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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
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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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Friday, April 26, 2013
Uber's back in Gotham: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission approves cab-hailing app
Car service Uber and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) have had a rocky relationship, as the Commission banned Uber from Gotham's taxicabs last year. Susequently, the TLC green-lit a trial to test cab hailing apps and after a brief legal delay, the pilot program is back in action, and Valleywag reports that Uber is the first app approved. Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick is, quite naturally, excited to be back in NYC taxis with the commission's tacit explicit approval, and stated that the app will be ready for use across the city "monetarily." So, it's official, good people of Gotham, you can now legally go forth and get your Uber on.
Filed under: Transportation, Software, Mobile
Via: The Verge
Source: Valleywag
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Drug Czar Questions Drug Arrests, Says Administration Will ...
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Homemade Dressings for Homegrown Salads - Vitacost Blog
No matter how small your backyard, there?s often enough soil to plant at least a few items. And when space is at a premium, the vegetation of choice tends to be ones that can land in a salad bowl. There?s not only a huge array of lettuces to cultivate, but also fresh green herbs, which have a delicate flavor and consistency, and which can be a much larger component of the salad presentation than most people realize.
Don?t have time to make your own? Shop for natural and organic salad dressing at Vitacost!
That leaves us with dressings ? the healthy ones you make yourself and that don?t come?from a bottle. Here are three dressing ingredient options:
Apple Cider Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, which can provide the acid kick to a salad dressing, is the fermented juice of pressed, fresh apples. An unpasteurized product, it contains ?mother,? the nutrient-rich sediment responsible for the liquid?s amber-brown color which has a string-like appearance.
Stevia. When you?re creating a fruit-based dressing ? try mashing up strawberries for a fragrant surprise ? you might want to add more sweetener, such as stevia, which is twice as sweet as sugar. An all-natural product and a great alternative to artificial sweeteners, stevia comes from the sweetest part of the stevia leaf. It can also be used in beverages.
Cayenne Pepper. For upping the heat quotient of a salad, there?s nothing better than cayenne pepper, which is a powdered form of red chili pepper, a fruit from the capsicum family. What provides the heat is cayenne?s high concentration of capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), a natural alkaloid. In traditional Ayurvedic health practices, it?s used for a variety of health-promoting purposes. Popular in Mexican, Cajun and Carribean cuisine, cayenne also contains vitamin A carotenoids, including the antioxidant beta-carotene, as well as vitamins B6, C and K, manganese and fiber.
What?s your favorite way to add flavor to salads? Share it with us in the comments below.
Laurie Steelsmith, ND, LAc, is a naturopathic physician and licensed acupuncturist who specializes in women?s health. She is the co-author of Great Sex, Naturally: Every Woman?s Guide to Enhancing Her Sexuality Through the Secrets of Natural Medicine and co-author of Natural Choices for Women?s Health: How the Secrets of Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create a Lifetime of Wellness.
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Source: http://blog.vitacost.com/food-and-drink/diy-dressing-ideas-for-homegrown-salads.html
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SKorea demands talks with NKorea on closed factory
FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - In this June 22, 2006 file photo, North Koreans work at a factory of South Korean apparel maker Shinwon company in the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. South Korea on Thursday, April 25, 2013 warned of an unspecified "grave measure" if North Korea rejects talks on the jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month - setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
U.S. Army soldiers ride an armored vehicle during their military exercise near the border village of Panmunjom, that separates the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. For weeks, North Korea has threatened to attack the U.S. and South Korea for holding joint military drills and for supporting U.N. sanctions. Washington and Seoul said they've seen no evidence that Pyongyang is actually preparing for a major conflict, though South Korean defense officials said the North appears prepared to test-fire a medium-range missile capable of reaching the American territory of Guam. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea on Thursday warned of unspecified "grave measures" if North Korea rejects talks on a jointly run factory park shuttered for nearly a month ? setting up the possible end of the last remaining major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.
The demand for talks, which is likely to draw an angry response from North Korea, follows a lull in what had been a period of rising hostility between the Koreas. Pyongyang has recently eased its threats of nuclear war and expressed some tentative signs of interest in dialogue, and Washington and Seoul have also pushed for an easing of animosity.
Despite North Korea's threats, there were few major actions; perhaps the biggest was Pyongyang's suspension of operations at the inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. Early this month, it barred South Koreans from crossing the border and entering the factory, which is a holdover from an era that saw the Koreas set up various cooperative projects meant to facilitate better ties. It also withdrew the 53,000 North Koreans who manned assembly lines there.
South Korea's Unification Ministry on Thursday proposed working-level talks on Kaesong and urged the North to respond by noon Friday, warning that Seoul will take "grave measures" if Pyongyang rebuffs the call for dialogue.
In a televised news conference, spokesman Kim Hyung-suk refused to describe what those measures might be, but some analysts said Seoul would likely pull out its remaining workers from the complex if the working-level talks don't happen.
The factory has operated with South Korean know-how and technology and with cheap labor from North Korea since 2004. It has weathered past cycles of hostility between the rivals, including two attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans.
More than 120 South Korean companies, mostly small and medium-sized apparel and electronics firms, operated at Kaesong before North Korean workers stopped showing up on April 9. Raw material came from South Korea, with finished goods later sent back south. Last year, the factories produced goods worth $470 million. South Korean companies paid salaries to North Korean workers averaging $127 a month, according to South Korea's government. That is less than one-sixteenth of the average salary of South Korean manufacturer workers.
Impoverished North Korea objects to views in South Korea that the park is a source of badly-needed hard currency. It also has complained about alleged South Korean military plans in the event Pyongyang held the Kaesong managers hostage.
At the factory, food has dwindled, and with no apparent end to North Korea's suspension in sight, a daily trickle of South Korean workers have returned home. Still, Pyongyang hasn't forced South Koreans to leave, and about 175 are still there.
Kim, the Unification Ministry spokesman, said South Korea set a deadline because the remaining workers at Kaesong are seeing food and medicine shortages. He said the companies there are suffering economically because of the shutdown.
To resolve deadlocked operations at Kaesong, Kim said North Korea should first allow some South Koreans to cross the border to hand over food and medicine to the managers.
South Korea on Wednesday proposed talks, but the North rebuffed the offer, Kim said.
"It's very regrettable for North Korea to reject (taking) the minimum humanitarian measures for our workers at the Kaesong industrial complex," he said.
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Wii U spring update now live, promises to speed up software load times
Owning a Wii U can feel like an exercise in patience: games and apps can take up to 30 seconds to load, and downloaded software needs to be manually installed. Thankfully, Nintendo heard its fans lamentations, and has issued the first of two major updates designed to mitigate the problem. In addition to dramatically speeding up software load times, the update revises how the Wii U handles downloads and installs. Rather than manually having to install software, the system will automatically update, download and unwrap patches in the background, even if the console is powered down. The system update also puts the finishing touches on the Wii U Virtual Console, which is promised to launch officially in the coming days. Nintendo's old VC can be accessed a little quicker now, too, as the update now allows users to jump directly into the sandboxed Wii ecosystem by holding the B button during start up. All in all, a pretty solid update to a system that needs a little fixing. Check out the full list of changes after the break.
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/x568JPahOpQ/
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
T-Mobile?s BlackBerry Q10 available for preorder beginning April 29th
MUNICH, April 23 (Reuters) - Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than us. There is no point talking about the referee, there is no excuse." Arjen Robben, who sparkled on the wing for Bayern and scored one of the goals, hailed his team's spectacular performance. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/t-mobile-blackberry-q10-available-preorder-beginning-april-222047555.html
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When to Throw Out Microwaveable Plastic Containers
Reheating meals in plastic containers in the microwave is something that most of us probably do, but over time those containers start to break down and leach plastic into the food. According to The Wall Street Journal, knowing when to throw them out is easy.
When you heat up plastic, the chemicals inside can migrate out and into your food. It takes a while for that to happen, and you just need to watch out for a couple things:
The amount of chemicals leaching into food depends on the type of plastic that is put in the microwave, the time it is heated and the physical condition of the container, says Dr. Halden. Old, cracked containers and those that have been washed hundreds of times often give off more toxins when heated. Any deformities or discoloration are a sign it's time for the recycling bin.
And reheating foods heavy in cream and butter in plastic is always a bad idea. "Fatty foods absorb more of these harmful chemicals when heated," he says.
Of course, you can always skip the plastic container and use ceramic or glass instead. But if you're stuck with plastic, make sure you toss it out when it starts to get deformed or discolored.
Burning Question: Is it OK to Heat Food in Plastic? | The Wall Street Journal
Photo by Sarah.
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'Red line': Chemical weapons in Syria
By Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.
Brigadier-General Itai Brun made the comments at a Tel Aviv security conference a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on a visit to Israel that U.S. intelligence agencies were still assessing whether such weapons had been employed.
"To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun said in the most definitive Israeli statement on the issue to date.
Brun's comments seemed likely to deepen international concern over events in Syria. U.S. President Barack Obama has called the use of chemical weapons there a "red line" for the United States that would trigger unspecified U.S. action.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that NATO needed to consider how practically prepared it was to "respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat".
Brun told the annual conference of The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University that forces loyal to Assad were behind the attacks on "armed (rebels) on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19."
The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.
FOAMING AT MOUTH
Speaking with a Powerpoint presentation showing what appeared to be a wounded or dead child, Brun said that foam coming out of victims' mouths and contracted pupils and "other signs" indicated deadly gas had been used.
He gave no other details about how Israel, which has been closely monitoring events in Syria, a northern neighbor, formed its assessment.
Ralf Trapp, an independent consultant on chemical and biological weapons arms control based in Geneva, said the symptoms described by Israeli intelligence were "consistent with sarin gas," but photographic evidence alone was not conclusive.
"There is a limit to what you can extract from photograph evidence alone," he said.
"What you really need is to get information from on the ground, to gather physical evidence and to talk to witnesses as well as medical staff who treated victims."
Asked about Brun's remarks, Pentagon spokesman George Little signaled no change in the official U.S. line: "The United States continues to assess reports of chemical weapons use in Syria. The use of such weapons would be entirely unacceptable."
On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "game changer" and the United States and Israel "have options for all contingencies".
Hagel met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a day after flying in an Israeli military helicopter over the occupied Golan Heights on the edge of the fighting in Syria that has entered its third year.
"This is a difficult and dangerous time, this is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever," Hagel, in remarks to reporters before his talks with Netanyahu, said of the United States and Israel.
Discussions between Syria and the United Nations on a U.N. investigation of possible use of chemical weapons have been at an impasse due to the Syrian government's refusal to let the inspectors visit anywhere but Aleppo, diplomats and U.N. officials said last week.
U.N. diplomats said Britain and France had provided U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office with what they believed to be strong evidence that chemical weapons also had been used in the city of Homs.
Israel, which has advanced intelligence capabilities that it shares with its Western allies, has voiced concerned that parts of Syria's chemical arsenal would end up in the hands of jihadi fighters or the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, with which it waged a 2006 war.
Israeli leaders have cautioned they will not allow that to happen. In an attack it has not formally confirmed, Israeli planes bombed an arms convoy in Syria in February, destroying anti-aircraft weapons destined for Hezbollah.
(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller and David Alexander in Jerusalem, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Alison Williams and Mike Collett-White)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-general-says-syria-government-forces-used-chemical-074330220.html
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Monday, April 22, 2013
Rescuers struggle to reach China quake zone
By Michael Martina and Maxim Duncan
LUSHAN, China (Reuters) - Rescuers struggled to reach a remote corner of southwestern China on Sunday as the toll of the dead and missing from the country's worst earthquake in three years climbed to 203 with more than 11,000 injured.
The 6.6 magnitude quake struck in Lushan county, near the city of Ya'an in the southwestern province of Sichuan, close to where a devastating 7.9 temblor hit in May 2008 killing some 70,000.
Most of the deaths were concentrated in Lushan, a short drive up the valley from Ya'an, but rescuers' progress was hampered by the narrowness of the road and landslides, as well as government controls restricting access to avoid traffic jams.
"The Lushan county centre is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," said Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
"Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way," Xia said.
In Ya'an, relief workers from across China expressed frustration with gaining access to Lushan.
"We're in a hurry. There are people that need help and we have supplies in the back (of the car)," said one man from the Shandong Province Earthquake Emergency Response Team, who declined to give his name.
In Lushan, doctors and nurses tended to people in the open or under tents in the grounds of the main hospital, surrounded by shattered glass, plaster and concrete that fell during the quake. Water and electricity in the area were cut off by the quake.
"I was scared. I've never seen an earthquake this big before," said farmer Chen Tianxiong, 37, lying on a stretcher between tents, his family looking on.
Nearby, an elderly woman sat dazed mumbling to her son, while nurses wiped blood from another woman's foot as her husband cradled her head.
In another tent, Zhou Lin sat tending to his wife and three-day-old son who were evacuated from a Lushan hospital soon after the quake struck on Saturday.
"I was worried the child or his mother would be hurt. The buildings were all shaking. I was extremely scared. But now I don't feel afraid any more," said Zhou, looking at his child as he slept soundly wrapped in a blanket on a makeshift bed.
Premier Li Keqiang flew into the disaster zone by helicopter to comfort the injured and displaced, chatting to rescuers and clambering over rubble.
"Don't be sad, we will rebuild after this disaster and your new homes will be even better than before," state media quoted him as telling residents.
Xinhua news agency put the number of dead and missing at 203, with almost 11,500 injured, 960 of them seriously.
Chen Yong, the vice director of the Ya'an city government earthquake response office, told reporters that the death toll was unlikely to rise dramatically.
"We understand the situation in most areas. Most of the casualties have been reported. In some remote mountain areas, it is possible that we don't fully understand the situation," he said.
SCHOOLS WITHSTAND QUAKE
But no schools had collapsed, unlike in 2008 when many schools crumpled causing huge public anger, prompting a nationwide campaign of re-building.
"Our schools are the safest and sturdiest buildings," Chen said. "The Chinese government has put a lot of money into building schools and hospitals. I can guarantee that no schools collapsed."
Xinhua said 6,000 troops were in the area to help with rescue efforts.
Rescuers in Lushan had pulled 91 survivors out of rubble, Xinhua said. In villages closest to the epicenter, almost all low-rise buildings had collapsed, footage on state television showed.
The China Meteorological Association warned of the possibility of landslides in Lushan county, with more than 1,000 aftershocks registered.
Ya'an is a city of 1.5 million people and is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese tea culture. It is also the home to one of China's main centers for protecting the giant panda.
Sichuan is one of the four major natural gas-producing provinces in China, and its output accounts for about 14 percent of the nation's total.
Sinopec Group, Asia's largest oil refiner, said its huge Puguang gas field was unaffected.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially put the magnitude at 7, but later revised it down.
In 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed 2,700 people in Yushu, a largely Tibetan region in northwest China.
(Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-earthquake-toll-rises-164-injuries-6-700-021635904.html
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