Syria troops push back rebels as UN fight looms

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, Sister Verona, head of the Sednaya Covent, shows journalists a damaged room which was attacked by artillery fire Sunday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. No casualties were reported in the attack, which the Syrian government blamed on "armed terrorists." A senior Russian diplomat warned Tuesday that a draft U.N. resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside is a "path to civil war," as Syrian troops crushed pockets of resistance by rebel soldiers on the outskirts of Damascus. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, Sister Verona, head of the Sednaya Covent, shows journalists a damaged room which was attacked by artillery fire Sunday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. No casualties were reported in the attack, which the Syrian government blamed on "armed terrorists." A senior Russian diplomat warned Tuesday that a draft U.N. resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside is a "path to civil war," as Syrian troops crushed pockets of resistance by rebel soldiers on the outskirts of Damascus. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, a church dome is seen through a broken window of the Sednaya Convent, which was damaged by artillery fire Sunday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. No casualties were reported in the attack, which the Syrian government blamed on "armed terrorists." A senior Russian diplomat warned Tuesday that a draft U.N. resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside is a "path to civil war," as Syrian troops crushed pockets of resistance by rebel soldiers on the outskirts of Damascus. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, Syrian security forces stand guard at Sednaya Convent, which was attacked by artillery fire Sunday in Sednaya, north of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Jan. 31, 2012. No casualties were reported in the attack, which the Syrian government blamed on "armed terrorists." A senior Russian diplomat warned Tuesday that a draft U.N. resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad step aside is a "path to civil war," as Syrian troops crushed pockets of resistance by rebel soldiers on the outskirts of Damascus. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)

Anti-Syrian regime protesters, hold up a Syrian army defector as they chant slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad during an evening protest, in the Rastan area in Homs province, central Syria, on Monday Jan. 30, 2012. Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday, and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.(AP Photo)

Syrian army defectors distribute bread for children, in the Rastan area in Homs province, central Syria, on Monday Jan. 30, 2012. Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday, and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.(AP Photo)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian troops crushed pockets of rebel soldiers Tuesday on the outskirts of Damascus, fueling some of the bloodiest fighting of the 10-month-old uprising, as Western diplomats tried to overcome Russia's rejection of a draft U.N. resolution demanding President Bashar Assad halt the violence and yield power.

The U.N. Security Council was meeting Tuesday to discuss the draft, backed by Western and Arab diplomats. But Russia, one of Assad's strongest backers, has signaled it would veto action against Damascus.

"The Western draft Security Council resolution on Syria does not lead to a search for compromise," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote Tuesday on Twitter. "Pushing this resolution is a path to civil war."

Russia has stood by Assad as he tries to crush an uprising that began nearly 11 months ago. In October, Moscow vetoed the first Security Council attempt to condemn Syria's crackdown and has shown little sign of budging in its opposition.

Moscow's stance is motivated in part by its strategic and defense ties, including weapons sales, with Syria. Russia also rejects what it sees as a a world order dominated by the U.S.

The fallout from the conflict in Libya is a factor, as well. Russia fears the new measure could open the door to eventual military intervention, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution led to NATO airstrikes in Libya.

The diplomatic showdown came as Syrian government forces took back control of the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, after rebel soldiers briefly captured the area in a startling advance last week.

The fact that rebels made it to the doorstep of Damascus, the seat of Assad's power, was a dangerous development for the regime. The military launched a swift offensive Monday and on Tuesday crushed the remaining resistance in Zamalka and Arbeen.

But the suburbs were not entirely quiet. On a government-sponsored media trip, Syrian journalists heard at least seven explosions Tuesday from the eastern suburb of Rankous. It was not clear what caused the blasts.

Violence also was reported in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs in central Syria, a hotbed of opposition to the regime. Activist Mohammed Saleh said he heard hours of shelling and machine-gun fire, and thick black smoke was rising in the distance.

The smoke was believed to be from a pipeline that was struck, but details were not clear. Activists said regime forces' fire hit the pipeline, but that could not be confirmed.

The U.N. estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the Syrian government crackdown, but has not been able to update the figure. The death toll from Monday's offensive was around 100 people, making it among the bloodiest days since the uprising began in March, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group.

Activists said Tuesday's death toll was at least seven, although the LCC put the figure at up to 28. Syria prevents independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground.

The bloodshed in Syria has increased in recent days as Western and Arab countries stepped up pressure on Russia over Security Council action.

The draft resolution demands that Assad halt the crackdown and implement an Arab peace plan that calls for him to hand over power to his vice president and allow creation of a unity government to clear the way for elections.

If Assad fails to comply within 15 days, the council would consider "further measures," a reference to a possible move to impose economic or other sanctions.

A French official said the draft U.N. resolution has a "comfortable majority" of support from 10 of the Security Council's 15 members, meaning Russia or China would have to use their veto power to stop it.

Russia had agreed to negotiate on the draft, said the official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with department rules.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who was planning to attend the Security Council meeting, ruled out foreign military action.

"Things are very different from what happened in Libya," he told French radio Europe-1 shortly before flying to New York on Tuesday. "For example, in Syria you have communities that are divided and any exterior intervention could lead to a civil war."

The Syrian uprising, which began with mostly peaceful protests, has become increasingly violent in recent months as army defectors clash with government forces and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves.

The violence has inflamed the sectarian divide in the country, where members of Assad's Alawite sect dominate the regime despite a Sunni Muslim majority.

Assad's regime has warned that the turmoil will throw Syria into chaos, religious extremism and sectarian divisions, a message that resonates among Alawites and minority Christians who fear reprisals from the Sunni majority.

On Tuesday, Syrian reporters were taken north of Damascus to see the Sednaya Convent, believed to have been build in A.D. 547. The site was damaged by artillery fire Sunday, in an attack the government blamed on "armed terrorists." No casualties were reported.

"Providence has salvaged this holy site," said Sister Verona, the head of the Sednaya Convent.

Also Tuesday, army defectors gained full control of the central town of Rastan after days of intense clashes, according to a town activist who identified himself as Hassan. He refused to give his full name, fearing reprisal.

The town was taken by defectors twice in the past only to be retaken by Syrian troops. Rastan is the hometown of former Defense Minister Mustapha Tlass, who held the post for more than three decades, mostly under Assad's father and predecessor, the late Hafez Assad.

___

AP writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-31-ML-Syria/id-9089e93ceb7f4ba492b0e2819dcc9f1a

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Erivedge Approved to Treat Basal Cell Carinoma (HealthDay)

MONDAY, January 30 (HealthDay News) -- Erivedge (vismodegib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma, the agency said Monday.

The drug was approved for people for whom surgery or radiation aren't options, and for people with basal cell that has spread to other parts of the body, according to an FDA news release.

Basal cell usually is a slow-growing, painless type of cancer that begins in the top layer of skin, often on areas most exposed to the sun.

Erivedge was evaluated in clinical studies involving 96 people with basal cell carcinoma. The most common side effects included muscle spasms, hair loss, weight loss, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, distorted taste, loss of appetite and constipation.

The drug was approved with an FDA's label warning that pregnant women who take Erivedge could have babies at greater risk of severe birth defects or death. "Pregnancy status must be verified prior to the start of Erivedge treatment," the agency release advised.

Erivedge is marketed by Genentech, based in San Francisco, Calif.

More information

Medline Plus has more about basal cell carcinoma.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120131/hl_hsn/erivedgeapprovedtotreatbasalcellcarinoma

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In lab, Pannexin1 restores tight binding of cells that is lost in cancer

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

Protein shores up structural integrity of tissues made from rat glioma cells

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- First there is the tumor and then there's the horrible question of whether the cancerous cells will spread. Scientists increasingly believe that the structural properties of the tumor itself, such as how tightly the tumor cells are packed together, play a decisive role in the progression of the disease. In a new study, researchers show that the protein Pannexin1, known to have tumor-suppressive properties, plays an important role in keeping the cells within a tissue closely packed together, an effect that may be lost with cancer.

"In healthy tissues, the recently discovered protein Pannexin1 may be playing an important role in upholding the mechanical integrity of the tissue," said first author and Brown University M.D./Ph.D. student Brian Bao. "When we develop cancer, we lose Pannexin1 and we lose this integrity."

The results appeared in advance online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on Jan. 20.

To conduct their research, the group at Brown University and the University of British Columbia employed a "3-D Petri dish" technology that allows investigators to watch closely how cells interact with each other, without scientists having to worry about additional interactions with surrounding scaffolding or the culture plate itself. How readily the cells form large multicellular structures therefore reflects their interactions with each other, not their in vitro surroundings.

Bao's advisor, Jeffrey Morgan, associate professor of medical science, developed the 3-D Petri dish technology. Morgan is the paper's senior author.

Cancer cells converge

Starting with rat "C6" glioma (brain tumor) cells that do not express Pannexin1, the researchers left some unaltered and engineered others to express Pannexin1. After putting the different cells into the 3-D Petri dishes and watching them interact for 24 hours, they saw that the Pannexin1 cells were able to form large multicellular tissues much faster and more tightly than the unaltered cancer cells.

To confirm that Pannexin1 was indeed causing these changes, Bao and his colleagues treated their samples with the drugs Probenecid and Carbenoxolone, which are well known inhibitors of Pannexin1. They saw that sure enough, the drugs negated Pannexin1's accelerating effect.

Then the team was ready to achieve the the study's main aim, Bao said, namely to determine how Pannexin1 was able to drive these cells to clump together faster and tighter. They found that Pannexin1 sets off a chain reaction involving the energy-carrying molecule ATP and specific receptors for it.

When all experiments were done, Bao, Morgan, and their collaborators had found that as soon as the cells touched each other, Pannexin1 channels were stimulated to open and release ATP. The ATP then bound to cell surface receptors, kicking off intracellular calcium waves that ultimately remodeled the network of a structural protein called actin. This remodeling increases the forces between the cells, driving them to bind together more tightly.

Figuring out that sequence, and Pannexin1's role in it, is perhaps the study's biggest contribution to cancer research, Bao said.

"Using their single-cell systems, others have been able to carefully study individual pieces of this cascade," he said. "We came from a different perspective. Because the strength of our assay is that we can look at gross multicellular behavior in 3-D, we could ask, 'Does this actually manifest into something tangible on the multicellular level?'"

Having gained this understanding of Pannexin1's role in the mechanics of tumors, Bao is now engaged in research to answer the obvious next questions: Does Pannexin1 affect the tumor's ability to spread and invade? When cancerous cells regain Pannexin1 expression, are they less likely to spread and leave the tumor?

###

The paper's other authors include Christian Naus from the University of British Columbia and Charles Lai, currently at HarvardMassachusetts General Hospital.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded this work.

---

[ | 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: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

Protein shores up structural integrity of tissues made from rat glioma cells

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- First there is the tumor and then there's the horrible question of whether the cancerous cells will spread. Scientists increasingly believe that the structural properties of the tumor itself, such as how tightly the tumor cells are packed together, play a decisive role in the progression of the disease. In a new study, researchers show that the protein Pannexin1, known to have tumor-suppressive properties, plays an important role in keeping the cells within a tissue closely packed together, an effect that may be lost with cancer.

"In healthy tissues, the recently discovered protein Pannexin1 may be playing an important role in upholding the mechanical integrity of the tissue," said first author and Brown University M.D./Ph.D. student Brian Bao. "When we develop cancer, we lose Pannexin1 and we lose this integrity."

The results appeared in advance online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on Jan. 20.

To conduct their research, the group at Brown University and the University of British Columbia employed a "3-D Petri dish" technology that allows investigators to watch closely how cells interact with each other, without scientists having to worry about additional interactions with surrounding scaffolding or the culture plate itself. How readily the cells form large multicellular structures therefore reflects their interactions with each other, not their in vitro surroundings.

Bao's advisor, Jeffrey Morgan, associate professor of medical science, developed the 3-D Petri dish technology. Morgan is the paper's senior author.

Cancer cells converge

Starting with rat "C6" glioma (brain tumor) cells that do not express Pannexin1, the researchers left some unaltered and engineered others to express Pannexin1. After putting the different cells into the 3-D Petri dishes and watching them interact for 24 hours, they saw that the Pannexin1 cells were able to form large multicellular tissues much faster and more tightly than the unaltered cancer cells.

To confirm that Pannexin1 was indeed causing these changes, Bao and his colleagues treated their samples with the drugs Probenecid and Carbenoxolone, which are well known inhibitors of Pannexin1. They saw that sure enough, the drugs negated Pannexin1's accelerating effect.

Then the team was ready to achieve the the study's main aim, Bao said, namely to determine how Pannexin1 was able to drive these cells to clump together faster and tighter. They found that Pannexin1 sets off a chain reaction involving the energy-carrying molecule ATP and specific receptors for it.

When all experiments were done, Bao, Morgan, and their collaborators had found that as soon as the cells touched each other, Pannexin1 channels were stimulated to open and release ATP. The ATP then bound to cell surface receptors, kicking off intracellular calcium waves that ultimately remodeled the network of a structural protein called actin. This remodeling increases the forces between the cells, driving them to bind together more tightly.

Figuring out that sequence, and Pannexin1's role in it, is perhaps the study's biggest contribution to cancer research, Bao said.

"Using their single-cell systems, others have been able to carefully study individual pieces of this cascade," he said. "We came from a different perspective. Because the strength of our assay is that we can look at gross multicellular behavior in 3-D, we could ask, 'Does this actually manifest into something tangible on the multicellular level?'"

Having gained this understanding of Pannexin1's role in the mechanics of tumors, Bao is now engaged in research to answer the obvious next questions: Does Pannexin1 affect the tumor's ability to spread and invade? When cancerous cells regain Pannexin1 expression, are they less likely to spread and leave the tumor?

###

The paper's other authors include Christian Naus from the University of British Columbia and Charles Lai, currently at HarvardMassachusetts General Hospital.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded this work.

---

[ | 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/2012-01/bu-ilp013012.php

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Azarenka routs Sharapova to win Australian title (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Victoria Azarenka started celebrating, then suddenly did a double-take to ask her coach, "What happened?"

The answer: She had just produced one of the most lopsided Australian Open final victories to capture a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking for the first time.

Azarenka routed three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour, 22 minutes on Saturday night, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.

"It's a dream come true," she said. "I have been dreaming and working so hard to win the Grand Slam, and being No. 1 is pretty good bonus. Just the perfect ending and the perfect position to be in."

Azarenka had won 11 straight matches, including a run to the Sydney International title, and reached her first Grand Slam final. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year. Sharapova had all the experience, being in her sixth major final and having won three ? dating to her 2004 Wimbledon title.

But it didn't unnerve the 22-year-old Azarenka, the first woman from Belarus to win a singles major. She's also the seventh different woman to win a Grand Slam since Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 French Open, and the fifth different winner in as many majors.

Azarenka became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first major title. She moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the rankings, helped by Caroline Wozniacki's loss in the quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Azarenka set up championship point with a stunning forehand, her 14th clean winner, and sealed it when Sharapova netted a backhand.

She dropped to her knees at the baseline with her hands over her face. She got up, held her hands up and jogged over to her coach, Sam Sumyk, in the stands to celebrate.

"The best feeling, for sure," Azarenka said. "I don't know about the game. I don't know what I was doing out there. It's just pure joy what happened. I can't believe it's over."

And she paid special credit to her grandmother, "the person who inspires me the most in my life."

Azarenka has been a distinctive presence at Melbourne Park as much for her shrieks and hoots with each shot and seemingly boundless energy as for her white shorts, blue singlet and lime green head and wrist bands.

Against Sharapova, she maintained the frenetic movement that has been the hallmark of her performance in Australia, her 25th consecutive major. She won the Sydney International title last weekend and is on a 12-match winning streak ? the first player since 2004 to win a WTA tour event the week before winning a major.

"She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it," Sharapova said. "Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, you know, trying to play catch-up all the time."

Sharapova also won only three games in a 2007 final loss to Serena Williams, who also conceded only three games in the 2009 final against Dinara Safina.

When Sharapova won the first two games, there was no indication of how lopsided the match would be. Azarenka took control after holding for the first time, breaking Sharapova at love and then holding again on a three-game roll.

Sharapova held, finishing off with an ace, to level the score at 3-3 in the first set but then didn't win another game.

Azarenka started dictating the points, coming to the net at times, hitting winners from the baseline and forcing the 24-year-old Russian to the extremes on both sides of the court. Sharapova seemed barely able to move by comparison, and had 30 unforced errors in the match.

The second set was completely lopsided and lasted only 36 minutes, with Sharapova winning only 12 points.

"As in any sport, you have your good days, you have your tough days and you have days where things just don't work out," said Sharapova, who has now been on the losing end of two of the most lopsided scorelines in a final at Melbourne Park.

In the men's doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied Bob and Mike Bryan their record 12th Grand Slam title, beating the American twins 7-6 (1), 6-2.

The 33-year-old Bryans were attempting to secure their place as the most decorated doubles team since the Open Era began in 1968. They remain tied at 11 major titles with Australian duo Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

On Sunday, defending champion Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal in a men's singles final featuring the top two players in the rankings. Djokovic won three of the four majors last year and beat Nadal in six finals in 2011 among his 70 match wins for the season.

Azarenka had her best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No. 3.

There was a time when she'd momentarily flirted with the idea of quitting the sport during a quick trip home to Minsk after a loss at Doha. But she was quickly set straight by her family, including her grandmother, who had reportedly worked three jobs until the age of 71.

She couldn't get through to her family immediately "because my phone is freaking out right now," but she texted them from the court.

"I made a pretty smart decision, not walking out, right? That was pretty special," she said. "There's always ups and downs, now I'm up."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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SAG Awards Red Carpet Ruled By Pastels, Sexy Details

Emma Stone, Lea Michele and Angelina Jolie flaunt what they've got in couture on Sunday night.
By Jocelyn Vena

Angelina Jolie at the 2012 SAG Awards
Photo: Getty Images

The SAG Awards may honor actors and their hard work, but on the red carpet on Sunday (January 29), it was all about recognizing all of the hard work they put into their looks. At the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the overarching trend seemed to be flaunting what you've got.

For photos of the stars on the SAG Awards red carpet, click here.

Zoe Saldana went light in a sequined white dress with a drop waist and floral detailing. Kristin Wiig's look, though, had a bit of a split personality: Her pale-hued Balenciaga gown was decidedly glam thanks to tailoring that showed off her long, lean body, but her black metal choker was a bit too heavy and goth for the overall look.

Two of the biggest divas on Fox's "Glee," Lea Michele and Naya Rivera, made pale colors look red-hot. Michele's lavender Versace had a body-hugging bodice and thigh-high slit, while Rivera's ice-blue dress was made even sexier thanks to a plunging neckline.

Red also ruled the carpet. "My Week With Marilyn" star Michelle Williams was chic in a bright-red Valentino dress, which was cut right above the ankle. Her ladylike look was capped off with lace detailing along her sleeves and neckline. "Dexter" star Jennifer Carpenter also opted for a red-and-lace red-carpet look.

Using a similar color palette, Sofia Vergara's hot pink, strapless Marchesa gown was super hot. Her "Modern Family" co-star Julie Bowen went Grecian in a purple gown.

Emma Stone, Angelina Jolie, Tina Fey and Ashlee Simpson decided that a little black dress wasn't too simple for Sunday's show. Jolie played up her inner vixen in a Jenny Packham halter gown with a draped neckline. Meanwhile, Stone went quirky in a three-quarter-length strapless black dress with lace details. "The Help" star played up the fun aspect of the Alexander McQueen design with platform shoes.

Simpson, meanwhile, looked like a character right out of boyfriend Vincent Piazza's show "Boardwalk Empire" in a '20s-style Jenny Packham gown with sequins and see-through fabric along the neckline. Fey brought the "va va voom" in her black strapless column dress: It was all party on top — with grey and black shades — and business at the bottom in a plain black fabric.

The guys didn't disappoint, either. Fellas like Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Jonah Hill kept it classic and simple in tuxedos, choosing ties over bowties. One guy, however, had a little fun with it, and that honor went to "Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who wore a blue pinstripe suit with a matching blue-velvet bowtie.

Share your favorite SAG red-carpet looks on our Facebook page.

Stick with MTV News all night for the 2012 SAG Awards winners, and don't miss all the fashion from the red carpet!

Related Photos

• Stars Light Up The SAG Awards Stage
• SAG Awards 2012 Red Carpet

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678103/sag-awards-2012-red-carpet-fashion.jhtml

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Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with guest CrackBerry Kevin, live at 5PM ET!

Just wake up from a very restful week-long slumber? First of all, we're envious of your good fortune. Second, Research in Motion made a few changes to its leadership chart. Third, you must be really hungry right about now. So grab a sandwich, come back in an hour and join Myriam, Brad, Sean Cooper and our very special guest Kevin Michaluk (yes, Mr. CrackBerry Kevin himself) as we discuss the northern news, as well as anything else that happened this week.

Be sure to send questions or comments you have for us or Kevin via Twitter (we're @engadgetmobile), or make your voice heard in our Ustream chat room during the show!

January 27, 2012 5:00 PM EST

Continue reading Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast with guest CrackBerry Kevin, live at 5PM ET!

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U.S. seems to have largely escaped winter

Los Angeles Times

The temperature in Minneapolis didn't fall to zero degrees this winter until Jan. 12. On Jan. 5., the daytime high in Rapid City, S.D. (a record-setting 71 degrees), was higher than in balmy Miami (69 degrees). And just a couple of days before New Year's, visitors to Park City, Utah, skied on man-made snow and dined al fresco ? without their parkas.

Throughout the continental United States, it's been a very warm winter.

"The talk across the whole country has been, 'Where has winter been?'" said Dale Eck, who runs the global forecast center at the Weather Channel in Atlanta.

The answer: A combination of factors has trapped the winter's cold air in the northern latitudes over Canada and Alaska.

"If you look at U.S. temperatures, you'd say, 'Wow, it was a warm winter,'" said Dan Cayan, a climate researcher at the U.S. Geological Service and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. And you'd be right.

"But," he added, "in the coastal West, it's been cool."

Sunshine and nearly 80-degree temperatures in downtown Los Angeles this week ? combined with an early January heat wave and vicious Santa Ana winds in late November and early December ? might leave locals with the impression that winter has been similarly balmy in Southern California.

But while the season is shaping up to be exceptionally dry, it has not been unusually warm.

In fact, November's average high temperature of 69 degrees in downtown Los Angeles was four degrees below normal, and December's average of 66 was two degrees below normal, said Ryan Kittell, a forecaster at the National Weather Service's Oxnard office.

Overnight low temperatures were also cooler than average, making this December the seventh-coldest (by that measure) since 1877.

In January, however, there have been an unusual number of days when the temperature downtown exceeded 80 degrees ? four, as of Friday. January usually has two such days, on average. Those days have pushed the average temperature for the month so far to 70 degrees, which is 2 degrees above normal.

Scientists said the cyclical cooling in the Pacific Ocean known as La Ni?a was a likely cause for dry conditions in California and across the nation.

There's an 82% probability of less-than-normal rainfall in a La Ni?a year, said Bill Patzert, a climate researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca?ada Flintridge.

Most of California has received less than half of its normal precipitation this winter, Cayan said.

According to the National Weather Service, downtown Los Angeles has had 5.06 inches of rain this water year, which began July 1. The average for that time period is 6.74 inches.

La Ni?a-related dryness might have helped California stay cool at night, Kittell said, because less rain means less water vapor in the air. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas that traps heat near the ground.

"When it's very dry, you kind of lose that extra layer and the ground cools like crazy," he said.

Cayan chalked up the cool temperatures on the West Coast to its position on the eastern edge of a La Ni?a-related high-pressure center over the Pacific Ocean that has created a dry, cool air flow in the region.

La Ni?a has also helped keep the jet stream on a west-to-east path over Canada, preventing cold Arctic air from dipping into the Lower 48 states, he said.

A phenomenon known as the Arctic Oscillation has reinforced that effect, Patzert said.

The oscillation is a pattern of pressure that wraps itself around the North Pole. When the pressure is low, as it has been for most of this winter, the oscillation captures the cool air that normally breaks out of the Arctic and moves into Canada.

The Arctic Oscillation shifted in January, leading some meteorologists to predict that cold air would soon dip farther south, allowing the winter to finally begin in earnest.

But since La Ni?a can persist for years, Cayan said he suspected it was unlikely California would catch up on rain and snowfall this year.

"We're so far behind right now," he said.

eryn.brown@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/FDa07OPO9v4/la-sci-hot-weather-20120128,0,6875555.story

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[OOC] Mutant Rivalry

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Mutant Rivalry?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
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We are all like fireworks. We climb, shine, and always go our separate ways and become further apart. But even if that time comes, let's not disappear like a firework, and continue to shine forever.
Capt. Hitsugaya Toushiro

Auricambrflaym

Member for 1 years

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I like that you added Echo in. I am looking forward to seeing how she'll fit into our new world.

Auricambrflaym

Member for 1 years

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Post a reply

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Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Live to Apple iPhone and iPad

Microsoft is planning to bring more Xbox Live experiences to Apple?s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as Google's Android platform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ZD8oEwSswBg/story01.htm

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Pakistan accuses Iran of killing 6 on border (AP)

QUETTA, Pakistan ? Iranian security forces on Thursday killed six Pakistani traders taking goats into Iran, a Pakistani official said.

Iranian authorities were not immediately available for comment.

The incident happened Thursday on the Iranian side of the border near the Pakistani town of Gwadar, said its deputy commissioner Abdur Rehman.

Rehman said Iranian authorities were not releasing the bodies. He gave no more details.

Earlier this month, Iranian security personnel allegedly crossed into southwest Pakistan and killed one man.

There is occasional violence along the poorly marked border, where smuggling, banditry and terrorism are rife.

The incidents do not appear to have affected Islamabad's relations with Tehran, which are based on larger regional interests.

Pakistan's ties with Iran have ebbed and flowed over the last 20 years, dependent largely on developments elsewhere in a turbulent region, where Iran's archrivals Saudi Arabia and the United States have also sought influence. Sunni-Shia tensions within Pakistan have also been a factor.

Relations have been stable since the downfall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2002.

Pakistan is battling an Islamist militant insurgency along its border with Afghanistan in the northwest of the country.

Earlier Thursday, security forces killed at least 20 militants in the northwestern Kurram tribal region after coming under attack, said local government official Wajid Khan. He said 22 troops were also wounded in the attack.

The death toll could not be independently confirmed as the fighting was in a remote area off-limits to journalists.

Kurram is considered a main base for the Pakistani Taliban. Scores of insurgents are believed to hiding there after escaping military operations in the nearby tribal regions in recent years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

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In divided US politics, rare agreement on Myanmar (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Partisan squabbling has hobbled the business of government in Washington, but on one foreign policy issue at least, Democrats and Republicans appear willing to set aside their differences and get things done. It is Myanmar.

The Obama administration has support from key Republicans to restore full diplomatic relations and contemplate easing sanctions against the country also known as Burma, reversing two decades of U.S. isolation of a reviled military regime.

Primarily that is because the president has political cover from a slight figure idolized on both sides of the political aisle in Washington: democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"She's really the key figure," said Walter Lohman, director of Asian studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. "As long as they stay close to her, I don't see any controversy."

Standing up for Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi has long been a pillar of Washington's policy toward Myanmar. The administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both urged the military to honor the rejected 1990 election victory by Suu Kyi's party. They pursued policies that left the ruling junta an international outlier.

That was an uncontroversial stance, backed by other Western governments, and a relatively painless one for Washington because of the limited American business and strategic interests in the country. In recent years, however, misgivings about emerging superpower China's pervasive influence over its southern neighbor have given traction to the argument that the U.S. should be more engaged.

While there is far more bipartanship on U.S. foreign policy than on domestic issues, Myanmar is unusual to the extent that influential Republicans and Democrats alike appear on the same page as the White House. On other areas of foreign policy where there is broad agreement, differences in nuance and tactics cause divisions.

For example, the U.S. remains the staunchest international ally of Israel but Republicans accuse Obama of being too sympathetic to Palestinians. Despite billions in weapon sales to Taiwan, lawmakers of both parties have said it is not enough. Obama also faces bipartisan demands to punish China for keeping its currency undervalued.

The U.S. first applied sanctions on arms sales to Myanmar after its bloody suppression of a democracy uprising in 1988. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have since tightened restrictions to cover political, economic and trade ties, making them among the stiffest Washington has against a foreign government.

"In many respects, most of our major policy initiatives were designed and implemented by the legislative branches, so there will need to be partnership in place as we go forward," Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, said last week.

The most prominent voice in Congress on Myanmar has been the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, a staunch advocate of Suu Kyi's cause for years. He has emerged an unlikely supporter of the administration's engagement strategy, which has gained traction since the military staged fresh but flawed elections in November 2010, then freed the opposition leader and began releasing political prisoners.

After McConnell made his first visit to Myanmar this month, he praised the decision to exchange ambassadors with that government for the first time in more than 20 years, a significant endorsement as the U.S. ambassadorial nominee will need Senate approval.

McConnell wrote in a newspaper commentary that according to Suu Kyi and others he met, Myanmar appears to have made more progress in the past six months than in the previous five decades of military rule. He concluded it was too soon to lift sanctions but was open to rewarding the government for further reforms, saying he would take his cue from Suu Kyi.

It is unusual for McConnell to endorse an administration initiative with such enthusiasm, especially in an election year. During 2011, Republican opposition made it a struggle for Obama even to keep government running and raise the debt ceiling, and McConnell has said his single most important goal is the make Obama a one-term president.

Obama's Republican rival in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain, visited Myanmar this week and struck a similar note to McConnell's. Like the administration, both the Republican senators are watching to see whether by-elections April 1, in which Suu Kyi is a candidate, will be free and fair before deciding whether it is time to act on sanctions. They also want to see more releases of political prisoners, an end to decades of ethnic violence and a severing of military ties with North Korea.

Even with their support, setting U.S. policy toward Myanmar will not be all smooth sailing. While some easing of sanctions can probably be conducted by executive order from the president, other steps will require approval by both houses of Congress.

Some in the Republican-controlled House have accused the Obama administration of moving too far, too fast.

The hawkish Republican leader of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, has called concessions to the military "grossly premature."

Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a dogged human rights advocate, voiced concern over alleged persecution of Christians in Myanmar. He told The Associated Press that while he was supportive of Suu Kyi, the U.S. should not be naive in its dealings with the government and "reward that which can be taken back in a heartbeat."

Smith said the U.S. had normalized diplomatic and trade relations with authoritarian regimes in Vietnam and China only to see them crack down on activists afterward.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_co/us_us_myanmar_bipartisan_issue

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Actor Armie Hammer nabbed in Texas for marijuana (AP)

SIERRA BLANCA, Texas ? Authorities say Hollywood actor Armie Hammer was arrested at a border patrol checkpoint in West Texas after a drug sniffing dog discovered marijuana in his car.

The 25-year-old, who starred with Leonardo DiCaprio in "J. Edgar," spent about a day in jail before paying a $1,000 bond.

Arrest records show he had 0.02 ounces of marijuana, three medicinal marijuana cookies and one brownie when arrested Nov. 20 in Sierra Blanca, a few miles from the Mexican border.

El Paso's district attorney declined to prosecute because a felony requires more than 4 ounces of actual marijuana. The county attorney could pursue lesser charges since the case is going back to the local sheriff, but Hammer's lawyer Kent Schaffer says no charges have been presented.

Hammer also starred in "The Social Network."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_en_mo/us_armie_hammer_pot_arrest

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Leonardo admits defeat in pursuit of Carlos Tevez

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:57 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2012

PARIS (AP) -Paris Saint-Germain has failed in its latest effort to recruit a star player, with sporting director Leonardo saying the French club has ended negotiations to sign Carlos Tevez from Manchester City.

After missing out on former England captain David Beckham and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, Tevez became PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti's priority signing and Leonardo met with the player's adviser, Kia Joorabchian, in Paris last week.

"We've ended the negotiations. We made a handsome offer but we couldn't reach an agreement," sports daily L'Equipe quoted Leonardo as saying on its website on Tuesday. "So we're stopping. It's over."

Tevez has not played for City since September.

PSG is top of the French league and leads Montpellier by three points, but may now have to wait until the offseason before signing the big name it craves.

"There aren't many opportunities left and we're not going to splash out," Leonardo said. "We're already fine as we are. We have a competitive squad."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsGiuseppe Cacace / AFP - Getty Images

Barca awaits Real Madrid again

Real Madrid probably will abandon its defensive strategy and go on the attack against Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Stefano Rellandini / Reuters

That's a reason?

AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng is hurt again, and his girlfriend says it's because they have sex "7-10 times a week." Oh.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46054835/ns/sports-soccer/

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Chinese vice president Xi to visit White House February 14 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama will meet Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the country's likely next ruler, at the White House on February 14, the White House said on Monday.

Obama and Xi will discuss "a broad range of bilateral, regional, and global issues," it said in a statement, but gave no further details.

Xi said last week he hoped the visit would help to defuse friction and the risk of international crisis. But the two nations have some delicate issues to work through, ranging from currency policy to a U.S. military buildup in the Asia-Pacific.

Obama, facing a tough re-election in November, is expected to renew his call for China to allow its yuan currency to appreciate during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, as he highlights U.S. exports among his proposals to boost jobs.

Beijing, for its part, has voiced misgivings about U.S. plans to beef up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and is angry about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China calls an illegitimate breakaway province.

In August Xi hosted U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on a visit that gave Washington policymakers a chance to size up China's president-in-waiting. Biden will also host Xi when he visits the United States.

Xi, who is also set to travel to Iowa and California, is seen as virtually certain to replace Hu Jintao as Chinese Communist Party chief in late 2012, and then replace him as state president in early 2013.

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/ts_nm/us_usa_china_xi

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How did Romney's IRA grow so big? (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? In the wake of news reports last week that presidential contender Mitt Romney owns an individual retirement account worth as much as $101 million, questions are growing over how it could have gotten so big when contribution limits are capped at $5,000 or $6,000 a year.

Tax lawyers and accountants suggest an answer: Romney may have made use of an Internal Revenue Service loophole that allows investors to undervalue interests in investment partnerships when first putting them into an IRA. These assets can produce returns far in excess of those that could be generated from other investments made at the capped level.

An investor could even set an initial value for a partnership interest at zero dollars, because under tax regulations an interest in a partnership represents future income, not current value, said Chris Sanchirico, co-director of the Center for Tax Law and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Whether Romney used this technique, which is legal, when he put partnership interests into his IRA is a question that won't likely be answered when he discloses his 2010 tax returns on Tuesday.

Romney's IRA, valued at between $20.7 million and $101.6 million, as reported by The Wall Street Journal last Thursday, holds stakes in 13 investment entities run by Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he cofounded and led for 13 years.

"One possibility for its size is that he put his Bain partnership interests into the IRA and valued them at a very low number," said David Weisbach, a law professor who focuses on tax at the University of Chicago Law School.

Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, declined to respond to emails and calls.

In the wake of growing scrutiny of his personal wealth, Romney, one of the wealthiest contenders ever for the White House, told Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday that on Tuesday he would release his 2010 tax returns and estimates for his 2011 return.

The release will not provide much insight into his IRA. That is because a personal income-tax return shows IRA contributions and withdrawals only for the year of the return, and not for previous years, and does not show whether any contributions were in the form of undervalued partnership interests. While an IRA investor can sometimes be required to file a separate return for the IRA, it is unclear whether Romney intends to release any such returns.

Romney's personal financial summary, disclosed last August under federal election rules, shows that his IRA holds his most lucrative investments, which are stakes in partnerships run by Bain Capital. Those stakes include Bcip Trust Associates III, a Bain fund that is his single largest investment, with assets valued at $5,000,001 to $25,000,000. Bcip Trust Associates III produced income to Romney's IRA of over $5,000,000 over 2010 and through August 12, 2011, according to the summary.

Robert Stack, head of international tax at law firm Ivins Phillips & Barker, said it is possible that Romney's IRA grew so large not only because of an increase in the value of the funds in which it invests but also through lucrative profits, typically 20 percent of investment gains per year, that funds can generate for their general partners.

It is not known whether Romney is a general partner in the Bain funds, meaning invested in the partnership responsible for managing the funds, or simply an investor in the funds. The Romney campaign has declined to comment on this issue.

The general partners' cut of the profit, known as carried interest, is taxable each year if the funds in which the IRA is invested earn certain management fees or borrow to make their investments. Tax lawyers say they want to know whether Romney's IRA holds any carried interest and whether it has paid tax on it - something not disclosed in his personal financial summary or on a federal income tax return. "In the context of a $100 million IRA, that is what we would want to know," said David Miller, a tax lawyer at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft.

The average IRA held by Americans holds $42,500, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group. While the Romney campaign has said that some of his IRA consists of retirement savings rolled over from previous plans, accountants say rollovers would not likely explain the size of his IRA.

"Even if he rolled over a 401k, with the annual caps on contributions, you're still only talking about a few million dollars," said Robert Green, an accountant who is founder of Green Trading, a tax and accounting firm that caters to the investment industry. Last year, individuals could contribute a maximum of $16,500 a year to their 401(k) plans.

Tax lawyers say it is also important to know whether Romney's IRA holds stakes in Bain funds directly, or through related, offshore entities.

These entities, commonly used by tax-exempt investors such as Romney's IRA, legally allow the investors to avoid having to pay a special tax, known as the unearned business income tax, or UBTI.

While the Wall Street Journal suggested on Thursday that avoidance of the special tax was a big reason for the size of Romney's IRA, some tax lawyers said that its size might simply reflect the extreme profitability of a carried interest held by the IRA. "The best guess is that he put the carried interest into the IRA," Miller said.

Romney's IRA produced income of $1.5 million to $8.5 million over 2010 and through August 12, 2011, according to his financial summary, but it is unknown what, if any, taxes the IRA may have paid on its carried interest. Saul, Romney's campaign spokeswoman, declined requests for comment.

(Reporting by Lynnley Browning; Additional reporting by Gregory Roumeliotis; Editing by Amy Stevens, Eddie Evans and Carol Bishopric)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_romney_ira

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House votes on permanent electronic duck stamp (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A program allowing state fish and wildlife agencies to sell federal duck stamps online would receive permanent status under legislation approved by the House.

Since 1934, waterfowl hunters have gone to post offices and sporting goods stores to buy the annual federal hunting permits.

But four years ago, eight states joined a pilot program to try out the sale of electronic duck stamps. Those stamps remain valid for 45 days, until the actual stamp arrives in the mail. The bill would allow that program to be made permanent among all states.

The program lets hunters go online to purchase the federal stamps and state hunting licenses simultaneously.

Revenues for the $15 stamps are used to buy or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_go_ot/us_duck_stamp

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Ginn out for Niners in NFC Championship (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. is out of the NFC championship game for San Francisco with an injured right knee, and tight end Delanie Walker is active for the first time since breaking his left jaw.

Ginn hurt his knee last week against New Orleans and did not practice all week leading up to Sunday's game against the New York Giants. He normally starts at receiver and returns kicks and punts. Kyle Williams is listed as the starter in his place.

San Francisco is getting a boost with Walker's return. He has been out since breaking his jaw in two places Dec. 24 in Seattle.

Tight end Jake Ballard is active despite a banged-up right knee for the Giants. Linebacker Mark Herzlich is inactive with an ankle injury.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_nfc_championship_inactives

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Former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno's Health Is Rapidly Declining (omg!)

All over the world, Penn Staters are on stand-by.

Since being admitted to the hospital on January 13 for complications relating to his lung cancer treatments, former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's health had been downgraded to "serious condition."

PHOTOS: Us' tribute to those who have battled cancer

"Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications," family spokesman Dan McGinn told The Associated Press on Saturday. "His doctors have now characterized his status as serious.

NEWS: Get the latest Us Weekly news

Providing up-to-the-minute updates, Michael Sisak, a staff writer for the Wilkes-Barre, Pa. news outlet the Citizens' Voice, began sending out a timeline of tweets documenting "Joe Pa's" declining health and posting the updates in an ongoing post.

"Source confirms to CV that Paterno gravely ill. Sue Paterno telephoned member of staff, summoned person to hospital to say goodbye to Joe," Sisak tweeted Saturday evening. "BREAKING: Penn State coach Joe Paterno near death, family summoning close friends to hospital for final goodbyes," he added.

NEWS: Ashton Kutcher gets slammed fo defending JoePa

The 85-year-old icon was diagnosed with lung cancer in November. It was within the same month that the famed Big Ten football coach made headlines, not for his game-winning team and tactics, but for the scandal surrounding his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's 40 counts of child sex abuse. It was also within the same month that Paterno was forced to end his 46 year-long career with the central Pennsylvania university.

Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_former_penn_state_coach_joe_paternos_health_rapidly005856368/44259004/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/former-penn-state-coach-joe-paternos-health-rapidly-005856368.html

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Writer, M.D. looks inside medics' minds

Tiffany O?Callaghan, CultureLab editor

DOES daily exposure to patients' tragedies harden doctors, causing their empathy to atrophy? When young surgeons have to make their first incisions, which patients are they most likely to practice on? Does doctors' archetypal dark humour belie a troubling truth about the emotional demands of medical practice? What is life without memory?

These questions and others are explored in Writer, M.D. - a collection of short stories, fiction and non-fiction, penned by doctors. Without exception, these previously published works provide food for thought - from Abraham Verghese's compelling piece on the need for physicians to remember the art of the physical examination to a poignant essay on medical dissection by Pauline W. Chen.

Exemplifying the collection's best prose is psychiatrist Oliver Sacks's essay, The Lost Mariner. Writing about a patient who has Korsakoff's syndrome, a form of amnesia, Sacks says: "If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye. But if he has lost a self - himself - he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it." The sentiment captured in these few words is particularly poignant in the light of today's increasingly pressing issues of ageing and mental health.

Containing many such insights into the human condition, Writer, M.D. will leave you with much to mull over, long after you have put it down.

Book Information
Writer, M.D.
by Leah Kaminsky
Published by: Vintage
$15

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1bff1408/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A120C0A10Clooking0Einside0Emedics0Eminds0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Vodafone not liable for $4.4B India tax bill

MUMBAI, India (AP) ? India's top court says British telecom giant Vodafone is not liable for up to $4.4 billion in back taxes and penalties.

Vodafone lawyer Harish Salve says the court has issued a "concurring judgment" and ordered the company's deposit on its tax bill to be refunded.

Friday's ruling comes as a relief to international investors in India who feared the Vodafone precedent would have exposed them to new tax liabilities.

The dispute centers on Vodafone's $11 billion acquisition of the Indian telecom assets of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications in 2007.

Vodafone says it doesn't owe tax on the deal because it took place between two foreign entities.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-20-AS-India-Vodafone/id-e2a09aceff4c44c4b81f4eaf8f30de54

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Russia's ex-Finance Minister forecasts eurozone recession: Voice of ...

Russia?s ex Finance Minister and economic analyst Alexei Kudrin has predicted further recession and a worse debt crisis in the eurozone in 2012. He noted that the EU?s third largest economy Italy will be the next troublemaker.

He also doubted the efficiency of? a separate EU ratings agency as the existing ones are efficient enough though they sometimes give a delayed rating or change ratings at the most inappropriate moments.

IF, TASS

?

?

?

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/19/64197255.html

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