As war rages in Syria, the stream of refugees into other countries shows no sign of stopping. More than 100,000 people fled Syria in August alone ? about 40 percent of all who had left since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began last March.
The United Nations refugee agency said Thursday that the number of people escaping Syria could reach 700,000 by the end of the year.
And in each case, lives are uprooted and changed forever.
In the following videos, people who fled the conflict tell their stories.
See the videos here: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/syria/
ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2012) ? The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided another outstanding image of a nearby galaxy -- NGC 4183, seen with a beautiful backdrop of distant galaxies and nearby stars. Located about 55 million light-years from the sun and spanning about eighty thousand light-years, NGC 4183 is a little smaller than the Milky Way. This galaxy, which belongs to the Ursa Major Group, lies in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs).
NGC 4183 is a spiral galaxy with a faint core and an open spiral structure. Unfortunately, this galaxy is viewed edge-on from Earth, and we cannot fully appreciate its spiral arms. But we can admire its galactic disk.
The disks of galaxies are mainly composed of gas, dust and stars. There is evidence of dust over the galactic plane, visible as dark intricate filaments that block the visible light from the core of the galaxy. In addition, recent studies suggest that this galaxy may have a bar structure. Galactic bars are thought to act as a mechanism that channels gas from the spiral arms to the center, enhancing star formation, which is typically more pronounced in the spiral arms than in the bulge of the galaxy.
British astronomer William Herschel first observed NGC 4183 on 14 January 1778.
This picture was created from visible and infrared images taken with the Wide Field Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is approximately 3.4 arcminutes wide.
This image uses data identified by Luca Limatola in the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition.
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Our special edition Sunday night podcast returns tonight with special guest, MG Siegler of parislemon and TechCrunch fame. We'll be talking about the fallout surrounding iOS 6 Maps, Apple's handling of it, Google's next steps, their relationship with each other, and with the media.
Join us LIVE at 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST. Set an alarm. Bookmark this page. Be here.
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
For the past two weeks Inhabitat has been reporting live from the Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid, where 18 student teams from around the world have been competing for the title of the world's most efficient solar-powered prefab house. As usual, suspense was running high in the final days of the competition, and we're excited to announce that Team Rhône-Alpes' Canopea House has been named this year's winner! The beautiful modular house took top honors in the architecture and sustainability categories, and it features a 10.7 kW photovoltaic array on the roof that produces more than enough energy to power the home.
Some of the other standouts at the Solar Decathlon Europe include Germany's ECOLAR House, which features a flexible, modular design that can expand or shrink to accommodate the needs of its owners. It came as no surprise that the German team was tops in the engineering category, and the team incorporated hemp insulation in the floors, walls and ceiling to prevent thermal loss. Team Andalucia's Patio 2.12 House, which consists of four separate prefabricated modules built around an interior courtyard, scored high marks for energy efficiency and innovation. And although Italy's MED in Italy House might not look like much on the outside, step inside and you'll enter a different world altogether. The highly efficient home features a central courtyard and a rooftop photovoltaic array that generates about 9.33 kWh of energy per year -- roughly double what it needs. Team Rome also added wall layers that can be filled with heavy materials to provide high thermal mass once the home is installed.
Asiatic cheetahs snatch livestock Asiatic cheetahs, one of the world's most endangered animals, are forced to eat livestock in areas where their wild prey is in decline, a study finds.
Source: BBC News Posted on:
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2012, 8:10am Views: 13
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Mark Sanchez was mostly miserable in Miami. Tim Tebow was ineffective despite getting more snaps than he had in the New York Jets' first two games.
Sanchez has shown a knack for coming through late in games - as he did late in the Jets' 23-20 overtime victory over the Dolphins last Sunday. But in several situations that appeared perfect for Tebow, the playmaking backup remained on the sideline.
That had many fans and media wondering: Where's Tebow?
Tebow's role on the offense remains a mystery as the once-secret wildcat package has been rarely used. Tebow continues to say he'll do whatever the coaches tell him, but it seems the Jets' struggling offense could benefit from him being in games for more than just a few plays here and there.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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NFL, refs?reach tentative deal
The NFL and the referees' union have reached a tentative contract agreement, ending an impasse that began in June when the league locked out the officials and used replacements instead.
Goodell deserves praise, not scorn
??PFT Live: The man who is taking the most responsibility for the referee lockout is commissioner Roger Goodell. Mike Florio believes that the commissioner is merely taking the blame for the league's 32 owners.
President Obama and Mitt Romney are still hundreds of miles from the debate stage, but fact checkers are already poised and ready to dissect the half-truths that, if the past 15 months of campaigning are any indication, the presidential candidates are likely to fling at each other during the first presidential debate Oct. 3.
The top fact checkers from Politifact, FactCheck.org, The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog and The Associated Press are putting their heads together this week to root out the less-than-factual lines President Obama and Mitt Romney are likely to spin. The four groups will forecast these debate deceptions during a panel at the Press Club in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.
"In an age where the typical citizen is subjected to an avalanche of the kind of pure baloney that journalists used to keep out of the public discourse ? they are looking for journalists to be kind of adjudicators or referees," said FactCheck.org Director Brooks Jackson. "That's what we try to do."
While FactCheck.org, a subsidiary of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy, does not issue true or false ratings, Obama has already tallied six "pants on fire" rulings from Politifact and Romney has chalked up ten "4 Pinocchio's" ratings from the Washington Post' Fact Checker.
Glen Kessler, who writes the Post's Fact Checker blog, said one of the biggest falsehoods that Romney continues to reiterate is that Obama has "apologized for America." Kessler gave that statement 4 Pinocchios, the least-factual rating, noting that the president never used "a word at all similar to 'apologize.'"
Kessler said one of Obama's favorite half-truths is saying that vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's Medicare plan will make seniors "pay nearly $6,400 more for Medicare than they do today." That statement got 2 Pinnochios, because it relies on a previous version of Ryan's budget plan.
But while fact checks like these have become more common this election cycle - Kessler has put out 138 so far on Obama and Romney alone - that increase may have do more to with the public's "hunger" for truth than an uptick in the number of campaign lies, Kessler said.
"I've been covering politics for a long time, and I always maintain that politicians will always stretch the truth if they think it's in their political interest," he said. "But I do think there is a hunger out there from readers and viewers. There's a lot more skepticism out there."
And with the deluge of news from cable TV, blogs and tweets, Jackson from FactCheck.org said fact checkers are needed more than ever before to "marshal the evidence."
"The public's problem is not that they are not getting enough information, it's they are getting too much of it," Jackson said. "They need help sorting through all this stuff."
As Romney and Obama take the debate stage next Wednesday, ABC News will join the fact-checking fray to decipher the true statements from the deceptive lines. You can find those fact checks HERE.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dominican singer, songwriter and producer Juan Luis Guerra scored six Latin Grammy nominations on Tuesday, ahead of Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy, who earned five nods heading into Latin music's biggest night, the Latin Recording Academy said.
Veteran music star Guerra, 55, who won three Latin Grammys in 2010, including the coveted album of the year for his 11th studio set "A Son de Guerra," earned six nominations including record and song of the year for "En El Cielo No Hay Hospital." The awards will be held in Las Vegas on November 15.
Brother-sister pop duo Jesse & Joy, winners of the best new artist Latin Grammy in 2007, scored nominations in the big three categories -- album, record, and song of the year -- for their third studio set "?Con Qui?n Se Queda El Perro?" and their song "Corre!"
Veteran Latin musicians including Guatemalan singer Ricardo Arjona, Colombian rocker Juanes, Cuban musician Arturo Sandoval, Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivete Sangalo and Brazilian singer-composer Caetano Veloso joined music engineer Edgar Barrera and Mexican pop singer Carla Morrison with four nominations each.
Veloso, 70, is also this year's Latin Recording Academy's person of the year, being honored for his life's work.
Newcomers Gaby Amarantos, Deborah De Corral, Elain, Ulises Hadjis, Los Mesoneros, Juan Magan, Rosario Ortega, Piso 21, 3Ball MTY and Ana Victoria will battle it out for the prestigious best new artist award.
The winners will be announced at the awards to be broadcast live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on the Univision television network.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Christine Kearney and Gunna Dickson)
You can't be arrested for vandalizing your neighborhood when technically you're cleaning it up—right? That's the general idea behing the Grime Writer pen. It's an oversized felt tip marker that you crack open and fill with soapy water, instead of ink. So when you tag the side of a building, technically you're just removing years of grime and filth. More »
With bank deposit rates near zero, total sales of investment funds in Hong Kong are on course to hit a record high this year as investors rush to buy higher-yielding fixed-income products.
Despite the economic uncertainties in Europe and the United States, total fund sales in Hong Kong in the first seven months of this year climbed to US$28 billion, up 14 per cent from the year-earlier period.
The strong sales are in contrast to the turnover on the city's stock market, where daily volume has dropped 25 per cent over the same period.
Lieven Debruyne, the newly elected chairman of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, said in his first interview since assuming the post that sales of investment funds are likely to break the annual record of US$45.5 billion set in 2007.
Sales in the first seven months of this year exceeded the same period in 2007, when they totalled US$25.75 billion.
Debruyne, who is also chief executive of Schroders Investment Management (Hong Kong), said this showed that investors, after being stung by the global financial crisis, are coming back to the market. "We have a low interest rate environment", he said, explaining why investors want to invest in fund products instead of putting money in a bank, where they earn almost nothing.
But Debruyne said sales of products are different this year from the peak in 2007. At that time, when the stock market in Hong Kong reached a record high, 84 per cent of total fund sales were stock-related, as investors tried to cash in on the boom in equities.
In the first seven months of this year, however, 75 per cent of sales were bond funds, with only 21 per cent related to equities. The rest were money market funds.
"The risk appetite has changed substantially over the past few years," Debruyne said. Investors like to invest in fixed- income products because they carry a lower risk than equities but can still offer a bet- ter return than a bank deposit, he said.
Figures from Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters, give some idea of the differential between bond yields and bank deposits.
Hong Kong authorised bond funds returned an average of 6.75 per cent in the nine months from December to August, while equity-related funds posted a 5.95 per cent return.
"This trend of investing in fixed-income fund products is likely to continue," Debruyne said. "We are still having a low interest rate and low economic growth environment."
However, he said the latest round of quantitative easing measures under the so-called QE3 programme initiated by the US to increase market liquidity may boost global stock markets in the coming months.
Also, the measures may lead to inflationary pressures in many markets, which, in turn, may hurt bond markets.
Those two factors could push some investors to shift part of their respective portfolios into equity funds, Debruyne said.
In my last article we looked at appropriate asset allocation for your age, risk profile and investment goals. Previous to that, I presented an overview of the different types of investments and considered the upside and downsides of the various asset classes.
Once you have implemented your financial plan, you need to assess your progress. This is step six: Portfolio valuations should be undertaken regularly ? annually is a good time-frame. During a year your portfolio can fluctuate: dividends or interest may have accrued, inflow or outflow of cash may have caused the asset allocation to vary. For example, if the share market rises, the weighting in shares may rise above your predetermined range. This is a good time to re-examine your goals. Have they changed? Are you still on target to meet your existing goals? Re-examine your exit plan if you have one (and you should). Does it suit your current circumstances?
Step 7 - Protect your Estate
There comes a point in everyone?s life when preserving assets for a future generation or for charitable giving becomes as important as building those assets. Just as a sound financial plan helps you and your family during your lifetime, an estate plan can help provide for your loved ones after your death. Today estate planning is not only for the very wealthy ? almost everyone can benefit from creating some type of plan.
First, discuss your estate and financial situation with your family. Assess, with your legal advisor, which form of property ownership is most suitable for you. Preparing a will is essential. A will is a legally executed document that states how your property is to be distributed after your death. A proper, enforceable will ensures that your assets are distributed according to your intentions. You should also appoint a guardian to oversee the interests of any minor children and an executor to administer your estate. If you die without a will the courts divide your assets according to the law. You should also consider arranging power of attorney in case of incompetence, a living will, organ donation and charitable giving.
Consider Personal Trusts
There is no doubt that personal trusts are useful legal vehicles that can assist with financial and estate planning.
Trusts can help to:
? Simplify the settlement of your estate.
? Avoid lengthy and expensive probate (a process whereby the courts issue a certificate clearing the way for the division of your assets according to your will).
? Protect your family?s assets.
? Preserve assets for heirs in accordance with your wishes.
? Ensure the uninterrupted management of assets should you die or become incapacitated.
? Use tax-free life insurance proceeds to pay tax, if estate tax is reintroduced.
If you decide to create a trust, select the trustee with care. A trustee must be able to provide prudent asset management, keep reports of the trust investments and distributions, prepare tax reports and serve as an impartial arbitrator in balancing the needs of all the trust?s beneficiaries.
Exit strategy
Any business owner should have a succession plan. This may mean that you sell the business, transfer it during your lifetime or you may leave it to someone in your will.
Consult a Professional
Developing an estate plan can be a complex task and errors may mean that your wishes will not be followed. The creation of wills and trusts should be left to your lawyer.
*Sheryl Sutherland?is director of The Financial Strategies Group and co-author of?Smart Money,??and author of Girls Just Want to Have Funds and Money, Money, Money, Ain't it Funny.
In the last round of color additions to its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone, Samsung took a decidedly sombre tone, with new hues like Titanium Gray and Amber Brown. But, according to GSM Arena, the smartphone maker decided to lighten things up this time, going with a pale pink to round out its color selection for the model to a lucky seven -- but the new shade will only roll out to Korea, for now. It will go along with the original Marble White and Pebble Blue, plus the aforementioned dark colors which were accompanied by Garnet Red and Sapphire Black. There's no mention of availability stateside, but if you've been thinking of settling for a less capable model to matchy-match with Fifi, now you can go with power and panache.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) ? A Harvard-educated biologist was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday after being convicted of going on a shooting rampage during a faculty meeting at an Alabama university, killing three colleagues and wounding three others in 2010.
The jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before convicting Amy Bishop. The former professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville showed no reaction as the verdict was read. She did not speak in court, but her attorney said she has often expressed great remorse for the victims and their families.
"She is shattered beyond belief," attorney Roy Miller said.
Bishop avoided a death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the shootings on Feb. 12, 2010. Before the guilty plea ? which she signed with a barely legible scrawl ? her attorneys had said they planned to use an insanity defense.
However, she was still required to have a brief trial because she admitted to a capital murder charge.
And she still could face a trial in Massachusetts, where she is charged in the 1986 killing of her 18-year-old brother. Seth Bishop's death had been ruled an accident after Amy Bishop told investigators she shot him in the family's Braintree home as she tried to unload her father's gun. But the Alabama shootings prompted a new investigation and charges. Prosecutors have said they would wait until after sentencing in the Alabama case to determine whether to put Bishop on trial in Massachusetts.
Bishop killed her boss, biology department chairman Gopi Padila, plus professors Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson. Associate professor Joseph Leahy, staff aide Stephanie Monticciolo and assistant professor Luis Cruz-Vera were shot and wounded.
Leahy said he was satisfied with the verdict and life sentence, but no amount of remorse by Bishop could change what she'd done.
"She has just sort of ceased to exist for me," he told reporters after the brief trial.
A police investigator testified that Bishop initially denied having anything to do with the rampage. And during the trial, Bishop shook her head anytime the judge or prosecutors described the killings as intentional.
District Attorney Rob Broussard said Bishop's reaction in court didn't make sense.
"You can't take a loaded 9 mm and hold it inches away from human beings' heads and tell me you didn't mean to do that," said Broussard.
Investigator Charlie Gray also said police believe Bishop opened fire during the faculty meeting because she was angry over being denied tenure, which effectively ended her career at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
"She would say, 'It didn't happen. I wasn't there. It wasn't me,'" Gray said.
Bishop wore a red jail uniform in court and was shackled at the feet, seated between two attorneys at the defense table.
Also in court, sitting behind prosecutors, were relatives of the people killed in the rampage.
The only other witness to testify was Debra Moriarity, now the chairman of biological sciences at UAH. She testified about how a routine Friday afternoon faculty meeting turned into a scene of carnage with no warning.
Moriarty testified that Amy Bishop sat unusually silent during the nearly hourlong faculty meeting, during which discussions ran from a spring open house to plans for the following fall. People were seated around a crowded conference table in a small room on a chilly, overcast day, she said.
Moriarity said she glanced down at a piece of paper on the table. "And there was a loud bang," she said.
Moriarity said more shots followed in quick succession without Bishop ever saying a word. Moriarity said she was looking directly at Bishop when she shot professor Maria Ragland Davis, who was killed instantly while still seated at the table.
Moriarity said she dove under the table for safety and tried to grab Bishop's legs, but the woman stepped out of her grasp. "I was saying, 'Stop, Amy, stop. Don't do this. I've helped you before, I'll help you again.'"
Moriarity said Bishop pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She said Bishop continued trying to shoot her in a hall outside, but the gun had jammed.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) ? The use of performance-enhancing drugs is now a public health matter rather than simply a sporting problem, delegates said at a top anti-doping conference.
?If we believe that around three percent of high school boys in the U.S. are taking a steroid or growth hormone, then that?s a public health issue,? said Dr.?Timothy Armstrong?of the?World Health Organisation?(WHO).
?Substance abuse in any shape or form has a physical and mental health aspect to it. The WHO, being the lead UN (United Nations) agency on health matters, takes this issue quite seriously.?
Armstrong was speaking at the conference organized by the?Arne Ljungqvist Foundation, named after the Swedish anti-doping official who is also chairman of the?International Olympic Committee?(IOC) medical commission.
Ljungqvist, who invited the likes of the WHO and World-Anti-Doping Agency to the meeting, shared Armstrong?s opinion.
?This is a first attempt to highlight this matter as a public health issue, which in my view it is,? he said at a press briefing.
?Elite sport plays an obvious role. They are the role models of youngsters and if they are drug takers, that is not the right role model for the coming society.
?I am so happy today to see these international authorities coming together and sharing these concerns that are being expressed and I hope that we can find common ways to deal with them,? he added.
WADA Director General?David Howman?told the briefing that what happens in elite sport has an effect on wider society and that the sharing of information was crucial to tackling the problem of doping.
?What we have learned in the last 10 years is that there is a trickle-down effect into recreational sports and into the high schools,? said Howman, adding that health and law enforcement authorities had their part to play.
?In?Australia?now, the customs people share their information with the?Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency?(ASADA), and already 40 percent of their anti-doping rule violations come from that sort of information.
?That?s a very good example of how it can work when people work together.?
Howman said a similar effort prior to July and Augusts? London Olympics had led to ?several cases? of doping being discovered.
?The?UK Anti-Doping Agency?had a similar arrangement with customs and police and they were able to give information to the IOC. The anti-doping program that was run during the Games was based on that intelligence.
?My understanding is that it led to several cases that were discovered in the out-of-competition phase.?
Dr. Armstrong agreed that such co-operation was essential for dealing with doping, adding that more data was needed to assess the scale of the problem.
?Each of our organizations has a piece of the pie and can only work in the areas where we have a mandate to work. But we can join with our sister agencies such as UNESCO and other potential partners such as WADA and the IOC.
?We all require better data to inform prevalence ? how many people are taking what substances and the adverse social and health effects as a consequence of that.?
Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus called the past week a "defining week in both campaigns," describing it as a "good week" even as the GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney came under fire after secretly-taped comments he made at a fundraiser earlier this year became public.
"I think that we had a good week last week, I think in retrospect, in that we were able to frame up the debate last week in the sense of, what future do we want," Priebus said this morning on "This Week."
"I think we can look back at last week as a campaign in a couple months and say, this was the defining week in both campaigns," he said earlier.
On Monday, Mother Jones released secretly taped footage of Romney speaking at a fundraiser in Florida earlier this year in which he described 47 percent of voters as "victims," adding they are "dependent upon government" and "believe the government has a responsibility to care for them." Romney, who subsequently called his remarks inelegant, was bashed by Democrats. A number of prominent Republicans, including Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, distanced themselves from the remarks.
During my interview with Priebus, he conceded that last week was not the "best" of the campaign for Romney.
"I think Governor Romney's been pretty clear, it probably wasn't the best-said moment in the campaign and probably not the best week in the campaign," Priebus said.
I spoke to Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod right after my interview with Priebus and he quickly went after Romney for his "47 percent" comments.
"I don't know what prism he's looking through. I don't think anybody else would define it as a good week. But it was an enlightening week," Axelrod said. "The week began with Governor Romney basically slandering 47 percent of America, saying that they were, you know, hooked on dependency, didn't pay their taxes, and so on. "
Like "This Week" on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.
Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com
DUBAI (Reuters) - Muslims protested in Nigeria, Iran, Greece and Turkey on Sunday to show anti-Western anger against a film and cartoons insulting Islam had not dissipated.
As delegates from around the world gathered in New York for a U.N. General Assembly where the clash between free speech and blasphemy is bound to be raised, U.S. flags were once again burning in parts of the Muslim world.
Iranian students chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" outside the French embassy in Tehran in protest at the decision by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, days after widespread protests - some deadly - against a film made in the United States.
Shi'ite Muslims in the Nigerian town of Katsina burned U.S., French and Israeli flags and a religious leader called for protests to continue until the makers of the film and cartoons are punished.
In Pakistan, where fifteen people were killed in protests on Friday, a government minister has offered $100,000 to anyone who kills the maker of the short, amateurish video "The Innocence of Muslims". Calls have increased for a U.N. measure outlawing insults to Islam and blasphemy in general.
In Athens, some protesters hurled bottles of water, stones and shoes at police who responded with teargas. Calm returned when demonstrators interrupted the protest to pray.
ON ALERT
Protests around the world were relatively small and calm, but Western embassies remained on alert after the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in one of the first protests, on September 11.
The upsurge of Muslim anger - just weeks before U.S. elections - have confronted President Barack Obama with a setback yet in his efforts to keep the "Arab Spring" revolutions from fuelling a new wave of anti-Americanism.
In U.S. ally Turkey, a secular Muslim state often seen as a bridge between the Islamic world and the West, protesters set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags on Sunday.
"May the hands that touch Mohammad break," chanted some 200 protesters before peacefully dispersing.
"We will certainly not allow uncontrolled protests, but we will not just grin and bear it when Islam's prophet is insulted," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told party members at the weekend.
"The protests in the Muslim world must be measured, and the West should show a determined stance against Islamophobia."
TORONTO (AP) -- The chief executive of struggling BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion apologized Friday after an outage in Europe and Africa interrupted service for customers on the very day Apple Inc. released its new iPhone 5.
RIM announced the issues in postings on Facebook and Twitter on Friday, and later said it resolved the issue. The service disruption lasted up to three hours for some BlackBerry users.
The outage brought up unpleasant memories of last year's troubles with emails and chat messages that left many users bereft for up to three days.
The timing could not have been worse, coming as lines formed outside of Apple stores in a number of cities as the new iPhone 5 went on sale.
RIM shares plunged 6.5 percent, or 45 cents, to $6.45 in trading on the Nasdaq.
Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said up to six percent of RIM's users may have been affected. He said the company is conducting a full analysis and will report back. No reason for the outage was given.
"I want to apologize to those BlackBerry customers in Europe and Africa who experienced an impact in their quality of service earlier this morning. The BlackBerry service is now fully restored and I can report that no data or messages were lost," Heins said in a statement posted on RIM's website. "Preliminary analysis suggests that those customers may have experienced a maximum delay of 3 hours in the delivery and reception of their messages."
RIM initially said the outage included the Middle East, but RIM spokeswoman Amy Jones later said it did not.
"It's the worst timing," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said. "This is bad publicity and it's very unfortunate. But frankly the attention is all going to be on Apple today, all the weekend -and frankly until the end of the year. Frankly, it's kind of irrelevant. The only thing that's relevant is when they are going to come out with their new phones."
Misek said he thinks the transition to the BlackBerry 10 software intended to run their new line of smartphones, could be a cause of the outage. RIM is preparing to launch the new phones early next year, after a series of delays.
"We think that switch over is causing the difficulties," Misek said.
The latest outage comes as customers are abandoning their BlackBerrys for flashier iPhones and Android phones.
RIM is facing its most difficult period in its history. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is laying off thousands this year as it transitions to new software platform that has been deemed critical to its survival.
Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Financial, called it ironic that an outage would happen that the day Apple is releasing the iPhone 5. Gillis noted that RIM is trying to get its operating centers ready for the new BlackBerrys at the same time that it's laying off thousands and turning over senior management in a time of crisis.
"Systems are going to break when you are in that kind of mode. It's the worst possible environment to try and launch a critical, make or break product," Gillis said.
RIM was once Canada's most valuable company with a market value of more than $80 billion in June 2008, but the stock has plummeted since, from over $140 share to less than $7. RIM's decline is evoking memories of Nortel, another Canadian tech giant, which declared bankruptcy in 2009.
CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With great sadness First Credit Union announces the death of Fred L. Kent, former president and chief executive officer. He died September 20, 2012 and was 67 years old.
Fred Kent dedicated his entire career, more than 37 years, to the credit union movement. His charm, spirit and intellect combined with his passion for the credit union movement touched the lives of countless people who had the pleasure of working with him. He defended, supported, and promoted credit unions to numerous state and federal regulators and elected officials, always with an eye toward enriching the movement. Kent?s contributions to First Credit Union and the credit union movement are immeasurable and undeniable.
Kent began his career in the credit union movement as a federal examiner for the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in 1975. Next he served as general manager of J.L. Bammerlin Postal Federal Credit Union and later as assistant general manager for First Federal Credit Union after it merged with Bammerlin. Kent was president and chief executive officer of First Credit Union from 1988 until he retired in 2009 and subsequently served as chairman of First Credit Union?s board of directors.
Fred Kent also served on the board of directors for the Arizona Credit Union League (ACUL) for 16 years, three of which were as the board's chairman. He served on the ACUL's Facilities Committee, Audit Committee and Project Services Task Force as well. The ACUL has since merged with the state leagues of Colorado and Wyoming to form the Mountain West Credit Union Association. Kent also served as secretary for Arizona Council of the Blind Federal Credit Union?s board of directors for 23 years.
In 2005 Kent was awarded the Very Outstanding Credit Union Person (VOCUP) Award for his various accomplishments and involvement in the credit union movement by the ACUL.
Fred Kent is survived by his wife, Alletta, their children and their grandchildren.
About First Credit Union
Offering Arizonans better banking since 1929, First Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with $400 million in assets and 43,000 members. First Credit Union is a full-service financial institution offering a variety of deposit and loan products. Convenient services include free online, mobile & text banking, free online & mobile bill pay, account access at 28,000 surcharge-free ATMs through the CO-OP ATM network, and 6,700 branch locations nationwide through CU Service Centers? credit union shared branch network. For more information please visit www.FirstCU.net.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Siberian tiger critically injured a man who jumped into the big cat's den at New York's Bronx Zoo on Friday, retreating only after emergency workers scared it off with a fire extinguisher.
The man, 25, was riding the zoo's elevated monorail in the afternoon and leapt from a car, clearing a fence around the tiger enclosure, according to a statement from the zoo.
He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. His condition was later upgraded to stable, a spokeswoman for the Jacobi Medical Center said.
Zoo and fire officials said the man received bites or puncture wounds on his arms, legs and shoulder during the roughly 10 minutes he was alone with the tiger.
"One leg was severely injured," said Frank Dwyer, a fire department spokesman, although he could not confirm early reports the man lost a foot in the incident.
In rescuing the man, the zoo's emergency workers used a fire extinguisher to repel the tiger, then ordered the man to roll under an electrified perimeter wire to safety. The staff had been prepared to use deadly force if necessary, zoo director Jim Breheny told a televised news conference.
"If not for the quick response by our staff and their ability to perform well in emergency situations, the outcome would have been very different," the zoo said.
The tiger involved is an 11-year-old, 400-pound (180-kg) male named Bachuta, Breheny said. The director said the zoo would review the incident but would not put the tiger down or take it out of the exhibit.
Breheny said the incident was "just an extraordinary event that happened because somebody was trying to endanger themselves."
"The tiger did nothing wrong in this case at all," he said.
In July, tigers at a zoo in Copenhagen killed a man who scaled a fence and crossed a moat to get into their den, and wolves at Sweden's largest zoo killed a zookeeper in their enclosure in June.
(Additional reporting by Emily Flitter and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Peter Cooney)
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30 years on Yucca MountainPublic release date: 20-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@geosociety.org Geological Society of America
New memoir from The Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA - This new Memoir from The Geological Society of America summarizes nearly 30 years of intense research at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA, and vicinity. Much of this work represents innovative approaches addressing the geochemistry and hydrology of the site, as well as the paleohydrology and transport of radionuclides under ambient and thermally altered conditions.
Edited by John S. Stuckless of the U.S. Geological Survey, Memoir 209 is a companion to GSA Memoir 199, The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California. Combined, these books present a comprehensive approach to characterizing a potential site for the disposal of radioactive waste.
The selection of Yucca Mountain as the proposed U.S. geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste resulted from a nationwide search and numerous studies over the past 40 years. The book's first chapter, written by Stuckless and Memoir 199 co-editor Robert A. Levich, U.S. Dept. of Energy (ret.), reviews some of the reasons for the selection of Yucca Mountain as a potential waste repository site.
Radioactive waste, containing radioisotopes with half-lives of thousands of years or longer, has been generated in the U.S. since the 1940s. This waste is characterized by both "intense penetrating radiation" and large heat production. According to Stuckless and Levich, the heat production peaks after a few hundreds of years, but "the penetrating radiation persists, and thus must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years for the protection of public health and safety, as well as Earth's environment."
Although the U.S. changed its plans regarding Yucca Mountain in 2010 and is now pursuing alternative solutions, the methods and interpretations in this GSA Memoir should be useful to any similar effort.
Memoir 209 includes detailed illustrations and state-of-the-art modeling of water flow in both the saturated and unsaturated zones. Through detailed isotope, geochemical, and paleoclimate studies, water flow can be projected backward tens of thousands of years. These data, together with the previously reported climate models, make it possible to provide predictions of future performance of a repository for nuclear waste.
###
Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America online bookstore, http://rock.geosociety.org/Bookstore/default.asp?oID=0&catID=8&pID=MWR209, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.
Hydrology and Geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California
Edited by John S. Stuckless
Geological Society of America Memoir 209 MWR209, 393 p., $60.00; Member price $45.00
ISBN 978-0-8137-1209-3
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
30 years on Yucca MountainPublic release date: 20-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@geosociety.org Geological Society of America
New memoir from The Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA - This new Memoir from The Geological Society of America summarizes nearly 30 years of intense research at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA, and vicinity. Much of this work represents innovative approaches addressing the geochemistry and hydrology of the site, as well as the paleohydrology and transport of radionuclides under ambient and thermally altered conditions.
Edited by John S. Stuckless of the U.S. Geological Survey, Memoir 209 is a companion to GSA Memoir 199, The Geology and Climatology of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California. Combined, these books present a comprehensive approach to characterizing a potential site for the disposal of radioactive waste.
The selection of Yucca Mountain as the proposed U.S. geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste resulted from a nationwide search and numerous studies over the past 40 years. The book's first chapter, written by Stuckless and Memoir 199 co-editor Robert A. Levich, U.S. Dept. of Energy (ret.), reviews some of the reasons for the selection of Yucca Mountain as a potential waste repository site.
Radioactive waste, containing radioisotopes with half-lives of thousands of years or longer, has been generated in the U.S. since the 1940s. This waste is characterized by both "intense penetrating radiation" and large heat production. According to Stuckless and Levich, the heat production peaks after a few hundreds of years, but "the penetrating radiation persists, and thus must be isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years for the protection of public health and safety, as well as Earth's environment."
Although the U.S. changed its plans regarding Yucca Mountain in 2010 and is now pursuing alternative solutions, the methods and interpretations in this GSA Memoir should be useful to any similar effort.
Memoir 209 includes detailed illustrations and state-of-the-art modeling of water flow in both the saturated and unsaturated zones. Through detailed isotope, geochemical, and paleoclimate studies, water flow can be projected backward tens of thousands of years. These data, together with the previously reported climate models, make it possible to provide predictions of future performance of a repository for nuclear waste.
###
Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America online bookstore, http://rock.geosociety.org/Bookstore/default.asp?oID=0&catID=8&pID=MWR209, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.
Hydrology and Geochemistry of Yucca Mountain and Vicinity, Southern Nevada and California
Edited by John S. Stuckless
Geological Society of America Memoir 209 MWR209, 393 p., $60.00; Member price $45.00
ISBN 978-0-8137-1209-3
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker watches from the dugout in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in Miami. The Marlins defeated the Reds 4-0. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker watches from the dugout in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, in Miami. The Marlins defeated the Reds 4-0. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker watches during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. The game is Baker's 3,000th as a manager in the majors. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker sits in the dugout during the second inning of a baseball game between the Reds and the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. The game is Baker's 3,000th as a manager in the majors. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
CINCINNATI (AP) ? Rookie shortstop Zack Cozart considered what it would be like to celebrate a division title without the manager who made it possible. It wouldn't be nearly so satisfying without Dusty Baker doing some dousing.
The Reds missed a third straight game on Friday because of problems caused by an irregular heartbeat. Doctors in Chicago advised him to spend one more night in a hospital there before traveling to Cincinnati for a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Reds' clinching number was down to one after the St. Louis Cardinals lost on Friday in Chicago 5-4 in 11 innings, setting up the possibility that Cincinnati could end up celebrating later in the night without its manager.
"It would be bittersweet," Cozart said. "We're all still thinking about him and wish he were here. He'll be with us in spirit. I guess we've got to go out there and win one for the skipper."
The 63-year-old Baker was hospitalized in Chicago on Wednesday because of symptoms from an irregular heartbeat that he's had for some time. The Reds swept the series against the Cubs, putting themselves in position to clinch their second division title in three years at home.
The Reds weren't sure when Baker would be allowed to rejoin the team.
"He's fine," said bench coach Chris Speier, who took over Baker's duties. "They want to make sure before they put him on a plane ? he has some fluids (built up) ? make sure that's all taken care of. But yeah, you worry about him. He's our leader, and for me, just a dear, dear friend. My mind is more with him than it is about this game."
The Reds clinched at least a wild-card berth in Chicago, but weren't going to celebrate until they got the division title, even if they had to do it without Baker.
"It would be a little disappointing," infielder Todd Frazier said. "Knowing Dusty, he would want us to get it done as quickly as possible. If he's not here, I know he'll be celebrating with us in spirit."
Baker made out the lineups for the two games he missed in Chicago. Speier took care of it on Friday, deciding to rest left fielder Ryan Ludwick one more day to let a sore groin heal. He also put Cozart back in the starting lineup for the first time in two weeks. Cozart missed 14 games with strained muscles in his left side.
Speier wasn't sure whether left-handed closer Aroldis Chapman would be cleared by the medical staff to play in the series. He hadn't appeared in a game since Sept. 10 because of a tired pitching shoulder.
"If he's available and there's an opportunity to use him, I'm not going to hesitate," Speier said. "I don't know what role I would put him in the first time back, but it would be good to get him back on the mound."
The Dodgers were fading from the wild-card race after losing 10 of 14. Atlanta and St. Louis were in position to get the two NL wild cards, with Milwaukee 2? games back and the Dodgers three games out.
"We're in a very advantageous position to allow our guys to maybe take an extra day of rest, make sure they don't reinjure something," Speier said. "It's not like the club we're playing. They're fighting every day to get to those playoff scenarios. We're in a pretty good position."
And the playoffs were right in front of them.
The Cardinals' game was shown on the videoboard during batting practice at Great American Ball Park, replacing the customary music. The Dodgers were taking batting practice when the Cubs won it, drawing cheers from the few thousand fans in the stands.
Dodgers catcher Tim Federowicz was in the batting cage and paused at the sound of the cheers. Other Dodgers looked up and smiled, too, happy that one of the teams they're chasing for the wild card had lost.
Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips tweeted about the Cubs' rally from the clubhouse. The Reds knew they were one win away from clinching, and that Baker wouldn't be there if they did so.
"He's been so instrumental in everything we do," outfielder Drew Stubbs said. "He's our leader, from putting the lineups out there to managing pitch-by-pitch."
___
Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay
Apple's iPhone 5 goes on sale Friday, including a polished new look. But only one new feature actually matters: Its super-fast LTE wireless connection. With Internet access that's amazingly quicker than before, mobile computers like the iPhone 5 can finally live up to their promise.
What's LTE?
Simply put: It's the latest version of wireless network technology, used in the U.S. by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and more recently, Sprint. LTE has been around for a couple of years, and Apple included it in this year's new iPad. (That's how I know firsthand how amazing it is.)
But this is the first time Apple is including LTE in an iPhone. This means millions of people will be using it for the first time over the next few months. You may hear the terms "4G" or "4G LTE" too, but nevermind the jargon. Just know that LTE is?impossibly fast.
Why LTE Is Revolutionary
Stop me if this sounds familiar: Walking to the train station, want to load my email before I get on the train... Waiting... waiting... waiting. And, there goes my train. Or: Trying to load this map so I can find where to meet you... Loading... loading... loading... loading...
In practical terms, LTE means you'll finally be able to download stuff to your phone fast?- in many cases, faster than your home broadband connection.?It means you'll finally be able to stream video - even in high resolution - without endless buffering. Or even video chat. It means you'll load your Instagram feed in a snap. It means never waiting for your phone anymore; it'll finally be waiting for you.
Don't get me wrong: Having an iPhone for four years (and a Palm Treo for two years before that) has been much better than the dinky candybar phones before. Relatively reliable access to maps, GPS, email, shopping, and entertainment has legitimately changed my life.?But the lag of a slow mobile Internet connection - familiar to many AT&T iPhone subscribers! - has always added an element of frustration. I stopped trying to watch video on my phone a long time ago.
As I've experienced on my iPad, LTE changes this. It's going to be as big of an improvement to the iPhone as the iPhone was to prior phones. Or, if you've used a computer with a solid-state ("flash") disk, as big of an improvement as that was from old, spinning hard drives. Especially for a mobile device, speed really matters.
And don't take my word for it. LTE got a lot of praise in the early iPhone 5 reviews. LTE "data downloads and uploads just fly," Walt Mossberg wrote for the Wall Street Journal. "Using the iPhone 5 on LTE is nearly indistinguishable from using it on Wi-Fi," John Gruber said at Daring Fireball. "Web pages load in a snap, Siri parses input and responds promptly." The New York Times' David Pogue called it "wicked-fast."
What's The Catch?
For one, there's a risk that mobile operators - running LTE networks for the first time - will be in for a cruel surprise, just as they were with the iPhone 3G and their old networks. We simply don't know if LTE networks will be able to keep up with rising traffic. AT&T and Verizon could each conceivably get 5 million or more new LTE users by the end of this year, and that might swamp their networks. We just don't know.
The other potential catch is that LTE ends up being so good that we use it more than we ever used 3G, costing us more money. Mobile operators are switching their pricing to match the future of their business, where Internet access is more relevant than selling "buckets" of voice minutes for phone calls. If you fall in love with streaming video or music over LTE, it may be costly. Perhaps it'll be worth it, if you're getting a lot of value out of it. But don't be surprised if your mobile bill goes up rather than down over the next few years.
Still, if all goes according to plan, LTE is going to be a killer feature for the iPhone 5 and for mobile computing. This stands to benefit phone makers, mobile operators, and especially application developers. Apps should work as well on mobile devices now as they do on desktop computers. And that opens all kinds of new doors.
Photo: NASA/MSFC via Flickr
Related: The Real Reason AT&T And Verizon Are Switching To "Shared" Pricing Plans
In my last article we looked at appropriate asset allocation for your age, risk profile and investment goals. Previous to that, I presented an overview of the different types of investments and considered the upside and downsides of the various asset classes.
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Public release date: 20-Sep-2012
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