IFC boosts lending to Africa as private sector interest rises

By Daniel Flynn

DAKAR (Reuters) - The World Bank's investment arm will increase lending to sub-Saharan Africa by up to a quarter this year as private sector companies flock to the fast-growing region, its vice-president said.

Jean-Philippe Prosper said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) would make new investments of between $4.5 and $5 billion for the fiscal year ending in June, up from $4 billion the previous year.

The least developed continent is experiencing an economic growth surge, outpacing global averages. The World Bank sees Sub-Saharan Africa's GDP accelerating to more than 5 percent over three years, driven by investment and commodity prices.

Prosper said projects to upgrade infrastructure for the region's 1 billion people were attracting yield-hungry investors, while governments were keen to share the costs to free budget resources for poverty relief.

"In the past, nobody wanted to talk about Africa ... Now more people are coming," Prosper told Reuters. "We would not be able do this level of financing without private sector projects. We did not invent these projects ourselves."

Roughly half the IFC's annual lending in the region goes to financial markets and institutions to help improve the flow of credit to small businesses, which employ most of Africa's workers.

Another third goes to infrastructure projects - mostly transport and electricity - and natural resources investments.

The IFC holds a 5 percent stake in the giant Simandou south iron ore project in Guinea, managed by Rio Tinto, which was due to start production in 2015 but has been hit by lower iron prices and political and regulatory concerns.

Prosper, who met Guinean officials last week, voiced confidence the $15-$20 billion project would go ahead. There have been doubts the government can finance its 51 percent stake in a 700 km (430 mile) railway and offshore loading berth.

"Our discussions were extremely positive. There was interest from government officials to go ahead with the project," he said. "Simandou is a good test. If it works, you will be amazed by the level of investment which will follow in Guinea."

POWER PROJECTS

Post-conflict recovery in Ivory Coast, the economic powerhouse of francophone West Africa, was helping to revive investor appetite for the region, Prosper said. The economy of the world's largest cocoa producer grew 9.8 percent last year as it recovered from a civil war after disputed 2010 elections.

The IFC provided $135 million for the 139 megawatt expansion of the Azito power station, near commercial capital Abidjan, and organised the remaining $277 million of funding for the project.

In Senegal, it is now assessing an investment in the 70 megawatt Tobene power plant, with a cost of $150 million. "Power is the main constraint to investment in Africa," said Prosper.

To help deepen financial markets, the IFC has made shelf listings for local currency bonds in a number of countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda. It recently issued a five-year naira bond in Nigeria, worth some $50 million.

"Zambia and Rwanda are probably quite close to the point where we might do something. But we don't want to issue bonds just to issue bonds. We want to make sure we are going to do something with them," Prosper said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ifc-boosts-lending-africa-private-sector-interest-rises-151455488.html

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Mom of stabbing victim: Accused boy, 12, 'could never' hurt sister

VALLEY SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) ? A day before a 12-year-old boy was arrested for the stabbing death of his 8-year-old sister, his mother described him as "protective" of his younger sibling.

Leila Fowler's killing last month shook the quiet community of Valley Springs, southeast of Sacramento, and set off an intense manhunt. Her brother was in the home at the time and told police he saw a man run from the scene.

Days later, the boy appeared with his father and stepmother at a vigil for his sister. On Friday, as speculation in the community built that perhaps the boy was involved, his biological mother told Sacramento television station KOVR her son "could never hurt his sister."

"I've never seen him be mean to her," said Priscilla Rodriquez.

Less than a day later, police delivered the stunning news: The 12-year-old boy had been arrested and will be charged with homicide.

For a community still reeling from the killing, the news was another blow.

"It's bad enough to lose a child. I can't imagine losing a child by one of my own children," Patti Campbell, a longtime area resident and owner of Campbell's Country Kitchen, told The Associated Press.

Campbell, a resident of the area for 33 years and the operator of the Valley Springs restaurant for 15 of them, said she had served Leila and her family in her restaurant.

"It's just shocking. I don't know what else to say," Campbell said.

Other residents in the community of about 7,400 people expressed similar feelings of disbelief.

"I did not want to believe it. You kind of thought so, but it's not something you want to believe," resident Tammy Ainsworth told Sacramento's KCRA-TV.

Aaron Plunk, a neighbor of Fowler's, said the arrest was staggering but he could rest easier now. He said he and his family had been extra vigilant about locking windows and doors, even though the street was being closely guarded by deputies.

"I think we were the safest house in the county," Plunk told the Modesto Bee.

Plunk's mother, Carla Plunk, said she had been scared enough to arm herself.

"It the first time I ever held a gun," she said.

Calaveras Unified School District Superintendent Mark Campbell said counselors will be available Monday at all schools.

The district "stands ready to provide whatever level of support and assistance is necessary to the Fowler family" and the community at large, he said Sunday.

Police released no information about what led them to arrest the unidentified 12-year-old for the April 27 attack. Following the crime, investigators did a door-to-door sweep of homes, storage sheds and horse stables scattered across the oak-studded hills foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Divers also searched two nearby reservoirs in search of clues.

Leila's brother told police he found his sister's body and encountered an intruder in the home while their parents were at a Little League game. He described the man as tall with long gray hair. A neighbor told detectives she saw a man flee the home, but she later recanted the story.

Police said there was no sign of a burglary or robbery. As part of the investigation, authorities seized several knives from the Fowler home, where Leila lived with her father, stepmother and siblings.

Calaveras County Sheriff Gary Kuntz said authorities spent more than 2,000 hours on the investigation before they arrested the boy at 5:10 p.m. Saturday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mom-accused-boy-12-could-never-hurt-sister-202446524.html

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Great Time to Play Stocks? Maybe Not for Everyone

Monday, May 13th, 2013
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential

Not everyone is happy with the current bull market, despite the fact that the S&P 500 and the Dow are headed for their fourth straight year of gains and seemingly more records to break.

As the old saying goes, ?the trend is your friend,? and so far, this has played out.

Just take a look at the chart below of the S&P 500 and its rally from the March 2009 bottom. Also note the rising flow of money into the system by the Federal Reserve, as indicated by the green upward-trending line. (Read ?Thank the Fed for Your New Car, Home, Investments.?) Cheap and ample money combined with extremely low interest rates and yields on bonds has helped to fuel the stock market rally.

Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com

The stock market advance could continue, as long as the Fed and other central banks around the world are willing to continue to print money.

Now, let me explain why not everyone is happy.

With the burden of home foreclosures, job losses, declining wages, and continued uncertainties, many Americans do not have the resources to play the stock market. These lower- and middle-income Americans are just trying to pay for the necessities to survive daily, never mind thinking about their 401(k)s and retirement funds.

So you have the people making tons of money from the stock market. These are the consumers buying new cars, homes, traveling, and playing the stock market.

Then you have the people who are still struggling and haven?t yet recovered fully from the Great Recession. It could take a few more years for these people to rally out of their sinkhole, but in the meantime, they are missing out on the gains in the stock market.

By the time those who have not partaken in the current bull market are ready to once again invest in something other than the necessities, the stock market may be turning down, due to the aftermath of higher interest rates?and yes, they are coming down the road.

The reality is that it has been all about the timing over the past four years. If you invested, you made money. You can still ride the current gains, which still show no signs of stopping.

We will likely see a stock market correction?I?m just not sure when it will happen. But since we have yet to see a significant correction, aside from in mid-April, you know one is on the horizon. I would view a correction as a buying opportunity.

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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

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Great Time to Play Stocks? Maybe Not for Everyone, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Source: http://www.profitconfidential.com/stock-market/great-time-to-play-stocks-maybe-not-for-everyone/

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Israeli PM criticized for installing bed on plane

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek alternate sleeping arrangements when traveling after receiving a sky-high bill for installing a customized bed on a recent flight to London, officials close to the Israeli leader said.

Netanyahu found himself facing a public uproar on Sunday after Channel 10 TV reported over the weekend that he had spent $127,000 in public funds on a special sleeping cabin for the five-hour flight to attend Margaret Thatcher's funeral last month.

Netanyahu's office initially defended the decision, saying the prime minister had a busy schedule ahead of the flight and needed to be fresh for important meetings in Britain.

But following public criticism, officials close to Netanyahu said late Saturday that he had been unaware of the cost, and once informed, he ordered the bed be canceled on all future flights. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The uproar comes at a delicate time. Netanyahu's government is in the process of drawing up a budget expected to include painful austerity measures and tax increases due to a widening deficit.

On Saturday night, several thousand people took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities to protest the expected budget cuts. Netanyahu was meeting Sunday with top officials to discuss likely cutbacks in the defense budget.

Micky Rosenthal of the opposition Labor Party called for an inquiry into the prime minister's "scandalous behavior" according to the Maariv daily on Sunday.

"We thought that nothing could surprise us anymore when it came to the Netanyahus' personal behavior. Well, we thought wrong," wrote Sima Kadmon, a political commentator in the Yediot Ahronot daily.

"It is unbelievable that not a single person in the prime minister's inner circle saw how reprehensible this was. Not a single person showed a tiny bit of common sense. There was no one who anticipated just how angry people would be when they learned about this," Kadmon said about the custom-made bed.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu stopped buying ice cream from his favorite Jerusalem parlor after an Israeli newspaper discovered his office was spending $2,700 a year for the frozen treat.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-pm-criticized-installing-bed-plane-113940440.html

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Fifty Shades of Grey: Who Should Play Anastasia?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/fifty-shades-of-grey-who-should-play-anastasia/

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Factbox: Contenders in Iranian presidential election

(Reuters) - Following are brief details of leading candidates for Iran's June 14 presidential election, for which registration closed on Saturday.

AKBAR HASHEMI RAFSANJANI: The centrist Rafsanjani, an important figure since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was president from 1989 to 1997. He earned the ire of hardliners after he sided with reformists during the unrest that followed the disputed 2009 election, and has seen two of his children jailed in recent months.

ESFANDIAR RAHIM MASHAIE: Former chief-of-staff to outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is viewed with intense suspicion by conservatives who say he leads a "deviant current" within Iranian politics that seeks to sideline the ruling clerics. They consider Mashaie and Ahmadinejad to be right-wing populists.

SAEED JALILI: Iran's nuclear negotiator since 2007 is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and seen as a hardline conservative close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

HASSAN ROHANI: A moderate Muslim cleric, he also served as Iran's nuclear negotiator, presiding over talks with Britain, France and Germany that saw Tehran agree to suspend uranium enrichment-related activities between 2003 and 2005. He is seen as close to Rafsanjani.

ALI AKBAR VELAYATI: Served as foreign minister from 1981 to 1997 and advises Khamenei on foreign policy matters. He is seen as a traditional conservative, with ties both to 'principlist' factions - loyal to the supreme leader - and to Rafsanjani's camp.

MOHAMMAD BAQER QALIBAF: A former police chief, he is the current mayor of Tehran and has a reputation as a competent, charismatic manager who could attract Iran's sizeable youth vote. He is viewed as a pragmatic conservative.

GHOLAM-ALI HADDAD-ADEL: A former parliament speaker and relative of Khamenei by marriage, he is a close adviser to the Supreme Leader.

MOHSEN REZAIE: The veteran politician and former Revolutionary Guards commander ran in 2009 against Ahmadinejad and lost. He is the secretary of Iran's Expediency Council, which advises Khamenei.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-contenders-iranian-presidential-election-170231482.html

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Sale throws 1-hitter as White Sox beat Angels 3-0

CHICAGO (AP) ? The Chicago White Sox needed a big start from ace Chris Sale, and he nearly gave them something historic.

Sale took a perfect game into the seventh inning before finishing with a one-hitter, and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Sunday night to avoid a three-game sweep. The left-hander retired the first 19 batters he faced before Mike Trout's sharp single to center ended the perfect game bid with one out in the seventh, on his 70th pitch.

"I knew warming up in the bullpen I felt loose. My arm felt good tonight," Sale said. "Warming up in the bullpen I felt like I was creating some good stuff and just wanted to transfer that out to the field, and it ended up working out tonight."

Sale (4-2) struck out seven on just 98 pitches for his first career shutout and third win in his last four outings. The one-hitter was Chicago's first since Zach Stewart had one on Sept. 5, 2011, at Minnesota.

The White Sox had lost two straight and were on the verge of being swept by a struggling Angels team. Before Saturday's loss, manager Robin Ventura called a meeting to discuss the team's woes.

"He understands how it's been going," Ventura said of Sale. "So it's one of those you need a guy like that that can go out and put together a game like that and give you a chance."

Sale pithed the third one-hitter in three days in the majors, joining St. Louis' Shelby Miller and Boston's Jon Lester, who both had theirs on Friday night.

Alexei Ramirez's two-run two-out single in the bottom of the seventh drove in Tyler Flowers and Tyler Greene to give Sale the lead and chase Los Angeles' C.J. Wilson. Alex Rios then doubled off reliever Michael Kohn to drive in Ramirez, who had three hits and scored a run.

Sale didn't require much more support than that in a game the White Sox needed badly.

"I think he (Sale) just likes the big games," Flowers said. "I guarantee you he knows everyone was watching on ESPN and that whole thing."

Wilson (3-2) gave up three runs and six hits while striking out three and walking four in 6 2-3 innings. He lost his second straight decision after losing to Houston on Tuesday.

Wilson got no support from his offense. Other than Rios' running catch against the wall on Howie Kendrick's drive in the second, there weren't any close calls for Sale.

"It just goes back to that competitive streak in you. You want to get that guy out there," said Josh Hamilton, who was 0 for 3. "Even though he is having a phenomenal night, you want to hit it hard somewhere, or barrel it up, if they make a play, they make a play, tip your hat. He did a good job."

Except for the seventh, Wilson pitched well enough to give the Angels what would have been a welcome sweep and four-game winning streak. They had lost five of seven before the series and won the first two in Chicago but fell Sunday to 10 games behind in the AL West.

"We need to carry some of the things we did well in this series forward," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think if there is one thing we saw in this series, is that we have the ability to pitch well and I think we have to carry that forward."

For their part, the White Sox would like to prolong what happened Sunday.

Sale was eight outs away from the White Sox's 19th no-hitter in team history and their fourth perfect game after Philip Humber (2012), Mark Buehrle (2009) and Charles Robertson (1922).

The 24-year-old said he started thinking about a perfect game or no-hitter around the fourth or the fifth, but didn't sound disappointed with the one-hitter.

"I didn't wake up this morning and say I'm going to throw a perfect game or a no-hitter," Sale said. "I come to the ballpark every day when I'm pitching and say I just want to keep my team in this game and I want to win this game."

NOTES: Scioscia said there's no timetable for starting pitcher Tommy Hanson's return. Hanson was placed on the restricted list on Friday. ... Ventura gave DH/1B Adam Dunn "a day off." Dunn is hitting .137 overall, including .105 against left-handers. ... Angels shortstop Erick Aybar missed his third straight game with a tight right hamstring suffered Thursday against Houston. Scioscia said Aybar might be available Monday. ... White Sox LHP John Danks threw 101 pitches over six innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte. Danks will make another rehab start May 18 at Triple-A before the White Sox will determine whether to bring him back. Danks hasn't pitched this season after being placed on the disabled list last May 25. ... On Monday, the White Sox's Hector Santiago (1-1, 1.69) will face the Twins' Pedro Hernandez (1-0, 5.96) in Minneapolis, while the Angels' Joe Blanton (0-6, 5.66) is scheduled to pitch against Kansas City's Luis Mendoza (0-2, 6.38). ... Ventura became the 27th White Sox manager to win 100 games.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sale-throws-1-hitter-white-sox-beat-angels-025601531.html

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Pacers protect home court, beat Knicks 82-71

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? The Indiana Pacers kept everything in front of them Saturday night.

The Pacers didn't let the Knicks get away from them on fast breaks, didn't let the Knicks get good 3-point looks and didn't even give New York a chance to challenge late.

Instead, Roy Hibbert, Paul George and Indiana showed what it can do when it plays its game.

Hibbert finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while George nearly came up with another postseason triple double, leading the Pacers to a crucial 82-71 Game 3 victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

"That's how we play Pacers basketball," George said. "We just locked in, and it was just helping one another on the defensive end."

Sure, Indiana could have been sidetracked by the embarrassing 26-point loss at New York in Game 2. Or it could have gotten caught up in the pregame banter about Amare Stoudemire's impending return or J.R Smith's sudden illness.

But the Pacers never got distracted.

Coach Frank Vogel's bunch followed the same game plan it has all season -- locking down defensively, winning the rebounding battle and protecting its home court.

Check, check and check.

Indiana limited the Knicks to 35.2 percent shooting from the floor, allowed just three 3-pointers and forced 15 turnovers. And, of course, the league's No. 1 rebounding team dominated the glass again, finishing with a 53-40 rebounding edge and a 20-10 edge in second-chance points.

It was enough to allow the Pacers to overcome a 28 for 80 shooting performance that included a season-high 33 3-point attempts.

"They outrebounded us, they won the hustle today, the little things," Carmelo Anthony said. "It all came down to us not scoring the basketball. ... We can't beat anyone scoring 71 points."

It's the same formula Indiana won Game 1, and now, if Indiana wins a fifth straight home playoff game Tuesday night, it will head back to Madison Square Garden with a commanding lead over a longtime rival.

How did the Pacers do it again? They relied on scoring balance and in-your-face defense.

HIbbert kept loose balls alive in his best playoff performance of this postseason. Vogel called it his best playoff game ever.

George struggled to score, finishing with 14 points, but he also finished had eight rebounds and eight assists and caused plenty of consternation for Anthony and others on defense.

David West got off to a slow start but finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds and George Hill knocked down five 3s and he finished with 17 points.

"We didn't change much in terms of our physicality," West said. "I just thought we were a little bit more precise defensively in terms of our communication and we shored some things up. We didn't allow them to get some of the things they got in the second game in New York."

The Knicks had only one player in double figures. Carmelo Anthony scored 21, but the NBA scoring champion went j6 of 16 from the field, managed only two points and no baskets in the fourth quarter and finished well below his playoff scoring average of 29.3.

He was hardly alone.

Smith gave it a go although his shooting woes continued. He went 4 of 12, scored nine points and walked directly to locker room when he was replaced midway through the fourth quarter. A few minutes later, he came back into the game and is now just 11 of 42 from the field in the series.

Stoudemire looked rusty in his return, making just 3 of 8 eight shots -- one a dunk, another on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter -- and finished with seven points and two rebounds.

The Knicks led once in the game, for just 76 seconds, and barely escaped the ignominy of setting a franchise playoff record for fewest points in a game. The all-time low is 67. New York didn't hit 68 until Kenyon Martin's dunk with 1:39 to play.

"Offensively, we just didn't have anything," coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought defensively, we hung in there and did what we had had to do, but we just didn't have any offensive pop and we have to figure that out."

And fast or the second-seeded Knicks will spend the rest of this series playing catch-up.

New York had a chance midway through the third quarter when it closed the deficit to 44-41. But instead of faltering, as the Pacers did in Game 2, they thrived on New York's miscues.

When Tyson Chandler was called for his third foul, he lost his cool and was whistled for a technical foul. That allowed the Pacers to score three points on the possession. West followed that with a 19-foot jumper and after Chandler went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Indiana seized control with a 9-0 run that made it 58-44.

Stoudemire's buzzer-beater to end the quarter got the Knicks within 62-51 and New York eventually got as close as 65-57 with 9:10 left. But Indiana answered with seven straight points and never let the Knicks challenge again.

"Our guys usually do what you emphasize," Vogel said. "We don't want to do it at the expense of giving up things up at the rim. But we were able to guard the paint and the 3-point line, and that's the goal."

Notes: The Pacers are 4-0 at home with an average victory margin of 16.5 points. ... New York is now 0-3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season. ... Saturday's loss marked the first time New York lost in this year's playoffs while holding a team to fewer than 90 points. The Knicks are now 5-1. ... Movie director Spike Lee showed up inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Game 3 in a Knicks jersey and orange hat

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pacers-protect-home-court-beat-knicks-82-71-030217569.html

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Pakistan Election: Polls Open In Landmark Democratic Transition

By John Chalmers and Michael Georgy

ISLAMABAD, May 11 (Reuters) - Pakistanis began voting on Saturday in a landmark election that will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.

The people of Pakistan hope the polls will deliver change and ease frustrations with a feeble economy, widespread corruption, chronic power cuts and crumbling infrastructure.

Disenchantment with the two mainstream parties appeared this week to have brought a late surge of support for former cricket star Imran Khan, who could end up holding the balance of power if there is no clear-cut winner.

If that happens, weeks of haggling to form a coalition will follow and raise the risk of an unstable government in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its history.

That would only make it more difficult to reverse the disgust with politicians felt among the country's 180 million people and drive through the reforms needed to revive its near-failed economy.

Power cuts can last more than 10 hours a day in some places, crippling key industries like textiles, and a new International Monetary Fund bailout may be needed soon.

Dozens of people have been killed in the run-up to the vote by the al-Qaeda-linked Pakistan Taliban, which regards the poll as un-Islamic and has vowed to disrupt the process with suicide bombings.

"The problems facing the new government will be immense, and this may be the last chance that the country's existing elites have to solve them," said Anatol Lieven, a professor at King's College, London, and author of a book on Pakistan.

"If the lives of ordinary Pakistanis are not significantly improved over the next five years, a return to authoritarian solutions remains a possibility," Lieven wrote in a column in the Financial Times on Friday.

The army stayed out of politics during the five years of the last government, but it still sets the nuclear-armed country's foreign and security policy and will steer the thorny relationship with Washington as NATO troops withdraw from neighbouring Afghanistan next year.

The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looks set to win the most seats in the one-day vote, which gets under way across the country at 8 a.m. (0300 GMT).

However, Khan's dark-horse challenge could deprive Sharif of a majority and dash his hopes for a return to power 14 years after he was ousted in a military coup, jailed and later exiled.

Pakistan's best-known sportsman, who led a playboy lifestyle in his younger days, Khan is seen by many as a refreshing change from the dynastic politicians who long relied on a patronage system to win votes and are often accused of corruption.

THREAT OF ATTACKS

Voters will elect 272 members of the National Assembly and to win a simple majority, a party would have to take 137 seats.

However, the election is complicated by the fact that a further 70 seats, most reserved for women and members of non- Muslim minorities, are allocated to parties on the basis of their performance in the contested constituencies. To have a majority of the total of 342, a party would need 172.

Khan appeals mostly to young, urban voters because of his calls for an end to corruption, a new political landscape and a halt to U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil.

The 60-year-old is in hospital after injuring himself in a fall at a party rally, which may also win him sympathy votes.

Early opinion polls had put the share of votes for his Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party as low as single figures. However, a survey released on Wednesday showed 24.98 percent of voters nationally planned to vote for his party, just a whisker behind Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

The Herald magazine poll showed Sharif's party remained the front-runner in Punjab, which, with the largest share of parliamentary seats, usually dictates the outcome of elections.

It also pointed to an upset for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which led the last government, placing it third. Pakistan's politics have long been dominated by the PML-N and the PPP, whose most prominent figure is President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto.

"The PPP didn't take care of the poor masses and always engages in corrupt practices whenever they come to power," said Sher Nabi, a banker from Peshawar.

"So we've decided to vote for the PTI candidate this time and test Imran Khan to see if he proves as honest as he claims."

In the violence ahead of the election, militants mostly targeted secular-leaning parties in the PPP's outgoing coalition and largely spared more conservative parties that question Pakistan's participation in the U.S.-led campaign against militancy, including those of both Khan and Sharif.

Many Pakistanis still plan to vote despite the bloodshed.

"I want to go out and vote but my parents are scared there will be a bomb or a shooting," said 21-year-old Nargis Fatima, a student in Quetta, one of Pakistan's most volatile cities.

"This is the first time I'm old enough to vote and I'll try my best to go out there and feel that I am part of whatever new set-up comes into place."

(Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD, Gul Yousafzai in QUETTA, Mubasher Bukhari in LAHORE and Jibran Ahmed in PESHAWAR)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/pakistan-election-polls-open_n_3256968.html

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The Big B in ?The Great Gatsby?: TIME?s Q&A with Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is India?s biggest and most-enduring movie star, with hit films ranging from?Sholay?in 1975 to?Paa?in 2009. He also hosted five seasons of the Indian version of?Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Bachchan has a cameo role in Baz Luhrmann?s?The Great Gatsby, and spoke to?TIME?s Jyoti Thottam in New York on May 6.

How did you meet Baz Luhrmann?

Baz Luhrmann was on a private visit to India a couple of years ago, traveling around on his motorcycle, visiting a friend of his who was an artist. He came over, and we talked about everything but films. And then a year or so later I got another message about a film that he?s doing, we spoke on the phone, and we Skyped and he said, you know, Amitabh, I?m making Great Gatsby, and there?s a small role, I know it?s not worth your while to do something like this but I?d be very delighted if you could.

This is your first Hollywood film. Why now?

Primarily because of the way Baz Luhrmann came across, more as a friend than anything else. I just felt that I had the time and perhaps the ability and the intention to do something like this, truly as a gesture rather than looking at it as a stepping stone for another release in Hollywood. I didn?t think of doing it like that but now that it?s done and if there are opportunities, I would certainly consider it.

What different about making movies in Hollywood, rather than Bollywood?

We make over 1000 films every year. Hollywood makes about 300, but Hollywood makes more money. That just shows the reach and the marketability. That?s something that we lack. We don?t know how to market our films. Now all the corporations are there in India. They?re co-producing films, they?re distributing them. I just feel that sooner or later the sheer potential of the demographics of India, which is 1.25 billion people, will eventually be very attractive to the entertainment industry.

In Slumdog Millionaire, the young hero is willing to go through anything to meet you, but the film uses a double. Did Danny Boyle ask you to appear in the film as yourself?

No, but his office did call to say, we?re wanting to use images of yours from films. Is that okay with you?

You?ve had success in film and TV; how are they different?

TV is huge now in India. It is certainly bigger commercially now than films. Its reach and its connectivity is instant; it?s faster than film.

Is it as satisfying for you as an artist?

I don?t mind it. When the proposal for KBC [for Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Hindi translation of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?] was made to me, I found it an exciting show. I was hesitant about how it was going to be conducted in India so Star TV took me to England. I went and saw it and said, if you can give me a the same production in India, I?ll be very happy to join. And to their credit, they did. And as an actor I would not mind to do something more than just a game show. I find that American television for example, there?s a huge amount of production value in their shows, and I?m amazed about how they?re able to do this. I?m very keen to be involved in something like that.

Any American TV shows that you watch?

I see a lot of them; I can?t remember all their names. They?re all so fantastic. The last ones that left a lot of impression was the one about the White House. West Wing? With Martin Sheen. Grey?s Anatomy. Game of Thrones. Yes, superb.

You?re moving into digital entertainment now; what?s it like to move to smaller and smaller screens?

If the modes are changing, one goes along with it I guess. A lot of people think that when you?re playing leading roles you don?t want to take the risk. I don?t think in terms of risk right now. I?m no longer in that category?of the superstars, the younger generation?so I can do those things, you know, just to satisfy my curiosity. I write my own blog every day. I do the Twitter every day and the Facebook. Without a gap. I do everything myself, I load my own photographs, I sometimes take my own videos and post them.

Are you getting more involved in the business end of digital entertainment?

We are holding hands now with CA Media, which is a Peter Chernin company. He came across and he met me and we talked about films and entertainment in general. I actually talked to him about digital promotion. When I started my blog one of the things that I felt awkward about was asking people to pay to read my blog. I still maintain that. But if it is done in a guarded fashion and it doesn?t look as though I am doing this as a business, and they can protect that, then it?s fine.

Many investors feel that the business climate isn?t as welcoming in India as they would like. Are people starting to cool on India?

No, I don?t feel that. Even in a cool state we?re still percentages higher than the rest of the world [in terms of GDP growth]. Even if we?re not doing 9%, we?re doing 7%, okay, it?s still more than the United States. I think you need to go with the basic thought?the basic thought is that you will not be able to ignore the kind of demographics that exist in our country.

For a while, people were expecting that a Bollywood film might break big internationally, but that hasn?t happened yet. Why do you think that is?

I don?t know. I don?t know in what way people expect that. Are you wanting to make a film in English? In Chinese or Japanese or what? Because you can make a film in Hindi and it can be dubbed. But if you?re saying you want to make a deliberate subject, which is going to cater to the United States of America, perhaps not. What I find now is a lot of realism ? realistic cinema and topics and subjects that project the real India are going through, so now you have someone like [director] Anurag Kashyap, whose Gangs of Wasseypur is being previewed and invited to the Cannes Film Festival.

How has the film industry changed since you started?

I feel very out of place at times because the average age on set is about 25. And I?m 71. But I?m very excited to see them. It?s a huge change from when I started in the 1960s, but what is really impressive is that the number of ladies on set, the women working on set is a huge percentage. There used to be no women. It was just the leading lady?s mother, perhaps the hairdresser and the makeup person. But you have women now working as assistant directors, assistants to cameramen, production managers, scriptwriters, doing dialogue, directing films.

How has that changed the dynamic of filmmaking?

If you have a woman who?s directing it her perspective is going to be in it. And if you have a leading lady who?s a woman ? [the 2012 thriller] Kahaani was a tremendous example of that. It?s a lone battle of a woman who succeeds in the end. It?s like the leading man of the old times.

Your son, Abhishek, is also in the film industry. Do you see it differently than he does?

I don?t know. I had this feeling that if I had a son, that he would be my friend, that I would not be a father figure. So we just, you know, we are friends. And we talk about music or films, or clothing, where to go, Skyping, Facetime, I was just on Facetime. It?s a state of mind really. You can live with your past and be quiet. But I?m still in the business.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-b-great-gatsby-time-q-amitabh-bachchan-172042657.html

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Google Japan's View Of The City

Tom Anderson, co-founder of MySpace, was at Google's Japan office a few weeks ago and took a picture of the view from the office. Just look at that view.

Tom said there was a "a dramatic sunset that night, it started looking ominous." So he took a picture and then yesterday posted it on Google+ for all to see.

He did drop a hint about making working at Google. He said, "How fun would it be to work for Google in such an exciting city?"

This post is part of our daily Search Photo of the Day column, where we find fun and interesting photos related to the search industry and share them with our readers.

Source: http://feeds.seroundtable.com/~r/SearchEngineRoundtable1/~3/myJGpwZMCWA/google-japan-view-16764.html

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Pakistan marks democratic milestone in close-fought election

By John Chalmers and Michael Georgy

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistanis began voting on Saturday in a landmark election that will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.

The people of Pakistan hope the polls will deliver change and ease frustrations with a feeble economy, widespread corruption, chronic power cuts and crumbling infrastructure.

Disenchantment with the two mainstream parties appeared this week to have brought a late surge of support for former cricket star Imran Khan, who could end up holding the balance of power if there is no clear-cut winner.

If that happens, weeks of haggling to form a coalition will follow and raise the risk of an unstable government in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its history.

That would only make it more difficult to reverse the disgust with politicians felt among the country's 180 million people and drive through the reforms needed to revive its near-failed economy.

Power cuts can last more than 10 hours a day in some places, crippling key industries like textiles, and a new International Monetary Fund bailout may be needed soon.

Dozens of people have been killed in the run-up to the vote by the al-Qaeda-linked Pakistan Taliban, which regards the poll as un-Islamic and has vowed to disrupt the process with suicide bombings.

"The problems facing the new government will be immense, and this may be the last chance that the country's existing elites have to solve them," said Anatol Lieven, a professor at King's College, London, and author of a book on Pakistan.

"If the lives of ordinary Pakistanis are not significantly improved over the next five years, a return to authoritarian solutions remains a possibility," Lieven wrote in a column in the Financial Times on Friday.

The army stayed out of politics during the five years of the last government, but it still sets the nuclear-armed country's foreign and security policy and will steer the thorny relationship with Washington as NATO troops withdraw from neighboring Afghanistan next year.

The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looks set to win the most seats in the one-day vote, which gets under way across the country at 8 a.m. (0300 GMT).

However, Khan's dark-horse challenge could deprive Sharif of a majority and dash his hopes for a return to power 14 years after he was ousted in a military coup, jailed and later exiled.

Pakistan's best-known sportsman, who led a playboy lifestyle in his younger days, Khan is seen by many as a refreshing change from the dynastic politicians who long relied on a patronage system to win votes and are often accused of corruption.

THREAT OF ATTACKS

Voters will elect 272 members of the National Assembly and to win a simple majority, a party would have to take 137 seats.

However, the election is complicated by the fact that a further 70 seats, most reserved for women and members of non- Muslim minorities, are allocated to parties on the basis of their performance in the contested constituencies. To have a majority of the total of 342, a party would need 172.

Khan appeals mostly to young, urban voters because of his calls for an end to corruption, a new political landscape and a halt to U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil.

The 60-year-old is in hospital after injuring himself in a fall at a party rally, which may also win him sympathy votes.

Early opinion polls had put the share of votes for his Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party as low as single figures. However, a survey released on Wednesday showed 24.98 percent of voters nationally planned to vote for his party, just a whisker behind Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

The Herald magazine poll showed Sharif's party remained the front-runner in Punjab, which, with the largest share of parliamentary seats, usually dictates the outcome of elections.

It also pointed to an upset for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which led the last government, placing it third. Pakistan's politics have long been dominated by the PML-N and the PPP, whose most prominent figure is President Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto.

"The PPP didn't take care of the poor masses and always engages in corrupt practices whenever they come to power," said Sher Nabi, a banker from Peshawar.

"So we've decided to vote for the PTI candidate this time and test Imran Khan to see if he proves as honest as he claims."

Pakistan, which prides itself on its democratic credentials, ordered the New York Times bureau chief in Islamabad to leave the country on the eve of national elections, the newspaper said on Friday.

A two-sentence letter was delivered by police officers to the home of the bureau chief, Declan Walsh, at 12:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, it said.

"It is informed that your visa is hereby canceled in view of your undesirable activities," the Times quoted the letter as saying. "You are therefore advised to leave the country within 72 hours."

In the violence ahead of the election, militants mostly targeted secular-leaning parties in the PPP's outgoing coalition and largely spared more conservative parties that question Pakistan's participation in the U.S.-led campaign against militancy, including those of both Khan and Sharif.

Many Pakistanis still plan to vote despite the bloodshed.

"I want to go out and vote but my parents are scared there will be a bomb or a shooting," said 21-year-old Nargis Fatima, a student in Quetta, one of Pakistan's most volatile cities.

"This is the first time I'm old enough to vote and I'll try my best to go out there and feel that I am part of whatever new set-up comes into place."

(Additional reporting by Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD, Gul Yousafzai in QUETTA, Mubasher Bukhari in LAHORE and Jibran Ahmed in PESHAWAR; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistanis-vote-landmark-election-031123656.html

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Yemen's leader warns of al-Qaida expansion

SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? The president of Yemen on Thursday warned that the al-Qaida branch in the country was expanding and using assassinations and abductions of foreigners as a way to challenge the central authority.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued his warning during a closed session of the National Dialogue, which brings political, religious and other leaders together to decide on the country's political system before writing a constitution.

The official SABA news agency said Hadi held an "exceptional" meeting, but offered few details on the president's remarks about security in the county. However, three people at the session agreed to relay his comments to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the meeting.

They said Hadi told the participants that Yemen was at a crossroads, and pointed to a "very precarious" security situation in Yemen. One described Hadi's remarks as unusually frank.

The National Dialogue is part of a transfer of power deal that led to the ouster of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after a yearlong mass uprising. During the turmoil, militant groups affiliated with al-Qaida took advantage of the military's preoccupation with the political unrest and took control of large areas of territory in the country's south.

According to the participants, Hadi said that although his government has been going after al-Qaida militants around the country, dealing them some setbacks, "the group is recuperating" and sleeper cells are waiting for the right time to carry out terrorist operations. One of the participants said Hadi told them that he was speaking "honestly" and that the security grip on the country was not as good as it should be. Hadi also told the gathering that al-Qaida was increasingly using modern technologies to facilitate communications and avoid being tracked.

Hadi said some political activities had been canceled in the south because of security concerns for those would be attending. He also said the government had told foreign missions to exercise caution while moving around Sanaa. Foreign missions already are required to get prior permission before traveling out of the capital.

Two Finns and one Austrian kidnapped in Yemen in December were released Thursday, according to Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

Hadi's comments about al-Qaida came on the same day that suspected al-Qaida militants killed an intelligence officer in southern Lahj province and a day after three Yemeni air force pilots were shot and killed near an air base in the south.

The participants said Hadi blamed some of the powerful tribes and members of the military and security, apparently in reference to loyalists to his predecessor, a common complaint since he came to office in February last year.

In comments published by SABA, Hadi urged social groups to "denounce" the presence of terrorist groups in their areas, and report them to authorities.

Hadi and his supporters have accused Saleh, the former president of Yemen, of obstructing the current U.S.-backed Yemeni government as it tries to reform and fight an active al-Qaida branch in the impoverished Arab nation.

Since he took office, Hadi has tried to remove former regime loyalists over concerns that Saleh was using them to further destabilize the nation. Last month, Hadi removed Saleh's son and nephews from powerful security posts, a move hailed by his supporters as the most dramatic yet to sideline figures from the previous regime.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-leader-warns-al-qaida-expansion-182348969.html

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Metals - Brazil, Regional - Latin American steel imports from China 18 times higher than eight years ago - Ternium CEO

By Frederico Barbosa - Thursday, May 9, 2013

A new study by Luxembourg-based Ternium (NYSE: TX) has shown that Latin American steel imports from China are 18 times higher than they were eight...

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This news article is one of hundreds published daily by Business News Americas about the commodities, markets, movements, companies, projects, economics and politics integral to the development of Latin America. Including news and insight from South America, Central America and the Caribbean, BNamericas includes Metals insight and forecasts for business opportunities in Brazil. The business development service focuses on major projects, active companies, such as Ternium, Techint, IABr; and business and sales contacts, providing networking opportunities with leading executives throughout Latin America.

Source: http://member.bnamericas.com/news/metals/latin-american-steel-imports-from-china-18-times-higher-than-eight-years-ago-ternium-ceo

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Boobs? Brayola Wants You To Snap A Pic Of Your Bra For The World's Viewing And Judging Enjoyment

Who wants to see some boobs? Thanks to a new feature from Brayola, the startup looking to pair your boobs with the right bra, you can not only check out an endless stream of breasts but perhaps you can even find a bra that fits correctly. According to the company, 80 percent of women are wearing the wrong size bra. Shocking, no? But the new Fit or Not feature from Brayola aims to change all that, and not in the most traditional way you might imagine.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VxxE8T_vJzs/

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Save the parrots: Macaw genome sequenced

May 8, 2013 ? In a groundbreaking move that provides new insight into avian evolution, biology and conservation, researchers at Texas A&M University have successfully sequenced the complete genome of a Scarlet macaw for the first time.

The team was led by Drs. Christopher Seabury and Ian Tizard at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M. Their work is published in the current issue of the open access and peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE.

The bird selected for the sequencing was a female named "Neblina" who lives in the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa. Neblina is believed to be from Brazil. She was confiscated during a raid on illegally imported exotic birds by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995.

Tizard says that a blood sample was taken from Neblina, DNA was extracted for sequencing, and after a series of steps, the sequence of the genome was assembled by Seabury and his team.

"The final analysis showed that there are about one billion DNA bases in the genome, which is about one-third of that found in mammals," Tizard explains. "Birds have much less DNA than mammals primarily because they do not possess nearly as much repetitive DNA."

The final completed genome demonstrates some similarities to that of the chicken. "But there are significant differences at both the genome and biological level," he adds. For example, "Macaws can fly great distances, while chickens can't. In addition, brain development and volume are very different in macaws, which is unsurprising since they are very intelligent birds compared to chickens. Likewise, macaws can live many years, while chickens usually do not, and therefore, our macaw genome sequence may help shed light on the genetic factors that influence longevity and intelligence."

Tizard notes that a Scarlet macaw was selected for the first such sequencing of its type because Texas A&M researchers have been studying the bird for many years. Working primarily at the Tambopata Research Center in Peru, Texas A&M bird experts have been investigating macaw diseases, behavior and genetics.

"We now have the ability to initiate large-scale, genome-wide approaches for population and phylogeography studies," explains Seabury, who is a collaborator of Donald Brightsmith, director of the Tambopata Macaw Research Project in Peru.

Seabury and Brightsmith add that the array of research possibilities regarding the Scarlet Macaw has now been significantly broadened by this research initiative.

Macaws are found in tropical Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Trapping of the birds for the pet trade, plus loss of habitat due to deforestation in their native lands, has severely decreased their numbers since the 1960s.

There are 23 species of macaws, and some of these have already become extinct while others are endangered.

Macaws can live 50 to 75 years and often outlive their owners.

"They are considered to be among the most intelligent of all birds and also one of the most affectionate -- it is believed they are sensitive to human emotions," explains Tizard.

"Possessing stunning feathers that are brightly colored, some macaws have a wingspan approaching four feet. They also usually mate for life and can fly as fast as 35 miles per hour."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/N2ay08CewyM/130508213056.htm

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Game-changing discovery of gene mutation that causes Sturge-Weber syndrome, port-wine stain birthmarks offers new hope

May 8, 2013 ? In new findings published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute reveal the discovery of the cause -- a genetic mutation that occurs before birth -- of Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) and port-wine stain birthmarks. SWS is a rare disorder affecting approximately one in 20,000 births, while port-wine birthmarks are more common, affecting approximately one million individuals in the United States.

"This is a complete game changer for those with Sturge-Weber syndrome and the millions born with port-wine birthmarks," said co-senior study author, Anne Comi, M.D., Director of the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Hunter Nelson Sturge-Weber Center. "Now that we know the underlying genetic mutation responsible for both conditions, we're hopeful that we can move quickly towards targeted therapies, offering families the promise of new treatments for the first time."

Sturge-Weber syndrome is a neurological and skin disorder associated with port-wine birthmarks on the face, glaucoma, seizures, intellectual impairment and weakness on one or both sides of the body. Current treatment options for children with SWS are limited, but include medications to reduce the likelihood of seizures and stroke-like episodes, eye drops and/or surgery to manage glaucoma, and physical rehabilitation.

Port-wine stain birthmarks are caused by abnormally dilated capillaries in the skin, which produce reddish to purplish discoloration. While a facial port-wine birthmark can be associated with SWS, they occur commonly in otherwise healthy individuals. Physicians may perform several painful laser treatments to attempt to remove the port-wine birthmark in infant children, but it often reoccurs.

"This study presents a turning point for research on Sturge-Weber syndrome and port-wine birthmarks," said Jonathan Pevsner, Ph.D., Director of Bioinformatics at Kennedy Krieger Institute and co-senior study author. "While we suspected that a somatic mutation was the cause for decades now, the technology to test the theory didn't exist. The advancements in whole genome sequencing and the development of next-generation sequencing tools finally allowed my lab to test and prove the hypothesis."

Dr. Pevsner's laboratory found the somatic mutation (a change in DNA that occurs after conception and affects only part of the body) that causes SWS and port-wine birthmarks by performing whole genome sequencing on affected and unaffected tissue and blood samples from three individuals with SWS. They were able to identify one somatic mutation shared by all three affected samples -- a nucleotide transition in gene GNAQ on chromosome 9q21. In a separate analysis, the researchers confirmed the finding by detecting the mutation in 23 out of 26 tissue samples from subjects with SWS and 12 out of 13 samples from subjects with isolated port-wine birthmarks. The control samples, and most of the unaffected samples, did not possess the mutation. These analyses also revealed the surprising outcome that the gene involved in SWS is the same gene implicated in uveal melanoma, a type of melanoma that occurs in the eye.

Collaborating with Kennedy Krieger scientists was Douglas Marchuk, Ph.D., and his team at Duke University Medical Center, who further illuminated GNAQ's role in SWS. Within the body, GNAQ encodes a set of membrane proteins that ensure a set of signaling pathways within the cell are working correctly. However, in both SWS and port-wine stains, a mutation occurs in GNAQ that causes those sets of pathways to increase their activity, ultimately resulting in both conditions.

With the discovery of the gene and pathway involved in SWS and port-wine stains, researchers can now begin investigating drugs that selectively inhibit the implicated pathways. The link to melanoma may also influence research and lead to new directions for the treatment of both conditions in the future.

"As I look back on 25 years of research into Sturge-Weber syndrome, this is a momentous advancement that is thrilling as both an advocate and parent of an affected child," said Karen Ball, Founder, President and CEO of the Sturge-Weber Foundation. "This breakthrough gives renewed hope to my family and thousands of others, and brings new opportunities to increase the pace of scientific discovery for Sturge-Weber."

In revealing that SWS is caused by a somatic mutation, researchers have also confirmed for the first time that Sturge-Weber is not an inherited syndrome -- a meaningful insight for many parents. "When a child receives a diagnosis of Sturge-Weber, parents are often filled with questions about whether they passed down the condition to their child," said Dr. Comi. "We can now definitively put those fears to rest."

This study was funded by Hunter's Dream for a Cure Foundation; and the Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium. The Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (BVMC; U54NS065705) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rare Disease Clinical Research Network (RDCRN), supported through a collaboration between the NIH Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR) at the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/sC880ZnzO9s/130508213105.htm

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Britney Spears Shape Cover: A Bikini Body Built For ...

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/britney-spears-shape-cover-a-bikini-body-built-for/

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Dust in the clouds: Cirrus clouds form around mineral dust and metallic particles

May 9, 2013 ? At any given time, cirrus clouds -- the thin wisps of vapor that trail across the sky -- cover nearly one-third of the globe. These clouds coalesce in the upper layers of the troposphere, often more than 10 miles above the Earth's surface.

Cirrus clouds influence global climate, cooling the planet by reflecting incoming solar radiation and warming it by trapping outgoing heat. Understanding the mechanisms by which these clouds form may help scientists better predict future climate patterns.

Now an interdisciplinary team from MIT, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and elsewhere has identified the major seeds on which cirrus clouds form. The team sampled cirrus clouds using instruments aboard high-altitude research aircraft, analyzing particles collected during multiple flights over a nine-year period. They found that the majority of cloud particles freeze, or nucleate, around two types of seeds: mineral dust and metallic aerosols.

The absence of certain particles in the clouds also proved interesting. While scientists have observed that substances like black carbon and fungal spores readily form cloud particles in the lab, the team detected barely a trace of these particles in the upper atmosphere.

"We think we're really looking at the seed, the nucleus of these ice crystals," says Dan Cziczo, an associate professor of atmospheric chemistry at MIT. "These results are going to allow us to better understand the climatic implications of these clouds in the future."

Cziczo and his colleagues have published their results this week in Science.

Up in the air

Cirrus clouds typically form at altitudes higher than most commercial planes fly. To sample at such heights, the team enlisted three high-altitude research aircraft from NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF): a B-57 bomber, a DC-8 passenger jet, and a G-V business jet, all of which were repurposed to carry scientific instruments.

From 2002 to 2011, the team conducted four flight missions in regions of North America and Central America where cirrus clouds often form. Before takeoff, the team received weather forecasts, including information on where and when clouds might be found.

"More often than not, the forecast is solid, and it's up to the pilot to hit a cloud," Cziczo says. "If they find a good spot, they can call back on a satellite phone and tell us if they're inside a cloud, and how thick it is."

For each mission, Cziczo and Karl Froyd, of NOAA's Earth System Resource Laboratory, mounted one or two instruments to the nose of each plane: a single particle mass spectrometer and a particle collector.

Each flight followed essentially the same protocol: As a plane flew through a cloud, ice particles flowed through a specialized inlet into the nose of the plane. As they flowed in, the particles thawed, evaporating most of the surrounding ice. What's left was a tiny kernel, or seed, which was then analyzed in real time by the onboard mass spectrometer for size and composition. The particle collector stored the seeds for further analysis in the lab.

A human effect on cloud formation

After each flight, Cziczo and his colleagues analyzed the collected particles in the lab using high-resolution electron microscopy. They compared their results with analyses from the onboard mass spectrometer and found the two datasets revealed very similar cloud profiles: More than 60 percent of cloud particles consisted of mineral dust blown into the atmosphere, as well as metallic aerosols.

Cziczo notes that while mineral dust is generally regarded as a natural substance originating from dry or barren regions of the Earth, agriculture, transportation and industrial processes also release dust into the atmosphere.

"Mineral dust is changing because of human activities," Cziczo says. "You may think of dust as a natural particle, but some percentage of it is manmade, and it really points to a human ability to change these clouds."

He adds that some global-modeling studies predict higher dust concentrations in the future due to desertification, land-use change and changing rainfall patterns due to human-induced climate effects.

Cziczo's team also identified a "menagerie of metal compounds," including lead, zinc and copper, that may point to a further human effect on cloud formation. "These things are very strange metal particles that are almost certainly from industrial activities, such as smelting and open-pit burning of electronics," Cziczo adds. Lead is also emitted in the exhaust of small planes.

Contrary to what many lab experiments have found, the team observed very little evidence of biological particles, such as bacteria or fungi, or black carbon emitted from automobiles and smokestacks. Froyd says knowing what particles are absent in clouds is just as important as knowing what's present: Such information, he says, can be crucial in developing accurate models for climate change.

"There's been a lot of research efforts spent on looking at how these particle types freeze under various conditions," Froyd says. "Our message is that you can ignore those, and can instead look at mineral dust as the dominant driving force for the formation of this type of cloud."

The group's experimental approach was an impressive feat in itself, says Brian Toon, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Colorado. In a typical cirrus cloud, only one particle in 100,000 forms an ice crystal, making the odds of capturing such crystals slim at best.

"This group has used an instrument in a plane flying at speeds of two football fields per second to catch individual ice crystals, evaporate them and measure the composition of the tiny remnant particles -- an amazing technological achievement," says Toon, who was not involved in the research. "Now these measurements need to be repeated over a wide range of locations to be sure they are general."

This research was funded by NASA and the NSF.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/bn7ZoCDP0RE/130509142104.htm

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OpenTable For Android Gets Better Google Maps Integration, Booked Reservations To Calendar And Improved Navigation

If you've been using OpenTable to reserve tables at your favorite restaurants, the latest update for Android will help you discover new places to eat a little better and keep track of everything you have going on. It also got some of that Holo design lovin'.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iSAW2xW4bms/

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Police visited home of man accused of holding women captive

Updated 4:55 pm ET

CLEVELAND, Ohio?Police visited the home of Ariel Castro, the man who police say held three young women captive for the past decade, at least once while they were being held inside. But it wasn?t until Monday when one of the women, 27-year old Amanda Berry, managed to escape and phone 911 that officers came and got them to freedom.

With Ariel Castro, 52, and brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50, in custody and awaiting charges, authorities have come under scrutiny for how they missed clues that Berry and two other young women were being kept as prisoners in the rundown home in the city's west side neighborhood.

Berry, whom police called a hero for breaking out of the house Monday and summoning help, had disappeared in 2003 when she was 16. Michelle Knight went missing in 2002, when she was 20. Gina DeJesus, then 14, was reported missing in 2004.

Police, along with officials of the Children and Family Services department, visited the house in January 2004 to follow up on a report that Castro, then a bus driver for the Cleveland public schools, had left a child on a bus while he ate lunch.

Police say they investigated that incident, but felt there was no criminal wrong-doing and the matter was dropped.

?He was interviewed extensively due to that investigation,? Deputy Cleveland Police Chief Ed Tomba told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.

Other reports said neighbors had called police after seeing suspicious activity at the house over the years.

This undated combination photo released by the Cleveland Police Department shows from left, Onil Castro, Ariel??One neighbor, Elsie Cintron, told a reporter from the BBC that her granddaughter saw a naked woman crawling in the backyard of Ariel Castro. Cintron said she told her grandchildren to stay away from the home. She also said she told police, but got discouraged a lack of action by police.

Officials said Ariel Castro had called police to his home in March 2000, when he reported a fight in the street outside his home on Seymour Avenue on the city?s west side. But that was before any of the women were missing.

Shortly before 6 p.m. ET Monday, Tomba said, Berry, with the help of neighbors, was able to break out of the house and summon police. She was reported missing on April 21, 2003, after vanishing on the way home from her job at a local Burger King.

After Berry called 911, police responded to the home at 5:52 p.m. DeJesus and Knight were found inside.

Berry escaped the house along with a 6-year-old girl. Police confirmed the child was Berry's daughter but would not say who the father was. According to reports,

While police would not comment publicly on whether the women had been abused or raped while held captive, several publications quote police sources as saying the women had been forced to have sex with their captors, resulting in multiple pregnancies.

The stories of Berry and DeJesus have captivated the city of Cleveland for a decade. They have been the subject of numerous vigils and city searches. Police have followed leads over the years, including digging up two backyards seeking their remains. On Monday, crowds gathered in the neighborhood where they were found and at the hospital where they were taken later.

?Our prayers have finally been answered?this nightmare is over,? said Stephen Anthony, special agent in charge of the Cleveland office of the FBI.

While much has been written about Berry and DeJesus, and the efforts to find them, not much has been written about Michelle Knight. "She has been the focus of very few tips," Tomba said.

Police said all three women appeared healthy, other than needing a good meal. They were taken to a Cleveland hospital, where they were reunited with their families?a scene police described as "chaotic."

According to public records, Ariel Castro has owned the home where the kidnapped women were found since 1992. Records also show Castro has at least one adult son and a grown daughter living two to three hours from Cleveland.

Several media outlets also report that a younger daughter, Emily Castro, is in an Indiana prison for slashing the throat of her then-10-month-old daughter in 2007. Indiana prison records confirm Emily Castro is currently serving 25 years for attempted murder.

At Emily Castro?s trial, defense attorney Zachary Witte argued that she suffered from paranoid delusional thoughts. At the time of the attack, she feared that her family was trying to kill her and take her baby away. The child survived the attack.

Witte told Yahoo News on Tuesday that he didn?t recall his client saying much about her father.

?I think she was estranged from her dad,? Witte said.

Photos on a Facebook page show the man believed to be Castro?s son visiting Emily Castro in prison earlier this year.

?A Father's Love for his Children is like none other,? reads a comment on the photo from a man who identifies himself as Ariel Castro on Facebook.

Mayor Frank Jackson said housing and building records also have been reviewed and no reports of violations were found.

Outside the Castro home Tuesday, which police are still treating as an active crime scene, an American flag and a Puerto Rican flag hung above the front door. The Puerto Rican flag bothered Lucy Delgado, a nearby resident with family living in the largely Puerto Rican neighborhood.

"It doesn't deserve to be there," Delgado said of the flag. "This is like, oh my God crazy stuff like this should never happen here."

Delgado described the community as tight knit. "Everybody knows each others business," she said.

Police declined to provide specific details about the home where the women were kept or its condition upon their arrival on Monday. They said the home is an active crime scene and detectives were processing it through the night.

Asked if they believe the kidnappings were part of a larger operation, police officials said they were looking into every possible angle. It appears that Berry, DeJesus and Knight were the only victims.

Click image to see more photos. (AP/Cleveland Police Dept.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/escaped-cleveland-woman-amanda-berry-real-hero-kidnapping-141444873.html

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