Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/334304586?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Wood fires and diesel cars pose pollution threat: EU watchdog
By Charlie Dunmore
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Air pollution is dangerously high across many parts of Europe, resulting in premature deaths, ill health and huge economic losses linked to reduced crop yields, Europe's environmental watchdog said on Tuesday.
While emissions of some pollutants have declined sharply in Europe in recent decades, more diesel cars and a rise in wood burning by households as a cheap alternative to gas mean other types of harmful pollution are receding more slowly.
European regulators are expected to propose a tightening of EU limits on microscopic particles known as particulate matter (PM) and other pollutants, with legislative proposals due before the end of the year.
A total of 22 European countries including France, Italy and Poland exceeded the daily EU limit value for PM in 2011, while stricter, non-binding guideline limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) were exceeded at most monitoring stations across continental Europe, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
In the last decade, tighter European regulations on power stations and other sources of pollution have seen a 50 percent cut in emissions of sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, while carbon monoxide emissions have fallen by a third.
By contrast, the amount of harmful particles and ozone in the air has fallen only slightly. Combined with recent WHO findings that lower concentrations of air pollution can be more harmful than previously thought, pressure is building on the European Union to do more.
"Air pollution is causing damage to human health and ecosystems. Large parts of the population do not live in a healthy environment, according to current standards," said Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director of the Copenhagen-based EEA.
The tighter proposed limits on PM could pose problems for EU governments, many of which have struggled to meet the existing limits in force since 2010, resulting in up to a third of Europeans being exposed to dangerous levels of PM pollution.
In its report, the EEA said PM pollution - particularly in urban areas - posed the greatest risk to human health thanks to its ability to pass directly from the lungs into the bloodstream.
Despite struggling to meet the limits, cities in Europe - along with the Americas - enjoy relatively low average PM pollution levels compared with those in southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, WHO data showed.
Ground-level ozone pollution - formed indirectly by a combination of sunlight and mixtures of other pollutants in the atmosphere - inflicts huge damage on EU crop production, particularly in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, France and Spain.
It has been estimated that ozone pollution resulted in production losses of 27 million tonnes (1 tonne =1.102 metric tons) of grain in Europe in 2000.
The increasing number of diesel vehicles on Europe's roads, particularly newer models, are a major source of nitrogen dioxide, one of the main precursor pollutants that form ozone, the report says.
That is because while modern diesel exhaust after-treatment systems reduce fine particle and other emissions, they increase direct nitrogen dioxide emissions.
Researchers said earlier this month that nitrogen dioxide emissions from diesel exhausts can disrupt honeybees' ability to recognize the smell of flowers, which could affect pollination and further undermine food production.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wood-fires-diesel-cars-pose-pollution-threat-eu-070450457.html
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Officials: Bombing at mosque kills Afghan governor
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2007 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, talks with Khowst Province Gov. Arsallah Jamal at the Tirazye District Center in Khowst Province, Afghanistan. Afghan officials say a bomb placed inside a mosque in the country’s east has killed Jamal, now the governor of Logar province. They say the explosion took place as Jamal was delivering a speech on Tuesday morning, Oct. 15, 2013 to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2007 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, talks with Khowst Province Gov. Arsallah Jamal at the Tirazye District Center in Khowst Province, Afghanistan. Afghan officials say a bomb placed inside a mosque in the country’s east has killed Jamal, now the governor of Logar province. They say the explosion took place as Jamal was delivering a speech on Tuesday morning, Oct. 15, 2013 to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2007 file photo, then Khowst Province Gov. Arsallah Jamal meets with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Khowst Province, Afghanistan. Afghan officials say a bomb placed inside a mosque in the country’s east has killed Jamal, currently the governor of Logar province. They say the explosion took place as Jamal was delivering a speech on Tuesday morning, Oct. 15, 2013 to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A bomb planted inside a mosque killed the governor of Afghanistan's eastern Logar province as he was delivering a speech Tuesday morning to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, officials said.
The explosion at the main mosque in the provincial capital of Puli Alam killed Governor Arsallah Jamal and wounded 15 people — five of them critically, said the governor's spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwesh.
Jamal, 47, was a close confidant of President Hamid Karzai and served as his campaign manager during the 2009 presidential elections. He also served as governor of eastern Khost province until he was appointed to his current post in Logar in April.
A high-profile target, he had survived a number of assassination attempts in the past, including with suicide bombings.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban have been targeting Afghan officials, military and NATO troops as part of their campaign to retake territory as international troops draw down ahead of a full pullout at the end of 2014.
Tuesday's explosion took place as Jamal was speaking inside the mosque to worshippers gathered for one of Islam's holiest days, said Logar's deputy police chief, Rais Khan Abbul Rahimzai.
The bomb was apparently planted inside the microphone in the front part of the mosque, said two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Jamal was recently in the spotlight following his revelation that a senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban was taken into custody by American forces in Logar province on Oct. 5.
U.S. officials confirmed that Latif Mehsud, a leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, was captured by U.S. forces in a military operation.
At the time, Jamal told The Associated Press that Mehsud was captured as he was driving along a main highway in Mohammad Agha district. The road links the province with the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-15-Afghanistan/id-e1b8dc336d494669a422e66669def088Category: tesla betrayal Under the Dome usher Rolling Stone cover
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Ex-US Rep. Gabby Giffords attends NY gun show
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — A smiling Gabrielle Giffords toured rows of tables loaded with rifles and handguns Sunday in her first visit to a gun show since surviving a 2011 shooting, and pleaded afterward for people to come together to stop gun violence.
The former Arizona congresswoman visited the Saratoga Springs Arms Fair with her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to highlight a voluntary agreement that closely monitors gun show sales in New York.
The trio mixed with a gun show crowd that was mostly welcoming — with a few hostile undertones — before calling for people to build on the cooperative effort.
"We must never stop fighting," Giffords said at a post-tour news conference, her fist in the air. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Be bold! Be courageous!"
Giffords, a face of the national gun control effort, slowly walked hand-in-hand with Kelly through the large room where Winchester rifles, muzzle-loaders, antique knives and other weapons were on display and "Don't Tread on Me" flags hung from poles.
They stopped at display tables, Kelly asked dealers questions about the weapons, and Giffords shook hands and smiled when people greeted her. "Good to see you looking good!" some said. Kelly bought a book on Colt revolvers, and said later he probably would have bought a gun if he had had more time. He said both he and his wife are gun owners.
The trio was greeted by light applause when introduced at the news conference, but some people booed from across the room. Many at the show said the couple made a good impression.
Dealer Joe Albano, who chatted with Kelly about his muzzle-loaders, said the couple was nice. But he also said he was against New York's recent gun control law, which is separate from the Schneiderman initiative.
"If she can help us, fine," Albano said. "We're doing everything right here. We're legal."
Under the agreements worked out by Schneiderman, all firearms are tagged at the entrances to gun shows. Operators must provide computer stations for sellers to do national background checks.
As they are taken away through a limited number of exits, guns are checked to make sure background checks were performed. No buyers can leave a show without documentation of a proper sale.
Schneiderman, who has worked with all 35 gun show operators in New York, showed the couple how the process worked.
"It's great to see government and licensed firearms dealers working together to solve a problem," Kelly said.
Giffords was shot in the head while meeting with constituents in Tucson. Six people died.
Though it was mostly smiles inside, about a dozen protesters rallied outside the gun show holding signs critical of New York's new law that expanded a ban on military-style weapons, among other things. The law was passed not long after the December school massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Kenneth Hall, who held a sign with a swastika that read in part "gun control made the Holocaust possible," said the New York background check was not needed.
"I believe this is a publicity stunt for Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords," Hall said. "They say they're Second Amendment supporters. I don't believe they are."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-us-rep-gabby-giffords-attends-ny-gun-172919041.html
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Friday, October 11, 2013
Hispanic-serving Leaders Give Hope to a New Wave of Students ...
by Christina Sturdivant
Recently becoming the nation’s largest minority, Hispanics are absorbing the academic limelight as Latino youth establish their dominance in college classrooms across the country.
According to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine’s 2013 report “Top 100 Schools for Hispanic Students,” more than 2.5 million Hispanics were enrolled in nonprofit institutions in 2011-2012. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that nearly seven out of 10 Hispanic high school graduates in 2012 enrolled in college, outnumbering that of their White counterparts. Over half of these new college-goers choose to attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions, which the Higher Education Act defines as nonprofit degree-granting institutions with full-time undergraduate enrollments of at least 25 percent Hispanic.
While these numbers illustrate a statistical breakthrough in Hispanics’ desire to become academically astute and socially progressive, the task of cultivating the necessities required to recruit, retain and promote these aspiring college graduates can largely be attributed to the dedication of those employed at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Under the advisement of founding President Dr. Shirley Reed, South Texas College was established 20 years ago as a community college dedicated to serving the needs of Hispanics and has propelled in recent years due to its dual-enrollment program, which has become a local attraction for high school students.
“Our goal was to create a college-going culture in our region,” says Reed. “Going to college was just not an opportunity for most of our families, so we believe that, by starting students early in high school, that we will plant the seed that everybody can and should go to college.”
That seed has grown to serve a 96 percent Hispanic student population, and, in 2012, approximately 12,000 students from 68 high schools were admitted into the dual-enrollment program.
“We are learning from this program that success breeds success,” Reed says. “When students are successful in high school taking college classes, they want to take more, and we have large numbers who actually earn a two-year associate degree while in high school.”
While more than 51 percent of Hispanic students choose to attend two-year universities like South Texas, Reed’s goal is to ensure that her scholars have a plan after South Texas. Incoming students in the program receive strategic counseling and devise degree plans that outline if they will enter the workforce or pursue a bachelor’s program after receiving their federally funded associate degree.
In Orange County, the University of California, Fullerton, is also a proprietor of engaging with youth, starting as early as elementary school.
Dawn Valencia, Fullerton’s director of university outreach, says that creating substantial programming in the community is one of her department’s greatest strengths.
“Instead of us saying, ‘hey this is what you need,’ we work with the community to see what makes sense,” says Valencia. “We are not just located in Orange County; we are a part of Orange County.”
Through programming catered to college-preparedness, Valencia meets students with dreams of pursuing degrees, as well as those who believe that attending college is not the most logical step after high school.
“We’re in the business of providing hope,” says Valencia. “We get the opportunity to inspire students, and we get a chance help them answer questions that they didn’t even know they had.”
Fullerton’s presence in the community has rendered its student population 33 percent Hispanic.
Having benefited from projects like those that she runs at Fullerton, Valencia finds the most enjoyment in her career through building an even greater generation of successful minorities.
Urbina Marcel shares this sentiment of reciprocity at his alma mater, Florida International University—Miami’s first and only public research university, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees to students—61 percent of whom are Hispanic. As an admissions coordinator, Marcel’s workload includes participating in college fairs for recruitment, managing paperwork for incoming students and preparing admitted students for orientation before the first day of classes.
But while admissions are the first step in collegiate matriculation, university culture is often a large component of student retention. Having spent a lot of time on campus while obtaining his bachelor’s degree in business management and master’s degree in engineering, Marcel can speak personally to the value of student diversity at Florida International.
“It’s very comfortable to be [among] other Hispanics, but it goes beyond that,” says Marcel, who says that his exposure to different cultures at Florida International made a significant impact in his education by being able to derive varying perspectives during his classroom studies.
“This is something that we value that attributes to education as a student and it allows you to take that with you professionally,” he says.
In addition to classroom experiences that afford social and professional growth, a practical tool for student retention can also be found in opportunities outside of campus.
Valencia points to internship programs, which are required for most of Fullerton’s students. “It’s just not the academics but applying the skills that students learn from their textbooks.”
Through internships, Fullerton students gain insight into their career paths before completing their degrees. If they do well, they may get hired for the job, or at the very least, are given a reference for other employment opportunities.
The ultimate task for leaders of Hispanic-Serving Institutions is ensuring that, ultimately, all roads lead to graduation.
“We’ve made real progress in giving students from all backgrounds access to a college education, but we haven’t finished the all-important job of helping more students earn a university degree,” says Mildred Garcia, president at Fullerton, in an op-ed piece published in the Orange Country Register.
Specifically, Garcia addresses her concern for the high volume of college-goers who are attending school part time, transferring between institutions, working full-time jobs and returning as older adults for training.
“For many of these students, who must juggle employment, family responsibilities and financial pressures, life often gets in the way of a college degree,” she adds.
To that end, Garcia laid out items on her agenda, including meeting with local college presidents to establish an agreement to provide a seamless transfer process for community college students entering the university and attending a conference to engage in creating action-oriented conversation addressing the Latino achievement gap in Orange County.
Collaboratively, the labor of recruiting, retaining and promoting Hispanic students can render large returns for the nation’s economy. In 2010, purchasing power among U.S. Hispanics added up to $1 trillion and is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2015.
Moreover, Hispanic graduates continue to perpetuate success in their own communities. In Orange County, many Fullerton students choose to remain close to home, and often, recent graduates are in the position to employ current students.
In McAllen Texas, there is a demand for professionals in nursing, allied health fields and the oil and gas industries—South Texas College graduates go on to fill those voids, often earning more than $60,000 a year with two years of college.
Successes like these keep leaders like Reed stepping up to the plate each year to cater to Hispanic students.
“My proudest moment is every year at commencement when I get a chance to shake the hands of four or five thousand students who have earned a college degree and they never thought it was possible,” she says. “I see the tears in the students’ eyes and happiness in the families—it just makes the whole year worthwhile to see that excitement and that great feeling of doing something that nobody thought was possible.”
Related articles
Veteran Out-of-State Tuition Row IntensifiesHispanic-Serving Institutions Win Grants To Spur Economic Growth
The Top Hispanic-serving Degree Producers
Hispanic Outreach By Non-HSIs Lacking, Study Indicates
Can a rift be avoided? Historically Black and Hispanic-serving institutions are all vying for the same federal funds – includes related article on the US Dept. of Education’s proposed changes in the Title III – Cover Story
Ed. Dept. Official: Pell Grant Increase Will Benefit Minority-Serving Institutions
The HIspanic-Serving Designation: Asset or Deficit?
The Hispanic-Serving Designation: Asset or Deficit?
Source: http://diverseeducation.com/article/56620/
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Reports: Cops shot outside Italian premier office
ROME (AP) ? Reports say two paramilitary police officers were shot and wounded outside the Italian premier's office as the new leader was sworn in about a kilometer (half-mile) away.
An AP television producer reported seeing one officer lying on the pavement, with blood pouring out of his neck. The Italian news agency ANSA said the assailant, described in reports as a man dressed in a suit and tie, had been detained by police.
The shooting came as Enrico Letta and his Cabinet took their oaths Sunday in the Quirinal presidential office, after he nailed down a coalition agreement between his center-left forces and the conservative bloc of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
It was unclear if there was any connection between the events, but political tensions have been running high in Italy.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reports-cops-shot-outside-italian-premier-office-100457952.html
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Fire erupts at Israeli prison holding ex-president
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's prisons service says a fire has broken out at the facility where former President Moshe Katsav is serving time.
Spokesman Itsik Gorlov said the fire erupted at a factory at Maasiyahu prison in central Israel Sunday. He had no immediate details on its cause or whether there were any casualties. He said it had not spread to the wards where prisoners are held.
Katsav has been serving a seven-year sentence since 2011 after being convicted of rape and other charges. He has denied the accusations.
Israel on Sunday was battling a series of brushfires caused by the combination of hot, dry weather and the Lag Baomer holiday, in which revelers traditionally celebrate with bonfires.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-erupts-israeli-prison-holding-ex-president-114922858.html
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