Top Canada court upholds anti-terrorism law in unanimous ruling
Label: WorldOTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada‘s Supreme Court on Friday upheld an anti-terrorism law enacted after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, ruling unanimously that those who choose to engage in terrorism must “pay a very heavy price.”
The law’s constitutionality was challenged by Mohammad Momin Khawaja, convicted in Canada of terrorism for involvement with a British group that had plotted unsuccessfully to set off bombs in London.
It was also challenged by two men accused of terrorism by the United States for trying to buy missiles or weapons technology for the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers.
The court rejected arguments that the law’s definition of terrorism was overly broad. It upheld Khawaja’s life sentence and confirmed the orders to extradite the other two to the United States.
Khawaja, a Canadian of Pakistani descent, was the first to be convicted under the law. He was sentenced in 2008 to 10-1/2 years in prison, and his sentence was then extended to life after appeal by the government.
The trial judge noted that Khawaja referred to Osama Bin Laden as “the most beloved person to me in the … whole world, after Allah.” He was found to have participated in a terrorism training camp in Pakistan and to have designed a device dubbed the “hi fi digimonster” for detonating bombs.
“The appellant was a willing participant in a terrorist group,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote in the 7-0 decision, adding that he was “apparently remorseless.”
“He was committed to bringing death on all those opposed to his extremist ideology and took many steps to provide support to the group. The bomb detonators he attempted to build would have killed many civilians had his plans succeeded.”
The law applies to any act committed for a political, religious or ideological purpose with the intention of intimidating the public by causing death or serious bodily harm, or substantial property damage, or causing serious interference with an essential service.
The court also ruled that Canada can proceed to extradite two men the United States has accused of involvement with the Tamil Tigers, which waged a bloody war for independence in Sri Lanka and is considered a terrorist organization by Washington and Ottawa.
The Canadian government declined to comment on when they would be extradited.
Piratheepan Nadarajah was alleged to have tried to purchase surface-to-air missiles and AK-47 assault rifles for the Tamil Tigers from an undercover officer posing as a black-market arms dealer on Long Island, New York.
The other man, Suresh Sriskandarajah, was alleged to have helped Tamil Tigers get electronic equipment, submarine and warship design software and communications equipment.
They surrendered to the government ahead of the court decision, their lawyers said.
BEYOND ‘LEGITIMATE EXPRESSION’
The court disagreed that the federal law’s terrorism provisions had put a chilling effect on Canadians’ freedom of expression and was disproportionately broad.
“Only individuals who go well beyond the legitimate expression of a political, religious or ideological thought, belief or opinion, and instead engage in one of the serious forms of violence – or threaten one of the serious forms of violence – listed (in the law) need fear liability under the terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code,” McLachlin wrote.
She quoted with approval the appeals court decision in the Khawaja case that faulted the Ottawa trial judge’s sentence for failing to send a “clear and unmistakable message that terrorism is reprehensible and those who choose to engage in it will pay a very heavy price.”
The original sentence of 10-1/2 years does “not approach an adequate sentence for such acts,” she concluded.
Khawaja’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, said it was a “terrible day” for his client and said too often people were investigated or prosecuted for their religious or political beliefs.
“It’s a … very unfortunate ruling for minorities in this country, and we’re extremely disappointed with the result,” he told reporters in the foyer of the Supreme Court.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the decision was important as Canada was not immune to the threat of terrorism. “The court sent a strong message that terrorism will not be treated leniently in Canada,” he said.
The cases are Mohammad Momin Khawaja v. Her Majesty the Queen. (Ont) (34103); Suresh Sriskandarajah v. United States of America, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (34009), Piratheepan Nadarajah v. United States of America, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (34013).
(Additional reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Jackie Frank and Xavier Briand)
Canada News Headlines – Yahoo! News
RIM shows how BlackBerry 10 touch screen keys could rival its traditional keyboards [video]
Label: TechnologyEvidence found at shooter’s home may point to motive, police say
Label: Business
NEWTOWN, CT - Evidence recovered at gunman Adam Lanza's home may provide a motive for the massacre that left 26 dead at an elementary school, police said on Saturday.
State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance declined to provide specifics about the evidence but said, "we're hopeful it will paint a complete picture."
Authorities say Lanza, 20, killed his mother at their home Friday morning before driving to Sandy Hook Elementary where he forced his way in to commit one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
[Related: Follow the latest updates from our reporters in Newtown]
Armed with two semi-automatic pistols, Lanza rapidly sprayed bullets in hallways and classrooms. Twenty children, many of them kindergarteners, and six faculty members lost their lives. Lanza killed himself before police officers could reach him.
Lt. Vance said all the bodies were removed from the school overnight. A medical examiner is expected to release the names of the victims later today.
Police have assigned a trooper to support each victim's family in the days ahead. Vance asked reporters to respect the families' grief and privacy.
"This is an extremely heartbreaking thing for them to endure," Lt. Vance said.
It will likely take investigators two more days to process the school crime scene where it is believed Lanza fired as many as 100 rounds from his guns.
"It's going to be a slow, painstaking process," Lt. Vance said.
“Bennifer” buried as Ben Affleck’s star soars
Label: LifestyleLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It has taken 10 years of hard work and indie movies, but Ben Affleck finally has moved past his “Bennifer” nightmare.
Affleck, 40, once a tabloid staple who risked becoming a laughingstock during his romance with Jennifer Lopez and their movie flop “Gigli,” is back on top in Hollywood, winning accolades for his work both in front of and behind the camera.
Fifteen years after Affleck shared an Oscar with Matt Damon for their first screenplay, “Good Will Hunting,” buzz is building over a likely second Academy Award nomination next month. It would be Affleck’s first since 1997.
“Finally, people now are ready to go, ‘Wow! He’s at the very top of the food chain,’” Damon told Reuters.
Affleck’s latest film “Argo,” a part-thriller, part-comedic tale of the real-life rescue of six American diplomats from Iran in 1980, this week picked up five Golden Globe nominations and a nod from the Screen Actors Guild for its top prize of best ensemble cast.
The film, which Affleck directed, produced and stars in, has also delighted critics and brought in some $ 160 million at the worldwide box office.
In “Argo,” Affleck’s clean-cut looks are hidden under a long, shaggy 1970s hair cut and beard as he plays CIA officer Tony Mendez, who devised a fake film project to spirit six hostages out of Tehran after the Islamic revolution.
The kudos Affleck is now receiving follows the embarrassing headlines he attracted over his 2002-2004 romance with Lopez.
“It was tough to watch him get kicked in the teeth for all those years because the perception of him was so not who he actually was,” Damon said.
“It was upsetting for a lot of his friends because he’s the smartest, funnest, nicest, kindest, incredibly talented guy. … So that was tough. Now I’m just thrilled. … He deserves everything that he’s going to get,” he added.
With a huge, pink diamond engagement ring for Lopez and gossip about matching Rolls Royces, the pair dubbed “Bennifer” starred in the 2003 comedy romance “Gigli,” which earned multiple Razzie awards for the worst comedy of the year.
SELLING MAGAZINES NOT MOVIES
Damon, by contrast, was seeing his career surge with “The Bourne Identity,” “Syriana” and “The Departed.” But he recalls Affleck’s pain.
“He said (to me), ‘I am in the absolute worst place you can be. I sell magazines, not movie tickets.’ I remember our agent called up the editor of Us Weekly, begging her not to put him on the cover any more. Please stop. Just stop,” Damon said.
About a year after splitting with Lopez, Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner, had the first of three children with her, and started writing and directing small but admired movies like “Gone Baby Gone” in 2007 and 2010′s gritty crime film “The Town.”
Last month, Affleck was named Entertainment Weekly’s entertainer of the year, largely on the back of “Argo.”
The actor-turned-director said that managing the various tones of the film was his hardest challenge.
“I had to synthesize comedic elements and the political stuff and this true-life drama thriller story. … It was scary and it was daunting,” Affleck told Reuters, saying he powered through by “overworking it by a multiple of ten.”
A trip to the Oscars ceremony in February is now considered a shoo-in by awards pundits, but Affleck is not convinced that success is sweeter the second time around.
“It’s harder. On the one hand, coming from obscurity, you have a neutral starting place. Because of the tabloid press and over exposure, I was starting from a deficit,” he said.
“It can be very unpleasant to be in the midst of a lot of ugliness. But I just put my head down and decided … I was going to work as hard as I could, and I never let the possibility enter my mind that I might fail – at least consciously. Subconsciously, I knew I could fail and I was really scared, so it made me work harder.”
(Additional reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Will Dunham)
Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News
APNewsBreak: Texas cancer probe draws NCI scrutiny
Label: HealthAUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The federal National Cancer Institute says it’s taking a fresh look at a troubled $ 3 billion cancer-fighting effort already being scrutinized by prosecutors and lawmakers in Texas.
The U.S. government’s cancer research agency confirmed Friday that upheaval within the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas caught its attention. NCI spokeswoman Aleea Farrakh Khan told The Associated Press that officials are “evaluating recent events” at CPRIT.
CPRIT is on an exclusive list of NCI-approved funding entities, which includes the American Cancer Society. The designation is a federal seal-of-approval that signals high peer review standards and conflict of interest policies.
Khan says NCI has made no decisions about CPRIT or contacted the agency directly.
Prosecutors are investigating CPRIT following an $ 11 million award to a private company that bypassed review.
Diseases/Conditions News Headlines – Yahoo! News
UPDATE 3-Cricket-Hughes shines as Australia reach 299-4
Label: World* Hughes falls just short of century
* Clarke and Hussey combine for 101
* Welegedera takes 3-99 (Adds quotes)
HOBART, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Phil Hughes made a solid 86 on his return to test cricket before Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey took up the running and steered Australia to 299 for four at close of play on the first day of the first test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Hughes was the only batsmen to fall in the final session, lasting only a couple of overs after lunch before being bowled through the gate by Chanaka Welegedera, giving the Sri Lankan seamer his third wicket of the day.
Clarke, who had made 70 not out, and Hussey, unbeaten on 37, batted through the remainder of the day and if the evidence of their prolific partnerships in the recent series against South Africa is anything to go by, will take some shifting.
“Overall, 299 for four puts the ball in our court,” said Hughes. “I thought we were outstanding today. It really gives us momentum going into tomorrow.”
Sri Lanka’s bowlers, dubbed this week as the worst pace attack ever to tour Australia by former test bowler Rodney Hogg, made life uncomfortable for the batsmen at times but struggled for any real penetration under cloudy skies at Bellerive Oval.
“I think we showed we can put Australia under pressure and hopefully the bowlers will be fresh in the morning and we can get them out for less than 100 additional runs,” said Welegedera, who finished with 3-99 on his return after nine months out injured.
Clarke, who passed 1,400 runs for the year, has now put on 731 runs in partnerships with Hussey in the last four tests and will be looking to plunder a few more on Saturday despite taking a couple of painful knocks to his legs.
Friday, however, belonged to Hughes.
The lefthander was recalled to the side on the back of good domestic form following the retirement of Ricky Ponting at the end of the series against the Proteas.
The 24-year-old reached his fourth test half century with a square drive for three runs and then initially accelerated towards a century, most notably with an ugly but effective slog for six off spinner Rangana Herath.
CALAMITOUS RUNOUT
On the ground where his second spell as a test batsman ended amid questions about his technique after two failures against New Zealand last year, Hughes scored eight fours and one six in his 166-ball knock before Welegedera struck with a superb ball.
“It was nice to get a few,” he said. “It would have been nice to get a few more and get into three figures.”
Australia had lost openers Ed Cowan (four) and David Warner in the opening session, the latter run out for 57 on the stroke of lunch after a calamitous misunderstanding with Hughes.
Shane Watson, dropping down to fourth in the batting order to allow Hughes to come in at number three, followed them to the pavilion for 30 shortly before tea, the victim of an exceptional diving catch in the slips by skipper Mahela Jayawardene.
That was a second wicket for Welegedera and a measure of redemption for the bowler after he had Hughes caught behind for 77 only for the umpire to call a no ball.
Welegedera had also made the early breakthrough for the tourists when Cowan tried to pull a short delivery only for the ball to catch him high on the bat and carry to mid-on where Shaminda Eranga took a simple catch.
It could have been even better for the Sri Lankans, who were only centimetres away from the perfect start to the morning after Clarke had won the toss and elected to bat.
Cowan edged the second delivery of the day from Nuwan Kulasekara to the slips but Angelo Mathews was just unable to get his hands to it, despite an athletic dive. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Australia / Antarctica News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Home invasion victim gets help over Xbox headset
Label: TechnologyNORTH APOLLO, Pa. (AP) — Police say a Pennsylvania man used his Xbox headphones to call for help after being bound with duct tape and menaced with a gun during a home invasion.
Investigators say the 22-year-old suburban Pittsburgh man was playing video games in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his front door open. The man initially thought it was a family member but saw an armed man wearing a ski mask when he looked downstairs.
Authorities say the intruder bound Derick Shaffer and led him around the North Apollo home to locate valuables, then fled in Shaffer’s car. Shaffer reached a friend over his Xbox Live headset and had him call police.
The missing car was located about an hour later. Police questioned three people but are still trying to identify a suspect.
Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Two gunmen at Conn., school shooting, one dead
Label: Business
A shooting involving two gunmen erupted at a Connecticut elementary
school this morning, prompting the town of Newtown to lock down all of
its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.
State Police confirm that one shooter is dead. A second gunman is apparently at large, sources told ABC News.
The shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, about 12 miles east of Danbury.
CLICK HERE for live updates on the school shooting.
State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41a.m. and immediately
began sending emergency units from the western part of the state.
Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a
classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State
Police source.
A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.
While some students have been reunited with their parents on the
school's perimeter, one group of students remains unaccounted for,
according to a source with a child in the school.
CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.
Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page.
"Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat
Danbury Hospital is under lockdown," the statement said. "This allows us
simply to focus on the important work at hand."
Newtown Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June
said in a statement that the district's school were locked down because
of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive measures
by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all
students and staff."
State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown.
All public and private schools in the town are on lockdown.
"We have increased our police presence at all Danbury Public Schools due
to the events in Newtown. Pray for the victims," Newtown Mayor Boughton
tweeted.
State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school.
A message on the school district website says that all afternoon
kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no mid-day bus runs.
Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps signs new first look deal with Fox
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Fox has signed a new three-year first look deal with director/producer Shawn Levy‘s 21 Laps, the production company behind “Night at the Museum” and “The Watch,” the companies announced on Wednesday.
21 Laps is already based at Fox, having supplied the studio with several comedy titles over the past few years. While its most recent, “The Watch,” disappointed at the box office, the company has otherwise provided a steady supply of hits.
The original “Night at the Museum leads the pack with $ 570 million at the global box office, while the sequel surpassed $ 400 million.
“Shawn’s boundless energy, ambition and effortless creativity make him the perfect partner,” Emma Watts, Fox’s president of production, said in a statement. “We are lucky he continues to call Fox his home.”
21 Laps has a couple of projects due for release in 2013 – “The Internship,” starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and “The Spectacular Now,” starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.
Levy directed “The Internship,” his first job since “Real Steel,” which Disney released. That film debuts June 7.
21 Laps also has several projects in development, including a third installment of “Night at the Museum” and “Project Aloha,” which Levy plans to direct from a script by Nick Stoller. It is also at work on projects beyond Fox, such as “Story of Your Life,” a sci-fi thriller that Nic Mathieu will direct.
In signing a new deal with Fox, 21 Laps also announced a series of promotions. Billy Rosenberg moves up to the Senior Vice President level from Vice President while Dan Cohen rejoins the company from Mandeville as VP.
TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Fewer cancer patients pick CPR after video demo
Label: HealthNEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Dying cancer patients are less likely to want aggressive end-of-life care if they watch a short video about CPR than if they simply hear about it, according to a new study.
“These are huge differences. You will die very differently if you watch the video than if you don’t,” said Dr. Angelo Volandes, the study’s lead author from Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital.
“All these patients had a terminal condition. It’s not like there was another treatment they were trying…So (CPR) was prolonging the dying process,” he said.
The researchers found in a group of 150 cancer patients, who were thought to have less than a year to live, 48 percent wanted CPR after being told about it, compared to 20 percent in the group who also watched a video showing compressions on a dummy and the inserting of a breathing tube.
“It’s one of the most important issues in American medicine today. People are getting medical interventions that, if they had more knowledge, they would simply not want,” said Volandes.
The new study builds off previous research with similar findings by the same group. The earlier research, however, was only conducted with brain cancer patients at one medical center.
For the new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers included a wider variety of cancer patients at four medical centers in Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.
All of the patients who agreed to participate in the study were read a standardized description of CPR — described as pressing on their chest and using an electric shock to “get your heart to beat again if it stops.”
The description also said CPR does not revive most patients with advanced cancer, and the patient would likely be put in the ICU with a breathing machine if it worked.
The researchers then randomly selected 70 of the patients to watch a three-minute video demonstration.
In the group that was only told about CPR, about half of the 80 patients said they wouldn’t want doctors or nurses to revive them. That compared to 79 percent of the patients who also watched the video.
Nine out of every ten patients who watched the video also said it was “helpful.”
PART OF A BIGGER CONVERSATION
Volandes told Reuters Health that the video may reinforce the information patients usually get from their doctors.
“People aren’t clinicians. They don’t have clinic experience to understand what this looks like,” he said.
Dr. Susan Gaeta, an assistant professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told Reuters Health she likes the idea of using the videos, but said they need to be part of a bigger conversation.
“What we’re trying to do is to have conversation with patients on what their goals and values are,” said Gaeta.
She added that the question should not be, “Do you want this?” It should be, “Is this medically appropriate based on your goals and values?”
Volandes said their collection of 25 videos on various topics, including CPR and breathing tubes, are used by over 30 healthcare systems across the country.
Gaeta added that her hospital is developing their own videos that incorporate their focus of goals and values.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/TP4qV1 Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 10, 2012.
Diseases/Conditions News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Aides: Chavez in tough fight, may miss swearing-in
Label: WorldCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Somber confidants of President Hugo Chavez say he is going through a difficult recovery after cancer surgery in Cuba, and one close ally is warning Venezuelans that their leader may not make it back for his swearing-in next month.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Wednesday night that Chavez was in “stable condition” and was with close relatives in Havana. Reading a statement, he said the government invites people to “accompany President Chavez in this new test with their prayers.”
Villegas expressed hope about the president returning home for his Jan. 10 swearing-in for a new six-year term, but said in a written message on a government website that if Chavez doesn’t make it, “our people should be prepared to understand it.”
Villegas said it would be irresponsible to hide news about the “delicateness of the current moment and the days to come.” He asked Venezuelans to see Chavez’s condition as “when we have a sick father, in a delicate situation after four surgeries in a year and a half.”
Moving to prepare the public for the possibility of more bad news, Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked grim when he acknowledged that Chavez faced a “complex and hard” process after his latest surgery.
At the same time, officials sought to show a united front amid the growing worries about Chavez’s health and Venezuela’s future. Key leaders of Chavez’s party and military officers appeared together on television as Maduro gave updates on Chavez’s condition.
“We’re more united than ever,” said Maduro, who was flanked by National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, both key members of Chavez’s inner circle. “We’re united in loyalty to Chavez.”
Analysts say Maduro could eventually face challenges in trying to hold together the president’s diverse “Chavismo” movement, which includes groups from radical leftists to moderates, as well as military factions.
Tapped by the 58-year-old president over the weekend as his chosen political heir, Maduro is considered to be a member of radical left wing of Chavez’s movement that is closely aligned with Cuba’s communist government.
Cabello, a former military officer who also wields power within Chavez’s movement, shared the spotlight with Maduro by speaking at a Mass for Chavez’s health at a military base.
Just returned from being with Chavez for the operation, Cabello called the president “invincible” but said “that man who is in Havana … is fighting a battle for his life.”
After Chavez’s six-hour operation Tuesday, Venezuelan television broadcast religious services where people prayed for Chavez, interspersed with campaign rallies for upcoming gubernatorial elections.
On the streets of Caracas, people on both sides of the country’s deep political divide voiced concerns about Chavez’s condition and what might happen if he died.
At campaign rallies ahead of Sunday’s gubernatorial elections, Chavez’s candidates urged Venezuelans to vote for pro-government candidates while they also called for the president to get well.
“Onward, Commander!” gubernatorial candidate Elias Jaua shouted to a crowd of supporters at a rally Wednesday. Many observers said it was likely Chavez’s candidates could get a boost from their supporters’ outpouring of sympathy for Chavez.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October presidential election and is running against Jaua, complained Wednesday that Chavez’s allies are taking advantage of the president’s health problems to try to rally support. He took issue with Jaua’s statement to supporters that “we have to vote so that the president recovers.”
Maduro looked sad as he spoke on television, his voice hoarse and cracked at times after meeting in the pre-dawn hours with Cabello and Ramirez. The pair returned to Venezuela about 3 a.m. after accompanying Chavez to Cuba for his surgery.
“It was a complex, difficult, delicate operation,” Maduro said. “The post-operative process is also going to be a complex and hard process.”
Without giving details, Maduro reiterated Chavez’s recent remarks that the surgery presented risks and that people should be prepared for any “difficult scenarios.”
The constitution says presidents should be sworn in before the National Assembly, and if that’s not possible then before the Supreme Court.
Former Supreme Court magistrate Roman Duque Corredor said a president cannot delegate the swearing-in to anyone else and cannot take the oath of office outside Venezuela. A president could still be sworn in even if temporarily incapacitated, but would need to be conscious and in Venezuela, Duque told The Associated Press.
If a president-elect is declared incapacitated by lawmakers and is unable to be sworn in, the National Assembly president would temporarily take charge of the government and a new presidential vote must be held within 30 days, Duque said.
Chavez said Saturday that if an election had to be held, Maduro should be elected president.
The dramatic events of this week, with Chavez suddenly taking a turn for the worse, had some Venezuelans wondering whether they were being told the truth because just a few months ago the president was running for his fourth presidential term and had said he was free of cancer.
Lawyer Maria Alicia Altuve, who was out in bustling crowds in a shopping district of downtown Caracas, said it seemed odd how Maduro wept at a political rally while talking about Chavez.
“He cries on television to set up a drama, so that people go vote for poor Chavez,” Altuve said. “So we don’t know if this illness is for that, or if it’s that this man is truly sick.”
Some Chavez supporters said they found it hard to think about losing the president and worried about the future. His admirers held prayer vigils in Caracas and other cities this week, holding pictures and singing hymns.
Chavez has undergone four cancer-related surgeries since June 2011. He has also undergone months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Throughout his treatments, Chavez has kept secret some details of his illness, including the exact location and type of the tumors.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa wished his close ally the best, while also acknowledging the possibility that cancer might end his presidency. “Chavez is very important for Latin America, but if he can’t continue at the head of Venezuela, the processes of change have to continue,” Correa said at a news conference in Quito.
___
Associated Press writer Christopher Toothaker contributed to this report.
Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Lidl Christmas dinner offer goes viral on Twitter
Label: TechnologyBRUSSELS (Reuters) – Discount retailer Lidl faces a 200,000-euro ($ 260,000) Christmas dinner bill after an offer of chicken vol-au-vents and ice cream cake for the poor went viral.
The supermarket launched a Twitter campaign in Belgium on Monday, saying it would hand out five four-course Christmas dinners to food banks for each tweet on a hash tag.
Lidl had expected to hand out about 1,000 of the 20-euro dinner packs, consisting of tomato soup, vol-au-vents with chips, an ice-cream cake and chocolates, a spokesman for the German-based company’s Belgium unit said on Wednesday.
But local newspapers wrote about the offer and people retweeted using the hash tag – #luxevooriedereen, Dutch for “luxury for everyone”.
By the end of the 24-hour campaign, 1,500 people had tweeted, meaning Lidl has to deliver 7,500 dinners. That sparked reports the supermarket had been caught out by its campaign.
To quash such talk, Lidl rounded up the number of dinners to 10,000, and branded the campaign a success.
Lidl said it had not yet decided whether to repeat the exercise next year.
“We’ve learnt quite a few lessons over the past 48 hours, to say the least,” the spokesman said.
($ 1 = 0.7693 euros)
(Reporting By Ben Deighton. Editing By Sebastian Moffett.)
Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News
GOP advisor: 'Let the fiscal cliff happen'
Label: BusinessAs politicians, businessmen and ordinary citizens brace for spending cuts and tax hikes in the new year, a long-term Republican advisor says the U.S. should take the "fiscal cliff" plunge.
"Let the fiscal cliff happen and reduce the deficit very substantially as a consequence,"says Bruce Bartlett, author of The Benefit and Burden: Tax Reform--Why We Need It and What It Will Take. The combination of spending cuts and tax hikes will eventually strengthen the economy he says, citing CBO analysis.
In contrast, Republicans' refusal to raise taxes would hurt the economy in the long run, Bartlett argues.
Related: Higher Taxes Will Create Jobs and Cut the Deficit: David Cay Johnston
Bartlett, a former advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and Congressman Ron Paul, explains why the GOP tax pledge has harmful consequences for the economy. Government spending will rise over the coming decades as more baby boomers retire. But if tax revenues don't keep pace with spending, the federal government will be forced to increase borrowing, which will increase interest payments on the debt.
According to Bartlett, a GAO report projects that the Republican plan to keep revenues at just under 18% of GDP will cause interest on the debt to surge from 19.2% of the deficit this year to 62% in 2020.
Related: Fiscal Cliff Deal Likely but U.S> at Risk of "Looking Ridiculous," Rivlin Says
Bartlett is not advocating big spending increases --- he'd rather trim spending-- but he says revenues must keep up with spending. Going over the fiscal cliff is a move in that direction because revenues would rise as the Bush-era tax cuts expire for everyone, not just the top 2%, at the same that spending is reduced.
"Revenues are too low rather than spending too high," he tells The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task.
Bartlett doesn't know if and when Republicans and Democrats will agree to fiscal cliff deal, but he predicts that any deal will not happen "before the absolute last possible minute." Stay tuned.
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Britney Spears, Taylor Swift are top-earning women in music
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (Reuters) – Pop star Britney Spears edged past Taylor Swift to claim the title of top-earning woman in music after bringing in an estimated $ 58 million from her album, endorsements and a perfume in the past year, Forbes said on Wednesday.
Country-pop singer Swift, 22, was a close second with an estimated $ 57 million paycheck thanks to her tour – which made more than $ 1 million each night – a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, her own line of fragrances and her new album “Red.”
R&B star Rihanna, 24, earned an estimated $ 53 million to put her at No. 3, two places up from last year, followed by Lady Gaga, 26, who slipped from No. 1 in 2011 to fourth place with $ 52 million.
Katy Perry, 28, the only musician other than Michael Jackson to produce five No. 1 hit singles from one album, rounded out the top five with about $ 45 million in earnings.
“I think people love the comeback story – Britney never really finished her run as a superstar,” Steve Stoute, marketing expert and author of “The Tanning of America” told Forbes.
Spears, 31, who was No. 10 last year, earned most of her money from her latest album “Femme Fatale” and her tour, according to Forbes, which compiled the list with estimated earnings from May 2011 to May 2012.
In September, Spears became a judge on the reality TV singing show “The X Factor,” reportedly for $ 15 million.
Despite their huge incomes, only eight of the top women music earners were among the 25 best-paid musicians, which Forbes attributes in part to career breaks to have children.
Madonna made the list in ninth place with an estimated $ 30 million in earnings, which did not include profits from her latest tour because it was outside the time period considered for the ranking.
Forbes compiled the list after estimating pretax income based on record sales, touring information merchandise sales and interviews with concert promoters, lawyers and managers.
The full list can be found at http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2012/12/12/the-top-earning-women-in-music-2012/
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Maureen Bavdek)
Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Canada not changing tests for meat exports to Russia
Label: HealthWINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Canada is not developing new tests for the feed additive ractopamine in beef and pork exports to Russia, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday, but is leaving shippers to take their own steps to satisfy the new Russian requirement for zero residue.
The Canada Pork International marketing group said on Friday that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has provided meat processors with testing guidelines for ractopamine, a drug used to make meat leaver. However, a spokesman for the federal Agriculture Department said the government is only making exporters aware of Russia’s requirements.
“At this point, we’re making sure the Russians understand this is not science-based,” Ritz said at an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg. “There is an agreement around the world that ractopamine is a safe and usable product.”
Canada has asked Russia to delay its requirement into February, he said.
Russia is requiring pork and beef imported from the United States and Canada to be tested and certified free of ractopamine as of December 7.
If Canadian exporters wish to export meat to Russia, they are responsible to test each shipment for ractopamine in an accredited laboratory, an Agriculture Department spokesman said.
(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Leslie Adler)
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Australian prank call radio to donate profits to nurse’s family
Label: WorldCANBERRA (Reuters) – The Australian radio station behind a prank call to a British hospital will donate its advertising revenue until the end of the year to a fund for the family of the nurse who apparently took her own life after the stunt, the company said on Tuesday.
Southern Cross Austereo, parent company of Sydney radio station 2Day FM, said it would donate all advertising revenue, with a minimum contribution of A$ 500,000 ($ 525,000), to a memorial fund for the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, who answered the telephone at the hospital treating Prince William’s pregnant wife, Kate.
The company has suspended the Sydney-based announcers, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, scrapped their “Hot 30″ programme and suspended advertising on the station in the wake of the Saldanha’s death. Southern Cross said it would resume advertising on its station from Thursday.
“It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family,” Southern Cross Chief Executive Officer Rhys Holleran said in a statement.
“We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time.”
(Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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WebMD to cut 14 percent of workforce to reduce expenses
Label: Technology(Reuters) – Health information website WebMD Health Corp said it will cut around 250 jobs, or 14 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs.
The company, which had about 1700 employees according to Thomson Reuters data, said it would take a charge of about $ 6 million to $ 8 million in the fourth quarter, primarily on severance and other restructuring-related costs.
WebMD, which is a popular and long-trusted destination for checking health and disease related information, has lost its sheen for investors in recent times as it struggled to convert its growing user base into a steady revenue stream.
The company named a former Pfizer Inc executive Cavan Redmond as CEO earlier this year, entrusting the industry veteran with the task of reviving the website’s flagging business.
Its previous CEO, Wayne Gattinella, resigned after the company took itself off the auction block in January.
WebMD also said on Tuesday that it plans to streamline its operations and focus resources on increasing user engagement, customer satisfaction and innovation, and expects these efforts to reduce annualized operating expenses by about $ 45 million.
While most of the job cuts will be effective at the end of the year, other cost saving actions will be implemented in the first quarter of 2013, the company said in a statement.
The company reported a third-quarter loss in November, compared with a profit in the year-ago quarter, and said revenue fell 13 percent.
WebMD’s shares, which have lost nearly 40 percent of their value over the past six months, were down about 2 percent in premarket trade. They closed at $ 13.85 on Monday on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)
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Thousands protest Mich. right-to-work law
Label: BusinessLANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - More than 12,000 workers from throughout Michigan and the U.S. Midwest crowded into the state Capitol and marched outside in freezing temperatures on Tuesday as the legislature began debating a "right-to-work" law restricting unions in a stronghold of organized labor.
Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said the Capitol building was closed to visitors when it reached capacity of 2,200. An estimated 10,000 people demonstrated outside.
Protesters lined the railings of the inner rotunda of the Capitol in Lansing as the Republican-majority Michigan House of Representatives began debate on a law that would strike a heavy blow against unions by prohibiting them from compelling workers to be members and pay dues.
The pro-union forces earlier had chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, right-to-work has got to go," and "What's disgusting, union busting," inside the building where police had arrested eight protesters last Thursday as Republicans gave preliminary approval to the laws.
Supporters of the right-to-work legislation also were inside the Capitol and on the grounds nearby, although they were heavily outnumbered by opponents. Security was tight with police dressed in riot gear, carrying long batons and with spray canisters on their belts.
Outside, where a nearby bank sign showed the temperature at 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 Celsius) and light snow fell, four inflatable rats dubbed the "Rat Pack" depicted Republican Governor Rick Snyder and the party leaders who have led the right-to-work effort.
A man dressed as Santa Claus stood on the Capitol steps holding a sign saying that Republicans had stolen Christmas.
The show of force by unionized workers recalled huge rallies in Wisconsin two years ago when Republicans voted to curb public sector unions.
Several school districts in Michigan were closed as teachers went to Lansing to join the rallies.
Jen Penz, a union steward for teacher aides at Warren Consolidated Schools, said 260 teachers called in sick there, forcing schools to close in the district near Detroit.
"We're not abandoning our students. We're here to protect their future," Penz said. "We're setting a good example for them.
Ann Patnaude, deputy state director for Americans for Prosperity and a supporter of right-to-work, said many people are confused about the issue.
"The unions are still going to be around," she said. "There's still going to be collective bargaining. This is about freedom, the right to choose."
The bills under consideration by the Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday would cover private, and public sector unions, except for fire and police. Snyder has pledged to sign the bills quickly.
The right-to-work movement has been growing in the United States in recent years. Indiana earlier this year became the first state in the industrial Midwest to approve right-to-work and several other states are watching the Michigan action closely.
Michigan would become the 24th state to enact right-to-work provisions. Passage of the legislation would be a stunning blow to the power of organized labor in the United States, which has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years.
Wisconsin Republicans in 2011 passed laws severely restricting the power of public sector unions. While Wisconsin did not even attempt to pass right-to-work, the success of Republicans there in curbing powerful unions such as teachers and state workers emboldened politicians in other states to follow suit.
UNION HOTBED
Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. It is also the birthplace of the United Auto Workers, the richest U.S. labor union. Michigan has the fifth highest percentage of unionized workers in the United States at 17.5 percent.
While new Michigan laws would not be expected to have much immediate impact because existing union contracts would be preserved, they could eventually weaken the UAW, which has already seen its influence wane in negotiating with the major automakers.
Right-to-work laws typically allow workers to hold a job without being forced to join a union or pay union dues.
President Barack Obama waded into the debate during a visit to the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Michigan, on Monday, criticizing the Republican right-to-work effort.
"What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money," Obama said.
Labor leaders such as UAW President Bob King say they were blindsided by Snyder, who last Thursday announced he was supporting right-to-work after nearly two years of saying the issue was too divisive.
King was unsuccessful in more than a week of talks with Snyder and his staff in staving off the right-to-work push by the Republicans, who will lose several seats when newly elected members take their seats in the Michigan House and Senate in January.
Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority owned by Fiat SpA.
(Additional reporting by Robert Carr; Editing by Greg McCune and Bill Trott)
World Chefs: Keller shares memories, spotlight in latest book
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (Reuters) – Thomas Keller, one of America‘s most respected chefs, shares the food memories of his childhood and his time in France in his new book “Bouchon Bakery,” which is also the name of his chain of pastry shops in the United States.
Keller is the only American chef who owns two three-Michelin-star restaurants – Per Se in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley wine region in California.
Earlier this year, Britain’s Restaurant Magazine named Per Se, which opened in 2004, the world’s sixth best restaurant. Keller also earned the magazine’s lifetime achievement award.
Like his four other books, his latest effort is a collaboration. He co-wrote it with his top pastry chefs Sebastien Rouxel and Matthew McDonald along with food writers Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman and Amy Vogler.
The 57-year-old spoke to Reuters about the book, his pastry chefs and his place in the culinary world.
Q: Why did you collaborate with the leaders of your pastry team with this book?
A: “If you look at my other cookbooks, it’s always been a point with me to share these opportunities with those who share their skills and expertise with the general public. That was the reason why I did the book. Sebastien is one of the best pastry chefs in America. His techniques are unparalleled. I’m not trying to pretend that I’m a pastry chef by writing a book about baking and pastries. Nor am I trying to be a bread baker. I have Matthew McDonald, who is one of the best bakers in America. To be able to highlight his skills in the bread section was very important as well.”
Q: How did your time in France change your view about pastry and bread-making?
A: “When you are in France, especially in Paris, there were three or four boulangeries of different significance just on the block where I lived because they had pastry chefs with different levels of skills. You went to different ones for different things. To have a fresh baked baguette everyday was extraordinary. Anyone who lived in Paris for any length of time would say eating a fresh baguette is pretty special. Bread plays a real important part in the experience of the diners. To make sure we have the opportunity to significantly impact the experience by controlling the production and style of the bread was very important to me.”
Q: Do you have a favorite dessert?
A: “It depends on the day … There are so many things I love. I think anything that’s done really, really well. For me, that’s really something I really appreciate. I think one of the things that really resonate with the individual is that idea that eating, and eating through that experience, they have a memory. We are always trying to do something that’s good. Why put something on the menu that’s not very good?”
Q: The book emphasizes weighing ingredients over measuring with cups and spoons. Could that be difficult for home cooks?
A: “One of the things about pastry … it’s such an exact process. The most exact thing you practice is with weighing. There is an exactness to the execution, which gives you every opportunity to be successful.”
Q: French Laundry and Per Se are among two of the best restaurants in the country. Bouchon Bakery is a success. What more would you like to accomplish in the culinary world?
A: “I have accomplished today everything I wanted to accomplish, more than I ever dreamed was possible. Right now, I’m just focused on the restaurants we have and the book I just wrote. Let me enjoy this moment before you ask me what I’ll be doing tomorrow.”
Pecan Sandies for my mom (Makes 1-1/2 dozen cookies)
1 ¾ cups + 1 ½ teaspoons all-purpose flour (250 grams)
¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans (80 grams)
4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (170 grams)
¾ cup + 1 ¾ teaspoons powdered sugar (90 grams)
Additional powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
1. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (convection) or 350°F (standard). Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.
2. Toss the flour and pecans together in a medium bowl.
3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the 90 grams/¾ cup plus 1¾ teaspoons powdered sugar and mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there.
4. Divide the dough into 30-gram/1½-tablespoon portions, roll into balls, and arrange on the sheet pans, leaving about 1½ inches between them. Press the cookies into 2-inch disks.
5. Bake until pale golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes if using a convection oven, 22 to 25 minutes if using a standard oven, reversing the positions of the pans halfway through. (Sandies baked in a convection oven will not spread as much as those baked in a standard oven and will have a more even color.)
6. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. If desired, dust with powdered sugar.
Note: The cookies can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days.
(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Patricia Reaney and James Dalgleish)
Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Amgen buys Icelandic gene hunter Decode for $415 million
Label: HealthLONDON (Reuters) – U.S. biotechnology group Amgen Inc has agreed to buy unlisted Decode Genetics, a pioneer in hunting down genes linked to disease, for $ 415 million in cash to boost its drive to develop better targeted drugs.
Founded in 1996, Decode blazed a trail in personal genomics by trawling Iceland’s unique genetic heritage, which has changed little since the Vikings arrived more than 1,000 years ago, to work out the links between gene variants and common diseases.
But it failed to live up to early expectations after going public in 2000 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, weighed down by debts after 13 years of failing to make a profit, before re-emerging as a privately owned company.
Amgen and Decode said on Monday that the transaction did not require regulatory approval and was expected to close before the end of 2012.
As part of Amgen, Decode’s scientists will help in the task of ensuring that experimental medicines hit the right spot. Their know-how should allow Amgen to identify promising new avenues earlier and close down dead-ends more quickly.
“This fits perfectly with our objective to pursue rapid development of relevant molecules that reach the right disease targets, while avoiding investments in programs based on less well-validated targets,” Amgen Chief Executive Robert Bradway said.
PERSONALISED MEDICINE
UBS analysts said that the purchase, which will be funded by cash held offshore, was not surprising given that Amgen has key experimental drugs in its pipeline that were identified by human genetics work, including AMG 145 for heart disease and the bone drug romosozumab.
Understanding the genetic basis of disease has become increasingly important in drug discovery as the pharmaceutical industry shifts to developing personalized medicine that is suited for a patient’s particular genetic profile.
It is an area where Decode has extensive experience and its scientists have published prolifically on genetic mutations linked to a range of diseases including cancer, heart conditions and schizophrenia.
Commercially, however, the Reykjavik-based company has been far less successful. Its drug development programs stalled and its DNA tests for diseases have not brought in much cash.
The acquisition leaves Decode’s diagnostics business facing an uncertain future, with Amgen likely to evaluate this and other parts of the business after the deal closes.
Decode is currently owned by Saga Investments, a consortium including Polaris Venture Partners and ARCH Venture Partners, which bought it out of bankruptcy in 2010.
Polaris general partner Terry McGuire said his group had made a “substantial” return on its investment through the sale to Amgen, but he declined to give details or say if other large drug companies had been invited to bid for business.
CEO STAYS
Decode went public on a wave of euphoria about genetics after U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the completion of a working-draft DNA sequence of the human genome in 2000. Turning that gene promise into new drugs has proved harder and more time-consuming than initially hoped.
McGuire said that Decode’s founder and chief executive Kari Stefansson, a neurologist by training, would continue as president of the company after the Amgen takeover and would be a vice-president of research at the U.S. company.
Other genomics companies have fallen by the wayside over the years, though one Human Genome Sciences has managed to develop the first new drug for lupus in half a century with its partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
GSK bought Human Genome Sciences for $ 3 billion this year, taking advantage of a dip in the U.S. biotech company’s shares. Two people familiar with the situation said in July that Amgen had also offered to buy the business for twice as much in 2010.
(Editing by David Goodman)
Medications/Drugs News Headlines – Yahoo! News
McAfee wants to return to US, ‘normal life’
Label: WorldBACALAR, Mexico (AP) — Software company founder John McAfee said Sunday he wants to return to the United States and “settle down to whatever normal life” he can.
In a live-stream Internet broadcast from the Guatemalan detention center where he is fighting a government order that he be returned to Belize, the 67-year-old said “I simply would like to live comfortably day by day, fish, swim, enjoy my declining years.”
Police in neighboring Belize want to question McAfee in the fatal shooting of a U.S. expatriate who lived near his home on a Belizean island in November.
The creator of the McAfee antivirus program again denied involvement in the killing during the Sunday Internet video hook-up, during which he answered what he said were reporters’ questions.
His comments were sometimes contradictory. McAfee is an acknowledged practical joker who has dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft and the production of herbal medications.
The British-born McAfee first said that returning to the United States “is my only hope now.” But he later added, “I would be happy to go to England, I have dual citizenship.”
He was emphatic that “I cannot ever return to Belize …. there is no hope for my life if I am ever returned to Belize.”
“If I am returned,” he said, “bad things will clearly happen to me.”
He descibed the health problems that had him briefly hospitalized earlier this week after Guatemalan authorities detained him for entering the country illegally. He apparently snuck in across a rural, unguarded spot along the border.
“I did not eat for two days, I drank very little liquids, and for the first time in many years I’ve been smoking almost non-stop,” he said. “I stood up, passed out hit my head on the wall, came to,” though he now said he was feeling better.
McAfee praised the role his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend, Samantha Vanegas, played in his escape from Belize, where he claims he is being persecuted by corrupt politicians. Authorities in Belize deny that they are persecuting him and have questioned his mental state.
“Sam saved the day many times” during their escape, he said, and suggested he would take her with him to the United States if he is allowed to go there.
He confirmed that journalists from Vice magazine who accompanied him on his escape after weeks of hiding in Belize had unwittingly posted photos with embedded data that revealed his exact location.
“It was an error anyone could make,” he said, noting they were under a lot of pressure at the time.
McAfee has led an eccentric life since he sold his stake in the anti-virus software company named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about three years ago to lower his taxes.
He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $ 4 million of his $ 100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as describing that claim as “not very accurate at all.”
McAfee’s Guatemalan attorney, Telesforo Guerra, says that he has filed three separate legal appeals in the hope that his client can stay in Guatemala, where his political asylum request was rejected.
Guerra said he filed an appeal for a judge to make sure McAfee’s physical integrity is protected, an appeal against the asylum denial and a petition with immigration officials to allow his client to stay in this Central American country indefinitely.
The appeals could take several days to resolve, Guerra said. He added that he could still use several other legal resources but wouldn’t give any other details.
Fredy Viana, a spokesman for the Immigration Department, said that before the agency looks into the request to allow McAfee to stay in Guatemala, a judge must first deal with the appeal asking that authorities make sure McAfee’s physical integrity is protected.
“We won’t look into (allowing him to stay) until the other appeal is resolved,” Viana said. “The law gives me 30 days to resolve the issue.”
McAfee went on the run last month after Belizean officials tried to question him about the killing of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death in early November.
McAfee acknowledges that his dogs were bothersome and that Faull had complained about them, but denies killing Faull. Faull’s home was a couple of houses down from McAfee’s compound in Ambergris Caye, off Belize’s Caribbean coast.
Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News
SEAL Team Six member dies in rescue of American doctor
Label: BusinessOne of the Special Operations troops involved in the raid to free an
American doctor from the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan died of his
wounds today.
A U.S. official confirmed the service member killed in the raid was a member of SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
"I was deeply saddened to learn that a U.S. service member was killed in the operation, and I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement released today. "The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip. They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night. In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld. The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them."
President Obama also praised the Special Operations force for their bravery.
"Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day," he said today.
"Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honor our troops and military families. He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free."
Dr. Dilip Joseph and two colleagues were kidnapped Dec. 5 by a group of armed men while returning from a visit to a rural medical clinic in eastern Kabul Province, according to a statement from their employer, Colorado Springs-based Morning Star Development. The statement said the three were eventually taken to a mountainous area about 50 miles from the border with Pakistan.
Morning Star's crisis management team in Colorado Springs was in contact with the hostages and their captors almost immediately, the statement said.
On Saturday evening in Afghanistan, two of the three hostages were released. Morning Star did not release their names in order to protect their identities. Dr. Joseph remained in captivity.
Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, ordered the mission to rescue Joseph when "intelligence showed that Joseph was in imminent danger of injury or death", according to a military press release.
Morning Star said Joseph was in good condition and will probably return home to Colorado Springs in the next few days.
A Defense Department official told ABC that Joseph can walk, but was beaten up by his captors.
Joseph has worked for Morning Star Development for three years, the organization said, and travels frequently to Afghanistan.
"Morning Star Development does state categorically that we paid no ransom, money or other consideration to the captors or anyone else to secure the release of these hostages," the organization said.
Springsteen, Lady Gaga join Stones concert in NJ
Label: LifestyleNEW YORK (AP) — Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga and The Black Keys will join the Rolling Stones on Saturday for the final concert marking the band’s 50th anniversary.
The concert will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The band said Monday the concert will be telecast live on pay-per-view.
The Stones have played in London and New York on their “50 and Counting” tour. They will also play in Newark on Thursday.
The Stones will perform Wednesday at the “12-12-12″ concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City to raise money for victims of Superstorm Sandy.
___
Online:
http://www.rollingstones.com/
Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Health workers march in Spain’s capital against cuts, reforms
Label: HealthMADRID (Reuters) – Thousands of health workers, on strike since last month, marched on Sunday in Madrid to protest against budget cuts and plans from the Spanish capital’s regional government to privatize the management of public hospitals and medical centers.
It was the third time doctors, nurses and health workers have rallied since the local authorities put forward a plan in October to place six hospitals and dozens of medical practices under private management. The plan also calls for patients to be charged a fee of 1 euro for prescriptions.
Workers launched an indefinite strike last month against the plan, which has not been endorsed by the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Health workers in the capital are striking Monday-Thursday each week and seeing patients only on Fridays, while also responding to emergencies.
Spain’s 17 autonomous regions control health and education policies and spending. They have all had to implement steep cuts this year as the country struggles to meet tough European Union-agreed deficit targets.
Dressed in white scrubs, the protesters shouted slogans such as “Health is not for sale” and “Health 100 percent public, no to privatizations”.
“Of course, privatization can be reversed. Actually the question is not if it can be reversed, because privatization should never have a future,” said Luis Alvarez, an unemployed man from Madrid attending the demonstration.
Belen Padilla, a doctor at Madrid’s hospital Gregorio Maranon, said one million citizens had already signed a petition rejecting the plan.
(Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Julien Toyer; Editing by Peter Graff)
Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News
Peru’s capital highly vulnerable to major quake
Label: WorldLIMA, Peru (AP) — The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn’t get back up. Minutes later, a 50-foot (15-meter) wall of Pacific Ocean crashed into the adjacent port of Callao, killing all but 200 of its 5,000 inhabitants. Bodies washed ashore for weeks.
Plenty of earthquakes have shaken Peru‘s capital in the 266 years since that fateful night of Oct. 28, 1746, though none with anything near the violence.
The relatively long “seismic silence” means that Lima, set astride one of the most volatile ruptures in the Earth’s crust, is increasingly at risk of being hammered by a one-two, quake-tsunami punch as calamitous as what devastated Japan last year and traumatized Santiago, Chile, and its nearby coast a year earlier, seismologists say.
Yet this city of 9 million people is sorely unprepared. Its acute vulnerability, from densely clustered, unstable housing to a dearth of first-responders, is unmatched regionally. Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute forecasts up to 50,000 dead, 686,000 injured and 200,000 homes destroyed if Lima is hit by a magnitude-8.0 quake.
“In South America, it is the most at risk,” said architect Jose Sato, director of the Center for Disaster Study and Prevention, or PREDES, a non-governmental group financed by the charity Oxfam that is working on reducing Lima’s quake vulnerability.
Lima is home to a third of Peru’s population, 70 percent of its industry, 85 percent of its financial sector, its entire central government and the bulk of international commerce.
“A quake similar to what happened in Santiago would break the country economically,” said Gabriel Prado, Lima’s top official for quake preparedness. That quake had a magnitude of 8.8.
Quakes are frequent in Peru, with about 170 felt by people annually, said Hernando Tavera, director of seismology at the country’s Geophysical Institute. A big one is due, and the chances of it striking increase daily, he said. The same collision of tectonic plates responsible for the most powerful quake ever recorded, a magnitude-9.5 quake that hit Chile in 1960, occurs just off Lima’s coast, where about 3 inches of oceanic crust slides annually beneath the continent.
A 7.5-magnitude quake in 1974 a day’s drive from Lima in the Cordillera Blanca range killed about 70,000 people as landslides buried villages. Seventy-eight people died in the capital. In 2007, a 7.9-magnitude quake struck even closer, killing 596 people in the south-central coastal city of Pisco.
A shallow, direct hit is the big danger.
More than two in five Lima residents live either in rickety structures on unstable, sandy soil and wetlands that amplify a quake’s destructive power or in hillside settlements that sprang up over a generation as people fled conflict and poverty in Peru’s interior. Thousands are built of colonial-era adobe.
Most quake-prone countries have rigorous building codes to resist seismic events. In Chile, if engineers and builders don’t adhere to them they can face prison. Not so in Peru.
“People are building with adobe just as they did in the 17th century,” said Carlos Zavala, director of Lima’s Japanese-Peruvian Center for Seismic Investigation and Disaster Mitigation.
Environmental and human-made perils compound the danger.
Situated in a coastal desert, Lima gets its water from a single river, the Rimac, which a landslide could easily block. That risk is compounded by a containment pond full of toxic heavy metals from an old mine that could rupture and contaminate the Rimac, said Agustin Gonzalez, a PREDES official advising Lima’s government.
Most of Lima’s food supply arrives via a two-lane highway that parallels the river, another potential chokepoint.
Lima’s airport and seaport, the key entry points for international aid, are also vulnerable. Both are in Callao, which seismologists expect to be scoured by a 20-foot (6-meter) tsunami if a big quake is centered offshore, the most likely scenario.
Mayor Susana Villaran’s administration is Lima’s first to organize a quake-response and disaster mitigation plan. A February 2011 law obliged Peru’s municipalities to do so. Yet Lima’s remains incipient.
“How are the injured going to be attended to? What is the ability of hospitals to respond? Of basic services? Water, energy, food reserves? I don’t think this is being addressed with enough responsibility,” said Tavera of the Geophysical Institute.
By necessity, most injured will be treated where they fall, but Peru’s police have no comprehensive first-aid training. Only Lima’s 4,000 firefighters, all volunteers, have such training, as does a 1,000-officer police emergency squadron.
But because the firefighters are volunteers, a quake’s timing could influence rescue efforts.
“If you go to a fire station at 10 in the morning there’s hardly anyone there,” said Gonzalez, who advocates a full-time professional force.
In the next two months, Lima will spend nearly $ 2 million on the three fire companies that cover downtown Lima, its first direct investment in firefighters in 25 years, Prado said. The national government is spending $ 18 million citywide for 50 new fire trucks and ambulances.
But where would the ambulances go?
A 1997 study by the Pan American Health Organization found that three of Lima’s principal public hospitals would likely collapse in a major quake, but nothing has been done to reinforce them.
And there are no free beds. One public hospital, Maria Auxiliadora, serves more than 1.2 million people in Lima’s south but has just 400 beds, and they are always full.
Contingency plans call for setting up mobile hospitals in tents in city parks. But Gonzalez said only about 10,000 injured could be treated.
Water is also a worry. The fire threat to Lima is severe — from refineries to densely-backed neighborhoods honeycombed with colonial-era wood and adobe. Lima’s firefighters often can’t get enough water pressure to douse a blaze.
“We should have places where we can store water not just to put out fires but also to distribute water to the population,” said Sato, former head of the disaster mitigation department at Peru’s National Engineering University.
The city’s lone water-and-sewer utility can barely provide water to one-tenth of Lima in the best of times.
Another big concern: Lima has no emergency operations center and the radio networks of the police, firefighters and the Health Ministry, which runs city hospitals, use different frequencies, hindering effective communication.
Nearly half of the city’s schools require a detailed evaluation to determine how to reinforce them against collapse, Sato said.
A recent media blitz, along with three nationwide quake-tsunami drills this year, helped raise consciousness. The city has spent more than $ 77 million for retention walls and concrete stairs to aid evacuation in hillside neighborhoods, Prado said, but much more is needed.
At the biggest risk, apart from tsunami-vulnerable Callao, are places like Nueva Rinconada.
A treeless moonscape in the southern hills, it is a haven for economic refugees who arrive daily from Peru’s countryside and cobble together precarious homes on lots they scored into steep hillsides with pickaxes.
Engineers who have surveyed Nueva Rinconada call its upper reaches a death trap. Most residents understand this but say they have nowhere else to go.
Water arrives in tanker trucks at $ 1 per 200 liters (52 gallons) but is unsafe to drink unless boiled. There is no sanitation; people dig their own latrines. There are no streetlamps, and visibility is erased at night as Lima’s bone-chilling fog settles into the hills.
Homes of wood, adobe and straw matting rest on piled-rock foundations that engineers say will crumble and rain down on people below in a major quake.
A recently built concrete retaining wall at the valley’s head lies a block beneath the thin-walled wood home of Hilarion Lopez, a 55-year-old janitor and community leader. It might keep his house from sliding downhill, but boulders resting on uphill slopes could shake loose and crush him and his neighbors.
“We’ve made holes and poured concrete around some of the more unstable boulders,” he says, squinting uphill in a strong late morning sun.
He’s not so worried if a quake strikes during daylight.
“But if I get caught at night? How do I see a rock?”
___
Associated Press writer Franklin Briceno contributed to this report.
___
Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak
Latin America News Headlines – Yahoo! News
MiFi With Touchscreen is a Road Warrior’s Dream
Label: TechnologyMeet the Novatel MiFi Liberate: the first mobile access point with a touchscreen, letting you configure it without connecting it to a computer.
If you’re not familiar with mobile access points, these handy gadgets allow you to hook up to the Internet via cellular networks. It’s useful, often essential, if you’re in an area that has no Wi-Fi. If you’re in range of a cellular tower, this MiFi Liberate lets you connect 10 Wi-Fi devices of any kind to the Internet.
[More from Mashable: Google Considering Wireless Network [REPORT]]
Mobile access points are ideal for frequent travelers, accommodating anyone who needs to get online wherever they are. Just the fact that you’re no longer at the mercy of hotels and their Wi-Fi price-gouging makes it worth the cost of admission.
The Novatel MiFi device we tested connects to the AT&T LTE network. That resulted in spectacular upload and download speed, rivaling that of wired broadband networks. The speed of LTE is variable — depending on how many people are using it and how close you are to one of its broadcast towers — but if you’ve been limping along with 3G connectivity, you’ll probably be astonished at the difference.
[More from Mashable: Samsung Galaxy Camera Goes on Sale Nov. 16]
How fast was this MiFi Liberate? We took multiple readings in a variety of locations. It averaged a zippy 19.70 Mbps for downloads, and a tremendous 20.66 Mbps for uploads. That kind of speed can make a big difference in your work, especially if you’re dealing with large files. In many ways, though, that’s more of a testament to the speed of AT&T’s network, rather than the alacrity of this particular device. Your mileage may vary.
Lovely Touchscreen
The best new feature of this device is its excellent 2.8-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen, the first of its kind. It responds to the slightest touch, letting you easily wander around its menus. And even while using that gorgeous screen, it still has in excess of 10 hours of battery life per charge.
That screen can come in handy in unexpected ways. For example, we were impressed with the way it indicated when a device has connected. Once it has, you can drill down farther, finding out more about that device. The screen adjusts for orientation, righting itself when you turn it upside down just like smartphones do.
If you and others are connected to this MiFi unit, it lets you share movies, photos and music via DLNA, with all of you accessing content on a microSD card inserted into the side of this versatile gadget.
It’s Expensive
All that versatility and convenience doesn’t come cheap. While the MiFi Liberate costs $ 49.99 with a two-year contract, you’ll also need to pay a monthly tariff for your LTE connectivity. Because of its blazing speed, we’re thinking you might want to spring for the 5 GB a month plan for $ 50 from AT&T. That takes the MiFi Liberate out of the value-priced category, and into one that you hope your boss will be willing to pay for.
After spending a couple of weeks with this unit, it was easy to conclude that the Novatel MiFi Liberate is the best portable access point we’ve ever tested.
If you need connectivity on the go at the fastest possible speed, this one will do the trick. And if you want to observe and adjust the unit on a bright and responsive touchscreen, look no further.
MiFi Liberate, Side View
It’s nice and small, except for that bulge, which contains a changeable lithium-ion battery.
Click here to view this gallery.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News
More Egypt protests called after Morsi concession
Label: BusinessCAIRO (AP) — Egypt's liberal opposition called for more protests Sunday, seeking to keep up the momentum of its street campaign after the president made a partial concession overnight but refused its main demand he rescind a draft constitution going to a referendum on Dec. 15.
President Mohammed Morsi met one of the opposition's demands, annulling his Nov. 22 decrees that gave him near unrestricted powers. But he insisted on going ahead with the referendum on a constitution hurriedly adopted by his Islamist allies during an all-night session late last month.
The opposition National Salvation Front called on supporters to rally against the referendum. The size of Sunday's turnout, especially at Cairo's central Tahrir square and outside the presidential palace in the capital's Heliopolis district, will determine whether Morsi's concession chipped away some of the popular support for the opposition's cause.
The opposition said Morsi's rescinding of his decrees was an empty gesture since the decrees had already achieved their main aim of ensuring the adoption of the draft constitution. The edicts had barred the courts from dissolving the Constituent Assembly that passed the charter and further neutered the judiciary by making Morsi immune from its oversight.
Still, the lifting of the decrees could persuade many judges to drop their two-week strike to protest what their leaders called Morsi's assault on the judiciary. An end to their strike means they would oversee the Dec. 15 vote as is customary in Egypt.
If the referendum goes ahead, the opposition faces a new challenge — either to campaign for a "no" vote or to boycott the process altogether. A low turnout or the charter passing by a small margin of victory would cast doubts on the constitution's legitimacy.
It was the decrees that initially sparked the wave of protests against Morsi that has brought tens of thousands into the streets in past weeks. But the rushed passage of the constitution further inflamed those who feel Morsi and his Islamist allies, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are monopolizing power in Egypt and trying to force their agenda.
The draft charter was adopted amid a boycott by liberal and Christian members of the Constituent Assembly. The document would open the door to Egypt's most extensive implementation of Islamic law, enshrining a say for Muslim clerics in legislation, making civil rights subordinate to Shariah and broadly allowing the state to protect "ethics and morals." It fails to outlaw gender discrimination and mainly refers to women in relation to home and family.
Sunday's rallies would be the latest of a series by opponents and supporters of Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.
Both sides have drawn tens of thousands of people into the streets, sparking bouts of street battles that have left at least six people dead and hundreds wounded. Several offices of the Muslim Brotherhood also have been ransacked or torched in the unrest.
Morsi, who took office in June as Egypt's first freely elected president, rescinded the Nov. 22 decrees at the recommendation Saturday of a panel of 54 politicians and clerics who took part in a "national dialogue" the president called for to resolve the crisis. Most of the 54 were Islamists who support the president, since the opposition boycotted the dialogue.
In his overnight announcement, Morsi also declared that if the draft constitution is rejected by voters in the referendum, a nationwide election would be held to select the next Constituent Assembly.
The assembly that adopted the draft was created by parliament, which was dominated by the Brotherhood and other Islamists, and had an Islamist majority from the start. The lawmaking lower house of parliament was later disbanded by court order before Morsi's inauguration.
If the draft is approved in the referendum, elections would be held for a new lower house of parliament would be held within two months, Morsi decided.
The president has maintained all along that his Nov. 22 decrees were motivated by his desire to protect the country's state institutions and transition to democratic rule against a "conspiracy" hatched by figures of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak.
Morsi, whose claims have been repeated by leaders of his Brotherhood, has yet to divulge details of the alleged conspiracy.
Comedian Katt Williams arrested near Sacramento
Label: LifestyleSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Comedian Katt Williams has been arrested in northern California on a felony warrant related to a police chase.
The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/UNq5QW ) that Williams was arrested Friday night in Dunnigan, about 25 miles north of Sacramento, by Yolo County deputies.
The paper says he was released from the county jail Saturday after posting bail.
The sheriff’s department confirmed Williams’ arrest late Saturday, but staffers on duty didn’t have details. A spokesman for the comedian didn’t immediately return a call and email.
The California Highway Patrol says Williams fled officers on a three-wheeled motorcycle on Nov. 25 after being spotted driving on a downtown Sacramento sidewalk.
The CHP said Williams was asked to stop and refused, leading to the pursuit.
The CHP says Williams nearly hit five people during the chase, which police ended for safety reasons.
Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News
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