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Barclays Bank accused of systematic dishonesty by former chief executive Martin Taylor

Clyde K. Valle
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Barclays Bank accused of systematic dishonesty by former chief executive Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor, the former chief executive of Barclays, says the bank has engaged in “systematic dishonesty”.

It comes after Barclays was fined $450 million for trying to manipulate interest rates at which banks lend to each other.

Martin Taylor, who was chief executive of the bank from 1994 to 1998, said that Barclays’ deception looks like a deliberate strategy as it had been going on for years.

Other banks are also being probed.

The chief executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond, has come under pressure to resign.

Barclays has said its actions “fell well short of standards”.

In response, chief executive Bob Diamond and three other top executives at the bank are to give up their bonuses this year.

Investigators say that Barclays’ traders lied to make the bank look more secure during the financial crisis and, sometimes – working with traders at other banks – to make a profit.

Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement at the FSA, which imposed fines alongside the US financial regulator, said: “We have a number of investigations that are ongoing.

“Obviously we need to look at each case on its own particular facts but the initial indications are that Barclays was not the only firm that was involved in this.”

The US Department of Justice also said criminal investigations into “other financial institutions and individuals” was ongoing.

Martin Taylor, the former chief executive of Barclays, says the bank has engaged in "systematic dishonesty"
Martin Taylor, the former chief executive of Barclays, says the bank has engaged in "systematic dishonesty"

Other big names believed to be under investigation include Citigroup, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Barclays’ misconduct relates to the daily setting of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR).

These are two of the most important interest rates in the global financial markets and directly influence the value of trillions of dollars of financial deals between banks and other institutions.

They can also affect lending rates to the public, for instance with some mortgage deals.

It is not yet clear whether Barclays staff actually succeeded in manipulating the interest rates to the bank’s advantage and therefore whether it had any impact on borrowers.

While the FSA said only that the Barclays employees had attempted to do so, the US Department of Justice said that on some occasions they did affect the LIBOR and EURIBOR rates.

The fine imposed on Barclays is part of an international investigation into the setting of interbank rates between 2005 and 2009.

Each day the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and the European Banking Association publish the LIBOR and EURIBOR rates by taking an average of the estimated rates submitted to them by leading banks.

Between 2005 and 2008, the Barclays staff who submitted estimates of their own interbank lending rates were frequently lobbied by its derivatives traders to put in figures which would benefit their trading positions, in order to produce a profit for the bank.

And between 2007 and 2009, during the height of the banking crisis, the staff put in artificially low figures, to avoid the suspicion that Barclays was under financial stress and thus having to borrow at noticeably higher rates than its competitors.

The FSA pointed out that Barclays traders were quite open about their routine attempts to lobby their colleagues who submitted the bank’s estimate of its borrowing costs to the BBA.

It was particularly concerned because it appeared to be “accepted culture” among some staff.

“Requests to Barclays’ submitters were made verbally and a large amount of email and instant message evidence consisting of derivatives traders’ requests also exists,” the FSA said.

In one instance, a trader recounted a conversation in which he had “begged” the submitter to put in a lower LIBOR figure.

“I’m like, dude, you’re killing us,” he said.

His manager replied: “Just tell him to… put it low.”

In turn, the staff submitting the data would respond to the traders’ requests.

“For you…anything,” said one.

“Done… for you big boy,” said another.

And: “I owe you big time… I’m opening a bottle of Bollinger.”

 

Bert van Marwijk resigns as Netherlands coach following Euro 2012 results

Clyde K. Valle
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Bert van Marwijk resigns as Netherlands coach following Euro 2012 results

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has resigned following his side’s disastrous Euro 2012 campaign.

Dutch team was beaten in all three of their matches in the tournament and finished bottom of Group B.

Bert van Marwijk, 60, refused to answer questions about his future last week but his departure has now been confirmed by the Dutch FA.

Bert van Marwijk led the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup final in which they were beaten by Spain in extra time.

“I have severe doubts, but have decided to take this step anyway,” Bert van Marwijk said in a statement.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has resigned following his side's disastrous Euro 2012 campaign
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has resigned following his side's disastrous Euro 2012 campaign

The head of the KNVB (the Dutch FA), Bert van Oostveen said: “The KNVB are grateful to Van Marwijk. I personally had a very good feeling about our co-operation.

“Of course it is sad to part early, but we must be realistic.”

The Netherlands won nine of their 10 qualifying matches for Euro 2012, rising to the top of the FIFA world rankings in August 2011.

But drawn in the “Group of Death” with Denmark and eventual semi-finalists Germany and Portugal, they lost three consecutive competitive games for the first time in their history.

A 1-0 opening defeat by Denmark was followed by 2-1 defeats against Germany and Portugal.

The performances were in stark contrast to their displays at the 2010 World Cup, in which the Dutch took maximum points in Bert van Marwijk’s first tournament as coach.

The Dutch went on to reach the final, but Bert van Marwijk’s negative tactics in a bad-tempered game against Spain led to criticism from the media and Dutch legend Johann Cruyff.

Bert van Marwijk, who has previously coached Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund, had taken over from Marco van Basten in 2008 and had a contract that ran until 2016.

The Netherlands have a friendly against Belgium on 15 August before starting their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign against Turkey in September.

 

Household insurance for smokers

Clyde K. Valle
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Household insurance for smokers

When you apply for home owner’s insurance, one of the questions that you’ll be asked is whether or not you (or any family member) is a smoker.

If you’re a non smoker, most home owner’s insurance policies will give a discount of 10%.

As with all insurance, policy premiums are determined through studies on the risk factors that certain groups of people exhibit. Those that are found to be part of a riskier group usually have to pay more money for the same amount of insurance. Studies show that homes owned by smokers are more likely to have home owner’s insurance claims against them than non smokers.

When you apply for home owner's insurance, one of the questions that you'll be asked is whether or not you (or any family member) is a smoker
When you apply for home owner's insurance, one of the questions that you'll be asked is whether or not you (or any family member) is a smoker

1. Smokers burn down houses. There are over 20,000 residential fires a year caused by cigarettes. Since smokers are the ones that have cigarettes, the act of smoking increases the risk that a house will burn down.

2. Smokers tend to have riskier overall habits than non smokers. These riskier habits can lead to more home owner’s insurance claims than non smokers.

3. Because smokers need matches or lighters for their habit, this means that children in the house are likely to have more access to these than children living in houses with non smokers. This increases of an accidental fire started by the children.

 

Smoking can lower your house price

Nancy Clayson
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Smoking can lower your house price

Before you put your house on the market, it is advisable to make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Today is a buyers market and they can pick and select which is the best property and demand lower prices.

Change the way you think, see selling a home is rather like entering a competition where the best presented home wins.

The smell of tobacco and a home owner smoking during a viewing will without a shadow of doubt put people off buying a home. Even hardened smokers don’t like a house to smell of smoke. Do not underestimate the negative affect it may have on a potential buyer, houses with smokers are harder to sell and that’s the bottom line. Smoking yellows the paintwork and embeds into the carpets and walls. Discarded cigarettes in a garden makes a home feel used and tired. Families will not want to bring their children up ion house that has suffered from smoking.

The fact is when a home becomes harder to sell for any reason the home owners has to face the fact that they may have to reduce the asking price. It may well be that a smokers home is harder to sell and therefore this will have to be reflected in the price. Once more when a non smokers buys a house from a smoker they may feel that carpets and redecorating are necessary and may use these facts to negotiate the selling price.

Smoking does not sell houses
Smoking does not sell houses

Selling a home does not require making major improvements such as adding a conservatory or refitting the kitchen, these features are unlikely to add as much value to your house as you might think. Even redecorating should only be done if absolutely necessary, as it will take time and money, and the new owners taste is unlikely to be the same as yours.

It is actually the small touches which make a difference and which will make your property stand out from the rest. Firstly the parking and garden area should be neat and tidy, as this is the first impression that the prospective buyer will get of the house.

 

Household Insurance for Smokers

When you apply for home owner’s insurance, one of the questions that you’ll be asked is whether or not you (or any family member) is a smoker. If you’re a non smoker, most home owner’s insurance policies will give a discount of 10%.

As with all insurance, policy premiums are determined through studies on the risk factors that certain groups of people exhibit. Those that are found to be part of a riskier group usually have to pay more money for the same amount of insurance. Studies show that homes owned by smokers are more likely to have home owner’s insurance claims against them than non smokers.

1. Smokers burn down houses. There are over 20,000 residential fires a year caused by cigarettes. Since smokers are the ones that have cigarettes, the act of smoking increases the risk that a house will burn down.

2. Smokers tend to have riskier overall habits than non smokers. These riskier habits can lead to more home owner’s insurance claims than non smokers.

3. Because smokers need matches or lighters for their habit, this means that children in the house are likely to have more access to these than children living in houses with non smokers. This increases of an accidental fire started by the children

 

Can pregnant woman eat for two?

Kathryn R. Bown
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Can pregnant woman eat for two?

The myth says that women can pile on the pounds when expecting a baby, but the evidence tells a different story.

Anyone who’s been pregnant will tell you how friends or family members regularly push food towards them, saying: “Go on! Help yourself! You’re eating for two now!”

Women who have spent their life worrying about their weight often find themselves thrilled or relieved that at last there’s a good reason not to worry about what they eat. For once, they argue, it’s allowed… and surely it’s good for the baby if you eat plenty?

Unfortunately when you begin to look at the evidence, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

The belief that eating for two is a good idea results in up to a third of women putting on amounts of weight medically considered to be excessive. Not only is this weight hard to lose after the baby’s born, but it can lead to more serious consequences.

There is an increased risk of high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. It can also affect the birth itself with a higher rate of interventions, including caesarian sections and even an increased, though still rare, risk of stillbirth.

The myth says that women can pile on the pounds when expecting a baby, but the evidence tells a different story
The myth says that women can pile on the pounds when expecting a baby, but the evidence tells a different story

Professor Jane Ogden, a health psychologist at Surrey University, UK, has found that some women feel that pregnancy legitimizes the amount they want to eat. If so, there is a danger that becoming accustomed to eating for two can make it hard to return to eating for one after childbirth, or later if you’re breastfeeding.

Getting people to take notice of any guidelines is another matter. A lot of women say they feel perpetually ravenous while they’re pregnant, so it’s not surprising that they eat more.

The American Dietetic Association’s review of interventions to help women avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy found that some worked and others didn’t. In Finland, women ate more fresh fruit and vegetables as a result of the advice, but didn’t put on less weight. In the US some interventions did work, except when women were obese before they became pregnant.

Other studies in Native American Cree communities in Canada found that nutritional advice had only a modest effect. And a recent review of different interventions found those that encouraged women to eat a healthy diet were more effective in terms of maternal weight and obstetric outcomes than those recommending walking and other types of light exercise.

What if someone’s eating for three or even four because they’re expecting twins or triplets? Do they need to eat significantly more? Perhaps not.

If a woman is carrying more than one foetus her metabolic rate is 10% greater, causing her to use up calories faster. And some diets recommend women expecting twins or triplets eat up to 4,000 calories a day. That’s as much as the British forces are advised to consume on duty in Afghanistan, but this doesn’t take into account that pregnant women are likely to be slightly more sedentary than fighting soldiers.

What’s also true is that women expecting twins or triplets who don’t put on enough weight are more likely to have very small babies. But although women are sometimes told to eat a great deal of extra calories, it’s not clear where the evidence for exactly how many comes from.

Worryingly, a systematic review of studies in 2011 couldn’t identify a single randomized controlled study that compared normal diets with special high calorie diets. Without direct comparison of normal diets with special high calorie diets, who’s to say which advice is correct?

So putting aside the question of the multiple births, how much extra should people try to eat when they’re pregnant?

In the US, the Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women eat three meals and two snacks a day. That sounds like plenty until you look at the number of calories recommended: an extra 340 calories a day during the second trimester and 452 calories a day in the third.

That is the equivalent of a normal diet plus two eggs during the middle months of pregnancy and two chocolate digestives plus some garlic bread in the third. It’s hardly eating for two. As the London obstetrician Patrick O’Brien puts it: “You’re eating for one and a bit.”

 

Smoking vaccine tested on mice with relevant results

Kathryn R. Bown
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Smoking vaccine tested on mice with relevant results

US researchers say smokers could one day be immunized against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit.

They have devised a vaccine that floods the body with an antibody to assault nicotine entering the body.

A study in mice, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed levels of the chemical in the brain were reduced by 85% after vaccination.

Years of research are still needed before it could be tested on people.

However, lead researcher Prof. Ronald Crystal is convinced there will be benefits.

“As far as we can see, the best way to treat chronic nicotine addiction from smoking is to have these Pacman-like antibodies on patrol, clearing the blood as needed before nicotine can have any biological effect.”

US researchers say smokers could one day be immunized against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit
US researchers say smokers could one day be immunized against nicotine so they gain no pleasure from the habit

Other “smoking vaccines” have been developed that train the immune system to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine – it is the same method used to vaccinate against diseases. The challenge has been to produce enough antibodies to stop the drug entering the brain and delivering its pleasurable hit.

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have used a completely different approach, a gene-therapy vaccine, which they say is more promising.

A genetically modified virus containing the instructions for making nicotine antibodies is used to infect the liver. This turns the organ into a factory producing the antibodies.

The research team compared the amount of nicotine in the brains of normal mice with those that had been immunized. After being injected with nicotine, the vaccinated mice had nicotine levels 85% lower.

It is not known if this could be repeated in humans or if this level of reduction would be enough to help people quit.

Prof. Ronald Crystal said that if such a vaccine could be developed then people “will know if they start smoking again, they will receive no pleasure from it due to the nicotine vaccine, and that can help them kick the habit”.

He added: “We are very hopeful that this kind of vaccine strategy can finally help the millions of smokers who have tried to stop, exhausting all the methods on the market today, but find their nicotine addiction to be strong enough to overcome these current approaches.”

There are also issues around the safety of gene therapy in humans that will need to be answered.

If such a vaccine was developed it could also raise ethical questions about vaccinating people, possibly in childhood, before they even started smoking.

 

Belviq weight-loss pill approved by FDA

Kathryn R. Bown
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Belviq weight-loss pill approved by FDA

US health regulators have approved weight-loss pill Belviq, marking the first new drug treatment in 13 years.

Belviq (lorcaserin hydrochloride), made by Arena Pharmaceutical, can be used by obese or overweight adults with at least one condition.

The drug achieved only modest results in clinical studies, helping people lose on average about 5% of their body weight.

Belviq was rejected in 2010 because of concerns over tumors that developed in animals tested with the drug.

After San Diego-based Arena resubmitted its application with more data, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found little risk of tumors in humans using the drug.

FDA approved weight-loss pill Belviq, marking the first new drug treatment in 13 years
FDA approved weight-loss pill Belviq, marking the first new drug treatment in 13 years

The medication is expected to launch in 2013.

Belviq is designed to block appetite signals in the brain, making patients feel fuller with smaller amounts of food.

Belviq is a serotonin 2C receptor agonist indicated as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or greater (obese) or 27 kg/m2 or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition, (e.g., hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes).

The FDA warned that Belviq is not for women who are pregnant or nursing.

With US obesity rates approaching 35% in adults and associated healthcare costs on the rise, many doctors have urged health regulators to give the green light to new weight-loss treatments.

But the agency has set high standards for such medication after safety problems with previously popular weight-loss drugs.

The so-called fen-phen combination had to be pulled from the market in 1997 after being linked to heart valve damage.

In a statement, the FDA said Belviq did not appear to carry the same risks.

However, known side effects of Belviq do include depression, migraine and memory lapses.

The FDA-approved label says the drug should not be used for more than 12 weeks if a 5% weight loss does not occur.

Arena will be required to conduct six studies after marketing the drug, including a study on the drug’s effect on long-term heart health.

 

Dinosaurs cold blood theory knocked down

James J. Williams
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Dinosaurs cold blood theory knocked down

One of the strongest lines of evidence that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like modern reptiles, has been knocked down.

Prior studies of dinosaur bones uncovered what are known as “lines of arrested growth”.

The creatures were presumed to be cold-blooded because modern cold-blooded animals show these same lines.

But scientists reporting in Nature have studied the bones of 41 modern mammal species from around the world, finding everyone had these lines as well.

A number of discoveries in recent years have challenged the 40-year-old notion that dinosaurs were cold-blooded.

But because soft tissues such as organs and skin are not preserved, much of what is known about dinosaurs must be inferred from their bones, and comparisons made with modern animals that can be studied in greater detail.

Lines of arrested growth, or Lags, occur because organisms tend to suspend their growth and rally their resources during seasonal periods of environmental stress such as cold or dry conditions.

One of the strongest lines of evidence that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like modern reptiles, has been knocked down
One of the strongest lines of evidence that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, like modern reptiles, has been knocked down

This forms a boundary from one season to the next as growth resumes when conditions are more favorable.

They are familiar in creatures such as molluscs, whose slow annual accumulations can be seen as ridges in their shells.

Lags have also been found in the bones of reptiles and amphibians and have until now been assumed to be limited to ectotherms – cold-blooded animals – that are more subject to the whims of harsh environments.

Meike Koehler of the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology in Barcelona and her colleagues were therefore surprised by what they found.

“Originally this was not a paper that we aimed to do,” Dr. Meike Koehler.

“We were very curious to know how environmental conditions and changes affect bone growth in fossil and extant mammals, to get a good idea about… how they may have coped with these changes in the past.”

As the team studied the thigh bones of animals from all over the world – ranging from the Svalbard reindeer in the Arctic to muntjac deer species from South Asia – Lags showed up in every one.

“These lines of arrested growth have been used a lot in dinosaurs, but nobody has ever had a really deep look at mammals,” Dr. Meike Koehler explained.

David Weishampel, a palaeontologist at the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Maryland called the new work “a wonderful paper” and said it was a welcome addition to the debate.

“I think most (palaeontologists) regard dinosaurs as being [warm-blooded] but there’s a lot of waffling in the data that appeared before that wasn’t conclusive,” he said.

“It’s about time we have a connection between the modern bone histology and fossil bone histology, through a very nice ecological and metabolic comparison.”

While Prof. David Weishampel considers it a closed case, Dr. Meike Koehler herself is more reserved about the result.

“I don’t think that this debate is really settled,” she said.

“But this is the first time that you can say that Lags do not say anything about warm- or cold-bloodedness.”

She and her team will go on and put the Lags to use in studies of modern animals instead.

“It’s like dendrochronology – the rings in trees. You can do skeletal chronology in bones and infer things like longevity, age at maturity, juvenile states – traits which are very, very important to get an idea about the health of a population and whether it is vulnerable.

“It is very good to know now that mammals do show these Lags and we can use them in the same way that we do in amphibians and reptiles to understand the situation of a population.”

 

TEDGlobal 2012: future city ideas awarded at Edinburgh conference

Nancy Clayson
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TEDGlobal 2012: future city ideas awarded at Edinburgh conference

TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh has honored developers with innovative ideas about how the cities of the future should look.

This year’s TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) prize, normally given to an individual, was awarded to an idea dubbed “City 2.0”.

Ten projects that are improving city life were selected to benefit from the $100,000 prize fund.

Winners include a designer of an open-sourced “wiki-house”.

The first winner, announced at the TEDx summit in the spring, was Ruganzu Bruno who will be using the money to create a play centre, built entirely from plastic water bottles, for children in the slums of Uganda to play and learn.

Four of the winners were announced at TEDGlobal, while the rest to be revealed in the autumn.

All of the projects are outlined on the City 2.0 website.

 

TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh has honored developers with innovative ideas about how the cities of the future should look
TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh has honored developers with innovative ideas about how the cities of the future should look

 

One of the winners, designer Alastair Parvin, wants to see a more democratized approach to house building.

“For too long, cities have been made by the 1% and consumed by the 99%. We wanted to see what it would take to create something that would allow the 99% to make cities for the 99%.”

With this in mind, he and fellow designer Nick Lerodiaconou created a blueprint that would allow ordinary people to build their own homes using open-sourced designs and locally-sourced materials.

They posted their designs and assembly directions online and encouraged anyone to try it out, add to it, and upload their own ideas. Since they first initiated the project, five prototypes have been assembled.

Alastair Parvin aims to team up with youngsters in Brazil and will use the money to allow them to build their own communal wiki-houses in the favelas of Rio.

Another of the winners, Faisal Chohan, is working on a project to clean up the water in Pakistan’s fourth largest city, Rawalpindi.

The city sustains a population of two million but, despite government attempts to provide proper sanitation, more than 90% of the city still lives with open drains.

“Every house provides unrestricted access to all kind of insects, including rats up to 12 inches. The water remains stagnant in streets. First thing out of doors is an unbearable smell. The same drainage passes openly through the main markets of the city where 90% of the people do shopping,” said Faisal Chohan.

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 30% of all deaths in the city are directly caused by contaminated water. In infants this increases to 40%.

Working with the local community, Faisal Chohan is planning to map the city’s drainage system and offer the maps up to the local and wider online community to find solutions.

Faisal Chohan and his tech team will train everyday citizens to map the flow of water in their local areas, give them bicycles so they can get around, and mapping devices so they can register their findings.

As well as increasing public health literacy, the system will also act as a warning system for areas of potential cholera outbreaks and hopefully allow for action to prevent them.

For him, making cities better places to live means going back to basics.

“At the moment it is not a priority for the government or the people. They see it as too big a problem and I want to change that mentality,” he said.

Past winners of the TED Prize include chef Jamie Oliver and U2 frontman Bono.

It was also announced at the conference that the 2013 prize fund would be upped from $100,000 to $1 million.

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Australopithecus sediba, an early human ancestor, chewed on bark and leaves

James J. Williams
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Australopithecus sediba, an early human ancestor, chewed on bark and leaves

Australopithecus sediba, an early relative of humans, chewed on bark and leaves, according to fossil evidence.

Analysis of food trapped in the teeth of the two-million-year-old “southern ape” suggests it existed on a unique diet of forest fruits and other woodland plants.

The study, in Nature, gives an insight into the evolution of what could have been a direct human ancestor.

Other early African contemporaries had a diet suggesting a grassland habitat.

The first fossils of Australopithecus sediba, discovered in South Africa in 2008, were hailed as a remarkable discovery.

Teeth from two individuals were analyzed in the latest research, focusing on patterns of dental wear, carbon isotope data and plant fragments from dental tartar.

 

Australopithecus sediba, an early relative of humans, chewed on bark and leaves
Australopithecus sediba, an early relative of humans, chewed on bark and leaves

The evidence suggests the ape-like creature ate leaves, fruit, bark, wood and other forest vegetation.

Dr. Amanda Henry of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, led the research.

“We’ve for the first time been able to put together three quite different methods for reconstructing diet and gotten one cohesive picture of the diet of this ancient species and that picture is really quite different from what we’ve seen in other hominins (human ancestors),” she said.

“That’s exciting, we’re seeing a lot more variation among these species than we’d expected.”

Human ancestors from around this time period were probably exploring a wide variety of habitats.

Each species was finding its ecological niche a few hundred thousand years before the evolution of Homo erectus, which spread out of Africa into many different habitats around the world, heralding a milestone in human evolution.

Dr. Amanda Henry said Australopithecus sediba walked on two legs but probably also spent time foraging in the trees.

“It was still quite primitive; it had a very small brain; it was quite short and it had fairly long arms but it was definitely related to us,” she said.

Dr. Louise Humphrey of the paleontology department at London’s Natural History Museum said there was debate about the position of Australopithecus sediba in the human lineage.

“The question is, is this a great great grandad or grandma or is it a cousin?

“They were eating bark and woody substances, which is quite a unique dietary mechanism; it hasn’t been reported for any other human relative before.”

The animal may have eaten fruit and young leaves when food was plentiful, but turned to less nutritious food like bark when times were hard.

However, syrup beneath the bark may have provided a sugary treat.

Dr. Amanda Henry said: “A lot of people have turned their nose at the idea of eating bark but I always think that what they’re eating is probably not the course outer bark but potentially the softer inner bark where the sap is.

“And so if you think of maple syrup – it’s the sap of maple trees – then it could have been quite a tasty substance.”

 

Queen Elizabeth II and Martin McGuiness in historic handshake in Northern Ireland

Diane A. Wade
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Queen Elizabeth II and Martin McGuiness in historic handshake in Northern Ireland
Queen Elizabeth II and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time
Queen Elizabeth II and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time

The last day of Queen Elizabeth’s two-day visit to Northern Ireland was marked by an historic handshake and a huge party.

Her Majesty and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time.

The meeting between the Queen and Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister took place at a charity event in Belfast on Wednesday morning.

In the afternoon she attended a Diamond Jubilee party attended by 20,000 in Stormont.

The Queen and Martin McGuinness shook hands at a private meeting and later shook hands in public.

The private meeting, in a room at the theatre, involved a group of seven people, including Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson.

It is understood Martin McGuinness welcomed both the Queen and the Irish president in Irish.

 

The deputy first minister is said to have commented on the Queen’s visit to Dublin last year, and in particular her comments regarding all the victims of the Troubles.

A Sinn Fein spokesman said: “He emphasized the need to acknowledge the pain of all victims of the conflict and their families.”

Sinn Fein said Martin McGuinness told the Queen that their meeting was a “powerful signal that peace-building requires leadership”.

Later, as the Queen left to continue her Diamond Jubilee tour of Northern Ireland, the pair shook hands again, this time in public.

As they shook hands for a second time, Martin McGuinness wished the Queen well in Irish, which translates as: “Goodbye and God bless.”

When asked how it was to meet the Queen, Martin McGuinness replied “very nice.”

The main event had been billed as one to celebrate the role of the arts in contributing to reconciliation and peace-building and not as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

President Michael D. Higgins said he and his wife, Sabina, had been delighted “to have the opportunity for a brief but very warm meeting” with the Queen.

He said it marked “another important step on the journey to reconciliation on this island”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said the Queen’s visit to the Republic of Ireland last year had “taken relations between the two countries to a new level”.

The spokesperson added: “We think it is right that the Queen should meet representatives from all parts of the community.”

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said he very much welcomed the meeting between the Queen and Martin McGuinness.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Gerry Adams said: “It brings our journey of relationship building within this island and between these islands onto a new plane.”

He added: “I think the vast majority of unionists will be pleased this happened because they know it was essentially a real gesture towards their sense of identity and their sense of allegiance.”

“Whatever personal feelings Martin may have, no more than myself, doesn’t come into it. It was a good thing for him to do and I commend him for it,” he added.

Those present at the Lyric event included the pianist Barry Douglas, poet Michael Longley and actors Adrian Dunbar and Conleth Hill.

The Queen and Prince Philip later toured Titanic Belfast, a new visitors’ centre located near where the ship was built. She has also unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit.

She enjoyed a lunch which included traditional Irish soda bread, Comber potatoes, the sweet toffee yellow man, and ice cream.

At the end of the day the Queen and Prince Philip were driven through the grounds of Northern Ireland’s seat of government in an open-topped vehicle.

The royal motorcade was cheered by around 20,000 attending a party to mark the monarch’s 60-year reign.

 [youtube MsiNA9aR4TU]

Google tablet Nexus 7 made by Asus has been unveiled

Nancy Clayson
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Google tablet Nexus 7 made by Asus has been unveiled

Google has unveiled the Nexus 7, its first own-brand Android tablet made by the Taiwanese company Asus.

Google tablet will be sold for $199 from mid-July pitching it directly against Amazon’s Kindle Fire. It is set to be released in mid-July.

The 7-inch device has a smaller screen than Apple’s bestselling iPad and is 340g meaning it is also lighter to hold.

It also features Google’s Chrome browser at its default option – the first Android device to do so.

Google has unveiled the Nexus 7, its first own-brand Android tablet made by Asus
Google has unveiled the Nexus 7, its first own-brand Android tablet made by Asus

The machine features a quad-core CPU (central processing unit) and a 12-core GPU (graphics processing unit).

Having so many cores means the machine can ramp up its processing power when dealing with complicated graphics or running several programs at once, but can use less at other times to extend battery life.

The first countries to get the device are the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

While the tablet had been widely rumored before the firms I/O developers conference in San Francisco, the unveiling of another product – the Nexus Q – proved a surprise.

The device is a small Android-powered computer without its own screen. Rather than be used as a standalone unit it is meant to be plugged into a stereo and television system.

It can stream music and videos from other devices allowing both its owner and others to play media files.

Google described it as the “world’s first ever social streaming device”.

 

Google reveals Jelly Bean Android 4.1

Nancy Clayson
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Google reveals Jelly Bean Android 4.1

Google has revealed Jelly Bean Android 4.1 – the latest version of its Android system software.

Google described the code as the “fastest and smoothest” version of its mobile system to date.

It has also added the ability to type using speech recognition without needing to be connected to the net.

Google revealed that 400 million Android devices have now been activated, four times as many as last year.

It added that the number is growing at a rate of 12 machines every second.

 

Google has revealed Jelly Bean Android 4.1, the latest version of its Android system software
Google has revealed Jelly Bean Android 4.1, the latest version of its Android system software

The update also aims to take advantage of some of the company’s recent search innovations including its Knowledge Graph – an effort to offer useful information rather than links in response to queries.

This has been integrated into its voice search service so a smartphone can respond to demands such as “how tall is the Seattle space needle” or “show me pictures of pygmy marmosets”.

The effort poses competition to Apple’s Siri service.

The firm also unveiled Google Now – which triggers useful information without the user having to ask for it.

Examples given included proposing the best route home based on a device’s knowledge of when a user typically leaves work and the current traffic conditions.

In addition it suggests restaurants and their best dishes when the user walks down the street and offers updates about favorite sports teams based on previous searches.

Google said it aimed to release over-the-air updates to existing devices to let them run the new software from mid-July.

 

Colorado Springs wildfire: more than 32,000 evacuated as Waldo Canyon under threat

Diane A. Wade
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Colorado Springs wildfire: more than 32,000 evacuated as Waldo Canyon under threat

More than 32,000 people in Colorado Springs, US, were forced to flee their homes as a raging wildfire threatening the city doubled in size overnight.

Traffic and smoke choked the streets as people hurried to evacuate the city and the nearby US Air Force Academy.

Over 800 firefighters are battling fire over 15,324 acres (6,201 hectares) and is 5% contained. Evacuation orders are in place in much of the city.

Extreme fire warnings have been issued across several western US states.

At a press briefing on Wednesday morning, officials said crews had been working throughout the night to combat the flames, but it was still too dangerous to fully assess the damage.

More than 32,000 people in Colorado Springs were forced to flee their homes as a raging wildfire threatening the city doubled in size overnight
More than 32,000 people in Colorado Springs were forced to flee their homes as a raging wildfire threatening the city doubled in size overnight

However, they said weather conditions were not favorable.

Dry, hot temperatures are expected to continue across much of the US this week, with little chance of rain forecast to dampen the blazes.

“We do expect all of our lines to be challenged today,” incident commander Richard Harvey said, adding that erratic winds could make it harder for firefighters to make progress.

There have been no reports of injuries or people who are unaccounted for.

But the Memorial Health System said it has treated about 20 patients in the last 24 hours for respiratory-related illnesses, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

The Waldo Canyon Fire began on Saturday but quickly became the top national priority for firefighters as winds of up to 65 mph (104 km/h) sent the flames surging towards Colorado Springs.

“It was like looking at the worst movie set you could imagine,” Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said after surveying the fire from the air on Tuesday.

“It’s almost surreal. You look at that, and it’s like nothing I’ve seen before.”

Heavy ash and smoke was billowing from the hillsides west of Colorado Springs and southbound traffic was temporarily closed on Interstate 25, which runs through the city.

Fleeing residents covered their faces with T-shirts to breathe through the smoke.

Meanwhile, Richard Brown, the Colorado Springs fire chief, described the blaze as a “firestorm of epic proportions”.

The city is Colorado’s second largest, situated just off the main north-south highway.

Elsewhere in Colorado, the High Park fire in the west of the state has been burning for weeks and remains just 45% contained, although fewer homes are under imminent threat.

Fires or fire warnings are also in place in Montana, Utah and Wyoming, just weeks into the annual wildfire season.

 [youtube 2mPS_LH_zvI]

[youtube o23jo1qzflg]

Amber Heard pictured as a teenager at the time Johnny Depp was already a star

Lisa.Felice
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Amber Heard pictured as a teenager at the time Johnny Depp was already a star

Pictures of Amber Heard have emerged showing The Rum Diary star when she was a fresh-faced teenager, right at the time her rumored beau Johnny Depp had established himself as one of Hollywood’s leading men.

And even as a teenager in Austin, Texas, Amber Heard, 26, had the million dollar features that would make her one of Hollywood’s hottest young starlets.

Of course one striking difference is her hair color, which was a mousy blonde rather than the platinum locks she is now famous for.

Amber Heard was also a cheeky girl who loved sticking her tongue out and making faces for her friends.

This is highlighted in some images taken when she went to a friend’s swimming pool party when she was 15, as she loved hamming it up for the cameras.

Opening his heart about his bisexual Playboy Club star daughter, 62-year-old David Heard did not want to speak about Johnny Depp rumors, saying: “I do not have any comment about anything like that.”

However David Heard did say he is pleased at how well she has done for herself, adding: “I’m proud of her. She’s hard-working, steadfast to her job and doesn’t do anything but go to auditions and meetings.

“She hardly does anything else, she wanted this for her career since she was 12-years-old, from the time she was a little girl.”

Amber Heard, when she was a teenager, right at the time Johnny Depp had established himself as a star
Amber Heard, when she was a teenager, right at the time Johnny Depp had established himself as a star

As he revealed Amber was always determined to become a star.

Like Johnny Depp, she was a high-school dropout that left $12,000-a-year private Catholic school St Michaelís Academy at the age of 16 to pursue a career in front of the camera.

David Heard said: “She did modeling first and went to New York. She came home because I begged her.

“But I couldn’t stop her when she was 18. I begged her not to go but she knew what she was doing, and she was right. She’s a very talented actress.”

David Heard lives with his wife Paige in the outskirts of Austin in the same modest detached home to which they moved when was Amber was around nine.

He still runs his own building contracting business but hopes to soon retire.

And while he said he is proud of his daughter’s Texan roots, she rarely returns now.

David Heard said: “She was born in Austin and raised in Austin. Now she only comes back when she has to.

“She was raised here but she loves travelling the country and the world. She was in China last week.”

David Heard does get to go to LA and visit his daughter “a couple of times a year, to events like the SAG Awards and premieres, I’m usually her date”.

But now it seems he may now have superstar competition to fight off for his daughter’s hand now.

Meanwhile one of her childhood friends said that while Amber Heard was always ambitious, she was a shy girl who ended up being given a less than flattering nickname due to her looks.

Her classmate Meghan Brindley said: “She had a nickname because she was pretty. Some people used to call her <<Amber seen and not Heard>>.

“She also once mixed up the term feminism in theology and so people made fun of her for that, she said something like <<I’m against women’s suffrage>>, it was like uh-oh.

“So just silly little things like that. You know we’ve all made innocent mistakes like that.

“She was very quiet, she always seemed almost like her mind was just off somewhere else and she always said <<I’m going to go and be an actress and that is what I want to do>>.”

 

Sharon Stone almost unrecognizable as she steps out make-up free

Lisa.Felice
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0
Sharon Stone almost unrecognizable as she steps out make-up free

Sharon Stone was looking distinctly tired and washed out as she went out for lunch in Los Angeles yesterday.

Sharon Stone wore no make-up and her blonde hair loose around her shoulders as she dined outside with two female friends.

Dressed in a simple black T-shirt, she held her head in one hand and looked weary while sipping from a glass of iced water and eating a salad.

Sharon Stone was yesterday without her hunky model toyboy Martin Mica – 27 years her junior.

The actress and the 27-year-old Argentine model have been spotted in various public displays of affection since May this year.

Sharon Stone was looking distinctly tired and washed out as she went out for lunch in Los Angeles yesterday
Sharon Stone was looking distinctly tired and washed out as she went out for lunch in Los Angeles yesterday

Sharon Stone has a buy year ahead, with three movies slated to be released in 2012.

She plays Aphrodite in Gods Behaving Badly – a film adapted from the novel, which tells the story of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus living in a rundown flat as their powers wane.

The actress appears alongside Christopher Walken, Alicia Silverstone and Edie Falco in the film, to be released later this year.

Sharon Stone also stars in drama The Mule alongside Billy Zane and the Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace alongside Amanda Seyfried as the late adult film actress and James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

Peter Sarsgaard, Sarah Jessica Parker and Chloe Sevigny.

Sharon Stone will play Linda Lovelace’s mother Dorothy Boreman in the movie.

It has also been announced that Sharon Stone will star in Attachment, with Harry Potter’s Tom Felton rumored to be joining the cast too.

 

Manicured turtles in science swim in Florida

James J. Williams
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Manicured turtles in science swim in Florida

A Florida research team tracking the dispersal of hatchling loggerhead turtles has resorted to the nail salon to help fit tiny tags to the endangered creatures.

The team tried several ideas to attach the technology to the animals, which measure less than 20 cm in length.

This included making little harnesses, and using tough epoxy adhesives.

But it was only when the turtle shells were prepared like a manicurist primes fingernails that the satellite tags would stay on for a useful period.

“My collaborator typically has very fancy toenails that are nicely manicured with painted waves and other designs on them,” recalls Kate Mansfield, a US National Marine Fisheries Service scientist in Miami.

“We gave her manicurist a call and her manicurist recommended we use an acrylic base coat. We went out to our local pharmacy and picked some up and tried it on the turtles. We prepped the shell, sanded it down a little bit, buffed it nicely – kind of a turtle spa.

“The acrylic base coat extended our attachments by upwards of two to three months.”

A Florida research team tracking the dispersal of hatchling loggerhead turtles has resorted to the nail salon to help fit tiny tags to the endangered creatures
A Florida research team tracking the dispersal of hatchling loggerhead turtles has resorted to the nail salon to help fit tiny tags to the endangered creatures

The nail trick is a breakthrough in the study of Atlantic loggerheads (Caretta caretta) because scientists have been struggling to find an effective way to study these animals’ early years.

Something like 80% of female loggerheads will nest in Florida. When their hatchlings emerge 40-70 days later, they make a mad dash for the water and swim out into the open ocean.

Researchers have some information on the movements of these neonates from strandings and bycatch, but those first few years in the Atlantic are largely “lost years” to science. It may be up to a decade before these wanderers return to near-shore habitats.

Fitting satellite trackers is the obvious answer, and the latest generation of tags is now small enough not to impede the junior turtles’ natural behavior.

But the compact solar-powered units, originally developed to study the migration of birds, are expensive and must stay in place long enough to return useful data and justify the investment.

This is complicated by the speed at which the turtles grow. Their weight can increase five-fold in their first three months at sea.

Kate Mansfield and colleagues approached the problem in a number of ways, even making little costumes out of Lycra and neoprene wet suit material to carry the tags.

These were cut to a range of styles. One was referred to as “The Borat” because of its likeness to the “mankini” outfit worn by actor Sacha Baron Cohen in the comedy movie of that name.

The aim was to incorporate a mechanism, such as Velcro, that would allow the tag to drop off after a productive dataset had been acquired.

“We were trying to go in for that Janet Jackson wardrobe-failure moment where the turtles would pop out of their harnesses, but unfortunately we couldn’t quite come up with the right mechanism for the harnesses to be shed over time as the turtles grew,” said Dr. Kate Mansfield.

Direct attachment ideas included using hard epoxy glues.

These were found to be short-lived. The top layer of the keratin shell would peel away as the turtle grew. The epoxy glues also had a tendency to deform the shell.

The team eventually settled on a preparation that involved the base-coat of the manicurist’s acrylic and a mount for the tags of neoprene strips held in place by a silicone-based adhesive.

Laboratory trials showed this combination would keep the tracker locked down for a minimum of 50-plus days. In contrast, hard epoxy preparations would come off after only a couple of weeks.

Dr. Kate Mansfield and colleagues are now compiling a report on what they have learnt about neonate dispersal in the open ocean from their manicured turtles.

The trackers have been returning information such as location and water temperature. This is helping the team understand how the turtles are behaving in their environment, where they are travelling, and the types of physical features in the ocean they are encountering.

“It’s very important for the management of the species to know where they are, what they’re doing and how they’re interacting with their habitat,” Dr. Kate Mansfield said.

“In particular, for the smallest age classes of turtles, there’s very little information. The Atlantic loggerhead doesn’t reach maturity for decades, so those turtles have to survive for at least 25 or so years before they can reproduce and put back into the population.

“We need to know what’s going on during that time frame to address how best to protect them.”

A scholarly paper describing the tag attachment methods has just been published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.

 

Farmville 2 unveiled at Zynga’s Unleashed press event in San Francisco

Nancy Clayson
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Farmville 2 unveiled at Zynga’s Unleashed press event in San Francisco

Zynga has unveiled Farmville 2, a sequel to its most successful video game to date.

Farmville 2 builds on the original real-time farming simulation adding “3D graphics” which allow players to view the world from different angles.

Users cannot carry over items from the original game, adding an incentive to buy virtual goods to speed up progress.

Investors will hope it proves popular. The firm’s stock has traded below its flotation price since April because of fears of waning interest in its titles.

Some analysts have pointed to Facebook users shifting to mobile devices. Although Zynga offers “express” versions of some of its games via the mobile Facebook app, these have not proved popular.

Zynga has unveiled Farmville 2, a sequel to its most successful video game to date
Zynga has unveiled Farmville 2, a sequel to its most successful video game to date

It has acted to counter this trend by offering a selection of titles as separate app downloads, although it has not announced plans to do this with Farmville 2.

The new game was announced at Zynga’s Unleashed press event at its San Francisco headquarters, where it was also developed.

“One of the things that people will notice right away is that it’s our first 3D game,” said the firm’s chief technology officer Cadir Lee.

“All the buildings, crops and animals are shown in 3D. You can see them from multiple directions, they can rotate, you can see them more richly – so it provides a certain pop in the game itself.

“The game also has more social elements and a lot more crafting: the crops that you harvest are what you use in the game to make things which you then use to make other things, like on a natural farm.”

According to independent traffic tracking service Appdata the original Farmville peaked with about 82 million users playing it at least once a month in March 2010.

More than two years later Zynga revealed the title was still its biggest earner, accounting for 29% of its revenue over the first three months of 2012.

The latest Appdata data suggests 21.7 million users still log on at least once a month to tend to their crops, trees and animals.

Other titles unveiled at the event included The Ville, another revamp of an earlier game. Based on Yoville, players are tasked with building a house and developing relationships with other players.

It also showed off Zynga Elite Slots, an “adventure” title featuring different fruit machines, and Chefville, a restaurant simulation in which players can entertain their friends.

Third-party developers were wooed with the announcement of API (application programming interface) tools to make it easier for them to create games based on Zynga’s software.

Resulting titles are then to be offered on the firm’s own website.

Participants must also offer their creations via Facebook – something that may prevent the move from causing tension with the social network.

Zynga said Atari had confirmed it would now join its network with an as yet undisclosed game.

 

Syria: gunmen attack pro-government Ikhbariya TV killing three people

Roy Siemens
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Syria: gunmen attack pro-government Ikhbariya TV killing three people

Gunmen have attacked Ikhbariya TV, a Syrian pro-government TV channel, killing three people, state media say.

The attack on Ikhbariya TV south of Damascus blew up the newsroom, Sana news agency reported.

Hours earlier, President Bashar al-Assad said Syria was in “a real state of war” and US intelligence officials predicted a long, drawn-out struggle.

UN human rights investigators, in their latest report, say the conflict is descending into civil war.

Syrian TV dropped normal programming on Wednesday to run live coverage of the attack on the headquarters of Ikhbariya TV in the town of Drusha, some 20 km (14 miles) south of the capital.

State TV showed pictures of burnt and wrecked buildings, with fires still smouldering.

Syria’s information minister, on a visit to the site, said the three victims had been abducted, bound, and killed in cold blood.

Gunmen have attacked Ikhbariya TV, a Syrian pro-government TV channel, killing three people
Gunmen have attacked Ikhbariya TV, a Syrian pro-government TV channel, killing three people

On Monday, the station was targeted by EU sanctions.

The attack comes after fierce clashes in suburbs of the capital Damascus described by opposition activists as the worst there so far. Dozens of people were killed.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting took place near positions of the Republican Guard which is led by President Bashar al- Assad’s younger brother Maher and has the role of protecting the capital.

In a separate development, Syrian sources said that a senior air force officer, Maj-Gen Faraj Shehadeh, was abducted by armed men from his home in Damascus.

The latest violence gives added point to Bashar al- Assad’s description of Syria as in “a state or war” just a few hours before.

Addressing his new cabinet, the president criticized countries that have been calling for him to stand down, saying that the West “takes and never gives and this has been proven at every stage”.

Senior US intelligence officials have described the conflict between the rebels and the government as a “seesaw battle”, suggesting that it likely to be a long drawn-out, struggle.

“The regime inner circle and those at the next level still seem to be holding fairly firm in support of the regime and Assad,” one official was quoted by Reuters as saying during a briefing to reporters.

Recent defections were described as low or mid-level.

Earlier this week, a general and two colonels were said to have fled to Turkey with 30 other Syrian soldiers.

Human rights investigators have released their latest report on Syria, including their findings on the Houla massacre.

A commission of inquiry, which has been investigating human rights violations for the UN Human Rights Council, says that what began as government suppression of peaceful demonstrators has turned, in many areas, into civil war.

The Geneva-based UN council called on the commission earlier this month to find out who carried out last month’s killings in Houla in which 108 people died.

In April, following months of bloodshed, the Syrian government agreed to a six-point peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. UN monitors were deployed to Syria to oversee a ceasefire but the truce never took hold.

On Tuesday Russia said its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, would attend an international conference on Syria which Kofi Annan hopes to hold in Geneva on 30 June to revive his peace plan.

However, Moscow is insisting that Iran also be allowed to attend, a move strongly opposed by the US and its allies.

The UN says at least 10,000 people have died in the uprising that began in March 2011. The Syrian government says 6,143 Syrian citizens have been killed by “terrorist groups” since.

The main rebel fighting group, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), has become increasingly better organized – and armed – and is in effective control of swathes of Idlib province and parts of Aleppo province in the north.

 

Bishop Fernando Bargallo quits over bikini photos scandal

Diane A. Wade
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Bishop Fernando Bargallo quits over bikini photos scandal

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Argentine Bishop Fernando Bargallo after the publication of pictures showing him embracing a woman on a Mexican beach.

Bishop Fernando Bargallo, 57, was photographed in the sea, hugging a woman in a bikini.

The bishop initially said she was a childhood friend, but later admitted to having had “amorous ties” with her.

Bishop Fernando Bargallo was in charge of the diocese of Merlo-Moreno, in the province of Buenos Aires.

The scandal broke last week, when an Argentine television station broadcast pictures of Monsignor Fernando Bargallo on holiday at a beach resort in Mexico in the company of a woman.

Bishop Fernando Bargallo initially said the woman was a childhood friend, but later admitted to having had "amorous ties" with her
Bishop Fernando Bargallo initially said the woman was a childhood friend, but later admitted to having had "amorous ties" with her

In one of the pictures, he is seen half-submerged in the water, embracing a woman in a bikini.

Shortly after the pictures were published, Monsignor Fernando Bargallo gave a public statement saying that the woman was a childhood friend, whom he had known all of his life.

He said the situation in which he had been photographed was “imprudent, as it could lead people to jump to the wrong conclusion”.

Fernando Bargallo asked his flock to forgive him for “the ambiguity of the pictures” and urged them to view the photos “in the context of a long friendship”.

But later that same week, Monsignor Fernando Bargallo convened the priests of his diocese and told them he had had “amorous ties” with the woman and would resign.

The Vatican said he would be replaced by Monsignor Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto.

 

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales banned in US

Nancy Clayson
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0
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales banned in US

A US court has banned sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country while it decides on the firm’s patent dispute with Apple.

Apple has claimed that Samsung infringed its design patent and copied the look of its popular device, the iPad.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is considered by most analysts as the biggest rival to Apple’s iPad.

The trial for the case is scheduled to begin in California on 30 July.

A US court has banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country while it decides on the firm's patent dispute with Apple
A US court has banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country while it decides on the firm's patent dispute with Apple

“Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products,” said US District Judge Lucy Koh.

Samsung said in a statement that it “will take necessary legal steps” and that the ruling was unlikely to have a significant impact on its business.

Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest manufacturers of tablet PCs and smartphones.

The two rivals are involved in a variety of legal cases in various countries across the globe amid claims and counter claims of patent infringement.

While Apple had accused Samsung of copying its design and look, the South Korean firm has alleged that Apple infringed its patents relating to the way phones and tablet PCs connect to the internet.

However, this is the first time that either of the firms has been able to win an injunction banning sales of the rival’s product.

Analysts said the order passed by the judge was a significant development in the continuing legal battle between the two companies.

“The relief being given to Apple here is extraordinary,” said Colleen Chien, a professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley.

“Preliminary injunctions are rarely asked for and rarely granted.”

 

Nora Ephron, Hollywood screenwriter and author, dies from leukemia at 71

Sonia Pantiss
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Nora Ephron, Hollywood screenwriter and author, dies from leukemia at 71

Nora Ephron, author and screenwriter of iconic movies When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, has died at the age of 71.

Nora Ephron had fought a six-year battle with leukemia and finally succumbed to the disease.

Her son Jacob Bernstein confirmed her death in Manhattan yesterday.

Nora Ephron earned three Oscar nominations for her screenwriting and her work was among the most quotable and influential of her generation.

Her book publisher Alfred A. Knopf also confirmed her death in a statement as fellow writers and the acting community reacted with shock.

Nora Ephron was born on May 19, 1941 in New York City. At the age of four, she moved to Beverly Hills with her screenwriting parents Henry and Phoebe and three younger sisters.

Determined by high school to be a journalist, Nora Ephron graduated from the single sex Wellesley College in 1962, moved to New York and started out as a fact checker at Newsweek.

She moved to the New York Post and remained there five years.

Nora Ephron, author and screenwriter of iconic movies When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, has died at the age of 71
Nora Ephron, author and screenwriter of iconic movies When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, has died at the age of 71

Nora Ephron soon began writing for Esquire and The New York Times and developed a national following with her articles.

She covered political conventions, the feminist movement and Wellesley, which she labeled a factory for “docile” women.

Nora Ephron married in 1976 to Carl Bernstein, who teamed with reporter Bob Woodward on prize-winning coverage of the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.

The couple had two children. Nora Ephron was pregnant with her second child when she learned Carl Bernstein was having an affair with a mutual friend Margaret Jay, who was married to the British ambassador to the U.S.

The marriage crumbled but it inspired Nora Ephron’s book Heartburn which was so close to her life that Carl Bernstein threatened to sue.

It was later adapted for screen and starred Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep teamed up with Nora Ephron again in 2009 to star in Julia & Julia.

Nora Ephron’s talent for bringing to life flawed but deeply likeable and funny women made her beloved by movie audiences – and industry gold.

One of her greatest successes was When Harry Met Sally, the 1989 romantic comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, about two friends who fall in love despite their own misgivings that the “sex part always gets in the way”.

The film struck a chord with audiences for its quirky dialogue, sharp wit and more rounded portrayal of female leads.

As a rare woman to write, direct and produce Hollywood movies, Meg Ryan was among the many actresses who said they loved working with Nora Ephron because she understood them so much better than male peers.

Following When Harry Met Sally, Nora ephron wrote and directed the equally successful Sleepless in Seattle, pairing Meg Ryan with Tom Hanks followed by You’ve Got Mail, also starring Ryan and Hanks.

When Harry Met Sally earned an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay in 1990 and then four years later, Nora Ephron was nominated again for Sleepless in Seattle.

Nora Ephron was married three times: to Dan Greenberg, Carl Bernstein and, quite happily, to Nicholas Pileggi whose books inspired Martin Scorcese’s films Goodfellas and Casino.

Nora Ephron is survived by her husband, two sons Max and Jacob, along with sisters Delia, Amy and Hallie Ephron, all of whom are writers.

 

Richard Russo boycotts e-books and refuses to alow “Interventions” to be available online

Sonia Pantiss
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1
Richard Russo boycotts e-books and refuses to alow “Interventions” to be available online

Novelist Richard Russo refuses to allow his new novel to be sold as an e-book.

Richard Russo, 62, said Interventions, a collection of four volumes, is a “tribute to the printed book” and would not be made available online.

The author, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 with Empire Falls, said he wanted to encourage people to buy from local bookstores.

“Readers can’t survive on e-books alone,” he told the Associated Press.

“The rapid rise of e-books and online sales of printed books pose threats to bookstores, the book publishing industry and the rise of new authors,” he continued.

Interventions is a collaboration between Richard Russo, his artist daughter Kate Russo who provided its illustrations, and her husband Tom Butler who designed the collection.

Each features three short stories and a novella packaged in a slip case, with a postcard-sized print of one of Kate Russo’s paintings.

Novelist Richard Russo refuses to allow his new novel to be sold as an e-book
Novelist Richard Russo refuses to allow his new novel to be sold as an e-book

Richard Russo has enlisted Down East Books – a company located near his home in Camden, Maine – to publish Interventions, saying he wanted to promote “the idea of buying locally”.

“This particular book is part of that groundswell of people who are beginning to understand that buying all of your books through online booksellers is like buying everything from online sellers,” he explained.

Richard Russo, whose other novels include Bridge of Sighs and That Old Cape Magic, has spoken out against e-books and retail giant Amazon in the past.

In December last year he wrote a piece in the New York Times criticizing Amazon’s price-check app, which allows shoppers to scan a bar code in store and see how much they could save buying online.

Richard Russo said he was “fine with online booksellers” in general but added: “I just don’t want them to control the world.”

Earlier this year erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James topped the New York Times’ prestigious bestseller list on downloads alone.

E.L. James’s book has now sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and was followed by two best-selling sequels.

Despite being an early fan of online publishing, Stephen King’s next horror story Joyland, out in June 2013, will only be released in book form.

Stephen King said he decided against an e-book because he “loved the paperbacks [he] grew up with as a kid”.

Richard Mollet, chief executive of the Publishers Association, said he was not sure Richard Russo’s decision was part of a larger trend.

“Most authors want to reach as many people as possible. Increasingly that does mean the electronic version,” he said.

“We had 366% growth in consumer e-books in 2011,” he added.

“The demand is rising.

“For the majority of authors they want to access that market. But if there are authors that don’t, then that’s fine too.”

 

 

Jessica Simpson tweets picture of her baby daughter Maxwell

Lisa.Felice
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Jessica Simpson tweets picture of her baby daughter Maxwell

Jessica Simpson shared an adorable photo of her daughter Maxwell with her Twitter fans yesterday.

Jessica Simpson, 31, posted a snap of her daughter along with the caption: “Howdy friends!”

Maxwell, who seems to have inherited her mother’s pout, is dressed in a sweet striped jumpsuit and appears to be resting in the star’s arms.

Jessica Simpson gave birth to her first child with fiancé, former NFL star Eric Johnson, on May 1.

Jessica Simpson shared an adorable photo of her daughter Maxwell with her Twitter fans yesterday
Jessica Simpson shared an adorable photo of her daughter Maxwell with her Twitter fans yesterday

As well as looking after her new arrival, Jessica Simpson is also focusing on another time-consuming task – losing her baby weight.

Jessica Simpson, who posted a picture of her post-baby curves last week, hopes shrink to 130 lbs before the end of the year.

The proud mother is adamant she will shed 50 pounds in five months.

Jessica Simpson has signed a $4 million with Weight Watchers to reach her target of 130 lbs.

And she’s enlisted celebrity fitness trainer Harley Pasternak’s and was spotted at his gym in West Hollywood last week.

In addition to her exercise regime, Jessica Simpson is following a strict diet.

Jessica Simpson recently told People magazine that she is eating protein-packed meals and drinking home-mixed juices to help shed pounds.

But in another interview with In Touch magazine, friends say that the star, who is also trying to care for her newborn little girl, is feeling “stressed and overwhelmed”.

Sources told the publication that Jessica Simpson, who weighed a reported 210 lbs at the height of her pregnancy, is also physically exhausted.

 

Angelina Jolie makes her own stunts for Maleficent

Lisa.Felice
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Angelina Jolie makes her own stunts for Maleficent

Angelina Jolie always revealed her passion for doing her own stunts when she starred as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.

It seems that Angelina Jolie certainly hasn’t lost her love of adrenaline-seeking, judging by pictures of the star on the set of new Disney movie Maleficent today.

Angelina Jolie, 37, was seen wired up to a crane as she took to the skies to shoot some high-octane scenes for the movie.

Wearing her horned headdress, complete with prosthetic cheekbones and a long brown dress and matching cape, Angelina Jolie looked calm and confident as she was lifted up into the air by the crane, which was attached to her around the waist.

Angelina Jolie, who is shooting the new movie in Buckinghamshire, stars as the title character – the evil Maleficent – in the film, a real-life version of the Disney cartoon Sleeping Beauty.

Angelina Jolie was seen wired up to a crane as she took to the skies to shoot some high-octane scenes for Maleficent
Angelina Jolie was seen wired up to a crane as she took to the skies to shoot some high-octane scenes for Maleficent

It seems Angelina Jolie has no qualms about shooting the stunts herself – even getting excited about the prospect.

Tomb Raider stunt coordinator Simon Crane said in a previous interview that Angelina Jolie was one of the most competent actresses he has ever worked with in terms of the stunts she performs.

Simon Crane said: “I would rate Angelina very highly against all of the action actors I have worked with. We’ve done a couple of sequences that involve stunts you won’t have seen a woman do before, and basically she is doing almost all of these stunts herself.

“We did a bungee-jumping sequence, and she went through three months’ training to be able to do it. She’s just done all these somersaults for another sequence. I was very impressed.”

The focus of the film centres on the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart, leading her to curse the baby Aurora who will be played by Elle Fanning.

Speaking about her new film Angelina Jolie told EW: “It’s not anti-princess, but it’s the first time they’re looking at this epic woman.

“I hope in the end you see a woman who is capable of being many things, and just because she protects herself and is aggressive, it doesn’t mean she can’t have other [warmer] qualities.

“It sounds really crazy to say that there will be something that’s good for young girls in this, because it sounds like you’re saying they should be a villain. [Maleficent] is actually a great person. But she’s not perfect. She’s far from perfect.

“In general, it’s a very good message to say, <<Let’s look at something from the other side>>. But then also, what our challenge will be – and the script writer [The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland’s Linda Woolverton] has already cracked it – is not to simplify it, not to just reverse the story but tell a bigger story that doesn’t point the finger [at Princess Aurora] either.”

Maleficent is directed by Robert Stromberg and is set for release on March 14, 2014.

 

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