Saturday, December 31, 2011

Italian who fought for votes for emigres dies

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 file photo, Minister of Italians abroad, Mirko Tremaglia, waves a Italian flag during the 61st Annual Columbus Day Parade in New York. Tremaglia, a right-wing politician who successfully battled for the right of Italians abroad to vote in Italian elections, has died. He was 85. President Giorgio Napolitano and other Italian leaders issued tributes to mark the death Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Adam Rountree, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 file photo, Minister of Italians abroad, Mirko Tremaglia, waves a Italian flag during the 61st Annual Columbus Day Parade in New York. Tremaglia, a right-wing politician who successfully battled for the right of Italians abroad to vote in Italian elections, has died. He was 85. President Giorgio Napolitano and other Italian leaders issued tributes to mark the death Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Adam Rountree, File)

(AP) ? Mirko Tremaglia, a right-wing politician who won a decades-long battle for the right of Italian emigres to vote in Italian elections, died on Friday. He was 85.

Italian news agencies and Sky TG24 TV said Tremaglia died at home in Bergamo, northern Italy, after a long illness.

Tremaglia was a co-founder of the Italian Social Movement, a neo-fascist party built on the ashes of Benito Mussolini's political legacy. But he gradually moved toward what is now Italy's center-right ? first as a leader of the National Alliance and then as a prominent member of Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives ? before breaking with the media mogul in 2010 to defect to a new center-right party.

In a condolence message to Tremaglia's family, President Napolitano, a former Communist, noted that the late lawmaker and himself had "different experiences" and ideological positions but they shared a "sense of national responsibility."

"Particularly strong remains the mark of his commitment to give voice and representation to Italians abroad," Napolitano said.

Tremaglia campaigned tirelessly in Parliament for rights for millions of Italians who had emigrated, or who were born to emigre parents, to cast ballots in Italian elections. His dream became law in 2001, the same year he became minister for Italians abroad, in one of Berlusconi's governments.

In spring 2006, campaigning for Berlusconi in parliamentary elections, Tremaglia energetically worked the crowds in South America, where many of the 3.5 million Italian voters abroad lived. The law also gave Italian emigres the right, for the first time, to have representation in Parliament.

Tremaglia had served as a lawmaker in Parliament's lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, since 1972. Chamber President Gianfranco Fini, himself a former neo-fascist leader and former Berlusconi ally, hailed Tremaglia in a tribute Friday, as a "great political and personal friend."

Fini called Tremaglia a "great protagonist of the Italian right ? a cause to which Tremaglia, right to the end, dedicated himself with coherence and loyalty."

Fini's defection, along with several lawmakers like Tremaglia, from Berlusconi's coalition after nasty bickering in 2010, weakened the premier's government. Berlusconi resigned in November amid criticism over his handling of Italy's financial crisis.

In 2004, as a minister in then-premier Berlusconi's government, Tremaglia caused uproar when he complained about what he called the influence of gays in the European Union and used a pejorative term for homosexuals in remarks carried by Italian media.

Tremaglia was commenting on a European Parliament committee's decision not to endorse an Italian nominee to become EU justice minister after the candidate, a former Christian Democrat with close ties to the Vatican, testified that he considered homosexuality a sin.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-30-EU-Italy-Obit-Tremaglia/id-c33c54447e6448229fdfff053badb6e5

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Ford Reports F-150 Ecoboost V-6 Truck Sales Hit 100,000 Mark

It seems as though Ford?s EcoBoost engines have not only boosted fuel-efficiency, but also sales, as the automaker is reporting that 100,000 full-size pickups with the V-6 EcoBoost engine have been sold this year. The efficient, powerful twin-turbo V-6 was one of the highlights that helped the F-150 win our 2012 Truck of the Year.

This may not come as a surprise to some, since Ford?s first-quarter sales provided a pretty accurate forecast for this milestone. The first pickups with the Ecoboost went on sale in late February, and shortly after in April, it had already accounted for 35 percent of F-150 sales, with Ford predicting incoming orders would track even higher at 40 percent. Fast forward to October, and the automaker upped its sales forecast to a 45 percent take rate, with the 75,000 units sold through September being a good indication.

The 3.5-liter Ecoboost V-6 is rated at 365 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, returning five more horsepower and 40 more lb-ft of torque than the equivalent 5.0-liter V-8 engine. The truck is also offered with conventional naturally-aspirated 3.7-liter V-6 as the base engine, but the high demand continues to center around the more powerful EcoBoost. ?Keeping the momentum, Ford is aggressively rolling out other versions of the EcoBoost formula across its passenger cars and SUV lineup in both four and six-cylinder (and even three-cylinder) versions.

The 100,000 sales mark for the EcoBoost is significant, since the automaker had not seen V-6 pickups sell in such high numbers since 1985.

Source: The Detroit News

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Source: http://wot.motortrend.com/ford-reports-f150-ecoboost-v-6-truck-sales-hit-100000-mark-151141.html

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

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Source: http://www.articledirectoryhub.com/business/careers/diploma-in-finance/

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Lava flood kills 4 near Indonesian volcano (AP)

TERNATE, Indonesia ? Officials say fast-moving mudflows streaming from the mouth of a volcano in eastern Indonesia have killed four villagers. About 1,000 others have fled their homes.

Mount Gamalama, located in the Molucca Islands, sprang back to life this month with a powerful, non-fatal eruption.

Government spokesman Yusuf Sunnya said Wednesday that days of heavy rains triggered flows of cold lava, rocks and other debris that slammed into villages near the base Tuesday night.

He said four people were killed and more than a dozen others were hospitalized with injuries ranging from broken bones to head wounds.

Indonesia is a vast archipelago with millions of people living on mountains or near fertile flood plains. Seasonal downpours here often cause landslides.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_lava_flood

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

One billion holiday wishes

As a new year dawns, 1 billion people worldwide face difficult challenges. But hundreds of organizations are working tirelessly to help.

The holidays are a time for putting others before yourself. And with the recent announcement that the world?s population has surpassed 7 billion, there are a lot more "others" to consider this year.

Skip to next paragraph

Nearly 1 billion people in the world are hungry, for example, while almost the same number are illiterate, making it hard for them to earn a living or move out of poverty.

One billion people ? many of them children ? have micronutrient deficiencies, decreasing their ability to learn and live productive lives.

?IN PICTURES: Food security in Africa

But there are hundreds and hundreds of organizations working tirelessly in communities at home and abroad to fix these problems.

One billion hungry

Although the number of undernourished people worldwide has decreased since 2009, nearly 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night. This number is unacceptably high. Malnutrition contributes to the death of half a billion children under the age of five every year, and in Africa alone, one child dies every six seconds from hunger.

But organizations such as the World Food Programme are using home-grown school feeding (HGSF) initiatives to alleviate hunger and poverty. HGSF programs in Brazil, India, Thailand, Kenya, and other countries work to connect local producers with schools, helping to provide children with nutritious and fresh food while providing farmers with a stable source of income.

One billion tons of food wasted

Roughly 1.3 billion tons of food ? a third of the total food produced for human consumption ? is lost or wasted each year. Within the United States, food retailers, services, and households waste approximately 40 million tons of food each year ? an amount that has been estimated to be enough to feed the close to 1 billion hungry people.

Thankfully, organizations around the world are working to educate people on the importance of preserving food. In New York City, City Harvest collects surplus food from food providers and distributes it to over 600 shelters and other agencies.

And in West Africa, farmers are using the power of the sun to dehydrate fruits such as mangoes and bananas. Experts estimate that, with nearly all of their moisture removed, the fruits? nutrients are retained for up to six months, allowing farmers to save the 100,000 tons of mangoes that go to waste each year.?

One billion micronutrient deficient?

Nearly 1 billion people suffer from micro-nutrient deficiencies, including lack of vitamin A, iron, and iodine. Between a quarter of a billion to half a billion children with vitamin A deficiencies become blind every year, and half of these children die within 12 months of losing their sight.

These problems could be fixed by ensuring access to nutritious foods. Organizations such as AVRDC ? The World Vegetable Center and the Developing Innovations in School cultivation (Project DISC) have been working to combat this problem.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/v6c92Utvqto/One-billion-holiday-wishes

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Deion Sanders Files For Divorce

www.tmz.com:

He told you he was gonna do it ... and now TMZ has learned, Deion Sanders has officially filed for divorce from his wife Pilar.

Read the whole story: www.tmz.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/deion-sanders-files-for-d_n_1171645.html

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Spectacular Christmas Comet Amazes Skywatchers in Chile (SPACE.com)

A stunning comet that survived a recent brush with the sun is amazing astronomers again, this time in dazzling new photos captured just before sunrise over Chile.

The comet Lovejoy may not be the famed Star of Bethlehem, but it still provided a jaw-dropping sight for astronomer Gabriel Brammer, photographed the comet rising ahead of the sun on Dec. 22 at Paranal Observatory in Chile's high Atacama Desert. ?

Brammer is a support astronomer for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which runs the Paranal facility. His time-lapse photos of comet Lovejoy show it rising ahead of the sun as the Paranal astronomers fire a laser beam, which serves as a guide star, into the sky. Our Milky Way galaxy and the moon are also visible in the images.

"On the last morning of my shift I tried to try catching it on camera before sunrise," Brammer said in a statement. "The tail of the comet was easily visible with the naked eye, and the combination of the crescent moon, comet, Milky Way and the laser guide star was nearly as impressive to the naked eye as it appears in the long-exposure photos."

Brammer wasn't the only one to document comet Lovejoy's appearance over Chile. ESO optician Guillaume Blanchard captured a dazzling wide-angle view of the comet while skywatcher Yuri Beletsky photographed Lovejoy as it rose above Santiago de Chile. [Photos of Death-Defying Comet Lovejoy]

"For me this comet is a Christmas present to the people who will stay at Paranal over Christmas," Blanchard said.

Comet Lovejoy from the VLT, Chile from g br on Vimeo.

Comet Lovejoy was discovered on Nov. 27 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy and quickly identified as a so-called Kreutz comet, a comet which flies on an orbit that swings extremely close to the sun. The comet was about 660 feet (200 meters) wide when it was first seen.

Astronomers initially expected the comet to be destroyed when it plunged through the sun's outer atmosphere on Dec. 15. But the comet defied all predictions and survived the encounter, despite coming within 87,000 miles (140,000 km) of the sun's surface.

Since then, comet Lovejoy has continued to provide spectacular views to skywatchers on Earth ? and in space.

On Wednesday (Dec. 21), NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank was amazed to see the comet rising over a nighttime Earth from his vantage point on the International Space Station as it sailed 240 miles above Tasmania. Burbank, who currently commands the space station, snapped about 100 photos of the cosmic sight, which NASA later assembled into a time-lapse video of comet Lovejoy.

"When it disappeared behind the sun, I think astronomers thought it would not appear again, it would probably burn up," Burbank said in a NASA video. "But it's probably the most spectacular thing that you can imagine."

Comet Lovejoy is now headed away from the sun as it travels along its highly eccentric orbit, ESO officials said. It may return to Earth's night sky in the year 2325, when its orbit brings it back into the inner solar system, they added.

?Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter?@Spacedotcom?and on?Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20111225/sc_space/spectacularchristmascometamazesskywatchersinchile

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iPad 3 launch rumored for Steve Jobs' Feb 24 birthday (Digital Trends)

With Christmas today comes the gift of another iPad 3 rumor, this one relating to the unannounced tablet?s release date. It?s February 24, the same day as Steve Jobs? birthday. At least according to unnamed sources ?close to Taiwanese makers in the iPad 3 supply chain? speaking to Chinese-language newspaper Economic Daily News (via Focus Taiwan). It?s not clear if the date refers to a product launch or an announcement, though 9to5mac notes that Apple traditionally launches new products on Fridays, as February 24 is.

The sources say that employees at a number of companies known or believed to be working on the iPad 3 have been told to expect a heavy workload around the Lunar New Year. Apple manufacturer Foxconn reportedly isn?t allowing employees to take any more than five days off during the holiday. The word is that the iPad 3?s initial shipment ?could exceed 4 million units.?

Remember that this is all rumor for now, and will likely stay that way until early next year. Even if there weren?t hard evidence to support it, there would be little doubt that a third iPad is coming soon. Apple is a company that likes sticking to a script, and the script clearly pegs another tablet announcement/launch for the start of the year. Yes, the iPhone 4S launch was shuffled just this year from the usual summer release to the fall. My money?s still on early ?12 for the next iPad though.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Apple iPad 2: What?s missing?

Rumor: Steve Jobs might be at iPad 2 announcement

Apple patents reveal better battery life, ?smart bezel? in the works

Apple iPad 3 rumor: debut in 3-4 months

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111225/tc_digitaltrends/ipad3launchrumoredforstevejobsfeb24birthday

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Mengal holds ISI, military responsible for Balochistan unrest

KARACHI?-?Elderly Baloch politician and former chief minister of Balochistan Sardar Attaullah Mengal has said the root causes of problems in Balochistan were the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and security institutions, and suggested the withdrawal of army, release of missing persons and trial of those arrested on murder and kidnapping charges in courts as the solution.
In an interview with Voice of Germany here on Sunday, Mental said Balochs had reached to the point of no return as they could not get their rights by remaining within the geographical frontiers of Pakistan and they had decided not to be part of the country.
Mengal said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif met him but no one had the power to stop the army?s intervention in Balochistan. He warned that if the army?s intervention continued, no one would be able to stop the disintegration of Pakistan. He was of the opinion that the Baloch people were receiving the same treatment as Bengalis. He said every day disfigured dead bodies of Baloch youths were being received and people were being kidnapped, which was a source of serious concern.
He said he had no contacts with Baloch youths who were on the mountains and, in a message to them, said if they could fight, they should do so otherwise they should not cause difficulties for their families and return home.
Mengal said Baloch youths were not under his control and had he been not aged, he would have been fighting alongside them in the mountains.

Source: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/12/mengal-holds-isi-military-responsible-for-balochistan-unrest/

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Egypt's military rulers study plan to speed up vote (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egypt's military rulers are studying a proposal from their own advisers to bring forward parliamentary elections by two weeks after demands from protesters and politicians to speed up transition to civilian rule, an advisory council member said Sunday.

Many Egyptians believe the army is no longer fit to manage security on the ground and carry out difficult reforms at a time of political and economic crisis.

Friday, thousands rallied in Cairo and other cities to demand the army give up power and to vent anger after 17 people were killed in recent protests where troops beat and clubbed women and men even as they lay on the ground.

Voting for the upper house, or Shura Assembly, is due to be held in three rounds beginning on January 29 and ending on March 5. It follows a similarly protracted vote for the lower house that began in November and is due to end in mid-January.

"The military council has agreed to study the option of shortening the election time for the Shura by two weeks, to end on February 22," Sherif Zahran, a member of a council advising the military on the transition to civilian rule told Reuters.

Zahran said the judiciary had agreed to the idea of squeezing Shura elections into two stages instead of three and that a plan to shorten the vote tallying process was being studied also.

"This would allow for both the (lower house of) parliament and Shura to convene in a joint meeting by the end of February," Zahran told Reuters.

Once parliament convenes, Egypt will draw up a constitution and a presidential vote is planned before the end of June.

Protests continue daily in Tahrir Square. Several hundred protesters have set up camp there. Some are demanding the army bring forward the presidential vote to as early as January 25, the first anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Others, worrying that 10 months after Mubarak's downfall Egypt remains in disarray, protested Friday to end protests so order can be restored and the economy revitalized.

A source close to the army said the military council, including leader Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, was meeting to decide on what was needed to speed up the Shura vote.

"Other changes will have to take place if this plan passes, such as how long the constitutional committee will take to draft the constitution," the source said, adding that Tantawi would first have to ratify any new voting timetable.

No one at the military council was available to comment.

Analysts say a speedy transfer could play into the hands of military by boosting the chances of presidential candidates with close ties to the army, including Amr Moussa.

Moussa, a former foreign minister and ex-head of the Arab League, said an earlier presidential was also being studied.

"Field Marshal Tantawi said presidential elections will be held no later than June 30. This means there is room for presidential elections to come sooner," Moussa, who is also a member of the advisory council, told Reuters Sunday.

(Writing by Patrick Werr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111225/wl_nm/us_egypt_vote

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Third-party political spending aims at Senator Brown in Ohio (Reuters)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) ? Third-party political money is already pouring into Ohio again after the state had one of the most expensive election fights ever in November.

Nearly $55 million was raised in a battle over public worker collective bargaining rights that ultimately saw a union victory last month.

Now political groups have begun funneling money into the 2012 Ohio U.S. senatorial race, with political action committees targeting Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce alone has spent approximately $1.5 million in media buys since November to defeat Brown in 2012, according to Ohio Democratic Party officials.

J.P. Fielder, communication director for the Chamber, told Reuters he could not verify the $1.5 million number but confirmed the group was already involved.

"This is the earliest we have ever gone into an election," he said, adding that the Chamber plans more media buys in the state. "We will be very intense across the country but especially in Ohio," Fielder said.

According to Justin Barasky, Ohio Democratic Party press secretary, "More third-party money has been spent in an effort to defeat Sherrod Brown to date than any other Senate candidate in the country."

Pointing to a National Journal ranking of Brown as the Senate's most liberal member last year, Fielder said, "We are holding Sherrod Brown accountable for a record which is more liberal than the state of Ohio."

Another non-Ohio based group spending money in an effort to defeat Brown is the Virginia-based Crossroads GPS. Nate Hodson, director of state and regional media, told Reuters the group has spent $800,000 for two advocacy television ads in 2011.

American Crossroads has spent tens of millions of dollars to defend and elect Republican candidates to federal office and counts former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie as advisers.

A conservative group for older Americans, 60 Plus, and the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee have also spent close to $1 million between them against Brown, the Democratic Party says.

Out of state interest in Ohio's politics hit a peak this year with the large contributions coming into the state on both side of the "Issue 2" collective-bargaining fight, a November ballot measure that brought the repeal of restrictions on public employee unions passed by the Republican-controlled legislature.

Groups in favor of restricting union bargaining rights, including the Alliance for America's Future, spent about $730,000 in the month leading up to the Ohio's election and a Washington-based group, Citizens United, paid $100,000 for a media buy right before election day.

On the pro-union side the National Education Association spent $1.4 million and among others the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees contributed around $1 million each to We Are Ohio, the main organization supporting repeal.

In the end, the union forces heavily outspent pro-business groups who had backed the legislation.

We Are Ohio was responsible for around $42 million in spending, compared with about $12 million for Building a Better Ohio, which supported keeping the restrictions on unions.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111224/pl_nm/us_campaign_ohio_funds

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brazzil: Brazil's pres Dilma gives Lula a gift from trash pickers. As president Lula used to spend holiday with them. http://t.co/pUKs5kgC

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Holidays hold extra-special meaning for tornado survivors

It's been eight months since a series of tornadoes touched down across North Carolina, destroying hundreds of homes.

For dozens of families, like Stanley and Sherry Baker, of Dunn, the holiday season holds an extra-special meaning.

The two had to start their lives over in April after a tornado destroyed their home of 28 years, as well as every single house on their block.

"Sometimes, it's like old Clint Eastwood says, you have to take the bad with the good," Sherry Baker said Thursday. "So, we got the good, the bad and the ugly. I would say that's what this year has been about."

The Bakers didn't just survive a tornado and lose their house. Sherry Baker discovered she had Stage 3 cancer. Weeks after surgery left her cancer-free, her grandsons lost their home to a fire.

It's almost too much to bear, but the Bakers know 2011 has been a rebuilding year for many.

In their old neighborhood on Carroll Byrd Lane, houses still sit in disrepair.

Willie Wrench demolished and rebuilt his. He was one of the first to move back.

"I was glad to get the house ? don't misunderstand me ? but it doesn't seem like home yet. It probably won't ever seem like home," Wrench said.

He was in his old house for 48 years, and the pain of losing it is still very fresh.

"When I see a cloud coming up ? and the wind starts blowing hard, I don't stay here," he said. "I'm not scared of wind, but I'll tell you what: (a tornado) will change your attitude."

The Bakers decided it was too difficult to rebuild. They sold their house and moved a few miles away.

"I just learn to have more patience and know that my faith is there," Sherry Baker said. "There is a reason for everything."

Both the Bakers and Wrench say that their hardships and tragedies only mean that Christmas has an even more special meaning this year.

"I had cancer twice. A tornado came. I'm still here," Wrench said. "I?m lucky ? or blessed ? I don?t know which one it is, but I?m still here. I've been put here for a reason."

"Actually, I?m not having a depressing Christmas. I love Christmas," Sherry Baker said. "I want everyone to be happy. We?re alive; we have a roof over our head ? all of us have."

?

Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10528802/

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Rochester drug ring pins fall one by one (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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Friday, December 23, 2011

ASLANmedia: #TURKEY #ISRAEL cancels $141m defense deal w/Turkey over concerns that Turkey could share intelligence w/3rd parties http://t.co/duFaCtRj

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Debra Messing & Daniel Zelman Call It Quits!

After 10 years of marriage, the actress and her husband are parting ways. See more celeb pairs who are back to going solo

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/gone-splitsville-celebrity-breakups/1-b-16462?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Agone-splitsville-celebrity-breakups-16462

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Monday, December 19, 2011

FX orders cold war pilot "The Americans" (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? FX has ordered the drama pilot "The Americans" about two KGB spies posing as -- you guessed it -- in suburban Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s.

The series, created by former CIA employee Joe Weisberg, follows spies Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings, who have an arranged marriage and two children who know nothing of their secret. As their relationship becomes more genuine, it is tested by the Cold War and the spies and informants they oversee.

Weisberg will executive produce with "Justified" executive producer and show runner Graham Yost. DreamWorks Television is also credited as an executive producer on the pilot, which is being produced by Fox Television Studios and FX Productions.

Weisberg worked for the CIA before becoming an author. He then moved into television and became a writer/producer on TNT's "Falling Skies."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/tv_nm/us_theamericans

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

British sprinter raises 2012 sponsorship on eBay (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? A top British sprinter desperate to run in his home London Olympics next year has raised 32,550 pounds ($50,500) in sponsorship by auctioning himself on eBay.

James Ellington told the BBC he "couldn't be happier' after his effort to raise cash to train closed on Saturday with 71 bids from 45 bidders over a 10-day period.

"I didn't think that many people would bid," added the 100 and 200 meter runner who competed in this year's world championships in Daegu.

Ellington, 26, lost out on funding after enduring four years of injury problems, making him the country's top sprinter without a sponsor ahead of his home Games.

He had set a reserve of 30,000 pounds, which he said would provide him with enough to train and pay for travel, accommodation, kit and nutritional support.

In return for the cash, he had promised to wear the sponsor's branded kit "at every possible opportunity where appropriate, including at training and press events, until after the 2012 Games."

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Dave Thompson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oddlyenough/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111217/od_nm/us_olympics_britain_ebay

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Chinese village activist's death suspicious: daughter (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? The daughter of a Chinese villager whose death in custody has ignited days of protests has dismissed as groundless official explanations that he died of heart failure, as residents gathered in their thousands to mourn him.

Xue Jinbo died in southern Guangdong province as police moved to try to quell a long-standing dispute over land seizures in Wukan village on the east coast of the booming region. Since then, villagers have staged fresh protests.

Eldest daughter Xue Jianwan, in an interview published this week by an online Hong Kong magazine, said there were signs of bruising and physical abuse all over her father's body.

She also said authorities refused initially to tell the family where her father had been taken.

"My father had absolutely no history of heart problems. If he was really sick, they ought to have told his family immediately so we could go see him, but they did not," she told iSun Affairs.

"They kept saying if our village continued to demand the land, they most certainly would not let us see anyone or let anyone out," she said.

Jianwan told iSun Affairs that three unidentified men without an arrest warrant had pounced on her father, tied his hands with plastic binders and taken him away.

"My mother was beside herself and kept asking how my father was, was there anything wrong with his health, where he was and could we go and see him. They would not say, and kept putting us off," she told the magazine.

Finally they produced a document that said Jinbo had died after being sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Officials then eventually produced the body.

"There were bruises all over, his hands were puffy and there were bruises on his wrists. There were wounds and it looked like his thumbs had been pulled back and broken," Jianwan said. "On his back there were many marks showing he had been beaten or stamped on."

Residents reached by telephone on Friday that the whole village turned out to mourn Jinbo. One resident put the number at 7,000.

"Everyone is still very angry. The government still has not returned the body," said one villager, asking not be identified due to the sensitive nature of the situation.

"This unrest could go on for some time. I'm worried about how it's all going to end," added another.

The government says that Jinbo fell ill on Sunday, his third day in detention on suspicion of helping organize the rally. State media says hospital doctors later pronounced the man dead from heart failure.

The government of Shanwei, a district including Wukan, said on Wednesday a "handful" of Communist Party members and officials accused of misdeeds over the disputed land development were detained and that the main land development project had been suspended, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

In a bid to allay suspicions that other villagers detained over unruly protests in September had been abused, the local government put online footage of four suspects being visited by relatives and reassuring them of their well-being.

Although the Communist Party has ruled over decades of growth that have protected it from challenges to its power, China is confronted by thousands of smaller-scale protests every year.

One expert on unrest, Sun Liping of Tsinghua University in Beijing, estimated that there could have been over 180,000 "mass incidents" in 2010.

But many Chinese experts put numbers at about half that in recent years. The government has not given any unrest statistics for years.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/wl_nm/us_china_unrest_villager

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Sony gears up for PlayStation Vita's Japan launch (AP)

TOKYO ? Sony's long-awaited PlayStation Vita portable game machine hits stores in Japan on Saturday, with the company predicting brisk sales even though the launch has missed much of the holiday shopping season.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President Andrew House told reporters Thursday that pre-launch orders had exceeded the allocation made for those keenest to get their hands on the device "extremely quickly" in Japan. He declined to reveal numbers.

The PS Vita goes on sale in North America and Europe on Feb. 22.

Enthusiasm for the new machine among gamers could lead to some shortages at first, House said. But he said Sony can handle the expected load.

"I'm pretty confident ... that there will not be major challenges in meeting demand, even though there may be short-term," House said.

For the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment giant, the Vita is the biggest product launch since the PlayStation 3 console five years ago.

A successful debut would help Sony offset the rest of its struggling business. It projects a loss of more than $1 billion for the fiscal year through March 2012. That would be its fourth straight annual loss.

The next-generation device is a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld that Sony hopes will be a strong successor to the PlayStation Portable. Gamers can connect over cellphone networks and Wi-Fi hotspots, and use GPS location-tracking technology.

The Vita has front and back cameras, a touchscreen in front, a touch pad on the back and two knob-like joysticks. It will enable gamers to play against each other using PlayStation 3 consoles over the Internet-based PlayStation Network, a system that was hit with a massive hacking attack earlier this year.

House touted the Vita's advantages over rival Nintendo Co.'s 3DS, which had a disappointing start despite the company's efforts to market its 3-D technology. Critics complained about a lack of interesting games. Nintendo ended up slashing prices on the 3DS after less than six months.

In contrast, two dozen software titles will accompany the Vita's introduction ? the largest number of launch titles in PlayStation history, House said. Games include "Uncharted: Golden Abyss," "LittleBigPlanet," and "Wipeout 2048."

House also questioned whether 3-D actually makes gaming better.

"If you see people out on the blogs saying, 'I turned it off,' then it's not then really acting as a great game enhancer."

The Vita's Wi-Fi only model will cost $249.99 in the U.S. and euros 249.99 in Europe. The Wi-Fi and 3G-enabled Vita will retail for $299.99 and euros 299.99.

Game prices in Japan will range from 2,940 yen ($37.67) to 6,090 yen ($78).

Although the 3DS costs about 40 percent less than the Vita in Japan, House contends that the Sony device offers a "truly unique gaming experience" that will lure hardcore gamers as well as new gamers.

Both Sony and Nintendo are being challenged by the rise of smartphones and tablets, through which casual gamers can play inexpensive and simple games like the mega-hit "Angry Birds."

House, however, said people will pay if it's worth it.

"Clearly, if the experience merits it, I don't think price is necessarily the barrier to entry," he said, citing the $1 billion in sales racked up by the latest "Call of Duty" game by Activision Blizzard in just over two weeks. "The point is being able to give people a sense of value for money."

House, a U.K. national, took over as president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment in September. He has worked at Sony Corp. for more than two decades.

___

Follow Tomoko A. Hosaka at http://twitter.com/tomokohosaka

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_hi_te/as_japan_sony_playstation

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Health dept. in Ohio urged to find healthier space

(AP) ? The state says a county health agency in Ohio needs a new building because the current one isn't setting a healthy example.

An employee at the Fairfield County Health Department in central Ohio complained to state officials about black mold, bats and rodents, high radon levels and possible lead exposure at the facility.

Acting county health administrator Larry Hanna tells the Lancaster (LANG'-kuh-stur) Eagle-Gazette (http://ohne.ws/tQjI6D ) that there's a bit of truth to all of that. But he says addressing some of those issues will be expensive.

The newspaper reports that the director of the Ohio Department of Health has sent a letter urging county officials to find money for a new building.

County Commissioner Steve Davis says a solution could come next month.

___

Information from: Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2011-12-15-Unhealthy%20Health%20Agency/id-1d84b0dc0d9f47939f1682b1d3dd7e4c

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Dyson $860 LED Desk Lamp Will Run For Almost Forty Years [Lighting]

Like father like son. If you thought James Dyson's vacuums were expensive, his son wants you to pony up almost $860 for an LED desk lamp that promises over 37 years of illumination thanks to space-age heatsink technology. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9MPdxptR3k4/this-860-led-desk-lamp-will-run-for-almost-forty-years

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

UN climate talks face challenges

As ministers begin arriving at the UN climate talks in South Africa, new science is showing the challenges they face in trying to curb global warming.

Using a new methodology, a Swiss team has calculated that about three-quarters of the warming seen since 1950 is down to human influences.

A second report says glacier loss in parts of the Himalayas is accelerating.

And an international research group has confirmed that emissions have soared despite the global financial crisis.

At the talks, the main task facing ministers and their negotiating teams is to find agreement on a 143-page draft text covering issues such as speeding up emission cuts, safeguarding forests and helping the poorest countries protect themselves against climate impacts.

One EU official suggested that the majority of governments favoured beginning discussions on a new legally-binding agreement as soon as possible.

Continue reading the main story

Adaptation

Action that helps cope with the effects of climate change - for example construction of barriers to protect against rising sea levels, or conversion to crops capable of surviving high temperatures and drought.

But a number of important countries including China, India and the US are not persuaded.

Even if those discussions do begin soon, other nations such as Japan and Canada say their existing pledges on cutting emissions by 2020 will not be amended.

Observers point out that without tightening these pledges, global emissions will not peak before 2020 - the timeframe scientists think is necessary if the target of limiting the global temperature rise to 2C from pre-industrial times is to be met.

'Convincing'

As delegates prepared to launch into the second week of talks, the journal Nature Geoscience published a new analysis of factors driving the Earth's warming since 1950.

Using information about the Earth's "energy balance" - the difference between the amount of energy it receives from the Sun and radiates back into space - researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich arrived at fresh estimates of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and other human-induced factors.

Their main conclusion is that it is extremely likely that at least 74% of the observed warming since 1950 has been caused by man-made factors.

They also conclude that greenhouse warming has partially been offset by the cooling effect of aerosols - tiny particles of dust thrown into the atmosphere that can reflect solar radiation back into space.

"It's pretty convincing stuff," commented Piers Forster, professor of climate change at the UK's University of Leeds and a former lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's assessment of factors driving global warming.

"Observations and the physical law of energy conservation have been used to show greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming and that alternative scenarios violate this law of nature.

"Previous proofs have relied on complex climate models, but this proof doesn't need such models - just careful observations of the land, ocean and atmospheric gases."

Careful observation of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas region, an area where climate change could bring major impacts to people, have been relatively scanty, due to the difficulty of doing science in remote areas, compounded by political disagreements.

The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (Icimod) has released a series of reports setting out what is known and what is not known about climate change in the region.

The number of glaciers identified has risen above 54,000, largely thanks to satellite observations.

But only 10 of these have been regularly and rigorously studied, it says.

In these 10, the rate of ice loss has roughly doubled since the 1980s.

But overall, the report's conclusion is that observations need to be stepped up to enable better projections of the future for the estimated 210 million people living in the region and the 1.3 billion living in river basins supplied by Himalayan meltwater.

"Up until now, there has been complete uncertainty on the numbers and area of glaciers and the present status of their environmental conditions in the region," said Basanta Shrestha from Icimod.

"This research gives us a baseline from which to measure the potential impact of climate change in the region, and to develop options for mitigating the impact of dynamic changes the region is expecting in the coming years."

'Triple whammy'

Meanwhile, Nature Climate Change journal has published a new assessment of how greenhouse gas emissions have changed in recent years.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

"Every one of us needs to change our behaviour, business needs to change their investment patterns, everybody?

End Quote Christiana Figueres UNFCCC executive secretary

Conducted by the Global Carbon Project, an international research collaboration, it confirms other analyses in showing that the financial crisis made but a small blip in the rising trend of emissions.

During 2010, emissions grew by 5.9%, they calculate - more than compensating for the fall of 1.4% seen in 2009, when the recession caused a dramatic downturn in developed countries (although not in the developing world's industrial giants such as China).

Even accounting for the 2009 drop, emissions have risen faster in the last decade than at any time in the last 50 years.

"Global CO2 emissions since 2000 are tracking the high end of the projections used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which far exceed two degrees warming by 2100," said co-author Prof Corinne Le Quere, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and professor at the University of East Anglia.

"Yet governments have pledged to keep warming below two degrees to avoid the most dangerous aspects of climate change such as widespread water stress and sea level rise, and increases in extreme climatic events.

"Taking action to reverse current trends is urgent," she said.

Senior lecturer in carbon management at Edinburgh University David Reay said: "From this latest study we see that the [2009] drop was all too ephemeral, and even the limp economic recovery of 2010 has put us back on a high emissions trajectory,"

"We now face the triple whammy of distracted world leaders, a scarcity of carbon finance, and a fast-closing window of opportunity to avoid dangerous climate change.

"For those striving for a breakthrough at the climate change conference in Durban, things just got even harder," he said.

At the conference itself, many delegates seemed aware that if the broad thrust of climate science is correct, time is running out for an agreement that can curb emissions enough to give reasonable odds of making the 2C target.

Equally, few were underestimating the political difficulties.

"Every one of us needs to change our behaviour, business needs to change their investment patterns, everybody," said UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres.

"That is very difficult to do. But there is no other option."

Follow Richard on Twitter

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16022585

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Williams sisters win doubles in Milan exhibition

AAA??Dec. 3, 2011?3:02 PM ET
Williams sisters win doubles in Milan exhibition
DANIELLA MATARDANIELLA MATAR, Associated Press?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?

Venus Williams, left, and her sister Serena, of the United States, celebrate after winning a point during an exhibition double tennis match against Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Venus Williams, left, and her sister Serena, of the United States, celebrate after winning a point during an exhibition double tennis match against Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's Francesca Schiavone, left, and Flavia Pennetta wave thir fans prior to the start of an exhibition double tennis match against Serena and Venus Williams, of the United States, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Serena Williams of the United States gestures at the end of an exhibition tennis match against Italy's Flavio Pennetta, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's Francesca Schiavone, left, and Flavia Pennetta dance to Michael Jackson's song "Beat It" prior to the start of an exhibition double tennis match against Serena and Venus Williams, of the United States, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's Flavia Pennetta returns the ball to Serena Williams, of the United States, during an exhibition tennis match, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

(AP) ? Francesca Schiavone defeated both Venus and Serena Williams in singles on Saturday before they rallied to win the doubles in an exhibition in Milan.

Schiavone defeated Venus 7-5, 7-3, then countered a strong comeback from Serena to defeat the younger sibling 7-3, 8-10, 8-6.

Flavia Pennetta also beat Venus, whose strap broke on her dress before a sellout crowd of 11,000. Venus dashed off the court and returned in her third outfit of the event. She also brought popcorn to share with Pennetta, who won 7-6, 7-2.

Serena defeated Pennetta 6-8, 7-3, 7-3 before the Williams sisters won the doubles 3-7, 8-6, 8-6.

The Italian pair delighted the crowd in the warmup by dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Venus has played just once since pulling out of the U.S. Open three months ago because of an immune system disease. Venus defeated Serena in an exhibition match in Colombia last week.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-03-TEN-Milan-Exhibition/id-9cb4c5d6a3da45b1ba197b2f4cc63814

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Stranded Alaskan survives 3 days on frozen beer

By Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News

Shared via The Associated Press

Clifton Vial, 52, climbed into the cab of his Toyota Tacoma on Monday night in Nome to see how far a road winding to the north would take him.

More than 40 miles out of town, at about 9:30 that night, he found out. As Pink Floyd's "Echoes" played on the stereo and temperature dipped well below zero in the darkness, Vial's pickup plunged into a snowdrift.

"I made an attempt at digging myself out and realized how badly I was stuck," Vial told The Anchorage Daily News. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans and a $30 jacket from Sears. "I would have been frostbit before I ever got the thing out of there."

Vial found himself alone near Salmon Lake, on a road that doubles as a snowmachine trail in the winter and stretches inland from the Bering Sea city. Far beyond the reach of his cellphone, Vial slipped into a fleece sleeping bag liner and wrapped a bath towel around his feet. He occasionally started the truck to run the heater and listen to the radio.

Was anybody talking about him? Did they know he was missing? By the third day, Vial said, the truck was nearly out of gas. "I felt really pissed at myself," Vial said. "I shouldn't have been out there by myself unprepared for what I knew was possible."

Normally Vial carries a sleeping bag, extra gasoline and other survival gear in the 2000 Toyota, he said. But on this trip he had few supplies, no food and no water. Even his dogs, a pair of labs that usually accompany him on drives, stayed home.

Vial kept busy trying to think of ways to stay warm. His wife and daughter were out of town, searchers said. No one would know he was gone until he failed to show up for work at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"He's a very punctual employee," said John Handeland, general manager for Nome Joint Utility System, where Vial works as an operator mechanic. "By 4 o'clock we figured something was wrong."

No one could reach Vial on the phone. Co-workers patrolling the town that night found no sign of his pickup.

Handeland called police on Wednesday when Vial missed work for a second day.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department was alerted and Vial's co-workers and volunteer rescuers drove surrounding roads in search of the Toyota.

One searcher drove 41 miles along Kougarok Road -- just a few miles from where Vial sat shivering and stranded in his pickup -- but saw no tracks. The searcher turned back as daylight disappeared and the road conditions worsened, Handeland said.

Troopers joined the search. Rescuers looked for Vial on the ground and from the air, in planes and from a helicopter.

"When we get called on situations like this, it's a needle in a haystack," said Jim West Jr., a Nome fire department captain and search and rescue coordinator.

For Vial, the cold was worse than the hunger, he said. Still he scoured the pickup in vain for food.

His only provisions: Snow, and a few cans of Coors Light that had frozen solid in the cab.

Vial ate the beers like cans of beans. "I cut the lids off and dug it out with a knife," he said.

The overnight low temperature in Nome dropped from about 12 below Monday night -- not counting windchill -- to 17 below on Wednesday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Aldrich.

Battling for warmth, Vial wrapped a bath towel around his feet and placed another over his knees and thighs. He shook his ankles and knees to keep moving. He stuffed rags in his clothes and unraveled tissue paper, jamming it down around his feet.

"When I was just sitting there in my coat in the sleeping bag liner I would pull my arms inside my T-shirt to try and utilize my body heat as much as I could," Vial said. "That worked fine for some time, as far as keeping my torso warm and my arms. But my legs and feet where getting pretty cold."

The wind rumbled like airplane engines, Vial said. He thought about his daughter, and about what would happen if no one found him in time.

"I tried to sleep when I could," Vial said, "but I knew that I might not wake up."

When he did close his eyes, Vial said, strange and vivid images appeared. "Saw my daughter. Saw my job. Saw some things that didn't look like people."

He would picture himself driving around Nome, saying hello to friends, only to snap awake and find himself back in the truck, freezing.

At one point Vial decided he would only fire up the pickup's engine once a day. "(The gas tank) was on `E' and the gas light was coming on," he said.

Vial never heard the rescuers arrive. It was early Thursday afternoon, three days after he first became stranded in the snow, when they pulled up behind his pick-up. A co-worker and another volunteer opened the door to the truck, he said.

They gave him a Snickers bar -- it seemed too dry to eat, he said -- and an orange soda.

Vial described the more than 60-hour ordeal in a short phone interview Friday from Nome. His daughter was home from Anchorage.

He planned to visit a doctor Friday afternoon, then return to work.

Vial's legs felt as if they'd been beaten, he said, but he found no signs of frostbite. "I weighed myself last night," he said. "I lost approximately 16 pounds."

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/03/9195424-alaska-man-stranded-in-snow-3-days-survives-on-frozen-beer

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

British soldier jailed for stabbing Afghan boy

A British soldier has been jailed for stabbing a 10-year-old Afghan boy with a bayonet for no reason, according to Britain's Ministry of Defense.

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Prosecutors said that Daniel Crook, a Grenadier Guardsman stationed in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, suffered from a hangover when he attacked the boy, who was on an errand. The boy survived the incident, which happened in March, 2010.

Crook admitted he stabbed the child, but could not explain why he did so when questioned by military police.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed Saturday that Crook was dismissed from the army, has faced court martial and is imprisoned for 18 months.

The boy's father, Haji Shah Zada told The Guardian newspaper that he didn't know why his son was attacked and received no apology from the British forces.

"Of course foreigners are the enemies of Afghans ? otherwise he wouldn't do that to innocent child who was just going by on his bike," the 72-year-old shopkeeper told the British newspaper.

He said his son still has difficulties walking to school, located nearly a mile away.

On the question of compensation, the father said: "We asked for $40,000 but they only gave us $800."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45534829/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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