutic treatments for memory loss in the elderly, such as transcranial direct current stimulation or pharmaceutical remedies. For example, in an earlier study, neuroscientists in Germany successfully used electrical stimulation of the brain in young adults to enhance deep sleep and doubled their overnight memory.

UC Berkeley researchers will be conducting a similar sleep-enhancing study in older adults to see if it will improve their overnight memory. "Can you jumpstart slow wave sleep and help people remember their lives and memories better? It's an exciting possibility," said Bryce Mander, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at UC Berkeley and lead author of this latest study.

For the UC Berkeley study, Mander and fellow researchers tested the memory of 18 healthy young adults (mostly in their 20s) and 15 healthy older adults (mostly in their 70s) after a full night's sleep. Before going to bed, participants learned and were tested on 120 word sets that taxed their memories.

As they slept, an electroencephalographic (EEG) machine measured their brain wave activity. The next morning, they were tested again on the word pairs, but this time while undergoing functional and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans.

In older adults, the results showed a clear link between the degree of brain deterioration in the middle frontal lobe and the severity of impaired "slow wave activity" during sleep. On average, the quality of their deep sleep was 75 percent lower than that of the younger participants, and their memory of the word pairs the next day was 55 percent worse.

Meanwhile, in younger adults, brain scans showed that deep sleep had efficiently helped to shift their memories from the short-term storage of the hippocampus to the long-term storage of the prefrontal cortex.

Co-authors of the study are William Jagust, Vikram Rao, Jared Saletin and John Lindquist of UC Berkeley; Brandon Lu of the California Pacific Medical Center and Sonia Ancoli-Israel of UC San Diego.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Berkeley. The original article was written by Yasmin Anwar.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Bryce A Mander, Vikram Rao, Brandon Lu, Jared M Saletin, John R Lindquist, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, William Jagust, Matthew P Walker. Prefrontal atrophy, disrupted NREM slow waves and impaired hippocampal-dependent memory in aging. Nature Neuroscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3324

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/mPkLDBVS1dI/130127134212.htm

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Chavez starting more cancer treatment in Cuba

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) ? Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has begun additional medical treatment in Cuba after struggling with complications following cancer surgery more than six weeks ago, a government spokesman said Saturday.

Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said that it remains unclear how soon Chavez could return home, and did not specify the kind of treatment he is receiving.

"Vice President (Nicolas) Maduro estimates that the time it could take President Chavez to return is within weeks. But we haven't wanted to fix an exact timeframe for the president's recuperation," Villegas told reporters on the sidelines of summit meeting in Chile.

He read a statement that went beyond past government reports in providing additional information about Chavez's Dec. 11 surgery, but didn't describe the newest treatment. While refusing to release many details about the president's cancer, authorities in the past have reported on specific treatments, including radiation and chemotherapy.

"Forty-five days after carrying out a complex surgical intervention for the removal of a malignant lesion in the pelvis, with severe, acute complications, the patient's general evolution is favorable," Villegas said, reading the statement.

"At this time, the serious respiratory infection has been overcome, although a certain degree of respiratory deficiency persists and is being duly treated," Villegas said.

After that improvement, Villegas said, "systemic medical treatment for the fundamental illness began to be applied as a complement to the surgery."

Chavez hasn't appeared or spoken publicly since before the operation.

Maduro said early Saturday after meeting with Chavez in Cuba that the ailing president is now "in the best moment we've seen him in these days of struggle" following the surgery.

Maduro spoke on state television after returning from Havana to Venezuela, and before he traveled to Chile for the summit.

"We're taking a message prepared by the president, and we're going to turn it over to heads of state who attend the CELAC summit. He makes fundamental proposals," Maduro said, adding that the message was in Chavez's handwriting.

Maduro said Chavez also sent a message for Venezuelans, including that he was "very optimistic" about his treatment. Maduro said Chavez is "hanging on to Christ and to life."

Chavez has undergone repeated surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer. He has undergone much of his treatment in Cuba.

The 58-year-old president won re-election in October, and lawmakers indefinitely put off his inauguration earlier this month in a decision that was condemned by opponents but upheld by the Supreme Court.

The vice president said that Chavez "has reviewed and evaluated reports on different areas and has made decisions."

He said Chavez evaluated the country's economic situation and budget and made decisions about gold reserves, funding for public housing projects and "social investments and economic development." Maduro didn't give more details but said the actions approved by the president were intended to "guarantee the country's economic growth, infrastructure, housing."

Maduro said that one of the documents signed by Chavez dealt with the selection of his socialist party's candidates for mayoral elections later this year. The vice president showed the signature in red ink on one of the documents.

___

Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda and Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chavez-starting-more-cancer-treatment-cuba-231848932.html

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Real estate notes | TribLIVE


By Sam Spatter

Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 9:00?p.m.
Updated 22 hours ago

? Heartland Homes, which is now part of NVR Inc., plans a preview of its 14-lot residential subdivision, Waterford Place in MCandless, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at its Pinecrest community in Pine. The new community will be off Ringeisen Road. The homes will feature HardiePlank siding, brick water tables, concrete driveways and upgraded landscape packages, said Kevin Oakley of Heartland.

? At a hearing Thursday before the Pittsburgh Zoning Board of Adjustment, Jacob B. Metz will seek an exception to operate a recycling processing center in 10,400 square feet of a two-story structure at 2235 Mary St., South Side. Kenneth Jeffrey Hanna Jr. wants to use 600 square feet in an attached garage of 919 N. St. Clair St., Highland Park, for brewery manufacturing as a home occupation.
E Squared Construction wants an OK for a 4,800-square-foot expansion of a restaurant and banquet hall in a three-story structure at 710 N. Homewood Ave. Melody Farrin wants to have four poultry birds as an urban agriculture accessory at a single-family dwelling, 1126 Winterton St., Highland Park. Waterford Land Partners LP will return to seek approval for 31 two-story single-family attached dwellings on Davison Street, Lawrenceville.

? Dan Jones of Precision Home Inspections Inc., based in Connellsville, was honored by the American Society of Home Inspectors for 15 years of membership. Jones, a ASHI certified inspector since 1998, does pre-listing and maintenance inspections in southwestern Pennsylvania. Precision conducts inspections of new and previously owned homes,

? A free seminar, ?Is Real Estate Your New Career?? will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Northland Public Library, 300 Cumberland Road, off McKnight Road, by Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Cindy Criss and Cathy Winghart will co-host the event. For reservations, call 412-934-3400 or 412-366-3100.

? The franchise owners of CMIT Solutions in Western Pennsylvania, a provider of managed services and other computer consulting services, will expand the number of offices by up to five over the next few months. Two offices are already in the region. Sam Gupta and his partner, Sunny Yalamarthy, are looking at Downtown, Monroeville and the South Hills, among other sites. Karen Stephens covers northern Allegheny and southern Butler counties. There is a North Hills office.

? Allegheny County and the county Parks Foundation will host two meetings on Wednesday to obtain public input on projects in North Park and South Park. At the North Park meeting in Rose Barn, Pearce Mill Road, GAI Consultants will show schematic designs for the Lake Trail Gateways and Municipal Row Path. At the South Park meeting in the Park Home Economics Building, Buffalo Drive, Pashek Associates will present design options for the Playgrounds Oval. Both meetings start at 7 p.m.

? America?s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses has opened in Town Marketplace, Monaca, its seventh store in the region.

Sam Spatter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.

He can be reached at 412-320-7843 or sspatter@tribweb.com.

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Source: http://triblive.com/business/realestate/3335341-74/park-road-south

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শনিবার, ২৬ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Yeah, but what if somebody tries to jack your Trans Am? (Unqualified Offerings)

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Polar bear occupies Shell station in Davos over Arctic drilling

DAVOS, Switzerland - Activists with a big fake polar bear have occupied a Shell service station in the Swiss resort of Davos to protest Royal Dutch Shell PLC's oil drilling in the Arctic.

About 25 activists from around Europe chained gas pumps together Friday at the station near where the World Economic Forum was being held and hung a banner on the roof reading "Arctic Oil - Too Risky."

Greenpeace helped stage the protest, raising concerns about dangers to the environment from Shell's drilling in Alaska and urging forum organizers to reconsider Shell's participation. A Shell drill barge ran aground on a remote Alaska island on New Year's Eve.

Shell officials, among the 2,500 corporate and political leaders in Davos this week, did not immediately respond to phone calls about the protest.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/davos-activists-occupy-shell-station-protest-arctic-drilling-110012885.html

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Angry protests, clashes on Egypt anniversary

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptians delivered an angry backlash against President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood on Friday, marking the second anniversary of the start of the country's revolution with tens of thousands filling major squares and streets around the country to call for a new regime change.

Two years to the day that protesters first rose up against now-toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is entrenched in the new phase of its upheaval ? the struggle between ruling Islamists and their opponents, played out on the backdrop of a worsening economy.

Rallies turned to clashes near Tahrir Square and outside the presidential palace in Cairo and in multiple cities around the country, with police firing tear gas and protesters throwing stones. At least four people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in the day's worst clashes, in the city of Suez, where protesters set ablaze a building that once housed the city's local government.

More than 370 were injured nationwide, the Health Ministry said, including five in Suez with gunshot wounds, raising the possibility of a higher death toll, the state news agency said.

Friday's rallies appeared to have brought out at least 500,000 opposition supporters, a small proportion of Egypt's 85 million people, but large enough to suggest that opposition to Morsi and his Islamist allies is strong in a country fatigued by two years of political turmoil, surging crime and a free falling economy that is fueling popular anger. Protests ? and clashes ? took place in at least 12 of Egypt's 27 provinces, including several that are Islamist strongholds.

"After what happened to me, I will never leave until Morsi leaves," said protester Sara Mohammed after she was treated for tear gas inhalation during clashes outside the president's palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district. "What can possibly happen to us? Will we die? That's fine, because then I will be with God as a martyr. Many have died before us and even if we don't see change, future generations will."

The immediate goal of the opposition was to have a show of strength to push Morsi to amend the country's new constitution, which was pushed through by his Islamist allies and rushed through a national referendum last month.

But more broadly, protesters are trying to show the extent of public anger against the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization Morsi hails from, which they say is acting unilaterally and taking over the state rather than setting up a broad-based democracy.

Morsi is Egypt's first freely elected and civilian president, a significant feat given that all his four predecessors were of military background. But his six months in office have been marred by some of the worst crises since Mubarak's ouster and divisions that have left the nation scarred and in disarray. A giant wave of demonstrations erupted in November and December following a series of presidential decrees, since rescinded, that gave Morsi near absolute powers, placing him above any oversight, including by the judiciary.

The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies, including the ultraconservative Salafis, have justified their hold by pointing to their string of election victories the past year ? though the opposition says they have gone far beyond what in many ways is a narrow mandate ? Morsi won the presidency with less than 52 percent of the vote. Brotherhood officials have increasingly depicted the opposition as undemocratic, trying to use the streets to overturn an elected leadership.

Thursday night, Morsi gave a televised speech that showed the extent of the estrangement between the two sides. He denounced what he called a "counter-revolution" that is "being led by remnants of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime to obstruct everything in the country."

Unlike in 2012, when both sides made a show of marking Jan. 25 ? though, granted, not together ? the Brotherhood stayed off the streets for Friday's anniversary. The group said it was honoring the occasion with acts of public service, like treating the sick and planting trees.

On the horizon are key elections to choose a new lower house of parliament. The opposition is hoping it can leverage public anger into a substantial bloc in the legislature, but it is still trying to weld together an effective campaign coalition in the face of Islamists' strength at the ballot box. Last winter, the Brotherhood and Salafis won around 75 percent of the lower house's seats, though the body was later disbanded by court order.

Pending the election of a new lower house, Morsi gave legislative powers to parliament's Islamist-dominated upper house, a normally toothless chamber that only about seven percent of Egypt's 50 million eligible voters bothered to elect in balloting last year.

The violence Friday pointed to the increasing tempers among some in the opposition, particularly younger men who have been the most restive. Clashes erupted outside the presidential palace when youths tried to push through a police barricade outside the gates. In other cities, protesters tried to break into offices of the Brotherhood's political party or government and security buildings.

Beyond the violence, the protests re-created the tone of the 18-day uprising against Mubarak, including the same chants, this time directed against Morsi ? "Erhal! Erhal!", Arabic for "leave, leave" and "the people want to topple the regime."

Some of the protesters are planning sit-in strikes in major squares and streets, insisting that they will not go home before Morsi leaves office.

Standing near Tahrir Square, retiree Ahmed Afifi declared that he joined Friday's protests because he was struggling to feed his five children on less than $200 a month.

"I am retired and took another job just to make ends meet," he said, his eyes tearing. "I am close to begging. Under Mubarak life was hard but at least we had security ... The first people hit by high prices are the poor people right here."

Tens of thousands massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where the 2011 uprising began, and outside Morsi's palace. Banners outside the palace proclaimed, "No to the corrupt Muslim Brotherhood government" and "Two years since the revolution, where is social justice?" Others demonstrated outside the state TV and radio building overlooking the Nile.

In two towns in the Nile Delta, Menouf and Shibeen el-Koum, protesters blocked railway lines, disrupting train services to and from Cairo. In Ismailia on the Suez Canal, protesters stormed the building housing the provincial government, looting some of its contents. There were also clashes outside Morsi's home in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiyah.

The demands of Friday's protesters vary. Some on the extremist fringe of Egypt's loosely knit opposition want Morsi to step down and the constitution adopted last month rescinded. Others are calling for the document to be amended and early presidential elections held.

"There must be a constitution for all Egyptians. A constitution that every one of us sees himself in it," opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said in a televised message posted on his party's website.

Egypt's bestselling novelist and democracy campaigner Alaa al-Aswany marched with ElBaradei on Friday to Tahrir. "It is impossible to impose a constitution on Egyptians, a constitution which was sponsored by the Supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the revolution today will bring this constitution down," he said.

Protester Ehab Menyawi said he felt no personal animosity against the Brotherhood but opposed its approach toward Morsi as Egypt's first freely elected leader.

"The Brotherhood thinks that reform was achieved when their man came to power and that in itself is a guarantee for the end of corruption," he said as he marched from the upscale Cairo district of Mohandiseen to Tahrir with some 20,000 others.

Morsi has kept government policy-making and the choice of appointments almost entirely within the Brotherhood. Members and supporters of the group are being installed bit by bit throughout the state infrastructure ? from governor posts, to chiefs of state TV and newspapers, down to preachers in state-run mosques.

Many were also angered by the constitution and the manner of its adoption. Islamists finalized the draft in a rushed, all-night meeting, throwing in amendments to fit their needs, then pushed it through a swift referendum in which only a third of voters participated. The result is a document that could bring a much stricter implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law, than modern Egypt has ever seen.

Looming over the struggle between the opposition against the Islamists is an economy that has been in tatters since Mubarak's ouster. The vital tourism sector has slumped, investment shriveled, foreign currency reserves have tumbled, prices are on the rise and the local currency has been sliding.

More pain is likely in the coming months if the government implements unpopular new austerity measures to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

"Egypt is in a bad place, It's been wholly consumed with issues of power, and governance has been left by the wayside. None of this had to be," said Michael W. Hanna, a senior fellow at the New York-based Century Foundation.

____

Associated Press reporters Aya Batrawy and Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/angry-protests-clashes-egypt-anniversary-221221538.html

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