Egypt arrests more Islamists as EU official visits

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian police detained two leaders of a Muslim Brotherhood-allied party in the latest in a wave of arrests of prominent Islamists following President Mohammed Morsi's ouster, while Europe's top diplomat held talks with the rival sides Monday to try to mediate an end to the country's increasingly bloody crisis.

It was European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton's second visit to Cairo since Morsi was toppled nearly a month ago, underscoring the urgency felt after violence that has killed more than 260 people and all but dashed hopes of political reconciliation in the deeply divided country.

International concern has spiked after security forces killed at least 83 Morsi supporters in clashes outside their sit-in where they have been calling for his reinstatement in Cairo over the weekend. Human Rights Watch and field doctors interviewed by The Associated Press said many were killed by gunshots to the head and chest.

Security officials said Monday that a police captain died of wounds sustained during those clashes after being hit in the eye with birdshot from protesters. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The clashes, which the Brotherhood has described as a "massacre," came after millions took the streets to show their support for military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The mass turnout followed a call from el-Sissi, who also is defense minister, for rallies to give him a mandate to deal with violence and "potential terrorism" ? a thinly veiled reference to expected crackdowns on Morsi supporters who are holding sit-in camps in Cairo.

The military pushed Morsi from power after days of mass protests by millions of Egyptians demanding that the president step down after a year in office.

The Muslim Brotherhood denounces the coup and has vowed to keep up its rallies until Morsi is reinstated.

"The military coup is the highest level of violence and terrorism to millions of Egyptians who voted in free elections, in addition to the preference of parties and bias against others," top Brotherhood official Essam El-Erian wrote Monday in a statement on his Facebook page.

The group has called for rallies outside security facilities on Monday evening during which they plan to carry empty coffins as a symbol of their dead. They have also called for mass protests Tuesday under the banner "Martyrs of the Coup," and have set up a tent a block away from their main sit-in for prayers for those killed over the weekend.

The Interior Ministry has vowed to take decisive action against anyone who violates state property, referring to the protesters efforts to expand their encampment.

Egypt's authorities have rounded up several Brotherhood leaders and other prominent Islamists since Morsi's ouster. The circle of those in custody expanded late Sunday after authorities arrested two figures from the Brotherhood-allied Wasat Party and took them to the capital's Tora prison.

Security officials said that Abul-Ela Madi and Essam Soltan, who faced arrest warrants linked to allegations of inciting violence, were found hiding in a home in a Cairo neighborhood located near the main protest site of Morsi's supporters.

The party condemned the arrest of its leaders, saying such measures exacerbate the crisis and add new obstacles to efforts to build bridges.

Morsi himself has been held incommunicado by the military since his ouster. Last week prosecutors announced they had launched an investigation into the ousted president on charges of murder and conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas to carry out an attack on a prison during the 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The jailbreak allegedly led to the deaths of inmates and broke Morsi and around 30 other members of the group out of detention.

The president's spokesman Ahmed el-Musalamani said "Morsi is not a political prisoner" and prosecutors and the judiciary is looking into the charges against him.

In a bid to try and mediate a solution to the crisis, the EU's Ashton has planned meetings with both sides Monday. She met with el-Sissi, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy as well as Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei. Her office said in a statement she was also to meet with interim President Adly Mansour.

The Brotherhood's political wing says four of its members and Morsi's ex-prime minister, Hesham Kandil, are holding talks with Ashton as well.

While the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies have rejected the new political order, the military-backed interim leadership is pushing ahead with a fast-track transition plan to return to a democratically elected government by early next year.

In a statement before arriving to Cairo, Ashton said she is going to speak to all sides to reinforce that "there must be a fully inclusive transition process, taking in all political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood."

"I will also repeat my call to end all violence. I deeply deplore the loss of life," she said.

The Egyptian presidency said the vice president received a call from U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon Monday urging an end to violence and a roadmap that includes the political participation of all parties.

Divisions between pro and anti-Morsi camps have played out in nearly daily street battles, with a dozen homes catching fire in Cairo late Sunday. Security officials said that no one was injured when the ousted president's supporters threw firebombs from atop a main overpass onto homes and opponents below.

Security officials said Monday that 11 bodies with signs of torture have been found in areas around the two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo. Another 10 people have reported being tortured and accused of being spies by the protesters there. All officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Separately, a man who appeared to be a pro-Morsi supporter was killed when his store was burnt by a mob in the city of Port Said on Sunday. It was the third death in Port Said that day. Earlier, two people died when fighting broke out at a funeral for one of the 83 killed in clashes with police in Cairo.

___

Associated Press writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-arrests-more-islamists-eu-official-visits-122530194.html

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Washington and big box retailers in high stakes showdown

Retail

Martha C. White NBC News contributor

7 hours ago

J. Scott Applewhite / AP file

Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington, D.C.

Wal-Mart has a reputation to protect: Its legendary, bare-knuckled labor tactics.

That's why the world?s largest retailer has threatened to scrap at least three of six stores planned for the nation?s capital if the city signs into law a bill requiring big-box stores to pay workers at least $12.50 an hour. Six other retailers have jumped on board, sending a letter to D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray that warned, ?Any future plans for retail expansion in the city must be revisited.?

It?s a showdown labor experts predict will be repeated in other cities, as cash-strapped municipalities try to pare back public assistance for the working poor and large retailers look to America?s cities for future growth.

Proponents of the wage bill, formally called the Large Retailer Accountability Act, call Wal-Mart a bully.

?They are known to be quite resolute, willing to take local losses in order to maintain a reputation,? said Gary Burtless, labor economist at the Brookings Institution. ?It would be a huge blow to that negotiating stance if they ceded to demands from the District of Columbia.?

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research agreed: ?If they?re seen to just be making idle threats after they?ve built up such a reputation, that would be a huge cost to them.?

Robin Sherk, Kantar Retail?s director of Retail Insights, offered an alternative for Wal-Mart -- that it offer grocery delivery service operating out of a suburban base, or downsize its planned Supercenters so its store footprints fall below the 75,000-square-foot threshold stipulated by the bill. Walmart Neighborhood Markets average about 38,000 square feet.

?Wal-Mart definitely views the urban environment as a growth area,? Sherk said. ?I don?t think they?ll give up on D.C. ... They?ll evaluate other options.?

Retail and labor experts agree that the chain will walk away, taking a loss if necessary, on some or all of its planned stores if the wage bill prevails.

This prospect strikes fear in the heart of local developers, who were counting on Wal-Mart?s draw as an anchor tenant to attract other stores and financing.

Developer Gary Rappaport told the Washington Post, ?If there?s not a Wal-Mart at Skyland (Town Center), then Skyland is not able to go forward at this time.?

Wal-Mart said that in addition to abandoning the three projects still in the planning stage, it ?will start to review the financial and legal implications on the three stores already under construction.?

Typically, a store would be locked into a lease agreement once lenders come on board and construction begins. Getting out of that could be expensive for Wal-Mart at this stage ? two of the stores were scheduled to open this fall ? but developers could be left holding the bag if they were so eager to get Wal-Mart on board that they wrote an option to terminate into their contracts.

?When you?re trying to attract a retailer like Wal-Mart, you do a lot of unconventional things,? Maloney said. ?You will need to stretch a bit.?

City administrators have been trying to get Skyland off the ground for more than two decades now, and the prospect of another setback frustrates Victor Hoskins, deputy mayor for planning and economic development. Washington, D.C. has invested between $25 million and $30 million in the project.

Hoskins said other big-box chains were considering abandoning D.C. for the suburbs if the mayor signs the bill. ?We?ve heard from a couple of large format retailers," he said. "They?re concerned.?

Hoskins argued that the jobs and sales tax revenue big-box retailers would bring are something the city can?t afford to lose, but supporters of the wage bill charge that big-box stores like Wal-Mart inflict hidden costs on taxpayers and municipalities.

?We want to make sure we don?t allow large retailers to come in and pay poverty wages ? which basically is going to compel this government to pick up all the social costs,? said Vincent Orange, Washington, D.C. council member at large. ?I know that the wage Wal-Mart wants to pay will continue to have D.C. residents seeking public assistance in a number of ways.?

Wal-Mart says its average non-supervisory worker pay is nearly $12 an hour, but since that doesn?t include part-time or temp workers, critics call the number inflated. In 2011, research company IBISWorld estimated that Walmart sales associates earned an average of $8.81 an hour, and department managers earned an average of $11.22 an hour.

Orange pointed to a report issued in May by the Democratic staff of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which said every Wal-Mart Supercenter ?may cost taxpayers about one million dollars in higher usage of public-assistance programs? by workers and their families.

Burtless, the Brookings labor economist, concurred: ?As a nation, we?ve expanded programs that provide income supplements to low-wage workers ... It does work to the benefit of Wal-Mart as well as other low-wage companies in the U.S.?

Despite retailers? protestations, experts predict that the pull of the market will eventually be too much to resist.

?For [Wal-Mart] to continue to grow in America, it needs to grow in urban areas,? including Northeastern and Midwestern cities with strong pro-union roots, said Paul Osterman, professor of human resources and management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ?That?s why these fights are so bitter.?

More business news:

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Green paint splattered on DC's Lincoln Memorial

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Someone splattered green paint on the Lincoln Memorial early Friday, but the statue of the 16th president was reopened by nightfall after the paint was washed away.

The apparent vandalism was discovered around 1:30 a.m. Friday on the statue, the pedestal and the floor, U.S. Park Police said. No words, letters or symbols were visible in the paint.

The marble Lincoln statute had green paint on its shin, coattail, chair and base, as well as paint on the floor of the memorial building.

Capt. Steven Booker said the paint spill "appears intentional based off of the splatter." Police were reviewing security camera footage to try to identify possible suspects, he said.

No suspects had been identified by Friday afternoon. Police officials said they would not release the security footage because the investigation is ongoing.

The memorial chamber was closed all day to allow a National Park Service crew to finish cleaning up the paint. Workers spent hours using pressurized hoses and a chemical paint remover to try to wash away the paint.

National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson said the memorial will be returned to the condition it was in before the vandalism. She said the work was going well by late Friday.

"It is not permanent damage," she said. "Our historic preservation crew knows exactly what they need to do."

The memorial, one of the most popular sites on the National Mall, was dedicated in 1922 to President Abraham Lincoln. The building was designed by Henry Bacon, and Daniel French sculpted the statue of Lincoln. It sits at the opposite end of the National Mall from the Capitol, facing the Washington Monument.

The memorial has served as a symbol of equality and reunification after the Civil War. It was the site of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington 50 years ago, along with other historic moments.

The Lincoln Memorial is generally open around the clock to visitors. Park rangers leave their posts about 10 p.m. and return about 9 a.m. daily. U.S. Park Police, however, maintain 24-hour patrols at the memorial, said Lt. Pamela Smith.

___

Lincoln Memorial: http://www.nps.gov/linc

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/green-paint-splattered-dcs-lincoln-memorial-001051192.html

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Novel mechanism in spinal cord injury discovered: 'See-saw' molecule may offer clues to potential therapies in the long-term

[unable to retrieve full-text content]More than 11,000 Americans suffer spinal cord injuries each year, and since over a quarter of those injuries are due to falls, the number is likely to rise as the population ages. The reason so many of those injuries are permanently disabling is that the human body lacks the capacity to regenerate nerve fibers. The best our bodies can do is route the surviving tissue around the injury site.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/luUgdo-mO9c/130725141757.htm

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Deal of the Day: Wings Financial Federal Credit Union Long-Term CD Rates at 0.65% APY

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Wings Financial Federal Credit Union Long-Term CD Rates: Terms and Conditions

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Explore competitive Wings Financial Federal Credit Union long-term CD rates, and rates from other financial institutions, today.

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Source: http://www.gobankingrates.com/cd-rates/wings-financial-federal-credit-union-long-term-065-apy/

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Abe visiting Asean countries to boost ties, counter China

Kwan Weng Kin

The Straits Times

Publication Date : 25-07-2013

?

Fresh?from Sunday's victory in Upper House elections, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting South-east Asia to further cement ties with Asean and to rally the region against a perceived security threat from China.

He leaves today for a three-day trip to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. While in Singapore, Abe will also hold talks with visiting United States Vice-President Joe Biden.

Tokyo is due to host a Japan-Asean summit in December to commemorate their fruitful 40-year-old partnership.

"In order to strengthen the Japan-Asean relationship, there has to be strong and sound bilateral relations with individual Asean countries," said a senior Japanese foreign ministry official.

In the three capitals, Abe will discuss bilateral and regional issues with his hosts and brief them on his so-called Abenomics prescription for revitalising the Japanese economy.

Tomorrow, he delivers the 33rd Singapore Lecture, which will focus on his growth strategies to revive the Japanese economy and how they might benefit the Asean economies. One pillar of these strategies is tripling Japan's infrastructural exports to 30 trillion yen (US$300 billion) by 2020.

Apart from selling high-speed rail systems and other infrastructure to South-east Asia, Japan is also keen to work with Singapore to export infrastructure to third countries, said the official.

He pointed out that medium-sized Japanese firms have the technology but not the experience of doing business abroad, while Singapore companies have both the experience and the connections. "If we combine, we can have good business chance, such as in the Mekong area," he said.

Singapore and Japanese companies are already working together to build industrial parks in India.

Abe's meeting with Biden, meanwhile, appears aimed at demonstrating the close ties between the two countries, as well as underlining the strong US presence in the region.

A White House statement said the two leaders will affirm the "enduring strength" of the US-Japan alliance as a cornerstone of peace and stability in the region.

The meeting will also allow Biden to brief Abe on the US-China strategic and economic dialogue held in Washington earlier this month.

The Japanese media has speculated that Abe's latest visit to the region is also aimed again at keeping China in check.

China's growing maritime activities in the region, which come amid its dispute with several Asean states over the Spratlys and other islands in the South China Sea, and its feud with Japan over the Senkaku islands - which the Chinese call Diaoyu - have caused increasing concern.

In the face of China's growing naval presence, Tokyo is considering a request by Manila for the purchase of 10 patrol boats using cheap yen loans.

Abe visited Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia in January soon after coming to office and travelled to Myanmar in May.

But he is the first Japanese prime minister to make an official visit to Singapore in 11 years, and the first to visit Malaysia and the Philippines in six years.

He is said to want to visit all 10 Asean nations before the East Asia Summit later this year.

?

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/33359/f/566601/s/2f20f5ac/sc/11/l/0L0Sasianewsnet0Bnet0CAbe0Evisiting0EAsean0Ecountries0Eto0Eboost0Eties0Ecounter0E494870Bhtml/story01.htm

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How to Improve Your Workout Performance | Body Health ...

In order t? prepare themselves f?r a healthy ?n? successful life, millions ?f people around th? world workout regularly. H?w???r, w? still witness t?? many people struggling w?th weight issues ?n? suffering fr?m different diseases. One ?f th? major reasons behind th?? trauma ?? th? fact th?t m??t ?f th?m ?? n?t know h?w t? exercise ?n th? r??ht manner, although th?? ??t ?n th??r best efforts. If ??? ??n learn t? workout properly, ??? ??n surely enhance ???r performance ?n? achieve better results.

1 Hire a professional trainer

If ???r budget allows ???, ?? f?r a professional trainer, wh? ??n h??? ??? workout ?n? enhance ???r performance. Th?? ??n b? very ?m??rt?nt ?t ????t ?n th? first six months. Aft?r th?t, ?f ??? ?r? dedicated, ??? ??n take care ?f ???r ?wn self. Before ??? hire a trainer, m?k? sure th?t h?/?h? ?? ???? ?t th? job ?n? ?h???? h??? proper understanding ?b??t ???r body ?n? ???r goals.

2 Manage diet

Diet ?? ?m?n? th? m??t ?m??rt?nt factors wh??h affect ???r workout performance. Y?? ?h???? h??? a proper diet ???n set b? ???r trainer. At times, wh?n ??? h??? worked extremely hard, ??? want t? forget ?b??t th? diet ???n ?n? eat beyond limits. H?w???r, ??? ?h???? h??? enough self control t? know wh?t ?? going t? affect ???r performance. Therefore, ??? ?h???? h??? clear priorities.

If ??? ?r? looking t? gain weight w?th exercise, th?n ??? ?h???? h??? additional intake ?f vitamins, carbohydrates ?n? minerals.

3 Intake ?f water

Proper intake ?f water ?? ???? ?f extreme importance, regardless ?f wh?t ??? wish t? achieve through workout. According t? m??t analysts, one ?h???? drink a lot ?f water before, during ?n? ?ft?r a physical activity.

4 En??? workout

One ?f th? keys behind enhancing ???r workout performance ?? t? ?n??? ?t. S?m? ?f th? people take workout ?? a burden ?n? never achieve th??r targets. Y?? ?h???? ???? th? feeling ?f being fit ?n? healthy.

5 Stretch hard before ?n? ?ft?r workout

People, wh? ?? n?t know much ?b??t workout, ???t ?t?rt exercising without proper stretching ?f th? muscles. If ??? want t? gain m??t out ?f th? time ??? spend ?n workout ???r? day, learn latest stretching techniques. M?k? sure th?t ??? stretch each ?n? ???r? ??rt ?f ???r body, fr?m neck t? toe.

Related Articles:

from your own site.

Source: http://mybodyhealth.net/how-to-improve-your-workout-performance/

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Wellington mayor reassures residents

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says the city has come through last night's 6.5 earthquake "relatively unscathed", but the quake is a timely reminder for residents to be in a state of preparedness.

"Council engineers and consultants have done a visual check through of the city's inner streets ? that's about 2500 buildings ? and we've identified there are about 35 building with clear external damage, broken windows, masonry coming off the building, and we've barricaded off the footpaths and roads from those buildings to keep people safe," says Ms Wade-Brown.

She says it is a well-known fact Wellington is prone to earthquakes and the city has been working on its earthquake-readiness for a number of years.

"I think today we saw the benefits of strengthening the infrastructure and the buildings," she says.

"We do encourage people to take this as a timely reminder to make sure they have their emergency kits, that they're prepared, and that they stop and take the time to reassure any vulnerable neighbours that they might have."

Ms Wade-Brown says all council buildings will be open tomorrow as normal.

Watch the video to see the story.

Source: http://www.3news.co.nz/Wellington-mayor-reassures-residents/tabid/423/articleID/305889/Default.aspx

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Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1772880&goto=newpost

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U of M researchers unveil nation's first porcine virus rapid detection test

Public release date: 23-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Miranda Taylor
tayl0551@umn.edu
612-626-2767
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (July 23, 2013) Mere months after porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was first confirmed in the United States swine population, University of Minnesota researchers have developed a PEDV rapid diagnostic test.

The first-of-its-kind test, which is available now, provides a way to quickly and cost-effectively identify the presence of U.S. PEDV strains.

Characterized by acute diarrhea and vomiting, a PEDV outbreak wipes out an average of 50 percent of young swine at newly affected farms. PEDV poses no risk to other animal or human health and no risk to food safety. Should PEDV become widespread, however, the pork industry could suffer significant losses. The virus has been confirmed in sixteen U.S. states so far. There is no known vaccine or treatment for the virus at this time.

Thanks to the new test, samples from animals suspected of carrying PEDV can be submitted to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) for testing. Test results are known within 24 hours, allowing for swine producers and farmers to take necessary precautions to prevent further spread. Genetic material is also extracted from the samples, which can be tested and tracked to monitor PEDV spread.

Samples including swine fecal swabs, saliva, serum, feed, and fecal, intestinal and lung tissues can be tested via a multiplex assay which identifies the presence of not just PEDV, but also transmissible gastroenteritis (TEG) a virus that has existed among U.S. swine populations for some time. Pairing the tests improves affordability to agriculture by bringing the cost of the test to less than $50.

"The University of Minnesota has been preparing for the arrival of an infectious disease like PEDV by making strategic investments over past 10-20 years," said James Collins, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of the VDL, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and expert in food animal diagnostic medicine and infectious disease. "Agriculture is such an important part of what we do in Minnesota and thanks to preparation and the help of our partners, we were able to mobilize available resources and technology quickly to turn around a new test in just a few months. In our mind, the point where research can move this quickly is the pinnacle of where we need to be."

In addition to development of the test, the U of M team has completed sequencing the DNA of one strain of U.S. PEDV. The sequence has been deposited into the GenBank database in the National Center for Biotechnology Information to help amplify the research potential of new PEDV genome understanding.

Development of a cost-effective bioassay to determine whether PEDV is being spread via non-genetic materials including feedstuffs is ongoing at the University. Investigations aim to both identify the presence of PEDV and determine whether it is alive and active, thus posing a risk. The U of M, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture and National Pork Producers Association, also continues to investigate how PEDV first entered the U.S. and further ways to best limit it's spread.

"This is an important new disease that's entered the U.S. and we have to try to mitigate its damage. The University of Minnesota is working diligently to help address the problem," said Collins.

###

Collaborators in this project include the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, it's Swine Disease Eradication Center, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the University of Minnesota BioMedical Genomics Center.

Funding was provided by the Minnesota Rapid Agricultural Response Fund, the National Pork Board and Zoetis Animal Health.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 23-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Miranda Taylor
tayl0551@umn.edu
612-626-2767
University of Minnesota Academic Health Center

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (July 23, 2013) Mere months after porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was first confirmed in the United States swine population, University of Minnesota researchers have developed a PEDV rapid diagnostic test.

The first-of-its-kind test, which is available now, provides a way to quickly and cost-effectively identify the presence of U.S. PEDV strains.

Characterized by acute diarrhea and vomiting, a PEDV outbreak wipes out an average of 50 percent of young swine at newly affected farms. PEDV poses no risk to other animal or human health and no risk to food safety. Should PEDV become widespread, however, the pork industry could suffer significant losses. The virus has been confirmed in sixteen U.S. states so far. There is no known vaccine or treatment for the virus at this time.

Thanks to the new test, samples from animals suspected of carrying PEDV can be submitted to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) for testing. Test results are known within 24 hours, allowing for swine producers and farmers to take necessary precautions to prevent further spread. Genetic material is also extracted from the samples, which can be tested and tracked to monitor PEDV spread.

Samples including swine fecal swabs, saliva, serum, feed, and fecal, intestinal and lung tissues can be tested via a multiplex assay which identifies the presence of not just PEDV, but also transmissible gastroenteritis (TEG) a virus that has existed among U.S. swine populations for some time. Pairing the tests improves affordability to agriculture by bringing the cost of the test to less than $50.

"The University of Minnesota has been preparing for the arrival of an infectious disease like PEDV by making strategic investments over past 10-20 years," said James Collins, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of the VDL, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and expert in food animal diagnostic medicine and infectious disease. "Agriculture is such an important part of what we do in Minnesota and thanks to preparation and the help of our partners, we were able to mobilize available resources and technology quickly to turn around a new test in just a few months. In our mind, the point where research can move this quickly is the pinnacle of where we need to be."

In addition to development of the test, the U of M team has completed sequencing the DNA of one strain of U.S. PEDV. The sequence has been deposited into the GenBank database in the National Center for Biotechnology Information to help amplify the research potential of new PEDV genome understanding.

Development of a cost-effective bioassay to determine whether PEDV is being spread via non-genetic materials including feedstuffs is ongoing at the University. Investigations aim to both identify the presence of PEDV and determine whether it is alive and active, thus posing a risk. The U of M, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture and National Pork Producers Association, also continues to investigate how PEDV first entered the U.S. and further ways to best limit it's spread.

"This is an important new disease that's entered the U.S. and we have to try to mitigate its damage. The University of Minnesota is working diligently to help address the problem," said Collins.

###

Collaborators in this project include the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, it's Swine Disease Eradication Center, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the University of Minnesota BioMedical Genomics Center.

Funding was provided by the Minnesota Rapid Agricultural Response Fund, the National Pork Board and Zoetis Animal Health.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/uoma-uom072313.php

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HOFFARTH SUNDAY Q & A: Why fantasy sports can read like an ...

How bad do you want to lose in your fantasy league?

I can get you from the overall first pick to the depths of last place faster than a Mark Sanchez butt fumble.

It was in everyone's best interest that two decades ago I swore off playing in rotisserie-style anything of any kind -- football, baseball, golf, Little League T-ball. I continue to enjoy this cleansing of the soul and maintain a purified outlook at just how messed up a fantasy league can be to the psyche and checkbook.

So, with that, I checkedout a new book by Matthew Berry.

In "Fantasy Life: The Outrageous, Uplifting and Heartbreaking World of Fantasy Sports from the Guy Who's Lived It" (Riverhead Books, $27.95, 338 pages), I hesitate to say fantasy looks real again.

Before I take that walk of shame again, I needed to track down Berry, who once lived in Sherman Oaks when he did TV sitcom writing but has since moved to Connecticut (perhaps the requirements of a witness protection program):

Q: Fantasy leagues took up too much of my time and energy and I was losing to guys who picked players with as much research as they would in making a $2 bet on a thoroughbred at Santa Anita. Why should I consider ever getting back into it? Can you convince me one way or another?

A: Unless you're anti-fun, and I don't get that sense, why would you not want to do it? You get to have a rooting interest in games you'd normally not care about. And if you're not a sports fan, you have a reason to watch. Now that you're older, you probably would have a little better perspective of all that.

Q: The perspective I have is feeling that sports fantasy leagues are too mercenary. It forces you to invest a rooting interest in a player which could be at the expense of rooting against a team you've already been emotionally tied to for many years. Is there a way to rectify that psychological hurdle?

A: It goes to your fandom. I don't think there's anything wrong with rooting for individual players over your 'real life' team. It really sounds more like you have some guilt issues, to be perfectly honest. So who cares? I get questions a lot, from those especially who are anti-fantasy, who say, 'That makes you root for players instead of teams.' I'm like, 'Who are you to legislate how I enjoy sports?' There are different ways to enjoy everything in life. Whether I'm rooting for the group of players I've selected on a fantasy team or you're rooting for another group of players that a general manager has selected, we're still rooting for groups of players. As long as we're both enjoying sports, who cares how we're doing it?

Q: I guess I've felt I had conflicted rooting interests. And I was spending way too much time away from my family in pursuit of winning.

A: Got it. In that case, maybe pick your teams a little better. If you want to win, it's not necessarily the best strategy to pick your favorite players, but I don't have an issue with that because in the end fantasy is supposed to be fun. That's what this book is supposed to show. It's not a book about how to win your fantasy league and crush your opponents. It's a book that celebrates all the things I love about fantasy sports -- the trash-talking, the punishments for losing, the trophies, the creative ways people have tried to cheat. There's a story from Senator Rick Santorum about how he had to do a fantasy draft on the day he dropped out of the presidential race. What's lost in there is he plays in an American League-only fantasy baseball league. The reason he does it is because he was from Pennsylvania, where he has the Pirates and Phillies as National League teams, and he didn't want to have to root against either of those teams. That was the idea.

Q: That makes sense. In reading the book, I get the sense you've become used to being a 'fantasy shrink,' where people confess to someone like you who'd understand where they were coming from. Is that how you feel?

A: There is the saying that the most interesting conversation in the world is all about your fantasy team. And the most boring conversation in the world is anyone else's fantasy team. Right? It's the new golf story or vacation pictures. No one cares about your team other than you. Except me. That's my job. I like to hear it. I want to hear it. And I'm amazed what people admit to me. I've been playing almost 30 years and there were many stories where I was like, 'Wow, I've never heard that one.' I thought I'd get a lot of stories about guys who drafted while their wives were giving birth, those kinds of things. I was shocked by the majority of the stories I got -- like a league that forced the loser to get a tattoo of Justin Bieber. A guy who continued drafting through a bombing while he was in Afghanistan. A league that forced its loser to dress like a lion while the other owners hunted him down with paintball guns. There's the league where a guy and his wife are owners and the wife passes away, so the husband starts making these trades with the dead wife ...

Q: You've also tapped into stories about a priest, a rabbi or and a minister in a league ... and all hell breaks loose?

A: Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but it's actually three different leagues. Cheating pastors! I couldn't believe that happens, but it has. In a league filled with other pastors at his church.

Q: You can justify fantasy leagues as something that "gives people who normally would not have a reason to interact an excuse to talk ... from the CEO and mailroom guys to your long-lost cousins and everyone in between." What if I wanted to be in a fantasy league and not talk to anyone? Does that defeat the purpose?

A: Not at all. Go to ESPN.com and sign up for an anonymous league. But now I'm sensing some conflict, more guilt, some anti-social behavior. I think you've got more issues to work through here.

Q: Maybe I'm just in the wrong leagues. What other fantasy leagues that you do?

A: I have a fantasy summer movie league with all my buddies who are screen writers and directors. There's about 30 of us; we threw up a website called summermovieleague.com to keep track of it -- anyone can play if they want -- and you just pick 10 movies you think will make the most money for the summer for your own fantasy studio. I do pretty well, but I think this year "The Lone Ranger" is going to keep me from winning the title.

Q: That darn Adam Sandler.

A: I know, and I didn't even pick "Grown Ups 2."

Q: I could have told you to take that one.

A: Maybe this is a league for you then.

Q: As long as I don't have to get a tattoo if I lose.

A: Make sure that's in the bylaws.

More Q and A with Berry on the blog: www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth

Note: Berry will sign books and do a fantasy 'Q and A' at Barnes and Noble at the Grove near Farmer's Market on Fairfax on Monday at 7 p.m.

thomashoffarth@dailynews.com"?@TomHoffarth on Twitter

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_23702189/sunday-q-and-fantasy-sports-can-read-like

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Cape Cod camp pairs military families, horses

FALMOUTH ? Through a bit of horsing around, military families that attend a new camp will have the opportunity to tackle the deployment-related challenges they face.

"It's about being together as a family ... and being with families who are going through the same thing," said Kerry Bickford, of Marstons Mills, coordinator of the Cape Cod chapter of the nonprofit Operation Military Kids.

Families in Transition Camp will run for a week in August. Along with support groups and shared dinners, it will feature daily time with the horses at Smithfield Farm in East Falmouth.

After running a children's-only horse camp last year, interest from other family members led camp organizers to open it to other ages this year. "There are still so many families experiencing a deployment around here," Bickford said.

More than 700 children on the Cape and Islands are affected by the "deployment cycle," meaning they have a family member recently returned, currently deployed or preparing to deploy, according to data compiled by Operation Military Kids.

The August camp has space for 30 people, and preference will be given to families with members currently deployed or those who have recently returned.

Although it feels like play, spending time with the horses can actually be beneficial, camp organizers said.

"Working with horses is so magical ... they sense your anxiety, and they calm you down," Cynthia Jones, of Mashpee, founder of the nonprofit organization Heroes in Transition, said. Her group is helping to pay for the $295 per-person cost for the camp, which is offered at no charge to the families attending.

When the group got involved with Operation Military Kids, Jones ? whose son, Marine Capt. Eric Jones, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 ? visited the stables and immediately felt better. "Carrying the grief and everything else ... life is a challenge. But going up to them, to nuzzle with them, it really is therapy," she said.

Smithfield Farm has an equine therapy program for physically and emotionally disabled people that includes work with a therapist and the gentle, intelligent American paint horses, owner Jan Foster said.

At last year's Operation Military Kids camp, many children started the week "frozen in their footsteps" at the sight of the large animals. But by the end, they were sending pictures to their deployed family members of their new friends. "You can see them just beginning to relax," she said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bostonherald/news/regional/~3/JEbTnVy2GMg/cape_cod_camp_pairs_military_families_horses

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Ideas to Promote Your Web Business Directory - TricksTech

Promoting your business directory into online forums like an online business forums or some business bulletin boards is a good way to catch an audience. See to it that you have your signature with your business information and URL. Highlight the services you do and make sure you relay the message that ?your business/directory is a reliable and valuable resource? for online businesses to promote their sites, products or services online.

? Online Classified Ads:

Posting to online for free classified Advertisements is a terrific way to market your directory. ?See to it that you publish your ad in the relevant industry section.

? Make Articles/Web Contents & Post

Make some business articles or web contents that are unique. Talk about anything related to your business. Proofread it and submit it to online article directories.

Your posts ought to be dedicated to your business and business sites.These article directories websites is a tool to have a good marketing strategy. Make certain you incorporate a short bio.

? E-mail Promotions

Sending out personalized messages or emails to businesses that have the capacity to promote or advertise your business is also another great idea to spread the news. There are plenty of sites out there that offer to help in implementing a good email promotions campaign. However, take note that in this kind of campaigns, spams could be everywhere. So, make it sure that you won?t spam any business. Having one email per month could be enough. So, plan it out ahead and make your contact list.

? Social Media Utilization

Internet sites have grown to be a really effective marketing strategy. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, are an easy way to tell others regarding your directory. Be active and get buddies. You will be able to market your directory link in your profile side from the page.

? Get Into YouTube

This is also somewhat similar to the social media utilization. I am just highlighting its uses. YouTube is well-liked by enormous traffic daily. Make short videos about business and business promotion. Make certain the hyperlink for your directory is easy to understand. Also market your business into your profile page.

? Create a Blog

Begin a business Blog about every aspect of your business promotion. Make certain you've quality content and supply a hyperlink to your web business directory.

Creating an internet business directory is a terrific way to improve your primary website's internet search engine ranking, get more site visitors to your website, and generate earnings. You should keep in mind that when designing an internet business directory, you need to utilize marketing tools to be able to attract companies to publish their links.

About the Author
Stela Benitez is the content manager for LeanMeanMarketing.com. Find out more great marketing and traffic generation tips by visiting www.LeanMeanMarketing.com.

Source: http://www.trickstech.in/2013/07/ideas-to-promote-your-web-business-directory.html

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Poole: Other than NFL Sundays, Tiger Woods in major contention is sports' most compelling theater

Click photo to enlarge

Tiger Woods of the United States, left, shakes hands with Lee Westwood of England on the 18th green after their third round of the British Open Golf Championship at Muirfield, Scotland, Saturday July 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

The golf gods are having their way. The golf world is fully engaged, the TV networks are downright giddy because the most riveting episodic drama in global sports is delivering another weekend of suspense.

We have a Sunday with Tiger Woods contending for a major, and Sundays with Tiger chasing a major title are nothing less than the next best thing to Sundays with the NFL.

We want to see the red shirt. We want to see how he swings, whether he is composed. We want to see the looks on his face, and those on the faces of his competitors.

We want most of all to see if Tiger will rise up or melt down in the final round.

For it has reached the point in Tiger's career where we care less about

Tiger Woods of the United States reacts after putting on the 18th green during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship at Muirfield, Scotland, Saturday July 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell) ( Scott Heppell )

whether he wins or loses than about whether he can provide us with the promise of theater. Will he be good enough through three rounds at a major to grab our attention on Sunday?

Our wish is granted. The most polarizing figure in golf -- maybe all of sport -- is among the leaders after the third round of the British Open on Saturday. He's tied with Hunter Mahan for second place at 210, two shots behind leader Lee Westwood.

We have, ladies and gentlemen, the promise of theater.

Tiger is the one man on the course for whom everyone has an opinion, from the golf pro to the casual fan, from the female CEO to the male seeking employment, from the golf nut to those who don't know a pitching wedge from a pitching rubber.

Those

still harboring bitterness toward Woods over the sordid revelations of his personal life in 2009 will follow the drama of the final round in hopes of being rewarded with a failure of spectacular proportions.

Tiger to them is the villain, an arrogant object of contempt, if not the enemy. He deserves every dose of humility he gets, the more toxic the better.

Those who love golf, Tiger or no Tiger, will find their curiosity intensified for his presence among the leaders.

If they consider him just another player, which he has been during his last 16 majors, they still understand he is far more gloriously decorated than anyone else swinging a club.

Those whose interest in golf is commensurate with Tiger's place on the leader board of a given tournament will be content with knowing he'll charge onto the course Sunday at Muirfield with only two men and his own game able to keep him from making a magnificent bit of history.

Never in Tiger's career has he come from behind to win a major. He has won 14 of them, but he's 0-47 when trailing upon stepping onto the course Sunday.

The man whose motivating force is to conquer the challenge posed by majors has not won one since the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008.

It has been more than five years -- a span during which the narrative of Tiger's life underwent a drastic rewrite.

He is 0 for 16 in majors since the infamous domestic turbulence on Thanksgiving night in 2009. He has been good early, only to fall apart on the weekend. He has been awful early, scrambled back to the edge of contention and fallen off.

Tiger has, above all, been forced to watch a procession of golfers, some vastly inferior, sweep past him to walk away with the status and symbols and prize money -- in order of importance to Woods -- that come with winning a major.

Woods has been fairly consistent, though utterly human this weekend in Scotland. The swagger and rampaging dominance that once defined him have yet to come back and likely never will.

But isn't there always that chance, that sliver of a possibility that Tiger will find enough game to summon heights only he can reach?

If he does, and it's on a Sunday during a major, it's an instant classic -- or maybe the last thing you'd want to see.

Either way, we want to be there to share Tiger's triumph or mock him in misery. We're fascinated less by the winning and losing than by those moments of pain and anguish. The tug is emotional, even primal.

Yup, Sundays with Tiger can be a lot like Sundays with the NFL.

Contact Monte Poole at mpoole@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_23700585/poole-other-than-nfl-sundays-tiger-woods-major?source=rss_viewed

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Japan upper house vote to set ruling bloc's power

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during his Liberal Democratic Party's campaign rally for parliament's upper house elections in Tokyo Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates for the upper house of Japan's parliament made final campaign pushes Saturday, a day before elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during his Liberal Democratic Party's campaign rally for parliament's upper house elections in Tokyo Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates for the upper house of Japan's parliament made final campaign pushes Saturday, a day before elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Supporters for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) react as Japan's Prime Minister and the ruling party leader Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at a campaign rally for Parliament's upper house elections in Tokyo, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates for the upper house of Japan's parliament made final campaign pushes Saturday, a day before elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Japanese Prime Minister and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leader Shinzo Abe, left, greets audience during the last day of parliamentary upper house election campaign in Tokyo, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates made final campaign pushes ahead of Sunday's upper house elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Voters listen to a speech by Japanese Prime Minister and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leader Shinzo Abe during the last day of parliamentary upper house election campaign in Tokyo, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates made final campaign pushes ahead of Sunday's upper house elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

A man waves a folding fan during the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's campaign rally for Parliament's upper house elections in Tokyo, Saturday, July 20, 2013. Candidates for the upper house of Japan's parliament made final campaign pushes Saturday, a day before elections that Abe's ruling coalition is expected to easily win as the economy picks up steam. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (AP) ? Japanese voters are chosing lawmakers for the upper house of parliament in an election expected to give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition a strong mandate.

A victory Sunday would give Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and partner New Komeito control of both chambers of parliament ? an elusive goal for the government in recent years.

That would make it easier for Abe to deliver on reforms needed to cope with a rapidly graying population and bulging national debt. It also might give him the power to push through his party's nationalist agenda.

Abe says his first priority is sustaining a nascent economic recovery. Since taking office after the Liberal Democrats won a lower house election in December, the ailing economy has improved under aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-20-Japan-Elections/id-2cedfd506e73444284f5391033c73d31

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Mursi supporters rally in Egypt, no signs of compromise

By Alexander Dziadosz and Ulf Laessing

CAIRO (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi gathered in Cairo on Friday for a rally to demand the restoration of the ousted Islamist, with his opponents also planning protests nearby.

More than two weeks after Egypt's powerful military shunted the contested Mursi from office, there was still no sign of a possible deal to defuse the crisis, which has divided the world's most populous Arab state and alarmed its Western allies.

The Muslim Brotherhood has called for demonstrations around the country, accusing the head of the armed forces, General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, of staging a coup to sweep Egypt's first freely elected president from power.

The army said it had to intervene after mammoth street protests against Mursi, who was criticized as incompetent and partisan, and has installed an interim cabinet to prepare for elections. It includes no members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist parties previously in government.

Mursi backers have set up a round-the-clock vigil outside a mosque in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City. Thousands of sympathizers flocked to the site on Friday to join protests that normally gather momentum after noon prayers.

"Tonight, tonight, tonight, Sisi is going down tonight," a man shouted out, leading the chants.

A huge banner showed a picture of the bearded Mursi against Egyptian flags and read: "Together to support legitimacy."

Egypt's closest Western ally, the United States, has tried to tread softly through the crisis, still undecided whether to brand the downfall of Mursi a military coup - a move that would force Washington to suspend its large aid programs for Cairo.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Egypt's new foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, expressing hopes that the transitional period of government would be successful, a spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Friday.

CHAOS

In his first address since taking office, interim President Adli Mansour promised on Thursday night to fight people he said wanted to destabilize the nation.

"We are going through a critical stage and some want us to move towards chaos and we want to move towards stability. Some want a bloody path," he said in a televised address. "We will fight a battle for security until the end."

Tamarud, the youth movement which organized enormous anti-Mursi protests on June 30, is also planning rallies on Friday, including one close to the Muslim Brotherhood's Nasr City vigil.

It dubbed its protests as "the people against terrorism", blaming Mursi followers for recent violence.

Policing was intensified on Friday and 10 armored personnel carriers were parked on a Nile bridge in central Cairo, a route Islamist protesters would have to cross if they tried to reach Tahrir Square, a focal point for the anti-Mursi camp.

At least 99 people have died in violence since Mursi's removal, more than half of them when troops fired on Islamist protesters outside a Cairo barracks on July 8.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders say they will not resort to violence in their campaign to reinstate Mursi, held by the army incommunicado since July 3, and insist they will not back down.

"The goal of our peaceful mass rallies and peaceful sit-ins in squares across Egypt is to force the coup plotters to reverse their action and force the coup supporters to change their position," Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood official, said on his Facebook page.

"Egypt will be free and independent," he wrote.

(Additional reporting by Maggie Fick and Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-president-promises-fight-chaos-pro-mursi-rallies-061427456.html

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Zimbabwe?s Mugabe lashes out at ?insane? Washington

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe branded the United States ?absolutely insane? on Thursday for voicing concerns about a July 31 election, although neighbouring South Africa joined Washington in criticising chaotic preparations for the vote.

Speaking to thousands of supporters in Chinhoyi, 115 km (70 miles) northwest of Harare, the 89-year-old also rejected calls for reform of partisan security forces, saying his main rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, could make changes if he won.

?In America they are saying Zimbabwe has gone for an early election without reforms. Americans must be mad and absolutely insane,? Mugabe said in an address that last more than 2-1/2 hours, confounding speculation his health is failing.

The vote is meant to end five years of fractious unity government under a deal brokered by regional power South Africa following violent and disputed polls in 2008 but with its credibility already being questioned, those hopes are waning.

The United States said this week it was deeply concerned by a lack of transparency, suggesting Washington was in no mood to ease sanctions against a victorious Mugabe even if he wins without violence.

Tellingly, it is not just Mugabe?s long-time foes in the West rounding on the continent?s oldest head of state, who has run the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980.

In unusually strong criticism, South African President Jacob Zuma?s top Zimbabwe expert, Lindiwe Zulu, said Zuma had telephoned Mugabe to tell him he was ?not pleased? with the run-up to the poll.

?We are concerned because things on the ground are not looking good,? Zulu told Reuters.

South Africa wants to avoid a repeat of the 2008 violence, which brought a flood of refugees into the country and added a further burden on stretched state finances.

?IDIOTIC?

Mugabe called the election on July 31 in compliance with a Constitutional Court order but the move was criticised by his opponents and Pretoria as too soon to allow proper preparations.

Zulu?s comments are likely to infuriate Mugabe, who labelled her ?stupid and idiotic? at a rally this month after she called for a delay of a few weeks to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible.

Advance voting for 70,000 police officers and soldiers on Sunday and Monday compounded fears of a chaotic poll, raising the prospect of a disputed result and civil unrest in a country with a history of election violence.

In the special voting, long lines formed at polling stations and some people were unable to vote because ballot papers did not turn up at all ? one of several logistical challenges acknowledged by the Election Commission.

Pretoria?s verdict on the quality of the vote has added significance because election observers from the European Union and United States are barred from entering Zimbabwe.

There have been no formal opinion polls but most analysts see Mugabe?s ZANU-PF as the favourite given its monopoly of state media and the problems with voter registration encountered by many young, urban Zimbabweans ? Tsvangirai?s support base.

Britain has also said its misgivings about the election justified maintaining European Union sanctions imposed more than a decade ago for suspected vote-rigging and human rights abuses.

?We are concerned that a number of important electoral and other important democratic reforms have not been completed,? a Foreign Office spokesman said.

While sanctions remain in place, Zimbabwe has no chance of rescheduling billions of dollars of defaulted World Bank and IMF debt, leaving it unable to access the multilateral credit needed to rebuild its economy.

Britain?s former Africa minister, Peter Hain, said Mugabe?s methods had changed from 2008, when at least 200 people, almost all of them Tsvangirai supporters, were killed, but that the entrenched president?s disdain for a free and fair vote had not.

?In the past, he?s relied more on brute force and violence. This time it?s all sorts of double-deeds,? Hain told Reuters. ?It will be very hard for sanctions to be lifted if the outcome is as it looks to be ? namely an election by bribery and constitutional chicanery.?

http://www.tntfinder.com/news/zimbabwes-mugabe-lashes-out-at-insane-washington-listing-2668.aspx

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Source: http://www.tcnhd.com/hott/news/2013/07/19/zimbabwes-mugabe-lashes-out-at-insane-washington/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zimbabwes-mugabe-lashes-out-at-insane-washington

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Pope and former pope meet ahead of Brazil trip

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis paid a visit to his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict on Friday ahead of his trip next week to Brazil, a visit originally scheduled to have been made by Benedict.

Benedict was to have presided at World Youth Day, a gathering of young Catholics from around the globe, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro July 22-28.

But he resigned on February 28, saying he no longer had the strength to run the 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church. He was the first pontiff in 600 years to step down instead of reigning for life.

Francis spent more than 30 minutes with Benedict, who is living in a former convent on the Vatican grounds, and gave him a program of the trip in case he wanted to watch events on television, the Vatican said.

It is Francis' first trip outside Italy since he was elected on March 13, and takes the Argentine pontiff to the continent of his birth.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-former-pope-meet-ahead-brazil-trip-163703721.html

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Scientists break record for thinnest light-absorber: May lead to more efficient, cheaper solar cells

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Scientists have built the thinnest, most efficient absorber of visible light on record, a nanosize structure that could lead to less-costly, more efficient, solar cells.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/gLPex7S8cPE/130718111502.htm

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Which Careers Move the Most? | Unpakt Blog: Speak Out On Moving ...

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Admin
Posted in: Relocating

There are basically two types of people in the workforce; those who absolutely have no desire to relocate for their career and those who welcome a fresh change with open arms and have no problem moving when needed. Therefore, you are either looking to start a career that will offer opportunity for new experiences, or you are looking for one that you will never need to move for so you can start a family and plan your life in your current location. Below are careers that you will either be drawn to, or you will want to stay far away from.

• Anthropologist and Archaeologist ? These professions study the origin, behavior, and development of past and present human being. They examine archaeological remains, cultures, and more, and work in offices, laboratories, or the field. You never know when the next lost city will be found, and you will need to move there to spend the next few years revealing lost information.

• Environmental Scientist ? Knowledge is used to protect the environment by identifying problems and finding solutions. Should a concern arise, you may need to do a short or long-term relocation to gather data that can be evaluated.?

• Landscape Architect ? Unless you live in an undeveloped area with a ton of potential for growth, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to be in this career and stay grounded. Chances are good that after you design the project you will be on location to oversee the progress. Being open to moving where the opportunity is will boost your chances for success.

• Professional Athlete ? There are few professional athletes who begin and end their career with the same team. The positive side of this is retirement typically comes pretty early and then you can settle in one place. It should be noted that referees and coaches fall in this category as well.

• Urban Planner ? Similar to a landscape architect, you will want to oversee the project. Although you could maintain a permanent residence for a family, you will need to be away and travel back and forth a lot. These experts use planning to accommodate growth, create communities, and revitalize physical facilities in specific areas.

• Zoologist and Wildlife Biologist ? Again, unless you live where there is tropical jungle, dense forest, or delicate ecosystem where new species are being discovered or current species are endangered, you will need to move where you are needed. In some cases, a tent or an old shack could be your headquarters out in the middle of nowhere for a while, and you never know when you will be called to observe a different species somewhere else, so you may as well not dig your roots too far.

• Military ? It does not matter if you are in the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force, there is a good chance that you will be moved around a lot. When you are out, then you can settle somewhere and take advantage of the education money available to you.

• Wind Energy ? Whether you are an engineer, project or operations manager, or service technician, you need to be prepared to move when involved with wind energy. Creating a new project or even troubleshooting and improving turbines and current methods could demand a relatively lengthy stay in a specific location.

• Sales ? Although you can probably find plenty of sales jobs in your current location, if you want to be truly successful you need to go where the money is.

• Hospitality ? This is a very broad category and again, you may not have to relocate, but to further your career, stay with the same company, or make more money, you may need to. For example if the hotel you mange is closing, you may be offered the same position at a different location, or if you are a bartender and learn of a new resort people are flocking to, you might be ready to relocate in a hurry to cash in on the opportunity for impressive tips.

• Real Estate Agent ? If you watch the market and see an area trending as a hot place to live or rated as the best place to raise a family, you might follow these trends for the most opportunity.

• Police Officer ? There are constantly layoffs, promotions, and people retiring that open up opportunity for transfers. Plenty of people in this filed do spend their career in one location, but if you want to progress, relocation may be necessary, or you could wait several years for someone above you to retire.

• Factory Worker ? Whether your plant closes and you are offered a transfer elsewhere or if you hear of better pay or an open foreman or manager position somewhere, a move may be needed.

• Laborer ? If you are a brick mason, block mason, tile and marble setter, stone mason, carpenter, roofer, pipe fitter, pipe layer, painter, plasterer, etc., you might need to look for opportunity in growing communities.

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Source: http://resources.unpakt.com/blog/which-careers-move-the-most/

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Moving Average Crossover Alert: Clayton Williams Energy, Inc. (CWEI) - Tale of the Tape

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Source: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/104102/moving-average-crossover-alert-clayton-williams-energy-inc-cwei

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Exclusive - U.S. seeks new tactic in financial crisis prosecutions

By Emily Flitter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. federal prosecutors are considering a new strategy for criminally charging Wall Street bankers who packaged and sold bad mortgage loans at the height of the housing bubble, according to a federal official familiar with the investigation.

The official said federal authorities are finding new evidence they say indicates intent to commit fraud over the packaging and sale of mortgage bonds backed by subprime home loans in some of the civil lawsuits plaintiffs' lawyers have filed against large banks.

And they are exploring whether they can build criminal cases against bankers by using a 1984 law intended to punish individuals for scamming commercial banks.

The investigators are part of the Justice Department's Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, a network of law enforcement agents and prosecutors - both state and federal - working together to probe the mortgage market meltdown that helped trigger the financial crisis.

"The RMBS Working Group members are aggressively investigating both civil and criminal matters across the country. RMBS Working Group members expect to announce more law enforcement actions in the future," said Adora Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department.

The group keeps a close eye on every civil suit filed and holds regular conference calls to update its members on developments. It held a day-long meeting on Friday to discuss ongoing investigations and potential new targets, as well as legal strategies, according to the Justice Department.

The strategy involves a shift away from the more widely used securities fraud charge to a less common offense: bank fraud. The advantage is that perpetrators of bank fraud can be charged up to 10 years after their crimes, compared with the five-year statute of limitations on securities fraud, which has already run out on most events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. A bank fraud conviction carries up to $1 million in fines and a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Rita Glavin, a partner at Seward & Kissel in New York who specializes in white-collar, criminal defense, said she thought the statute's broad scope gave prosecutors an opportunity to use it, and adding a conspiracy charge could help.

"When you charge conspiracies or schemes to defraud it gives you a lot of leeway in terms of the types of evidence you're allowed to get in, because it speaks to the defendant's state of mind," she said.

Some legal critics express misgivings. They say it has the whiff of a face-saving measure by the U.S. government in light of criticisms about prosecutors' inability to bring criminal cases over the financial crisis.

The bank fraud statute is more often used to pursue people trying to forge checks, falsify loan documents or make other false statements to banks. Applying the charge to behavior in the securities market would be a novel use of the statute.

"You're taking a statute that predates the entire phenomenon of securitization and trying to apply it to the securities market," said V. Gerard Comizio, a Washington-based partner at Paul Hastings, a law firm.

"I don't think any prosecutor wants to start his or her day dealing with a statute that it's not clear they have jurisdiction to apply," added Comizio, who previously served as an attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and deputy general counsel of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

But using the bank fraud statute could inject new life into the U.S. government's effort to hold accountable the people on Wall Street whose overzealous approach to mortgage lending and securitization is what many economists say resulted in the crippling wave of home foreclosures, the financial crisis and the resulting deep recession.

Only one person faces jail time for activities related to mortgage-backed securities: former Credit Suisse Group AG managing director, Kareem Serageldin, who allowed traders working for him to artificially inflate the values of mortgage-backed securities they were holding in 2007. He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in April and faces up to five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for August.

His case, however, isn't like the ones the RMBS group is investigating now because he and his subordinates tried to defraud their own institution, not an outside entity.

SECOND WIND

Federal prosecutors had previously ruled out criminal charges in many investigations into the causes of the financial crisis.

As part of the attempt to breathe new life into criminal cases, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are monitoring civil fraud suits against major banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp , which acquired two of the largest players in the mortgage securitization world - Bear Stearns and Countrywide Financial - in 2008, according to two government sources.

FBI spokesman James Margolin said the bureau sometimes has to rely on civil court cases to turn up evidence of criminal behavior. Amy Bonitatibus, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan, and Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for Bank of America, both declined to comment.

Civil cases can involve detailed document discovery processes and interviews that law enforcement agents may not have the time or the resources to do, Columbia University School of Law Professor Daniel Richman said.

At the greatest risk of being charged, according to legal experts who have been monitoring the fallout from the mortgage crisis, are former mid-level investment bank employees who, during the peak years of mortgage bond issuance in 2005-2007, stitched together hundreds of thousands of doomed home loans into packages and sold them as highly rated securities.

To prove any banker committed bank fraud, the government would have to show that those packaging and selling the securities deliberately lied about their quality, and that they targeted commercial banks in sales pitches.

"Prosecutors would be looking at the offering memos, prospectuses and so on to see if there were any misrepresentations in them to the banks that purchased them," said David Rosenfield, counsel at Herrick Feinstein specializing in white collar criminal defense. He has no specific connection to the MBS lawsuits. (Reporting By Emily Flitter; Editing by Martin Howell and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-u-seeks-tactic-financial-crisis-prosecutions-042636105.html

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