Populations of grassland butterflies decline almost 50 percent over 2 decades

Public release date: 23-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tilo Arnhold
presse@ufz.de
49-341-235-1635
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

This news release is available in German.

Copenhagen -- Grassland butterflies have declined dramatically between 1990 and 2011. This has been caused by intensifying agriculture and a failure to properly manage grassland ecosystems, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). In the report the data of the Butterfly monitoring scheme in Germany have been incorporated, which is scientifically supported by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). UFZ scientists have also contributed to the analysis of population trends.

The fall in grassland butterfly numbers is particularly worrying, according to the report, because these butterflies are considered to be representative indicators of trends observed for most other terrestrial insects, which together form around two thirds of the world's species. This means that butterflies are useful indicators of biodiversity and the general health of ecosystems.

Seventeen butterfly species are examined in 'The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990-2011', comprising seven widespread and 10 specialist species. Of the 17 species, eight have declined in Europe, two have remained stable and one increased. For six species the trend is uncertain.

Butterflies examined in the report include the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), which has declined significantly, the Orangetip (Anthocharis cardamines), which seems to be stable since 1990, and the Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon), which shows an uncertain trend over the last two decades.

Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, said: "This dramatic decline in grassland butterflies should ring alarm bells in general Europe's grassland habitats are shrinking. If we fail to maintain these habitats we could lose many of these species forever. We must recognise the importance of butterflies and other insects the pollination they carry out is essential for both natural ecosystems and agriculture."

Why are butterflies disappearing?

Intensifying agriculture and abandoned land are the two main trends affecting the populations of grassland butterflies. Agriculture has intensified where the land is relatively flat and easy to cultivate, and, on the other hand,large areas of grasslands have been abandoned in mountainous and wet regions, mainly in eastern and southern Europe. Both intensification and abandonment result in the loss and degradation of habitat for grassland butterflies.

Agricultural intensification leads to uniform grasslands which are almost sterile for biodiversity. In addition, butterflies are also vulnerable to pesticides, often used in intensively managed farming systems.

Farmland is often abandoned for socio-economic reasons. When farming on low-productivity land brings only a small amount of income, and there is little or no support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), farmers give up their enterprises and the land is left unmanaged. The grassland becomes overgrown and is soon replaced by scrub and woodland.

In some regions of north-western Europe, grassland butterflies are now almost restricted to road verges, railway sidings, rocky or wet places, urban areas and nature reserves. Areas using traditional low-input farming systems, known as High Nature Value Farmland, are also important habitats.

Monitoring Europe's butterflies

The report is based on the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, compiled by De Vlinderstichting (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), Butterfly Conservation Europe and Statistics Netherlands, using data from 1990 to 2011. The indicator brings together information from national butterfly monitoring schemes in 19 countries across Europe, most of them European Union Member States. Thousands of trained professional and volunteer recorders count butterflies on approximately 3 500 transects scattered widely across Europe. This volunteer fieldwork is essential for understanding the state and trends of Europe's butterflies.

While the report is based on data from 1990 to 2011, it should be noted that in many areas of Europe the current changes in land use began before 1990. The report therefore suggests that the recent halving of butterfly numbers may be the most recent development in a much bigger long-term decline.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy recognises the poor conservation status of grasslands. Grasslands should be properly managed, the report states, both within Natura 2000 protected areas and on HNV farmland. A new system of payments under the Common Agricultural Policy could help support better management, the report says.

The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator could be used as a measure of success of agriculture policies. Sustainable funding of butterfly indicators would help validate and reform a range of policies and help achieve the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020. http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/populations-of-grassland-butterflies-decline

###

Publication:

European Environment Agency (2013):
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990-2011.
EEA Technical Report No 11/2013. ISBN 978-92-9213-402-0
doi:10.2800/89760

This report presents the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, based on national Butterfly Monitoring Schemes (BMS) in 19 countries across Europe, most of them in the European Union. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/the-european-grassland-butterfly-indicator-19902011

Further Information:

Chris van Swaay
De Vlinderstichting
Postbus 506, 6700 AM Wageningen, Netherlands
T: +31 317 467346
http://www.vlinderstichting.nl/
http://www.bc-europe.eu/

or

Dr. Elisabeth Khn/ Dr. Oliver Harpke/ Dr. Martin Musche
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
T: +49-345-558-5263, -5312, -5310
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=10387
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=800
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=15805

der via

Tilo Arnhold, Susanne Hufe (UFZ press office)
T: +49-341-235-1635, -1630
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=640

Links:

Tagfalter-Monitoring Deutschland http://www.tagfalter-monitoring.de/

How to save Europe's most threatened butterflies (Press release from 28 March 2012) http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=30346

Distribution Atlas of Butterflies in Europe (Press release from October 5, 2011) http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=22156

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 23-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tilo Arnhold
presse@ufz.de
49-341-235-1635
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

This news release is available in German.

Copenhagen -- Grassland butterflies have declined dramatically between 1990 and 2011. This has been caused by intensifying agriculture and a failure to properly manage grassland ecosystems, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). In the report the data of the Butterfly monitoring scheme in Germany have been incorporated, which is scientifically supported by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). UFZ scientists have also contributed to the analysis of population trends.

The fall in grassland butterfly numbers is particularly worrying, according to the report, because these butterflies are considered to be representative indicators of trends observed for most other terrestrial insects, which together form around two thirds of the world's species. This means that butterflies are useful indicators of biodiversity and the general health of ecosystems.

Seventeen butterfly species are examined in 'The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990-2011', comprising seven widespread and 10 specialist species. Of the 17 species, eight have declined in Europe, two have remained stable and one increased. For six species the trend is uncertain.

Butterflies examined in the report include the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), which has declined significantly, the Orangetip (Anthocharis cardamines), which seems to be stable since 1990, and the Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon), which shows an uncertain trend over the last two decades.

Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, said: "This dramatic decline in grassland butterflies should ring alarm bells in general Europe's grassland habitats are shrinking. If we fail to maintain these habitats we could lose many of these species forever. We must recognise the importance of butterflies and other insects the pollination they carry out is essential for both natural ecosystems and agriculture."

Why are butterflies disappearing?

Intensifying agriculture and abandoned land are the two main trends affecting the populations of grassland butterflies. Agriculture has intensified where the land is relatively flat and easy to cultivate, and, on the other hand,large areas of grasslands have been abandoned in mountainous and wet regions, mainly in eastern and southern Europe. Both intensification and abandonment result in the loss and degradation of habitat for grassland butterflies.

Agricultural intensification leads to uniform grasslands which are almost sterile for biodiversity. In addition, butterflies are also vulnerable to pesticides, often used in intensively managed farming systems.

Farmland is often abandoned for socio-economic reasons. When farming on low-productivity land brings only a small amount of income, and there is little or no support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), farmers give up their enterprises and the land is left unmanaged. The grassland becomes overgrown and is soon replaced by scrub and woodland.

In some regions of north-western Europe, grassland butterflies are now almost restricted to road verges, railway sidings, rocky or wet places, urban areas and nature reserves. Areas using traditional low-input farming systems, known as High Nature Value Farmland, are also important habitats.

Monitoring Europe's butterflies

The report is based on the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, compiled by De Vlinderstichting (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), Butterfly Conservation Europe and Statistics Netherlands, using data from 1990 to 2011. The indicator brings together information from national butterfly monitoring schemes in 19 countries across Europe, most of them European Union Member States. Thousands of trained professional and volunteer recorders count butterflies on approximately 3 500 transects scattered widely across Europe. This volunteer fieldwork is essential for understanding the state and trends of Europe's butterflies.

While the report is based on data from 1990 to 2011, it should be noted that in many areas of Europe the current changes in land use began before 1990. The report therefore suggests that the recent halving of butterfly numbers may be the most recent development in a much bigger long-term decline.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy recognises the poor conservation status of grasslands. Grasslands should be properly managed, the report states, both within Natura 2000 protected areas and on HNV farmland. A new system of payments under the Common Agricultural Policy could help support better management, the report says.

The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator could be used as a measure of success of agriculture policies. Sustainable funding of butterfly indicators would help validate and reform a range of policies and help achieve the goal of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020. http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/populations-of-grassland-butterflies-decline

###

Publication:

European Environment Agency (2013):
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator: 1990-2011.
EEA Technical Report No 11/2013. ISBN 978-92-9213-402-0
doi:10.2800/89760

This report presents the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, based on national Butterfly Monitoring Schemes (BMS) in 19 countries across Europe, most of them in the European Union. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/the-european-grassland-butterfly-indicator-19902011

Further Information:

Chris van Swaay
De Vlinderstichting
Postbus 506, 6700 AM Wageningen, Netherlands
T: +31 317 467346
http://www.vlinderstichting.nl/
http://www.bc-europe.eu/

or

Dr. Elisabeth Khn/ Dr. Oliver Harpke/ Dr. Martin Musche
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
T: +49-345-558-5263, -5312, -5310
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=10387
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=800
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=15805

der via

Tilo Arnhold, Susanne Hufe (UFZ press office)
T: +49-341-235-1635, -1630
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?de=640

Links:

Tagfalter-Monitoring Deutschland http://www.tagfalter-monitoring.de/

How to save Europe's most threatened butterflies (Press release from 28 March 2012) http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=30346

Distribution Atlas of Butterflies in Europe (Press release from October 5, 2011) http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=22156

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/haog-pog072313.php

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Lakers Know Money Can't Buy Them A Championship

The days where the Lakers could vastly rely on their poker chips to build championship contending teams will become a distant memory this offseason.

The Lakers can offer Dwight Howard the most money of any NBA team, a five-year deal worth $118 million as opposed to a four-year deal worth $87.6 million for everyone else. But that may not convince Howard he would look best in purple and gold once he becomes an unrestricted free agent today at 9 p.m.

The Lakers have a 25-year, $5 billion deal with Time Warner Cable that paid the team around $120 million in the first year, a partnership Lakers president Jeanie Buss said "exceeded beyond our wildest expectations." That lucrative contract, however, won't convince the Lakers to go on a shopping spree this offseason for reasons beyond giving the NBA about $50 million of those earnings in revenue sharing.

More punitive luxury taxes for high-spending teams will kick in during the 2014 offseason when a crop of superstars such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and John Wall enter the free-agent market. That's why the Lakers have echoed the need to keep "financial flexibility." "There are teams that have tried to buy championships, but it doesn't work that way," Buss said recently at a Time Warner Cable Media sponsored event.

"It's not always about the team with the highest payroll."

The Lakers discovered this past season that money doesn't always buy happiness. They shelled out nearly $100 million in player salaries and $29.6 million in luxury taxes after acquiring Howard from Orlando, Steve Nash from Phoenix and keeping Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace.

A swift coaching change from Mike Brown to Mike D'Antoni, overlapping injuries and competing coach and player agendas contributed to the Lakers losing in a first-round playoff sweep to the San Antonio Spurs. If the Lakers maintained a similar payroll next season, they would owe about $78.2 million in additional taxes. For the 2014-15 season, that figure would climb to $85 million because of the so-called "repeater tax."

What happens if Howard ignores the billboards the Lakers put up around Los Angeles pleading him to stay?

"Whether Dwight's here or he's not, what we can do to improve the team remains the same," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "It's not like if one player is not here, we have more resources in having that money to sign another player."

Should Howard walk away without the

$20.5 million the Lakers would owe him next season, they still would approach a $79.6 million payroll. Larry Coon, an independent NBA salary cap expert who works as an IT director at UC Irvine, estimated the league will set this year's tax threshold at around $71.5 million.

Any team that spends above that apron can't land any free agent via sign-and-trade, giving the Lakers no shot to grab Chris Paul, Monta Ellis, Josh Smith or Andre Iguodala. Such high-spending teams next season can't acquire players under contract through a sign-and-trade. Luxury-tax penalty teams also will have a smaller mid-level exception in both years (three instead of four) and salary ($3 million instead of $5 million).

"The worst position you can be in this league is to have multi-year contracts that are big numbers on players who are just OK players," Kupchak said. "It insures you're in the middle of the pack and have no way to move up."

The Lakers vow not to fall into that trap.

Only Nash remains under contract beyond next season for $9.7 million. Even if Howard returns and Bryant plays beyond next season, the Lakers would have enough cap space in 2014 to sign a max-contract player.

On Saturday, the Lakers waived backup guard Chris Duhon, who will receive only $1.5 million of the $3.75 million he would have earned this season.

The Lakers also can use the amnesty provision sometime between July 10-16 to waive either Bryant, Gasol, World Peace or Steve Blake. Pencil Bryant out even if Coon estimated the Lakers would save $55 million in luxury taxes and fall under the apron. The Lakers would experience a public relations nightmare. They also estimate Bryant will return from a left torn Achilles tendon sometime next season.

The amount the Lakers would save in luxury taxes by waiving Gasol ($40 million), World Peace ($30 million) or Blake ($15 million) still wouldn't bring them under the luxury tax threshold. Even if the Lakers use this tool, they can only sign a player at the mini mid-level exception at $3.2 million or at the veteran's minimum at $1.4 million.

"If it's a younger player, he's probably not going to take the veteran's minimum," Kupchak said. "If he does, he's probably not good enough to play.

"As much as I'd like to sit here and say we're going to get young, athletic players that can really shoot the ball at the veteran's minimum when they're 20to 25 years old, that's probably not realistic."

Indeed, the Lakers will encounter plenty of spending restrictions this offseason. They also face uncertainty without the late owner Jerry Buss.

The Lakers still maintain they will find a way.

"As much as they try to make things more fair, they can never take away what the Lakers have with our history, experience and our brainpower in our front office," Jeanie Buss said. "We'll always have an advantage."

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/lakers-money-championship_n_3526115.html

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Jessica Simpson Welcomes Son Ace

The Fashion Star mentor, 32, and her fianc?, Eric Johnson, welcomed son Ace on Sunday, June 30, PEOPLE confirms.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/ESBKw6gQZhU/

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Saint Louis University Preferred Vendor Fair

Event Details: 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., July 30, Busch Student Center, Wool Ballroom, 20 N. Grand Blvd., Rooms 170-173, Lower Level, St. Louis, MO, 63103

Business Services will host the 2013 Saint Louis University Preferred Vendor Fair from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 30, in the Wool Ballroom in Busch Student Center. The fair is an opportunity for faculty and staff to meet account representatives from preferred vendors. Complimentary light lunch items, attendance prizes and product demonstrations will be included throughout the event.

Source: http://www.slu.edu/x85868.xml

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SE Asia diplomats hope for NKorea talks at summit

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) ? Southeast Asian diplomats have not abandoned hope that this week's annual Asian security summit will provide a chance for North Korea and its neighbors to discuss restarting long-dormant disarmament talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, according to a joint statement released Sunday.

The top diplomats from North Korea and the five other nations involved in the now-stalled nuclear disarmament talks are gathering in Brunei for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Regional Forum. The international standoff over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons is expected to take center stage, along with other regional issues, including South China Sea territorial disputes.

In the last six months, North Korea has launched a long-range rocket and conducted an atomic test in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the regime from nuclear and missile activity. Pyongyang calls the weapons buildup the core of its defense against U.S. aggression, and has vowed to push ahead in constructing the arsenal as long as it feels threatened by the U.S.

Top diplomats from the 10 ASEAN countries urged the six nations involved in past disarmament negotiations ? North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China ? to restart the talks. The disarmament-for-aid talks hosted by Beijing were last held in 2008.

"We emphasized the importance of dialogue aimed at promoting mutual understanding and confidence among all parties concerned with ensuring peace, security and stability on the Korean Peninsula," they said in a joint statement. "In this regard, we recommended that the (regional forum), where all six members to the six-party talks are also participants, could contribute to forging a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of the six-party talks."

Still, it's not clear whether North Korea will hold informal talks with the U.S. or South Korea on the sidelines of the forum. The governments in Seoul and Washington have said they have no immediate plans to meet privately with Pyongyang.

In recent weeks, North Korea has proposed restarting the talks, which once provided Pyongyang with crucial fuel and other aid in exchange for disarmament. But the U.S. and South Korea say North Korea first must demonstrate its sincerity on nuclear disarmament with concrete action.

"Recently, North Korea suddenly started a charm offensive. (South Korea) has always been open to a dialogue, but it will not have a dialogue for the sake of dialogue itself," South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said during a meeting with his counterparts from ASEAN countries, China and Japan, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

He said South Korea "hopes to see North Korea take the necessary actions toward denuclearization so that an appropriate environment conducive to the resumption of dialogues, such as the six-party talks, can be resumed," Yonhap said, citing a copy of Yun's remarks.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it couldn't immediately confirm the report.

The Southeast Asian diplomats' statement also said ASEAN countries support peaceful efforts toward building a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the early resumption of six-party talks.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun arrived in Brunei on Sunday morning.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo were reviewing a possible trilateral meeting in Brunei among U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, according to South Korean officials.

The ASEAN Regional Forum has previously provided a chance to use informal, sideline talks to break stalemates over the nuclear issue. In 2011, top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met on the sidelines of the forum in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to work toward a resumption of the six-nation talks. The Koreas' foreign ministers held sideline talks in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and top diplomats from Pyongyang and Washington also met privately in 2004 and 2008.

Meanwhile, long-raging territorial rifts in the South China Sea remained a thorny issue in Brunei, with the Philippines calling China's recent deployment of naval and paramilitary ships in two disputed shoals part of Beijing's "increasing militarization" of disputed areas that could threaten regional stability.

Chinese surveillance ships seized the Scarborough Shoal last year following a tense standoff with Philippine vessels. Then a few weeks ago, China deployed a frigate, surveillance ships and fishing boats to Second Thomas Shoal, which the Philippines says is part of its regular territory, in a move Filipino diplomats feared could be a prelude to a Chinese takeover of the area.

"This is a violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told fellow diplomats, referring to a 2002 accord between China and ASEAN that discourages aggressive moves that can provoke armed confrontations in disputed waters.

Southeast Asian nations wanted to turn the 2002 accord into a stronger, legally binding "code of conduct" to prevent the territorial rifts from turning violent, but China has not stated when it would sit down with ASEAN nations to negotiate such a pact.

In an apparent reference to the Philippines, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Brunei later Sunday that he believes "any activity taken by individual claimant countries to go against the trend will not enjoy the support of the majority of countries and will not succeed either."

___

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/se-asia-diplomats-hope-nkorea-talks-summit-133744412.html

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Pisa ? Rome, Italy

? Rome, Lazio, Italy
Friday, June 28, 2013

Millions from all over the world have tried before us and now we all also had to give it a go, but no matter how hard we tried we also could not straighten the tower, but we all gave it our best trying from every angle. The end result is that the tower is still leaning after we left. Another great day was had yesterday and after our visit to Pisa we made our way to Rome- as they say all roads lead to Rome. Our hotel is good and we spent a quiet night in before another walking tour of Rome today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Recent-Travel-Blogs-RSS/~3/FBHsQaJHKaU/tpod.html

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Japan Prime Minister in New Smartphone Game

At the headquarters of Japan's ruling party, there's a new plan for victory ahead of next month's national election.
?
This is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe like you've never seen him before.

He's the star of 'Abe Hop', a new free game for smartphones released by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) this week.

The game is to steer the Japanese premiere high into the sky, winning points to change his attire.

Skillful players can whisk Abe out of his grey business suit and into jeans or gym kit.

The ultimate prize is a bouncing Abe clad in a Superman costume.

Takuya Hirai is an LDP lawmaker and the brains behind the party's internet strategy.

[Takuya Hirai, LDP Lawmaker]:
"If you play over and over again you can win rosettes?they're like the ones candidates get when they win an election. The more you collect, the more costumes you can choose for Abe. We're also doing a version upgrade today to bring in rankings, so we're hoping the game will get people interested in politics in a way they never were before."

The party plans to have six apps in circulation before the country's July 21st upper house election, Japan's first to allow official campaigning online.

Abe has already made a name as a keen user of social media services, with more than 370-thousand Facebook followers.

As voting day approaches, Hirai says he now hopes 'Abe Hop' will help to draw in smartphone-savvy voters who might otherwise give the ballot box a miss.

Source: http://ntdtv.org/en/news/world/asia/2013-06-29/japan-prime-minister-in-new-smartphone-game.html

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How to start or close a funding round as a travel business? | Tnooz

STARTUPS:?Raising capital is dead easy ? you just convince some wealthy folk to believe in your idea and persuade them to part with some of their cash. Right? Obviously it?s nowhere near that simple, as many a travel company will testify. So what should you do? Read the full story on Forbes.

The simple fact of the market is that there are many, many more entrepreneurs seeking capital than there are investors seeking to fund them.

Indeed, the odds are 40:1 against getting money from angels and 400:1 against a company receiving an investment from a venture capital fund.

This means that it is a ?buyer?s market?, and it is infinitely more common for an investor to decline to make an investment offer than it is for a company to decline to accept an investment offer.

Read the full story on Forbes

NB: Roll of cash image via Shutterstock.

Related posts:

1. Zoombu business closes six-figure pound funding round
2. Kigo rental technology service secures $1.8 million funding round, plots expansion to Asia
3. Zozi captures $10 million funding round, threatens more disruption in the activity sector

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/2013/06/28/news/how-to-start-or-close-a-funding-round-as-a-travel-business/

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Can I buy a Nexus 4 from Google, and will att put it on my present (no contract) plan?

{content}';

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content += ''; } else if (ad.type == "html") { content += ad.snippet; } else { content += '' + ad.line1 + '
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' + '' + ad.visible_url + ''; } content = ad_template.replace("{title}",title).replace("{content}",content); var pos = i*3 + (i+2); $('#posts .postcontainer:eq(' + pos + ')').after(content); } if (google_ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; } google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8460099860738313"; google_ad_channel = '5062690591'; /*google_ad_slot = '8040314026';*/ google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '10'; google_ad_type = 'text'; google_image_size = '728x90'; google_feedback = 'on'; google_skip = google_adnum; //]]>

Source: http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-4/292780-can-i-buy-nexus-4-google-will-att-put-my-present-no-contract-plan-new-post.html

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98% A Hijacking

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (1)

Lindholm doesn't present the film as a procedural for hostage negotiations because he knows too well that there are too many movable parts, too many things that can go wrong.

Methodical and tense ... has the feel of something based on real-life events ... boils down to an arresting portrait of two men, with different backgrounds and abilities, doing everything they can not to break.

We're impatient for action, any kind of action - but preferably the sort that involves a team of Navy SEALs, maybe led by Dwayne Johnson. Instead, we get something like a merger meeting.

Hand-held camerawork, so often a confounded nuisance, here makes the conditions on board the Rozen feel nauseatingly urgent.

No mainstream American thriller could ever be made about this subject that resisted simple-minded narrative clich?s the way "A Hijacking" does, or that refused to depict its characters as either heroes or villains.

Lindholm turns tedium and frustration into agonizing suspense.

A smart movie derived out of the small moments that collectively comprise the hostage experience, rather than grandiose gestures.

Lindholm's you-are-there docudrama works as a tense thriller, but themes of negotiation and the ability to empathize provide a rich subtext.

...slow, mostly talk, but tense and realistic...

The level of suspense in this riveting Danish thriller doesn't build in sweeping melodramatic fashion, but rather at a low-key simmer that emphasizes authentic character dynamics.

A Hijacking accomplishes a tricky task, generating tension through talk rather than action.

This absorbing chronicle of a hijacking in the Indian Ocean has the strengths of the best procedural dramas -- it assumes a distanced and objective tone and packs an emotional wallop.

Moment by moment we find ourselves wondering what will happen next...

Auteur Tobias Lindholm does a striking job in grabbing your attention and running with it as he succinctly tells the story of "A Hijacking."

A Hijacking is an absorbing, highly moving film that's lingered heavily on the mind for a couple of days now.

No quotes approved yet for A Hijacking. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_hijacking/

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NASA's Voyager 1 explores final frontier of our 'solar bubble'

June 27, 2013 ? Data from Voyager 1, now more than 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun, suggest the spacecraft is closer to becoming the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

Research using Voyager 1 data and published in the journal Science today provides new detail on the last region the spacecraft will cross before it leaves the heliosphere, or the bubble around our sun, and enters interstellar space. Three papers describe how Voyager 1's entry into a region called the magnetic highway resulted in simultaneous observations of the highest rate so far of charged particles from outside heliosphere and the disappearance of charged particles from inside the heliosphere.

Scientists have seen two of the three signs of interstellar arrival they expected to see: charged particles disappearing as they zoom out along the solar magnetic field, and cosmic rays from far outside zooming in. Scientists have not yet seen the third sign, an abrupt change in the direction of the magnetic field, which would indicate the presence of the interstellar magnetic field.

"This strange, last region before interstellar space is coming into focus, thanks to Voyager 1, humankind's most distant scout," said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "If you looked at the cosmic ray and energetic particle data in isolation, you might think Voyager had reached interstellar space, but the team feels Voyager 1 has not yet gotten there because we are still within the domain of the sun's magnetic field."

Scientists do not know exactly how far Voyager 1 has to go to reach interstellar space. They estimate it could take several more months, or even years, to get there. The heliosphere extends at least 8 billion miles (13 billion kilometers) beyond all the planets in our solar system. It is dominated by the sun's magnetic field and an ionized wind expanding outward from the sun. Outside the heliosphere, interstellar space is filled with matter from other stars and the magnetic field present in the nearby region of the Milky Way.

Voyager 1 and its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977. They toured Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before embarking on their interstellar mission in 1990. They now aim to leave the heliosphere. Measuring the size of the heliosphere is part of the Voyagers' mission.

The Science papers focus on observations made from May to September 2012 by Voyager 1's cosmic ray, low-energy charged particle and magnetometer instruments, with some additional charged particle data obtained through April of this year.

Voyager 2 is about 9 billion miles (15 billion kilometers) from the sun and still inside the heliosphere. Voyager 1 was about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun Aug. 25 when it reached the magnetic highway, also known as the depletion region, and a connection to interstellar space. This region allows charged particles to travel into and out of the heliosphere along a smooth magnetic field line, instead of bouncing around in all directions as if trapped on local roads. For the first time in this region, scientists could detect low-energy cosmic rays that originate from dying stars.

"We saw a dramatic and rapid disappearance of the solar-originating particles. They decreased in intensity by more than 1,000 times, as if there was a huge vacuum pump at the entrance ramp onto the magnetic highway," said Stamatios Krimigis, the low-energy charged particle instrument's principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "We have never witnessed such a decrease before, except when Voyager 1 exited the giant magnetosphere of Jupiter, some 34 years ago."

Other charged particle behavior observed by Voyager 1 also indicates the spacecraft still is in a region of transition to the interstellar medium. While crossing into the new region, the charged particles originating from the heliosphere that decreased most quickly were those shooting straightest along solar magnetic field lines. Particles moving perpendicular to the magnetic field did not decrease as quickly. However, cosmic rays moving along the field lines in the magnetic highway region were somewhat more populous than those moving perpendicular to the field. In interstellar space, the direction of the moving charged particles is not expected to matter.

In the span of about 24 hours, the magnetic field originating from the sun also began piling up, like cars backed up on a freeway exit ramp. But scientists were able to quantify that the magnetic field barely changed direction -- by no more than 2 degrees.

"A day made such a difference in this region with the magnetic field suddenly doubling and becoming extraordinarily smooth," said Leonard Burlaga, the lead author of one of the papers, and based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "But since there was no significant change in the magnetic field direction, we're still observing the field lines originating at the sun."

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., built and operates the Voyager spacecraft. California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA. The Voyager missions are a part of NASA's Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

For more information about the Voyager spacecraft mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/voyager and http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov .

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/RSctGZatbW0/130627140803.htm

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Mark Kirk Survived A Stroke. Now He's Picking Fights in Congress

After suffering a massive ischemic stroke in January 2012, Illinois senator Mark Kirk was unsure if he would ever return to full form. For days Kirk lingered in the intensive care unit, floating in and out of consciousness. At one point, Kirk recalls, he saw angels with New York accents talking to him, urging him to come with them like in all those near death, white light stories you hear.

But against the long odds, the freshman Republican senator has not only managed to recover enough to perform his busy day job, he's placed himself in the middle of the most heated Washington fights. Kirk slammed Eric Holder at a recent Appropriations Committee hearing, probing to see if the spy agency was listening in on Congress and livid about Holder's seemingly evasive answer. Kirk's threat not to support immigration reform unless border security was strengthened surprised many of his colleagues and endangered Republican support for the bill. He got in a fight with Rep. Bobby Rush, the Chicago congressman, who chided Kirk for his plan to "crush" Chicago's gangs saying it was an "upper-middle-class, elitist white boy's solution."

And he says he's already planning to run for a second term in 2016, despite the rigor it will take to defend a seat in one of the most Democratic states in the country.

Kirk's recovery has been remarkable by the standards of a stroke patient even as it's still left him without his pre-injury vigor or ability to hustle the way politicians must to keep their office in competitive seats which his surely is. He walks slowly. His voice is weakened. He's not all he was. But his comeback has been inspiring.

"If people knew how catastrophic this stroke was, they'd be blown away by his recovery," says Illinois Rep. John Shimkus who was the first member of the state's House delegation to visit Kirk in the hospital in 2012. Asked if he ever had any doubts that Kirk would want back in politics, he recalled the senator, even though he was in rehab, staying up late to watch the HBO film Game Change. "That was the signal to me that he was coming back."

Kirk's stroke largely spared his cognitive function but has left him disabled, dependent on the kind of four legged cane you usually see on the elderly, and a wheelchair for longer hikes. "The Senate is appropriately designed for older men," he jokes. He was just 52 when the stroke hit.

When he walked up the Capitol stairs in January to the bipartisan applause of his colleagues including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, his home state senator with whom he has a close relationship, it was an emotional moment that left many feeling that the stroke had in some ways made him a more important force--less an object of sympathy than an inspiring example of perseverance.

To understand Kirk, you have to know that he's a creature of the Chicago suburbs and a creature of Congress. He loves both. Raised outside Chicago, the son of a telephone company executive, he graduated from Cornell and worked for Rep. John Porter while he was at law school at Georgetown becoming the congressman's top aide. Porter represented Chicago's North Shore, the lakefront district that includes the leafy suburbs glorified in John Hughes movies and Kirk's hometown of Kenilworth. When Porter retired, Kirk won his seat and carried on Porter's moderate GOP politics as Illinois became more and more blue. When the U.S. Senate seat opened up in 2010, Kirk went for it and beat an Obama ally, the state treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, a hoops buddy of the president, in the wave of discontent.

Kirk was no tea partier but he wasn't a bland moderate, either. He'd been a critic of the stimulus which other Republican moderates had backed and he loathed Obamacare. "I'm a fiscal conservative, a social moderate and a national security hawk," Kirk told me, using a mantra he repeats frequently.

Just a year into his term, in January 2012, Kirk, a slim, former intelligence officer in the Naval Reserves began to feel dizzy while back home. Aides rushed him to Lake Forest Hospital and then transferred him to the Northwestern University Medical Center when it became apparent that he'd had a massive ischemic stroke. The attack put his left carotid artery out of business and his life in danger. He had to undergo three operations, two of which were craniectomies to remove portions of his skull to allow the brain to expand. "There was a remarkable amount of swelling," notes Richard Fessler, a professor of neurosurgery who operated on Kirk. "The surgeries were life saving but he's doing great."

Kirk had the kind of emotional reckoning that comes with a near-death episode. He decided to spend more time with his sister, for instance. But he never doubted he wanted to return to the Senate. He told his speech therapists that he wanted his public speaking voice back. And he told those who worked on his physical therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) that he wanted to be able to climb the Capitol steps when he returned. Mike Klonowski worked with Kirk--putting him in a harness so he could move on a treadmill, putting him through the paces of a research study that pushed Kirk to do more intense physical training than the typical patient.

"There was initial shock when I found out I was going to be working with him," Klonowski remembers about the prospect of putting a U.S. Senator through the paces." But he responded to very specific goals and wanted to make sure that we were focused on his return back to the Senate."

Now he's back and working on his recovery and working to help other patients are on his mind. This coming week he'll be in Chicago where he'll join Durbin and Emanuel to celebrate the $550 million expansion of the RIC. "My concern is what happens if you have a stroke and you're not in the U.S. Senate and you have no insurance and no income," Kirk told me. "That's the question I have been asking and the reality is that if you're on Illinois Medicaid are a stroke survivor, you will get just five visits to the rehab specialist." When I ask Kirk where the money might come from for more extensive benefits, he notes that he's working with Sen. Tim Johnson on a "stroke agenda." (Johnson himself suffered a stroke.)

Since his return, Kirk has cut an interesting path, weaving left and right in ways that aren't predictable. When Iran elected its new president who many hailed as a moderate, Kirk denounced him as more of the same. He stuck with moderates on gun control, earning him an attaboy tweet from Obama's consiglieri David Axelrod. But he also took a hawkish line on immigration that surprised many before he relented and supported the bill. By contrast, Kirk was full of kind words for Rahm Emanuel when I saw him. "He's doing a very, very good job," says Kirk who served with Hizzoner when they were in the House. The two graduated in 1977 from New Trier High School in Winnetka but didn't know each other. (Donald Rumsfeld went there, too, 27 years earlier.)

With his military intelligence background, Kirk has emerged as a compelling voice on the NSA maess, leaning closer to the privacy advocates than the voices in both parties who say everything's fine with the way we collect intelligence. "It's bad intelligence work to be focusing on 121 million Americans who aren't doing anything particularly terrorist related," he says. Kirk notes that in the post-9/11 world with its efforts to limit stovepiping of intelligence, low level operatives in the field like Bradley Manning in Iraq or Edward Snowden in Honolulu have dangerous access. "We have a classified Internet on the backside of the intelligence community and if you're on that system then a Bradley Manning can download the presidential book of secrets like in the movie [National Treasure].

Kirk says he's interested in running again in 2016 and Republicans expect he will. In a state as Democratic as Illinois, he likely to have a serious race. He rejects the idea that Republican moderates are an endangered species but he sounds the refrain that his party has been myopic. "What often happens is that people or politicians get out of date and that's my worry about the Republican Party. It apparently doesn't understand how multicolored and how multicultural our country has become." Kirk was the second GOP senator, after Rob Portman and before Lisa Murkowski, to support same-sex marriage which puts him ahead of Illinois which has yet to grant it. Divorced, with a girlfriend and no kids, and unmarried until 41, Kirk gets modern families in a way that many Republicans don't. Whether that'll make him an outlier or a lodestar in the GOP remains to be seen.

For now, Kirk has bigger tasks. He regularly hauls himself up to Walter Reed Medical Center where he gets physical therapy in the Traumatic Brain Injury clinic, along with young vets, often missing limbs in addition to their head injuries.

"You're having a tough day and you look over at a soldier who might be missing a leg or two arms and he is doing great," Kirk said. "And you think to yourself, 'There is nothing challenging me like what is challenging him.' "

Recalling that, Kirk tells an aide that he wants the Walter Reed therapists to push him harder--just like the ones back in Chicago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mark-kirk-survived-stroke-now-hes-picking-fights-060021154.html

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Video: Patriots had reason to release Hernandez

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/52318899#52318899

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Embattled Australian PM calls leadership ballot

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd smiles as he sits in parliament during question time in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, top, stares at the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Opposition leader Abbott challenged Gillard to bring forward the election to Aug. 3 because of the leadership wrangling. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd walks in the chambers in the parliament during question time in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks in the parliament in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Supporters of Gillard's chief intra-party rival are again pushing for a vote to oust the Australian prime minister this week. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard threw open her job to a leadership ballot Wednesday in response to reports that supporters of her intra-party rival Kevin Rudd were gearing up to challenge her.

Gillard said there will be a ballot of lawmakers in the ruling Labor Party at 7 p.m. Canberra time (9 a.m. GMT, 5 a.m. EDT).

Rudd has not yet said whether he will challenge Gillard, who ousted him as prime minister in 2010. He previously had ruled out such a challenge unless he was assured of the overwhelming support of his colleagues.

Opinion polls show that the party could face huge losses in elections set for September, but that Rudd would be a more popular leader than Gillard.

"I wouldn't be putting myself forward unless I had a degree of confidence about the support of my parliamentary colleagues," Gillard said.

While not mentioning Rudd by name, she said the loser of the ballot should quit Parliament at the election. She said it was not right to have a "person floating around as the potential alternative prime minister."

Gillard's announcement followed media reports that a petition was circulating among the 102 Labor Party lawmakers. A special party meeting to discuss a leadership ballot would have been called if at least 34 lawmakers ? 30 percent ? signed that petition, but her announcement eliminated that step.

Rudd's supporters are desperate to have a ballot before Parliament rises for the last time Thursday ahead of elections set for Sept. 14. Opinion polls suggest Labor could lose around half its 71 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, where parties form the government.

Rudd had been a popular prime minister who started sliding in the polls when Gillard, his then deputy, challenged him to a leadership ballot three years ago. He did not contest the ballot when he became aware of the level of Gillard's support and she became prime minister unopposed.

Weeks later, Gillard led Labor to a narrow election victory and formed an unpopular minority government with the support of independent lawmakers and a legislator from the minor Greens party.

In a 2012 ballot, Gillard easily defeated Rudd 71 votes to 31. In February, she threw open her job to a leadership ballot to end leadership speculation, but Rudd refused to challenge and she remained prime minister.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott challenged Gillard on Wednesday to bring forward the election to Aug. 3 because of the new wrangling over leadership.

"Given the paralysis now griping her government and irreconcilable differences in her party over its leadership, will she bring forward the election date to Aug. 3 and let the people decide who should run our country?" Abbott asked in Parliament.

Before announcing the leadership ballot, Gillard replied that she continued to govern effectively.

"I can assure him (Abbott) and I can assure the Australian people that as prime minister I am getting on with the job," she said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-26-Australia-Politics/id-d09ab94b5a7e4f1285d0ea04ca1e84dc

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UK science spending to remain 'flat'

26 June 2013 Last updated at 08:19 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

Publicly funded science in the UK will have to get by with another period of fixed spending.

Chancellor George Osborne says he intends to keep the country's R&D budget at its current level through to the next election.

This figure, which amounts to about ?4.6bn per year, has been held flat since 2011.

The Chancellor made the announcement as part of the government's Spending Review delivered to Parliament.

He did, however, promise to increase capital expenditure - the money going into the laboratory infrastructure. This will almost double from the current ?0.6bn.

"Scientific discovery is first and foremost an expression of the relentless human search to know more about our world, but it's also an enormous strength for a modern economy," Mr Osborne told MPs.

Continue reading the main story

Science CSR at a glance

• Day-to-day science spend to remain at ?4.6bn
• Capital investment to rise from ?0.6bn to ?1.1bn
• Capital increase to rise with inflation to 2020-21
• Additional ?185m for Technology Strategy Board
• Commitment to funding high-priority projects
• e.g. Skylon spaceplane and Met Office supercomputer

"From synthetic biology to graphene - Britain is very good at it and we're going to keep it that way.

"I am committing today to maintain the resource budget for science at ?4.6bn, to increase the capital budget to ?1.1bn and to maintain that real increase to the end of the decade.

"Investment in science is an investment in our future. So, yes, from the next generation of jet engines to cutting edge supercomputers, we say, 'keep inventing, keep delivering'. This country will back you all the way."

The capital expenditure announcement was warmly welcomed by the scientific community. Capital investment took a heavy hit after the last election but was then largely restored through a series of subsequent announcements.

Mr Osborne says he now wants to see the science capital budget grow in line with inflation each year to 2020-21. This would provide stability for long-term planning. The Spending Review document, released by the Treasury, talks about committing to funding "high-priority projects", including the Sabre air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine and a new supercomputer for the Met Office.

Continue reading the main story

Chancellor eyes space technology

Mr Osborne says he wants to invest in the next phase of the Sabre project.

This is a revolutionary design for an air-breathing jet-cum-rocket engine. It would be fitted to a space vehicle that could take off and land like a plane, substantially reducing the cost of getting into orbit.

Sabre's key heat-exchanger technology has just passed an important review audited by the European Space Agency. Mr Osborne's investment would go towards the building of a demonstration engine and final design plans.

Although Sabre's technology is linked to a space plane, it would likely have many other applications, such as in existing gas turbine jet engines and in desalination plants

The "flat cash" settlement on day-to-day research will frustrate many scientific leaders, but many expressed the recognition that in difficult times the outcome could have been far worse.

Prof Sir Peter Knight, president of the Institute of Physics, said: "The announcement that the current science budget will be maintained at ?4.6bn is a welcome recognition of the importance of science as an engine for future growth, but it needs to be noted that inflation has already substantially eroded the value of funding for science in the UK, by 2-3% per annum since 2010's flat cash settlement."

Public science spending in Britain currently runs at about 0.65% of GDP, compared with an average of 0.8% for the G8 nations.

China is aiming to spend 2.5% of its GDP on research by 2020, South Korea is targeting 5% by 2022 and Brazil 2.5% by the same year.

Compared to the OECD group of developed nations, Britain's science spend is 7th in absolute terms but only 25th in percentage terms.

The UK government's science budget is largely handled by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which will see its overall budget reduced by 6%.

Mr Osborne confirmed in his Commons speech that responsibility and funding lines for the Medical Research Council would not be moved to the Department of Health as had been mooted.

Sir Paul Nurse, the current president of the Royal Society, said: "Last year, the chancellor came to the Royal Society and gave a speech that put science and innovation at the heart of long term sustainable economic growth. He was asked to provide the money to back that up and today he has done that.

"There is a growing consensus across parliament and in the business community that spending on science is an investment in the future. The government has protected its contribution and we now need to find ways to encourage greater commitment from industry, which is still under investing in research.

"In recent years science has suffered, as maintaining investment means a real terms cut due to inflation, but in the context of cuts elsewhere, science has been relatively protected. Today's announcement should be seen as a foundation for a long term strategy of increased investment."

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23065763#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Wall St. advances in rebound off recent weakness

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose solidly on Tuesday, partially recovering from recent steep declines as strong data pointed to improvements in the economy.

Equities were volatile for much of the session, as the data initially raised concerns about central bank stimulus, but analysts said a rebound was due coming off a large drop in Monday's session, which itself followed the worst week for the S&P 500 since April.

"Everyone panicked after the Fed, but the fear is starting to come out of the system now. Investors are realizing that the Fed is still a long way from raising rates," said Mark Foster, who helps manage $600 million at Kirr Marbach & Co in Columbus, Indiana.

The recent downturn in markets started after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last week said the Fed's stimulus program may be scaled back this year if the economy improves, placing traders in a paradoxical situation where good data could indicate less stimulus, which would in turn be a threat to growth.

Data on durable goods orders and new home sales in May, and consumer confidence in June, all topped analysts' expectations. The April Case/Shiller report on home prices also was above forecasts.

Housing stocks were among the strongest of the day, surging on the data as well as because Lennar Corp posted strong results and the company pointed to a "solid housing recovery." The stock rose 1 percent to $35.34 while peer homebuilder PulteGroup Inc was up 3.9 percent at $19.02. The PHLX housing sector index <.hgx> climbed 1.7 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 95.22 points, or 0.65 percent, at 14,754.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 11.58 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,584.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 16.45 points, or 0.50 percent, at 3,337.21.

While the S&P is up 11 percent in 2013, the recent trend has been negative, with the benchmark index dropping below both its 14-day and 50-day moving averages, seen as signs of near-term market direction. It is down about 2.6 percent in June.

"The market trend has turned to the downside. It is now easier to sell rallies than to buy dips," said Donald Selkin, who helps oversee $3 billion in assets as chief market strategist at National Securities in New York. "If we close lower today, that would be a big blow to the bulls."

The S&P on Monday closed at its lowest level since April 22 after China's central bank said the country's banks need to do a better job of managing their cash and due to continued worries about a reduction in stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

On Tuesday, the People's Bank of China said it would not press banks too hard in its efforts to curb easy credit and prevent a possible banking crisis.

Carnival Corp jumped 4.4 percent to $34.68 after the cruise ship operator named a new chief executive and affirmed its full-year profit outlook.

On the downside, Walgreen Co slumped 7.6 percent to $44.38 as the worst performer on the S&P 500 after reporting weaker-than-expected results, citing slow front-end sales and a challenging economy.

Netflix Inc fell 2.1 percent to $211 after Bernstein downgraded the stock to "underperform."

Barnes & Noble Inc tumbled 18.5 percent to $15.33 after the largest U.S. bookstore chain reported its quarterly net loss more than doubled.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-point-bounce-selloff-data-tap-112655949.html

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Exclusive: China Mobile, Etisalat weighing bids for Pakistan telco - sources

By Dinesh Nair and Matt Smith

DUBAI (Reuters) - Pakistan mobile operator Warid Telecom has been put up for sale by its Abu Dhabi owners and is likely to draw interest from China Mobile and Etisalat, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Abu Dhabi Group, a conglomerate led by a ruling family member in the oil-rich emirate, is seeking to sell all 100-percent of shares in Warid Telecom, two of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The third source, however, said the company would also be prepared to sell a smaller controlling stake.

Pakistan's mobile telecommunications sector has five operators and is ripe for consolidation after a period when a troubled economy, increasingly high levels of market penetration and stiff competition has forced companies' margins lower.

The sellers have mandated U.S. investment bank Lazard and British lender Standard Chartered as advisers for the process, the sources said. One estimated a sale could fetch about $1 billion.

Walid Irshaid, the chief executive of Pakistan Telecommunications (PTCL), a unit of United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat, said the company is weighing a potential bid.

"We are interested to see if it makes sense for us, but it's not only us. Warid is an existing operator that has been here for many years and so we're saying 'let's look at the prospects,'" he told Reuters.

"There are too many players in Pakistan. Margins have eroded for everybody and the market must consolidate - we're all operating under low margins and low ARPU (average revenue per user) and that isn't long-term sustainable."

Warid Telecom declined to comment. China Mobile, which has increased its subscriber base by nearly three-quarters since 2010-11 and operates under the Zong brand, was not immediately for comment.

SHRINKAGE

Warid launched its cellular services in Pakistan in May 2005 and had 12.54 million subscribers at the end of March of this year, down from 17.39 million in 2010-11, making the company the country's smallest operator.

Pakistan's total subscriber base rose 12.2 percent to 122.1 million over the same period, meaning Warid's market share fell to 10.3 percent from 16 percent.

The other operators in Pakistan are Oslo-based Telenor and Orascom Telecom, which operates under the name Mobilink and is the sector leader. Neither was immediately available for comment.

PTCL's mobile business is under the Ufone brand, while it has a 95 percent share of the country's fixed line subscribers.

"The board (Warid Telecom) has been looking for a business partner to add value to Warid," a second source familiar with the matter said, adding China Mobile and Etisalat had both expressed interest in acquiring the company.

In 2007, Singapore Telcommunications bought a 30-percent stake in Warid for about $758 million. That stake purchase gave Warid Telecom an enterprise value of about $2.5 billion.

SingTel sold back that stake in January for $150 million and a right to receive 7.5 percent of the net proceeds from any future sale, public offering or merger of Warid.

The Abu Dhabi conglomerate also agreed to sell Warid Telecom's Uganda business to Bharti Airtel in April without revealing the financial details of the transaction.

Bharti recently agreed to buy the remaining 30 percent in Warid Telecom Bangladesh after taking a 70 pct stake in that business in 2010.

The Abu Dhabi Group, led by ruling family member Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak al-Nahayan, invests in emerging markets and also has large investments in Pakistan including Bank Alfalah Ltd, Al Razi Healthcare and Wateen Telecom.

(Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy in New Delhi and Lee Chyen Yee in Hong Kong; Editing by Patrick Graham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-china-mobile-etisalat-weighing-bids-pakistan-telco-101710902.html

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Berlusconi convicted in sex-for-hire trial

MILAN (AP) ? Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's flamboyant former premier, was sentenced to seven years in prison and banned from politics for life Monday for paying an underage prostitute for sex during infamous "bunga bunga" parties and forcing public officials to cover it up.

It was the most damaging setback yet for the 76-year-old Berlusconi, who has been tried numerous times for his business dealings but never before for his personal conduct.

Still, he vowed that his days as a political force are not over. He has two levels of appeal ? and his supporters quickly rallied around him.

The charges against the billionaire media mogul resulted from what became widely known in Italy as "bunga bunga" parties hosted in 2010 by Berlusconi, then the sitting premier, at his villa near Milan, where he wined and dined beautiful young women.

Berlusconi's defense described the dinner parties as elegant soirees; prosecutors said they were sex-fueled gatherings that women were paid to attend. The woman at the center of the scandal, Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby, has described aspiring showgirls stripping provocatively for the then-Italian leader.

Both Berlusconi and el-Mahroug denied ever having sex, and el-Mahroug says she never worked as a prostitute.

After the verdict, Berlusconi said in a message posted on Facebook that he believed he would be acquitted "because in the facts there is really no possibility to convict me."

He called the sentence "incredible, of a violence never seen or heard before, to try to eliminate me from the political life of this country." He pledged to "resist this persecution, because I am absolutely innocent, and I don't want in any way to abandon my battle to make Italy a truly free and just country."

The Milan criminal court's ruling was unexpectedly stiff, going further than the original charges and openly questioning whether many of the young women who testified in Berlusconi's defense had lied on the stand to protect him.

The panel of three judges, all women, said Berlusconi went beyond using his influence to cover up his relationship with the then-17-year-old Moroccan, as originally charged. They said he stepped in to win her release from police custody when she was accused of theft.

As a result, they added one year to the six requested by prosecutors.

The court also said it was turning over to prosecutors files containing the testimony of more than 30 young women who attended the now-infamous "bunga bunga" parties to investigate if they had lied under oath when they denied a sexual character to the gatherings.

Justice Minister Angelino Alfano, who is also secretary of Berlusconi's People of Liberty Party, said he told his political mentor to "hang in there, and keep moving on" in a phone call after the verdict.

Berlusconi was not in court for the sentencing, but his lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, said he would appeal a decision he called both "largely expected" and "out of reality." The Berlusconi camp has long accused Milan magistrates of mounting a campaign to sideline him politically.

Berlusconi loyalist Daniela Santanche, who attended the sentencing, denounced it as "an outrage, and a political sentence that has nothing to do with justice." But she also said that it should have no impact on the government.

Some political opponents, however, said Berlusconi, who has shaped political discourse in Italy for two decades, should withdraw from politics immediately.

Alessandro Di Battista, a lawmaker in the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, said Berlusconi "must go to jail. It is outrageous that he is a senator that can make laws. Until he goes to jail, the country is not free." And the left-leaning governor of Apulia, Nicchi Vendola, said Berlusconi should "abandon public life."

Berlusconi does not have any official role in government, but he is a senator in Parliament and retains influence in the uneasy grand coalition between his forces and the center-left Democratic Party that emerged after inconclusive February elections. The Democratic Party issued a statement acknowledging the sentence and in support of the autonomy of the courts.

Berlusconi's high-stakes judicial woes are far from over. He faces a final appeal in a tax fraud conviction for which he has been sentenced to four years in jail and a five-year ban from office.

Roberto D'Alimonte, a political analyst for il Sole 24 Ore daily and professor at Rome's LUISS University, said the tax fraud conviction poses the more immediate threat since Italy's highest court is likely to rule before the statute of limitations runs out.

The sex-for-hire case "weakens him politically, but not that much, because we have seen that his voter base seems to be insulated from the impact of these sentences. We saw in the last elections, everyone thought he was dead, but he came back to life," D'Alimonte said.

While the verdict drew intense international media coverage, with half a dozen satellite vans parked outside the Milan courthouse, there was only a smattering of public interest. A few anti-Berlusconi protesters gathered outside, and just a handful of citizens joined journalists crammed inside the small courtroom.

"For 20 years, he's been running Italy. He's done what he wanted," said Aurelio De Boni, a retired suit salesman from Milan who attended the trial.

Neither Berlusconi nor el-Mahroug testified in this trial. El-Mahroug was called by the defense but failed to show, delaying the trial, and Berlusconi's team eventually dropped her from the witness list.

El-Mahroug, however, did testify in the separate trial of three Berlusconi aides charged with procuring prostitutes for the parties. She told that court that Berlusconi's disco featured aspiring showgirls dressed as sexy nuns and nurses performing striptease acts, and that one woman even dressed up as President Barack Obama.

El-Mahroug, now 20, said in the other trial that she attended about a half-dozen parties at Berlusconi's villa, and that after each, Berlusconi handed her an envelope with up to 3,000 euros ($3,900). She said she later received 30,000 euros cash from the then-premier, paid through an intermediary ? money that she told Berlusconi she wanted to use to open a beauty salon, despite having no formal training.

But she denied ever receiving millions from the billionaire, as she had claimed to acquaintances, saying they were "lies" meant to inflate her own importance.

She was 17 at the time of the alleged encounters but passed herself off as 24. She also claimed she was related to then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Berlusconi's lawyers argued that he believed el-Mahroug was indeed Mubarak's niece, and he called police after she was accused of theft in a bid to avoid a diplomatic incident.

Berlusconi, who has been tried numerous times relating to his business dealings, has been convicted in other cases at the trial level. But those convictions have always either been overturned on appeal or else the statute of limitations has run out before Italy's high court could have its say.

The sex-for-hire case is the first involving his personal conduct.

Later this week, Italy's highest court has scheduled a hearing on Berlusconi's appeal to a verdict ordering him to pay 560 million euros ($800 million) to a rival media group over corruption in the acquisition of the Mondadori publishing empire. And a preliminary hearing will begin in Naples to decide if Berlusconi should be tried for allegedly bribing a lawmaker to bolt a previous center-left government under Romano Prodi and join his party, a move that weakened Prodi's slim majority.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berlusconi-convicted-sex-hire-trial-153214697.html

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