Timbuktu revels in new freedom but fears linger

A Malian soldier passes as Malian women flock the central market in Gao, northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Freed from Islamic rule over the week-end, women started coming out wearing bright colors, makeup and jewels, after 10 month of black veils and sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A Malian soldier passes as Malian women flock the central market in Gao, northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Freed from Islamic rule over the week-end, women started coming out wearing bright colors, makeup and jewels, after 10 month of black veils and sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Malian women flock the central market in Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. The mission by French troops scored another success in its effort to dislodge the al-Qaida-linked militants from northern Mali, and freed from Islamic rule over the weekend, women started coming out wearing bright colors, makeup and jewels, after 10 month of black veils and sharia laws. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Map shows developments in Mali

French special forces drive through the city of Gao, Northern Mali, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Islamist extremists fled the city Saturday after French, Chadian and Nigerien troops arrived, ending 10 months of radical islamic control over the city.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) ? A leaflet listing the regulations for women under Islamist rule now lies in dirt here at the tribunal in Timbuktu. Rule No. 1: The veil should cover the entire body. Rule No. 4: The veil cannot be colored. And Rule No. 8: The woman should not perfume herself after putting on the all-enveloping fabric.

Several days after French special forces parachuted in and liberated this storied city, there is a growing sense of freedom. Though in the houses immediately facing the Islamic tribunal, many of the 8- and 9-year-old girls are still wearing the head covering.

"It is out of fear of the Islamists that they still wear this, says Diahara Adjanga, the mother of one girl said Thursday."They hit everyone ? even children."

The Islamists seized control of Timbuktu and the other northern provincial capitals of Gao and Kidal last April. During the nearly 10 months of their rule, the al-Qaida-linked extremists imposed harsh regulations for women and publicly whipped those who went in public without veils.

Across northern Mali, the Islamists stoned to death a couple accused of adultery, and amputated the hands of suspected thieves in actions reminiscent of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The French military launched an intervention to oust the Islamists from power in northern Mali on Jan. 11 and rapidly forced their retreats from the major towns in less than three weeks' time.

Fatouma Traore, 21, said that there was one commander who was especially brutal to the women in Timbuktu.

"We don't want the army to catch him. It's the women who want to arrest him so that we can kill him ourselves. ... Even if you're talking to your own blood brother on the stoop of your house, they hit you. Even if you are wearing the veil, and it happens to slip off, they hit you. This man, Ahmed Moussa, he made life miserable for women. Even an old grandmother if she's not covered up, he would hit her."

She picks up her 1-year-old niece and hoists her on one hip, saying: "We even bought a veil for this baby."

Timbuktu still looks mostly deserted, four days after it was liberated from Islamist rule.

The electricity and the phone networks remain cut. At night, the only illumination is the light given off by people's cell phones and the flashlights they have inside shops and hotels.

At the entrance to the town, there is a single checkpoint manned by a few Malian soldiers who flag down entering cars. Each car that is allowed to enter the city at night is signaled by a warning shot fired into the air.

A French armored personnel carrier on Thursday stood sentinel in the middle of the city. In the market, over a dozen shops owned by the city's Arab population have been gutted, pillaged by the population because the town's Arab citizens were suspected of having been allied with the Islamists.

Ousmane Halle, the mayor of Timbuktu, toured the city in a pickup truck on Thursday, flanked by three bodyguards. He had returned on a special flight after a temporary exile in the capital of Bamako, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southwest.

He said authorities were scouring the city for landmines, after reports that the Islamists planted explosives.

"We have roped off some streets and are preventing access to suspicious buildings," Halle said.

On Thursday, the Malian military said four soldiers were killed and five others wounded by a land mine on the road to Gao, fueling such fears.

Modibo Traore said the deaths took place in Gossi, a city that had been under the control of Islamists until recently.

In Timbuktu, French forces have been searching the town for land mines including at the city's largest mosque, where they were called in by the imams who said that the Islamists had left behind piles of dirt.

Lt. Sarah, a spokeswoman for the French military who could only be identified by her first name in keeping with military protocol, said so far nothing had been found.

Capt. Frederic, in charge of communications for France's 3rd Mechanized Brigade, which took part in the liberation of Timbuktu, said that when they took the city's airport on Monday the French found the runway was dotted with large hillocks of dirt.

Fearing that they contained hidden mines, French landmine specialists were called in, and they worked methodically to clear the 3- kilometer (1.8-mile)-long landing strip, he said.

However, Moussa Traore, a 26-year-old teacher in Timbuktu, said the sense of freedom already is overwhelming despite the uncertainty and security fears.

"We were totally deprived of our liberty. We couldn't listen to music, we couldn't play soccer. We couldn't wear the clothes we wanted. We couldn't hang out with the girls we liked," he said. "Now we can do everything ? we can listen to music, we can kick a ball, we can flirt. All I can do is say: Thank you God."

___

Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Sevare, Mali contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-31-Mali-Fighting/id-2aec77df0b104a8b9058e8dc553fffd2

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Pigeon 'Bermuda Triangle' solved

30 January 2013 Last updated at 20:11 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service

The mystery of the "Bermuda Triangle" of the homing pigeon world may have been solved.

For years, scientists have been baffled as to why the usually excellent navigators get lost when released from a particular site in New York State.

But new research suggests the birds are using low frequency sounds to find their way around - and they cannot hear the rumble at this US location.

The study is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

The lead author of the paper, Dr Jonathan Hagstrum, from the US Geological Survey, said that the birds were creating "acoustic maps" of their surroundings.

But some other researchers said the theory was controversial and there was much debate over how homing pigeons navigate so efficiently.

Catch the pigeon

The puzzle of the vanishing pigeons began in the 1960s.

Professor Bill Keeton from Cornell University was trying to understand the birds' astonishing ability to find their way home from places they have never previously visited.

He released birds throughout New York State, but was surprised to discover that whenever the pigeons were released at Jersey Hill, near Ithaca, they became disorientated and flew about aimlessly.

This happened again and again, apart from on one occasion on 13 August 1969 when the birds' navigational prowess returned and they flew back to their loft.

Dr Hagstrum has now come up with an explanation.

He said: "The way birds navigate is that they use a compass and they use a map. The compass is usually the position of the Sun or the Earth's magnetic field, but the map has been unknown for decades.

"I have found they are using sound as their map... and this will tell them where they are relative to their home."

The pigeons, he said, use "infrasound", which is an extremely low-frequency sound that is below the range of human hearing.

He explained: "The sound originates in the ocean. Waves in the deep ocean are interfering and they create sound in both the atmosphere and the Earth. You can pick this energy up anywhere on Earth, in the centre of a continent even."

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

It puts out a new idea, which as far as I'm concerned, is the best explanation of what pigeons are doing?

End Quote Jon Hagstrum USGS

He believes that when the birds are at their unfamiliar release site, they listen for the signature of the infrasound signal from their home - and then use this to find their bearings.

However, infrasound can be affected by changes in the atmosphere.

Dr Hagstrum used temperature and wind records taken from the dates of the various experimental releases to calculate how the sound would have travelled from the pigeons' base to Jersey Hill.

"The temperature structure and the wind structure of the atmosphere were such in upstate New York that the sound was bent up and over Jersey Hill," he explained.

This meant the birds could not hear it and got lost - apart from the day that the birds found their way home.

He said: "On 13 August 1969, there was either a wind shear or temperature inversion in the troposphere that bent the sound back down so it arrived right back at Jersey Hill on that day, and that day alone."

Ruffled feathers

Dr Hagstrum thinks that disruptions of infrasound may also explain other homing pigeon puzzles, where large numbers of pigeons lose their way, such as a race in 1997 across the English channel where 60,000 birds veered off course.

He admitted his work was "controversial", but said: "This doesn't prove it by any stretch - but it puts out a new idea, which, as far as I'm concerned, is the best explanation of what pigeons are doing, because it explains what has been going on at Jersey Hill."

Others have put forward different ideas for how pigeons find their way, suggesting that the birds use smell, visual clues or the Earth's magnetic field, or even a combination of all of these.

Tim Guilford, professor of animal behaviour from the University of Oxford, said: "Whilst there is disagreement about the details, what we know from a large body of experimental evidence is that access to atmospheric odours is usually necessary, and often sufficient, to explain pigeons' navigational performance from unfamiliar areas, when combined with the time-compensated Sun compass (on sunny days) and perhaps a back-up magnetic compass (on cloudy days).

"When birds become familiar with their wider surroundings, however, they start to depend increasingly on topographical features (probably visual) forming habitual routes home across the landscape."

He said that Dr Hagstrum had used an "interesting approach" and that it was valuable to explore new ideas.

However, he added: "Given the volume of evidence for other mechanisms, infrasound seems unlikely to be the whole explanation."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21262170#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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edrisali1990: norine dart: Health Plus Fitness: Womens Issues

norine dart: Health Plus Fitness: Womens Issues Article Category ...

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Source: http://norine-dart.blogspot.com/2013/01/health-plus-fitness-womens-issues.html

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New York City's schools could lose 2,500 teachers by next year

(Reuters) - New York City's public schools over two years will lose $724 million in state aid and as many as 2,500 teachers through attrition, because of a labor union conflict over a teacher evaluation system, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday.

The schools lost $250 million of that total earlier this month after the city and United Federation of Teachers failed to agree on a way to evaluate teacher performance.

City schools would lose that same baseline funding amount in the state's coming fiscal year, which begins April 1, plus another $224 million under the state budget proposed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last week, Bloomberg said at a joint legislative hearing.

State legislators passed a law in 2010 that tied state aid to teacher evaluations. About 99 percent of the state's school districts have implemented some kind of evaluation plan, Cuomo has said.

Lawmakers on Monday began to review Cuomo's proposed budget. Bloomberg is scheduled to present his own budget for the city on Tuesday.

Separately, the city's $22 billion public school system, which is controlled by the mayor, lost $200 million in federal education funding when it missed the deadline.

As a result of the missing funds, the city will lose 700 teachers through attrition this year and could lose another 1,800 in fiscal 2014, Bloomberg said during the televised hearing.

The state used to pay for about half of New York City's school budget but now pays 39 percent, even as the system has expanded with more students, Bloomberg said.

City schools could lose $1 billion altogether in baseline state funding without action on the teacher evaluations, said New York City Comptroller John Liu, who testified after Bloomberg.

Liu, a Democrat, is a possible contender for mayor this year as Bloomberg's third term expires.

He blamed Bloomberg for losing the money, saying the impasse was fueled by "quite a dose of ideology" from the mayor, whose testimony "very much clarified exactly where the responsibility lies."

Bloomberg, however, said that the union tried to introduce new provisions to an agreement at the last minute that would have made the evaluation system a "fraud" because it would have expired in two years - the same amount of time required to conduct the evaluations, making the process pointless.

The state's education department "accepted plans they knew were total frauds," Bloomberg told lawmakers. "It's a fraud on the public."

"I made a decision that we would be better off" without the funds if it meant the city could avoid such a flawed system, he said.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew has said the union is not the obstacle, and that it is willing to negotiate a new teacher evaluation system by Cuomo's next deadline on September 1.

The school system, the largest in the United States, serves about 1.1 million students in more than 1,700 schools, according to the city's Department of Education.

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-citys-schools-could-lose-2-500-teachers-192833730.html

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What Should the Republican Party Stand For? (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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Old, Female And Homeless | The Nation

www.thenation.com:

The doors of the Mission Neighborhood Health Center in San Francisco don't open until 7 am, but on the Saturday morning I was there, a dozen or so people were already lined up by 5:30. The group included a middle-aged white man who had lost his job managing a high-end restaurant and a black man wearing a crisp security guard blazer because he had to be at work by noon. Each was there hoping for a bed for the night. The city assigns most slots in its homeless shelters on a first-come, first-served basis by computer. The people had shown up here so early because they know through experience that every last bed will be claimed by 7:10 am.

Read the whole story at www.thenation.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/old-female-homeless_n_2563676.html

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CNBC Remains the Dominant #1 Business and Financial News ...

Singapore, 25 January 2013 ? The Pan Asia-Pacific Cross Media Survey (PAX) reaffirmed CNBC's position as the number one international business and financial news channel, with 77% more monthly viewers than its nearest competitor, and the preferred choice for affluent viewers in the region[i]. The survey also revealed that viewers spend more time watching CNBC than any other international business news channel in Asia Pacific[ii].

CNBC, which provides 24 hours of live business and financial analysis to 390 million households globally, outreaches its nearest competitor in all PAX markets including Australia, Bangkok, Hong Kong, India, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei[iii]- widening its lead in Hong Kong, Australia, Manila and Jakarta[iv]. In 2012, the network launched a 16x9 product in Australia, rebuilt its Hong Kong studio, opened a new bureau in China, and launched a tactical pan-Asian advertising campaign to strengthen awareness of its flagship programme, Squawk Box, in both Hong Kong and Singapore - increasing its programming emphasis across key centres.

In addition, the survey also revealed that CNBC is the fastest growing international news channel amongst the upscale and influential audience. The network is the only international news channel to record YOY growth for top management, C-suite of large companies, frequent travelers and high income earners[v].

Satpal Brainch, President and Managing Director of CNBC International said, "These results area testament to the value of CNBC as the premiere resource of business and financial information. They not only reflect strength amongst our core audience,but also showcase the positive impact of our consistent investment in our content."

Ipsos PAX is the currency for tracking media, prosperity and influence across Asia Pacific. Since its inception in 1997, CNBC has been the leading business and financial news channel for 16 years[vi].

For more information on CNBC please visit our website: www.cnbc.com

For further information please contact:

Valerie Martinez, Manager of Communications, CNBC Asia Pacific
Tel: +65 6326 1123
valerie.martinez@cnbcasia.com

About CNBC Asia Pacific
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to 390 million households worldwide. In Asia Pacific, CNBC is distributed to over 80 million households and is uniquely positioned to speak to viewers from across the region. Headquartered in Singapore, the network provides seven hours of live Asia-produced programming every weekday, which is complemented with coverage of live market action from Europe and the US. CNBC Asia Pacific's channels, which include CNBC Asia, CNBC-TV18 (India), CNBC Awaaz (India), CNBC Pakistan, Nikkei-CNBC (Japan) and SBS-CNBC (South Korea) are available in more than 21 countries across the Asia Pacific region. CNBC also has a strategic alliance with Shanghai Media Group, and collaboration with China Central Television (CCTV). In China CNBC reaches 400 million homes via CCTV's Business Channel programme, Global Connection Show. The channels are distributed via satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcast networks, as well as through digital platforms.

[i] PAX Q4 2011 to Q3 2012, 10 markets (BKK, KL, MNL, HK, JKT, TPI, SEO, SG, AUS, IND), Past 30 Days Reach
[ii] PAX Q4 2011 to Q3 2012, 10 markets (BKK, KL, MNL, HK, JKT, TPI, SEO, SG, AUS, IND), Past 7 Days Time Spent (Average)
[iii] PAX Q4 2011 to Q3 2012, Past 30 Days Reach
[iv] PAX Q4 2011 to Q3 2012, PAX Q3 2011 to Q2 2012, Past 30 Days Reach
[v] PAX Q4 2011 to Q3 2012 vs. PAX Q4 2010 to Q3 2011, 10 markets (BKK, KL, MNL, HK, JKT, TPI, SEO, SG, AUS, IND), Past 30 Days Reach
C-suite of large companies defined as: CEO/ Chairman/ Managing Director/ President/ C-Level executives or Director/ General Manager/ Vice President or CFO and 300 Full time Staff Employed LOCALLY
Frequent travelers defined as: 6 International Air Trips in Past 12 Months
High Income Earners defined as: Monthly Personal Income US$12,500
[vi] From PAX 1997 7 markets to latest PAX Q4 2011 to PAX Q3 201210 markets (BKK, KL, MNL, HK, JKT, TPI, SEO, SG, AUS, IND), Past 30 Days Reach

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100403683

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Banking official: Watch those asset prices

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? A top international finance official is warning banks to be cautious about the prices of investments that have gone up sharply because of current low interest rates.

Jaime Caruana told The Associated Press in an interview that the low interest rates may have made it difficult to assess their true value and that banks "should be vigilant on the prices of some of these assets."

He is the managing director of the Bank for International Settlements, a global organization of central banks.

Investments such as riskier U.S. corporate bonds have gone up as investors search for higher interest yields. Those investments could fall when central banks eventually start raising rates as the economy recovers.

Caruana spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-26-Davos%20Forum-Asset%20Prices/id-24ac3283677d4fd8bf0f574c593493f3

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Voice of Te'o prankster? Couric plays voicemails

In this photo taken on Jan. 22, 2013 and released by ABC Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, right, speaking with host Katie Couric during an interview for "Katie," in New York. Te'o has told Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax. The interview will air on Thursday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC, Lorenzo Bevilaqua)

In this photo taken on Jan. 22, 2013 and released by ABC Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, right, speaking with host Katie Couric during an interview for "Katie," in New York. Te'o has told Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax. The interview will air on Thursday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC, Lorenzo Bevilaqua)

In this photo taken on Jan. 22, 2013 and released by ABC Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, second from left, and his parents Brian and Ottilia, right, listen to host Katie Couric during an interview for "Katie," in New York. Te'o told Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax. The interview will air on Thursday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC, Lorenzo Bevilaqua)

In this photo taken on Jan. 22, 2013 and released by ABC Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, right, speaking with host Katie Couric during an interview for "Katie," in New York. Te'o has told Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax. The interview will air on Thursday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC, Lorenzo Bevilaqua)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The person Manti Te'o says was pretending to be his online girlfriend told the Notre Dame linebacker "I love you" in voicemails that were played during his interview with Katie Couric.

Taped earlier this week and broadcast Thursday, the hour-long talk show featured three voicemails that Te'o claims were left for him last year. He provided the messages to Couric and said they were from the person he believed to be Lennay Kekua, a woman he had fallen for but never met face-to-face.

After the first message was played, Te'o said: "It sounds like a girl, doesn't it?"

"It does," Couric responded.

The interview was the first done on-camera by the All-American since his once-heartwarming tale of inspired play after the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day in September was exposed as a bizarre hoax on Jan. 16.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-24-Notre%20Dame-Te'o/id-02af1ebc11d24f83a4ece216f858d20f

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Potential 'Mutiny' Of Overworked Afghan ... - Business Insider

A Project Of Government Oversight (POGO) report out today reveals some troubling allegations about security contractors in Afghanistan.

The report details a lawsuit that alleges British security contractor Aegis asked contractors at the US Embassy in Kabul to lie about their weekly work hours in order to keep from hiring more personnel.

Some Afghan contractors ended up working 14- to 18-hour days without extra pay, according to the lawsuit.

The report?includes a State Department memo, with the name redacted, which indicates that the contractors were on the edge of a "mutiny" that ?put the security of the Embassy at risk.?

From the report:

Last July, dozens of guards signed a petition submitted to Aegis and the State Department expressing a vote of no confidence in three guard force leaders. Soon after that, two guards who helped organize the petition were fired in what they said was retaliation for their whistle-blowing.

Four of the contractors have brought the $5 million civil suit in Virginia.

This is not the first time a British security firm has seen scrutiny for questionable practices.

In the wake of the Benghazi consulate attacks, investigators found that local security guards worked long hours for little pay under the Blue Mountain Group.?The company allegedly paid their workers $4 an hour, according to internal documents found at the site.?They also employed casual screening practices ? with some employees telling Reuters they had never once picked up a weapon in their lives and had received little training from the company prior to taking post.

The guards later came under fire for abandoning their posts in the face of an impending attack. The result was, as everyone knows, four dead Americans and a huge firestorm.

In Kabul, one contractors account sounds eerily like the situation on the ground in Libya that day ? from POGO:

?[I]f we ever got seriously hit [by terrorists], there is no doubt in my mind the guard force here would not be able to handle it, and mass casualties and mayhem would ensue,? a guard serving at the embassy wrote in a late November message to POGO.

Kabul has seen a recent spate of coordinated, violent attacks, despite being out of fighting season.

SEE ALSO:??The Military and Defense Facebook page for updates >

SEE ALSO:??Hillary Clinton dodges questions about weapons shipments from Benghazi >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/potential-mutiny-amongst-overworked-afghan-contractors-at-us-embassy-alleged-to-have-put-security-at-risk-2013-1

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Congrats flood in for Shakira's new baby boy

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2012 file photo shows Colombian singer Shakira arriving at the Cannes festival palace, to take part in the NRJ Music awards ceremony, in Cannes, southeastern France. A spokesman for the 35-year-old Columbian singer says Shakira Mebarak and 25-year-old soccer star Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona welcomed son Milan Pique Mebarak on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, at 9:36 p.m. in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, file)

FILE - This Jan. 28, 2012 file photo shows Colombian singer Shakira arriving at the Cannes festival palace, to take part in the NRJ Music awards ceremony, in Cannes, southeastern France. A spokesman for the 35-year-old Columbian singer says Shakira Mebarak and 25-year-old soccer star Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona welcomed son Milan Pique Mebarak on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, at 9:36 p.m. in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, file)

FILE - This May 29, 2011 file photo shows Colombia's singer Shakira performing with FC Barcelona soccer player Gerard Pique during The Sun Comes Out World Tour concert in Barcelona, Spain. It was announced on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, that singer Sharika Mebarak and soccer player Gerard Pique have welcomed a baby son, Milan Piqu? Mebarak, born Tuesday, 22, in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2012 file photo, Colombian performer Shakira arrives for the NRJ Music awards ceremony in Cannes, southeastern France. A spokesman for the 35-year-old Columbian singer says Shakira Mebarak and 25-year-old soccer star Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona welcomed son Milan Pique Mebarak on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, at 9:36 p.m. in Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)

MADRID (AP) ? Within hours of Shakira's baby boy being born, people are already asking about his future career.

Will Milan Pique Mebarak be a famous pop singer liker his Colombian mother, or an international soccer star like his Spanish father, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique?

"Welcome Milan Piqu? Mebarak and congratulations to Shakira and Gerard Pique. What would you prefer as a present for the baby, a microphone or some (soccer) boots?" Manchester City striker Sergio "Kun" Aguero wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

Shakira, 35, gave birth to her first child Tuesday in Barcelona in northeastern Spain. Both the boy and mother were said to be in fine health.

Pique's grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, said the couple was delighted.

"I still haven't seen him (Milan) in person but I know he is dark-haired and weighs 2.9 kilograms (6 lbs)," Bernabeu told RAC-1 radio.

Congratulatory messages rained down on the couple from both sides of the Atlantic.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was among the first to wish them the best, while the Pies Descalzos (Shoeless) Foundation for poor children set up by Shakira in 1997 sent a Twitter message saying, "The children and Pies Descalzos team are happy for Milan's birth. We love you Shakira!"

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas tweeted a welcome to the baby, saying he "can't wait to meet you."

Antonella Roccuzzo, the girlfriend of Argentine soccer ace Lionel Messi, tweeted "Welcome to the world Milan Pique Mebarak. Now Thiaguin will have a great friend," in reference to her recently-born son.

One of the big surprises was child's first name. In a statement, Shakira said Milan was of central European origin and meant "loved, full of grace, loving," in Slavic and "unification" in Sanksrit.

Milan, coincidentally, is also the name of the famous soccer team from that Italian city and Barcelona's next rival in the European Champions League.

Bernabeu admitted the family was surprised by the choice and confessed he had never heard of the name. "I think Milan will become fashionable," he told the radio.

The grandfather, a former director of the Barcelona club, made sure Milan was registered as a club member as soon as he was born.

Shakira and the 25-year-old Pique have been a couple for the past two years and are regularly featured in gossip magazines and TV programs in both Europe and Latin America.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-23-People-Shakira-Baby/id-0abafcccd2474736a4c2b837352dbc20

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Snooki Family Photo: Cute Guido Overload!

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Mars may have supported life: Martian underground could contain clues to life's origins

Jan. 20, 2013 ? Minerals found in the subsurface of Mars, a zone of more than three miles below ground, make for the strongest evidence yet that the red planet may have supported life, according to research "Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere," published in Nature Geoscience on January 20, 2013.

Up to half of all life on Earth consists of simple microorganisms hidden in rocks beneath the surface and for some time, scientists have suggested that the same may be true for Mars. Now this theory has been supported by new research, which suggests that the ingredients for life have been present in the Martian subsurface for much of the planet's history.

When meteorites strike the surface of Mars, they act like natural probes, bringing up rocks from far beneath the surface. Recent research has shown that many of the rocks brought up from the Martian subsurface contain clays and minerals whose chemical make-up has been altered by water, an essential element to support life. Some deep craters on Mars also acted as basins where groundwater likely emerged to produce lakes.

McLaughlin Crater, described in this study, is one such basin that contains clay and carbonate minerals formed in an ancient lake on Mars. The fluids that formed these minerals could carry clues to as to whether the subsurface contained life.

"We don't know how life on Earth formed but it is conceivable that it originated underground, protected from harsh surface conditions that existed on early Earth. Due to plate tectonics, however, the early geological record of Earth is poorly preserved so we may never know what processes led to life's origin and early evolution," said Dr Joseph Michalski, lead author and planetary geologist at the Natural History Museum in London. "Exploring these rocks on Mars, where the ancient geologic record is better preserved than on Earth, would be like finding a stack of pages that have been ripped out of Earth's geological history book. Whether the Martian geologic record contains life or not, analysis of these types of rocks would certainly teach us a tremendous amount about early chemical processes in the solar system."

Co-author Deanne Rogers, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University used data from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and the Thermal Emission Imaging System aboard the Mars Odyssey orbiter to detect and identify minerals that proved to be consistent with a sustained aqueous environment on the floor of the McLaughlin Crater.

"Our understanding of Mars is changing very rapidly with all of the new mission data," said Professor Rogers. "There have been several recent observations and models that have pointed to the possibility of a vast store of groundwater in the Martian past, and perhaps present. So you might expect that deep basins such as McLaughlin, which intersect the upwelling groundwater table, would contain evidence of this water. And this study found that evidence."

Current exploration of Mars focuses on investigating surface processes because sedimentary rocks are most likely to provide the best chance evidence for habitability. Evidence suggests, however, that the Martian surface environment has been quite inhospitable to life for billions of years. In future missions, scientists could choose to target rocks related to the surface or subsurface, or perhaps do both by targeting areas where sedimentary rocks formed from subsurface fluids.

Michalski concludes: 'In this paper, we present a strong case for exploring the subsurface, as well as the surface. But I don't personally think we should try to drill into the subsurface to look for ancient life. Instead, we can study rocks that are naturally brought to the surface by meteor impact and search in deep basins where fluids have come to the surface.'

Co-author Professor John Parnell, geochemist at the University of Aberdeen, commented, "This research has demonstrated how studies of Earth and Mars depend on each other. It is what we have observed of microbes living below the continents and oceans of Earth. They allow us to speculate on habitats for past life on Mars, which in turn show us how life on the early Earth could have survived. We know from Earth's history that planets face traumatic conditions such as meteorite bombardment and ice ages, when the survival of life may depend on being well below ground. So it makes sense to search for evidence of life from that subsurface environment, in the geological records of both Earth and Mars. But it's one thing to do that on Earth -- we need to be clever in finding a way to do it on Mars."

Additional co-authors of the study include: Javier Caudros, Researcher, Clay Mineralogy, Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London; Paul B. Niles, Planetary Scientist, NASA Johnson Space Center; and Shawn P. Wright, Postdoctoral Fellow in Geology, Auburn University.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stony Brook University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Joseph R. Michalski, Javier Cuadros, Paul B. Niles, John Parnell, A. Deanne Rogers, Shawn P. Wright. Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere. Nature Geoscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1706

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/42wp2-Q7IJ0/130120145825.htm

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Obama pledges to deal with climate change

President Barack Obama delivers his Inaugural address at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama delivers his Inaugural address at his ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama pledged in his inaugural address Monday to respond to the threat of climate change, saying the "failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."

By singling out climate change for several lines of his speech, he is taking on an issue that he acknowledges was often overlooked during his first term and setting up a confrontation with congressional Republicans who have opposed legislative efforts to curb global warming.

"Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science" that global warming exists and has human causes, Obama said, "but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms."

The president has pledged to boost renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, along with more traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas.

"The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition. We must lead it," Obama said.

He said developing new energy technologies will lead to jobs and new industries. "That is how we will preserve our planet," he said.

Environmental groups hailed Obama's new focus on climate change but said the president's words will soon be tested as he decides whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.

Obama blocked the pipeline last year, citing uncertainty over the project's route through environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska. The State Department has federal jurisdiction because the $7 billion pipeline begins in Canada.

Republicans and many business groups say the project would help achieve energy independence for North America and create thousands of jobs.

But environmental groups say the pipeline would transport "dirty oil" from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, and produce heat-trapping gases that contribute to global warming. They also worry about a possible spill.

"Starting with rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, the president must make fighting global warming a central priority," Margie Alt, executive director of Environment America, said Monday.

Alt and other environmental leaders said they are counting on Obama to set tough limits on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants and to continue federal investments in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Obama tried and failed in his first term to get a climate change bill through Congress. Some Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists have pushed for a tax on carbon pollution, but White House officials say they have no plan to propose one.

Scott Segal, an energy lobbyist who represents utilities and natural gas drillers, said Obama "missed the opportunity to remind listeners that climate change is an international phenomenon" that will require international solutions.

By imposing "inflexible" national policies to curb climate change, Obama could restrain the U.S. economy without delivering promised solutions, Segal said.

___

Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-21-Obama%20Address-Climate%20Change/id-3d16a9dc77eb4865972118563e708b30

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Oregon promotes OC Helfrich to coach

Oregon hired Mark Helfrich as its football coach Sunday, promoting him from offensive coordinator to be Chip Kelly's successor.

Helfrich's promotion does not come as a surprise. Before Kelly left for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday, the Ducks' quarterbacks guru was considered the front-runner for the position.

Oregon confirmed the news first reported late Saturday night shortly before a scheduled news conference with athletic director Rob Mullens.

"We were looking for a coach who exemplified excellence, leadership and character, and who would embrace what our winning football culture is all about," Mullens said in a statement. "We found that person in Mark. He is a man devoted to his family, to his players and to this university and community. I am excited to see him lead the Ducks to even greater heights."

Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the it had not been announced also said Oregon promoted wide receivers coach Scott Frost, the former Nebraska quarterback, to offensive coordinator.

Oregon, ranked No. 2 in the final AP Top 25, went 12-1 this season capped by a victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Helfrich is from Oregon and was appointed offensive coordinator of the Ducks when Kelly took over four seasons ago. The Ducks have appeared in BCS bowls each of those four years, including an appearance in the national championship game against Auburn in 2011.

Before joining the Ducks, the 39-year old Helfrich was quarterbacks coach at Colorado from 2006-08.

Kelly came to the Ducks in 2007 as offensive coordinator under coach Mike Bellotti and is credited with creating Oregon's innovative hurry-up spread offense. Kelly went 46-7 at Oregon.

It had been widely expected that Kelly would jump to the NFL, leaving many surprised when he announced he was staying at Oregon after interviewing with Philadelphia, Cleveland and Buffalo following the Fiesta Bowl. Nine days later, however, he changed his mind and decided to go to the Eagles.

Just hours after Kelly's departure was announced, Oregon posted a job for a new head coach on its website. Under state law, Oregon was required to interview at least one qualified minority candidate for the job.

Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said at the time that Oregon had already started the process of naming a replacement for Kelly following the Fiesta Bowl. He had set no timeline for replacing Kelly, except to say the Ducks would "move as fast as we can."

"We had already done a lot of groundwork, we had already started the process, knowing that Chip was going to be talking to the Eagles, Bills and Browns. We had geared up our process. We had obviously shut it down, but it's easy to click right back on."

At the time, Mullens also said there were internal candidates, but there was "no leader in the clubhouse."

Former Stanford offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton acknowledged Saturday that he interviewed with Oregon before he was hired by the Indianapolis Colts' to be their offensive coordinator.

Helfrich becomes the third straight offensive coordinator Oregon has promoted to head coach. Bellotti took over following Rich Brooks' departure.

Not much is expected to change under Helfrich, who is himself following Kelly's "Next Man In" philosophy.

As offensive coordinator, Helfrich has been in charge of Oregon's quarterbacks, guiding both Darron Thomas and redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota.

This season Mariota set the team's single-season record with 38 touchdowns (32 passing, 5 rushing, 1 receiving), surpassing the previous mark of 36 held by Thomas (2011) and Akili Smith (1998).

The first freshman named to the Pac-12's all-conference first team in 23 years, Mariota passed for 2,739 yards, completing a school-record 68.5 percent of his passes. He had 3,429 yards of total offense, second only to Smith's 3,947 in 1998.

Thomas, his predecessor, passed for 2,761 yards and a school-record 33 passing touchdowns his junior season last season despite missing a game because of an injury. He left school with a year of eligibility remaining in hopes of playing in the NFL but went undrafted.

Frost, 38, came to Oregon in 2009 after serving as an assistant at Northern Iowa. He played seven seasons in the NFL after leading the Huskers to the national title over Tennessee in the 1997 Orange Bowl.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oregon-promotes-oc-helfrich-coach-205405767--spt.html

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Bellucci says next movie will be filmed in Bosnia

AAA??Jan. 19, 2013?11:15 AM ET
Bellucci says next movie will be filmed in Bosnia
AP

Italian actress Monica Bellucci , during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci , during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci accompanied with Milorad Dodik, right, president of the Republic of Srpska, right, and Emir Kusturica film director, left, during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci waves to supporters during a visit to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci talks with the President of Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) ? Italian actress Monica Bellucci says her next movie will be filmed in Bosnia by Serbian director Emir Kusturica.

Bellucci arrived in Banja Luka, the capital of the Serb region of Bosnia, on Saturday and was met by Kusturica. The two proceeded to a village in Serbia that he has built and where he is organizing a film festival.

Bellucci and Kusturica provided little information about the forthcoming movie, except to say it will be titled "Love and War" and that the shooting will begin in May in the Bosnian town of Trebinje.

The actress has appeared in movies such as "That Summer," "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Matrix Reloaded."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-19-EU-Bosnia-Bellucci/id-f866ab555f1c4888892208ff526c9e5d

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CFPB?s Mortgage Crackdown

It will soon get harder to buy a house. Thank goodness.

David McNew/Getty Images

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was one of the most-hyped elements of the major financial regulation overhaul Congress enacted in 2010. Most of the regulation was too technical for the public to comprehend, but the CFPB had a media-savvy celebrity spokesperson in Elizabeth Warren, who turned it into a focal point for progressive activists. Yet since its creation, the CFPB has been relatively quiet.

But new rules on ?qualified mortgages? issues last week, plus stricter regulation to protect against abuses by mortgage services announced today, change all that. Housing and housing finance are a major economic sector, and new proposals to crack down on abusive practices will have real benefits to consumers. At the same time, industry advocates are correct when they say the CFPB?s plans will make it harder for some people to get home loans. That?s a price worth paying if it produces a more honest, more stable mortgage market.

Last week?s action, known as the ?ability to pay? rule, essentially requires lenders to make a reasonable, good-faith determination that a mortgage borrower will be able to repay a loan that?s offered. This is the kind of regulation that seems sensible to the point of being unnecessary?why lend money that can?t be paid back? But the house price boom of the early aughts revealed a ton of hopeless loans. Mortgage originators found they could make money off transaction fees regardless of the longer-term consequences. More broadly, financial institutions came to believe they had developed new methods of mortgage securitization that made the creditworthiness of any one homebuyer irrelevant. Individual loans might go bad but a judicious mix of diversification, separation of risk into separate tranches, and insurance against default risk could eliminate the downside.

The assumptions underlying this scheme turned out to be badly flawed, and produced disaster for the world.

The CFPB is countering with what amounts to a two-pronged strategy. The first is to create a safe harbor known as ?qualified mortgages??essentially mortgages that conform to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac standards whether or not they?re actually purchased by Fannie and Freddie. These are your traditional mortgage products, with no funny resets or unusual term lengths. But there will also be unorthodox mortgages, so the second prong is imposing legal liability on vendors of unorthodox products who fail to make good-faith estimates of ability to pay. The idea is to drain the swamp of so-called NINJA (?no income, no job, no assets?) loans and of mortgage products built around deceptive teaser rates followed by balloon payments. Importantly, however, the rule doesn?t target specific products: It simply establishes that heightened scrutiny will be applied to all departures from qualified loans.

Today?s move takes aim at abusive practices by loan servicers against people who?ve already gotten in trouble making their payments. Starting in January 2014, the CFPB will require services to fully inform borrowers in writing about foreclosure alternatives as a first response when payments are missed. An account will need to be at least 120 days delinquent before foreclosure proceedings can begin, and ?dual tracking,? whereby banks simultaneously initiate foreclosure and engage in loan modification (often extracting modification fees and then foreclosing anyway), will be banned.

Critics say both of these measures will restrict loan availability. And while advocates of stricter regulation don?t like to admit it, the fact is that the critics are correct. If it?s harder to come up with wild new mortgage products and if defaulters have more legal protections against getting screwed over, then some households will have a harder time getting loans.

But that?s fine. The great housing and credit boom didn?t come out of nowhere. As the nation?s homeownership rate and the volume of single-family house construction rose, building of mobile homes and multi-family rental properties slumped to historic lows. At the time, lenders and politicians alike touted this as a miraculous new wealth-building strategy. But in retrospect, the new lending products that facilitated it were disastrous and have left people with less wealth than ever. The right response to the news that sensible regulation will put traditional homeownership out of reach for some households is to remember that housing policy needs to meet the needs of everyone, not just the creditworthy.

As homebuilding recovered in 2012, multi-family dwellings have been a larger part of the mix than we saw in the aughts. But in absolute terms, starts of multi-family apartments remain well below where they were in the 1980s even as the population is larger. Manufactured home placements also remain in the doldrums. Some of this reflects general economic conditions and will improve as the broader economy recovers. But it?s also true that over the decades zoning codes have become unduly hostile to both mobile homes and apartment buildings (even in urbanist hotspots like Portland) in a way that makes it difficult to produce the housing we need. The technology to put questionably creditworthy families in owner-occupied single-family homes turned out to be a bust. But the technology to put such families in rental apartments and cheap manufactured structures is, if anything, better than ever. We just have rules that have made it harder to do so. The CFPB?s drive to ensure crazy lending doesn?t make a comeback is a great idea, but rules in other parts of the government?looser local zoning, for example?are going to have to adjust to make sure the supply of alternatives expands.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=b5f21ca353fd72392d478bc1d62f2bd8

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Football transfer gossip (January 18): Norwich City, Crystal Palace, Liverpool

Check out latest football transfer gossip around the leagues. Is your favourite player tipped for a move?

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has distanced himself from stories suggesting the Reds want to bring in Wesley Sneijder, 28, from Inter Milan.

Full story: Metro

The Dutch international?s wage demands are said to be putting off the Anfield club from making a move.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Mario Balotelli?s agent has held talks with AC Milan with a bid of ?24m enough to persuade City to part with the 22-year-old striker.

Full story: The Sun

Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out the possibility of signing Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, 25, from Napoli.

Full story: London Evening Standard

However, Wenger confirmed that he is looking at Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, 20, also a target for Manchester United.

Full story: talkSPORT

West Brom boss Steve Clarke wants to rescue Liverpool defender Sebastian Coates. Clarke worked with the 22-year-old centre-back when he came to Anfield in a ?big-money buy and thinks he can resurrect his career by signing him on loan with a view to a full-time signing.

Full story: Daily Mirror

New QPR signing Loic Remy, 26, was due to visit Newcastle United on Tuesday and was offered a tour of the city while still in talks about a move to the club, but opted for a lie-in and a sightseeing tour of London before meeting officials from Loftus Road.

Full story: Newcastle Chronicle

Remy also said he made up his mind to move to the London club after playing computer game Fifa 12 with owner Tony Fernandes at the end of four hours of negotiations.

Full story: Daily Telegraph

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has told club owner Mike Ashley to sign two players or face the prospect of relegation.

Full story: The Sun

The Magpies could resurrect their interest in Bordeaux forward Yoan Gouffran, 26, who has entered the final six months of his deal.

Full story: The Times (subscription required)

Marseille are looking to replace Loic Remy with West Ham?s 26-year-old striker Modibo Maiga, who is the Hammers? joint-top scorer this season with four goals but has started only two Premier League games.

Full story: talkSPORT

Manchester United have taken the 20-year-old Leicester attacker Jeff Schlupp on trial with a view to signing him on a permanent deal.

Full story: Independent

Argentine club San Lorenzo have claimed they could not afford to buy Newcastle?s Fabricio Coloccini, 30, who wants to return to his home country for personal reasons.

Full story: Metro

QPR are desperate for Jose Bosingwa, 30, to leave the club this month and are willing to pay him off but the defender is reluctant to leave Loftus Road.

Full story: Daily Mirror

The former Chelsea player spends much of his time with headphones clamped to his ears. Sources claim he is unpopular with his team-mates.

Full story: Daily Mail

Pescara playmaker Juan Fernando Quintero, 19, has said he would prefer to move to Inter Milan amid speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United.

Full story: Sky Sports.com

Norwich City have lodged a ?5m bid to sign Celtic forward Gary Hooper.

Full story: The Sun

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/534/f/641501/p/1/s/2efd022b/l/0L0Syorkshireeveningpost0O0Cfootball0Etransfer0Egossip0Ejanuary0E180Enorwich0Ecity0Ecrystal0Epalace0Eliverpool0E10E5328824/story01.htm

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New York enacts gun-control law, first since Newtown attack

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed into law one of the nation's toughest gun-control measures and the first to be enacted since the mass shooting last month at an elementary school in neighboring Connecticut.

The bill passed the Democratic-led Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, a day after sprinting through the Republican-majority Senate. State lawmakers have been in session for just a matter of days.

New York's legislation comes just a day before President Barack Obama is expected to propose a national assault weapons ban and improved background checks as part of a sweeping package of initiatives to curb gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Twenty 6- and 7-year-old schoolchildren and six educators were killed in the December 14 attack, when a man burst into their school in Newtown, about 70 miles northeast of New York City, and opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon.

The Sandy Hook shooting plunged the nation into grief and reignited the gun-control debate.

Cuomo acted swiftly following that attack and another 10 days later in Webster, New York, a suburb of Rochester, that claimed the lives of two volunteer firefighters. The new law mandates a life sentence without parole for anyone who murders a first responder, the so-called "Webster Provision."

With some provisions due to take effect immediately, the legislation expands the state's ban on assault weapons, puts limits on ammunition capacity and has new measures to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.

"People who are mentally ill should not have access to guns, that's common sense," Cuomo said at a signing ceremony in Albany. "That's probably the hallmark of this bill, coming up with a system that allows for mental-health screens."

The measure limits magazine capacity to no more than seven cartridges - the current limit is 10 cartridges - and requires a statewide re-registration of all handguns and grandfathered assault weapons.

"Seven bullets in a gun, why? Because the high-capacity magazines that give you the capacity to kill a large number of human beings in a very short period of time is nonsensical to a civil society," Cuomo said.

Police have said the gunman in Newtown, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, carried numerous high-capacity magazines and that he changed gun clips several times, allowing him to unleash at least 150 rounds in his 10-minute assault.

Gun rights advocates lashed out at Cuomo and New York's law, decrying the speed at which the legislation moved through the statehouse.

"The National Rifle Association and our New York members are outraged at the draconian gun control bill that was rushed through the process late Monday evening," the NRA, the nation's most powerful gun rights lobby group, said in a statement.

"These gun control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime," the NRA said.

Also on Tuesday in Danbury, Connecticut, not far from Newtown, gun control advocates gathered for a rally outside a Walmart store to demand Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the nation's largest gun retailer, stop selling assault weapons.

Among those at the rally were Lori Haas, whose daughter was injured in the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, and Pam Simon, who was wounded in the 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that also critically injured former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The killings in Newtown, a rural New England town of 27,000, shocked the country and prompted Obama to form a task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden to find ways to curb gun violence. Obama is scheduled to unveil the recommendations on Wednesday.

Obama has signaled he will ask Congress to ban military-style assault weapons, require stronger background checks for buyers and put tighter controls on high-capacity magazine clips.

Opponents of the New York legislation argued it would not prevent an attack like Newtown from occurring in New York and also would not bring down the state's homicide rate because so few murders are committed with rifles of any kind.

Assemblyman Raymond Walter, a Republican from upstate New York, said New York's violent crime statistics show the state has a murder rate of just four people per 100,000, but "rifles account for .03 of that."

Were comparable legislation in place in Connecticut, "it would not have stopped that horrible and tragic crime," said Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, a Republican from Long Island.

The new legislation would also increase monitoring of high-volume ammunition purchases, in-person or over the Internet, and current owners of assault weapons would be required to register them, as is required with handguns.

This week, officials in Maryland and Delaware also vowed to press for their own state legislation to tighten bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Included in the New York law is an exemption allowing gun permit holders to opt to have their identities kept private, a measure that comes after the White Plains, New York-based Journal News published the names of thousands of local license-holders.

(Additional reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Grant McCool, Andrew Hay, David Gregorio, Dan Grebler and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-enacts-gun-control-law-first-since-newtown-014521822.html

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WordPress.com Launches Portfolio Vertical For Photographers, Painters And Designers

Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, just announced that it is rolling out a vertical for portfolio sites. This, the company says, is meant to allow photographers, videographers, illustrators, painters, designers and others who want to showcase their creations on WordPress.com.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fZXKh6fSBoU/

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Gunman kills supreme court judge in Russia's Dagestan

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - A gunman killed a senior judge in the center of the capital of Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan province on Tuesday, law enforcement officials said.

The attacker opened fire on Magomed Magomedov, from Dagestan's Supreme Court, at close range and fled the scene in Makhachkala, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's Investigative Committee said.

Mostly Muslim Dagestan, in the volatile North Caucasus region, is beset by frequent shootings and bomb attacks, many targeting police, state officials or moderate clerics.

Most of the violence is blamed on an Islamist insurgency stemming from post-Soviet separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya.

Some of the violence in Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea, is also linked to business disputes and tension between rivals in a province inhabited by dozens of ethnic groups.

Militants in the North Caucasus say they are fighting for a separate Islamic state in the strip of provinces along Russia's southern border. Rights activists say the insurgency is fuelled by poverty and anger at police tactics.

(Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunman-kills-supreme-court-judge-russias-dagestan-185905140.html

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Update: Initial TBI findings say Washington Co. inmate hanged himself

An inmate who died Friday at the Washington County Detention Center hanged himself, according to preliminary investigation results released Monday.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said the agency would await a coroner's autopsy report before making a final determination in the death of Jay William Davis, 39, 151 Ridgecrest Road, Jonesborough, but preliminary findings indicated he hanged himself in the jail.

Washington County Sheriff Graybeal had issued a statement Friday about Davis's death, saying foul play was not suspected, but Graybeal did not elaborate on the cause of death.

Davis was being held in the center on domestic assault charges.

Source: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=104220

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