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- Plane giants often trade blows on technical matters through advertising in the trade press.
- On the other hand, analysts say full 10-seat-per-row cabins for existing 777s suggest many passengers are voting for the denser layout, which may go hand in hand with cheaper fares.
- "Eighteen inches in seat width would be great for passengers, but the reality is that from a business point of the Airbus proposal is driven by the threat of the 777," said cabin interiors expert Mary Kirby, founder and editor of the Runway Girl Network.
- Airbus and Boeing do not supply seats but offer a catalogue of suppliers for airlines to choose from.
- Globe-trotting jet sellers even carry tape measures to check on competing layouts.
- While boasting comfort, all builders also offer jets with high-density layouts for low-cost airlines and regional travel.
- Airbus offers a 10-abreast A350 but says it has not yet sold it.
- Until recently, Airbus was stressing the need for more cabin customization by offering wider aisle seats on some of its jets.
- Without the support of the only other maker of large modern jets, experts say its call for a new industry standard is unlikely to fly, but could distract from a wave of 777X sales.
- The gain in unit costs is blunted compared with 10-abreast now in use.
- "The reason Boeing are doing this is to cram more seats in to make their plane more competitive with our products," said Kevin Keniston, head of passenger comfort at Europe's Airbus.
- This was the last of three ecotax porticos still operating in the department of Finistère, the other two having been taken down or sabotaged.
- Police say they have a video that appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking a crack pipe.
- Even close allies keep things from one another - and work every angle to find out what's being held back.
- The Vatican wants to know how Catholic parishes around the globe handle sensitive issues like contraception, divorce and gay couples.
- Decadence and excesses of all sorts are the key words in this crazy story.
- The Scorsese-DiCaprio duo seems to have rediscovered the magic that brought them together in Shutter Island.
- The new Scorsese release is late because the editing has taken longer than planned.
- Apparently, the final version of the film will last 2 hours 45 minutes.
- Due in theatres December 25, its release will come just right in time for the Oscars.
- At around 2.15pm on Wednesday, an eagle-eyed dog walker spotted Ruby on the ledge in the quarry, stranded 50ft up.
- I just can't believe where she was.
- Miss Hall, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said: "Watching the rescue was terrifying."
- I could not believe that she was up there in the first place.
- It was amazing to get her back in our arms.
- The vet said that if she became too exhausted and collapsed she would probably have fallen.
- The firefighters were amazing.
- It was really daring what they did.
- We are just so grateful and every single one of them was absolutely tremendous.
- Mr Alderson, from Keighley, added: "We were scared that she might fall but she stayed there."
- The firefighters were brilliant.
- In an interview with Martin, Daley confirmed that the administration did in fact consider replacing Biden with Clinton.
- "I was vocal about looking into a whole bunch of things, and this was one of them," Daley told the paper.
- You have to remember, at that point the President was in awful shape, so we were like, "Holy Christ, what do we do?"
- While Daley characterized the research as "due diligence," Martin told CNN's Anderson Cooper that the re-election campaign made a significant investment in finding out whether the move would pay dividends at the polls.
- "Campaigns don't spend the kind of money on polling and focus groups unless they're seriously considering something," Martin said on AC360.
- It's unclear, however, whether Obama knew his team was exploring the swap.
- Martin told CNN that he asked Daley whether his then-boss knew about the potential shuffle.
- While Daley said he doesn't think the President "was aware" of the potential change, the former chief of staff admitted that it's "possible" Obama knew.
- Martin added that "Double Down" does not definitively answer whether the political probing reached Obama's desk.
- Cooper asked Martin whether he seriously thought Obama did not know about the research into dumping Biden from the ticket.
- "Possibly," Martin replied.
- On its part, Chrysler, which is controlled by Fiat, announced an 11% increase in sales with 140,083 vehicles, against an expected 143,536.
- Toyota and Nissan also reported sales below expectations, despite increases of 8.8% and 14.2% respectively over a year.
- On the New York Stock Exchange, GM shares gained 1.4% at 16:35 GMT, while Ford lost 1.1%.
- If Europe's most powerful person can be targeted, then surely business leaders are also potential targets.
- The US warns its own companies about economic espionage by other countries.
- The US National Intelligence Estimate in February named France alongside Russia and Israel in a second tier of offenders who engage in hacking for economic intelligence, behind China, according to The Washington Post.
- A board member at a German blue-chip company concurred that when it comes to economic espionage, "the French are the worst."
- Bernard Squarcini, former head of the French internal intelligence agency DCRI, was quoted in an interview this month as saying: "The services know perfectly well that all countries, even as they co-operate in the antiterrorist fight, spy on their allies."
- Ulrich Hackenberg, board member at carmaker Audi, says it has been standard practice for years for mobile phones to be collected before board meetings so they cannot be used as remote listening devices.
- Germany's BfV advises executives to consider using simple prepaid mobiles when on foreign trips because of the risk that smart phones are compromised.
- The prepaid mobiles are then thrown away afterwards.
- However, there is concern that small and medium-sized companies remain vulnerable to hacking and surveillance.
- In Germany, many of these companies are global market leaders in their particular niche.
- "Small and medium sized companies often lack the experience, personnel and financial resources to protect corporate secrets effectively against unauthorised access," the BfV warns in a report.
- "These investments respond to the ideas that front-line clinicians have told me will be the best ways to tend to Tasmania's health system," Ms Plibersek said.
- Mr Dutton called on Ms Plibersek to guarantee that not one dollar out of the rescue package would be spent on additional bureaucracy.
- The state would have to maintain current funding levels in order to receive Commonwealth cash and report monthly on where it was spending the extra funds.
- A three-person commission will be set up to ensure the state is delivering services as effectively and efficiently as possible.
- Mr Wilkie today said the $325 million would count for little "unless it's followed by genuine reform to put Tasmania's public health system on a more sustainable footing."
- He nevertheless praised the Government for responding to his request for urgent assistance which he first raised with the Prime Minister at the beginning of May.
- "I'm hopeful the federal assistance package will go a long way towards taking the state's public health system off the critical list," Mr Wilkie said.
- According to the State Government these additional elective procedures will largely reverse the recent cuts.
- But federal Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton believes today's announcement is a "band-aid solution."
- "The reason we are here is that the Labor State Government ripped $430 million out of its health system," he told ABC TV.
- You can't have a state government ripping out almost half-a-billion dollars and the Commonwealth put in $300 million and pretend it's a good news day.
- The stakes are high for the fast-growing economy as the discovery of huge offshore gas reserves and coal deposits in the northwest could bring in more than $50bn of investment over the next few next years from companies including Rio Tinto, Vale of Brazil, Eni of Italy and Anadarko of the US.
- Most of the skirmishes have taken place in Sofala province, which is several hundred kilometres north of Maputo, but hosts Beira, the port that miners, including Rio Tinto and Vale, rely on to export coal.
- In June, Rio suspended its use of the railway for about a week after Renamo threatened to attack the line.
- Mr Mazanga was coy when asked about whether Renamo would repeat this threat.
- Renamo wanted to "warn the international community that things were not going well in Mozambique," Mr Mazanga said.
- The instability has added to frustrations with the government, says Fernando Lima, head of Mediacoop, an independent media company, with many people also concerned about corruption, the slow pace of development and a recent spate of kidnappings.
- "People think the ones responsible for the future of the country are the government and the president, and he should be the one to find solutions for the problems," he says.
- Omar Sultuane, a demonstrator, said people just wanted stability.
- "No one cares about Renamo and Frelimo, they just want peace again, they want free access to the roads," he said.
- "He does not want multi-party democracy, he does not want transparent elections he does not want peace because he does not want to leave the presidency," Mr Mazanga said.
- It is unclear how much capacity Renamo has, but it has carried out disruptive hit-and-run attacks on police stations and vehicles on a key north-south highway.
- Speaking in the summer, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said there was a "widespread consensus that we need to reform our examination system to restore public confidence," insisting GCSEs would be "more challenging, more ambitious and more rigorous."
- Studies show that English schools devote less time to maths - 116 hours a year or three hours a week during term time - than in most countries.
- By comparison, Australian schools provide an average of 143 hours a year and pupils do around 138 hours in Singapore.
- While there will be no formal requirement to devote more of the timetable to maths, Coalition sources said the extensive maths GCSE - combined with more weighting for the subject in league tables - was likely to encourage schools to provide extra teaching.
- The syllabus will place a greater focus on "real world problems," including financial mathematics.
- The law was vigorously opposed by each of the major Republican presidential candidates during the 2012 primary season, including presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.
- In Australia the leisure business rebounded during the second half which offset a slightly weaker domestic corporate travel market.
- Similarly in the UK, Flight Centre's leisure business performed well while corporate clients were spending less.
- Its US business had recovered its losses during its seasonally weaker first half and was expected to deliver its third consecutive full year profit.
- Flight Centre shares were up 3c at $38.20 yesterday.
- Throughout the non-calendar 2013 fiscal year, Oracle's net profit grew by 3.5%, while its share price rose 27.5%, outperforming the S&P-500 index which grew 24% in the same period.
- The cinema was ventilated and everyone returned in good order.
- The cinema was able to show itself in a good light and the customers could continue enjoying events unfolding...
- but, on the screen only.
- Traffic was therefore diverted via the exit/entrance to the ring road.
- The latter accusations are partly based on letters written by the lawyer of the brothers of the Holy Cross, Mr Emile Perrin QC, in the 1990s, as well as through research carried out in the archives on this subject by Brother Wilson Kennedy, a former brother of the Holy Cross who has publicly denounced the abuses.
- The class action must first be deemed admissible by the Superior Court.
- Once the Court has declared it admissible, it will proceed to the second stage, the preliminary hearings.
- In the first action, the Congregation of the Holy Cross agreed to settle out of court before preliminary hearings were conducted.
- It will probably not be long before we understand why their tails sometimes go one way, sometimes the other
- He said the differences could be because the dogs in the different studies were not fully interpreting the animals in the films or robo-dogs as canines.
- A study of how dogs responded to real dogs could help, he explained.
- "While there is considerable evidence from many different mammals that the two sides of the brain are used for different purposes, much of the detail still has to be hammered out - and dogs are no exception," he said.
- However, given the ease with which their behaviour can be recorded, it will probably not be long before we understand why their tails sometimes go one way, sometimes the other.
- Instead, he believes that they dogs have learned from experience what moves they should and shouldn't feel worried about.
- He said: "If you have several meetings with other dogs, and frequently their tail wagging one way is associated with a more friendly behaviour, and the right side is producing a less friendly behaviour, you respond on the basis of that experience."
- The researchers say the findings could give owners, vets and trainers a better insight into their animal's emotions.
- Dog behaviour expert John Bradshaw, a visiting fellow at the University of Bristol's school of veterinary science, said this was not the first study to examine whether left and right were important to canines.
- Last year a team from the University of Lincoln found that dogs turn their heads to the left when looking at an aggressive dog and to the right when looking at a happy dog.
- And in another research paper from the University of Victoria in Canada, he said: "Dogs were more likely to approach a robot dog when its 'tail' was made to wag left rather than right, rather than becoming anxious - the opposite way around to the Italian study."
- The water rail was fit and well by the time it was released.
- For 21 years, Georges Bwelle watched his ill father slip in and out of consciousness, traveling to hospitals that weren't equipped to help him.
- "He's a hero, without a doubt," O'Malley said.
- He gives his life to this organization, and his desire to help the Cameroon people is everlasting.
- For Bwelle, the near-constant workload isn't a hardship.
- Helping others live happier lives, fulfilling a promise he made to his father, is something that brings him great joy.
- "I am so happy when I am doing this work," Bwelle said.
- And I think about my father.
- I hope he sees what I am doing.
- To make people laugh, to reduce the pain, that's why I'm doing this.
- Check out the ASCOVIME website and see how to help.
- But once they arrive in Yaounde, their board, transportation and instruction are covered by Bwelle.
- The metropolitan region of Montreal is also experiencing its share of breakdowns, with close to 7,000 homes in the city and in Laval left without power.
- The earnest solemnity of the storytelling risks making it a hair shirt-like ordeal for audiences, too.
- In 2011 Google placed an initial $900 million bid for Nortel's patents.
- Google increased its bid several times, ultimately offering as much as $4.4 billion.
- After losing out to Rockstar on the Nortel patents, Google went on to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a deal driven partly by Motorola's library of patents.
- "Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe," the lawsuit said.
- Rockstar is seeking increased damages against Google, as it claims Google's patent infringement is willful, according to the complaint.
- At the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics this week in Orlando, Florida, pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Paul Kaplowitz explained that these early physical changes are quite common among American girls and represent a new norm.
- "We need to be careful about how we identify the true onset of puberty," said Dr. Lawrence Silverman, a pediatric endocrinologist at Goryeb Children's Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey.
- Parents should not hesitate to get guidance from their pediatrician about how to talk with their child.
- "It may mean having a sooner-than-expected conversation," Kaplowitz advised.
- If you remain calm, your child usually will respond well.
- Girls who blossom early need reassurance that, even when it happens ahead of schedule, the process is a normal part of life.
- There are varying explanations.
- Globally, patterns of early puberty appear to be influenced by everything from economic conditions to climate to genes.
- Another conundrum: Although boys are getting facial and pubic hair at younger ages, the trend toward full-blown early puberty is not as pronounced as it is with girls.
- Other doctors attending the AAP conference reinforced the complexities of the topic.
- The appearance of acne and pubic hair is common even in infants and toddlers.
- In this regard, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved strengthening of the controls on government surveillance programmes on Thursday, but still authorised them to proceed.
- The committee introduced new restrictions on the data that the intelligence services were authorised to collect and imposed a limit of five years on the length of time they could hold such data.
- In describing the American methods of data interception in relation to the French diplomatic representation in the United States, we do not aim at expressing indignation about this practice, but rather at describing the world as it is.
- The first is when their allies - as has been the case recently - learn that their governments have been spied on, sometimes at the highest level.
- This is the case in Brazil and Germany, two countries where diplomatic relations with the United States are strained.
- Another effect could be more commercial: in the light of the revelations, more and more European and South American countries are balking at the idea of entrusting their confidential data to American providers that are subject to American law and hence to the grips of the NSA.
- Finally, the widespread exercise in revelations conducted by the media across the world, which is contributing to the establishment of a debate on surveillance practices by intelligence services that have been almost invisible until now, could force legislators - including those of America - to reconsider the powers they have granted their intelligence agencies.
- For example, France was informed of the presence of Mohammed Merah in the tribal areas of Miranshah through the NSA's resources.
- Also France may, for example, have to transmit entire blocks of data on the Sahel region to the Americans and, in return - as already briefly mentioned - the Americans may provide information to the French about other parts of the world.
- Hence the question at the heart of the NSA affair is not so much the capacity or the right of a country to use interception tools, as the issue of the complete lack of prior debate - especially within parliaments - on the justification of such systems, the extent to which they should be used and, ultimately, the issue of the infringement of freedoms.
- What risk does the United States actually run? Ruining its image?
- However much we denounce the US, I see no way in which it can be punished.
- The risk run by the Americans could be twofold.
- Inquiries revealed Ditta was a "regular user" of the Class A drug after tests found traces of cocaine in his hair, on his wallet and on his credit cards.
- We will find you and put you before the courts.
- Scarborough himself was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis.
- Thirty five other men involved in the racket were jailed for a total of 153 years for drugs offences.
- On his website Ditta gave a question and answer session about himself in which he says his fantasy job would be a lawyer representing clients on Death Row in America, his ultimate dinner guest as being Mohammed Ali and inequality as his motivation for work.
- But after the hearing Supt Lee Halstead from Lancashire Police said: "Mr Ditta turned from criminal solicitor to a criminal himself the moment he started obtaining drugs from organised criminals."
- His addiction to cocaine left him hopelessly compromised and vulnerable to the motives of leading members of organised crime groups who tasked him to obtain valuable information regarding police investigations.
- Solicitors should uphold the highest standards of integrity and should instil trust and confidence in the public.
- Mr Ditta has betrayed this trust and attempted to hide behind the veneer of his profession.
- Lancashire's Serious and Organised Crime Unit led the investigation into Mr Ditta which has also seen him convicted of three counts of possession of cocaine and now perverting the course of justice, demonstrating our commitment to bringing criminals to justice.
- Let this case serve as a warning to criminals that no one is beyond the reach of the law.
- A survey published by Common Sense Media at the beginning of the week showed an explosion in the use of mobile devices by young children in the United States: 38% of children under 2 already use a tablet or mobile phone, and 72% of under 8s, compared to 10% and 38% respectively two years ago.
- They face prison sentences between 10 years and life imprisonment if convicted.
- In Nogales, Arizona, smugglers tap into vast underground drainage canals.
- The tunnel is the eighth major passage discovered in San Diego since 2006.
- Some of the largest tunnels have been discovered after central Mexico's marijuana harvest in October, which presents drug cartels with a challenge of how to quickly get their product to consumers.
- In 2010, authorities found a roughly 700-yard passage equipped with rail tracks that extended from the kitchen of a Tijuana home to two San Diego warehouses.
- Passengers trying to avoid those fees have been stuffing as much as they can into carry-on baggage stashed in overhead bins, meaning those bins often run out of space.
- Frontier has a loyal base of customers in its home city of Denver, but its business is shrinking and losing money.
- Revenue dropped 9 percent and its flying capacity shrank almost 13 percent in the first quarter, according to financial results released Wednesday by corporate parent Republic Airways Holdings Inc.
- Republic has been trying to fix Frontier's finances as part of selling the airline.
- Airlines pay online travel sellers such as Orbitz $10 to $25 for each ticket sold.
- That has given all airlines an incentive to steer passengers to buy directly from them instead of going through an online travel agency.
- Frontier has gone the furthest in this area, though.
- In September it began giving half as many frequent flier miles to customers who bought through an online travel agency.
- On Wednesday it slashed the mileage award to 25 percent of the miles of the trip.
- So, a 1,000 mile Frontier trip purchased from an online travel agency would earn 250 miles.
- It also allows passengers to choose their seat in advance only if they buy directly from the Frontier website.
- Traffic returned to normal at around 6am.
- Since the start of 2013, the Canada Border Services Agency at Montreal-Trudeau Airport has conducted 173 drugs seizures, of which 10 involved seizures of cocaine totaling 44 kilograms.
- In 2012 the Border Services Agency for the province of Quebec made 1,653 seizures of narcotics.
- They have gladly acknowledged him as a great awakener, a driving force, a unifier of their work, but observed that he seemed disinclined to produce such work himself.
- And so he has, but in a less formal, and more exploded and subtle form.
- A form, which - make no mistake - is just as restrictive,
- because, over and above the format imposed in the university course, this philosophical work speaks of the inner necessity of a life.
- Here we are in debate once again, shaken by a new type of immigration, threatened by the inflow of protesting minorities, absorbed into the European framework.
- The book thus offers both a fascinating portrait of the France on the way out, and a circumspect outline of the France in the making.
- And, on top of that, there is the portrait of the historian, which should hold some surprises.
- It reveals that the wanderer liked to stay at home.
- The man of many curiosities is - slightly obsessively - focused on a single idea.
- The one who prowled at the edges was standing in the heart of the centre.
- And the man who rejected a notion of a nation over half a century ago, but who escaped from the initiatory exercise of the philosophical work, confides in us, cum grano salis, that he has ended up doing it after all.
- Additionally, the Defender Challenge will provide a training and test day in February, as well as the option to compete in desert events in North Africa and the Middle East.
- Several of the comedians participating in this year's festival came up through nontraditional channels, such as shows on smaller networks, like Comedy Central, FX, and Spike.
- Nick Kroll rose to prominence on a deep-cable sitcom (FXX's gleefully raunchy fantasy-football-themed "The League") and now has his own Comedy Central sketch show.
- Jenny Slate has been a cast member on both "Saturday Night Live" and "Parks and Recreation," though she is best known for her viral video series "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On."
- Both Kroll and Slate, as well as other young comedians with distinctive voices (the surreally pessimistic Anthony Jeselnik, the wry, racially focussed W. Kamau Bell), are products of the decentralized world of American comedy.
- One of the festival's biggest draws will be an interview: David Steinberg talking to Larry David.
- Steinberg started as a standup comedian but has become an accomplished television and film director, as well as an unofficial comedy historian.
- From 2005 to 2007, he hosted a show on TV Land called "Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg."
- The meeting takes place at Town Hall, in the center of Manhattan.
- "The city is definitely in the comedy DNA of all of Larry's work," Steinberg said.
- He was telling me that, when he's here, sometimes he'll walk down an alley between two buildings and think to himself, Hey, if I lose all my money, maybe I'll live here.
- The Red Cross was called in given that the residents of one of the apartments might need temporary accommodation, according to the Fire Department.
- With all due respect to heads of state who appeared relatively indifferent to fruits of the earth, "they are all fond of food" Bernard Vaussion reveals graciously.
- The chef will be replaced by his assistant, 35-year-old Guillaume Gomez, who has been at the Elysée for seventeen years himself.
- But with Nicolas Sarkozy, who forbade cheese, the plates always came back empty!
- François Hollande, who reintroduced cheese, is "a man who likes to eat" and "he is not very choosy".
- The current Head of State, who has put back on the pounds he lost during the presidential campaign, does "not have a specific diet requirement".
- Bernard Vaussion also recalls the pressure that would rest on his shoulders, especially during state dinners at the Elysée, where one had to serve "between 200 and 250 people in around an hour".
- The night before would be practically sleepless.
- Such people would not understand if something went wrong.
- The now former head chef at the Elysée, who shared a drink on Tuesday evening with his team, his family and friends, is leaving with a twinge of sorrow. "François Hollande came to say goodbye."
- He was full of praise.
- "His human side came out," he recalls.
- Morsi should try Sisi for the massacres of Rabaa, the massacres of Nahda and the massacre by the Republican Guard.
- Sisi is a liar and a traitor."
- Confrontations broke out in Alexandria, where the police used tear gas and 60 demonstrators were arrested.
- On Monday, 20,000 policemen were deployed in front of the Police Academy in Cairo, where Mohamed Morsi will be tried.
- Tunks told Sydney's Sunday Telegraph the whole family was "extremely concerned" about his daughter's welfare and wanted her back in Australia.
- "It's obviously been a worrying time but we're hopeful to have her back home safely as soon as possible," Tunks said.
- Bamford is appealing the sentence and has been granted bail of 50,000 baht.
- Reports in Australia said that in the meantime, she was holidaying at the resort area of Krabi in Southern Thailand.
- Thai-based legal sources said Bamford was being represented by a local lawyer in Phuket but warned that the appeal may lead to the court increasing her sentence by up to two years and forcing her to serve it in an adult prison.
- However, following the recent murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith in Phuket, Thailand may also be looking to repair its battered tourist image, leading to an acquittal.
- However, if no new orders are announced in the coming months, we suspect that the market will become more skeptical of the program.
- The backlog in the aerospace division was $32.9 billion as of September 30, unchanged from December 31.
- "In aerospace, results were in line with our guidance, but the low order intake and overall market conditions were a disappointment," Beaudoin said.
- Aerospace revenue fell 13 percent to $2 billion.
- Bombardier, the world's largest trainmaker, said revenue in that division rose nearly 11 percent to $2.1 billion.
- The order backlog in the transportation unit was $32.6 billion as of September 30, up marginally from December 31.
- The transportation division's margins were affected by execution issues in a few large contracts.
- Executives said new guidance would be provided in the fourth quarter.
- Shares of Bombardier, which also announced that Google Inc Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette would join the board, were down 8.5 percent at C$4.83 in mid afternoon trading on Thursday.
- Brazil's Embraer SA, the world's third-largest commercial planemaker and Bombardier's closest rival, reported a 10 percent fall in quarterly profit on Thursday.
- Net orders fell to 26 aircraft, from 83.
- In a press release, the club said it was "very disappointed" and that the appeal was entirely justified.
- Police chief David Kimaiyo reacted by summoning two journalists and a media executive for questioning, although the summons was retracted following a media outcry.
- Under the new bill, media houses can be fined up to 20 million Kenyan shillings and individual journalists up to one million with the additional risk of being "de-listed," or barred from receiving official press accreditation.
- The tribunal also has the power to seize the property of an offender if a fine is not paid.
- According to the Daily Nation, "even one fine is enough to cripple most FM stations."
- It also said the measures could have a devastating effect on what it described as Kenya's "lively blogosphere."
- By silencing the media, politicians know they can do whatever they like with impunity.
- "No one will ever know," wrote Nation journalist Mutuma Mathiu, describing the Kenyan media as a key source of checks and balances in public life.
- "Left to themselves, politicians would bankrupt the country and take us back to hunting and gathering," he wrote.
- Kenyan lawmakers have been the target of public anger in the past.
- In May they voted to overturn cuts ordered by the national salaries commission and reinstate their hefty salaries of around 532,000 shillings a month tax-free - ranked among the highest in the world.
- Prices in central London continued to show steady year-on-year growth of 5.6% but were overshadowed by a burgeoning "domestic market" with the city's south west, north (7.4%) and east (6.5%) all experiencing an uptick, according to research from Savills.
- There was general discontent with the Single Market, with businesses saying that the costs of Brussels regulation now outweighed the benefits of being part of Europe's trading area - even 40 per cent of large businesses, traditionally the most pro-European of companies, agreed.
- Finally, and most tellingly of all, our poll of business leaders found a clear majority wanted to see Britain pursue a course of treaty change and a relationship with the EU that is based on trade, not politics.
- This finding, which was reflected across the sizes and major business groups, shows that business is pushing for a "meaningful change" that brings powers back to the UK.
- The stakes are high - achieving treaty change and a better deal for Britain sees a 16 per cent swing towards voting to stay in the EU in a referendum.
- The Prime Minister should be in no doubt: this poll shows that British business backs his plan for renegotiating the terms of Britain's membership of the EU.
- It also shows that business expects that renegotiation to make a significant shift in the current balance of power back towards the UK.
- A better deal for British business is possible, and increasingly necessary as the eurozone embarks on the road to closer economic and fiscal union.
- The priority must be jobs and growth in Britain and, as the findings of our poll show, for business this means a renewed focus on trade and a fundamental change in Brussels" regulatory approach.
- An investigation will be conducted to determine the cause, although the fire brigade has ruled out the possibility of it being a criminal act.
- This Henri Michaux play with black and white is performed as a series of solos, in a group in unison (a mass acting as a solo), a large group of twelve solos, in which each individual makes a representation of their own sign.
- Group work, small transiting solos, moving as a group, a chorus, makes the depiction less binary.
- Clowns appear, another regular feature of Chouinard's work, wearing red noses, in very polarised parades of male/female lovers.
- Their loves are toothy, evasive or playful.
- The body movements, the laughter, the small cries beautifully translate the archaicness, the gracefulness and the absurdity of bodies in coitus, of beings melting into each other.
- But the piece really takes off after the bow.
- A clown comes back on stage as the audience is leaving.
- At that point, anything goes: the fourth wall comes down, the explored universes are superimposed, the dancers ham it up, come down among the spectators, talk, smoke, pass through, play with the etiquette of applause, build up the hype amid a consciously calculated disorder that remains sensual.
- They exude joy and madness, and that is Chouinard's art; contaminating the audience.
- Their touching musical awkwardness shows real fragility.
- Couples cross the stage as pairs of lovers, very sensual, even erotic.
- Tony Abbott's daughters Frances and Bridget.
- Should this election be decided two months after we stopped voting?
- "We need to have a better system," he said.
- Why is it that we shouldn't have a system where you can walk in, punch your details into a computer, vote immediately and have a result at 6.30 that night?
- Mr Palmer also criticised the use of pencils to mark ballots.
- Is it because they can rub out the result if someone doesn't like it?
- In this day and age having a pencil seems extraordinary.
- The Electoral Commission has been studying options for electronic voting and recently released a joint discussion paper with New Zealand.
- Mr Palmer, 59, said his policies included an international airport for the Sunshine Coast and he would take "very seriously" his new job.
- Public office is about public service.
- "We seek no reward, except the reward of history that we can at a critical time serve this community," he said.
- "The two victims were intubated and treated for some time at the site, before being taken to the CHU in Liège, by helicopter and by ambulance for the grandmother and her grandson respectively," said Mayor José Paulet on visiting the site.
- The traumatised grandfather was upstairs at the time of the explosion.
- He was unhurt and, thus, able to go downstairs using the staircase which had remained intact, though the rear wall of the house was completely destroyed.
- The grandfather and the tenant of the house next door, which was weakened by the explosion, have been accommodated elsewhere by the head of the social services.
- The Andenne and Namur fire departments and the police from Arches intervened.
- The Crisnée civil protection services has stabilised the two buildings.
- "They sent their son to school with a book-bag and he was returned to them in a body bag," he said.
- Moore added that if he uncovers sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal or civil rights investigation into the death of Johnson he will ask the FBI to conduct it.
- A representative from the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted Thursday.
- A southern Georgia judge on Wednesday ordered authorities to release all surveillance video that investigators reviewed.
- The teenager's parents said they hope the video footage will contain clues to how he died.
- I will follow the facts wherever they lead.
- My objective is to discovery the truth.
- "I am of the opinion that a sufficient basis exists" for a formal investigation, he said.
- Moore told reporters that the initial autopsy indicated Johnson died as a result of "positional asphyxia."
- A second autopsy, however, listed a different cause of death, according to Moore.
- "There are several questions that must be answered or confirmed," he said.
- At least twice earlier this year Israel launched airstrikes on shipments of missiles inside Syria.
- It's called "The Audacity to Win," and it's a memoir of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
- At a post-mortem campaign meeting, he told his staff that they needed to get back on track and stay true to the purpose of their cause.
- "I want us to get our mojo back," he said.
- We've got to remember who we are.'
- It's five years later, Mr. President, and I couldn't agree with you more.
- The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Nathaniel Morris.
- Mitt Romney presented a confusing and unrefined alternative who could not seem to lock down his policies or his positions.
- I felt that a second term for Obama, free from the pressures of future elections, would fulfill the hope that we had heard of for so long.
- Still, as Obama's approval rating sank below 45% this week, returning to 2008 through that book has become that much harder.
- It makes me yearn for the many promises that disappeared.
- This week I was reading the portion of the book describing how Obama suffered a huge loss to Clinton in the Pennsylvania primary.
- "Probably between 120 and 150 million, if you include every country," he conjectured last March.
- "Some women in my books are sex objects, others are beautiful, intelligent, brave women.
- I have always been well-received in Africa, where I have a very large number of readers."
- Gerard de Villiers said it himself: "Like all heroes, Malko Linge is ageless.
- He will not die and will not retire.
- Any more than I will."
- "I'm no seer," Gerard de Villiers would say in his defence. "I simply make conjectures based on countries that I know well and, occasionally, some of my conjectures come true."
- After travelling to - often troubled - zones, he would spend a month at his 1976 IBM daisy wheel typewriter, "every part of which has been replaced".
- 300 pages later, he would write the words "The End" and correct each page by hand.
- On the walls of his office hang AK-47 assault rifles, erotic photos and photos of the author with African war lords.
- De Villiers was regularly criticised by feminist groups for male chauvinism and by human rights organisations for racism - accusations he would dismiss in two sentences:
- According to the same sources and witnesses, an Israeli tank and an armoured bulldozer made an incursion a hundred metres or so into the territory before retreating.
- "This mission was essential because of the risk of the terrorist tunnel being used for attacks against Israeli civilians," said army spokesperson, Peter Lerner.
- Furthermore, Israel attacked a military airbase in the northwest of Syria, targeting a shipment of missiles destined for the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, satellite channel Al-Arabiya reported on Thursday 31 October.
- A US official confirmed that there had been an "Israeli strike", but did not give details of the target.
- "In the past, the targets have been missiles being transferred to Hezbollah," he merely added.
- Israeli government officials refused to confirm any information relating to the attack.
- Citing "exclusive sources" that it did not name, the Saudi-owned channel stated that "the bombing targeted a shipment of ground-to-air missiles intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon," referring to the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement that is fighting the rebels alongside the Syrian forces.
- Earlier, a Syrian NGO, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported several explosions being heard at dawn on Wednesday in a defence airbase at Sonar Jable, near Lattaquie, on the Syrian coast.
- This organisation, which relies on a network of militants and medical sources, was unable to identify the origin of the explosions.
- During the operation, Hamas triggered an explosive device targeting the "Tsahal forces" (the Israeli army) and injured five soldiers.
- Israeli attack in northern Syria
- Only part of his back was visible, it's really sad."
- According to the authorities, the victim is a man in his fifties, who worked for a formwork company.
- Attempts at resuscitation were made by the emergency services, but without success.
- The man succumbed to his serious injuries.
- An inspector from the Occupational Health and Safety Commission was dispatched to the site to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
- The Pentagon estimates that the population concerned by the recognition of same-sex marriage involves about 5,600 active individuals, or 17,000 if the National Guard, the reserve and retired people are included.
- So as your mouth warms up the protein it will raise the pH level and the ice cream will glow.
- We have been testing it out over the past few months and it seemed perfect to share it over Halloween because it gives that wonderful glow effect.
- It is probably the most expensive ice cream I have made because the jellyfish luminescence is four times more expensive than gold.
- So each scoop costs me around £140.
- It tastes pretty good though.
- Charlie's experimental company, based in Bristol, is famed for its unusual flavours including beer, cheese, beef and gold leaf.
- But his next creation is set to be even more ambitious.
- He said: "I really want to develop an invisible ice cream."
- It is inherently impossible because of the refraction caused by the ice crystals which make up the ice cream, but I reckon we will find a way of doing it.
- The ice cream harnesses the fluorescent properties of a jellyfish, synthesized by Chinese scientists
- All flights arriving at and leaving the airport have been suspended.
- What about the first?
- Coulson and Brooks deny conspiring with others to hack phones between October 3 2000 and August 9 2006.
- Mulcaire, Thurlbeck and Weatherup have admitted phone hacking.
- Rumours about an affair involving Clarke were first picked up by the NotW's features desk when a source who was sexually interested in Ms Pawlby was told: "Don't bother wasting your time, she's with Charles."
- A tape of voicemails taken from her phone on at least three occasions was seized from Mulcaire's home in August 2006.
- Investigators also found entries on the private investigator's computer which had Ms Pawlby and her sister as "Projects."
- During the period she was being investigated, Ms Pawlby's grandparents received anonymous calls asking for information about her, Mr Edis said.
- Meanwhile, former chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck and former reporter James Weatherup oversaw surveillance of Ms Pawlby's movements.
- Leaving her a voicemail on June 18 2005, Coulson told her: "I've got a story that we're planning to run tomorrow that I really would like to speak to Charles about."
- Mr Edis said Coulson's involvement in the story followed the same pattern as with other important men, such as former home secretary David Blunkett.
- The jury heard on Thursday that Coulson confronted Mr Blunkett over an affair with a married woman while he was himself seeing co-defendant Rebekah Brooks, who was married at the time.
- "Hence, we are developing projects such that they can identify with all of that," explains the president of Vision Diversité, Aïda Kamar.
- Michel Venne, from the Institut du Nouveau Monde (New World Institute) has identified a number of challenges for the School Board.
- "Sharing what Quebec culture is, for example, the sense of belonging, support for people going through the changes we are experiencing within the student body," he lists.
- The Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board has created a research centre that will provide tools for teachers, who, themselves, sometimes come from elsewhere.
- Rachida Azdouz from the University of Montreal will be the scientific director.
- Preparation to manage a class in a North-American and Quebec context.
- "The real need is for different educational strategies," she summarises.
- The research will address inclusion from every angle: linguistic, educational, social and cultural.
- NHTSA could not review the owner notification letter due to the 16-day government shutdown, which tempered auto sales growth in October.
- Sales of the Silverado and Sierra trucks, which were redesigned for the 2014 model year, were up about 20 percent during the first 10 months of the year, GM said on Friday.
- In October, GM sold 42,660 Silverado and 16,503 Sierra pickup trucks.
- GM shares were up 1.4 percent at $37.47 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday afternoon.
- Sony dropped more than 11% to 1,668 yen.
- I will spare no effort to implement the mandate given to me by member states to realise our vision of sustainable development goals that build on the success of the MDGs.
- She said she was "happy to be back".
- Noury al-Maliki was speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, an independent institution created by Congress.
- Outside the building, demonstrators were protesting against the Iraqi leader.
- They were brandishing placards accusing him and others of being murderers and appealing to the United States to refuse to give him aid.
- Moreover, Kiev needs liquid assets to pay for its gas imports from Russia, which accuses it of not having paid a bill of 882 million dollars.
- "Signing the agreement would be good for business in the long term, but it might have negative consequences in the short term in relation to Russia's reaction," explained S&P, which is concerned Moscow may introduce "trade restrictions".
- Russia, which is responsible for a quarter of Ukrainian exports, has warned that if a free trade area is created between the EU and Kiev, it will have to reinforce its border controls for imported goods.
- Its debt, which is still relatively modest, has exploded in recent years. S&P estimates it as 33.5% of the GDP, as opposed to 10% prior to the crisis of 2008-2009.
- Experiencing a budgetary deficit, the country has been asking for aid from the International Monetary Fund for months. The latter, in 2010, had given the former a 15,300 million dollars loan, but this time it has released just 3,400 million.
- The IMF is refusing to pay any further installments until the country has adopted unpopular reforms to reduce its deficit, especially by increasing the price of gas for the population.
- Following a fruitless mission to the country, the IMF noted this week that "the significant need for external finance" represented "a weakness", even though there were "signs of economic improvement".
- However, for the economist, Oleksandr Joloud, from the Centre for Political Studies, "no improvement can be expected in the short term".
- "There is little hope of unpopular reforms being made in a pre-election year," said the expert in an AFP interview. Presidential elections are planned for 2015.
- The only hope is for an improvement in international circumstances.
- S&P notes, furthermore, the "uncertainty" linked to the possible signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, which for Brussels is conditional on the release of opposition leader Yulia Timochenko.
- The report also includes a list of typical symptoms communicated by children who are having an allergic reaction.
- Kids may say, "It feels like something is poking my tongue," "My tongue feels like there is hair on it," or "My tongue is tingling."
- The incident comes a few weeks after six Golden Dawn members, including the leader and founder of the party, were charged with being part of a "criminal organisation", within the framework of an operation aimed at the party following the murder of an anti-fascist musician by one of its members.
- We also think that sometimes pictures need no explanation or comment.
- Rohan Ramchandani, head of European spot trading at Citi, went on leave this week, while Matt Gardiner, a former senior currencies trader at Barclays and UBS, was suspended by Standard Chartered this week.
- The bank promptly notified the relevant authorities and has been co-operating with its regulators.
- "We are confident the trader acted alone and that the matter has been contained," Credit Suisse said.
- UBS said this week it had taken action against some of its employees after the Swiss regulator, Finma, said it was investigating suspected manipulation of the foreign exchange market at a number of Swiss banks.
- At least six authorities globally - the European Commission, Finma, Switzerland's competition authority Weko, the FCA, the Department of Justice in the US and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority - are looking at allegations that bankers colluded to move the currencies market.
- HSBC, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse have also launched internal probes or received requests for information from regulators, said people familiar with the situation.
- Banks are scouring through years" worth of instant messages and emails to search for instances of wrongdoing.
- News about the probes has rattled traders in an area that has been one of the bigger profit drivers of investment banks' trading units in past years but which has been challenged this year as low volatility in currencies cuts opportunities for speculators.
- Some bankers have tried to play down the affair by saying the vast and highly liquid foreign exchange market is almost impossible to manipulate, but senior traders are saying this is not necessarily true.
- A senior trader said that despite the huge volume of daily foreign exchange trading, the fragmentation of liquidity between different trading platforms and banks" increasing use of their own internal platforms meant that "you can start to get an impact on the market at quite small ticket prices."
- The news came on the same day as Credit Suisse announced it had dismissed a trader at its London exchange traded funds desk this week after he had caused a nearly $6m loss late last year.
- This is to include the possibility of eventual journey times from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London of three hours or less.
- Baroness Kramer said: "Our goal for HS2 is for a truly national network that will bring the UK and its cities closer together."
- We are driving forward HS2 because the benefits it will bring are huge.
- Without it we face a crisis in capacity on our rail network.
- But it is also about connectivity, across the UK 18 cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh will be better connected because of HS2.
- Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael added: "Today's announcement is good news for Scotland."
- For the Scottish government, Keith Brown called on Mr Carmichael to "unequivocally" back Scotland's inclusion in the HS2 network.
- Mr Brown said: "High speed rail has the potential to bring huge economic benefits to Scotland, but also adds Scotland's economic weight to the overall case for high speed rail across Britain."
- So we are excited to work in partnership with the UK Government to examine options for bringing high speed rail to Scotland, creating benefit for all and complementing the Glasgow-Edinburgh line which the Scottish Government is already planning.
- I look forward to reviewing the report of the investigation with UK ministers next year and together decide on the next steps.
- Hence millions of people across the region are turning to pawnshops as families feel the squeeze from rising living costs and ballooning household and consumer debt.
- Sometimes they just need the money very quickly.
- Such is the growth in the pawn business that ValueMax, operator of the outlet at Bendemeer and of 15 others like it in Singapore, plans to expand not only in neighbouring Malaysia - where it has four shops - but outside Asia too, says Yeah Lee Ching, ValueMax's executive director.
- The company will fund that by using 60 per cent of S$66m it raised this week in a listing on the Singapore stock exchange.
- While some discount lenders have come under fire for high interest rates, Ms Yeah says that not only does pawning offer cheaper rates than other lenders, it also does not add directly to debt.
- "Customers are mortgaging items that they already own, and monetising personal assets does not increase household debt," she says.
- There's an increased social acceptance of pawnbroking as a means to secure short term, secured financing.
- Nor are the types of people who use pawnbrokers only the financially stretched.
- Wealthy people in Singapore also use ValueMax outlets, pawning gold bars or Rolex watches, which can command up to 60 per cent of their purchase price in cash.
- We see customers from all walks of life.
- "They include wealthy individuals who need to borrow short term for business ventures or investments, or small businesses with a need to tide over their cash flow needs," says Ms Yeah.
- The movement is often blamed by Chinese authorities for sporadic trouble in Xinjiang, although many experts cast doubt on its true influence.
- Except my wife.
- Then there won't be any employees left in the factory.
- Mr. Montebourg has said that you were prepared to guarantee these 333 jobs for four years.
- Can you confirm that?
- The only number I mentioned to the minister is 333.
- I know he would like a four-year guarantee.
- But, as I said to you, the CGT and Goodyear must first reach an agreement on the severance pay.
- If all the employees accept it, the project of buying Goodyear Amiens will begin with zero employees.
- How can we give guarantees on the length of employment when there are no employees left on site?
- If Mr. Montebourg gets the CGT and Goodyear to reach an agreement and Titan buys the factory, we have every intention of staying in Amiens North for more than four years.
- The first step is for the CGT and Goodyear to seal an agreement on severance pay for all the employees.
- Go and vote, that is the best way to express yourself and say enough is enough.
- Although Google is currently working on a model of Google Glass equipped with corrective lenses, no date for a full-scale launch has yet been announced.
- Assange fears he will be extradited from Sweden to the United States to face possible espionage charges, after releasing more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website.
- At least one hacktivist group online claimed that they were responsible for bringing down the NSA site with a DDoS attack.
- DDoS attacks are designed to flood a target website with traffic until the servers are overloaded and the site collapses.
- The cyber tactic is a relatively unsophisticated one and the attacks are not meant to penetrate the internal network of the target system.
- The formerly super secretive NSA, once nicknamed No Such Agency, has found itself in very public light, and amid vicious criticism, in past months following a stream of revelations about is vast foreign and domestic surveillance programs - collectively the product of secret NSA files stolen from the agency and leaked by disenchanted former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
- Such growing controversy surrounding the agency prompted early speculation that tonight's incident was the result of a targeted cyber operation.
- However, he was suffering from an inflammation on the left knee following his return from international duty this month.
- Our mother left us after an exhausting fight against cancer.
- I'm 58 and I have always lived alone since losing him. He is and will remain the love of my life.
- I should say that I am rather sociable and have a job with responsibilities. I laugh and sing, I go out, I'm a grandmother, I have lots of friends, but my heart and my soul belong to him. I never talk about him except with my son, and I never go to the cemetery.
- Almost thirty years ago, my husband died aged 33.
- I was 28 and our son was 6.
- The immense pain that engulfed me has eased of course, but he is still close to me.
- He very often "turns up" in my dreams, in a very specific way, so vivid that when I wake up I am sad again when I realise that it was just a dream.
- The other night, he asked me how I was; I said not good, and he said "I'm coming down", but in a voice so real that I woke up with a start, upset, and I switched on the bedside lamp and looked around, convinced that he would come.
- I still live in the same house and, frequently, I feel he is watching me; I turn round and see he isn't there, but I know it's him and I talk to him.
- I feel his presence in every room and it makes me happy.
- I wouldn't leave this house for anything in the world. We were happy here and his spirit lives here with me.
- Not tired of making surprises, David Bowie had more than one trick up his sleeves with The Next Day:
- The Informer is double-edged - an unsettling intro followed by a brilliant rush of sound that progressively slows down to make way for a pop ballad.
- Was Bowie trying to make a reference to Elton John's Rocket Man, or even Gravity, in his Like A Rocket Man?
- Either way, with this cheerful track, the singer seems to be in his element when his feet are no longer on the ground.
- Space Oddity, by comparison, was much more solemn.
- On Born in a UFO, David Bowie once again refers to his strangeness: could he have come from another planet?
- The spellbinding guitar riffs make you want to leave Earth.
- In any case, Bowie enjoys playing the chameleon in these tracks: in turn, an informer, a rocket man, possibly a Martian...
- He veils and reveals at the same time, and likes to take on different personalities, as he has throughout his career, most notably with his personas: Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane.
- It is therefore not surprising that he should be holding a mask in the promotional photography for L'Invitation au Voyage, by Louis Vuitton, of which he is the new face.
- He appears in one of their adverts, broadcast from November 10.
- The Israeli army simply mentioned carrying out "targeted action" in the area close to what the Jewish state calls a "terrorist" tunnel dug at the border, the discovery of which was reported in mid-October.
- Likewise, two species that are very similar in morphology were distinguished using genetics.
- Why is it rare to discover new marine mammal species?
- Marine mammals are located at the top of the food chain.
- They live in homogeneous, open habitats, in which there are numerous genetic exchanges between populations and individuals.
- This blending of genes limits the creation of new species.
- On the other hand, more enclosed ecosystems favour genetic isolation, which can ultimately lead to the creation of new species.
- It should be noted that the marine environment is the least known of environments.
- We prefer sending robots to Mars rather than knowing what is living in the Mariana Trench, just 11 kilometres below the surface of the ocean.
- More money is spent on the search for life on other planets than on marine research, and it is high time things changed.
- A species is considered to be threatened or endangered based on the number of its members alive on the planet, known as the stock, and of the possibility of the species restoring itself using neighbouring stocks.
- The stock of the Sousa Chinensis species, from which the newly discovered population derives, has automatically grown weaker, making it more vulnerable.
- Just 10 years old, he has already won his place in this year's European Championships in Copenhagen, and he enjoys nothing more than beating competitors almost twice his size!
- "We can now move forwards and focus on the future and on the 90% of assets that make up a really good bank, and on building a great bank for our clients and the United Kingdom," new director general, Ross McEwan, said to the press.
- They are intersex, part of a group of about 60 conditions that fall under the diagnosis of disorders of sexual development, an umbrella term for those with atypical chromosomes, gonads (ovaries or testes), or unusually developed genitalia.
- We don't have to rush into surgery that is irreversible.
- "It brings the children into the decision and takes away the anxiety that motivates parents because they don't feel they are doing the right thing," she said.
- Ultimately, the child will decide which sex he or she feels more comfortable with -- and that's a wonderful thing.
- It empowers children to make the decision for themselves.
- Now at 29, Katie is married and at the University of Pennsylvania, a resident in child psychiatry.
- Though she is infertile, she hopes to become a parent through adoption or gestational surrogacy.
- "The law gives parents some space not to have to rush into making decisions themselves," said Baratz.
- It gives them the time to do some tests and figure it out and a period of time before they write 'male' or 'female.'
- This way, you are OK -- raise the child, love the child.
- You have a wonderful baby and enjoy the fun.
- Earlier this year Lord was convicted for sexual offences against 12 boys during the two years he worked at the YMCA.
- He said there were "serious problems" in recruitment, screening, induction, training and supervision of staff.
- The hearing adjourned until December 20.
- Staff gave evidence they observed breaches including Lord being alone with children, babysitting them privately, having them sit on his lap, saying he loved one and letting them play with his mobile phone.
- Danielle Ockwell, who was supervised by Lord and asked for child protection training because she was concerned about his behaviour, testified she found the YMCA Caringbah children's services manager Jacqui Barnat who supervised Lord "very intimidating and hard to approach a lot of the time."
- The CEO said he did not accept staff's evidence that they were uncomfortable with reporting upwards to their managers.
- Rather, he said, their friendships with Lord clouded their judgements about reporting him.
- Mr Hare said he had provided his view to the YMCA NSW board that the lesson for the organisation from the "Jonathan Lord incident" was "not about reporting" by staff, and the board agreed with him.
- Mr Hare said the decision to get staff to sign confidentiality agreements soon after the allegations emerged was made by YMCA general manager of children's services Liam Whitley.
- He said it was intended to avoid contamination of evidence but was "overzealous" and poorly executed.
- YMCA NSW was not a child safe organisation at the time Jonathan Lord was employed between 2009 and 2011, child sex abuse expert Professor Stephen Smallbone of Griffith University told the commission.
- A man from Cambridge claimed responsibility for the act on his Twitter account, where he posted pictures of Adolf Hitler.
- "I have been wearing a black SS armband in Asda twice a week for three years," claimed Paul Dutton, explaining that he was suffering from "mental problems".
- She appointed an outside monitor to oversee major changes, including reforms in policies, training and supervision, and she ordered a pilot program to test body-worn cameras in some precincts where most stops occur.
- In August, New York City agreed to end the practice of storing the names and addresses of people whose cases are dismissed after a police stop.
- An oral argument on the city's appeal is scheduled for sometime after March 14, 2014.
- The stop-and-frisk tactic has been criticized by a number of civil rights advocates.
- Stop-and-frisk has been around for decades in some form, but recorded stops increased dramatically under the administration of independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg to an all-time high in 2011 of 684,330, mostly of black and Hispanic men.
- A lawsuit was filed in 2004 by four men, all minorities, and became a class action case.
- Supporters of changes to the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program say the changes will end unfair practices, will mold a more trusted and effective police force and can affect how other police departments use the policy.
- Opponents say the changes would lower police morale but not crime, waste money and not solve a broader problem of a police force under pressure after shrinking by thousands of officers during the last decade.
- The judge noted she wasn't putting an end to the stop-and-frisk practice, which is constitutional, but was reforming the way the NYPD implemented its stops.
- According to the MP, there is now "no difference in visual continuity between Flanders and Brussels.
- The residents of Brussels deserve better than to see their money wasted by a Christian Democratic and Flemish Minister, who is carrying out the New Flemish Alliance program herself.
- It is high time the Flemish Trojan Horse was stopped.
- Let's not forget, Brigitte Grouwels was elected by 2,245 votes, that is 0.5% of Brussels inhabitants!" De Bock concludes.
- The former is reprising its excellent 'My Fair Lady' this Christmas and has announced the worldwide production of 'Un Américain à Paris' as a follow-up.
- With the exception of opera, the provinces remain the poor relative of culture in France.
- Few theatrical productions go on tour and most of them are usually "boulevard theatre", intended for adults, not adolescents.
- Musicals fill that gap.
- These are the same young people that love reality television and the ephemeral stars it produces...
- Offering good-looking (often talented) young men a leading role in a musical guarantees the adoration of young girls and often their entire family.
- Facebook pages for these shows are skillfully managed by professionals who answer questions.
- The shows are eagerly expected by the time they reach a provincial Zénith (theatre).
- The musicals are prepared in Paris and enjoyed in the provinces.
- The show is designed to be staged in any major theatre in France in the same format as in Paris.
- Why are provincial tours so successful?
- The administration has said it should come as no surprise that the 5 percent of the population who purchase insurance on their own may be forced to switch plans because their coverage doesn't meet the new standards required under the Affordable Care Act.
- "Let me say directly to these Americans: you deserve better," Sebelius said in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington.
- Sebelius, who is overseeing implementation of the Affordable Care Act, said the launch of the online marketplace has gone "miserably" since October.
- "I am as frustrated and angry as anyone," she said.
- I am eager to earn your confidence back.
- An exasperated Sebelius uttered that phrase, caught by a hot mic, to an aide seated behind her at yesterday's House hearing following a contentious exchange with Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., over whether she should be required to enroll in Obamacare.
- More than three hours into the hearing, Long repeatedly pressed Sebelius on why the "architect" of the Affordable Care Act has not voluntarily forgone government-sponsored insurance to purchase a plan through HealthCare.gov, which she is now pitching to millions of Americans.
- Lou was a prince and a fighter, and I know his songs on pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy of life which he felt," she added.
- Lou Reed had undergone a liver transplant last May.
- Mr Paluku hopes to be in Bunagana on Saturday.
- The town, which is a political stronghold and the final bastion of the rebellion, lies on the border with Uganda, around 80km north of Goma.
- It was recaptured by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) on Wednesday.
- Since then, several hundred M23 diehards have been cut off in the farmland hills of Chanzu, Runyonyi and Mbuzi, close to Bunagana and the neighbouring town of Jomba, at an altitude of almost 2,000 metres.
- In Jomba, a local contact who had reported fighting at close quarters throughout Thursday said that the situation had been "calm since this morning".
- He also said that a woman and child had been killed in fighting the previous evening and had been buried.
- A little girl sustained injuries from gunfire, and three other people had been wounded. One of them was seriously hit and had been evacuated by the FARDC, the witness quoted by the AFP added.
- Since the resumption of hostilities between the FARDC and the rebels on 25 October, the two sides have given no indication of the casualties.
- It is not up to the public purse to invest in such projects, but to the private sector based on consumer demand.
- The townsfolk have been pleased to learn that Lac à la Pêche and Lac des Piles will continue to supply the town with potable water.
- Following the departure of all the industries (major consumers of water) and the big decline in the population, the use of water throughout the district has considerably reduced.
- While this does not call for wastage, the town will never be short of water, and the severe regulation of its use may be toned down significantly.
- In a nutshell, it is easy to do great things with other people's money.
- I would be ashamed to defend such a balance sheet.
- With a gross debt of over $200 million, this town is no longer even capable of buying a pen without passing a loan bye-law.
- For over 40 years we have been run largely by suits with marvellous qualifications. I do not believe that a sheep farmer would do any worse.
- The police, who had been alerted, stepped in to separate the belligerents and make sure that the injured received medical attention.
- Yet America strives to collate data.
- On the other hand, the head of the powerful NSA, General Keith Alexander, denied that his intelligence agency had captured tens of millions of communications from European citizens.
- He even pointed the finger back at the European intelligence services who allegedly got hold of these communications before passing them on to the NSA.
- This concerned "military operations" in countries where the NATO allies are cooperating with the United States and this absolutely did not target Europe, according to General Alexander.
- The discord spread to Asia on Friday.
- Indonesia summoned the Australian ambassador, whose mission is accused of being used by the Americans as part of a vast international espionage network, which has also aroused the ire of China.
- According to one of the documents, some 181 million items were collected during the month of January alone - ranging from meta data on emails to text elements or audio and video files.
- These interceptions apparently took place outside the USA.
- However, Yahoo and Google have denied any involvement in these practices.
- For ten days now, a number of major newspapers in France, Germany, Spain and Italy have been revealing that the NSA had intercepted massive quantities of data and communications emanating from allies of the United States and their leaders, in particular the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
- Following the outrage of the European states, and even though leaks to the American press stated that the American President was not up-to-date with these spying activities, Barack Obama has refused to comment on the matter, citing national security.
- Mr Tripodi, who was ports minister from February 2006 until November 2009, was initially in favour of public tenders.
- But he denied the changes were made at the request of Mr Obeid, who Mr Tripodi acknowledged was urging a shift in government lease policy.
- A phone transcript tabled in ICAC showed calls in August and September 2007 between Mr Obeid, Mr Tripodi and Steve Dunn, a senior bureaucrat who had come into the ports ministry after working under Mr Obeid in the fisheries department.
- "Was the matter being discussed in the course of these telephone conversations the development of the commercial lease policy," Assistant Commissioner Anthony Whealy asked Mr Tripodi.
- "No," Mr Tripodi replied.
- I can't remember what was discussed but it definitely wasn't that.
- Definitely not between myself and Mr Obeid.
- If the "genuineness" criteria was adopted a visa applicant could be scrutinised about "whether the nomination is genuine in circumstances where the nominee is a relation or personal associate of an owner or relevant person of the sponsoring business."
- Businesses could also be required to account for the number of 457 visa holders after previously businesses who had intended to sponsor a small number of workers then employed hundreds.
- Meanwhile, a 35-year-old Sri Lankan asylum seeker died of a suspected heart attack after arriving on an asylum boat at Christmas Island this week.
- The man's distraught nine-year-old son travelled to Australia with him and has been comforted since the death of his father on Wednesday by an adult cousin who was also on the vessel.
- Australian authorities rushed the man to Christmas Island Hospital, where he died.
- But why such optimism for some and pessimism for others?
- "The advances in face recognition, the increase in the number of surveillance cameras and the huge number of photos available on Facebook, Flickr or Picasa make me fear the worst: widespread surveillance," predicts Andrew Patrick from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Canada.
- Ways to reassure users
- There are three ways to make biometrics appealing to the general public.
- The first is to explain how it can save time.
- "If a customer spends thirty seconds less at a till thanks to biometrics, it would be nice," says the manager of a major store.
- The second is to offer personalised services: in a few years a voice server will be able to recognise your voice and offer you customised options.
- Finally, the public can be reassured by highlighting the measures implemented to protect databases.
- "Digital fingerprints are stored in a primary server; the identities of individuals are in a second database. The correlation between the two sets of information is encrypted and stored in a highly secure box, which locks up if anyone tries to move it," specifies Philippe Robin from Thales.
- However, given the lack of in-depth studies, it is impossible to know if this line will really convince users.
- Privacy protection specialists continue to be concerned.
- He shall appear before the provincial court in Halifax in December.
- On the exchange market, speculation regarding a change in the ECB's monetary policy are rife, as testified by John Hardy, a strategist at Saxo Bank.
- The ECB's sole mandate has always revolved around inflation, therefore Mario Draghi and his team have all the more reason to take action at their meeting next week.
- We are forecasting a highly likely drop in the Euro.
- In this context, the Euro continues to drop as compared to the US dollar and, during the session, reached a record two-week low at $1.3517.
- Conversely, these very speculations are boosting the bond market in the eurozone.
- He said usually a pope would name as many cardinals as was needed to raise the number of cardinal electors back to 120 and as many cardinals aged over 80 as he wanted.
- Next year's consistory would be significant because it would be the first since Francis was elected in March this year, Valero said.
- At the moment there is a sort of bias towards Europe and especially towards Italy.
- "It will be interesting to see whether the new Pope will nominate cardinals from the rest of the world to restore the balance," he said.
- Forty percent of Roman Catholics are in South America, but they have a tiny number of cardinals.
- The cardinals will also be the first to be chosen since Francis formed the Council of Cardinals, a group of eight cardinals from around the world tasked with looking into ways to reform the church.
- In the past the Pope decided everything on his own.
- "Now Francis has selected these eight cardinals to help him," Valero said.
- He said it was "quite possible" that Francis would ask the cardinals for advice.
- But we've not been in that situation before -- it's all completely new.
- Valero said popes typically elevated bishops from large places to the position of cardinal but that Francis was "full of surprises -- so we don't know who he'll name."
- In the United States, the popular video service is said to be discussing the possibility of making its service available via their broadcasting platforms with some major cable companies.
- "It varies from one quarter to the next in the face of very lively competition."
- The Montreal company also bought Peer 1 Network Enterprises, an Internet services provider based in Vancouver, for CAD 526 million last December.
- In terms of revenue, Cogeco saw growth of 41.5% in the fourth quarter, reaching CAD 504.7 million.
- Its revenue stands at CAD 1,800 million for the current financial year.
- The net profit of its principal subsidiary, Cogeco Cable, was CAD 43.9 million, or 90¢ per share, down from CAD 45.7 million, or 93¢ per share, for the same period last year.
- Nevertheless, Cogeco Cable saw a 45% growth, reaching CAD 470.4 million.
- The company lost 15,237 customers during the fourth quarter.
- Even so, the number of Cogeco Cable customers rose by 5,546 for the 2013 fiscal year.
- Audet is not concerned by this fluctuation in the company's number of customers.
- "For me, this does not indicate a change in trend," he noted.
- An investigation is under way to find the cause of the fire.
- They are exploring how, over the next decade, they can move to a system in which drivers pay per mile of road they roll over.
- "Motorists would be attracted to participate because of the value of the benefits it offers to them," says a city planning document.
- Some transportation planners, though, wonder if all the talk about paying by the mile is just a giant distraction.
- At the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco Bay Area, officials say Congress could very simply deal with the bankrupt Highway Trust Fund by raising gas taxes.
- An extra one-time or annual levy could be imposed on drivers of hybrids and others whose vehicles don't use much gas, so they pay their fair share.
- "There is no need for radical surgery when all you need to do is take an aspirin," said Randy Rentschler, the commission's director of legislation and public affairs.
- If we do this, hundreds of millions of drivers will be concerned about their privacy and a host of other things.
- They can choose a device with or without GPS.
- Or they can choose not to have a device at all, opting instead to pay a flat fee based on the average number of miles driven by all state residents.
- Other places are hoping to sell the concept to a wary public by having the devices do more, not less.
- In New York City, transportation officials are seeking to develop a taxing device that would also be equipped to pay parking meter fees, provide "pay-as-you-drive" insurance, and create a pool of real-time speed data from other drivers that motorists could use to avoid traffic.
- Bombs strike markets, mosques, weddings and funeral ceremonies.
- However, they have also criticized Shiite Nouri Al Maliki, saying he is partly responsible for the resumption of violence because of his "sectarian and authoritarian policies".
- They have also demanded that Barack Obama make Nouri Al Maliki understand that "the pernicious influence of Iran within the Iraqi government constitutes a serious problem in the relationship between our two countries".
- On Friday, the latest acts of violence left four people dead in the north of Iraq, a day after at least 26 people were killed in a series of attacks, which included five booby-trapped cars being blown up in the north of Baghdad.
- The majority of the violence is attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (EIIL), a group affiliated with Al-Qaida (Sunni extremists), which is also involved in the civil war in Syria.
- Nouri Al Maliki wants a "global war" against Al-Qaida.
- The violence is at the centre of the talks in the United States with Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, who will be received by President Barack Obama on Friday, two years after their last meeting on 12 December 2011.
- At that time, the American President, who was elected on the promise of bringing to an end the US' military involvement in the country, painted an optimistic picture of the situation.
- Since arriving in Washington on Wednesday, Nouri Al Maliki has met several government officials and members of Congress.
- On Thursday, he pleaded that the international community should conduct a "third world war" against Al-Qaida.
- The principle of security aid for Iraq is supported by influential Republican and Democratic senators.
- Relations between the US and Germany have come under strain following claims that the NSA bugged Chancellor Angela's Merkel's phone.
- Thomas Oppermann, the MP who heads the parliamentary panel that oversees intelligence, said that if there were an opportunity to hear Mr Snowden as a witness "without bringing him into danger and completely ruining relations with the US," it should be taken.
- Mr Ströbele, an MP for Germany's Green party, published a picture of himself with Mr Snowden on his Twitter feed.
- He was accompanied on his visit to Russia by two German journalists.
- Mr Ströbele said that, according to the former NSA contractor's lawyer, Mr Snowden would not be able to return to Russia if he left.
- If Mr Snowden testified in Germany he would need assurances that he would be "safe" there, the MP said.
- Mr Snowden said in his letter that he had faced a "severe and sustained" campaign of persecution that forced him from his home.
- However he said that he was heartened by the worldwide response to "my act of political expression."
- Citizens around the world as well as high officials - including in the United States - have judged the revelation of an unaccountable system of pervasive surveillance to be a public service.
- The letter extends an offer to cooperate with German authorities "when the difficulties of this humanitarian situation have been resolved."
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- The majority of palliative care homes will refuse to help patients die, according to the vice-president of the Alliance of Palliative Care Homes, Suzanne Fitzback.
- Mrs Fitzback, who is also the director of the Mathieu-Froment-Savoie Home in Gatineau, thinks the service would be useless anyway.
- "Nobody ever says to us: 'I want to die, give me an injection."
- The director of the Palliative Care Association of Ontario, Rick Firth, believes that the Quebec bill is confusing people with regard to the purpose of palliative care.
- He does not believe that Ontario will follow suit.
- Meanwhile, the liberal MP of Gatineau, Stephanie Vallee, thinks that the concept of termination of life needs to be clarified before the bill can be adopted.
- The previous day, the Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, informed the British government on a trip to London that discussions had been initiated with Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban movement.
- Since the resumption on Friday of confrontations between the March 23 Movement (M23) and the army, MONUSCO has not been participating directly in the fighting, but it is providing government's troops with critical support in terms of intelligence, observation and planning.
- "This morning we went back across the border to go back to our fields, but the soldiers told us to go back," the AFP was told by Imelda Nyirankusi, surrounded by her nine children, including an infant on her back.
- The gunfire seems to be getting closer to the population.
- Early that evening, dozens of residents were crossing the border, some with mattresses on their heads, to spend the night in Uganda.
- The Congolese President, Joseph Kabila, called on the rebels once again on Wednesday to "stand down voluntarily" or be disarmed "by force", while leaving open the Kampala process, where Kinshasa and the M23 have been in discussions since December with no outcome as yet.
- The political leaders of the M23 are hoping to reach an agreement there.
- "We have finished the talks. The Ugandan mediators just need to organize the signing," asserted Roger Lumbala, vice-president of the M23 delegation, although this information could not be confirmed immediately with the government.
- The M23 was born of an April 2012 mutiny by former rebels, principally Tutsis who were integrated into the army in 2009 following a peace agreement.
- The UN and Kinshasa regularly accuse Uganda and Rwanda of supporting the M23. Kigali and Kampala have denied the accusations.
- North Kivu is one of the most densely populated areas of the DRC, and its land abounds in coveted mineral resources.
- At Bunagana, on the Ugandan side of the border, to which around 5,000 people fled between Monday and Wednesday according to the UN, the process of returning which started in the morning was reversed at midday.
- Asked if he would return to the post of prime minister, Mr Blair was quoted by London's Evening Standard as saying: "Yes, sure, but it's not likely to happen is it, so..."
- Stacy Martin is not done being the topic of conversations.
- Gazprom said construction should begin in other downstream countries by year's end.
- The pipeline is designed for an annual capacity of 2.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
- "If other supporters are intending to travel to Paris by other means, the French Police Department has said that steps have been taken to permit arrests to be made and people to be taken into custody," Marie Verbeke also announced.
- Flowers were laid on two of the three military burial plots in the cemetery by Mayor Jean-Claude Guibal and various other personalities.
- Despite the precarious situation that so many cultural institutions face, the future looks bright, even in the long term.
- We have more solid and stable support.
- "Finances are on an even keel and we hope to see the 50th anniversary of the operetta, a milestone we will reach in seven years," the administrator remarked.
- "I would even say beyond that," added the general manager, Helene Gaudreault, with a smile.
- Share with us your thoughts in the comments below.
- But one section of his camp, centered around the national secretary of the People of Freedom (PDL) party, Angelino Alfano, is continuing to support the government, as it demonstrated on October 2 when it refused to follow Berlusconi's orders on a previous attempt to bring down the cabinet.
- But, on Twitter, people want a spectacle, emotion, originality, music...
- Fortunately, a few got just that.
- Many people have tried "La Nouvelle Star", and some have even gotten through.
- Behind the television screens, there are always those cut out to be successful singers, season after season.
- Others are just out to make you laugh.
- His weapon was seized.
- "The merger is also conditional upon obtaining other regulatory authorisations and the approval of the two groups' shareholders," they add.
- In the United Kingdom, bishops have published the poll on the Internet and asked Catholics to participate.
- With nowhere to live, he sleeps on the couches of friends who will still have him.
- Documentary-style
- "His relationship with success is tortured, and that's what interested us: a mix of bad luck and a guy who's never in the right place at the right time, not career-orientated, but honest, with a tendency towards self-destruction," Ethan Coen, who, with his brother Joel, has won several Oscars and Cannes prizes, told the press.
- Even though Llewyn Davis never existed, the two directors, who are folk music fans, based their story on real people of the time, such as folk musician Dave Van Ronk.
- The idea was to portray the moment preceding the advent of Greenwich Village, the New York district destined to become "the epicentre of the folk music boom that created international stars", according to the journalist Elijah Wald, a friend of Van Ronk.
- The film has the feel of a documentary, from the fusty record label overrun with unsold LPs and inhabited by a priceless old secretary, to the musical choices of the studios of the day and the cafés where the singers performed.
- The Coen brothers' magic continues to work by integrating a comical character who is permanently on screen: a magnificent, cute ginger cat who is Llewyn Davis' companion in fate.
- Asked how he had developed his character, the actor and singer Justin Timberlake recalled how he "grew up in Tennessee, bathed in the blues and country music".
- "My first music lessons were given to me by my grandfather. He taught me to play the guitar," he added.
- Timberlake says that although you have to work "to be considered good...luck can also launch your career...more and more so today".
- Like Llewyn Davis, who refuses to compromise on his music, the pop star says that in a career, "the most important thing is to avoid getting trapped by things that prevent us from expressing ourselves".
- Mike Warren, the mayor of Pitcairn, believes that the creation of such a protected zone would be the first step towards greater financial autonomy for the island.
- The project will need to be ratified by the British governor of Pitcairn, who is based in New Zealand, and the British government.
- Creating such a reserve would permit the United Kingdom to protect the 836,000km2, provided it has the means to ensure it is policed - which it does not.
- There is no airport on Pitcairn, making it impossible to base one or more aircrafts there to monitor the zone, and there is no port where military surveillance crafts can be placed.
- France, on her part, already has to carry out the highly expensive aerial and maritime surveillance of 5 million km2 of the EEZ of French Polynesia, adjacent to Pitcairn.
- The transfer of internal medicine beds is scheduled for some point during the month.
- In Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's team, Vincent Roger, a UMP councillor in Paris and MP of the 4th arrondissement, states clearly that "even if the UMP in Paris supports the continuation of emergency services at Hôtel-Dieu, it would be technically and financially impossible to reopen them if you look at the duties."
- Ann Hidalgo, the Socialist Party's candidate, repeated on Monday morning on France Inter that she was in favour of a moratorium to prevent the closure on November 4.
- If it went ahead, she would register her clear disagreement, stresses Bruno Juillard, her spokesman.
- "Even though the reorganisation of the Hôtel-Dieu has an underlying justification, we cannot let this happen without an acceptable plan for the transfer of patients to other hospitals."
- By the end of the year, self-employed GPs are also expected to participate in the implementation of an "ambulatory care service".
- "Where are we heading if we start asking people to self-diagnose?" asks Gérald Kierzek, for whom "the concept of a non-major emergency" is "dangerous" and marks a "medical step backwards".
- "The same thing will happen as with level 3 maternity units.
- People are not stupid, they will go wherever the best care is offered."
- "If the minister does not take a step by Monday, we will take a different approach," warns Christophe Prudhomme, emergency medical officer and member of the healthcare CGT.
- "We will have a greater presence in the local election campaigns and we will think about putting up a list."
- It said it had decided to "impose an administrative penalty on Chen Yongzhou by revoking his reporter's license."
- It had also "instructed Yangcheng Evening News Group to undertake a complete rectification of New Express, and recommended they investigate the relevant responsible persons at New Express and immediately revise New Express's leadership team."
- Mr Chen wrote several articles for the New Express alleging financial irregularities at a construction-equipment company called Zoomlion.
- After he was detained, his newspaper published two front-page appeals for his release, saying it backed his journalism.
- But Mr Chen then appeared on state television admitting he had published false stories for money.
- "In this case I've caused damages to Zoomlion and also the whole news media industry and its ability to earn the public's trust," he told state broadcaster CCTV.
- I did this mainly because I hankered after money and fame.
- I've realised my wrongdoing.
- Following Mr Chen's apology, New Express issued a front-page apology, saying it had failed to properly check his reports.
- Several high-profile suspects have made televised confessions recently.
- Experts say confessions are still routinely coerced, despite a change in the law earlier this year banning the authorities from forcing anyone to incriminate themselves.
- "I told them I wasn't ready," he said in an interview with La Presse Canadienne on Wednesday.
- "For several months, I asked if there was a way that I could stay on, and they said no," he adds.
- Since the start of major combat in Afghanistan, the army has struggled to determine what latitude it can give to injured soldiers who want to stay in the army but are not capable of combat.
- Under the current rules, seriously injured soldiers have up to three years to recover.
- If they do not meet the criteria for overseas deployment, they can be forced to leave the army.
- The data presented to parliament last year indicates that, of the 1,218 soldiers discharged for medical reasons, 199 had not reached the length of service required to obtain retirement benefits.
- On Wednesday, the liberal spokesman for former service personnel, Jim Karygiannis, asked for Lance Corporal Hawkins to be reinstated, while the neo-democrat Jack Harris demanded an immediate end to "this shameful practice".
- But the Attorney General for Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, who is canvassing for the role of governor, asked the court of appeal to overturn the judgement from the trial court blocking the application of the law.
- A plenary hearing on the matter is scheduled to take place in January.
- On the evening you were set free, you appeared on the mid-evening news on Antenne 2.
- And, I fight, alongside other people, for the recognition of the legal status of hostages.
- I think there is a problem of semantics.
- We need to qualify hostage-taking as "political" hostage-taking - that's what it is for the most part - and enable the hostages to have access to justice, to press charges and to bring their kidnappers before the International Criminal Court.
- Today, once again, everyone is wrapped up in compassion, emotion and is rejoicing that the hostages are free.
- But who is saying that the hostages may also have access to justice?
- The court in The Hague has been set up for that purpose.
- Why should we not say to the hostage-takers: "You have flouted the rules of war and those of all the Geneva Conventions, we're going to bring you to justice"?
- I think that is justified, legitimate, plain common sense.
- People hear the message, but do not listen, and that shocks me.
- That's my main struggle.
- Costumes are expected to account for $1.2 billion dollars out of the $6.9 billion spent, according to the NRF.
- Charlie Brown introduced us to The Great Pumpkin when we were kids, and carving a jack-o-lantern is like decorating a Christmas tree - it's something we've done since we were little.
- Lucky for us, the "baby in a pumpkin trend" started only last year thanks to Pinterest, so most of us grew up carving these gourds not sitting in them.
- This year, Americans will spend around $106 million on pumpkins, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- The jack-o-lantern slowly withering on your front porch probably came from Illinois, which grew 542 million pounds of pumpkin this year.
- If you're looking for extra credit, call Tim and Susan Mathisdon in Napa, Calif., and try to carve up their 2,032 pound pumpkin.
- It's a mystery I have yet to solve.
- Nothing is more quintessentially Halloween than haunted houses.
- They have the best names, like "Terror Behind the Walls" (which, by the way is in an actual prison), "Howl-O-Scream" and "The House of Shock."
- In fact, there are 1,200 officially sanctioned haunted houses in the United States generating about $500 million in revenue, according to America Haunts, and that includes those awesome photos of you mid-peeing your pants that your friend puts on Facebook and you can't take down and then that guy you like sees the photo and leaves a comment like "nice face."
- Finally, let's talk pumpkins.
- An activist supporter of Jean-Pierre Chevénement in 2002, he later supported Dominique de Villepin in the district from 2010 to 2011.
- "I know that the values of equality that I advocate in my manifesto are associated with the Left, but if people on the Right are prepared to support me, I will listen to them too," he continues.
- "It is only extremist parties that I will not talk to."
- Besides multiculturalism, Abdel-Malik Djermoune has built his manifesto - which can be read on the Internet - around various subjects intended to appeal to suburban residents, especially the young: the right to vote for foreigners, the legalisation of cannabis, lowering the voting age to 16, restoration of the function of caretaker, etc.
- He still needs to find candidates to form lists and defend his ideas in the political arena. "It is likely that may be done just in time for the 2014 municipal elections," he acknowledges.
- "The problem is time and money.
- However, the 'Parti de la Banlieue' should at least be represented in Aubervilliers through my candidacy and in other towns too I hope," he adds.
- Abdel-Malik Djermoune claims there are already seven names on the candidate list in mainland France and in Martinique.
- "And the mail expressing support that I have been receiving since yesterday are not all coming from the suburbs," he says with delight.
- Fighting back tears, she said Patek should have been sentenced to death.
- Patek is the last of the Bali bombers to face justice.
- He had avoided capture for almost a decade but was eventually apprehended in January 2011 in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where US forces killed former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden less than four months later.
- During the trial, an FBI agent testified that intelligence reports had revealed Patek was in Pakistan to meet with bin Laden in an effort to re-establish links between South-East Asian terrorist groups and al-Qaeda.
- "He didn't give himself up," Ms Corteen said.
- Until just recently, he really didn't feel sorry for how much grief he caused other people.
- The verdict comes ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attack later this year, which will be marked by ceremonies in Bali and Australia.
- "There will be a lot of tears this year," Ms Corteen said.
- Patek may yet appeal his sentence.
- To keep him alive, well, there's no reason to keep him alive.
- To get 20 years, after killing 202 people and injuring many hundreds, it's not much.
- "Another group of potholders found them in the hollow exhausted but in good health and got a message to one of the rescue teams working in the network of tunnels," explained local newspaper, Le Dauphiné.
- The two men, who are soldiers in the 13th Battalion of French Alpine Troops stationed in Chambéry, were found "exhausted but uninjured".
- They got lost in the network, but retraced their steps while waiting for assistance, said the police.
- After being given supplies, they are expected to exit the cave in the evening with the help of the rescuers.
- The attack took place at a time when Egypt is hardly receiving any tourists since the army deposed the Islamic President, Mohamed Morsi, in early July and bloodily suppresses demonstrations by his supporters.
- Despite the quick intervention of the emergency services, he died as a result of the head-on collision.
- A combination of circumstances put us in a difficult situation last year."
- "For us [the number of staff] is always precarious as this is a young environment where a lot of young women are being employed. So in terms of pregnancies, you can always count on three people being on maternity leave when things are going well," she added.
- "Last year there were many more and there were no pharmacists available to replace them, so it was more difficult."
- Three pharmacists have already returned to work after maternity leave and three others have been taken on in recent months.
- In addition, the efforts made by the department to hold on to staff have paid off, as the four students currently in residence in Laval have also decided to stay on at the CSSS.
- "Things are going much better now," stressed the pharmacist.
- "By the end of the financial year, we will have seven new pharmacists and three back from maternity leave.
- So that will fill the gaps we had last year."
- Need still growing
- However, the situation is still precarious.
- Several factors, such as the shortage of pharmacists in hospitals or a predominance of young women in the profession, make situations like that experienced in 2012 difficult to predict.
- I assure you innocent people are not being abused in this process.
- Other revelations cited documents leaked by Snowden that the NSA monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone and those of up to 34 other world leaders.
- The national intelligence director, James Clapper, defended spying on allies as necessary and said it's commonplace on both sides.
- Amid the uproar, Murphy said his office is arranging the congressional trip, expected to take place this year, and hopes the delegation will include members of both parties and both chambers.
- Names of other participating lawmakers were to be released in coming days.
- He said the itinerary is still being worked out.
- While Murphy said the purpose of the trip is to help improve relationships, he said some "tough love" will also be dispensed.
- He said European leaders need to be honest with their own people about the kind of espionage programs they've used for years themselves.
- "While we can amend our surveillance programs to better protect the rights of Europeans, they also need to come to terms with the fact that we're not the only ones that are out there spying," Murphy said.
- Meanwhile, Mr Kerry is scheduled to head this weekend to the Middle East and Poland to address rancor over U.S. strategies in the Syria, Egypt and Iran as well as U.S. surveillance activities.
- News reports that the NSA swept up millions of phone records in Europe have frayed relations with some U.S. allies, though the agency's chief said this week that they were inaccurate and reflected a misunderstanding of metadata that Nato allies collected and shared with the United States.
- Her new album, "Prism," debuted at No. 1 this week.
- That suggests China's economic recovery could continue to strengthen after growth rebounded to 7.8 percent in the third quarter from a two-decade low in the previous quarter.
- Brent crude, a benchmark for international crude also used by U.S. refineries, fell 26 cents to $108.58 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London.
- Wearing a wingsuit, he flew past over the famous Monserrate Sanctuary at 160km/h. The sanctuary is located at an altitude of over 3000 meters and numerous spectators had gathered there to watch his exploit.
- He was wearing "a general's uniform".
- "His service papers and photo, amongst other things, were found in the inside left pocket," he continued.
- Bild also published a document from the borough hall of the Mitte district in Berlin, indicating that he had been buried in the district's Jewish cemetery.
- The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, said he was shocked by the revelation.
- Finding that one of the most brutal Nazi sadists was buried in a Jewish cemetery is an abhorrent enormity, he said.
- "The memory of the victims is being trampled underfoot in the worst manner," he said disgustedly in the paper.
- Heinrich Muller was one of the major figures in the Third Reich never to be captured.
- He took part in the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, where the "final solution" was decided upon, and notably was in command of Adolf Eichmann, who was responsible for the "logistics" of the extermination of the Jews and who was sentenced to death and executed in Israel in 1962.
- The closure of the Delta comes at a time of great competitiveness in the hotel market.
- The investment fund that owned the building had to make a choice.
- It had to either reinvest in the building to continue using it, which would require investments worth tens of millions of dollars while competition is fierce as a lot of new hotels have appeared in Montreal.
- or sell it to someone else, which is what happened," explains Paul Arsenault, holder of the Transat Chair in Tourism at the School of Management at the UQAM.
- Other hotels in Montreal will also be converted in the coming months, such as the Crown Plaza, which will become a home for the elderly.
- Meanwhile, four hotel projects totaling almost 600 rooms will be implemented in the next two years.
- "Everyone is having a wild time," added Rhonda.
- "People are happy.
- It's relaxed, it's cool.
- We really need this."
- Halloween is a pagan festival celebrated the day before All Saints' Day, principally in English-speaking countries.
- In tests, vaccinated mice who were subsequently given nicotine continued with their normal activity.
- But mice who had not been given the vaccine "chilled out," say the researchers, a sign that the nicotine had reached their brains.
- The experiments are described in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
- Previous tobacco vaccines failed because they contained antibodies.
- The jabs had to be given so frequently to keep antibody levels topped up that they proved expensive and impractical.
- But the cost of the new vaccine is likely to be far lower, because it turns liver cells into antibody factories.
- Prof Crystal said that if a future human vaccine was completely safe it could be given to children before they were tempted to try a cigarette, preventing nicotine addiction.
- But more likely it would be used by smokers to quit.
- "They will know if they start smoking again, they will receive no pleasure from it due to the nicotine vaccine, and that can help them kick the habit," he said.
- British scientists said the results were interesting but warned far more research was needed.
- The 43-year-old patient had been suspected of being infected on Tuesday, after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where the disease has already killed about fifty people.
- Only several hundred supporters gathered outside the court to cheer the new president and, in a departure from the presidential pomp of the Mubarak years, traffic was only briefly halted to allow his motorcade through on the usually busy road linking the city centre with its southern suburbs.
- Derided as the Brotherhood's uncharismatic "spare tyre," his personal prestige has surged since his victory and his delivery of a Friday speech that tried to present him as a candidate not just of Islamists but of all those who want to complete the work of the 2011 uprising against the authoritarian Mubarak.
- "Egypt today is a civil, national, constitutional and modern state," Morsi, wearing a blue business suit and a red tie, told the judges in the wood-panelled chamber where he took the oath of office.
- Morsi later travelled to Cairo University where he was to make his inauguration address.
- He was given an official welcome by an army band that played the national anthem as he stood to attention.
- Military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi was in attendance.
- His arrival was greeted with chants of, "The army and the people are one hand," from the hundreds gathered in the university's main lecture room.
- Established in 1908 as a bastion of secular education, Cairo University later became a stronghold of Islamist student groups in the 1970s.
- Morsi took a symbolic oath on Friday in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that ended Mubarak's authoritarian rule last year, and vowed to reclaim presidential powers stripped from his office by the military council that took over from the ousted leader.
- But by agreeing to take the official oath before the court, rather than before parliament as is customary, he is bowing to the military's will in an indication that the contest for power will continue.
- Morsi's speech in Tahrir Square was filled with dramatic populist gestures.
- This judgement means that it will be possible to enforce a law which was adopted in this state in July and widely brings the issue of the right to abortion into question.
- Under the Renault-Nissan alliance, Renault holds 43.4% of Nissan's capital and the Japanese manufacturer 15% of the French company's, according to data on the Nissan website.
- Omar Hassan is still in detention and is due to appear in court on Friday.
- There has also been a change in the management of the public lighting network and Christmas decorations.
- The ride has been closed till further notice.
- According to investigations by the European Commission, France the most affected by the presence of this type of meat in products which are supposed to contain beef only.
- Virgin, which has already been talking to CASA about extending the use its in-flight wi-fi entertainment system, was amenable to a change but said it would take its lead from the regulator.
- "We would welcome a review by CASA into allowing the use of electronic devices because we really do think it will improve the customer experience now that we have (wireless in-flight entertainment) on our planes," a spokesman said.
- Qantas said it would stick with the current rules for now.
- "Our current policy is that electronic devices cannot be used during take-off and landing and we have no immediate plans to change that," it said.
- The FAA ruling applies to American airlines.
- However, we are always interested in regulatory developments that could benefit passengers and we will certainly be taking a close look at the FAA's decision and the reasons behind it.
- For US carriers, the impact of the ruling will vary from airline to airline and will depend on the age of their fleet.
- Carriers will need to prove their planes can tolerate radio interference from mobile devices as well as revise manuals, training materials, carry-on baggage programs and passenger briefings.
- "Once an airline verifies the tolerance of its fleet, it can allow passengers to use handheld, lightweight electronic devices such as tablets, e-readers, and smartphones-at all altitudes," the FAA said.
- In rare instances of low visibility, the crew will instruct passengers to turn off their devices during landing.
- The group also recommended that heavier devices should be safely stowed under seats or in overhead bins during take-off and landing.
- It should be recalled that the Charles-de-Gaulle had just returned from a six-month period of interim maintenance.
- It had cast off from Toulon in mid-October for a training exercise,
- principally for the qualification of new fighter pilots.
- A "small amount of damage", confined to the area of the reactor chamber, then occurred on the French fleet's flagship.
- According to the Navy, the crew was not exposed to any radioactive contamination.
- "France has been clear of rabies since 2001. This kitten or the mother were imported from another country where it is still present," says the press release.
- The Ministry of Agriculture states that the last recorded 'native' case of rabies was in December 1998 in a fox and that "France was officially declared free of this disease by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in November 2001."
- A case of rabies in a bitch illegally imported from the Gambia was recorded in 2008.
- "Rabies is a fatal disease if not treated promptly," the ministries reminded, and it can be transmitted during the fortnight or so before the first symptoms of the disease appear.
- Skirmishes were reported in the hills above Bunagana, the last town in the hands of the rebels to fall this week, and around Runyoni, a hill where the M23 rebellion started in 2012.
- On Wednesday, the inhabitants of Bunagana took to the streets of the town to welcome the entry of the FARDC troops.
- "We have been living with the M23 for a year and it seemed unimaginable that we would one day be freed by the army," said an inhabitant of the town on the border with Uganda.
- "We have been living in terror [of the M23], we are traumatised," the man added.
- The rate of progress of the government troops today is unprecedented.
- "The M23 seems to be nearing its end," predicted an expert in Congolese affairs, Jason Stearns, on his blog Congo Siasa.
- This would be historic - it would be the first time that the government in Kinshasa has succeeded in quashing a major insurrection.
- And it would also be the first time since 1996 that there is no armed group allied to Rwanda present in the east of the RDC.
- United Nations experts accuse Rwanda of providing military support to the M23, which has initially made up of mutinous former Congolese soldiers. Rwanda vehemently denies this.
- The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, called on the Rwandan President Paul Kagame to show restraint, a Foreign Office spokesman announced.
- Last week, Kigali raised the possibility of military retaliation after shells landed in Rwandan territory.
- They could also have requested an immediate search warrant, if this was considered necessary.
- The chief of police has not commented. However, his spokesman, Mark Pugash, has described Ruby's statements as "an obvious and desperate attempt" to sell himself to the media in a matter that does not concern him at all.
- In a press conference on Thursday, Mr Blair stated that there was nothing in this video that might constitute a "reasonable motive" that could lead to criminal charges being brought against the mayor.
- The organisation merely indicated that the mediation was part of a process arising from a complaint.
- The area has not been abandoned and rats are not swarming into the town.
- Due to environmental protection and public health concerns, rat extermination products are four times less efficient than in the past, but we are not going to kill a kid for the sake of two rats."
- "We didn't invite the rats in," counters the father of the family, which left its home and moved into a hotel.
- "We will soon be penniless and we are waiting for a new house at the same rate as the old one."
- Nevertheless, the government has not declared any intention of reforming its anti-corruption system, for example by creating a body independent of the Party.
- Howie was also ordered to pay costs of £90 and a victim surcharge of £100.
- His mother Donna, 30, said: "Fenton and Toffee are a great double act."
- The judges marked Fenton and Toffee on how well they were turned out and the way they presented in the show ring.
- They look for good teamwork between the pony and the handler - Fenton and Toffee were the best in the ring.
- I'm sure Fenton was helped by his cute clothes, he really looked the part.
- The youngster, from the village of Nantyglo, near Ebbw Vale, South Wales, is following in the footsteps of his aunt Sharon Howells, who has been showing horses for more than 10 years.
- Mrs Howells said: "The whole place was electric and everybody was cheering and clapping."
- He was running on sand down the full length of the arena and even though he looked so tiny he did a marvellous job.
- Fenton is animal mad - he loves horses, tractors and farms and has got two chickens which he looks after.
- The way he has started he'll be at the Horse of the Year show before long - and I'm sure he'll do well.
- A spokesman for the annual horse show said: "Fenton is only three but he knows how to handle his pony."
- They are a great team together.
- "The research carried out by journalists is just as confidential as the details of their sources and the nature of their communication with them," added Michael Konken, president of the union, which has 38,000 members.
- The country is believed to have around 1,000 metric tons of chemicals and weapons including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin.
- In other developments, the Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman said there had been a strong explosion Wednesday inside an air defense facility in Syria's coastal province of Latakia.
- The cause of the blast was not known, he said.
- It added that, "no further inspection activities are currently planned."
- Earlier this week, the inspectors said they had completed their first round of verification work, visiting 21 of 23 sites declared by Damascus.
- They were unable to visit two sites because of security concerns, the inspectors said.
- On Thursday, OPCW said the two locations were, according to Syria, "abandoned and ... the chemical weapons program items they contained were moved to other declared sites, which were inspected."
- It was not immediately clear if the facility in Safira was one of the two sites that OPCW inspectors were not able to visit.
- Syria has submitted a plan for the total destruction of its chemical weapons that has to be approved next month by the OPCW's executive committee.
- "I salute the fortitude and courage you've all demonstrated in fulfilling the most challenging mission ever undertaken by this organization," the watchdog's director-general, Ahmet Uzumcu, said in comments released by the OPCW.
- Now in its third year, the civil war pits the primarily Sunni Muslim rebels against Assad's government and its security forces, which are stacked with members of his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
- The Chinese police have identified the driver of the vehicle, whose name suggests he is of Uighur origin, and stated that his wife and mother were with him in the car.
- The vehicle also held containers full of petrol and a flag with orthodox religious writing on it.
- The incident left 42 people injured.
- The East Turkestan Islamic Movement is considered by the United States and the United Nations to be a terrorist organization.
- The reduction in refining margins is affecting the entire sector.
- Chevron's main competitor, Exxon, also announced a drop in net profits on Thursday, despite an increase in its gas and oil production.
- According to these sources, the activists were conducting a surveillance operation in the border area between the Palestinian territory and Israel, when they were shelled by an Israeli tank.
- And one that is so long in the tooth it has become fossilised: I first heard the "independence means passport controls" canard at least 40 years ago.
- However, Washington's growing interest in the Pacific suggests Britain will be left out in the Atlantic cold.
- Where does this leave Scotland?
- We can choose to be a region of (essentially) Little England.
- Or we can defend our own economic interests - which includes telling Berlin and Brussels where to get off.
- I suspect that Scotland could do well inside a looser European arrangement provided we kept our own currency.
- Co-operation with other like-minded countries will be easier in a non-federal Europe of the Nations.
- Otherwise we should consider emulating Norway and retaining our economic independence.
- The SNP government in Scotland is - remarkably-- the most successful anti-austerity political movement in Europe, having won a spectacular majority in 2011 on the basis of opposing the cuts proposed (and implemented) by Labour's chancellor Alistair Darling and the subsequent Tory-Lib Dem coalition.
- It would be ridiculous now for Scotland to vote for independence only to accept austerity imposed by Berlin and Brussels.
- I expect the UK will distance itself from this project, hoping to cosy up to the US.
- The airport is currently being evacuated and air traffic has been suspended.
- Not that everything has to be simplified or come to a happy ending, but that there is an innate sense of good and evil.
- And that must be subliminated; revealed through a story rather than stated.
- The old basis of showing not telling.
- The London Stock Exchange closed down on Thursday, with prices brought down by poor results from Shell the day after an announcement by the Fed that it would be maintaining its support for the economy, as planned.
- With cremation, there is a sense of "violence committed against the body of a loved one", which will be "reduced to a pile of ashes" in a very short time instead of after a process of decomposition that "would accompany the stages of grief".
- "For a decade or so, they have been trying hard to spare families from the feeling of violence in waiting for an hour and a half, doing nothing, followed immediately by their being handed the ashes," observes Michaud-Nérard.
- 70% of establishments now offer a master of ceremonies to conduct the following ritual in the presence of the body: greet the congregation, mention the deceased by name, connect the deceased to those present, evoke who the person was, give sense to their death, organise a farewell.
- This is what has been happening at the Père Lachaise crematorium since 1998.
- The masters of ceremonies are often people who have moved into this new type of employment.
- There are also former Catholic priests.
- It is in this context that, since 2010, the Père Lachaise crematorium has been organising a number of memorial ceremonies, lay and non-religious, on All Saints Day, to which it invites the families of all those who have been cremated during the course of the year.
- For the second consecutive year, one of these ceremonies has been relayed online, for those could not attend.
- The crematorium has authorised us to broadcast it.
- 66% of atheists or non-believers also want one.
- Crematoria have adapted to this change in society.
- He will probably have another special helmet for the race on Sunday designed to mark his fourth consecutive world title.
- Israeli officials made no attempt to hide their anger when Washington revealed the attack, at the risk of forcing President Assad to respond.
- Currently, passengers are required to turn off their smartphones, tablets and other devices once a plane's door closes.
- In 2011, company officials loaded an airliner full of their Kindle e-readers and flew it around to test for problems but found none.
- FAA advisory committee members expressed mixed feelings about whether use of the devices presents any risk.
- Douglas Kidd of the National Association of Airline Passengers said he believes interference from the devices is genuine even if the risk is minimal.
- Other committee members said there are only anecdotal reports from pilots to support that the devices can interfere with aircraft systems, and most of those reports are very old.
- However, the committee recommended the FAA allow pilots to order passengers to shut off devices during instrument landings in low visibility.
- A travel industry group welcomed the changes, calling them common-sense accommodations for a traveling public now bristling with technology.
- "We're pleased the FAA recognizes that an enjoyable passenger experience is not incompatible with safety and security," said Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
- E-readers, for example, emit only minimal transmissions when turning a page.
- But transmissions are stronger when devices are downloading or sending data.
- Among those pressing for a relaxation of restrictions on passengers' use of the devices has been Amazon.com.
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