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Haruhiko Kuroda nominated as next governor of Bank of Japan

Clyde K. Valle
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Haruhiko Kuroda nominated as next governor of Bank of Japan

Haruhiko Kuroda has been nominated by Japan’s government to be the next governor of the country’s central bank.

Haruhiko Kuroda is currently the head of the Asian Development Bank and is seen as a supporter of aggressive monetary easing to help revive Japan’s economy.

The government, which recently won a general election, wants the Bank of Japan to do more to boost growth.

Both the upper and lower houses of Japan’s parliament will now need to vote and approve the nomination.

Kikuo Iwata and Bank of Japan official Hiroshi Nakaso were also nominated to serve as the central bank’s deputy governors.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won the general election on a platform of promises to help revive Japan’s economy, which has seen years of stagnating growth.

A more aggressive monetary policy stance by the central bank has been something that Shinzo Abe has been advocating for, citing it as key to spurring a fresh wave of economic growth.

During his election campaign Shinzo Abe had even hinted that the government may look at altering the law that ensures the central bank’s independence if it does not take adequate steps.

Although Shinzo Abe toned down his rhetoric later on, it did indicate how crucial the appointment of a new governor would be, not just to the relations between the government and the central bank, but also the BOJ’s independence going forward.

Analysts said that if Haruhiko Kuroda’s nomination is approved by the parliament, it would be a win-win situation.

“This clearly indicates that the government and the central bank will be working towards the same target and there will be an agreement on what direction the Japanese economy should take from here,” said Junko Nishioka of RBS Securities.

Junko Nishioka added that with Haruhiko Kuroda being a supporter of aggressive policies, it was unlikely that the government take the extreme step of altering the BOJ law.

“It does necessarily mean that the BOJ is not going to give up its independence,” she added.

Haruhiko Kuroda has been nominated by Japan's government to be the next governor of the country's central bank
Haruhiko Kuroda has been nominated by Japan’s government to be the next governor of the country’s central bank

Among the policies suggested by Shinzo Abe has been a call for stoking inflation as a means to boosting domestic demand.

Japan, unlike many other Asian nations, has been fighting deflation or falling consumer prices for best part of the past decade.

It has been a big hurdle in its attempts to boost domestic consumption as consumers tend to put off purchases in the hope of getting a cheaper and better deal later on.

Shinzo Abe has hinted that the central bank should print “unlimited yen” to help fight deflation and encourage price growth.

The idea being that with more money floating around, consumers will have more cash to spend and that will help drive up demand and consumer prices.

Under pressure from the government, the central bank doubled its inflation target to 2% last month, a move seen as key by many analysts to help revive domestic demand.

Haruhiko Kuroda, who is seen as a advocate of inflation target, has suggested that the central bank should try and achieve a 2% inflation rate within two years.

“Under Kuroda-san the BOJ will take a proactive approach towards achieving the inflation target,” said Junko Nishioka.

The government’s aggressive stance has resulted in a sharp decline in the yen.

The Japanese currency has dipped nearly 15% against the US dollar since November last year.

The yen fell further on Thursday, down by nearly 1% against the US dollar, after the government announced Haruhiko Kuroda as its nominee to head the central bank.

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EU officials agree on capping bankers bonuses

Clyde K. Valle
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EU officials agree on capping bankers bonuses

European Union officials have struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including capping bank bonuses.

Under the agreement, bank bonuses will be capped at a year’s salary, but can rise to two year’s pay if there is explicit approval from shareholders.

The deal was reached late on Wednesday. EU ministers must approve it, although this is considered a formality.

The UK, which hosts Europe’s biggest financial services centre, was opposed to any of caps on bank bonuses.

London argues the rules would drive away talent and restrict growth in the financial sector.

Top bankers and financial traders can earn bonuses multiple times their base salaries. But there has been public outrage over bonuses following the huge bail-outs of banks.

The agreement was reached during eight hours of intense talks in Brussels between members of the European parliament, the European Commission and representatives of the bloc’s 27 governments.

Othmar Karas, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator, said: “For the first time in the history of EU financial market regulation, we will cap bankers’ bonuses.

“The essence is that from 2014, European banks will have to set aside more money to be more stable and concentrate on their core business, namely financing the real economy, that of small and medium-sized enterprises and jobs.”

European Union officials have struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including capping bank bonuses
European Union officials have struck a provisional deal on new financial rules, including capping bank bonuses

The deal paves the way for Basel III, an overhaul of banking rules.

The G20 group of rich nations had originally planned to bring in Basel III last month, but that has been delayed to January 2014.

Basel III focuses on a ratio of high-quality capital – called tier 1 – which is needed to cushion it against any future shocks. It will rise to 9% after the rules come into effect.

Once the proposals are formally agreed it will start the biggest shake-up of the banking system since the global financial crisis.

The lack of solid financial cushions meant that many banks were vulnerable, and eventually required taxpayer-funded bailouts to avoid bankruptcy.

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Ucheck: smartphone app testing urine for medical issues unveiled at TED 2013

Nancy Clayson
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Ucheck: smartphone app testing urine for medical issues unveiled at TED 2013

Ucheck, a smartphone app that uses a phone’s camera to analyze urine and check for a range of medical conditions, has been unveiled at the TED (Technology, Education and Design) conference in Los Angeles.

Uchek tests for 25 different health issues and could help diagnose and treat diseases in the developing world.

Increasingly mobile health is being talked up as a lifesaver in such areas.

Ucheck app is the brainchild of TED fellow Myshkin Ingawale.

“I wanted to get medical health checks into users’ hands,” he said.

Urine can be tested for the presence of 10 elements – including glucose, proteins and nitrites.

These can be used to pinpoint a range of conditions including diabetes, urinary tract infects, cancers, liver problems as well as being used to keep track of general health.

Users need to collect their urine and dip a standard test strip into it.

The strip is placed on a mat – supplied with the app and intended to normalize the colors on the stick regardless of lighting conditions where the photo is taken.

Once the photo is taken the app will analyze which, if any, condition, the color applies to.

Ucheck will be available from Apple’s app store from the end of March for $20, which includes the cost of the mat and five dipsticks.

Ucheck is a smartphone app that uses a phone's camera to analyze urine and check for a range of medical conditions
Ucheck is a smartphone app that uses a phone’s camera to analyze urine and check for a range of medical conditions

As well as being used by individuals, Ucheck will be put through its paces in the King Edward Memorial hospital in Mumbai, India.

There, its accuracy will be tested against the laboratory machines more normally used to test urine.

“If it does well we can make it available to mobile clinics. Instead of buying a $10,000 machine they can use their existing smartphones,” he said.

Currently Uchek is only available for iPhones but versions for Android will be coming soon, Myshkin Ingawale announced.

While such smartphones may be beyond the budget of many in the developing world, he is hopeful that will not remain the case for ever.

“I’m calling you from a $100 Android phone which I bought from a street market in India. In future smartphones will be even cheaper and all phones will be smart,” he said.

According to the GSMA, the organization which represents the mobile industry, mobile health service could help save one million lives in Africa over the next five years.

“Mobile health has immense potential to improve people’s lives since it increases patient access to quality healthcare whilst reducing costs,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA.

“These positive impacts will only grow as the mobile and health industries collaborate on new connected innovations,” he added.

Health apps that allow users to test their heartbeat, monitor sleep patterns and keep a check on a variety of conditions are growing in popularity.

“There is huge potential to get the world of bio-chemistry out to users via apps,” said Myshkin Ingawale.

Last year at TED, Myshkin Ingawale showed off a blood test that could be taken without drawing blood.

The test was designed to prevent women dying from anaemia and was designed to be easy for healthcare workers – often untrained – to use in the field.

Myshkin Ingawale is a campaigner for more grassroots medicine, allowing users to play more of a role in their own healthcare.

“There needs to be a rethink in the way healthcare is delivered to people,” he said.

“It needs to be far more decentralized. It can become a consumerist movement in the same way that Wikipedia has been for information.”

Giuliana Rancic reveals she puts her marriage first and her child second

Lisa.Felice
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Giuliana Rancic reveals she puts her marriage first and her child second

Giuliana Rancic has revealed the secret to her happy and healthy marriage.

Giuliana Rancic, 37, claims that she and husband Bill put their relationship above their son Duke, who is almost five months old.

“We’re husband and wife, but we’re also best friends, and it’s funny because a lot of people, when they have kids, they put the baby first, and the marriage second,” she told Us Weekly.

“That works for some people. For us, I find, we put our marriage first and our child second, because the best thing we can do for him is have a strong marriage.”

Giuliana Rancic added: “So we’re even stronger than we ever were before and even imagined we could be.”

Giuliana Rancic claims that she and husband Bill put their relationship above their son Duke, who is almost five months old
Giuliana Rancic claims that she and husband Bill put their relationship above their son Duke, who is almost five months old

She also revealed how she and Bill Rancic happily divide parenting duties, and how her doting husband ensured she was well-rested before covering the Oscars red carpet.

“Oscar morning, Duke wakes up, like, twice during the night because he’s so hungry and wants to eat every four hours,” Giuliana Rancic divulged.

“So Bill, like, no question was like <<I got it. Tonight you get a good night’s sleep>>.

“And when Bill has shoots the next day or meetings the next day, I do it.

“It’s kind of amazing. I always say to Bill, <<You were my first baby>>, because he was! He was my first love and my first baby and Duke is my second baby.”

Duke was born via gestational surrogate in August, and Giuliana and Bill Rancic hope to have another child.

Beppe Grillo rules out coalition with Pier Luigi Bersani

Diane A. Wade
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Beppe Grillo rules out coalition with Pier Luigi Bersani

Italian comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose Five-Star Movement (M5S) defied expectations to come third in last weekend’s elections, has ruled out a coalition with Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left bloc.

Pier Luigi Bersani’s Democratic Party (PD) won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies but fell short in the Senate.

Beppe Grillo said he expected Pier Luigi Bersani to agree a deal with Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL).

The inconclusive polls have pushed up borrowing costs for the government.

On Wednesday, the Italian treasury sold 4 billion euros of new 10-year government bonds on the financial markets at a yield of 4.83%, up from 4.17% at its last sale in January, and 2.5 billion euros of new five-year bonds at a yield of 3.59%, up from 2.94%.

The latest rates are seen as bearable, but that the rises signal that investors want to see a strong Italian government, committed to economic reforms.

It is certainly possible that borrowing costs will rise further if the political uncertainty drags on for a long period.

Beppe Grillo said he would not support any new government and he expected fresh elections to be held within a year.

“Today in Italy, what will happen is what happened before. The right and the left will get together and will govern a country of rubble that they are responsible for,” he said.

“It will last a year. One. Maximum. Then there will be elections again. And once again, in the elections, the Five-Star movement will change the world,” he added.

Beppe Grillo, whose M5S defied expectations to come third in last weekend's elections, has ruled out a coalition with Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left bloc
Beppe Grillo, whose M5S defied expectations to come third in last weekend’s elections, has ruled out a coalition with Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left bloc

Beppe Grillo, 64, said the M5S would decide whether to support specific legislation on a case-by-case basis.

Any attempts to persuade the movement to take part in a government were fake, he asserted.

Beppe Grillo also rejected the suggestion that he was inciting popular anger, saying he should be thanked for giving angry people hope.

“There was no hope. It was an anger without hope. It is anger without hope that creates violence,” he explained.

“But anger with hope is a different kind of anger, an optimistic anger, it is not negative. We are containing this rage, so they should thank me. It is a democratic rage that is needed to go forward.”

On his blog, Beppe Grillo also published a mocked-up film poster depicting Pier Luigi Bersani as a Dead Man Talking, based on the 1950 Italian comedy, 47 Morto Che Parla.

“Bersani is a political stalker,” Beppe Grillo wrote.

“It’s been days that he has been bothering the M5S with indecent proposals rather than resigning [the leadership of the PD], as anyone else would have done in his place.”

The Democratic Party and its centre-left allies won a narrow victory in the Chamber of Deputies, but the Senate appears split with no party in control.

Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition is the second biggest bloc in the upper house. The seats under Beppe Grillo’s control in both houses could therefore prove crucial in making any coalition government viable.

On Tuesday, Pier Luigi Bersani outlined a series of policies for a PD-led government which appeared to mostly be in line with M5S’s manifesto.

He said any groups backing the government would have to vote for it in the confidence motion required when a new administration takes office, and urged Beppe Grillo to “assume his responsibilities”.

Meanwhile, a German opposition leader has made waves by describing Beppe Grillo and Silvio Berlusconi as “clowns”.

The Social Democratic Party’s candidate for chancellor, Peer Steinbrueck, told a rally in Potsdam that he was “shocked to a certain degree that two clowns have won” the Italian elections and made it clear he was referring to the two party leaders, calling the former prime minister “definitely a clown with a special testosterone boost”. Silvio Berlusconi has been embroiled in a series of sex scandals.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano cancelled a dinner with Peer Steinbrueck after learning of his remarks, a spokesman for the SPD candidate said.

Giorgio Napolitano is still due to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday.

Both Beppe Grillo and Silvio Berlusconi campaigned against the austerity measures imposed by Italy’s technocratic Prime Minister, Mario Monti, which were supported by Angela Merkel.

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Pianist Van Cliburn dies aged 78

Sonia Pantiss
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Pianist Van Cliburn dies aged 78

Renowned American classical pianist Van Cliburn has died aged 78.

Van Cliburn died at his home in Fort Worth, Texas on 27 February, after suffering from bone cancer said his publicist and long time friend Mary Lou Falcone.

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded him the National Medal of Arts.

Van Cliburn was diagnosed with advanced cancer two years later in August 2012.

Born Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr. in 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana, he began taking piano lessons at the age of three from his mother.

Van Cliburn entered the Juilliard School in New York at the age of seventeen.

After winning the Tchaikovsky Prize in Moscow aged 23, Cliburn received international recognition.

He returned to New York to a ticker-tape parade – the first time for a classical musician.

Van Cliburn performed for every US president since Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, who was in office from 1945 – 1953.

Renowned American classical pianist Van Cliburn has died aged 78
Renowned American classical pianist Van Cliburn has died aged 78

President George W. Bush presented Van Cliburn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honour – in 2003.

In 2004, Van Cliburn received the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded him with the National Medal of Arts for his contribution as “one of the greatest pianists in the history of music”.

“Mr. Cliburn has reached across political frontiers with the universal message of beautiful music,” said Barack Obama at the ceremony.

He set up the Van Cliburn International Music Competition in 1962 which showcases the world’s top pianists every four years.

The 13th Cliburn competition, held in 2009, made history when a blind pianist from Japan, Nobuyuki Tsujii, and a teenager from China, Haochen Zhang, both won gold medals.

They were the first winners from any Asian country, and Tsujii was the first blind pianist to win.

Van Cliburn made what would be his last public appearance in September last year at the 50th anniversary of the prestigious piano competition named for him.

“Never forget: I love you all from the bottom of my heart, forever,” he said to a standing ovation.

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SpaceTop 3D: first see-through desktop unveiled at TED 2013

Nancy Clayson
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SpaceTop 3D: first see-through desktop unveiled at TED 2013

Transparent computer SpaceTop 3D that allows users to reach inside and touch digital content has been unveiled at the TED (Technology, Education and Design) conference in Los Angeles.

TED fellow Jinha Lee has been working on the SpaceTop 3D desktop in collaboration with Microsoft.

Allowing people to interact with machines in the same way they do with solid objects could make computing much more intuitive, he said.

Jinha Lee can see the system coming into general use within a decade.

The system consists of a transparent LED display with built-in cameras, which track the user’s gestures and eye movements.

The design was inspired by what he sees as a human need to interact with things.

“Spatial memory, where the body intuitively remembers where things are, is a very human skill,” he said.

Translating this to the digital world will enable people to use computers more easily as well as complete more complex tasks.

“If you are working on a document you can pick it up and flip through it like a book,” he said.

For more precise tasks, where hand gestures are not accurate, there is a touchpad. It will allow, for example architects to manipulate 3D models.

“The gap between what the designer thinks and what the computer can do is huge. If you can put your hands inside the computer and handle digital content you can express ideas more completely,” he said.

Not everyone is convinced by the Minority Report-style future that will see us interact with machine via touch.

In an interview with The Awl website designer Christian Brown said: “Human hands and fingers are good at feeling texture and detail, and good at gripping things – neither of which touch interfaces take advantage of.

“The real future of interfaces will take advantage of our natural abilities to tell the difference between textures, to use our hands to do things without looking at them.”

Transparent computer SpaceTop 3D that allows users to reach inside and touch digital content has been unveiled at the TED in Los Angeles
Transparent computer SpaceTop 3D that allows users to reach inside and touch digital content has been unveiled at the TED in Los Angeles

Jinha Lee, a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is currently serving his military obligation in South Korea at Samsung Electronics, where he is working on TV interfaces.

At TED, he also demonstrated other projects he is working on, including ZeroN, a floating ball, which can literally be placed in midair.

It utilizes electromagnetism to stay afloat and when coupled with software can be used for a variety of applications.

“It could be used in schools,” said Jinha Lee.

“If kids are learning about planetary movement they can pick up a model of a planet and place it in orbit. That is tangible and makes the learning experience so much more powerful.”

He is also working on an augmented reality shopping app, which combined with a virtual reality handset would allow users to try on items such as watches from online shops.

For Jinha Lee the ultimate goal is to unite the digital and physical worlds.

“I don’t want to look back on my life and find that I have just been typing on a keyboard,” he said.

“It is one of our key human skills to be able to interact with 3D spaces and I wanted to let people do the same with digital content.”

Computers are becoming more user-friendly as the gap between the real world and technology closes.

“With the first computers there was a huge gap but that gap is getting smaller with things such as touchscreens,” he said.

“The only boundary left is our imagination.”

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The myth of working from home

James J. Williams
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The myth of working from home

Yahoo has decided to ban its staff from “remote” working.

After years of many predicting working from home as the future for everybody, why is it not the norm?

When a memo from human resources dropped into the inbox of Yahoo staff banning them from working from home it prompted anger from many of its recipients.

“Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings,” the memo said.

“Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”

The move to get staff back into the office from June this year is thought to have been driven by new chief executive Marissa Mayer, who herself returned to work weeks after giving birth.

Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson, who spends much of his time working on Necker Island in the Caribbean, was quick to respond, calling it a “backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever”.

People in the West are constantly bombarded by news about technology that makes it easier to communicate with the office. Many have fast broadband and webcams that allow their faces to appear through the ether at any important meetings. They are surrounded by smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Everything is surely there to free them from the daily commute. Those in manufacturing or retail might always have to be present, but in an age when so many work in offices, why can’t they have their office space at home?

In the US, 24% of employed people report working from home at least some hours each week, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

But only 2.5% of the workforce (3.1 million people, not including the self employed or unpaid volunteers) consider home their primary place of work, says the Telework Research Network.

The myth of working from home
The myth of working from home

Yahoo is not a lone voice in espousing the virtues of physically being in the office.

Only last week Google’s chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said when the company is asked how many people telecommute, their answer is “as few as possible”.

“There is something magical about sharing meals,” Patrick Pichette explained.

“There is something magical about spending the time together, about noodling on ideas, about asking at the computer <<What do you think of this?>>”

Google workers are provided with a free Wi-Fi-enabled bus in to the HQ.

Marissa Mayer, of course, is a former Google executive.

There are obvious reasons why working from home has not proliferated in the way people thought it might. There is still ingrained cultural antipathy.

Not “being seen in the office” may affect a person’s chances of promotion, result in a smaller pay rise than office-based peers and lower performance evaluations, according to research by the London Business School and the University of California.

They stress the continuing importance of so-called “passive face time” that is being in the office, regardless of what someone is doing.

The additional pressure not to be perceived as “skiving” may drive those who do work from home to exceed their hours.

Prof. Jennifer Glass, co-author of a report on the US workforce published by the University of Texas at Austin, says for many people, especially those in their 30s and 40s, teleworking is part of their work after they have already done 40 hours in the office.

Jennifer Glass was “flabbergasted” by the Yahoo memo.

“This seems to be trying to bring Yahoo in line with corporate America, not high-tech industries,” she says.

“The idea that this is going to promote more innovation seems bizarre.”

Promoting the value of interactions in hallways and canteen seems strange at a time when face-to-face contact within the office is decreasing.

“I frequently email someone without getting up to see if they are there,” Jennifer Glass notes.

Managers can be biased in favor of those they can actually see working.

“There is this attitude that managers need to see people are close by and that those workers are more productive,” says Jennifer Glass.

“It is a natural tendency to want to control things.”

For Alan Denbigh, co-author of The Teleworking Handbook and former executive director of the Telework Association, there are proven benefits of home working.

“It gives you the opportunity to get on with a particular project and for those who are bringing up small families where it is imperative to have a degree of flexibility it works.”

Having done both he does not recommend working from home exclusively, recognizing the benefits of interacting with people in the office and the pitfalls of working long hours at home to keep up.

But he says it is “equally ridiculous” to feel you have to be at the office every day. He recommends a bit of both.

“A large corporation saying you can’t work at home, especially an IT based company, seems counter-productive. You have to treat people as grown-ups.”

Russia finds horsemeat in sausages imported from Austria

Kathryn R. Bown
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Russia finds horsemeat in sausages imported from Austria

Russian officials say horsemeat has been detected in sausages advertised as pork and imported from Austria.

The Russian agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said the sausages contained both horse and poultry DNA.

A spokesman said the company that supplied the meat had been struck off a list of approved suppliers.

Horsemeat was first found in meals and burgers in the UK and Ireland last month, and traces have since been found in meat products across Europe.

“Tests on a shipment of Frankfurter sausages found the DNA of horses, chicken, cattle and soya,” Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement.

Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Alexeyenko told AFP news agency that the shipment of more than 20 tonnes of sausages had been imported from the Austrian city of Linz. He did not name the supplier.

Russian officials say horsemeat has been detected in sausages advertised as pork and imported from Austria
Russian officials say horsemeat has been detected in sausages advertised as pork and imported from Austria

Horsemeat is considered a traditional delicacy in Russia and is available in many restaurants and stores.

Alexei Alexeyenko said the problem with the contaminated meat was that it was not clear what it was made of and that old or ill animals could have been used.

The meat will either be destroyed or returned to the supplier, he added.

Russian media originally reported the sausages being documented as 100% beef, but later reports said they were labelled as having 80% pork as well as other non-meat ingredients.

At least a dozen countries are involved in the horsemeat affair, which implicates some of the biggest meat processors and food producers.

On Monday, Swedish company Ikea withdrew meatballs from sale in 14 European countries after tests in the Czech Republic found traces of horsemeat in a batch made in Sweden.

EU agricultural officials are looking at ways of tightening up procedures and ensuring greater traceability in the wake of the scandal.

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen split after two years of relationship

Lisa.Felice
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Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen split after two years of relationship

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen have decided to end their relationship after two years together.

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen, who went public with their romance in October 2010, are said to have called time on their romance, according to Usmagazine.com.
Rachel McAdams, 34, and 44-year-old British actor Michael Sheen first met when they worked together on Woody Allen’s critically-acclaimed Midnight In Paris.

The reasons behind the reported break-up are as yet unknown.

Speaking previously about the relationship, Rachel McAdams had said that while the long-distance aspect of their romance was difficult, they did their best to manage it.

Rachel McAdams lives in Toronto, Canada, while Michael Sheen divides his time between his native Wales and Los Angeles.

She said: “Michael and I never spend more than three weeks apart – we rack up a lot of air miles – but you have to be quite adaptable in this business whether you are in a relationship or not.

“Trying to establish roots somewhere is a bit of a joke.”

Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen have decided to end their relationship after two years together
Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen have decided to end their relationship after two years together

Rachel McAdams added that the key to the couple’s successful relationship is communication, adding: “You need to trust each other and be able to talk to each other and be best friends.”

Meanwhile, Michael Sheen has previously said that Rachel McAdams is a “genuinely lovely lady, as well as being stunningly beautiful and very talented”.

However, their relationship was not all been plain sailing, as Michael Sheen revealed he quit Twitter last October because of cruel comments about why such a beautiful woman would date him.

He said at the time: “I don’t need to read those things. It was just abuse, people writing stupid things, as people do.

“On the one hand Twitter gives you the opportunity to engage with people, which is great, but on the other there are people who feel they can say whatever they want, put poison out there, really, without fear of any repercussions.”

While Michael Sheen has a 14-year-old daughter Lily from his 8-year relationship with Kate Beckinsale, Rachel McAdams’ most famous former romance was with Ryan Gosling, to whom she was briefly engaged before their split in 2007.

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Oscar Pistorius holds private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp

Clyde K. Valle
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Oscar Pistorius holds private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius’ family said on Tuesday that the athlete held a private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at his uncle Arnold’s home in Pretoria, where he has been staying since he was freed on bail.

His family has asked for privacy but confirmation of the memorial service came after a leak in the media, Sky News reported today.

A statement by Oscar Pistorius’ representatives said: “This statement is released in response to a leak to the media regarding a planned private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp.

“Oscar Pistorius, will hold a private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at the house of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, tonight.

“Oscar specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva.

“Since it is such a sensitive issue, Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own.

“The Pistorius family would like to make a personal request to the media, to please respect their privacy at their home in Pretoria tonight.”

Oscar Pistorius’ family said on Tuesday that the athlete held a private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at his uncle Arnold's home in Pretoria
Oscar Pistorius’ family said on Tuesday that the athlete held a private memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp at his uncle Arnold’s home in Pretoria

Also on Tuesday, it was revealed that Desmond Nair, chief magistrate of the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court who presided over the bail hearing, is in mourning after it is believed one of his relatives killed herself and her children.

The bodies of a woman and her two sons were found on Sunday evening at their Johannesburg home by her ex-husband, police warrant officer Balan Muthan said.

Authorities suspect the woman administered a substance that killed her children, and took her own life by ingesting it as well.

“I can confirm the deceased is my first cousin,” Desmond Nair said.

 

Sky News: Pistorius Holds Private Memorial For Reeva

Rudyard Kipling unpublished poems discovered

Sonia Pantiss
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Rudyard Kipling unpublished poems discovered

More than 50 unpublished poems by Rudyard Kipling have been discovered by a US scholar. Thomas Pinney found the manuscripts in a number of places including a Manhattan House that was being renovated and among the papers of a former head of the Cunard Line.

He described it as a “tremendously exciting time for scholars and fans”.

The poems will be published alongside 1,300 others in the first ever complete edition of Rudyard Kipling’s verse on March 7.

Rudyard Kipling, who lived from 1865 to 1936, was best known for his fictional short stories including The Jungle Book and poems Mandalay and If.

The newly discovered poems include several from World War I, including one titled Never Again In Any Port, as well as notes from a journal the writer kept on a tour of the war graves of Belgium and France in 1924.

Thomas Pinney, a professor of English at the University of California, said: “Kipling has long been neglected by scholars probably for political reasons. His texts have never properly been studied but things are starting to change.

“There is a treasure trove of uncollected, unpublished and unidentified work out there. I discovered another unrecorded item only recently and that sort of thing will keep happening.”

One poem from 1899 comprises a diatribe against media intrusion titled The Press, which was one of Rudyard Kipling’s pet hates, echoing present day worries.

He wrote: “Had you friend a secret / Sorrow, shame or vice – / Have you promised not to tell / What’s your lowest price? / All the housemaid fancied / All the butler guessed / Tell it to the public press / And we will do the rest.”

More than 50 unpublished poems by Rudyard Kipling have been discovered by a US scholar
More than 50 unpublished poems by Rudyard Kipling have been discovered by a US scholar

There was also Rudyard Kipling’s comic verse, including an example written on a ship sailing from Adelaide to Ceylon, Sri Lanka, which is thought to have been read aloud by Kipling to those around him.

“It was a ship of the P&O / Put forth to sail the sea,” he wrote, going on to show his frustration with the pace of the liner.

“The children played on the rotten deck / A monthly growing band / Of sea-bred sin born innocents / That never knew the land.”

Linda Bree, arts and literature editorial director at Cambridge University Press, said: “Kipling’s If is one of the most popular poems in the English language, but this edition shows that he wrote much else to entertain, engage and challenge readers.”

Rudyard Kipling was born in Mumbai, India, and moved to England with his family when he was five years old.

For much of the 20th Century, his reputation was damaged by his jingoistic imperialist views, with George Orwell describing him as “a prophet of British imperialism”.

Poetry excerpts courtesy of The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty.

Stephane Hessel dies at the age of 95

Sonia Pantiss
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Stephane Hessel dies at the age of 95

Writer Stephane Hessel, the former French Resistance fighter whose 2010 manifesto Time for Outrage inspired social protesters, has died at the age of 95.

Stephane Hessel died overnight, his wife Christiane Hessel-Chabry told France’s AFP news agency in Paris.

A German by birth, Stephane Hessel was imprisoned in Nazi camps during World War II for his activities in France.

In Time for Outrage, Stephane Hessel called for a new form of “resistance” to the injustices of the modern world.

He expressed outrage at the growing gap between haves and have-nots, France’s treatment of illegal immigrants and damage to the environment.

The Indignados protest movement in Spain was inspired by Stephane Hessel’s manifesto, according to Spanish media.

His name was the top trending term on Twitter in Spain and France on Wednesday morning, as admirers paid tribute with quotes such as: “To create is to resist, to resist is to create.”

French President Francois Hollande said he had learnt “with great sadness” about Stephane Hessel’s death.

“His capacity for indignation knew no bounds other than those of his own life,” he said in a statement.

“As that comes to an end, he leaves us a lesson: to refuse to accept any injustice.”

Born of Jewish origin on October 20, 1917, in Berlin, Stephane Hessel arrived in France at the age of eight.

His parents Franz and Helen Hessel (born Grund) inspired two of the characters in Francois Truffaut’s classic romantic film Jules And Jim.

Writer Stephane Hessel, the former French Resistance fighter whose 2010 manifesto Time for Outrage inspired social protesters, has died at the age of 95
Writer Stephane Hessel, the former French Resistance fighter whose 2010 manifesto Time for Outrage inspired social protesters, has died at the age of 95

A naturalized French citizen from 1939, Stephane Hessel became a prominent Resistance figure, says French news agency AFP. He was arrested by the Gestapo and later sent to the Buchenwald and Dora concentration camps.

After the war, Stephane Hessel worked as a French diplomat at the UN, where he was involved in compiling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

However some, like the French Jewish activist Gilles-William Goldnadel, have accused him of exaggerating his role in the work.

According to Giles-William Goldnadel, France’s leftist press idealized the former Resistance fighter, a strong critic of Israeli policy, as a “secular saint”.

Stephane Hessel’s diplomatic postings also included Vietnam in the 1950s and Algeria in the 1960s.

In France, Stephane Hessel took up the cause of illegal immigrants and championed the rights of the oppressed.

Time for Outrage, which has sold more than 4.5 million copies in 35 countries, argues that the French need to again become outraged like those who participated in the wartime Resistance.

Whether Stephane Hessel inspired the global Occupy movement, as some have argued, is more open to debate.

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Pope Benedict XVI final general audience gathers thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square

Diane A. Wade
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Pope Benedict XVI final general audience gathers thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square

Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience.

The Pope has admitted he faced “choppy waters” during his eight years at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church, but says he was guided by God and felt his presence every day.

Pope Benedict XVI, 85, will retire on Thursday – the first pope to abdicate since Gregory XII in 1415.

His successor will be chosen in a conclave to take place in March.

Pope Benedict told the crowd his papacy had been “a heavy burden” but he accepted it because he was sure that God would guide him.

At times he “felt like St Peter with his apostles on the Lake of Galilee”, he said, making reference to the Biblical story when the disciples were battling against heavy waves and Jesus Christ appeared to them.

The Church has been beset by scandals over sexual abuse by priests and leaked confidential documents revealing corruption and infighting in the Vatican.

Pope Benedict thanked his flock for respecting his decision to retire and said he was standing down for the good of the Church.

“I took this step [resignation] in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with profound serenity of spirit,” he said in his address.

As a result of his surprise announcement, the Church has now amended its laws to bring forward the election of a successor.

A conclave beginning in mid-March would have left little time to have a new pope installed for one of the most important periods in the Catholic calendar, Holy Week, leading up to Easter, which begins on March 24.

Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI's final general audience
Thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience

On Thursday the Pope will travel by helicopter to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, about 15 miles south-east of Rome. He will cease to be Pope at 20:00 local time.

After Benedict XVI steps down, he will become known as “pope emeritus”.

He will retain the honorific “His Holiness” after his abdication and will continue to be known by his papal title of Benedict XVI, rather than reverting to Joseph Ratzinger.

He will wear his distinctive white cassock without any cape or trimmings, but will surrender his gold ring of office and his personal seal will be destroyed.

He will also give up wearing his red shoes.

“On the one hand I felt that since the decision that he would leave office and resign became public, Pope Benedict is relieved,” said the head of the German bishops’ conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch.

“But he also now feels the sympathy of the people for him, and therefore he will have a sense of melancholy and nostalgia, a bit of sadness.”

The title “emeritus” is used when a person of status, such as a professor or bishop, hands over their position, so their former rank can be retained in their title.

The Pope is to spend his final hours at his Vatican residence saying farewell to the cardinals who have been his closest aides during his eight-year pontificate.

His personal archive of documents will be packed up and, at 20:00 on Thursday, the Swiss Guard on duty at his Castel Gandolfo residence will be dismissed, to be replaced by Vatican police.

This will mark the formal end of his papacy and the beginning of the period of transition to his successor, due to be chosen next month.

From March 4, the College of Cardinals will meet in general congregations to discuss the problems facing the Church and set a date for the start of the secret election, or conclave, to elect Pope Benedict’s successor.

That successor will be chosen by 115 cardinal-electors (those younger than 80 years old) through ballots held in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.

A two-thirds-plus-one vote majority is required. Sixty-seven of the electors were appointed by Benedict XVI, and the remainder by his predecessor John Paul II.

About half the cardinal-electors (60) are European – 21 of them Italian – and many have worked for the administrative body of the Church, the Curia, in Rome.

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Three people shot dead at Kronospan wood processing plant near Lucerne

Nancy Clayson
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Three people shot dead at Kronospan wood processing plant near Lucerne

Three people have been killed and seven injured in Switzerland during a shooting at a factory near the city of Lucerne, local media quote officials as saying.

The killer is among the dead, police and prosecutors are reported as saying.

Shooting broke out in the canteen at the Kronospan wood processing plant in the town of Menznau at around 09:00.

Police and rescue services are at the scene and the entire area is currently sealed off.

“The workers were eating a snack in the cafeteria during the morning, and there was a massacre,” said a man quoted by the Swiss news website 20minutes, who had phoned the factory to check on the welfare of his father.

An emergency telephone line had been set up for families of the factory’s employees.

“There were three dead and seven injured, some of them seriously injured,” prosecutors’ spokesman Simon Kopp told Swiss newspaper Blick.

Three people have been killed and seven injured in Switzerland during a shooting at a factory near the city of Lucerne
Three people have been killed and seven injured in Switzerland during a shooting at a factory near the city of Lucerne

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, but such gun attacks are relatively rare.

All healthy Swiss men aged between 18 and 34 are obliged to do military service and all are issued with assault rifles or pistols which they are supposed to keep at home.

Until recently, many kept their weapons even after completing their military service – though rules on this have recently been tightened.

According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, Switzerland ranks third in terms of gun ownership, behind the United States and Yemen.

Street gun violence is very rare in Switzerland.

However, there are more domestic homicides and suicides with a firearm in Switzerland than virtually anywhere else in Europe except Finland.

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Reeva Steenkamp was not pregnant, says her family

Clyde K. Valle
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Reeva Steenkamp was not pregnant, says her family

Reeva Steenkamp’s family has categorically denied that she was pregnant when Oscar Pistorius shot and killed her.

The National Enquirer reported earlier this week that Reeva Steenkamp told Oscar Pistorius that she was pregnant to placate him after he accused her of cheating on him.

But today family spokesman Mike Steenkamp denied the reports were true and said the model’s mother, June Steenkamp, would have known.

“The post mortem would have revealed if Reeva was pregnant and it did not reveal anything like this. Maybe it comes from the other side, to garner and build up some sort of support for Oscar,” June Steenkamp told Times Live.

Oscar Pistorius claims he killed Reeva Steenkamp accidentally, opening fire after mistaking her for an intruder in his bathroom. But prosecutors say the athlete intentionally shot her in cold blood after the couple had an argument.

The National Enquirer reported on Monday that the argument was sparked by the news that Oscar Pistorius was about to become a father.

A source close to investigation told the Enquirer: “Police believe the preg­nancy secret she revealed is what sent Pistorius over the edge and left her dead, with bullet wounds to the head, chest, pelvis and hand.”

The source added: “Later that night, neighbors com­plained of shouting and fighting coming from the house.

“Police were called to in­vestigate, but it appeared to be just another lover’s spat, so nothing was done except to ask them to quiet down.”

Reeva Steenkamp’s family has categorically denied that she was pregnant when Oscar Pistorius shot and killed her
Reeva Steenkamp’s family has categorically denied that she was pregnant when Oscar Pistorius shot and killed her

It’s the latest lurid claim to hit the case, which has seen numerous sensational allegations in the wake of Reeva Steenkamp’s death. However, it remains unconfirmed in South Africa.

Oscar Pistorius, who had both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was just 11 months old, competed on a set of prosthetic blades, earning him the nickname “blade runner”.

He has competed as a sprinter in each of the Paralympic Summer Games since 2004 until running alongside able-bodied athletes in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

But his days as a runner will be numbered if he’s found guilty of Reeva Steenkamp’s murder.

The National Enquirer: WORLD EXCLUSIVE! BLADE RUNNER¿S GIRLFRIEND WAS PREGNANT!

Stretchy battery can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance

James J. Williams
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Stretchy battery can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance

Researchers have demonstrated a flat, “stretchy” battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance.

While flexible and stretchable electronics have been on the rise, powering them with equally stretchy energy sources has been problematic.

The new idea in Nature Communications uses small “islands” of energy-storing materials dotted on a stretchy polymer.

The study also suggests the batteries can be recharged wirelessly.

In a sense, the battery is a latecomer to the push toward flexible, stretchable electronics. A number of applications have been envisioned for flexible devices, from implantable health monitors to roll-up displays.

But consumer products that fit the bendy, stretchy description are still very few – in part, because there have been no equally stretchy, rechargeable power sources for them.

“Batteries are particularly challenging because, unlike electronics, it’s difficult to scale down their dimensions without significantly reducing performance,” said senior author of the study John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“We have explored various methods, ranging from radio frequency energy harvesting to solar power,” he added.

Researchers have demonstrated a flat, "stretchy" battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance
Researchers have demonstrated a flat, “stretchy” battery that can be pulled to three times its size without a loss in performance

In recent years, Prof. John Rogers worked with colleagues at Northwestern University, focusing on stretchy electronics of various sorts made using what they termed a “pop-up” architecture. The idea uses tiny, widely spaced tiny circuit elements embedded within a stretchy polymer and connected with wires that “popped up” as the polymer was stretched.

But batteries do not lend themselves to this idea; traditionally they are much larger than other circuit elements. They could be made from smaller elements wired together, but to create a small battery with sufficient power, the elements must be spaced more closely than those of the pop-up circuits.

The team’s new idea was to use “serpentine” connections – wires that loop back on themselves in a repeating S shape, with that string of loops itself looped into an S shape.

Stretching out the polymer in which the tiny solar cells were embedded first stretches out the larger S; as it is stretched further, the smaller turns straighten – but do not become taut, even as the polymer was stretched to three times its normal size.

The team says the stretchy battery can be charged “inductively” – that is, wirelessly over a short distance. Prof. John Rogers said that the uses for such batteries and the stretchy circuits they power were myriad.

“The most important applications will be those that involve devices integrated with the outside of the body, on the skin, for health, wellness and performance monitoring,” he explained.

However, the prototype batteries described in the paper were only run through 20 charge/discharge cycles, and Prof. John Rogers said that “additional development efforts to improve the lifetime will be required for commercialization”.

Shark attack kills man off Muriwai Beach in New Zealand

Nancy Clayson
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Shark attack kills man off Muriwai Beach in New Zealand

A great white shark has killed a man off Muriwai Beach near the New Zealand city of Auckland.

The attack took place around 13:30 local time on Wednesday at Muriwai Beach, to the west of the country’s largest city.

The 47-year-old man was swimming when he was attacked. Police shot at the shark before it disappeared, they said in a statement.

Shark attacks are rare in New Zealand. Only 11 fatal attacks had taken place since records began in 1847, TVNZ said.

The last confirmed shark fatality was in 1976 in the Bay of Plenty, south-east of Auckland, it said.

A police statement said that the man suffered fatal injuries in the attack.

“Police and surf life savers went out in two IRBs (inflatable rescue boats) and fired on the shark. It rolled over and disappeared,” Inspector Shawn Rutene said.

The statement said the shark was thought to be about 12-14 feet (3.6-4.2 m) long.

A great white shark has killed a man off Muriwai Beach near the New Zealand city of Auckland
A great white shark has killed a man off Muriwai Beach near the New Zealand city of Auckland

Fisherman Pio Mose told Stuff news website: “All of a sudden… we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him, then blood everywhere on the water.”

Pio Mose said the man was still alive when “we saw another attack pull him in the water”. Other local reports also said more than one shark may have been involved.

It is still unclear what species of shark attacked the man, but officials say great whites had recently been reported in the area.

The man’s body had been recovered, said police while the beach and others nearby were closed.

Clinton Duffy, a shark expert from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, told the Associated Press news agency that such attacks are rare.

“There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia,” he said.

“It’s possibly a function of how many people are in the water” in New Zealand’s cooler climate, he added, saying that sharks ignore people “99% of the time”.

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Budweiser fans file $5 million lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch over watering down its beer

Nancy Clayson
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Budweiser fans file $5 million lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch over watering down its beer

Beer drinkers in the US have filed a $5 million lawsuit accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its beer.

The lawsuits, filed in Pennsylvania, California and other states, claim consumers have been cheated out of the alcohol content stated on beer labels.

The suit involves 10 Anheuser-Busch beers including Budweiser and Michelob.

Anheuser-Busch InBev have called the claims “completely false”, and said in a statement “our beers are in full compliance with labelling laws”.

The lawsuits are based on information from former employees at breweries owned by the multinational.

“Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that, as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned [in the lawsuit] are watered down,” lead lawyer Josh Boxer said.

Beer drinkers in the US have filed a $5 million lawsuit accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its beer
Beer drinkers in the US have filed a $5 million lawsuit accusing Anheuser-Busch of watering down its beer

The complaint claimed that “Anheuser-Busch employs some of most sophisticated process control technology in the world to precisely monitor the alcohol content at the final stages of production, and then adds additional water to produce beers with significantly lower alcohol contents than is represented on the labels”.

The lawsuit alleged that the practice began after the American Anheuser-Busch merged with the Belgian-Brazilian InBev in 2008, to form the world’s largest alcohol producer.

“Following the merger, [Anheuser-Busch] vigorously accelerated the deceptive practices, sacrificing the quality products once produced by Anheuser-Busch in order to reduce costs,” the lawsuit said.

Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply at Anheuser-Busch said in a statement, “We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beer.”

DSK fails to ban Marcela Iacub’s book

Nancy Clayson
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DSK fails to ban Marcela Iacub’s book

A judge in France has rejected a lawsuit filed by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn which sought to stop the publication of a book written by his former lover Marcela Iacub.

Beauty And Beast (Belle et Bete) outlines Marcela Iacub’s fictionalized account of her affair with DSK.

Although it can now be published, the book will have to include an insert, and Marcela Iacub and her publisher must pay 50,000 euros in damages.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn had complained that he was “horrified” by the book.

“I’ve had enough of people using me. I want one thing only, to be left in peace,” he told reporters after attending a hearing earlier on Tuesday.

DSK was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund after being accused of raping a hotel maid in New York in May 2011.

A criminal investigation was subsequently dropped by US prosecutors, but in December the 63-year-old paid an undisclosed sum to Nafissatou Diallo to settle a civil claim.

DSK is also being investigated in France as part of probe into allegations that he procured prostitutes for sex parties. He denies any wrongdoing.

Marcela Iacub does not name Dominique Strauss-Kahn in her book, but has publicly stated that he is the protagonist, whom she describes as “half man, half pig”.

“You have had a long list of sexual conquests… of mostly vulgar and unattractive women,” she wrote.

“It is one of the authentic and wonderful traits of the true pig, a form of generosity that you show to all women prepared to receive you.”

Beauty And Beast outlines Marcela Iacub's fictionalized account of her affair with DSK
Beauty And Beast outlines Marcela Iacub’s fictionalized account of her affair with DSK

DSK told the judge that the book was a “violation of the intimacy of private life”.

His lawyers demanded that the book be banned or, failing that, an insert be added to each of the 40,000 copies of the first print-run, which had been due to go on sale on Wednesday. They did not provide details on what they wanted the insert to say.

They also sought 100,000 euros in damages from Marcela Iacub and her publisher, Stock, as well as a front-page apology from Le Nouvel Observateur, a French magazine which published extracts of the book last week.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s estranged wife, the heiress and former television journalist Anne Sinclair, wrote an open letter to Le Nouvel Observateur asking: “How could you stoop so low?”

“You have given credit to the manoeuvres of a perverse and dishonest women driven by her fascination for the sensational and the lure of money,” she added.

The judge ordered the magazine to pay 25,000 euros in damages and to publish the fact that it had been fined.

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China open letter urges Beijing to ratify international human rights treaty

Diane A. Wade
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China open letter urges Beijing to ratify international human rights treaty

China’s most prominent activists, scholars and journalists have released an open letter urging leaders to implement political reforms, for the second time in three months.

More than 100 people signed the open letter urging Beijing to ratify an international human rights treaty.

The letter was posted on several prominent Chinese websites and blogs.

It comes just days before Chinese leaders gather for the annual parliamentary session in Beijing.

At the meeting, new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping will be installed as China’s president, taking over from Hu Jintao, completing the 10-yearly power transition.

“We solemnly and openly propose the following as citizens of China that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) be ratified, in order to further promote and establish the principles of human rights and constitutionalism in China,” the letter said.

The ICCPR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights created by the United Nations. It calls for basic civil and political rights of individuals, including freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Beijing signed the treaty in 1998 but the Chinese parliament has never ratified the document.

The open letter was signed by many prominent thinkers in China, including economist Mao Yushi, legal scholar He Weifang and Dai Qing, an outspoken political activist.

In December, many of the same people also signed a strongly worded open letter demanding political reform within China, including an independent judiciary and meaningful democratic change.

“If reforms to the system urgently needed by Chinese society keep being frustrated and stagnate without progress,” December’s letter warned, “then official corruption and dissatisfaction in society will boil up to a crisis point and China will once again miss the opportunity for peaceful reform, and slip into the turbulence and chaos of violent revolution.”

China's most prominent activists, scholars and journalists have released an open letter urging leaders to implement political reforms, for the second time in three months
China’s most prominent activists, scholars and journalists have released an open letter urging leaders to implement political reforms, for the second time in three months

The language in the more recent letter was much more conciliatory, acknowledging the difficulties of enacting meaningful political change within China while also emphasizing that signing the ICCPR would be a “feasible” goal for Chinese leaders.

Journalist Wang Kexin said he was confident China’s leaders would ratify the ICCPR during the upcoming parliamentary session, a goal he acknowledged was “very mild and conservative”.

“We don’t dare to dream that China will make a lot of progress in one giant leap,” Wang Kexin said.

“The country develops step by step and our efforts are also aimed at changing things step by step. This is the embarrassing situation we are in now.”

He did not want to identify the person who first wrote the letter and collected the signatures, blaming his reluctance on “China’s special situation”.

According to the China Media Project, a group based at Hong Kong University which monitors the Chinese media, this week’s letter was scheduled to be released on Thursday.

However, the authorities reportedly heard about the letter early, leading its supporters to bring publication forward by two days. Mention of the letter has since disappeared from many internet sites within China.

EU ministers agree to end the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish

Diane A. Wade
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EU ministers agree to end the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish

European Union fisheries ministers have agreed to phase out the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish.

After a tense all-night meeting, ministers said a ban on “discards” should be phased in, starting in January 2014 for certain types of fish.

Ministers agreed some exemptions to the ban – but the European Parliament may still refuse to accept them.

It is a victory for campaigners who have demanded the end of a practice that has brought the EU into disrepute.

The UN says Europe has the world’s worst record of throwing away fish. Almost a quarter of all catches go back overboard dead because they are not the fish the crews intended to catch.

The decision reached early on Wednesday morning was driven by northern European nations.

They prevailed over mainly Mediterranean countries, which were fighting to protect the interests of their fishermen.

The ban will apply to pelagic stocks like herring and whiting from next year and to white fish stocks from January 2016.

European Union fisheries ministers have agreed to phase out the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish
European Union fisheries ministers have agreed to phase out the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish

Spain, France and Portugal managed to cling on to some restricted exemptions, particularly relating to crews operating far from land in mixed fisheries where the cost of landing unwanted fish is deemed to be prohibitive.

These crews will be allowed to discard 9%, shrinking to 7%. This figure is too high for the northern nations and the European Commission, which say the public expects that in a hungry world no fish should be thrown away.

Details of how exactly the discards ban will work in practice with the quota system or its projected replacement will be debated later.

The deal builds on a recent commitment to fish sustainably, and to allow more regional decision making. Many crucial details are still to be resolved over exactly what sustainably means, how the policy is enforced, how fishing crews are supported and how they are helped to buy gear that fishes more selectively.

Elba Esther Gordillo, Mexico’s most powerful woman, arrested on corruption charges

Diane A. Wade
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Elba Esther Gordillo, Mexico’s most powerful woman, arrested on corruption charges

Elba Esther Gordillo, known as Mexico’s most powerful woman, has been arrested on corruption charges.

Elba Esther Gordillo, who runs the 1.5 million-member Mexican teachers’ union, is alleged to have diverted about $200 million from union funds to personal accounts.

No-one from her legal team has responded to the allegations, but in the past Elba Esther Gordillo has denied any wrongdoing in handling the funds.

The arrest came after major reforms to the education system on Monday.

President Enrique Pena Nieto signed the sweeping reforms, which seek to change a system dominated by Elba Esther Gordillo in which teaching positions could be sold or inherited.

“We are looking at a case in which the funds of education workers have been illegally misused, for the benefit of several people, among them Elba Esther Gordillo,” Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said.

His office alleges Elba Esther Gordillo, 68, used the money on property, including in the US, private airplanes and plastic surgery.

Elba Esther Gordillo is one of the highest profile figures in Mexican political life, known simply as “la maestra” or “the teacher”.

For more than 20 years she has led the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE).

With an estimated 1.5 million members, the SNTE is considered Latin America’s most powerful union.

Elba Esther Gordillo, who runs the 1.5 million-member Mexican teachers' union, is alleged to have diverted about $200 million from union funds to personal accounts
Elba Esther Gordillo, who runs the 1.5 million-member Mexican teachers’ union, is alleged to have diverted about $200 million from union funds to personal accounts

Elba Esther Gordillo has held real influence over governments and individual presidents by persuading her union members to vote as a single bloc, our correspondent says.

The teachers were also responsible for manning polling stations on election day.

Her union is very wealthy, and can count on an annual budget of tens of millions of dollars.

It is on claims that Elba Esther Gordillo mishandled those funds, allegedly diverting money intended for the union’s coffers to her personal accounts, that she has now been arrested.

The reforms appeared set to weaken the powerful teachers’ union, which has largely controlled access to the profession.

The union has argued that reforms could lead to massive lay-offs.

Critics also say the changes could signal the start of the privatization of education in Mexico.

Mexico’s education system currently ranks bottom in a list of members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The reforms will require teachers to undergo regular assessments, something that has previously never taken place inside Mexico’s primary and secondary schools.

Many teachers in Mexico are said to have a very low standard of education themselves, with some only having graduated from high school.

Another change is intended to tackle the problem of absent or even deceased teachers receiving wages.

Elba Esther Gordillo has been an outspoken critic of the current education minister and his approach to the reforms.

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Chuck Hagel confirmed as new US Defense Secretary

Diane A. Wade
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Chuck Hagel confirmed as new US Defense Secretary

Former Senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed by the US Senate as the new Pentagon chief, after four Republicans joined Democrats to approve his nomination.

The former Republican Nebraska senator was confirmed by 58-41.

Chuck Hagel will replace outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who was confirmed by 100-0 in June 2011.

Two weeks ago, Republicans delayed a vote, questioning Chuck Hagel’s past positions on Israel and Iran, and his qualifications for the post.

But they dropped the filibuster stalling tactic, the first time it has ever been used to delay confirmation of a defense secretary, after a week-long recess.

President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party holds a 55-45 edge in the chamber, and Chuck Hagel ultimately only needed 51 votes to be confirmed.

Republican Senators Thad Cochran, Rand Paul, Richard Shelby and Mike Johanns voted in favor of Chuck Hagel’s appointment.

After the acrimonious nomination fight, President Barack Obama said he was pleased there had been at least some bipartisan support for Chuck Hagel.

“I am grateful to Chuck for reminding us that when it comes to our national defence, we are not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans, and our greatest responsibility is the security of the American people,” said Barack Obama.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chuck Hagel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, passed a crucial procedural vote that needed the support of 60 senators.

Former Senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed by the US Senate as the new Pentagon chief
Former Senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed by the US Senate as the new Pentagon chief

Among the sticking points in Chuck Hagel’s nomination process was a remark he made in a 2008 book that the “Jewish lobby” intimidated decision-makers on Capitol Hill.

Republican senators also said they feared the 66-year-old Chuck Hagel would be too lax on Iran.

During his time as a senator, Chuck Hagel angered Republican party leaders when he pilloried former President George W Bush’s handling of the Iraq war.

Ted Cruz, an outspoken conservative first-term senator from Texas, recently suggested without evidence that Chuck Hagel had accepted payments from North Korea.

During his confirmation hearing in January, Chuck Hagel sought to reassure the Senate armed services committee that he was “fully committed” to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

He also apologized for the “Jewish lobby” comment, saying he could not be defined by any single quote.

Chuck Hagel’s Democratic Party supporters produced other remarks and evidence they said showed he would stick to existing US policy on Israel and Iran.

The White House had warned of great risks in leaving the Pentagon without a leader at a time of budget challenges and while the US has troops in Afghanistan.

Senate Democrats blasted their colleagues for the blocking tactics, but some Republicans protested that they needed more time to weigh the nomination.

Others, including several senior Republicans on the armed services committee, said outright that they would not back Chuck Hagel.

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Titanic II: Clive Palmer unveils plans for perfect replica of doomed vessel

James J. Williams
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Titanic II: Clive Palmer unveils plans for perfect replica of doomed vessel

Titanic II, the sequel to the doomed liner that sank 100 years ago, was announced on Tuesday – after its designer claimed it would be the “most safe cruise ship in the world” with ample lifeboats.

With hubris akin to that of the 1912 original, Markku Kanerva said that “from a safety perspective” there was no vessel on Earth which compared to the new boat.

Markku Kanerva said that it had more than enough lifeboats and that the hull was stronger than the wooden original because it was made from steel composite.

Despite his confidence the mastermind behind the project, brash Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer, refused to say it was “unsinkable”.

Clive Palmer said: “I think anything will sink if you put a hole in it. I think you’d be very cavalier to say something like that.

“I think people in the past have done that and lived to regret it.”

The blueprint for the Titanic II was unveiled in New York for the first time along with computer generated images of the inside.

They bear a startling resemblance to the 1997 James Cameron film about the ship, which starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio, and show that many of the original features including the famous Grand Staircase will feature in the new boat.

The six-day maiden voyage will take place in late 2016 and will be from Southampton to New York to “complete the journey” started all those years ago.

Just like in 1912 there will be three classes of passenger and those with different tickets will not be able to move between the classes, though there will be more toilets for the lower decks than the original.

Everyone on board will however be provided with early-20th-century-style clothes and undergarments in their cabins to get them in the mood.

Whilst there will be air conditioning there will be no TVs and no Internet in a bid to get back to the “romance” of a bygone age.

Professor Clive Palmer outlined his bold vision in which the Titanic II would be “carrying the hopes and dreams of people everywhere” and represent “the reconciliation of man”.

There will be capacity for 2,435 passengers and 900 crew.

There will also be lifeboats that can carry 2,700 and a life rafts with an additional capacity of 800.

The original Titanic had just 16 wooden lifeboats that accommodated 1,178 people, one third of the total capacity.

Some 1,502 people died when it sank on April 15, 1912.

It was one of the worst peacetime disasters the world has ever seen.

At the launch of Titanic II, which began with a guitar rendition of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, Prof. Clive Palmer explained that the ship will be 883ft long, which is three inches longer than the original.

It will have a tonnage of 55,800 tonnes compared to 53,210 of the original.

Titanic II will have a maximum speed of 24 knots, the same as the first Titanic.

Titanic II was announced on Tuesday, after its designer claimed it would be the most safe cruise ship in the world with ample lifeboats
Titanic II was announced on Tuesday, after its designer claimed it would be the most safe cruise ship in the world with ample lifeboats

Other original features which will also appear on Titanic II include the Turkish baths, the Cafe Parisien, the two “Millioniare Suites”, the Chart Room, and the quarters belonging to Titanic Master Captain Edward Smith.

For entertainment guests can enjoy the casino, cinema or shopping area.

The blueprint shows that there will even the same “Marconi room” where the Titanic sent out its final SOS.

Whereas the original was built by the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, in a sign of how times have changed the Titanic II is being constructed by state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard.

Prof. Clive Palmer refused to reveal how much he is paying to build Titanic II but claimed there had already been significant interest, including from celebrities.

He said: “40,000 people had registered for tickets on the ship’s website with 16 offering between $750,000 and $1 million to be on the opening voyage.”

Clive Palmer added that on the first trip he would be “in third class twiddling the fiddle like Leonardo Di Caprio did in the film”.

Markku Kanerva, of Finnish boat designers Deltamarin, added: “I can assure you that from a safety point of view it will be absolutely the most safe cruise ship in the world.”

“We are taking into account all of the possible incidents and accidents and we try to simulate all of those occasions.”

“Collision is the most common accident we are talking about.”

The launch, on the USS Intrepid moored on a pier in Manhattan, was met with a mixed reaction by relatives of those who survived the original sinking.

Helen Benzinger, the great granddaughter of Molly Brown, an American heiress who was on board Titanic, said that she was “thrilled” at the new design.

The family of the Capt. Edward Smith however have said the replica is “in bad taste”.

RMS Titanic vs. Titanic II

Measurements:
RMS Titanic: 882 ft 9 in
Titanic II: 883 ft

Weight:
RMS Titanic: 53,210 gross tons
Titanic II: 55,800 gross tons

Lifeboat capacity:
RMS Titanic: 1,178 people
Titanic II: 2,700 people

Passengers:
RMS Titanic: 2,223
Titanic II: 2,435

Crew:
RMS Titanic: 885
Titanic II: 900

Maximum speed:
RMS Titanic: 24 knots
Titanic II: 24 knots

Construction timeline:
RMS Titanic: 1909-1912
Titanic II: 2013-2016

Construction cost:
RMS Titanic: $7.5 million (1912)
Titanic II: TBD

Construction company:
RMS Titanic: Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast
Titanic II: CSC Jinling Shipyard in China

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