'Shark Week' ready to shred 'Sharknado'

TV

Rob Owen TODAY contributor

27 minutes ago

Jeff Kurr / Discovery Channel

Discovery's "Return of Jaws" program features a shark cam that tracks these predators of the oceans, including great white sharks off Cape Cod.

If you?re not among the ?Shark Week? faithful, it?s easy to wonder: How many TV shows can possibly be made about sharks before this programming event threatens to jump the shark? After all, Discovery is kicking off its 26th year of shark-centered programming on Aug. 4.

But recent buzz about the cheesy Syfy movie ?Sharknado? proves there?s an unending appetite for shows that star these predators of the seas. The campy made-for-TV flick starring Ian Ziering and Tara Reid debuted to just 1.4 million, but repeated airings have drawn more and more viewers, with the third delivering 2.1 million sets of eyeballs.

But compared to the sensation that is Discovery's "Shark Week," that's peanuts.

?It?s our biggest week of the year and brings in a lot of people who are not your core, common Discovery viewers,? Nancy Daniels, executive vice president of production and development for the network told TODAY.com. ?It?s a pop culture phenomenon people talk about.?

Ratings for "Shark Week" 2012 in the 25-54 demo were 39.6 percent higher than the network's prime-time average. The premiere event also reeled in more than 21 million cumulative viewers, according to Discovery. In addition to high ratings, the TV event also blew up on social media last year, with 2.6 million @SharkWeek tweets and 17.5 million people reached on Facebook.

"Shark Week," which kicked off in 1988, has since featured more than 150 shark-centric programs. This year, Discovery will add 11 more to the list, including, "Megalodon: The Monster Shark That Lives," about a search for a species thought to be extinct; "Return of Jaws," which features a robot submarine that tracks the deadly fish; "Voodoo Sharks," about bull sharks in the Louisiana bayou; and more.

Of the new offerings, Daniels said she?s especially excited about ?Megalodon.?

?For years we?ve found teeth of megalodon and we know they used to exist and we think they might still exist in ?Megaladon,? ? she said.

If it sounds like the cheesy Animal Planet programs about mermaids, ?I think you might need to watch it to check it out,? Daniels teased.

This year's "Shark Week" will also feature a first for the network: ?Shark After Dark,? a late-night talk show hosted by comedian Josh Wolf, best known for his regular appearances on ?Chelsea Lately.?

The live, one-hour show will be ?shark-centric? with shark experts as guests, Wolf told TODAY.com, but it will also feature celebrity guests, including ?Sharknado?s? Reid.

Launching a late-night talk show on Discovery is something network executives had been considering before settling on testing the chum-infested waters during ?Shark Week.? Daniels said ?Shark After Dark? will serve as a learning experience for the network as it considers a more permanent late-night program.

?Shark After Dark? will include some mentions of the night?s prime-time shows and previews of the next night?s offerings, but Wolf said it?s not a recap show like other after-shows. (Think AMC's "Talking Dead.")

?I?m gonna assume people tuning in have just watched ?Shark Week? so it?s only smart to comment on it,? Wolf said. Besides, he?s a fan of shark shows too: ?I?m one of those guys who?s always been obsessed with watching it.?

Wolf said he gets geared up for ?Shark Week? each year, but he?s hesitant to actually swim with sharks.

He?s not alone in his armchair enthusiasm. By mid-July, Twitter was lighting up with anticipation:

Discovery jump-started interest in ?Shark Week? this year with a promotional campaign that showed a shark snatching Snuffy the Seal as he was being returned to the ocean. (Slogan: ?It?s a bad week to be a seal.?)

Daniels credited Lara Richardson, Discovery?s senior vice president of marketing, for coming up with a campaign that plays off the frequent ?Shark Week? image of sharks breaching the ocean?s surface to chomp on seals. (Daniels revealed what viewers often see on ?Shark Week? are sharks attacking fake, decoy seals dragged behind boats in an effort to capture dramatic footage.)

The spot shocked some viewers with how dark it was, but it did the trick in drawing attention to "Shark Week" 2013. Just one month after the spot premiered in late June, the video already had more than 1.3 million views on YouTube.

As for competing networks trying to steal Discovery?s shark thunder, Daniels said she?s not concerned.

?(Syfy) figured out something we?ve known for a long time: Sharks are awesome and people love sharks,? she said. ?('Sharknado') just reaffirmed what we do every year for ?Shark Week.? ?

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/shark-weeks-ready-shred-sharknado-it-returns-26th-year-6C10809668

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Forbes has ranked Seattle as the most miserable sports city in the US; bonus poi...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/SeattlePublicLibrary/posts/10151518576136339

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Zimbabwe: Mugabe declared winner in disputed vote

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) ? Zimbabwe's electoral panel on Saturday declared that longtime President Robert Mugabe had won re-election by a landslide, a result that could exacerbate tensions in the country, where the 89-year-old's chief rival and former coalition partner has accused him of poll-rigging.

Mugabe seemed set to strengthen his hold over Zimbabwe after the state Election Commission said his party won 158 of the 210 parliament seats. That gives it a two-thirds majority in the legislature ? enabling it to amend a recently approved constitution that provides for democratic reforms.

Challenger Morgan Tsvangirai's party, which had gambled that a high turnout in its favor would overcome any alleged fraud in the vote, captured 50 seats and two went to independent candidates.

According to the results, Mugabe won 61 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Tsvangirai, who had been prime minister in a tense power-sharing deal with the president. Officially, Mugabe, who has been in power for 33 years, gets another five-year term in office.

Tsvangirai rejected the results as fraudulent and called for fresh elections. He urged a peaceful response to the alleged massive rigging by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, which has the muscle of the security forces to deter any groundswell of street protests.

In contrast to an election marked by deadly attacks in 2008, the vote on Wednesday was mostly peaceful and African poll monitors, while expressing some concern about reported irregularities, seemed mostly relieved that it was not violent.

Britain and the United States were more forceful in their criticism of the voting process, though Mugabe has based his career in part on sparring with Western powers and there is little chance their disapproval will sway him.

That leaves the Zimbabwean opposition with few options for countering Mugabe, who presides over a country that still has economic problems but enjoys some measure of stability compared to a period of soaring inflation years ago.

Tsvangirai said his Movement for Democratic Change party has in its possession evidence of massive rigging by Mugabe's party in the just-ended polls and will challenge results from Wednesday's voting in court.

"People of Zimbabwe must be given another chance to participate in a free, fair and credible election. They have been shortchanged by a predetermined election," he said. He added that his party will not "participate in any government institutions" in protest but stopped short of saying it will boycott its reduced seats in the Harare parliament.

Mugabe's loyalist army and police have set up security posts in Harare on Saturday, apparently in case there are any protest demonstrations.

"We are rejecting the results because they are fraudulent," Tsvangirai said. "We will go back to our people. Our people are the ones hurting. Our people are disciplined. We don't want a violent resolution to this crisis."

He said a complete audit is needed of the shambolic lists of registered voters, which were made available to the parties only at the time of the election.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that the election process was "deeply flawed" because of irregularities in the voters' roll, unequal access of the parties to state media, a lack of political reforms as mandated by the constitution, and other problems. He cited "the balance of evidence," although the United States was barred from monitoring the vote.

"The people of Zimbabwe should be commended for rejecting violence and showing their commitment to the democratic process," Kerry said. "But make no mistake: in light of substantial electoral irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe that the results announced today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed "deep concern" over the election, saying the failure to share the voters' roll with political parties was a "critical flaw." Hague said that and other irregularities "call into serious question the credibility of the election."

"We note that some political parties have rejected the result on the basis of these irregularities," he said, without saying whether Britain endorsed their move. "We will need to examine what has happened and consider further reports from regional and local observer missions. In the meantime, it is important that all allegations of electoral violations are thoroughly investigated."

Tsvangirai's party lost several seats in its Harare urban strongholds by massive margins compared to their overwhelming victories in 2008.

In one Harare constituency, Tsvangirai's party won with 9,538 votes to 8,190 captured by Mugabe's party. In 2008, the same district voted for the MDC candidate, Tendai Biti, by about 8,300 ballots against Mugabe's 2,500 votes.

Independent monitors have charged that as many as 750,000 voters were prevented from casting their ballots on Wednesday because of irregularities in voters' lists. They also allege that thousands of unregistered voters were allowed to vote.

The continent-wide African Union and regional monitors of the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, have generally endorsed the elections as peaceful. But they have expressed misgivings over how voting numbers might have been manipulated and have demanded a full account of voter numbers from the official state election body before passing their final judgment on whether the polls were free, fair and credible.

___

AP Writer Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zimbabwe-mugabe-declared-winner-disputed-vote-205240158.html

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Chinese automaker shamelessly copies Volkswagen Taigun Concept

Unheard-of Chinese automaker Jiangsu Lake Motors is preparing a 99 percent copy of the Volkswagen Taigun Concept.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this is just too much. You are looking at a car created by Jiangsu Lake Motors which is currently known simply as the "SUV". The real VW Taigun won't be out until 2016 but a very similar design will probably be seen on Chinese streets a lot sooner.

These photos are actually from a patent application and show virtually the same styling, including the alloy design (albeit with significantly slimmer tires). The main difference between the two can be seen at the rear doors where the "SUV" gets normal door handles.

This latest patent application comes after a string of China-made copy/paste models, including the recent Lamborghini Urus lookalike from Sichuan Yema and the C-Class impersonator known as the Brilliance BS6.

Source: http://www.worldcarfans.com/113080261026/chinese-automaker-shamelessly-copies-volkswagen-taigun

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Federal judge who clears NCAA players to sue EA Sports is BYU alum

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a group of former college athletes led by onetime Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller could proceed with their lawsuit against EA Sports for ?stealing? their likenesses and physical attributes.

Judge Jay Bybee, a BYU alumnus, authored the majority opinion. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, Bybee wrote, ?"EA's use does not qualify for First Amendment protection as a matter of law because it literally re-creates Keller in the very setting in which he has received renown. Given that 'NCAA Football' realistically portrays college football players in the context of college football games, the district court was correct in concluding that EA cannot prevail as a matter of law."

Courthouse News Service's Annie Youderian wrote, ?Keller's lawsuit is similar to the antitrust class action filed in 2009 by former UCLA basketball star Edward O'Bannon. He accused EA and the NCAA of conspiring to dupe college athletes into signing away their rights to profit from their own images.?

?The lawsuits are part of a broader legal campaign that, if successful, could force the National Collegiate Athletic Association to tweak its longstanding rule that college athletes can't profit from their celebrity,? Joe Palazzolo reported Thursday for the Wall Street Journal. ?Electronic Arts pays the Collegiate Licensing Co., the NCAA's licensing arm, to use school and team names, uniforms and even fight songs. But the company doesn't compensate college players.

?The NCAA declined to comment. ? It announced in July that it won't renew its contract with EA due to the ?current business climate and costs of litigation.??

Email: jaskar@desnews.com

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865584001/Federal-judge-who-clears-NCAA-players-to-sue-EA-Sports-is-BYU-alum.html

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FDA defining what "gluten free" means on packages

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A label that reads "gluten free" will now mean the same thing for all food, regardless of which kind you buy.

After more than a six-year delay, the Food and Drug Administration has set a new standard for labels that will make shopping easier for consumers on gluten-restricted diets. Until now, the term "gluten free" had not been regulated, and manufacturers made their own decisions about what it means.

Under an FDA rule announced Friday, products labeled "gluten free" still won't have to be technically free of wheat, rye and barley and their derivatives. But they will have to contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

That amount is generally recognized by the medical community to be low enough so that most people who have celiac disease won't get sick if they eat it.

People who suffer from celiac disease don't absorb nutrients well and can get sick from the gluten found in wheat and other cereal grains. Other countries already have similar standards.

Celiac disease affects up to 3 million Americans. It causes abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea, and people who have it can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other long-term medical problems. Celiac is a diagnosed illness that is more severe than gluten sensitivity, which some people self-diagnose.

Only a very small number of people wouldn't be able to ingest the amount of gluten that will be allowed under the new rule, FDA officials said.

"Adherence to a gluten-free diet is the key to treating celiac disease, which can be very disruptive to everyday life," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said. "The FDA's new 'gluten-free' definition will help people with this condition make food choices with confidence and allow them to better manage their health."

The new FDA rule also would ensure that foods with the labels "no gluten," ''free of gluten," and "without gluten" meet the definition. Manufacturers will have a year to comply, though the FDA urged companies to meet the definition sooner.

Ten years ago, most people had never heard of celiac disease. But awareness and diagnosis of the illness has exploded in recent years. It's not entirely clear why ? some researchers say it was under-diagnosed; others say it's because people eat more processed wheat products like pastas and baked goods than in past decades, and those items use types of wheat that have a higher gluten content.

Many companies that market gluten-free foods already meet the standard. But Andrea Levario of the American Celiac Disease Alliance said the federal guidelines will cut down on painstaking shopping for those who suffer from celiac disease.

Levario said that wheat must be labeled on food packages but that barley and rye are often hidden ingredients in food. The standard will also ensure that companies can't label products "gluten-free" even if they are cross-contaminated from other products made in the same manufacturing facility. She said shopping can be like "playing Russian roulette" for people who have celiac.

"This will eliminate confusion for the consumer and will cut down on calls to companies to try and determine whether their products are safe and gluten free," she said.

Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods, said the rule originally proposed during the George W. Bush administration was delayed because the agency was evaluating what standard was correct.

"We wanted to do a careful scientific assessment of the data and the range of sensitivities," Taylor said.

Congress originally directed the FDA to set the standards in 2004 as part of a larger law that required food packaging to list major allergens. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., originally introduced a bill calling for the standards in 1999. She praised the FDA rules and called them "a long time coming."

In the decade since Congress considered the standards, gluten-free foods have become big business. Millions of people are buying the foods because they say they make them feel better, even if they don't have celiac disease. Americans spent more than $4 billion on gluten-free foods last year, according to the American Celiac Disease Alliance, and a major manufacturing survey issued this week suggested that the niche industry is giving an economic boost to the food industry overall.

One of the largest manufacturers of gluten free foods, Boulder Brands, said it has been seeing double-digit growth in sales and is looking at expanding into bigger markets. The company's brands, Glutino and Udi's, already meet the new standards.

"We expect the new regulations to impact sales in a positive way as consumers can feel more confident in their gluten free choices," said T.J. McIntyre, executive vice president of the company.

__

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-defining-gluten-free-means-packages-130020591.html

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"Applications to [New Mexico Law School] law school dip sharply"

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Source: www.legalethicsforum.com --- Thursday, August 01, 2013
Story at ABQ Journal. Excerpt: A steep decline in applications has the University of New Mexico?s School of Law re-evaluating its future while putting faculty expansion on hold, administrators say. The school, under the direction of new dean David Herring,... ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/LegalEthicsForum/~3/-4WnVTRb3AY/applications-to-new-mexico-law-school-law-school-dip-sharply.html

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Sex, Violence, and Autocomplete Algorithms

There go your plans to have Google help you out with your search for boob-related things.

Fuse

Warning: This article contains explicit language.

Autocomplete is one of those modern marvels of real-time search technology that almost feels like it?s reading your mind. Thanks to analyzing and mining what millions of other users have already searched for and clicked on, Google knows that when you start typing a query with a ?d,? you?re most likely looking for a dictionary. Besides the efficiency gains of not having to type as much, suggestions can be serendipitous and educational, spurring alternative query ideas. In the process our search behavior is subtly influenced by exposure to query possibilities we may not have considered if left to ourselves.

So what happens when unsavory things, perhaps naughty or even illegal, creep into those suggestions? As a society we probably don?t want to make it easier for pedophiles to find pictures of naked children or to goad the violently predisposed with new ideas for abuse. Such suggestions get blocked and filtered?censored?for their potential to influence us.

As Google writes in its autocomplete FAQ, ?we exclude a narrow class of search queries related to pornography, violence, hate speech, and copyright infringement.? Bing, on the other hand, makes sure to ?filter spam? as well as to ?detect adult or offensive content,? according to a recent post on the Bing blog. Such human choices set the stage for broadly specifying what types of things get censored, despite Google?s claims that autocompletions are, for the most part, ?algorithmically determined ? without any human intervention.?

What exactly are the boundaries and editorial criteria of that censorship, and how do they differ among search engines? More importantly, what kinds of mistakes do these algorithms make in applying their editorial criteria? To answer these questions, I automatically gathered autosuggest results from hundreds of queries related to sex and violence in an effort to find those that are surprising or deviant. (See my blog for the methodological detail.) The results aren?t always pretty.

Armed with a list of 110 sex-related words, gathered from the linguistic extremes of both academic linguists and that tome of slang the Urban Dictionary, I first sought to understand which words resulted in zero suggestions (which likely means the word is blocked). In the following diagram, you can see words blocked only by Google or Bing, and by both or neither. For example, both algorithms think ?prostitute? is just dandy, suggesting options for prostitute ?phone numbers? or ?websites.? They?re not about sexual deprivation: Bing is happy to complete searches for ?masturbate? and ?hand job.? Conspicuously, Bing does block query suggestions for ?homosexual,? raising the question: Is there such a thing as a gay-friendly search engine? In response, a Microsoft spokesperson commented that, ?Sometimes seemingly benign queries can lead to adult content,? and consequently are filtered from autosuggest. By that logic, it would seem that ?homosexual? merely leads to ?too much? adult content, causing the algorithm to flag and filter it.

Initially it would appear Google is stricter, blocking more sex-related words than Bing. But really they just have different strategies. Instead of outright blocking all suggestions for ?dick? as Google does, Bing will just scrub the suggestions so you only see the clean ones, like ?dick?s sporting goods.? Sometimes Bing will rewrite the query, pretending a dirty word was a typo instead. For instance, querying for ?fingering? leads to wholesome dinner suggestions for ?fingerling potato recipes,? and searching for ?jizz? offers suggestions on ?jazz,? for the musically minded searcher, of course. Both algorithms are pretty good about letting through more clinical terminology, such as ?vaginas,? ?nipples,? or ?penises.?

For something like child pornography, the legal stakes get much higher. According to Ian Brown and Christopher Marsden in their book Regulating Code, ?Many governments impose some censorship in their jurisdiction according to content that is illegal under national laws.? So it?s not entirely surprising that, in order to head off more direct government intervention, corporations like Google and Microsoft self-regulate by trying to scrub their autocomplete results clean of suggestions that lead to child pornography.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/08/words_banned_from_bing_and_google_s_autocomplete_algorithms.html

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Total War: Rome II Gameplay Demo

Evan and T.J. recently sat down with Creative Assembly?s Al Bickham for a guided tour through the battlefields of the 4th century B.C. in Total War: Rome II. We explore the campaign map with its new mechanics, and jump into a real-time battle to defend a key road to Rome. All the while, we bombard our gracious host with questions about the new face of Total War.

Be sure to check out the new trailer for Rome II and our breakdown of the army tradition system.

Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/01/total-war-rome-ii-gameplay-demo/

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30 percent of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans have mulled suicide: survey

By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

Nearly one third of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have contemplated suicide, according to survey results?released Wednesday, underscoring the dark depths of a mental-health crisis that has gripped the U.S. military and the American veteran community in recent years.?

In addition, 45 percent of the 4,000-plus survey respondents said they know of an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran who has attempted suicide, reports the group behind the poll, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) ? the largest advocacy organization for men and women who served in the wars, representing about younger 170,000 veterans. Some 2.2 million Americans have been deployed to those countries. ?

"That 30 percent have considered suicide is a high number. But what I look at from the survey is: We have 43 percent of the respondents saying that they are not seeking mental-health care because of a perceived negative impact to their career," said?Jason Hansman, an Iraq veteran and now senior program manager for health at IAVA. ?

"Also, 80 percent of the?respondents?say they don't think the veterans are getting the care that they need. That speaks to the collective mental health of this community," Hansman added.?

Two of the most common post-war themes haunting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans include the massive disability-benefits backlog within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ? the entity designated to handle their health care ? and the estimated?20 percent?of those veterans who are struggling with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.?

The Army, the branch with the largest portion of combat troops, reported July 18 that 134 soldiers ? including active-duty members, reserves and those in the National Guard ? had committed "potential" suicide through the end of May. (Some of those deaths remain under investigation and await official designation).

More stunning: The Army's suicide pace far outstrips the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan (52) through May: according to iCasualties.org, which tracks deaths in that war.

What's equally troubling to suicide-prevention experts is the high rate veterans who have mulled suicide while skipping treatment due to stigma, career fears or VA frustrations.?

"That number (30 percent) is higher than we should ever tolerate," said Alan L. Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). The organization strives to better understand and prevent suicide.

"As a society, we have to be concerned and it demands a response that is geared toward doing all possible to prevent thoughts from turning into action," Berman said.?

By contrast, 3.3 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 18 has considered suicide during the past 12 months, and 13.5 percent of American adults has weighed the option of killing themselves during their lifetime, according to two AAS studies that each involved about 5,000 participants. (Berman cautioned that comparing the suicide-ideation rate among veterans with that of the general population is tricky math given that most people who served in the recent wars tend to be under age 40 and suicide rates are higher among younger people).?

The good news, however, is that those 30 percent of veterans who acknowledged contemplating suicide are still alive, Hansman said.?

"Certainly, there's something stopping them from taking their life. That's due to education that organizations like IAVA are doing, and the education that the VA is doing to (promote) the veteran crisis hotline, where the number of calls has risen year-over-year and month-over-month," Hansman added.?

Still, only 37 percent of the ex-service members polled said they would call the VA's veteran crisis line ? 800-273-TALK (8255) ? if they were feeling suicidal.

"They don't want to say they're suicidal to a government hotline. Now, we know how that hotline runs. We trust it completely (in terms of) keeping veteran information confidential, how it will not get back into their service record or hurt their career," Hansman said. ?"But there is still that anxiety around talking to the VA or talking to the DOD about your issues."

Inside the military, there's also an old stigma that seeking mental-health help is a sign of weakness ? a sentiment both the VA and Pentagon are working to shatter.?

"It's not overt. Your commander is not telling you: 'Don't go to mental health (services) because you're going to hurt your career.' It's just something that gets passed down (from other troops)," Hansman said. "Everyone carries around a horror story, whether it's true or not, about a guy or girl they know that sought mental health help and their career was over.

"It's entrenched in the military but it's something that can be changed," he added. "Stigma can be overcome. It's going to take a lot of work. But I think we, as a nation, should be up to the task."

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Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/2f673307/sc/39/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C310C197956130E30A0Epercent0Eof0Eiraq0Eafghanistan0Eveterans0Ehave0Emulled0Esuicide0Esurvey0Dlite/story01.htm

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Vegas casino seeking Britney Spears residency

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? After weeks of speculation, Caesars Entertainment is confirming that it's trying to lure Britney Spears to Las Vegas for a recurring gig at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.

Spokeswoman Emily Wofford said Friday the company is in negotiations to install the pop princess on the Las Vegas Strip.

The 31-year-old "Scream & Shout" singer stoked residency rumors last week by responding with a "Viva Las Vegas" hashtag to a post from her dog's Twitter account asking if puppies can gamble in Sin City.

Spears left her position on the television singing contest "The X Factor" in January, telling fans she wanted to refocus on her music.

Caesars Entertainment currently is promoting residencies by singers Cee Lo Green at Planet Hollywood and Shania Twain at Caesars Palace.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vegas-casino-seeking-britney-spears-residency-190232326.html

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Eye-catching rickshaws promote peace in Pakistan

Fareed Khan / AP

A rickshaw driver, his vehicle adorned with a message of peace, makes his way through the slums of Karachi, Pakistan on Feb. 2, 2013.

By Sebastian Abbot, The Associated Press

Published at 5:23 a.m. ET:?KARACHI, Pakistan?? Pakistani youth leader Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi has a plan to counter the relentless message of violence spewed forth by radical Islamic groups in his country ? and he is stealing a gimmick from the hard-liners' own playbook to do it.

His weapon: the three-wheeled motorized rickshaws that buzz along Pakistan's streets carrying paying customers.

Fareed Khan / AP

Artists prepare colorful panels for rickshaws in Karachi on Feb. 2, 2013.

Radical Islamists have long used the rickshaws as a canvas to display slogans in support of religious warfare in neighboring India and Afghanistan and to foster hatred against the United States.

Zaidi is turning that strategy on its head with a fleet of rickshaws emblazoned with peace slogans and decorated with colorful designs similar to those found on many trucks and buses in the country. Read the full story.

Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/08/16895999-eye-catching-rickshaws-promote-peace-in-pakistan?lite

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Asia stocks rise as China posts big trade jump

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets were mostly higher Friday, boosted by better-than-expected trade data from China that provided new evidence of an upswing in the world's second-largest economy.

Exports rose 25 percent in January from a year earlier, the government reported, while imports soared 28 percent. A large part of the increase was due to companies rushing to fill orders before shutting down for up to two weeks for the Lunar New Year holidays that begin Sunday.

"Seeing the underlying trend is a little difficult. Nevertheless, the data were above expectations and seem generally positive," said Moody's Analytics economist Alaistair Chan in a report.

A more accurate picture of China's trade at the beginning of the year will emerge once February's data is released, said Dariusz Kowalczyk of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. But he added that investors still might interpret the January figures at face value and push up stock markets.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2 percent to 23,210.96. South Korea's Kospi advanced 1 percent to 1,950.50. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent to 4,966.60. Benchmarks in Singapore, mainland China and the Philippines also rose.

Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4 percent to 11,202.47, slumping after a recent rally spurred by a weakening yen.

Some analysts believe the yen's weakness may have bottomed out. A weaker yen benefits Japan's export manufacturers because it makes their products cheaper in overseas markets.

Many stock markets across Asia, including those in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, will be closed Monday for holidays celebrating the Lunar New Year. Hong Kong's holidays run through to Wednesday while China and Taiwan are closed all week. Japan's markets are also closed Monday.

Among individual stocks, Japan's Panasonic Corp. fell 4.8 percent while Sony Corp. plummeted 8.6 percent. South Korea's Samsung Electronics rose 3 percent. Australia's Newcrest Mining advanced 4.9 percent.

Wall Street fell Thursday as weaker earnings unnerved investors despite data suggesting that company layoffs are easing. Media conglomerate News Corp. cut its forecast for annual earnings. Sprint Nextel Corp., the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., lost $1.3 billion in its latest quarter as it revamped its network to take on larger competitors.

On the bright side, fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. Applications for unemployment benefits falling 5,000 to 366,000.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.3 percent at 13,944.05. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,509.4. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1 percent to 3,165.13.

Benchmark oil for March delivery was up 27 cents to $96.10 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 79 cents to finish at $95.83 a barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3410 from $1.3401 late Thursday in New York. The dollar was down at 93.48 yen from 93.52 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-08-World%20Markets/id-280aeee95a5a436f8ac9e861b0654c94

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Fed says still determining extent of hacker breach, FBI probing

By Anne Laurent: A 9-year-old Mexican girl, under the reported name of Dafne, gave birth to a baby girl on Jan. 27, 2013 in Jalisco, Mexico. Both mother and child are at home and healthy, Dr. Enrique Rabago, director of Zapopan Hospital, said at a...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-says-still-determining-extent-hacker-breach-fbi-222759171.html

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Moody's shares slide despite strong earns

NEW YORK (AP) -- Moody's fourth-quarter net income jumped 66 percent and revenue blew away expectations, but shares slid with many expecting the ratings agency will be the next target of the Justice Department, which filed a suit against a rival for its actions before the housing market collapse.

The Obama administration accused Standard & Poor's on Tuesday of refusing to warn investors that the housing market was collapsing in 2006 because it would be bad for business.

In the days since S&P announced that the lawsuit would be filed, Moody's shares have tumbled 15 percent, falling another 6 percent Friday.

CEO Raymond McDaniel said that he had no knowledge of any pending action against the company during a conference call with investors Friday.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the New York company earned $160.1 million, or 70 cents per share, up from $96.2 million, or 43 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue jumped 33 percent to $754.2 million, easily topping Wall Street expectations for revenue of $687.1 million in revenue, according to FactSet.

U.S. revenue rose 40 percent to $400.9 million, while overseas revenue increased 26 percent to $353.3 million.

Revenue from Moody's Investors Service, its credit rating arm, rose 42 percent to $519.4 million, as global corporate finance revenue jumped 73 percent to $244.9 million on higher demand for credit ratings.

Why Moody's was not included in the Justice Department action was debated all week, though the direction of the company's stock suggests that most believe that is only a matter of time. And experts said the lawsuit could serve as a template for future action against Fitch and Moody's, the other two major credit rating agencies.

According to the lawsuit, S&P gave high marks to the investments because it wanted to earn more business from the banks that issued them. S&P has denied any wrongdoing, and it has vowed to fight the civil charges filed by the Justice Department.

For the full year, Moody's earned $690 million, or $3.05 per share, up from $571.4 million, or $2.49 per share, in 2011. Revenue rose to $2.73 billion from $2.28 billion.

The company said that despite the continued economic uncertainty, it expects market conditions to remain favorable this year and projected a 2013 profit of $3.45 to $3.55 per share. Analysts expect $3.25 per share.

But it projected a slow-down in revenue growth at Moody's Investors Service, predicting a revenue increase in the "high-single-digit percent range," down from the 20 percent increase it posted in 2012.

In afternoon trading, Moody's shares fell $2.94, or 6 percent, to $44.05, after dropping as low as $43.89 earlier in the day.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moodys-shares-slide-despite-strong-162603145.html

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Connecticut commission meets on school safety after Newtown massacre

HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - The Connecticut police investigation into the shooting last month at a Newtown elementary school will continue through June and no criminal prosecution is expected, a state prosecutor said on Thursday.

Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III's comments came during testimony before the opening meeting of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, an expert panel formed by Governor Dannel Malloy that is named for the school where the massacre occurred.

Sedensky said privacy rules make it unlikely that investigators will be able to provide the panel with a mental health history of the shooter, Adam Lanza.

Malloy has tasked the panel with finding ways to improve the safety of schools and the public in the aftermath of the December 14 massacre, which left 20 first graders and six adults dead.

The panel will review current policy and make specific recommendations on public safety, with a particular focus on school safety, mental health, and prevention of gun violence.

The panel's first public hearing included testimony from experts called upon after the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado and the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech.

The Connecticut shooting reignited the debate over gun rights in the United States and prompted President Barack Obama to introduce proposals to reduce gun violence and tighten gun control laws. Some states have also called for stricter local rules on guns and ammunition.

The National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun lobby, fiercely opposes tighter gun controls and has called for armed guards in public schools.

A separate legislative task force on gun violence prevention is due to begin meeting on Friday and to hold a public meeting at Newtown High School on January 30.

(Reporting By Edith Honan; Editing by Paul Thomasch and David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-commission-meet-school-safety-newtown-massacre-130138442.html

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Global shares hit 20-month high as Japan promises open-ended easing

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares hit a new 20-month high on Tuesday after Japan launched it boldest attempt yet to lift its stagnant economy, though the gains were cropped by a flare-up of concerns about Germany's banks.

The Bank of Japan, which has been under intense political pressure to overcome deflation and generate growth, hiked its inflation target to 2 percent and said that from 2014 it would adopt an open-ended commitment to buy assets.

The move surprised markets, which had expected another incremental increase in its 101 trillion yen ($1.12 trillion) asset-buying and lending program, though the delay before the easing measures kick in dulled the impact and saw the yen edge higher against the dollar.

European shares, which have been testing two-year highs in recent days, experienced a turbulent morning as markets latched on to a report that German regulators were simulating a separation of some banks' operations, and on rumors - later denied - that Deutsche Bank was preparing a profit warning.

Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> fell as much as 1.4 percent on the talk but had clawed back more than half of the losses ahead of the Wall Street open, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> was down 0.2 percent on the day at 1,164.

This is a busy week for U.S. earnings, with Google Inc , Johnson & Johnson , Travelers Cos and Texas Instruments all on tap to report Tuesday. Tech earnings will be a particular focus after a disappointing sales outlook from Intel Corp last week.

A better-than-expected reading from the German ZEW investor sentiment index helped the recovery in European shares. It rose sharply for a second consecutive month in January in a sign that the euro zone crisis is no longer hitting Europe's largest economy as hard as in late 2012.

"There was a slight scare in Germany this morning which we saw particularly in the euro/dollar move but we have more or less recovered from that now," said Rabobank strategist Philip Marey.

"The market is now looking to the U.S. open and today's data. The Richmond Fed index could underline the uncertainty businesses are facing not only from abroad but also from Capitol Hill (budget negotiations). But hopefully the homes sales data will be the more positive story."

Equity markets, particularly in Japan, had risen strongly in the run-up to Tuesday's BOJ meeting, and the confirmation of the central bank's plans was enough to lift the MSCI world index <.miwd00000pus> 0.15 percent to a fresh 20-month high of 352.54 before momentum waned.

Brent crude rose 0.3 percent to $112.16 a barrel, and gold was up 0.2 percent as the BOJ's easing action added to recent positive data from the United States and China, while growing confidence in the strength of China's economic recovery pushed copper up 0.5 percent to $8,100 a tonne.

SPAIN GAINS

General market sentiment was also supported by signs of a compromise to avert a U.S. fiscal crisis.

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have scheduled a vote on Wednesday on a nearly four-month extension of U.S. borrowing capacity, aimed at avoiding a fight over the looming need to raise the federal debt ceiling.

Bond market investors also gobbled up a new 10-year Spanish bond, its first since November 2011, as the latest evidence of its rising confidence following the European Central Bank's promise to buy Spain's bonds if necessary.

Last week, Rome sold 6 billion euros of its first 15-year bond in more than two years, and Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Tuesday's sale by his country drew estimated demand of around 24 billion euros, describing the sum as unprecedented.

A government source close to the deal said Madrid would, however, sell no more than 7 billion euros so as to leave appetite in the market.

"I'm under the impression that the (Spanish) Treasury is making the most of a benign market to increase its liquidity for whatever comes in the future," said Estefania Ponte, economist at Cortal Consors.

GOOD DAY AT THE ZEW

The upbeat German ZEW release, which put German investor and analyst morale at a 2-1/2 year high, prompted a fall in German government bonds and lifted the euro out of slide caused by the German bank jitters.

The single currency remained down 1 percent on the day against the yen at 118.3 yen, however, as disappointment that there will be no immediate BOJ easing saw the yen strengthen across the board.

The dollar also fell 1 percent against the yen to a session low of 88.365 yen.

"There was some disappointment in markets that the BOJ would start their open-ended bond purchases only in January 2014, so we see some profit taking in dollar/yen," said Bernd Berg, global FX strategist at Credit Suisse.

In Britain, sterling fell for the fifth straight day to hit an 11-month low against the euro, weighed down by a bleak outlook for the economy and public borrowing figures that reinforced fears it could lose its prized triple-A rating.

(Additional reporting by Anooja Debnath; Editing by Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yen-asian-shares-mark-time-boj-decision-002541807--finance.html

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Travel Insurance. Should I Buy It? - The Outer Banks Current

Have you ever rented a car?? You?re ready to pay the advertised price and then they begin asking 20 questions for things ?you might like to add??? It frustrates me every time.? It always feels like someone is trying to get more money out of me and there is really no real benefit in it for me.? I feel like they?re not looking after my interest, they?re just trying to grab more out of my wallet using the fear of something ?might? go wrong.

That?s not how I want this to come across! I do not work for an insurance company and I?m not getting a kick back or commission.? I want to help you weigh out what would be best for you.

There are also a lot of travel insurance companies out there and I certainly can not speak on all of them, so I?m going to take the easy route and speak mostly about the travel insurance provided by CSA Travel Protection, the preferred travel insurance company of Southern Shores Realty.

Why should you consider travel insurance??Is travel insurance worth the extra expense?

Every Travel Insurance company has stories of relatively minor incidents that turn into a major financial loss for the traveler. You don?t have to be involved in a major road accident or robbery to incur substantial costs associated with your loss. For instance, almost any stay in a US hospital will cost a lot of money.

I think if I just share with you what travel insurance covers you might reconsider it?s benefit at such a minimal cost.? Please keep in mind that these details are not comprehensive and for the full details you should read the Description of Coverage we have available as a resource.

Coverage of CSA Travel Proection (Guest Protection Plan 332CSA):

• Identity Theft Protection.
• Rental Car Damage.
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment.
• Medical and Dental Expense, including Emergency Assistance.

Trip cancellation or interruption.

• Sickness, injury, or death.
• Mandatory evacuation or public official evacuation advisement.? This can be a big deal on the Outer Banks when vacationing during the months of September to November; we have been known to have a hurricane or two.
• Involvement in a documented accident while en route.
• Interruption of water, electric, sewage, or gas services due to inclement weather or natural disasters that prevent you from arriving or staying at your destination.
• Interruption of road services due to inclement weather or natural disasters.
• Being called into active military service in the event of a natural disaster.
• The school your child attends (primary or secondary) extends its operating session beyond the pre-defined school year.
• Being hijacked.
• Being quarantined.
• Being required to serve on a jury or required by a court order to appear as a witness in a legal action.
• Your primary residence becomes uninhabitable by fire, flood, or natural disaster.
• A transfer of employment of 250 miles or more.
• Trip cancellation or interruption due to a?terrorist act.
• Involuntary termination of employment or layoff.

Roadside Assistance.?

• Towing up to 5 miles (roughly $2 for every mile thereafter).
• Battery jump.
• Flat tire change.
• Fuel delivery.
• Vehicle winching or extraction (getting the car out of a ditch, mud, etc.).
• Locksmith services.

Again,?keep in mind that these details are not comprehensive and for the full details you should read the Description of Coverage.

Related Articles:
Hotel Room vs. Vacation Home?
How To Book A Vacation With Southern Shores Realty
How To Plan A Family Vacation
Outer Banks Restaurant Tours, Kitty Hawk

Feature image by Terry & Sarah Photography.

Source: http://blog.southernshores.com/2013/01/22/travel-insurance-should-i-buy-it/

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Journalist Barbara Walters hospitalized after fall at Washington party

(Reuters) - Veteran journalist Barbara Walters was admitted to a Washington. D.C., hospital over the weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, a spokesman for the ABC television network said on Sunday.

Jeffrey Schneider, a senior vice president with ABC News, said Walters fell on the stairs on Saturday evening while attending an event.

"Out of an abundance of caution," Walters, 83, went to the hospital, where she remained for observation on Sunday, Schneider said.

"Barbara is alert (and telling everyone what to do), which we all take as a very positive sign," Schneider said in a written statement.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher, editing by Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/journalist-barbara-walters-hospitalized-fall-washington-party-222523389--finance.html

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Source: http://www.rssmicro.com/rss.web?q=President

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Eagles talk about new Showtime documentary

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ? The Eagles picked the producer of their new Showtime documentary "The History of the Eagles" ? but they insist that's about all the control they had in the making of it.

"It's really not a film that represents our point of view so much," Glenn Frey said Saturday as the quartet spoke at the Sundance Film Festival hours before the film's premiere.

The film was directed by Alison Ellwood and produced by Alex Gibney, whose other documentaries include the Academy Award-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."

"The History of the Eagles" will be shown in two parts on Showtime Feb. 15-16. It includes 40-year-old footage that was in the band's archives, as well as recent interviews with the band.

Henley said he was interested in someone making a documentary about the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers but was unimpressed with recent music documentaries. So, he asked to see the work of Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers and was led to Gibney.

From there, he worked to convince Gibney that he should tell the band's story, and they had "zero" influence on its outcome.

"We have a good story to tell and I think he's a great storyteller," Frey said, adding that Gibney told him, "We're going to make a movie, and we're going to tell the truth."

Don Henley said the band hasn't even seen the final cut yet. "I hope we like it," he joked.

Frey said what surprised him most about the film, and seeing the old footage, was "how much fun we had."

That may surprise people who are familiar with the band's well-documented discord, including their acrimonious breakup in 1982 (they got back together in 1994).

"Most of the things that have been written about this band have focused on conflict ? the journalism of conflict," Henley said. "It sells papers and magazines, but one thing that Glen said that people will see in this documentary is that we had a lot of fun. Some of it's not on film, and that's good."

"The bitter fighting that the media loved to talk about really didn't take place. We argued a lot, we discussed stuff a lot, and that tension had a lot of to do with the creative process," Walsh said. "We didn't hate each other; we didn't have fist fights, none of that."

Walsh, Henley, Frey and Timothy Schmit were expected to attend the premiere later Saturday.

Frey said the band might eventually make new music together. Their last album together was 2007's "Long Road Out of Eden."

"I think what we realized is how good we are together and how things have changed, and it would be a shame if we didn't try to find a way to create some more new music," Frey said. "People really like to hear us sing, we really do well, we still perform at a very high level, so for me, it would be great."

___

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's global entertainment and lifestyles editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi .

___

Online:

http://www.eaglesband.com

http://www.sundance.org/festival

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eagles-talk-showtime-documentary-024409190.html

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Military Services freeze hiring and reduce non-essential spending ...

Friday, January 18th, 2013

Responding to direction from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to prepare for the possibility of severe budget reductions this year, the Military Services have ordered a series of preemptive budgetary actions to reduce the rate of spending.

Panetta directed the military services and defense components to take ?prudent measures? to ensure that they are able to accomplish core missions if forced to operate under a year-long continuing resolution for the entire FY2013.? He also directed them to develop plans to implement civilian unpaid furloughs as a precautionary measure if sequestration goes into effect.

The Military Services acted quickly to this direction and ordered components to freeze hiring, terminate non-critical temporary employees, and reduce non-essential spending.? In all cases the Services said actions taken should be designed to be reversible, if budgetary conditions change

The Army announced that Secretary John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Ordierno issued a memo setting out some 15 actions to reduce the rate of spending.? These actions include: reducing base operations support in FY2013 to 30 percent of the FY2012 level; curtailing non-essential training activities (not related to Operation Enduring Freedom, the Korean forward-deployed units, Homeland Defense and the Division Ready Brigade) and cutting non-mission essential conference attendance and professional training.? The Army memo also called for stopping facility sustainment activities not ?directly connected to matters of life, health, or safety.?? McHugh directed that any of these actions should not effect wartime operations and ?Wounded Warrior? programs.

The Navy directed its components to reduce administrative contract support services, cut travel and base operating support, and reduce information technology and other administrative spending.? Navy also ordered a delay in decommissionings, disposals, or layups, a decrease in facility sustainment (exceptions for safety of life) and modernization programs, and the cancelation of facilities demolition.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley described the actions the Air Force would take in response to the budgetary uncertainly.? In addition to freezing hiring and releasing non-mission critical temporary employees, the Air Force will curtail non-readiness or mission-essential flying and travel, reduce or cut non-essential minor purchases, and defer non-emergency facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization.

Each Service will also plan for future furloughs if necessary, but made it clear that they would act only at DoD direction.

Source: http://www.asmconline.org/2013/01/military-services-freeze-hiring-and-reduce-non-essential-spending/

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Pakistani officer probing PM graft charge dies

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistani police say an officer who was investigating a corruption case against the prime minister has been found dead in the country's capital.

Senior police officer Bani Yamin says the body of Kamran Faisal was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at a government dorm in Islamabad on Friday.

Yamin says police are investigating whether Faisal committed suicide.

Faisal's death came days after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and 15 others in connection with an old corruption case the officer was investigating.

The prime minister was implicated in the case when he was minister of water and power. At the time, he oversaw the import of short-term power stations that cost the government millions of dollars but produced little energy.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistani-officer-probing-pm-graft-charge-dies-090413128.html

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Insight: Algerians suspect inside help in hostage raid

LONDON/ALGIERS (Reuters) - The In Amenas gas plant felt impregnable to many who worked there - walled in, hundreds of miles from anywhere and with the Algerian army constantly patrolling its desert approaches.

That was a mirage. Libya, an ex-police state turned arms bazaar and now open for jihad, lies just 50 empty miles away. And in any case, the enemy was probably already inside the gates.

At least some of up to 70 Islamist guerrillas who stormed in before dawn on Wednesday launched their operation hours earlier, barreling over smugglers tracks across the Libyan border just after midnight, an Algerian security official told Reuters, citing evidence from mobile phones traced to the militants.

The ease with which they entered the fortified housing compound and nearby natural gas plant also left Algerians in little doubt the gunmen had allies among people at the site.

"They had local cooperation, I'm sure, maybe from drivers or security guards, who helped the terrorists get into the base," said Anis Rahmani, editor of Algeria's Ennahar newspaper and a writer on security issues who said he was briefed by officials.

Officials in this secretive country said they had discovered cases before when Islamist rebels succeeded in having fellow militants employed by international energy companies. One told Reuters it was possible insiders had cooperated at In Amenas.

Locally hired workers who escaped told Reuters of seeing the gunmen moving around the sprawling facility with confidence, apparently familiar with its layout and well prepared.

The militants said they launched the raid to halt French military intervention in neighboring Mali, which began a week ago, however the link is not yet clear. Several European and U.S. officials said the assault seems too elaborate to have been planned in such a short time.

It is possible the attack would have happened anyway, or that the French military operation provided a trigger to carry out an attack based on preparations done earlier.

Much may never become clear. The raid was carried out in a region closed to outsiders within a country whose government is unused to sharing sensitive information with the public.

First word of trouble came crackling over a walkie-talkie to the communications room at In Amenas, where a 27-year-old radio operator called Azedine logged a contact with a bus driver who, at 5:45 a.m. (0445 GMT), left to take some foreigners to the airstrip at the town of In Amenas, some 50 km (30 miles) away.

"Moments after the bus left, I heard shooting, a lot of shooting, and then nothing," Azedine told Reuters on Friday.

Two people, one British, one Algerian were killed on two buses heading for the airport. It is not clear whether that incident was part of the plan that secured the militants access to the compound. Almost immediately after the bus skirmish, they were inside, in at least three vehicles.

People who have worked at the site, which sits with its back to cliffs in the dunes, say there was normally an overnight curfew on movement in the area, leaving it unclear how the gunmen were able to get so close before being challenged. Their initial approach may have been well off the main roads.

Freed hostages spoke of an alarm being raised, of frightened people staying in their offices or accommodation.

Azedine saw a gunman put on the ID badge of a French supervisor who had been shot dead.

Rapidly the area was surrounded by heavily armed Algerian troops, with tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships from a nearby military base. The government in Algiers vowed never to negotiate.

SMUGGLERS' TRAILS

People familiar with the site, operated by Britain's BP and Statoil of Norway along with Algeria's state energy company, said a barracks housing several hundred soldiers lies along the three km (two miles) of road separating the many buildings of the accommodation compound from the industrial plant.

A former senior Algerian government official said guards appeared to have been caught napping: "They have all kinds of equipment, detailed surveillance, cameras," he said. "They were caught maybe at the right time, at five in the morning."

But he also acknowledged the militants may have had help among the local workforce: "Out of 700 Algerians, I am sure they will find a couple who will cooperate. It always happens."

Militant leaders like Taher Ben Cheneb, said by officials to have led the operation and to have been killed on Thursday, have stoked resentment among southerners at the way foreigners and northerners dominate the better paid jobs in the oil fields.

Ben Cheneb, described as a high school maths teacher in his 50s, led the Movement of the Islamic Youth in the South. Security expert Rahmani said he joined forces for this operation with followers of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran of Afghan wars and a leading figure in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) who recently formed a new group named Mulathameen.

The two men had cooperated before, Rahmani said, notably in damaging an airliner in 2007 at Djanet, further to the south.

While Ben Cheneb's group appeared to have moved on In Amenas from a base inside Algeria, Rahmani said, Belmokhtar's men, led by Abu El Bara, appeared to have come in from Libya.

Noting the one-eyed Belmokhtar's reputation as a cigarette smuggler as well as a holy warrior - locals call him the "Mister Marlboro" - he added: "They use the same backroads as the smugglers. You need a perfect knowledge of the Sahara to do it.

"They can use the same wells as the smugglers, the same fuel dumps hidden in the desert."

More than a decade after Algeria's civil war killed some 200,000 people, Islamist fighters roam the sandy wastes of Africa's biggest country, mixing smuggling and kidnapping for ransom with opposition to the political establishment that has ruled in Algiers since French colonists left half a century ago.

These groups have been energized by the return of heavily armed ethnic Tuaregs and others from Libya, where they fought as mercenaries for Muammar Gaddafi until his overthrow in 2011. The new Libyan authorities are struggling to control their own deep south and it provides a launchpad for raids across the frontier.

Images from Libya's civil war, of men in desert robes powering across the dunes in pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weapons ranging from machineguns to missile-launchers, have been transferred, along with arms and men, to conflict in the Sahara.

Mali's army melted away last year, ceding control of northern towns like Timbuktu as fighters came back from Libya.

ARMY ASSAULT

While security forces seek to control their frontiers, the tracts of sand are vast, borders among the half dozen countries around the desert are unmarked, and the big money that can be made from illicit trade or kidnapping tourists and Western engineers can be used to buy favors from ill-paid officials.

Al Qaeda says it is fighting for a Muslim caliphate that transcends artificial borders in the Maghreb set by colonial powers.

Once inside the facility, militants, including bearded, ragged fighters and others in more urban dress, herded groups of Westerners together. Hundreds of Algerians were guarded more loosely. One Algerian worker told Reuters the gunmen said they were only interested in killing "Christians and infidels".

Several former hostages described the attackers, from their accents, as appearing to be Libyan or Egyptian as well as Algerian. Officials said many of 18 dead gunmen were foreign.

Algeria told Western governments, which voiced dismay at the storming of the facility on Thursday, that troops moved in only because guerrillas were trying to leave with hostages, possibly hoping to reach the Malian border.

The captors loaded hostages into a convoy. Special forces backed by helicopters moved in around noon, some 30 hours after the plant was seized.

In what appears to have been the deadliest part of the siege, as described by the family of Irish survivor Stephen McFaul, government forces bombed the convoy, blasting apart four vehicles full of hostages. McFaul was in a fifth truck which crashed. He dashed for his life and escaped, and believes all those in the other vehicles were killed.

During Thursday, most of the hundreds of people at the site were able to flee.

By Friday night, it remained unclear how many of the gunmen and their hostages were still in the facility - though both groups might number in the dozens. Norway's prime minister said the operation at the larger, residential compound seemed to be over and troops were now surrounding the industrial site.

But this left Western governments and intelligence officials, long used to difficult relations with Algeria which is proud of its sovereignty, desperate for hard facts about the fate of their nationals.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler and Jessica Donati in London; Editing by Peter Millership and Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-algerians-suspect-inside-help-hostage-raid-231257416--finance.html

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UK police accused of wrongly taking DNA of gay men

Undated image made available Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013 of Stephen Close. In 1983 Close was arrested, jailed, and expelled from of the British army for having sex with a fellow squad mate. Thirty years later, police in the English city of Manchester tracked him down and demanded that he give up a sample of his DNA. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says Close is one of three gay men convicted under Britain?s now-defunct indecency law who have been ordered to supply their genetic material to police. (AP Photo)

Undated image made available Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013 of Stephen Close. In 1983 Close was arrested, jailed, and expelled from of the British army for having sex with a fellow squad mate. Thirty years later, police in the English city of Manchester tracked him down and demanded that he give up a sample of his DNA. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says Close is one of three gay men convicted under Britain?s now-defunct indecency law who have been ordered to supply their genetic material to police. (AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) ? In 1983, Stephen Close was arrested, jailed and expelled from the British army for having sex with a male squad mate.

Three decades later, police tracked him down to the northern England city of Salford and demanded a sample of his DNA.

Close, now 50 and openly gay, said he was shocked.

"I was horrified that after all these years they suddenly decided to bring this up again," Close said in a telephone interview from Salford, 205 miles (330 kilometers) north of London.

While it is not illegal in the U.K. to collect genetic material from adults, Britain's DNA database ? one of the largest in the world, with some 6 million samples ? has long been a magnet for controversy. Human rights advocate Peter Tatchell says gay men convicted years ago under Britain's now-defunct gross indecency law may have had their rights violated recently by British police who ordered them to submit their genetic material to the database.

"It is absolutely wrong to lump a consenting, victimless offense like 'gross indecency' with rape and child sex abuse," Tatchell told The Associated Press.

Europe's top human rights court in 2008 struck down a British law that allowed the government to store DNA and fingerprints from people with no criminal record. But in 2011, a new law allowed police to collect DNA from offenders who had been convicted of serious offenses before the DNA database was created in 1995.

Amanda Cooper of the Association of Chief Police Officers' DNA database program said police forces were told that "certain sexual offences, such as gross indecency and buggery, should not have a DNA sample taken on the grounds of a sole conviction."

In Close's case, he was first convicted of a gross indecency charge and later theft.

The "gross indecency" law dates back to 1885, and has been used to persecute thousands of English homosexuals, including playwright Oscar Wilde, who spent two years in prison after a trial in 1895, and World War II code breaker Alan Turing, who committed suicide after being convicted in 1952.

Although England decriminalized homosexuality in 1967, elements of the indecency legislation remained in place until 2003 ? including anti-gay restrictions relating to the age of consent, the military, and sex under various circumstances.

Manchester police have apologized to Close, telling him his DNA sample will be destroyed. They have also promised a review of the some 850 DNA samples they've collected since 2011 for people with old convictions.

"In the case of Mr. Close, our request was made without proper consideration of all the facts and once again for that I apologize," Manchester Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told the AP on Wednesday.

In the city of Newcastle, a 44-year-old businessman also received a similar request for his DNA. Speaking via telephone, the man described how, more than two decades ago, he'd been arrested and fined after meeting someone for sex in a public toilet. The businessman, who asked that his name be withheld for privacy reasons, said he still has scars on his wrists from his attempt to commit suicide following the arrest.

"This whole thing has brought all this back up," he said. "I've moved on from my life. I'm a businessman now. I've been a relationship for more than 10 years now. It's like someone's put a bomb under me."

Northumbria police, who are responsible for Newcastle, denied that they targeted the man because of his sexuality. The force declined, however, to say whether it would destroy his DNA sample.

The force did say it would launch a review of individual cases and would be "looking closely" at the circumstances of each request for DNA, stating that no one would be contacted "solely based on their sexuality."

The Association of Chief Police Officers said Wednesday it would re-issue guidance to police forces on taking DNA samples.

Britain's Home Office, the ministry which governs police, also said the now-defunct indecency laws need to be revisited.

"It is unacceptable that homosexual men have been living for decades with criminal records for consensual sex," the Home Office said in a statement Wednesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-16-Britain-DNA%20Database/id-141420f266d7455983b1e9031e76246d

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