sachiparkeryx: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Italy's Monti warns of ongoing market turbulence

Italian Premier Mario Monti speaks during a news conference in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. Italy saw its borrowing rates fall for the second day running on Thursday but the country's new premier said his government had a lot more to do to convince nervous financial markets that it had a plan to deal with its debt mountain. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Premier Mario Monti shows a graphic as he speaks during a news conference in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. In another sign that concerns over a default by Italy have eased over the past month, the country saw its borrowing rates fall for the second day running as it raised around euro 7 billion ($9.2 billion) in a range of auctions Thursday. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

ROME (AP) ? Italy's borrowing costs fell for a second day Thursday but the country's new premier said his government has more to do before it convinces financial markets it can manage the heavy debts that have made it the focus of the eurozone crisis.

Mario Monti said he was encouraged by bond auctions at which interest costs demanded by bond investors eased. He said his government of technocrats, in office for just a month and a half following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, was preparing a package of measures to get the Italian economy moving again, including efforts to boost competition and liberalize the labor market.

"We absolutely don't consider the market turbulence to be over," he said at a news conference after the Italian treasury tapped investors for around euro7 billion ($9.2 billion).

The most keenly awaited result from Thursday's batch of auctions was the euro2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) sale of ten-year bonds at an average yield of 6.98 percent.

That's lower than the record 7.56 percent it had to pay at an equivalent auction last month, when investor concerns over the ability of the country to service its massive debts became particularly acute.

However, the country's borrowing rate on the key 10-year bond remains uncomfortably close to the 7 percent level widely considered to be unsustainable in the long run. Greece, Ireland and Portugal all had to request financial bailouts after their 10-year bond yields pushed above 7 percent. In the secondary markets, Italy's yield continues to hover around the 7 percent mark.

The 17 countries that use the euro are struggling with a crisis over heavy levels of government debt in several countries. Fears of default on those debts mean that bond investors demand ever higher interest. If a country can no longer borrow affordably to pay off bonds that are maturing, it winds up needing a bailout or defaulting.

Markets had grown fearful over the past few months over Italy's massive debt burden of euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion). Next year alone, the eurozone's third largest economy has some euro330 billion ($431 bill.

That means Italy has far to go before it convinces markets it will avoid a disastrous default that could cause another banking crisis and sink the European and global economies.

Italy also sold euro2.54 billion ($3.3 billion) of 3 year bonds at an average interest rate of 5.62 percent, far lower than the 7.89 percent rate it had to pay last month. It also raised euro803 million ($1.05 billion) in the 7-year auction at a rate of 7.42 percent and euro1.18 billion ($1.54 billion) in nine-year bonds at a yield of 6.7 percent.

Thursday's results come a day after Italy raised euro10.7 billion ($14 billion) in a pair of auctions, again at sharply lower rates than those it was forced to pay just a month ago.

The sharp decline in Italy's borrowing costs over the past couple of days suggests that commercial banks from the 17 countries that use the euro may have diverted some money they tapped from emergency loans from the European Central Bank last week to buy the bonds of heavily indebted governments.

It may also suggest rising investor confidence in Italy's recent efforts to reduce its long-term debt through tax increases, pension changes and spending cuts.

Monti's technocratic government got parliamentary approval last week for more spending cuts and tax increases intended to save the country from financial disaster. One of the most controversial aspects of the austerity package is reform of Italy's bloated pension system.

Economists say the long term problem is the country's weak growth, since stronger growth both increases tax revenues and shrinks the size of debt relative to the economy. European Central Bank head Mario Draghi has said Italy must undertake deeper economic reforms to improve its economic performance.

___

AP Business Writer David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-29-EU-Italy-Financial-Crisis/id-101fa0f8b67d4a4da45c2a6fb0797584

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Nigeria church bomb death toll rises to 37, wounded 57 (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) ? The death toll from a bomb attack on a church just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja on Christmas Day has risen to 37, with 57 people wounded, a source at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday.

The bombing at St. Theresa's Catholic church in Madalla on Abuja's outskirts during a packed Christmas mass, was the deadliest of a series of Christmas attacks on Nigerian churches and other targets by the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram.

"As of just now, the latest death toll from the bombing of St. Theresa's church is at 37. Wounded, we have 57," a senior NEMA official said. The initial death toll had been 27.

The official asked not to be identified because the victims were now in the hands of hospitals and morgues.

President Goodluck Jonathan summoned his security chiefs for an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the growing Islamist militant threat and how to deal with it.

This year was the second in a row that Boko Haram has attacked churches at Christmas. Its strikes are becoming deadlier and more sophisticated, and have raised fears that the militants are trying to ignite sectarian strife in country historically prone to conflicts between a largely Muslim north and Christian south.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language, has been blamed for a campaign of shootings and bombings against security forces and authorities in the north.

Attacks in and around the capital - including one on the U.N. headquarters in August that killed at least 24 people - suggest the group is trying to raise its profile and radiate out from its heartland in the northeast.

On Tuesday night, unidentified attackers threw a homemade bomb into an Islamic school in Nigeria's southern Delta state, in an apparent sectarian reprisal that wounded seven people, six of them young children.

On Wednesday night, an explosion in a local bar in the northern city of Gombe wounded one person, police said.

(Reporting by Tim Cocks; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/wl_nm/us_nigeria_violence

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World Oil Move On Threats From Iran

The price of oil on world commodity exchanges fluctuated Wednesday morning in response to threats from Iran to block shipping in the Persian Gulf.

The price of a February futures contract for WTI light sweet crude in electronic trading on Nymex was up 8 cents to $101.42 a barrel by 9:10 Moscow time. The price of a February futures contract for North Sea Brent blend was down 1 cent to $109.26 in London.

The day before, February WTI contracts rose $1.66 to $101.34 a barrel, while February Brent contracts were up $1.31 to $109.27.

Back

Source: http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/13816/

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Quicksilver, KKR form midstream partnership in Canada

EBR Staff Writer
Published 29 December 2011

Quicksilver Resources and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) have formed a new midstream partnership to construct and operate natural gas midstream services in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories of Canada.

The investment firm KKR has paid $125m to Quicksilver in exchange for a 50% stake in the partnership.

The partnership will be operated by Quicksilver, which is also contributing its existing 20-mile gathering line and compression facilities as well as ten-year contracts for gas deliveries into those facilities to create the partnership.

Under the deal, KKR will carry Quicksilver on its portion of future development costs on the initial treating facility in exchange for preferential distributions.

Gas gathering, transportation and processing infrastructure will jointly be built and operated by the companies to maximize the value of the production stream from Quicksilver's development in the Horn River basin.

Source: http://transportationandstorage.energy-business-review.com/news/quicksilver-kkr-form-midstream-partnership-in-canada-291211

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Breast Cancer Radiation Linked to Raised Heart Risk (HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have breast cancer on the left side of the body and who are treated with radiation therapy have a higher risk of developing narrowing of the arteries that lead to the heart, researchers say.

A new Swedish study found that the risk of having moderately narrowed coronary arteries was more than four times greater for women who had left-sided breast cancers treated with radiation compared to right-sided breast cancers treated with radiation. The odds were seven times higher for more severe narrowing on the left side versus the right, according to the study published in the Dec. 27 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"We suggest that the coronary arteries be regarded as organs at risk in radiation therapy, and that every effort be made to avoid radiation dose to the coronary arteries," wrote study authors led by Dr. Greger Nilsson, of the department of oncology, radiology and clinical immunology at Uppsala University Hospital.

However, it's also important to note that of a group of 8,190 women who had breast cancer, just 199 had to be referred for coronary angiography (a treatment for blocked blood vessels).

"Women need to be aware that there is a risk, but the overall risk is still relatively small, and the benefits of radiation in the treatment of breast cancer still outweigh the risks," said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, are designed to destroy cancer cells. Unfortunately, healthy cells are often damaged, too. Treatment techniques are constantly being refined, and today's treatments target fewer healthy cells than treatments from years past.

For example, newer radiation techniques help protect the heart and the arteries leading to it, according to Dr. Timothy Zagar, an assistant professor in radiation oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One such technique is to give bursts of radiation only when a patient is taking a deep breath. During a deep breath, the main artery going to the heart separates from the breast and chest wall, which keeps it away from the radiation.

Zagar, co-author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal, said researchers don't know exactly how radiation causes damage to coronary arteries, but it's believed to damage the cells lining the arteries (endothelial cells), which causes inflammation, which can lead to hardening of the arteries.

The current study included women from Sweden who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1970 and 2003. Of the 8,190 women, the researchers found 199 women who had undergone coronary angiography, suggesting significant coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery narrowing (stenosis) is graded on a scale of zero to 5. Zero indicates a healthy blood vessel, while 5 indicates a blocked blood vessel.

When the researchers compared women who'd had radiation treatment on the left side of their body versus the right, they found that the odds of a grade 3 to grade 5 stenosis in a left-sided artery were 4.38 times higher. The odds of a grade 4 or grade 5 stenosis were 7.22 times higher for women who had left-sided breast cancer.

In women who received radiation in high-risk areas near the heart's arteries, the risk of a grade 3 to grade 5 stenosis was nearly twice as high as it was in women who had radiation in low-risk areas, or who didn't have radiation.

Zagar pointed out that this study was done over a long period of time and that changes in the way radiation is delivered would likely result in lower odds of coronary artery stenosis for women treated with radiation today.

In addition, Zagar said, "I don't think this study's findings would justify changing from a lumpectomy [breast-conserving surgery] to a mastectomy [surgical removal of the breast]. Breast-conserving therapy is very important to many women, and the number of coronary events are still low," he added.

"It's important to understand that with all treatments, there are risks," Bernik said. "And, we know that this is one of the risks with radiation of left-sided breast cancer. Women need to keep in mind that they're at increased risk of coronary events and need to follow up with their doctor going forward."

More information

Learn more about radiation treatment for cancer from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111227/hl_hsn/breastcancerradiationlinkedtoraisedheartrisk

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Wizards Vs. Hawks Final Score: Atlanta Wins Second Straight 101-83 Over Washington

Read More: Joe Johnson (G - ATL), Josh Smith (F - ATL), Al Horford (C - ATL), Jeff Teague (G - ATL), Larry Drew (A - ATL), Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks weren't nearly as dominant as their Tuesday night victory but they were good enough to hand the Washington Wizards a 101-83 loss in their home opener at Philips Arena. Atlanta started the game with an 11-0 run and has an answer for every Washington run in the game.

After the game, Larry Drew wasn't as pleased with the Hawks effort citing that they didn't seem as locked in at both ends of the floor. Washington successfully cut a big Hawks lead down to 13 points in the fourth quarter before Atlanta woke up enough to stretch it back out.

Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 18 points and four assists. Marvin Williams had his second straight good game finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. Both Josh Smith and Al Horford logged double-doubles while Jeff Teague finished with 11 points and five assists. Atlanta hit 43 percent of their field goal attempts and went inside for 36 points in the paint. The intent on getting the ball inside paid off with Atlanta going 28-35 at the free throw line.

Nick Young led the Wizards with 21 points and John Wall finished with 20 points and six assists. JaVale McGee finished with a double-double 15 points and 12 rebounds but Andray Blatche was a non-factor finishing with four points on 2-13 shooting.

For more on this game, Hawks fans should check out Peachtree Hoops and Wizards fans should visit Bullets Forever. For everything NBA basketball check out SB Nation's NBA hub.

Source: http://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-hawks/2011/12/28/2667386/wizards-vs-hawks-final-score-2011

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Winners of Caruso Affiliated?s Spirit of American Youth Scholarship to Ride City of Glendale Float in Rose Parade

GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two recipients of Caruso Affiliated?s Spirit of American Youth Scholarship program, Brandon Ruvalcaba and Angela Sanchez, have been selected to represent the City of Glendale and ride on this year?s float in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 2. Brandon received his Scholarship this year and is attending UCLA and Angela, who also attends UCLA, was a 2009 scholarship recipient. The Spirit of American Youth Scholarship program provides a $10,000 scholarship to students who have shown commitment to community improvement and dedication to academic excellence in their high school career.

?Glendale?s participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade is a great tradition and a long-standing part of the city?s heritage?

?Brandon and Angela are extraordinary individuals and we are thrilled to have two winners from Caruso Affiliated?s scholarship program representing the City of Glendale on this year?s float,? says Jennifer Gordon, senior vice president, public relations and special events.

Brandon Ruvalcaba, graduated in the top one-percent of his class at Sylmar High School and is passionate about volunteering his time to help and mentor others. Brandon took on the role of volunteer coordinator for The American Cancer Society?s Relay for Life, Sylmar chapter, raising funds for cancer research, a cause close to his heart. Currently studying Neuroscience at UCLA, Brandon plans to become a doctor, a goal inspired by his mother, his biggest supporter, who is battling cancer.

Angela Sanchez overcame tremendous odds as a teen living at a homeless shelter in Pasadena for 18 months and taking the bus each day to Hoover High in Glendale to complete high school with her classmates. In addition to maintaining a 4.2+ GPA, she mentored other children in the shelter and is now a junior at UCLA where she established the very first student-run and managed School-On-Wheels and is studying to be a teacher.

Earlier this year, Caruso Affiliated CEO Rick Caruso issued a $25,000 challenge grant to help save Glendale?s float entry in the Tournament of Roses Parade, which saved the 97-year old program?the second-longest-running in the Rose Parade---from being discontinued due to budget cuts.

?Glendale?s participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade is a great tradition and a long-standing part of the city?s heritage,? says Caruso. ?We?re looking forward to seeing the float make its grand debut on January 2.?

The theme of this year?s Rose Parade is ?Just Imagine?? and will feature spirited marching bands from throughout the nation, majestic floral floats with thousands of beautiful flowers and more than 300 regal equestrian units.

Source: http://feeds.businesswire.com/click.phdo?i=72f08e22778e38f61ac06afa4485b74f

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Odd notes, mad-dash trips mark Iowa closing sprint

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during a campaign stop at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at USA Furniture and Bedding, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican Presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. meets with patrons at the Nodaway Diner during a campaign stop, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Greenfield, Iowa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Iowa's GOP presidential contest remains deeply unsettled, if not downright strange, five days before the Jan. 3 caucus.

Rep. Ron Paul, drawing big crowds, got a surprise endorsement Wednesday night from Rep. Michele Bachmann's now-former state chairman. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who has languished for months, suddenly seems to have momentum, just as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may be losing his.

And Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who began the campaign by de-emphasizing Iowa, might be poised to finish on top. He's striking an optimistic tone in the final days of the Iowa campaign.

"The spirit of enterprise, innovation, pioneering and can-do propelled our standard of living and economy past that of any other nation on earth," Romney says in a new ad he rolled out Thursday. "And in the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense. And I intend to make it because I have lived it."

His allies, too, are keeping the heat on his opponents.

The Restore Our Future super PAC, made up of Romney allies, rolled out a new ad that asks "Haven't we had enough mistakes?" and notes all the times when Newt Gingrich has said he had a lapse in judgment or acknowledged errors.

It's part of an unabashed push by Romney in Iowa as his rivals scramble to deny him huge momentum heading into the Jan. 10 primary in New Hampshire, his second home.

Paul, the 76-year-old libertarian-leaning Texan, drew about 500 people at the Iowa State fairgrounds in Ames late Wednesday. A group of Occupy activists tried to interrupt the rally, but that wasn't the main surprise.

State Sen. Kent Sorenson, who had campaigned a few hours earlier with Bachmann as a state chairman of her bid, announced he would support Paul instead.

Paul's anti-government appeal appears to tap into the desire of a frustrated electorate for profound change in an era of high unemployment and an economy that has only slowly recovered from the recession.

"In the last couple of weeks I fell into Ron Paul's camp," said Bob Colby, of Newton, who spent 21 years in the military and is a former employee of a now-shuttered Maytag plant in town.

Paul, who is airing TV ads hitting Romney and Gingrich, planned a town hall meeting Thursday in Perry, Iowa, plus stops in Atlantic and Council Bluffs.

There were other odd campaign notes Wednesday.

Two politically active pastors in Iowa's robust evangelical conservative movement disclosed an effort to persuade either Santorum or Bachmann to quit the race and endorse the other. "Otherwise, like-minded people will be divided and water down their impact," said Rev. Cary Gordon, a Sioux City minister and a leader among Iowa's social conservatives.

Neither candidate appeared interested.

Meanwhile, an ever more confident Romney scheduled stops Thursday in Cedar Falls, Mason City and Ames. He has air support: TV ads say he has the best chance to beat President Barack Obama in November.

Asked Wednesday about the prospects for back-to-back victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney demurred. "I can't possibly allow myself to think in such optimistic terms," he said. "I just have to put my head down and battle as best I can."

Santorum seems to be gaining steam, according to a Time-CNN survey and some private polls. "We're very, very happy with the new numbers," he told reporters in Dubuque.

Acknowledging widespread voter anger in an age of high unemployment, Santorum told an audience Wednesday: "If you want to stick it to the man, don't vote for Ron Paul. That's not sticking it to anybody but the Republican Party."

Santorum, who planned events Thursday in the eastern Iowa towns of Coralville, Wilton, Muscatine and Davenport, says he believes his improved showing reflects voters' belief that he "can be trusted" and that "we've got a record to back it up."

He said in an appearance on NBC's "Today" show Thursday that he's the only one in the Republican field who "has a track record" of winning elections in states, like Pennsylvania, where it was necessary for GOP candidates to attract independents and Democrats.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry adjusted his position on abortion for a second straight day, telling reporters he would allow abortion if a woman's life were at risk. On Tuesday, he had told a pastor that he had undergone a "transformation" on abortion rights and now opposed the procedure in cases of rape or incest after having recently met a woman who said she was conceived by a rape.

Asked if a mother's life was the only instance when he would allow abortion, he was concise as he boarded his bus Wednesday: "That's correct."

Perry planned events Thursday in Washington, Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown.

Gingrich, who has suffered under a barrage of TV attack ads, also took aim at Paul. "I'm very uncomfortable with the idea that the commander in chief would think it was irrelevant to have an Iranian nuclear weapon," he said Wednesday.

Gingrich planned events Thursday in Sioux City, Storm Lake, Denison and Carroll.

Bachmann took aim Wednesday at her two rivals from Texas. She said Perry has spent "27 years as a political insider," and Paul would be "dangerous as president" because of his hands-off views on national security.

Bachmann scheduled events Thursday in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Nevada, Iowa.

___

Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont, Brian Bakst, David Espo, Philip Elliott, Beth Fouhy, Mike Glover, Kasie Hunt and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-29-GOP%20Campaign/id-c135b92daba84e1b8f65300ee1edc73a

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Syrian troops kill protesters as monitors visit

BEIRUT?? Arab League monitors gathered accounts about the Syrian government's crackdown on dissent in the central city of Homs Wednesday as fresh violence flared just dozens of miles away. Activists said troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters, killing at least six.

Though President Bashar Assad's regime has made concessions to the observers, including the release of nearly 800 prisoners, the military was pressing ahead with a campaign to put down mostly peaceful protests.

In the two days since the Arab monitors arrived, activists said troops have killed at least 39 people, including the six shot in the central city of Hama on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the monitors are expected to visit Hama, Idlib and Daraa ? all centers of the uprising.

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The continued bloodshed ? and comments by an Arab League official praising Syria's cooperation ? have fueled concerns by the Syrian opposition that the Arab mission is a farce and a distraction from the ongoing killings.

Arab League: 'Nothing frightening' in Syria hotspot

The opposition suspects Assad is only trying to buy time and forestall more international sanctions and condemnation.

"This mission has absolutely no mandate, no authority, no teeth," said Ausama Monajed, a member of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group. "The regime does not feel obliged to even bring down the number of casualties a day."

The 60 monitors ? the first Syria has allowed in during the nine-month uprising ? are supposed to be ensuring the regime is complying with terms of a plan to end a crackdown the U.N. says has killed more than 5,000 people since March.

The plan, which Syria agreed to on Dec. 19, demands that the regime remove its security forces and heavy weapons from cities, start talks with the opposition and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country. It also calls for the release of all political prisoners.

On Wednesday, the government released 755 prisoners following a report by Human Rights Watch accusing authorities of hiding hundreds of detainees from the monitors. It was the second concession in two days.

The army on Monday pulled some of its troops back from the central city of Homs after bombarding it for days and killing scores of people. Monitors who were allowed into the city were met by tens of thousands of protesters who called for Assad's execution.

Images obtained by The Associated Press from the city in the days leading up to the monitors' visit show army defectors inside a bombed-out building, firing machine guns through gaping holes in a wall.

In another, a huge crowd fills the street for a nighttime rally behind a giant banner of the uprising's revolutionary flag. A row of women wear the flags and a large sign overhead reads: "All the doors are closed except your door, God."

There are also photos of wounded civilians lying on a floor in pools of blood, and being treated with crude medical equipment. Another shows an alleyway with blood smeared on a wall and pooled on the ground.

At a Dec. 21 protest, a banner reads: "To the Arab League: Your initiative cannot protect us from death." Young girls with headbands that read "Leave!" and sashes calling for the "execution of Bashar" protest under banners with "Freedom and Dignity."

The images show the intensity of the opposition against Assad's regime, which brought on the offensive against Homs that began on Friday and lasted until monitors arrived Tuesday to start their one-month mission with a visit to the city.

Several from the team of 12 stayed in Homs overnight and they continued to work there Wednesday. There was no word on whether other teams went to different cities.

According to officials and activists, the monitors went to several districts of Homs, including trouble spots in Baba Amr, Bab Sbaa and Inshaat.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45808426/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Notable deaths in 2011: bin Laden, Steve Jobs, Liz Taylor, Moammar Gadhafi

ATLANTA ? They lived by the sword, both inspiring fear and acts of bloodshed around the world. And in the end, they both suffered violent deaths befitting their fearsome reputations. Perhaps no two deaths in 2011 transfixed the world more than those of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Bin Laden became the most wanted man in the world after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. Nearly a decade later, he was shot dead by U.S. commandos in May after being tracked to his hideout in Pakistan. His body was buried at sea. For Gadhafi, the end came after he was captured by rebels, his final moments shown in gruesome, shaky handheld video that was seen across the globe.

If relief and even celebration greeted their demise, the deaths of other notables in 2011 brought reflection on lives of achievement.

The world of science and innovation lost Steve Jobs, the Apple founder who invented and marketed sleek gadgets that transformed everyday technology from the personal computer to the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Science also said goodbye this year to Christian J. Lambertson, Norman Ramsey, William Nunn Lipscomb, Jr., Boris Chertok and Ralph Steinman.

Political figures who died in 2011 included R. Sargent Shriver, Warren M. Christopher, Jiri Dienstbier, Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Geraldine Ferraro, Max van der Stoel, Necmattin Erbakan, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, Leonidas Kyrkos, Hugh Carey, Garret FitzGerald and Betty Ford.

In entertainment, the world lost Elizabeth Taylor, a woman whose sultry screen persona, stormy personal life and enduring fame made her one of the last of the classic movie stars. The year also saw the passing of soul singer Amy Winehouse, whose death at age 27 left many wondering what works of musical brilliance the world might have seen from the troubled, young star.

Others in the arts and entertainment field who died include: Peter Falk, Jane Russell, Clarence Clemons, Pinetop Perkins, Annie Girardot, Harry Morgan, Ferlin Husky, Susannah York, Randy ?Macho Man? Savage, David Nelson, Sidney Lumet, Richard Hamilton, Bil Keane, Poly Styrene, M.F. Husain, Heavy D, Jackie Cooper, Robert Tear and Betty Garrett.

Here is a roll call of some of the people who died in 2010. (Cause of death cited for younger people if available.)

JANUARY

Maj. Richard ?Dick? Winters, 92. The man who fought in several major battles in World War II and whose quiet leadership was chronicled in the book and television miniseries ?Band of Brothers.? Jan. 2.

Malangatana Ngwenya, 74. A Mozambican painter, poet and politician who became one of Africa?s most famous artists for his work drawing on the country?s rocky history. Jan. 5.

Vang Pao, 81. A revered former general in the Royal Army of Laos, who led thousands of Hmong guerrillas in a CIA-backed secret army in the Vietnam war. Jan. 6.

Jiri Dienstbier, 73. A reporter turned dissident who joined Vaclav Havel to help topple one of Eastern Europe?s most repressive regimes, then served under Havel in Czechoslovakia?s first post-communist government. Jan. 8.

Peter Yates, 81. A British film maker who sent actor Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in ?Bullitt.? Jan. 9.

Margaret Whiting, 86. A sweet-voiced performer known for sentimental ballads who sold millions of records in the 1940s and 1950s. Jan. 10.

David Nelson, 74. He starred on his parents? popular American television show ?The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.? Jan. 11. Colon cancer.

Mississippi Winn, 113. A former domestic worker believed to be the oldest living African-American in the U.S. and the seventh oldest person in the world. Jan. 14.

Susannah York, 72. One of the leading stars of British and Hollywood films in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jan. 15. Cancer.

Don Kirshner, 76. A rock promoter who helped launch performers such as Prince, the Eagles, Lionel Ritchie and Ozzy Osbourne. Jan. 17.

R. Sargent Shriver, 95. First Peace Corps director, ambassador and leader of the War on Poverty in the U.S. but best known as a Kennedy in-law. Jan. 18.

Ed Mauser, 94. The oldest living member of a 101st Airborne Division company that became known as the ?Band of Brothers? and fought some of the fiercest battles of World War II but kept his Army service secret even from his family. Jan. 21. Pancreatic cancer.

Jack LaLanne, 96. The fitness guru who inspired U.S. television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became an American obsession. Jan. 23. Respiratory failure due to pneumonia.

Samuel Ruiz, 86. A retired Roman Catholic bishop and staunch defender of Indian rights who served as a mediator in talks between the Mexican government and leftist Zapatista rebels. Jan. 24.

Nora Sun, 72. A former U.S. trade counsel and granddaughter of the founder of Asia?s first republic in China, Sun Yat-sen. Jan. 26. Injuries suffered in a car accident.

FEBRUARY

Maria Schneider, 58. A French actress who was Marlon Brando?s young co-star in Bernardo Bertolucci?s steamy ?Last Tango in Paris.? Feb. 3.

J. Paul Getty, 54. The troubled grandson of one of the world?s richest men who lost an ear in a grisly kidnapping in Italy. Feb. 3.

Maria Altman, 94. A refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria whose successfully fought to recover Gustav Klimt paintings looted from her Jewish family. Feb. 7.

Ratu Josefa Iloilo, 91. A Fijian tribal chief who as president made crucial decisions backing the military takeover of the South Pacific country. Feb. 7.

Christian J. Lambertson, 93. A scientist and doctor who invented a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus used by the military in World War II and later coined the term ?scuba,? an acronym by which such systems are widely known. Feb. 11.

Betty Garrett, 91. The vivacious Broadway star who played singer Frank Sinatra?s sweetheart in two MGM musicals before her career was hampered by Hollywood?s blacklist in the 1950s. Feb. 12.

George Shearing, 91. A Britsh-born jazz pianist who wrote the standard ?Lullaby of Birdland? and headed a famed quintet. Feb. 14.

Suze Rotolo, 67. Artist and girlfriend of singer Bob Dylan, who was his lyrical muse when he came to prominence in the early 1960s. Feb. 25.

Judith Coplon, 81. Convicted of being a Soviet spy after she was caught with secret U.S. documents at a meeting with a Russian agent in 1949 but later acquitted. Feb. 26.

Necmattin Erbakan, 85. A longtime leader of Turkey?s Islamic political movement and briefly the country?s prime minister in the first Islamic-led coalition in the country?s modern history. Feb. 27.

Duke Snider, 84. Baseball Hall of Famer for the ?Boys of Summer? who helped the Dodgers bring their only World Series crown to Brooklyn. Feb. 27.

Frank Buckles, 110. The last surviving American veteran of World War I who also survived being a civilian prisoner of war in the Philippines in World War II. Feb. 27.

Jane Russell, 89. The voluptuous actress who starred in the controversial film ?The Outlaw? and who, as a pin-up girl, set GIs? hearts to pounding during World War II. Feb. 28.

Annie Girardot, 79. The perky, gravelly voiced actress who became one of France?s most enduring and modern stars. Feb. 28.

MARCH

Mikhail Simonov, 81. An aircraft designer whose heavily armed and far-flying Sukhoi fighter jet became the star of the Soviet defense industry and a cash cow for post-communist Russia. March 4.

Alberto Granado, 88. He accompanied Ernesto ?Che? Guevara on a journey of discovery across Latin America that was immortalized in Guevara?s memoir and on the screen in ?The Motorcycle Diaries.? March 5.

Owsley ?Bear? Stanley, 76. A 1960s counterculture figure who worked with the Grateful Dead and was a prolific LSD producer. March 12. Injuries suffered in a car crash.

Joe Morello, 82. A legendary American jazz drummer whose virtuosity and odd time signatures made him an integral part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet on such recordings as ?Take Five.? March 12.

Carel Boshoff, 83. Founder of an all-white separatist community who sought to preserve the culture of Afrikaners as South Africa moved from a white-ruled apartheid government to a democracy. March 16.

Michael Gough, 94. The British actor best known for playing Bruce Wayne?s butler in a series of Batman movies. March 17.

Ferlin Husky, 85. A pioneering American country music entertainer in the 1950s and early `60s known for hits like ?Wings of the Dove.? March 17.

Farley Granger, 85. The 1950s American teen screen idol who starred in Alfred Hitchcock classics such as ?Rope? and ?Strangers on a Train.? March 20.

Pinetop Perkins, 97. Grammy-winning bluesman, who for years played the rickety bars of the Mississippi Delta and performed with musicians such as Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson and slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk. March 21.

Mayhew ?Bo? Foster, 99. A World War II U.S. Army pilot who transported Nazi official Hermann Goering for interrogation in an unarmed, unescorted plane. March 21.

Elizabeth Taylor, 79. The violet-eyed American film goddess whose sultry screen persona, stormy personal life and enduring fame and glamour made her one of the last of the classic movie stars and a template for the modern celebrity. March 23.

Warren M. Christopher, 85. The attorney-turned-envoy who tirelessly traveled to Bosnia and the Middle East on peace missions as U.S. secretary of state in the Clinton administration. March 25. Complications from bladder and kidney cancer.

Olga Ulyanova, 89. A chemist and niece of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin who wrote books praising her uncle and family. March 25.

Geraldine Ferraro, 75. A relatively obscure Democratic congresswoman who became the first woman on a major U.S. party ticket when she ran for vice president in 1984 and emboldened American women to seek office. March 26. Complications from blood cancer.

Harry Wesley Coover Jr., 94. Known as the inventor of the popular adhesive Super Glue. March 26.

Jose Alencar, 75. A former vice president and millionaire textile magnate who shared eight years of government with Brazil?s first working-class President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. March 29.

Robert Tear, 72. A versatile Welsh tenor who appeared in opera houses around the world and made more than 250 recordings. March 29.

APRIL

Ange Felix Patasse, 74. He led the desperately poor Central African Republic for a decade before being ousted in a coup in 2003. April 5.

Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg, 85. He shared the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery of the hepatitis vaccine. April 5.

Sidney Lumet, 86. The award-winning director of such American film classics as ?Network,? ?Serpico,? ?Dog Day Afternoon? and ?12 Angry Men.? April 9.

William Nunn Lipscomb, Jr. 91. A Harvard professor who won the Nobel chemistry prize in 1976 for research on the structure of molecules and chemical bonding and mentored several future Nobel laureates. April 14. Pneumonia and complications from a fall.

Juan Pedro Domecq Solis, 69. One of Spain?s foremost breeders of fighting bulls and a descendant from a famous sherry producing family. April 18. Vehicle collision.

Pietro Ferrero, 47. Chief executive of the Ferrero Group holding company that produces Nutella, Tic-Tac mints and other confections and a scion of one of Italy?s richest families. April 18. Fall from a bicycle.

Grete Waitz, 57. The Norwegian runner who won nine New York marathons and the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. April 19. Cancer.

Tim Hetherington, 49. A British-born, Oscar-nominated film director and photojournalist. April 20. Killed while covering fighting between rebels and government forces in Libya.

Hubert ?Hub? Schlafly, 91. A key member of a team that invented the teleprompter and rescued soap opera actors, newscasters and politicians from stumbling over their words on live television. April 20.

Jess Jackson, 81. The founder of the Kendall-Jackson winery and owner of two most widely recognized thoroughbreds in recent years. April 21.

Norio Ohga, 81. As chairman he transformed the Japanese electronics maker Sony into a global software and entertainment empire. April 23.

Max van der Stoel, 86. A former Dutch foreign minister and a U.N. human rights representative who became a thorn in the side of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. April 23.

Sathya Sai Baba, 84. A Hindu guru revered by millions worldwide. April 24.

Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, 86. The outspoken beauty who served as South Vietnam?s unofficial first lady early in the Vietnam war and earned the nickname ?Dragon Lady? for her harsh criticism of protesting Buddhists and communist sympathizers. April 25.

Poly Styrene, 53. The braces-wearing British singer who belted out the punk anthem ?Oh Bondage, Up Yours? with the band X-Ray Spex. April 25.

Orlando Bosch, 84. A Cuban exile militant who was acquitted in Venezuela in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. April 27.

Ernesto Sabato, 99. An Argentine writer who led the government?s probe of crimes committed by the military dictatorship. April 30.

MAY

Henry Cooper, 76. One of Britain?s most popular sportsmen who was best known for knocking down Muhammad Ali when he was still known as Cassius Clay. May 1.

Osama bin Laden, 54. Terrorist leader whose money and preaching inspired the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. May 2. Killed during a raid by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan.

Rene Emilio Ponce, 64. A Salvadoran army general and former defense minister accused of ordering the 1989 killing of six Jesuit priests and two others during the country?s civil war. May 2.

Jackie Cooper, 88. One of the most popular child movie stars of the 1930s who later had a successful career as a television director and still appeared in films. May 3.

Arthur Laurents, 93. The director, playwright and screenwriter who wrote such enduring productions as ?West Side Story? and ?`Gypsy? as well as the film classics ?Rope? and ?The Way We Were.? May 5.

Claude Stanley Coules, 110. The last known combat veteran of World War I who had a 41-year-military career that extended into World War II. May 5.

Seve Ballesteros, 54. A five-time major champion whose incomparable imagination and fiery personality made him one of the most significant figures in modern golf. May 7. Complications of a cancerous brain tumor.

Robert Stempel, 77. A former General Motors chief executive and engineer who led the development of the catalytic converter but was ousted in a boardroom coup. May 7.

Lidia Gueiler, 89. The only woman ever to have been Bolivia?s president. May 9.

Burt Reinhardt, 91. One of CNN?s first presidents and an American television pioneer who is credited with helping to build the global news network in its formative years. May 10.

Wallace McCain, 81. A billionaire frozen food mogul and philanthropist who helped turn a small Canadian french fry plant into the global McCain Foods empire and later went on to control meat processor Maple Leaf Foods. May 13.

Michael William Coplestone Dillon Onslow, 73. The 7th earl of Onslow and a cheerful advocate of removing nobles such as himself from the House of Lords. May 14.

Harmon Killebrew, 74. The baseball slugger for the Minnesota Twins and for many years the face of the team. May 17. Esophageal cancer.

Garret FitzGerald, 85. A beloved figure who as Ireland?s prime minister in the 1980s was an early architect of peace in Northern Ireland. May 19.

Randy ?Macho Man? Savage, 58. A larger-than-life personality from professional wrestling?s 1980s heyday known for his raspy voice and brash style. May 20. Car crash.

Bill Hunter, 71. The archetype of a working class Australian with a distinctive accent, weather-worn face and a no-nonsense style who starred in films and on television. May 21. Cancer.

Leonora Carrington, 94. A British-born painter, writer and sculptor considered one of the last of the original surrealists. May 25.

Gil Scott-Heron, 62. Widely considered one of the godfathers of rap music with his piercing social and political prose laid against the backdrop of minimalist percussion, flute and other instrumentation. May 27.

Sergei Bagapsh, 62. Leader of Abkhazia, a separatist region of Georgia aligned with Russia. May 29. Lung cancer.

JUNE

Albertina Sisulu, 92. A veteran of the anti-apartheid movement who was married to Nelson Mandela?s mentor. June 2.

Sammy Ofer, 89. A billionaire Israeli shipping magnate and philanthropist at the center of a scandal involving trade with Iran. June 2.

Jack Kevorkian, 83. Defiant proponent of doctor-assisted suicide who said he oversaw the deaths of 130 gravely ill people. June 3.

James Arness, 88. An actor who towered over the American television landscape for two decades as righteous Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon in ?Gunsmoke.? June 3.

Harry Bernstein, 101. Wrote acclaimed memoir of an English childhood haunted by anti-Semitism ?The Invisible Wall,? published when he was 96. June 3.

Lawrence Eagleburger, 80. The only career U.S. foreign service officer to rise to secretary of state and whose exuberant style masked a hard-driving commitment to solving tangled foreign policy problems. June 4.

Jorge Semprun, 87. A writer and politician who chronicled his own experience in the Nazis? Buchenwald death camp, struggled against dictatorship in his native Spain and later became that country?s culture minister. June 7.

M.F. Husain, 95, a former movie billboard artist who rose to become India?s most sought after painter before going into self-imposed exile during an uproar over nude images of Hindu icons. June 9.

Brian Lenihan 52. A former finance minister who oversaw Ireland?s struggle to avoid national bankruptcy even as he battled cancer. June 10.

Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor, 96. A British travel writer who tramped across Europe in his teens and captured a German general in Nazi-occupied Crete during World War II. June 10.

Clarence Clemons, 69. The saxophone player for the E Street Band who was one of the key influences in Bruce Springsteen?s life and music. June 18. Complications from a stroke.

Frederick Chiluba, 68. Zambia?s first democratically elected president who became increasingly autocratic during his decade in office. June 18.

Yelena Bonner, 88. A Russian rights activist and widow of Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov. June 18.

Peter Falk, 83. The American stage and screen actor who became identified as the rumpled detective title character on ?Colombo,? which spanned 30 years in primetime U.S. television. June 23.

Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, 97. A pioneering Egyptologist who prodded Gen. Gamal Abdel Nasser to help salvage Nubia?s vaunted antiquities. June 23.

JULY

Itamar Franco, 81. A former Brazilian president who in the 1980s tamed inflation in Latin America?s largest country. July 2.

Otto Von Habsburg, 98. The oldest son of Austria?s last emperor and head of one of Europe?s most influential families. July 4.

Manuel Galban, 80. An award-winning Cuban guitarist who rose to international fame as a member of the Buena Vista Social Club musical collective. July 7.

Betty Ford, 93. The former U.S. first lady whose triumph over drug and alcohol addiction became a beacon of hope for addicts and the inspiration for her Betty Ford Center in California. July 8.

Facundo Cabral, 74. One of Latin America?s most admired folk singers who was also a novelist. July 9. Killed in Guatemala City when gunmen ambushed his vehicle.

Leo Kirch, 84. A German media mogul whose television empire collapsed in a spectacular bankruptcy nearly a decade ago. July 14.

Juan Maria Bordaberry, 83. Former president-turned dictator whose coup launched more than a decade of military rule in Uruguay. July 17.

Lucien Freud, 88. A towering and uncompromising figure in the art world for more than 50 years known for his intense realist portraits, particularly of nudes. July 20.

Elliot Handler, 95. With his wife, he grew Mattel Inc. from a small home-based picture-frame business into the largest U.S. toy maker and created the Hot Wheels brand. July 21.

Charles T. Manatt, 75. A former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic during the Clinton administration. July 22.

Nguyen Cao Ky, 80. The flamboyant former air force general who ruled South Vietnam for two years with an iron fist during the Vietnam war. July 23.

Amy Winehouse, 27. A dazzling, versatile singer who produced bitterly honest lyrics but who made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and destructive relationships. July 23. Alcohol poisoning.

John Shalikashvili, 75. A retired U.S. Army general who was the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots. July 24.

John Stott, 90. A minister who led a resurgence of evangelism in Britain and went on to become one of the most influential evangelical thinkers of the 20th century. July 27.

Pietro Sambi, 73. An archbishop and papal ambassador to the United States who helped bring about a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and clerical sex abuse victims. July 27.

AUGUST

Delois Barrett Campbell, 85. A member of the award-winning Barrett Sisters who electrified audiences around the world with their powerful gospel harmonies. Aug. 2.

Baruj Benacerraf, 90. A Venezuelan-born immunologist who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Aug. 2.

Bubba Smith, 66. Former NFL star and actor best known for playing Moses Hightower, the soft-spoken officer in the ?Police Academy? films. Aug. 3

Jean-Claude Bajeux, 79. A former culture minister, scholar and steadfast human rights activist who targeted both Haiti?s long-ruling family dictatorship and the governments that followed. Aug. 5.

Andrzej Lepper, 57. A pig farmer-turned-firebrand populist who was briefly deputy prime minister in a shaky Polish government and who was later disgraced in a bribery and sex scandal. Aug. 5. Suspected suicide.

Hugh Carey, 92. A former New York governor who saved New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s, staring down President Gerald Ford in the process. Aug. 7.

Marshall Grant, 83. The last surviving member of Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two who helped change the future of American music and popular culture with their boom-chicka-boom beat. Aug. 7.

Billy Grammer, 85. His 1958 hit ?Gotta Travel On? hit the top of American pop music charts and led to a long career at the Grand Ole Opry. Aug. 10.

Ctirad Masin, 81. A controversial anti-communist fighter in the former nation of Czechoslovakia who eluded a massive East Bloc manhunt during the Cold War. Aug. 13.

Raoul Ruiz, 70. A Chilean-born filmmaker who made more than 100 films and rebelled against the conventions of movie-making. Aug. 19.

Albert ?Doc? Brown, 105. A survivor of the Bataan Death March, a harrowing 65-mile (105 kilometer) trek in which 78,000 prisoners of war were forced to walk from Bataan, a province near Manila, to a Japanese prisoner camp. Aug. 21.

Jack Layton, 61. A folksy and charismatic political leader who guided his leftist New Democrat party to become the dominant opposition group in Canada?s Parliament while battling severe health problems. Aug. 22. Cancer.

Vicco von Buelow, 87. A humorist known as ?Loriot,? often cited by Germans as proof of their sense of humor. Aug. 22.

Frank Dileo, 63. An American music industry executive, who managed Michael Jackson?s career in the 1980s and returned as his manager in the superstar?s final days. Aug. 24.

Leonidas Kyrkos, 86. A veteran leftist politician who once nearly faced a firing squad and eventually became one of Greece?s most respected politicians. Aug. 28.

David ?Honey Boy? Edwards, 96. An award-winning American musician believed to be the oldest surviving Delta bluesman, in Chicago. Aug. 28.

Betty Skelton Erde, 85. An aviation and auto racing pioneer once called the fastest woman on Earth. Aug. 31.

SEPTEMBER

Sandor Kepiro, 97. A former officer in the Hungarian security force who was acquitted of Holocaust-era war crimes. Sept. 3.

Julio Casas Regueiro, 75. An accountant who fought in Cuba?s revolution and became a general, then used his training to run the military?s lucrative enterprises for two decades before becoming defense minister. Sept. 3.

Vann Nath, 66. An artist who was among only seven people to survive Cambodia?s most notorious prison of the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime and who later depicted the facility?s horrific torture. Sept. 5.

Salvatore Licitra, 43. A tenor known in his Italian homeland as the ?new Pavarotti.? Sept. 5. Motorcycle accident.

Cliff Robertson, 88. Actor who portrayed President John F. Kennedy in the film ?PT-109? and won an Oscar for playing a mentally disabled man in ?Charly.? Sept. 10.

John Calley, 81. He ran three Hollywood studios that made such hits as ?The Exorcist? and ?Spider-Man.? Sept. 13.

Richard Hamilton, 89. A British pop artist pioneer who depicted former Prime Minister Tony Blair as a cowboy and designed a Beatles? album cover. Sept. 13.

Charles H. Percy, 91. A Chicago businessman who became a U.S. senator and was once widely viewed as a top presidential contender. Sept. 17.

Robert Whitaker, 71. A photographer who shot some of the most famous ? and infamous ? images of The Beatles. Sept. 20. Cancer.

Aristides Pereira, 87. Fought Portugal?s colonial rule in the Cape Verde islands and became the West African nation?s first president. Sept. 23.

Wangari Maathi, 71. The first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, who combined environmentalism and social activism. Sept. 25. Cancer.

Phillip Matthew Hannan, 98. The popular former New Orleans Roman Catholic archbishop who sought to console a grieving U.S. with his eulogy for slain President John F. Kennedy. Sept. 29.

Anwar al-Awlaki, 40. An American-born Muslim preacher and savvy Internet operator, who became a powerful al-Qaida tool for recruiting in the West. Sept. 30. Killed in what was believed to be a U.S. airstrike in Yemen.

Ralph Steinman, 68. A pioneering cell biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discoveries about the immune system. Sept. 30. Pancreatic cancer.

OCTOBER

Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., 92. He led the company that grew into an international firm that produces the TV ratings known as ?The Nielsens.? Oct. 3.

Steve Jobs, 56. The Apple founder and former chief executive who invented and master-marketed ever sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone. Oct. 5.

Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth, 89. Civil rights activist who endured arrests, beatings and injuries from fire hoses while fighting for racial equality in the segregated South of the 1960s. Oct. 5.

Bert Jansch, 67. A virtuoso acoustic guitarist who was at the center of the British folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s. Oct. 5.

Robert Galvin, 89. He was Motorola?s chief executive for 29 years and took it from maker of police radios and television sets to one of the world?s leading electronic companies. Oct. 11.

James Van Doren, 72. The co-founder of Vans canvas shoes that were embraced by the skateboard culture and became a sensation in the U.S. when Sean Penn wore a checkerboard pair in the 1982 film ?Fast Times at Ridgemont High.? Oct. 12. Cancer.

Dan Wheldon, 33. Race car driver who moved from his native England to the United States with hopes of winning the Indianapolis 500 race and went on to do so twice. Oct. 16. Wreck at the Las Vegas Indy 300.

Tadeusz Sawicz, 97. A Polish World War II airman believed to be the last surviving Polish pilot from the Battle of Britain. Oct. 19.

Moammar Gadhafi, 69. The last of the old-style Arab strongmen who ruled Libya for nearly 42 years with an eccentric brutality. Oct. 20. Died after being captured by rebels in Libya.

Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, 80. Crown prince of Saudi Arabia who as defense minister closed multibillion-dollar deals to establish the modern Saudi armed forces. Oct. 22.

Jimmy Savile, 84. A veteran British broadcaster and famously eccentric culture figure. Oct. 29.

NOVEMBER

Dorothy Rodham, 92. Mother of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton?s mother-in-law. Nov. 1.

Norman Ramsey, 96. Shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in physics for his research into atomic energy levels that led to the creation of the atomic clock and imaging machines. Nov. 4.

Andy Rooney, 92. The curmudgeonly commentator who spent 30 years talking about the oddities of life on American television. Nov. 4.

Alfonso Cano, 63. A bespectacled intellectual who rose from chief ideologist to maximum leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC. Nov. 4. Killed in combat.

Joe Frazier, 67. One of the great heavyweight boxers of his era who was forever associated with three bouts he had with Mohammad Ali, including the ?Thrilla in Manila.? Nov. 7.

Bil Keane, 89. Creator of the comic strip ?Family Circus,? which entertained readers with a mix of humor and traditional family values for more than a half century. Nov. 8.

Heavy D, 44. He became one of rap?s top hit makers in the late 1980s and early 1990s with his charming combination of humor and positivity. Nov. 8. Died after collapsing outside his home.

Francisco Blake Mora, 45. Mexico?s interior minister and point man in the country?s deadly war against organized crime and drug cartels. Nov. 11. Helicopter crash.

Evelyn Lauder, 75. An executive at cosmetics giant Estee Lauder Cos. who helped create the pink ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness. Nov. 12.

Karl Slover, 93. One of the last surviving actors who played one of the Munchkins in the 1939 classic film ?The Wizard of Oz.? Nov. 15.

Basil D?Oliveira, 80. A South African-born cricket player for England who became a pivotal figure in the sport?s battle against apartheid. Nov. 19.

Anne McCaffrey, 85. Her vision of an interstellar alliance between humans and dragons spawned the science fiction ?Dragonriders of Pern? novels. Nov. 21. Stroke.

Eli Hurvitz, 79. The one-time laboratory dishwasher who transformed Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a small Israeli medical company into the world?s largest genetic drugmaker. Nov. 21.

Danielle Mitterrand, 87. The widow of France?s first Socialist president, Francois Mitterrand, and who joined the World War II French resistance and later advocated many left-leaning causes and vociferously opposed capitalist excess. Nov. 22.

Svetlana Alliluyeva, 85. Known later in life as Lana Peters, she was Soviet dictator Josef Stalin?s daughter whose defection to the West during the Cold War embarrassed the ruling communists and made her a best-stelling author. Nov. 22.

Tom Wicker, 85. The former New York Times political reporter and columnist whose career soared after his acclaimed coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Nov. 25.

Judy Lewis, 76. Conceived out of wedlock by movie stars Clark Gable and Loretta Young while they filmed ?Call of the Wild? in the 1930s, for years one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. Nov. 25.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, 78. A millionaire?s son who became leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra in eastern Nigeria, plunging the country into civil war that killed a million people and brought television images of starving African children. Nov. 26.

Ken Russell, 84. An iconoclastic British director whose daring films blended music, sex and violence in a potent brew seemingly drawn from his subconscious. Nov. 27.

Ante Markovic, 87. The former Yugoslavia?s last prime minister who tried to prevent the country?s bloody breakup in the 1990s. Nov. 27.

DECEMBER

Francois Lesage, 82. The heir of the legendary Maison Lesage embroidery atelier which has been long embellishing Paris? couture houses? most fantastic creations. Dec. 1.

Dev Anand, 88. A charismatic and flamboyant Indian film star for more than half a century. Dec. 3.

Socrates, 57. A former Brazilian soccer star known for his elegant style and deep involvement in politics. Dec. 4. Septic shock from an intestinal infection.

Patricia Dunn, 58. The former Hewlett-Packard chairwoman who authorized a board room surveillance probe that ultimately sullied her remarkable rise from investment bank typist to the corporate upper class. Dec. 4. Ovarian cancer.

Violetta Villas 73. A Polish coloratura soprano who spurned opera for popular music and became a cabaret star in Las Vegas and then got trapped behind the Iron Curtain when she returned to care for her dying mother. Dec. 5.

Harry Morgan, 96. An actor best known for playing the fatherly Col. Sherman Potter on the TV show ?M-A-S-H.? Dec. 7.

Jerry Robinson, 89. A comic book industry pioneer who helped create Batman sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder and their arch-nemesis The Joker. Dec. 7.

Diana Joy Colbert, 41. The wife of author Charles Bock whose battle with leukemia inspired widespread sympathy and support among the New York literary community. Dec. 8.

Cardinal John Foley, 76. For 25 years, he was the voice for American viewers of the Vatican?s Christmas Midnight Mass and he led an ancient Catholic order in the Holy Land. Dec. 11.

Boris Chertok, 99. A Russian rocket designer who played a key role in engineering Soviet-era space programs. Dec. 14.

George Whitman, 98. A pillar of Paris? literary scene, whose eclectic bookshop Shakespeare and Company was a beacon for readers. Dec. 14.

Joe Simon, 98. He co-created Captain America along with Jack Kirby and was one of the comic book industry?s most revered writers, artists and editors. Dec. 14.

Christopher Hitchens, 62. An author, essayist and polemicist who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes left and right. Dec. 15. Complications from esophageal cancer.

Kim Jong Il, 69. North Korea?s mercurial and enigmatic leader whose iron rule and nuclear ambitions dominated world security fears for more than a decade. Dec. 17. Heart attack.

Cesaria Evora, 70. Grammy-winning Cape Verde singer known as the ?Barefoot Diva? because she always performed without shoes. Dec. 17.

Vaclav Havel, 75. Czech dissident playwright who led the 1989 anti-communist ?Velvet Revolution? and went from prisoner to president. Dec. 18.

Eva Ekvall, 28. Former Miss Venezuela whose struggle with breast cancer was closely followed by Venezuelans. Dec. 17. Cancer.

Yoshimitsu Morita, 61. A director whose films depicted the absurdity and vulnerability of everyday life in conformist Japan. Dec. 20. Acute liver failure.

Source: http://dailyherald.com/article/20111228/news/712289952/

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Greece: Top prosecutor probes Turkey-arson claim (AP)

ATHENS, Greece ? Greece's top prosecutor on Tuesday ordered an emergency inquiry into a Turkish newspaper report that Turkish government-funded agents set forest fires in Greece in the mid-1990s.

The Birgun newspaper quoted former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz as making the allegations. But Yilmaz said he had been misquoted and that the allegations were untrue.

Greece's Supreme Court prosecutor Yiannis Tentes launched an emergency inquiry, ordering investigations reopened into mid-1990s wildfires blamed on arson, while the Foreign Ministry said it was seeking an official response from Ankara.

"Information that has been published and attributed to former prime minister of Turkey Mr. Yilmaz by the Turkish press is serious and should be investigated," Greek ministry spokesman Gregory Delavekouras said in a statement. "The Greek side expects to be informed by the authorities of Turkey."

Tensions between traditional rivals Greece and Turkey were running high at the time referred to in the newspaper report, with the two countries coming to the brink of war in 1996 over disputed sovereignty of a tiny island in the Aegean Sea. The two NATO allies have since improved ties.

Yilmaz, who served as Turkey's prime minister three times during the 1990s, was quoted by the newspaper as saying he had not been briefed by his predecessor in office, Tansu Ciller, on covert state-funded operations that included a "forest retaliation against Greece."

He later told reporters he had been misquoted and had been referring to unsubstantiated reports of Greek involvement in Turkish forest fires.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_greece

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Back in campaign mode, presidential hopefuls focus (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Republicans in search of their party's presidential nomination are returning to campaign mode after a brief Christmas respite, with Rick Santorum planning a hunting trip with conservatives in Iowa and Mitt Romney phoning supporters.

With just a week until Iowa holds its leadoff caucuses and many caucus-goers undecided, the final push ahead of the Jan. 3 contests was heading into a critical time. Campaigns planned new television ads and phone calls to persuade holdouts still weighing their options.

Romney, who kept this state at arm's length for most of the year, seemed to increase his efforts in Iowa as polls found him in a stronger position. He planned to talk with supporters in a series of telephone calls here and to New Hampshire and Florida on Monday between working on a speech that aides described as his final pitch to Iowans. Romney planned to deliver that speech Tuesday evening and then set out on a bus tour of Iowa.

However, he was to share the highways with Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. All scheduled bus tours to start then, too.

Each is running out of time and looking to derail Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who seems to have the most sophisticated network of volunteers ready to organize for the caucuses. Paul was to return to Iowa this week to meet with supporters he has kept in touch with since his unsuccessful run in 2008.

Others, too, were ready to turn on their own political machines and put fresh ads on the air.

Gingrich, who last week criticized the negative tone of the campaign, was preparing to directly challenge Romney on the economy, an issue Romney has made central to his campaign. Gingrich's standing in public and private polls has slipped as he faced unrelenting criticism from the candidates and their allies.

Gingrich was expected to use clips from Romney's previous campaigns distancing himself from President Ronald Reagan and pitch his own economic plan as "Reaganomics 2.0." Gingrich also was expected to compare Romney's tax plan with his own.

Romney released a new TV ad in Iowa on Monday that touts him as a conservative businessman and in which he says "it is a moral imperative for America to stop spending more money than we take in."

"It's killing jobs and it's keeping our kids from having the bright prospects they deserve," he says in the spot. "The experience of balancing budgets is desperately needed in Washington and I will take it there."

Santorum, meanwhile, planned to announce support from another wave of Iowa conservatives. He scheduled a pheasant hunting trip in Adel for Monday afternoon. While he trails in polls and has not spent significant money on ads, Santorum is hoping his nonstop courtship of Iowans yields a late surge. He visited all 99 of Iowa's counties during the summer ? an accomplishment Bachmann has feverishly tried to replicate.

Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota, last week darted through small towns, reminding voters that Santorum lost his 2006 re-election bid in a blowout and that Paul's foreign policy views were outside the party's orthodoxy.

Looking to recapture voters' interest, her plan was to return to hand-to-hand campaigning Tuesday and paint herself as the only acceptable conservative in the race.

"You can always count on me to stay true to my word and put America and Americans first," she said in a fundraising email sent Monday. "I am the consistent conservative who will put our nation back on a path towards prosperity and restore our values to government."

Perry, too, was looking to keep up the message that his rivals are insiders unable to change Washington. He planned to resume his tour bus on Tuesday.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman kept his focus on New Hampshire. Huntsman said early in the campaign that he would not compete in Iowa and instead make his start in New Hampshire, which comes second on the nominating calendar with a Jan. 10 primary.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_el_ge/us_gop_campaign

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A Pigeon's Potential: Learning Abstract Numbers

Damian Scarf at New Zealand's University of Otago reports in the current issue of the journal Science that experiments he conducted with colleagues show that pigeons can learn abstract rules about numbers.

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Pigeons are not known for their algebra skills or intelligence generally. They don't talk like parrots. They don't make tools out of twigs like some crows.

But Damian Scarf at New Zealand's University of Otago reports in the current issue of the journal Science, that experiments he conducted with colleagues showed that pigeons can learn abstract rules about numbers. Pigeons don't just count. The birds in his experiment could peck images on a screen to rank numbers from lower to higher. So they can sort, say, nine ladies dancing to one 12 partridge in a pear tree. Not those milkmaids a milking or pipers piping though.

His findings are similar to ones in the 1990s which established that the primates have math skills, meaning that monkeys and pigeons might be able to play gin rummy - at least for low stakes.

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SIMON: You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

Copyright ? 2011 National Public Radio?. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/24/144219474/a-pigeons-potential-learning-abstract-numbers?ft=1&f=1007

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