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Sunday, August 4, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
The View from 22 ? Twitter abuse wars, Theresa vs Boris and Egypt?s Arab winter
Will online abuse and trolling ever be stopped? On this week?s View from 22 podcast, Hugo Rifkind discusses his Spectator column on the subject with Helen Lewis of the New Statesman. They ask if trolling has got better or worse? What, if anything, can or should be done about ?morons? who mindlessly attack people? And should politicians ? like Stella Creasy ? be influencing the moderation policies of social networks like Twitter?
James Forsyth and Toby Young discuss the next Tory leadership battle: Theresa May vs. Boris Johnson. James reports that these two top Tories are jostling to succeed David Cameron, even though the PM is expected to be in situ after 2015: Boris isn?t even going to stand in the 2015 election. Who is most likely to be successful? And how might the EU referendum help Boris position himself to succeed Cameron?
Plus, the Telegraph?s Con Coughlin and Douglas Murray explain why Egypt?s deposed Muslim Brotherhood should have learnt from its own past and looked to Colonel Nasser on how to run the country.
You can subscribe to the View from 22 through iTunes and have it delivered to your computer every week, or you can use the embedded player below:
The View from 22 ? 1 August 2013. Length: 36:43
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Sunday, June 30, 2013
Home price gains bring sellers off the sidelines
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Robert and Emerald Oravec were itching to sell their condominium late last year to move closer to a favorite surfing spot, but they were stuck. They owed the bank $194,000 and figured the most they could get was $180,000.
When they put their San Diego home up for sale a few months later, they fielded five offers within two weeks. It sold for $260,000 in May, allowing them to invest profits in a new home that's more than twice the size on a large lot and 40 minutes closer to the surfing beach.
"We're stoked," said Robert, 50, a facilities engineer at Solar Turbines Inc., a maker of gas turbines that has employed him for the last 22 years. "It was better to be patient and wait it out."
Soaring prices are leaving fewer homeowners owing more money than their properties are worth, bringing them off the sidelines of the nation's surging housing market and offering relief to buyers who are frustrated by bidding wars. As more homes are put up for sale, price increases are expected to moderate.
Mark Fleming, chief economist at real estate data provider CoreLogic Inc., calls it "a virtuous circle."
"The fact that house prices have increased so dramatically ... has unlocked a lot of that pent-up supply," said Fleming, whose firm found that markets with the largest percentage of "underwater" or "upside down" mortgages often have the lowest supply of homes for sale.
From January to March, 19.8 percent of the nation's mortgaged homes were underwater, down from 23.7 percent a year earlier and 25 percent during the same period of 2011, according to CoreLogic. Gains spread across the country, though regions that rose high and crashed hard remained saddled with homeowners who bought near the peak.
Nevada had a nation-high 45.4 percent of mortgages underwater, followed by Florida at 38.1 percent, Michigan at 32 percent and Arizona at 31.4 percent. Montana had a nation-low 5.6 percent.
Among major metropolitan areas, Tampa Bay had a nation-high 41.1 percent of mortgaged homes underwater, followed by Miami at 40.7 percent. Dallas had a nation-low 8.3 percent.
San Diego, at 19.5 percent, was slightly better than the national rate and California's 21.3 percent. The region's median home sale price hit $406,500 in May, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier amid brisk sales, according to DataQuick.
Housing inventories remain unusually low. There was a 5.2-month supply of existing, single-family homes for sale in May, compared to 6.4 months a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. California had only a 2.6-month supply, compared to 3.6 months a year earlier and well below the six months that is considered a balanced market.
San Diego broker Colleen Cotter began knocking on doors this year after scouring property records to find homeowners who didn't owe money. If someone answers, she makes an all-cash bid on behalf of investors who don't even visit.
Nearly one of three homes sold in Southern California is paid for in cash, putting borrowers at a disadvantage. Some buyers write sellers about how they would cherish a home, hoping to spark a personal connection.
Josh Martin, 26, discovered homes he and wife considered buying had changed hands less than a year earlier at much lower prices. The first-time homebuyers lost nine bids since August? many to cash buyers ? until finally landing a home in May for $250,000 in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista.
"It was very stressful because the prices just kept going up," said Martin, who recently left the Marine Corps. "Our lease was about to end and we didn't want to sign another year."
Economists expect many homeowners will continue to resist selling because they think they can profit more by waiting.
Nancy Randazzo, a 38-year-old public school teacher who owes about $240,000 on an Anaheim condominium that she bought for $335,000 in 2005, figures she might be able to sell for what she owes but wants to rent to Disneyland tourists. One potential snag is that she and her fiancee would need to find a place to buy.
"Prices are going up so fast that I don't know if I can," she said.
The huge price increases produced an unexpected retirement gift for Larry and Diane Plaster, who were resigned in January to selling their San Diego home for less than they owed the bank, known as a short sale. They owed $352,000 but accepted an offer for $290,000.
Their bank rejected the deal four months later, leading the couple to put the home up for sale again. On the second attempt, they took an all-cash offer of $380,000, yielding a windfall of $6,500 after broker fees and closing costs. The Plasters, who live on Social Security income, fulfilled a dream of moving to a geodesic dome they built in Janesville, 130 miles north of Lake Tahoe.
The former Catholic social service workers were so angry when Chase rejected the short sale that they closed their account after more than 40 years.
"Now I guess I should send them a thank-you note," said Diane, 66.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/home-price-gains-bring-sellers-off-sidelines-140703042.html
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Japan Prime Minister in New Smartphone Game
At the headquarters of Japan's ruling party, there's a new plan for victory ahead of next month's national election.
?
This is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe like you've never seen him before.
He's the star of 'Abe Hop', a new free game for smartphones released by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) this week.
The game is to steer the Japanese premiere high into the sky, winning points to change his attire.
Skillful players can whisk Abe out of his grey business suit and into jeans or gym kit.
The ultimate prize is a bouncing Abe clad in a Superman costume.
Takuya Hirai is an LDP lawmaker and the brains behind the party's internet strategy.
[Takuya Hirai, LDP Lawmaker]:
"If you play over and over again you can win rosettes?they're like the ones candidates get when they win an election. The more you collect, the more costumes you can choose for Abe. We're also doing a version upgrade today to bring in rankings, so we're hoping the game will get people interested in politics in a way they never were before."
The party plans to have six apps in circulation before the country's July 21st upper house election, Japan's first to allow official campaigning online.
Abe has already made a name as a keen user of social media services, with more than 370-thousand Facebook followers.
As voting day approaches, Hirai says he now hopes 'Abe Hop' will help to draw in smartphone-savvy voters who might otherwise give the ballot box a miss.
Source: http://ntdtv.org/en/news/world/asia/2013-06-29/japan-prime-minister-in-new-smartphone-game.html
Thursday, June 20, 2013
The future of natural gas is the car?
Rising use of natural gas in the transportation sector will offset a slowdown in other areas, says the International Energy Agency in?a new report. But don't expect natural gas vehicles to dominate roadways anytime soon.
A man fills his truck with compressed natural gas at a filling station in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jim Urquhart/Reuters/File
EnlargeThe natural gas revolution is getting some wheels ? and just in time for the gas industry.
Skip to next paragraphWhy It Matters
Energy: Natural gas is plentiful, cheap, and cleaner-burning than other fossil fuels.
Environment: Drilling for natural gas can release potent greenhouse gases and threaten local ecosystems.
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Rising use of natural gas in the transportation sector will offset a global slowdown in the growth of natural gas to produce electricity, according to a report released Thursday by the International Energy Agency. That timely boost will mean that America's boom in natural gas is likely to continue for several years, even if the focus begins to shift away from power plants and toward cars and trucks.?
Not everyone is convinced natural gas will do for auto companies what it did for utilities. Changing fuels requires an overhaul of existing infrastructure, and natural gas comes with its own set of environmental concerns. In many regions, it is difficult for natural gas to compete with the range, power, and price of gasoline. But natural gas has already proven itself a useful alternative for fueling large vehicle fleets and it's even more attractive in parts of the world where gasoline prices are high.
?Gas is already a major fuel in power generation, but the next five years will also see it emerging as a significant transportation fuel, driven by abundant supplies as well as concerns about oil dependency and air pollution," IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in a release.?"Once the infrastructure barriers are tackled, natural gas has significant potential for clean-energy use in heavy-duty transport where electrification is not possible.??
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
With Samsung, Jay-Z's business continues to boom
NEW YORK (AP) ? He really is more than a businessman.
Jay-Z's partnership with Samsung for his new album, "Magna Carta Holy Grail," is another sign of how musicians are finding new ways to push, sell and promote their music, and how the multiplatinum performer ? who famously rapped "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man" ? continues to leverage his enduring popularity into a successful brand.
Jay-Z will give his new album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones on July 4, three days before the album's official release date. The 43-year-old broke the news about his twelfth album in a three-minute commercial during the NBA Finals.
Details about the Samsung-Jay-Z deal, announced Sunday, weren't disclosed and both parties did not grant interviews.
But Jay-Z's partnership is just another way artists are promoting their music at a time when album sales are low and the digital market has taken the lead in the music industry.
Jim Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), said top level acts like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift have the power to launch new albums in spectacular ways with various partners.
"For an artist whose album release is an event in itself ... they carry with them a much wider profile in the marketplace that they speak to, so their audience and all the things that they do affords these unique opportunities," he said.
In 2011, Lady Gaga sold 440,000 copies of her "Born This Way" album on Amazon for just 99 cents when it was on sale for two days, helping the album sell 1.1 million in its debut week. Others have also used that trend to sell albums, though not in its debut week: Last year, Phil Collins' greatest hits jumped into the Top 10 at No. 6 ? its peak ? when it was sold for 99 cents for a day. And Bruno Mars' "Doo-Wop & Hooligans" and Demi Lovato's "Unbroken" both jumped about 100 spots on the Billboard chart when they were on sale for 99 cents months after they were released.
Taylor Swift, one of the top sellers in music, had her second platinum-debut week with "Red" last year. Her partnerships for the album included Target, Walgreens and Papa John's (you could order a pizza and a Swift album at the same time).
"Even if you didn't purchase the CD, her face was still on the pizza box," Donio said.
And Prince released his "20Ten" album in 2010 via the Daily Mirror newspaper in United Kingdom.
Jay-Z's new partnership is one of his many business deals. His Roc Nation agency, which manages Rihanna, Shakira and other musicians, recently expanded into the sports world, and he now is helping the careers of New York Yankee Robinson Cano, New York Jets rookie Geno Smith and others. Jay-Z has launched fashion lines, has a string of 40/40 nightclubs, was also the president of Def Jam and owned part of 1 percent of the Brooklyn Nets.
He's still a consistent hit maker and a superstar who transcends music ? which is why Samsung likely partnered with him on his new album. Samsung has chipped away at Apple's share of the mobile market with its Galaxy phones, and companies are relying more on music to lure new customers (Apple last week announced it will debut iTunes Radio, its streaming music service, in the fall).
One of the many questions about the Samsung deal still unanswered: Will the 1 million downloads count toward first-week sales of the album, giving it elite status of debuting with platinum sales, an accomplishment few artists have achieved? Billboard, which tracks album sales and chart information for the industry, did not return emails seeking comment. Samsung reportedly purchased the albums though it's unclear what the price-point was.
Jay-Z made it clear Monday what he felt the trade publication should do.
"If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesn't report it, did it happen? Ha," Jay-Z tweeted, adding: "Platinum!!!"
Donio said he thinks more deals like Samsung-Jay-Z are on the horizon.
"The record labels that are putting out the music and partnering with a variety of types of commerce outlets are going to look at just anything and everything that may work with that particular artist and that particular album release," he said.
____
Online:
http://www.magnacartaholygrail.com/
____
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-jay-zs-business-continues-boom-094503461.html
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
China's latest 'sacred' manned space mission blasts off
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese manned spacecraft blasted off with three astronauts on board on Tuesday on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab in the latest step towards the development of a space station.
The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft was launched from a remote site in the Gobi desert in China's far west at 5:38 p.m. (0938 GMT) under warm, clear blue skies, in images carried live on state television.
Once in orbit, the craft will dock with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1, a trial space laboratory module, and the two male and one female astronauts will carry out various experiments and test the module's systems.
They will also give a lecture to students back on Earth.
China successfully carried out its first manned docking exercise with Tiangong 1 last June, a milestone in an effort to acquire the technological and logistical skills to run a full space station that can house people for long periods.
President Xi Jinping oversaw Tuesday's launch personally, addressing the astronauts before they blasted off to wish them success, saying he was "enormously happy" to be there.
"You are the pride of the Chinese people, and this mission is both glorious and sacred," Xi said, according to state media.
This mission will be the longest time Chinese astronauts have spent in space, and marks the second mission for lead astronaut Nie Haisheng.
It is China's fifth manned space mission since 2003, and was accompanied by the usual outpouring of national pride and Communist Party propaganda, including children dressed as happy ethnic minorities waving off the three at the space centre.
However, some wondered why China was spending so much money exploring space when it was still a developing country with a plethora of more pressing issues, from food safety and pollution to the prevalence of workplace fire disasters.
"Why don't they spend this money solving China's real problems instead of wasting it like this?" wrote one user on China's popular Twitter-like service, Sina Weibo.
China's space program has come a long way since late leader Mao Zedong, founder of Communist China in 1949, lamented that the country could not even launch a potato into space.
But China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia.
Rendezvous and docking techniques such as those which China is only testing now were mastered by the United States and the former Soviet Union decades ago, and the 10.5 meter-long Tiangong 1 is a trial module, not a fully fledged space station.
Still, the Shenzhou 10 mission will be the latest show of China's growing prowess in space and comes while budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.
China also plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover. Scientists have raised the possibility of sending a man to the moon, but not before 2020.
While Beijing insists its space program is for peaceful purposes, a Pentagon report last month highlighted China's increasing space capabilities and said Beijing was pursuing a variety of activities aimed at preventing its adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis.
Fears of a space arms race with the United States and other powers mounted after China blew up one of its own weather satellites with a ground-based missile in January 2007.
(Additional reporting by Hui Li; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-latest-manned-space-mission-blasts-off-094410665.html
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Monday, April 15, 2013
Sen. Marco Rubio to Jay-Z: Get your facts straight on Cuba
Immigration reform pushed by the bipartisan 'Gang of Eight' hits the Senate this week. Sen. Marco Rubio is a key player, and he was all over the news shows Sunday talking about that.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks at a Capitol Hill news conference on immigration legislation with other members of the "Gang of Eight," including, from left, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
EnlargeSen. Marco Rubio is a main Republican point man on immigration reform, not to mention trying to get Hispanics to vote GOP for a change. And he was all over the TV news shows Sunday ? seven venues (two Spanish language), which may be a record ? touting the points he?ll make when legislation is taken up this coming week.
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But first, he had a message for rapper Jay-Z, who went to Cuba recently on a trip with his wife pop singer Beyonc??that conservative critics saw as propaganda for a repressive country.
"If Jay-Z was truly interested in the true state of affairs in Cuba, he would have met people that are being oppressed, including a hip-hop artist in Cuba [jailed rapper Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga] who is right now being oppressed and persecuted and is undergoing a hunger strike because of his political lyrics," Sen. Rubio said on ABC's ?This Week.?
"Jay-Z needs to get informed," Rubio said. "One of his heroes is Che Guevara.?Che Guevara was a racist.?Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself on the guy that he?s propping up."
But aside from Cuba ? a minor issue in immigration reform but important to Floridians like Rubio, whose parents emigrated from there ? Rubio?s stance and now outspokenness on immigration could be risky for him and the Republican Party.
?The gambit could pay off in spades by crowning a leading presidential contender in 2016, or it could permanently damage the Republican?s brand with conservatives,? writes Manu Raju at Politico.
Rubio is one of the bipartisan ?Gang of Eight? Senators who?ve taken the lead on immigration, but he has remained a bit of a wild card, pressured from both directions.
On Friday, the president of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement union called on Rubio to step down from the Gang of Eight, charging that proposed legislation ?offers legalization, or amnesty, before enforcement.?
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Special Needs Network Gears Up for Autism Awareness Month ...
Special Needs Network (SNN), California?s leading grassroots autism advocacy organization, will host a series of events throughout the month of April to help increase awareness about autism and the issues surrounding those impacted by the disorder. Autism impacts 1 in 50 children and appears to have its root in early brain development, although there is no known cause or cure. Since its inception, SNN has worked with more than 30,000 children and families and is known as California?s go-to organization for autism advocacy and serving under-served populations, particularly the African American and Latino communities.
With the Centers for Disease Control recent report announcing an increase in the rate of autism from 1 in 88 to 1 in 50 among children, SNN?s collection of events comes at an ideal time to continue building awareness about a medical condition that impacts more than one million children across the country. African American and Latino children are diagnosed two to four years later than their non-minority peers and often have more difficulty accessing much needed diagnostic and intervention services.
The organization?s most anticipated event takes place on April 12 and 13 with a two-day conference that is free and open to the public. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend. The event, SNN?s 7th Annual Tools for Transformation conference, will be held at the Radisson Midtown at USC. A legislative breakfast featuring several of California?s most influential elected officials will kick off the event and will address critical national issues including bullying, gun violence and school safety.
Guest speakers include the Honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County?s Board of Supervisors Chairman. Supervisor Ridley-Thomas will be joined by Congresswoman Janice Hahn, state Senator Curren Price Jr. and Los Angeles County?s district attorney Jackie Lacey. Participants will be able to weigh in on the issues presented and interact with the speakers.
In addition to the legislative breakfast, the conference will include workshops with nationally recognized experts on developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, ADHD and more. There will also be an anti-bullying summit specifically for students and young people. Conference attendees will also be able to attend a resource fair where they can connect with service providers, disability rights attorneys and other special needs professionals.
As if planning California?s largest and most comprehensive, free, two-day conference on issues surrounding autism and developmental disabilities wasn?t enough, SNN will kick-off Autism Awareness Month with a 5K run and walk. This event will be held in conjunction with the Hollywood Half Marathon on April 6.
SNN will also play a key role in increasing awareness about autism with California elected officials by hosting two proclamation days with city council members and board members of Los Angeles County. Additionally, a legislative event will take place on April 17 in Sacramento, where SNN?s president and founder, Areva Martin, Esq., will announce the organization?s sponsorship of three autism bills being introduced by the state Senate.
?Autism Awareness Month gives organizations like ours a chance to shine a bright light on the issues that families, particularly those in underserved communities, face on a daily basis to access quality healthcare and educational services for their kids,? says Martin. ?With state budget cuts and the increasing autism rates, now more that ever, families need help. Each project we have throughout April focuses on increasing access to services and helping push forward critical legislation that will help California?s special needs children.?
For a full list of SNN?s activities and events throughout April, visit specialneedsnetwork.org. SNN also invites anyone with questions or concerns about autism and other developmental disabilities to contact their office at (213) 389-7100 for information on available resources, programs and service providers.
To read the complete press release?..Click here
- Courtesy of PRWeb
Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/special-needs-network-gears-up-for-autism-awareness-month/
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Alaska lawmakers slash oil taxes, hope to spur output
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska lawmakers on Sunday gave final approval to a bill slashing state oil-production taxes in a change supporters said was needed to boost flagging output from aging fields but which critics say will severely damage the state's finances.
The new system approved by the Republican-dominated legislature does away with a methodology that increases tax rates as oil prices rise, a centerpiece of the aggressive tax legislation championed by former governor Sarah Palin.
Alaska will impose a base rate of 35 percent on oil companies' net profits in the state, replacing a 25 percent base rate that increased by 0.4 percentage points for every $1 above a net wellhead price of $30.
While the old tax system produced billions of dollars in surpluses for the state treasury, it meant Alaska's tax rate topped 50 percent when oil prices were high. Governor Sean Parnell, Palin's successor, said the cut would set the stage for future growth as the state tries to reverse decades of declining oil output.
"We are signaling to the world that Alaska is back, ready to compete, and ready to supply more energy once again," Parnell, who introduced the bill, said in a statement.
Oil production from Alaska's North Slope peaked in 1988 at over 2 million barrels per day, led by the Prudhoe Bay field which averaged 1.6 million bpd that year, according to state Department of Revenue statistics. Production in 2012 averaged 579,400 bpd, with Prudhoe Bay production down to 265,200 bpd.
The tax change was promoted by the three major North Slope oil producers, ConocoPhillips, BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. The companies argued that Alaska's current tax system is punitive and makes the state less attractive than other regions, such as North Dakota and Alberta.
Republicans said the changes would ultimately coax more oil into the aged Trans Alaska Pipeline. But minority Democrats railed against it, with Senator Bill Wielechowski saying it handed over "billions of dollars, with no strings attached."
"It's an epic give-away," he said.
Senator Bert Stedman of Sitka, one of the few Republicans to oppose the tax cut, said if the new system had been in place in 2012, the state would have lost $1.7 billion in revenue from the two major North Slope fields, Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk.
Stedman said the tax changes granted breaks mostly to the legacy fields, where oil has been flowing for decades and where reductions are unnecessary. "When you make a colossal financial error like this, it's going to be difficult to back up and fix it. And we're going to burn through our savings," he said.
With the tax cut, the state will need to take $861.5 million from savings to balance the budget for fiscal 2014, starting on July 1, said Senator Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat.
"I'm very concerned that this bill may bankrupt the state," he said, estimating that with credits and exemptions included in the bill, the effective tax rate would be 14 percent.
The legislature on Friday also approved Parnell's bill to authorize $355 million in grants, loans and other financing for a system to bring liquefied natural gas from the North Slope to Fairbanks.
The project would include a small liquefaction plant, a system to truck the LNG to Fairbanks and a distribution system there. Currently, a small amount of LNG is trucked north to Fairbanks from Cook Inlet in southern Alaska. Some regional utilities are considering plans to bring LNG south from the North Slope.
Another bill approved on Saturday by the legislature authorizes funding for an in-state pipeline to bring natural gas from the North Slope to Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Such a project, which would carry up to 500 million cubic feet a day, would cost $7.7 billion, according to the state agency developing plans. So far, no companies have submitted formal plans for such an in-state natural gas pipeline, which critics claim would hinder chances for a large North Slope natural gas export project.
(Editing by Braden Reddall and Edwina Gibbs)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alaska-lawmakers-slash-oil-taxes-hope-spur-output-054110640--finance.html
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Trout, Hamilton power Angels past Astros
By JOE RESNICK
Associated Press
Associated Press Sports
updated 8:06 p.m. ET April 14, 2013
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The suicide squeeze that worked so well the night before for the Houston Astros with Marwin Gonzalez at the plate gave rookie manager Bo Porter the idea of trying it again with Ronny Cedeno.
The Los Angeles Angels were ready this time.
Mike Trout hit his first home run of the season and Josh Hamilton also connected, leading C.J. Wilson and the Angels over Philip Humber and Houston 4-1 Sunday.
The Astros trailed 2-1 with one out in the sixth when they put Carlos Pena on third and Carlos Corporan at first. Cedeno bunted, and Wilson flipped the ball to catcher Hank Conger for the tag.
"When you have the kind of baserunners that you're not going to send them on contact ... you're trying to give yourself the best opportunity to get that guy home. But it just didn't work out," Porter said.
"In that situation, with the way Humber was throwing the ball for us, we thought if we could just get even and turn it into a bullpen game, I liked our chances. But they got the big hit in the eighth and those two runs in the eighth gave them a cushion."
Wilson said the element of surprise on the squeeze play was "zero," as far as the Angels were concerned.
"They had a bat-handler up there in Cedeno," Wilson said. "So I came up set, just knowing that this was possibly where they were going to try it - because anything that they can do to get the momentum back is huge for them."
Humber (0-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings and struck out four.
"He was outstanding. He was very efficient with his pitches and did a great job attacking the strike zone," Porter said. "He kept a pretty good hitting ballclub at bay and kept us in the ballgame."
The Astros didn't score a run in either of Humber's first two outings for them, which he lost 4-0 loss to Texas and 3-0 at Seattle.
"The guys are battling and today we got some runners on, but C.J. was tough," Humber said. "He made pitches when he had to make them, and their bullpen pretty much shut us down."
"As a pitcher, you can't really control wins and losses. You just go out there and try to give the team a chance to win when it's our turn. There are times when I go out there and don't deserve to win and my teammates have picked me up. That's happened a lot in the past, so you just keep going," he said.
Wilson (1-0) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out three, walked four and threw 115 pitches.
"We talked about how he had some command issues in his last start, so working counts was definitely part of our approach as a team," Astros center fielder Justin Maxwell said. "We did a really good job of making him work. I think almost every one of our batters had a full count at one time or another. So it worked pretty well, and we got some runners on."
Ernesto Frieri, the fourth Angels pitcher, got four outs for his second save.
Trout, whose 30 homers, 83 RBIs and .326 average last season helped him win AL Rookie of the Year honors, gave the Angels a 2-1 lead. It was his first RBI in four games since manager Mike Scioscia switched him from first to second in the batting order.
Hamilton, who homered in Saturday night's 5-4 win, hit an opposite-field drive that just cleared the fence in left-center as Maxwell made a leaping attempt.
"I thought he was camped under it," Hamilton said. "He was playing there, anyway. I think he would have caught it if he hadn't jumped into the wall. I think he got a little too close to the wall. I've done that myself."
NOTES: The last three teams Humber has pitched for - Oakland, Chicago and Houston - claimed him off waivers. Of the 23 pitchers who have thrown perfect games in the majors, only Humber, Randy Johnson and David Wells started the following season with a different team. ... Dominguez has played errorless ball at 3B through his first 11 games (43 chances). ... The Astros struck out eight times. They've fanned 121 times in 12 games this season.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons homered and the Atlanta Braves won their ninth in row as Paul Maholm beat the Washington Nationals 9-0 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51539388/ns/sports-baseball/
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Sunday, April 14, 2013
CA-BUSINESS Summary
Analysis: Euro zone bank troublespots don't come down to size
DUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Though the implosion of Cyprus's bloated banking system has put other euro zone economies with outsized financial sectors such as Luxembourg and Malta in the spotlight, loan quality is the real litmus test of a country's financial stability. Attracted by low taxes, high interest rates and light regulation, foreign deposits, largely from Russia and other former Soviet states, pumped up the Cypriot banking sector to nearly eight times annual economic output, more than double the European average of around 3.5 times.
Cyprus central bank chief calls for its independence to be respected
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's central bank governor said on Sunday he was willing to work with the government to pull the island out of its economic crisis, provided the bank's independence was respected. A rift between Governor Panicos Demetriades, appointed last May by the communist former administration, and the ruling center-right government has deepened and pressure grown on him to resign over his handling of the crisis.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc
Stagnant Europe the class laggard as G20 takes stock
LISBON (Reuters) - After a bungled bailout of Cyprus, the recession-stricken euro zone will stand out for the wrong reasons when finance ministers meet in Washington this week to run the rule over the global economy. China on Monday is likely to report a growth rate of 8 percent for the first quarter, according to economists polled by Reuters.
Furs fly as Chinese consumers drive boom in U.S. mink farming
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Battered by the economic downturn and years of animal rights activism in their own backyard, American mink farmers are now in a different sort of quandary: scrambling to keep up with China's demand for all things fur. Driven by a hunger for high-end clothing and luxury home goods among China's burgeoning middle class, U.S. exports of mink pelts to China jumped to a record $215.5 million last year - more than double both the value and volume shipped in 2009.
Cyprus to ease citizenship requirements, attacks EU "hypocrisy"
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus will relax requirements for citizenship, including for bank depositors who lost large amounts of money in the deal with the EU and IMF, in an effort to keep foreigners interested in investing in the island state, the president said on Sunday. Cyprus was forced to wind down one major bank and impose considerable losses on large depositors in a second bank in return for 10 billion euros in aid from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in a move that was devastating to both Cypriots and foreign investors.
Mercedes plans new small luxury cars to rival BMW: report
BERLIN (Reuters) - German car maker Daimler
French minister mulls partial stake sales in companies
PARIS (Reuters) - France's industry minister on Sunday said the French government was mulling possible cuts in the state's stakes in some partly state-owned companies in the energy and transport sectors while seeking to keep influence in their management. "It doesn't mean privatisations. But there are some companies in which we have a 36-percent stake. Could we bring that to 33 percent? What does it change? We can discuss it," Arnaud Montebourg said in an interview on France 5 television.
Glencore concessions to China expected for Xstrata deal
LONDON (Reuters) - Trader Glencore
HSBC names Anshul Gupta M&A head for MENA: memo
DUBAI (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-035302275--finance.html
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Bombs hit Iraq mosque after prayers, killing 8
BAGHDAD (AP) ? A pair of bombs struck in quick succession outside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 30.
The attacks in the town of Kanaan, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) northeast of the capital, are likely to increase fears of further violence ahead of provincial elections in much of the country scheduled for next week.
Friday's blasts struck as worshippers were leaving after midday prayers from the town's Omar Bin Abdul-Aziz mosque, said police officials in Diyala province, where Kanaan is located. A hospital official confirmed the casualty figures.
Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks remain common a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.
The nearby city of Baqouba was the site of a large bombing just last week. In that incident, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a lunch hosted by a Sunni candidate in the upcoming provincial elections, killing 20 people.
Minutes after the Kanaan attack, a bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in western Baghdad, wounding eight, according to police and hospital officials.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attacks.
Al-Qaida's Iraqi branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently carries out coordinated bombings targeting civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants.
It primarily targets Shiites, whom it considers heretics, as well as security forces and other officials tied to Iraq's Shiite-led government.
But it has in the past also struck Sunni targets in an attempt to reignite the sectarian fighting that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in the years following the fall of Baghdad, a decade ago this week.
Iraqi officials believe al-Qaida is growing stronger in Iraq, fuelled in part by rising lawlessness on the Syria-Iraq frontier and what they say is cross-border cooperation with the Syrian militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bombs-hit-iraq-mosque-prayers-killing-8-112633716.html
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Kerry visits S. Korea amid missile fears
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in South Korea on Friday on an unusual diplomatic journey, traveling directly into a region bracing for a possible North Korean missile test and risking that his presence alone could spur Pyongyang into another headline-seeking provocation.
Kerry was kicking off four days of talks in East Asia amid speculation that the North's unpredictable regime would launch a mid-range missile designed to reach as far as the U.S. territory of Guam. Kerry also planned to visit China and Japan.
North Korea often times its provocations to generate maximum attention, and Kerry's presence in Seoul will provide plenty of that, even if the United States is engaged in intense diplomacy with China, the North's benefactor, in an effort to lower tensions. Another dangerous date on the calendar is April 15, the 101st birthday of North Korea's deceased founder, Kim Il Sung.
Kerry's trip coincides with the disclosure of a new U.S. intelligence report that concludes North Korea has advanced its nuclear knowhow to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. The analysis, disclosed Thursday at a congressional hearing in Washington, said the Pentagon's intelligence wing has "moderate confidence" that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles but that the weapon would be unreliable.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said afterward that "it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced" at the congressional hearing.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said he concurred with Little and noted that the report alluded to at the hearing was compiled by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency and was not an assessment by the entire U.S. intelligence community. "Moreover, North Korea has not yet demonstrated the full range of capabilities necessary for a nuclear armed missile," he said.
President Barack Obama on Thursday urged calm, calling on Pyongyang to end its saber-rattling while sternly warning that he would "take all necessary steps" to protect American citizens.
Kerry's trip marks his first foray to the Asia-Pacific as America's top diplomat, spearheading the effort to "pivot" U.S. power away from Europe and the Middle East and toward the world's most populous region and fulcrum of economic growth.
And it comes on the heels of months of provocative action and warlike rhetoric from Pyongyang, including talk of nuclear strikes against the United States ? however outlandish analysts consider such threats. No one is discounting the danger entirely after tests of a nuclear device and ballistic missile technology in recent months.
Kerry's trip was planned well in advance of the latest danger to destabilize the Korean peninsula: North Korea's apparent preparations for another missile test in defiance of United Nations resolutions. The crisis clearly has overtaken the rest of his Asian agenda.
The Obama administration believes North Korea is preparing for another missile test, said a senior State Department official traveling with Kerry on the plane to Seoul. "We will show to our allies that we are prepared and we will defend them," the official said.
To mitigate the threat, however, Kerry is largely depending on China to take a bigger role in pressuring North Korea to live up to previous agreements to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It's a strategy that has worked poorly for the U.S. for more than two decades.
Beijing has the most leverage with Pyongyang. It has massively boosted trade with its communist neighbor and maintains close military ties. And the U.S. believes the Chinese could take several specific steps to show North Korea it cannot threaten regional stability with impunity.
These include getting China to cut off support for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program, said the State Department official and another senior administration official, though they rejected that the U.S. was seeking a commercial embargo against the North.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about Kerry's meetings in advance.
Neither could say, however, whether Pyongyang under its enigmatic young leader, Kim Jong Un, was actually listening at this point. One of them stressed that he "wouldn't say there is no conversation between them," but declined to describe the level and impact of Chinese-North Korean contacts.
Kim's actual control of the country also is unclear, the official added. Now 29 or 30, the basketball devotee and product of a Swiss boarding school inherited power from his late father, Kim Jong Il, some 16 months ago and has seemed to lead his country on an increasingly reckless path toward possible confrontation.
That has led many observers and policymakers abroad to devote increasing time toward analyzing what little information they have on Kim to figure out how he can be mollified without being rewarded.
Pyongyang has conducted three nuclear tests and shown it can launch a three-stage missile. But a senior U.S. military official in South Korea said it was "premature" to believe North Korea can develop a warhead, launch it, have it re-enter the atmosphere and then actually target something.
Putting a miniaturized nuclear weapon on a warhead is a "very difficult task," said the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-visits-tense-skorea-amid-missile-test-fears-054634320--politics.html
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Saturday, April 13, 2013
This is a 'critical time', Kerry tells China president amid North Korea tensions
Secretary of State John Kerry issued a stern warning Friday, telling Kim Jong Un North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
By Arshad Mohammed and Ben Blanchard, Reuters
BEIJING -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met China's top leaders on Saturday in a bid to persuade them to exert pressure on North Korea to scale back its belligerent rhetoric and, eventually, return to nuclear talks.
Traveling to Beijing for the first time as secretary of state, Kerry made no secret of his desire to see China take a more activist stance toward North Korea, which in recent weeks has threatened nuclear war against the United States and South Korea.
As the North's main trading partner, financial backer and the closest thing it has to a diplomatic ally, China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished, isolated state, Kerry said in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Friday before leaving for Beijing.
"Mr. President, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues -- issues on the Korean Peninsula, the challenge of Iran and nuclear weapons, Syria and the Middle East, and economies around the world that are in need of a boost," Kerry told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
Kerry said after the meeting that his talks with Xi were "constructive and forward-leaning", though he did not elaborate.
China had a testy relationship with Kerry's predecessor, Hillary Clinton, believing her to be too abrasive in their disagreements over everything from human rights to territorial disputes like the South China Sea.
Pentagon intelligence has assessed that North Korea likely does have the ability to launch nuclear missiles, which raises the stakes for John Kerry, who just landed in South Korea, to find a diplomatic way out of the crisis. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
"Clinton added fuel to the mistrust during her four-year term. We hope Kerry can pull it in the other direction," China's widely read and influential Global Times tabloid said in an editorial.
Kerry's visit to Asia, which will include a stop in Tokyo on Sunday, takes place after weeks of shrill North Korean threats of war since the imposition of new U.N. sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February.
North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said on Friday were its "treasured" guarantor of security.
No sign of imminent missile launch
North Korean television on Saturday made no mention of Kerry's visit and devoted most of its reports to preparations for Monday's celebrations marking the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung.
These included a numerous floral tributes and grandiose flower show, foreign visitors seeing the sights of the capital ahead of the festivities and the unveiling of a monument in a provincial town.
But Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party's newspaper, issued a fresh denunciation of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, saying: "The outbreak of nuclear war has now become a fait accompli, owing to the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces.
"If the enemies dare provoke (North Korea) while going reckless, it will immediately blow them up with an annihilating strike with the use of powerful nuclear means."
However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting a government source, said North Korea had not moved any of its mobile missile launchers for the past two days after media reports that as many as five missiles had been moved into place on the country's east coast.
Yonhap said there had been no signs of any movement by the mobile launchers since Thursday "or that missile launches are imminent".
U.S. 'fanning the flames'?
Beijing has been reluctant to apply pressure on Pyongyang, fearing the instability that could result if the North were to implode and send floods of refugees into China, and has looked askance at U.S. military drills in South Korea.
North Korea is trending online and has been searched on Google more than ever before now that the country's outlandish threats have gotten the world's attention. Kim Jong-un is still expected to launch a missile, and some analysts predict they will then ask for money not to do it again. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
China's official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary that Washington had itself been "fanning the flames" on the Korean peninsula with its shows of force.
"It keeps sending more fighters, bombers and missile-defense ships to the waters of East Asia and carrying out massive military drills with Asian allies in a dramatic display of preemptive power," it said.
However, U.S. officials believe China's rhetoric on North Korea has begun to shift, pointing to a recent speech by China's Xi in which -- without referring explicitly to Pyongyang -- he said no country "should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain".
Kerry told reporters in Seoul that if North Korea's 30-year-old leader went ahead with the launch of a medium-range missile, he would be making "a huge mistake."
At a news conference in Seoul on Friday and in a U.S.-South Korean joint statement issued on Saturday, Kerry signaled the U.S. preference for diplomacy to end the tension, but stressed North Korea must take "meaningful" steps on denuclearization.
The United States and its allies believe the North violated the a 2005 aid-for-denuclearization deal by conducting a nuclear test in 2006 and pursuing a uranium enrichment program that would give it a second path to a nuclear weapon in addition to its plutonium-based program.
David Guttenfelder / AP
As chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, David Guttenfelder has had unprecedented access to communist North Korea. Here's a rare look at daily life in the secretive country.
Related:
John Kerry in Seoul: North Korea missile launch would be 'huge mistake'
Missile launch is North Korea's exit strategy, experts say
Google+ Hangout featuring NBC News correspondents in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo
Full North Korea coverage from NBC News
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
NASA selects Explorer investigations for formulation
Apr. 8, 2013 ? NASA's Astrophysics Explorer Program has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from stars.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) were among four concept studies submitted in September 2012. NASA determined these two offer the best scientific value and most feasible development plans.
TESS will use an array of telescopes to perform an all-sky survey to discover transiting exoplanets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, in orbit around the nearest and brightest stars in the sky. Its goal is to identify terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. Its principal investigator is George Ricker of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
NICER will be mounted on the space station and measure the variability of cosmic X-ray sources, a process called X-ray timing, to explore the exotic states of matter within neutron stars and reveal their interior and surface compositions. The principal investigator is Keith Gendreau of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
"The Explorer Program has a long and stellar history of deploying truly innovative missions to study some of the most exciting questions in space science," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington. "With these missions we will learn about the most extreme states of matter by studying neutron stars and we will identify many nearby star systems with rocky planets in the habitable zone for further study by telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope."
NASA's Explorer program is the agency's oldest continuous program and is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space using principal investigator-led space science investigations relevant to the Science Mission Directorate's astrophysics and heliophysics programs. Satellite mission costs are capped at $200 million and space station mission costs are capped at $55 million.
The program has launched more than 90 missions. It began in 1958 with the Explorer 1, which discovered Earth's radiation belts. Another Explorer mission, the Cosmic Background Explorer, led to a Nobel prize. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For more information about the Explorer program, visit: http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov
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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408055223.htm
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10 Things to Know for Tuesday
Flowers placed by well-wishers surround a portrait of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher outside her home in Belgravia, London, Monday, April 8, 2013. Margaret Thatcher, the combative "Iron Lady" who infuriated European allies, found a fellow believer in Ronald Reagan and transformed her country by a ruthless dedication to free markets in 11 bruising years as prime minister, died Monday. She was 87 years old. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Flowers placed by well-wishers surround a portrait of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher outside her home in Belgravia, London, Monday, April 8, 2013. Margaret Thatcher, the combative "Iron Lady" who infuriated European allies, found a fellow believer in Ronald Reagan and transformed her country by a ruthless dedication to free markets in 11 bruising years as prime minister, died Monday. She was 87 years old. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
Israel's President Shimon Peres, right, meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the President's residence in Jerusalem, Monday, April, 8, 2013. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is looking to breathe new life into dormant Mideast peace talks in meetings Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, amid talk of modifying a decade-old Arab plan that's long been greeted with skepticism by the Jewish state. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Pool)
FILE - This 1955 file photo provided by Walt Disney Co., shows Annette Funicello, a "Mouseketeer" on Walt Disney's TV series the "Mickey Mouse Club." Walt Disney Co. says, Monday, April 8, 2013, that Funicello, also known for her beach movies with Frankie Avalon, has died at age 70. (AP Photo/Walt Disney Co., File)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:
1. HOW THATCHER WILL BE REMEMBERED
During 11 remarkable years, she imposed her will on a fractious, rundown Britain ? leaving behind a leaner government and a more prosperous nation.
2. A BIG WEEK FOR OBAMA
Gun control, immigration and the administration's long-delayed budget plan are in the spotlight on Capitol Hill.
3. WHICH AIRLINE IS FLYING HIGHEST
Virgin America did the best job for its customers among leading U.S. airlines last year, a report says.
4. KERRY: GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
Traveling in the Mideast, the secretary of state pitches a new and ambitious peace plan to Israel and the Palestinians.
5. PITINO MAKES HISTORY IN NCAA TITLE GAME
Louisville defeated Michigan 82-76 led by Luke Hancock's five 3-pointers and Pitino became the first coach to win titles with different schools.
6. TROUBLE AT GUANTANAMO
Lawyers say most of the 166 prisoners there have joined a months-long hunger strike. U.S. officials put the number at 42, with 11 being force-fed.
7. BID TO ARM TEACHERS STALLS
Since the Connecticut massacre, only South Dakota has passed a law allowing school personnel to carry guns.
8. WHERE ASSAD IS DRAWING THE LINE
The regime rejects a U.N. request to investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks by both sides ? not just the opposition ? in Syria's civil war.
9. 'ALARM FATIGUE' CAN BE DEADLY
Caregivers often stop paying attention to the constant beeps from devices that monitor vital signs, a hospital group warns.
10. ANNETTE FUNICELLO DIES AT 70
"The Mickey Mouse Club" child star gained fame in such fun-in-the-sun '60s movies as "Beach Blanket Bingo."
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93% The Sapphires
All Critics (116) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (8)
The harmonies they strike in this reality-inspired charmer are sweetly sublime.
You could drive an Abrams tank through the film's plot holes, but you'll likely be too busy enjoying yourself to bother.
"The Sapphires" feels like a movie you've already seen, but it's nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable, like a pop song that's no less infectious when you know every word.
"The Sapphires" sparkles with sass and Motown soul.
Sapphires is hardly a cinematic diamond mine. But this Commitments-style mashup of music and melodrama manages to entertain without demanding too much of its audience.
Doesn't always mix its anti-prejudice message and its feel-good nostalgia with complete smoothness. But despite some ragged edges it provides a reasonably good time.
Director Wayne Blair -- another veteran of the stage show -- finds his footing during the film's many musical numbers.
Despite the prosaic plot and reserved approach taken by Blair, Briggs, and Thompson, it's tough to get cynical about such a warmhearted picture that strives to tell so uplifting a story.
A movie with enough melody and camaraderie to cover up its lack of originality.
Draining most of the blood, sweat and tears from a true story, this music-minded movie capably covers a song we've heard a hundred times before.
"Sapphires," which was inspired by a true story, is propelled by a strong sense of music's power to connect people and change lives.
Fires on all cylinders when it drops all pretense and allows its talented cast to simply belt out a series of pure, unfiltered slices of ear candy.
A rousing soundtrack helps to compensate for some of the historical embellishments in this Australian crowd-pleaser.
'Sapphires' got heart and soul
It might not possess the exuberant innocent fun of 'That Thing You Do!' or the overall brilliance of 'The Commitments' but 'The Sapphires' shines enough in its own right. (Complete Content Details for Parents also available)
If you love the music of Motown and enjoy a feel good success flick, then "The Sapphires" fits the bill.
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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sapphires_2012/
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Monday, April 8, 2013
WHO talks with China on sending bird flu team
A worker cleans empty cages used for transporting chickens, to prevent an outbreak of H7N9 infections at a wholesale poultry market in Hong Kong Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has sickened at least 21 people, killing six of them. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A worker cleans empty cages used for transporting chickens, to prevent an outbreak of H7N9 infections at a wholesale poultry market in Hong Kong Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has sickened at least 21 people, killing six of them. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A photographer takes a photo of a joint press conference by Chinese health officials and World Health Organization representatives, from left, Deng Haihua, spokesman for China's Commission of Health and Family Planning, Feng Zhijian, head of the emergency office of China's Disease Control and Prevention Center or CDC, Liang Wannian head of a Chinese government office in charge of H7N9 bird flu prevention control, Michael O'Leary, head of the WHO's office in China, and Sirenda Vong, the WHO's Emerging Infectious Diseases expert, in Beijing, China, Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has killed six. Most of the 21 people stricken so far got severely ill. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Liang Wannian, head of a Chinese government office in charge of H7N9 bird flu prevention control, left, and Michael O'Leary, head of the World Health Organization's office in China, attend a joint press conference in Beijing, China, Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has killed six. Most of the 21 people stricken so far got severely ill. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Shu Yuelong, a virologist with China's Disease Control and Prevention Center or CDC, right, answers a question from a journalist during a joint press conference between Chinese health officials and World Health Organization representatives, in Beijing, China, Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has killed six. Most of the 21 people stricken so far got severely ill. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese health workers, wearing masks, walk past a group of security guards blocking a petitioner outside China's Health Ministry where a joint press conference between Chinese health officials and World Health Organization representatives was held in Beijing, China, Monday, April 8, 2013. The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has killed six. Most of the 21 people stricken so far got severely ill. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
BEIJING (AP) ? The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has sickened at least 24 people, killing seven of them.
A 64-year-old retired man in Shanghai became the latest victim of the H7N9 bird flu virus that had previously not been known to infect humans, the city government said Monday.
The Shanghai government said the man died Sunday night, a week after first experiencing chills. He sought medical treatment last Wednesday for pneumonia-like conditions. By Sunday morning, his condition worsened, he was out of breath and was admitted to a ward for in-patient treatment. He died hours later.
Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China, told reporters in Beijing on Monday that the international health organization had confidence in China's efforts to track and control the outbreak of H7N9 infections, but that growing interest in the virus globally has prompted WHO to consider sending a team.
The cases are of "great interest not only in the scientific community but in the world at large," O'Leary said at a joint press conference with China's national health agency. "WHO's responsibility in part is to make sure that we serve as liaison and linkage between China and the rest of the world."
The team would likely include epidemiological, laboratory and communications experts, but the matter was still being discussed by the two sides and it remained unclear if and when such a group would arrive, O'Leary said.
Aside from the latest fatality in Shanghai, China reported two more cases of human infection of the H7N9 bird flu virus on Monday, raising the total number of cases to 24 ? all in the eastern part of the country. Most of the patients have become severely ill, and seven of them have died, however milder infections may be going undetected.
There could be additional infections, both among animals and humans, in other regions and authorities have stepped up measures to monitor cases of pneumonia with unexplained causes, said Liang Wannian, director of the Chinese health agency's H7N9 flu prevention and control office.
Liang said Chinese experts also were in the early stages of researching a possible vaccine for the virus, though it might not be needed if the virus remains only sporadically reported and if it does not spread easily among people.
The H7N9 strain previously was known only to infect birds, and officials say they do not know why the virus is infecting humans now. The virus has been detected in live poultry in several food markets where human cases have been found, leading officials to think people are most likely contracting the virus through direct contact with infected fowl.
Authorities have halted live poultry trade in cities where cases have been reported, and slaughtered fowl in markets where the virus has been detected.
Further investigations are underway and, for now, there's no evidence the virus is spreading easily between people. However, scientists are watching closely to see if the flu poses a substantial risk to public health or could potentially spark a global pandemic.
In 2003, China allowed WHO to send a five-member team to help investigate an outbreak of the fatal flu-like illness, SARS, after its own experts could not trace the source of the disease.
China's response at the time was slow. The government stayed silent for months after the first cases of an unidentified disease were reported, a cover-up that contributed to the spread of the virus to many parts of China and to two dozen other countries, killing hundreds of people.
International observers say that over the past decade, China's public health agencies have become increasingly forthcoming with information.
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