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PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds threw the season's seventh no-hitter, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 on Friday night.
The seven no-hitters matches the modern record for most in a season, tying 1990 and 1991. There were eight no-hitters in 1884.
The last no-hitter for the Reds was a perfect game by Tom Browning on Sept. 16, 1988.
Bailey (13-10) walked one and struck out 10. The last out was a popup by Alex Presley and when it was caught Bailey was mobbed near the mound by teammates.
Governments failing to address 'global pandemic of untreated cancer pain'Public release date: 29-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: ESMO Press Office media@esmo.org European Society for Medical Oncology
Landmark global survey reveals major shortcomings in many countries around the world
Vienna, Austria, 29 September 2012 - Governments around the world are leaving hundreds of millions of cancer patients to suffer needlessly because of their failure to ensure adequate access to pain-relieving drugs, an unprecedented new international survey reveals.
The new data, released to the public during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna, paints a shocking picture of unnecessary pain on a global scale, said Prof Nathan Cherny, lead author of the report from Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, Chair of the ESMO Palliative Care Working Group.
"Unrelieved cancer pain is a cause of major worldwide suffering, not because we don't have the tools necessary to relive pain, but because most patients don't have access to the essential pain-relieving medication," Prof Cherny said. "This pandemic affects literally billions of people. Not only are the patients suffering often terrible unrelieved pain, but their family members are often permanently scarred by the memories of witnessing such suffering in their loved ones."
The International Collaborative Project to Evaluate the Availability and Accessibility of Opioids for the Management of Cancer Pain was initiated by the European Society for Medical Oncology and coordinated with the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC), the Pain and Policies Study Group (PPSG) at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). They were assisted by the cooperation and participation of a further 17 international oncology and palliative care organizations[1]. This project was undertaken under the auspices of the ESMO Developing Countries Task Force, led by Dr. Adamos Adamou, Cyprus.
The study data was gathered between December 2010 and July 2012, with 156 reports submitted by experts in 76 countries and 19 Indian states. These reports represented 58% of countries and 83% of 5.7 billion of the people living in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin and Central America and the Caribbean[2].
The researchers found that very few countries provided all seven of the opioid medications that are considered to be essential for the relief of cancer pain by the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care[3]. Those essential medications include, among others, codeine, immediate and slow release oral morphine, oral oxycodone and transdermal fentanyl.
In many countries, fewer than three of the seven medications are available. In many of the countries, those medications that are available are either unsubsidised or weakly subsidised by government, and availability is often limited. Furthermore, many countries have highly restrictive regulations that limit entitlement of cancer patients to receive prescriptions, limit prescriber privileges, impose restrictive limits on duration of prescription, restrict dispensing, and increase bureaucratic burden of the prescribing and dispensing process.
There is an urgent need to examine drug control policies and repeal excessive restrictions which impede this most fundamental aspect of cancer care, the researchers said. The issues were particularly severe in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin and Central America.
"The study has provided an unprecedented wealth of knowledge that will be an essential tool in lobbying to reformulate national plans for the treatment of cancer pain," Prof Cherny said. "We now know which countries have suboptimal formularies of medication to relive pain, we know how much patients must pay out-of-pocket for the medications, and we know which countries have excessive regulatory barriers making it sometimes nearly impossible for a patient to get a prescription, get it to a nearby pharmacy and have the medicine dispensed."
"In many, if not most, of the counties and states we have looked at, patients are stymied by regulatory barriers at multiple steps along this process; the end result being that hundreds of millions patients don't have access to essential pain-relieving medications," Prof Cherny said.
"We are determined to tackle this problem at every level. The first presentation of this data at ESMO 2012 is only the beginning of an organized and coordinated effort to take on one of the major global public health challenges of our time --the effective relieve of cancer pain for all cancer patients, wherever they may be."
Commenting on the study, Dr Carla Ripamonti, Head of the Supportive Care in Cancer Unit of the IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, member of the ESMO Faculty Group on Supportive and Palliative care, not involved in the study, said: "Despite published guidelines and educational programs on the assessment and treatment of cancer-related pain, unrelieved pain continues to be a substantial worldwide public health concern in patients with solid cancers and hematological malignancies."
"Studies have shown that pain can affect as many as 64% of patients with metastatic, advanced or terminal phase disease, 59% of patients on anticancer treatment and 33% of patients after curative treatment," Dr Ripamonti said. "According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of cancer was 12,667,470 new cases in 2008 and based on the projections it will be more than 15 million cases in 2020. These statistics suggest that cancer-related pain may be a major issue of healthcare systems worldwide."
###
Related studies at ESMO 2012
Randomized, multicenter, phase ii trial of compound chinese herbal extract lc07 versus placebo for external treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
Chinese researchers report that a herbal extract can treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and is effective for relieving pain.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Governments failing to address 'global pandemic of untreated cancer pain'Public release date: 29-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: ESMO Press Office media@esmo.org European Society for Medical Oncology
Landmark global survey reveals major shortcomings in many countries around the world
Vienna, Austria, 29 September 2012 - Governments around the world are leaving hundreds of millions of cancer patients to suffer needlessly because of their failure to ensure adequate access to pain-relieving drugs, an unprecedented new international survey reveals.
The new data, released to the public during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna, paints a shocking picture of unnecessary pain on a global scale, said Prof Nathan Cherny, lead author of the report from Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, Chair of the ESMO Palliative Care Working Group.
"Unrelieved cancer pain is a cause of major worldwide suffering, not because we don't have the tools necessary to relive pain, but because most patients don't have access to the essential pain-relieving medication," Prof Cherny said. "This pandemic affects literally billions of people. Not only are the patients suffering often terrible unrelieved pain, but their family members are often permanently scarred by the memories of witnessing such suffering in their loved ones."
The International Collaborative Project to Evaluate the Availability and Accessibility of Opioids for the Management of Cancer Pain was initiated by the European Society for Medical Oncology and coordinated with the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC), the Pain and Policies Study Group (PPSG) at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). They were assisted by the cooperation and participation of a further 17 international oncology and palliative care organizations[1]. This project was undertaken under the auspices of the ESMO Developing Countries Task Force, led by Dr. Adamos Adamou, Cyprus.
The study data was gathered between December 2010 and July 2012, with 156 reports submitted by experts in 76 countries and 19 Indian states. These reports represented 58% of countries and 83% of 5.7 billion of the people living in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin and Central America and the Caribbean[2].
The researchers found that very few countries provided all seven of the opioid medications that are considered to be essential for the relief of cancer pain by the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care[3]. Those essential medications include, among others, codeine, immediate and slow release oral morphine, oral oxycodone and transdermal fentanyl.
In many countries, fewer than three of the seven medications are available. In many of the countries, those medications that are available are either unsubsidised or weakly subsidised by government, and availability is often limited. Furthermore, many countries have highly restrictive regulations that limit entitlement of cancer patients to receive prescriptions, limit prescriber privileges, impose restrictive limits on duration of prescription, restrict dispensing, and increase bureaucratic burden of the prescribing and dispensing process.
There is an urgent need to examine drug control policies and repeal excessive restrictions which impede this most fundamental aspect of cancer care, the researchers said. The issues were particularly severe in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin and Central America.
"The study has provided an unprecedented wealth of knowledge that will be an essential tool in lobbying to reformulate national plans for the treatment of cancer pain," Prof Cherny said. "We now know which countries have suboptimal formularies of medication to relive pain, we know how much patients must pay out-of-pocket for the medications, and we know which countries have excessive regulatory barriers making it sometimes nearly impossible for a patient to get a prescription, get it to a nearby pharmacy and have the medicine dispensed."
"In many, if not most, of the counties and states we have looked at, patients are stymied by regulatory barriers at multiple steps along this process; the end result being that hundreds of millions patients don't have access to essential pain-relieving medications," Prof Cherny said.
"We are determined to tackle this problem at every level. The first presentation of this data at ESMO 2012 is only the beginning of an organized and coordinated effort to take on one of the major global public health challenges of our time --the effective relieve of cancer pain for all cancer patients, wherever they may be."
Commenting on the study, Dr Carla Ripamonti, Head of the Supportive Care in Cancer Unit of the IRCCS Foundation National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, member of the ESMO Faculty Group on Supportive and Palliative care, not involved in the study, said: "Despite published guidelines and educational programs on the assessment and treatment of cancer-related pain, unrelieved pain continues to be a substantial worldwide public health concern in patients with solid cancers and hematological malignancies."
"Studies have shown that pain can affect as many as 64% of patients with metastatic, advanced or terminal phase disease, 59% of patients on anticancer treatment and 33% of patients after curative treatment," Dr Ripamonti said. "According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of cancer was 12,667,470 new cases in 2008 and based on the projections it will be more than 15 million cases in 2020. These statistics suggest that cancer-related pain may be a major issue of healthcare systems worldwide."
###
Related studies at ESMO 2012
Randomized, multicenter, phase ii trial of compound chinese herbal extract lc07 versus placebo for external treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
Chinese researchers report that a herbal extract can treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, and is effective for relieving pain.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Roseville Police Department detectives carry soil samples removed from a shed floor of a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Roseville Police Department detectives carry soil samples removed from a shed floor of a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2012, file photo, people photograph a driveway in Roseville, Mich. that a tipster said could be the final resting place of missing Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. Authorities plan to take soil samples from under the driveway. Hoffa?s mysterious disappearance, assumed death and myriad searches for his body have been the stuff of urban legends for more than three decades. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Authorities drill for soil samples in the floor of a shed at a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Media and spectators watch as authorities drill for soil samples in the floor at a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
ROSEVILLE, Mich. (AP) ? Authorities drilled through concrete and removed two samples of wet soil and clay in a modest Detroit-area neighborhood Friday in the latest effort to find the remains of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975.
There was no visible sign of human remains, but test results could be ready by Monday, Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said.
"We're not sure if anything is down there. That's what this is all about," Berlin said.
They drilled the concrete floor of a shed adjacent to a driveway where a recent radar test revealed a shift in the soil. The latest investigation was launched after a man told police that he saw a body being buried under the driveway 35 years ago and "thinks it may have been Jimmy."
Authorities have already said they don't think the timeline adds up and that it's unlikely Hoffa's body is there. He was last seen July 30, 1975, outside a restaurant in Oakland County, more than 30 miles to the west.
"I don't believe it's Mr. Hoffa. I don't know what it is," said Berlin, who was contacted last month by the man who said he witnessed a body being buried there. "We received credible information that a crime may have occurred. We're not doing anything we wouldn't have done on any other case.
"That shed did not exist at the time this allegedly occurred. The prior outbuilding that was there did not have a concrete floor."
The homeowner, Patricia Szpunar, 72, has lived there since 1988. She said her son uses the 12-by-12 shed to store two workbenches and his motorcycle. Police detectives appeared two weeks ago and said they may need to search her yard for a dead body.
"I laughed at them," Szpunar said Friday. "I looked at them and said, 'What? Do you think Jimmy Hoffa is buried in my backyard?' ... They just looked at me, and asked why I said Jimmy Hoffa."
Berlin said the brick, ranch-style home may have been owned in the 1970s by a gambler with ties to organized crime.
Hoffa was an acquaintance of mobsters and adversary to federal officials. He spent time in prison for jury tampering. The day he disappeared, Hoffa was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit mafia captain.
He was declared legally dead in 1982. Previous tips led police to excavate soil in 2006 at a horse farm more than 100 miles north of Detroit, rip up floorboards at a Detroit home in 2004 and search beneath a backyard pool north of the city in 2003.
There were even rumors that Hoffa's remains were ground up and tossed into a Florida swamp, entombed beneath Giants Stadium in New Jersey or obliterated in a mob-owned fat-rendering plant.
On Friday, about 150 people filled the street near Szpunar's home as state Department of Environmental Quality workers drilled for samples.
"I want to see if they are going to find something," said 25-year-old Heather Strohscherin, who lives two blocks over and doubts the site is Hoffa's final resting place.
"It is a good spot," she said. "Who would guess in the backyard in a Roseville neighborhood?"
Berlin said the site will be treated as a crime scene until at least Monday, pending results of the soil tests.
As for the homeowner's knowledge about Hoffa's disappearance?
"Sure, I read about it in the paper. I've listened to it on TV," Szpunar said. "But not because I'm that interested in it. It was just because it was current news."
___
David Aguilar in Detroit contributed to this report.
The National Hockey League (NHL) and union representing its locked-out players reached agreement on drug testing and player safety on Friday, but did not address the core economic issues standing in the way of a new labor deal. ?We?re taking baby steps right now.? Mathieu Schneider, a special assistant to the NHL Players Association?s executive director, told reporters in New York. ?We are not really discussing anything that has to do with the core economics,? he said. The NHL locked out its players on Sept. 16 when the previous labor deal expired with the two sides at odds over how to divide a US$3.3 billion revenue pie. The lockout, which is the NHL?s fourth work stoppage in 20 years, has already forced the league to cancel its entire preseason schedule.
BASEBALL
Twins drop Nishioka
Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka was released on Friday by the Minnesota Twins after a disappointing year with one season remaining on his Major League Baseball contract. The 28-year-old Osaka native was dropped for a US$250,000 buyout to avoid playing him US$3 million next season in the final year of a deal signed in 2010. Nishioka, who helped Japan win the 2006 World Baseball Classic, suffered a broken leg in a collision with New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher after playing only 68 games in the 2011 season. Nishioka, who had batted .226 with 19 runs batted in and 14 runs scored before the injury, went hitless in three at-bats for the Twins this season and spent most of the season with their top developmental team, hitting .258 with two home runs and 34 runs batted in over 101 games.
FOOTBALL
Children?s coach fired
The coach of a children?s gridiron team in suburban Los Angeles and the league president have been suspended after allegations in the Orange County Register by parents of a bounty scheme. The bounty system, allegedly used last season to provide payments to 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds for deliberately injuring opponents, follows a similar scheme that led to National Football League bans this year for the New Orleans Saints. The report says parents claim coach Darren Crawford and an assistant offered players on the Red Cobras of the Tustin (California) Junior Pee Wee league cash for hard hits that knocked football rivals out of playoff games. One player suffered a mild concussion as a result of such a hit. National Pop Warner officials said that Crawford and Pat Galentine, who serves as president of the Tustin league, have been suspended until an investigation into the claims has been conducted.
ICE HOCKEY
Kane to play in KHL
Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane has reached a deal to play for Dinamo Minsk of the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the duration of the National Hockey League (NHL) lockout. Kane became the first Canadian player to sign with a KHL team even as NHL officials and players union leaders renewed talks in hopes of saving a full NHL season in the wake of club owners locking out players almost two weeks ago. The Belarus club announced the agreement on Friday, exactly 40 years to the day after Canada defeated the Soviet Union in ice hockey?s legendary Summit Series. Kane scored 30 goals for the Jets last season and signed a six-year NHL contract extension worth US$31.5 million just before the lockout began.
Gramphone magazine's prestigious recordings awards include honors for pianist Murray Perahia and conductor Claudio Abbado. Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja was named Artist of the Yearand 20-year-old pianist Benjamin Grosvenor was named Young Artist of the Year.? Perahia wins in a new category: the "Piano Award." And in choosing Abbado's recording of "Fidelio," critic Richard Osborne writes:
"The revised dialogue provided by stage director Tatjana G?rbaca is not without controversy. In Act 1, her cuts and rewrites remove all hint of domesticity and private affection; in Act 2, she omits just about everything. The result is Beethoven?s lofty Singspiel recast as musical meta-theatre. Happily, the cast is as fine as any that might be assembled today and Abbado himself conducts a performance the like of which we have not heard since the time of Furtw?ngler. It is a no-frills yet at the same time deeply expressive reading which goes like a bolted arrow directly to the heart of the matter. If Fidelio speaks as no other opera does of the miraculous resilience of the human spirit, Claudio Abbado?s late re-creation of it serves only to compound that miracle."
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) ? A jury recommended death on Friday for an arsonist convicted of murdering five men who died of heart attacks during a wildfire that ripped through Southern California nearly a decade ago.
The murder charges against Rickie Lee Fowler, 31, signaled a tough standard for arson cases in a region plagued by wildfires that sometimes claim the lives of firefighters and civilians.
The Old Fire scorched 91,000 acres and destroyed 1,000 buildings while burning for nine days. The men died after their homes burned or as they tried to evacuate.
Fowler was ordered to return to court Nov. 16, when a judge will either accept the jury's recommendation or sentence Fowler to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Fowler, who wore a pinstriped shirt, spoke briefly with his attorney after the recommendation was read. He was handcuffed and led down a hall by bailiffs.
Jurors declined to speak with reporters outside the courtroom.
Fowler was convicted in August of arson and five counts of first-degree murder for setting the massive blaze that ravaged the hills east of Los Angeles in 2003.
Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and former federal prosecutor, said that in charging Fowler with murder for setting the fire, prosecutors applied the same reasoning as they do when charging bank robbers for murder after tellers die of heart attacks.
However, she acknowledged that people might not see a link between setting a wildfire and suffering a heart attack.
"Usually in arson, people die of smoke inhalation, or being ? God forbid ? burned to death. This is not the ordinary way people die in these situations," she said.
Levenson said the prosecution ran little risk in trying to get the death penalty for Fowler because doing so enabled them to cull a more conservative jury pool.
"That helped them get a tougher jury for the guilt phase," she said. "Whether or not he receives the death penalty, this man is still going to die in prison."
Fowler became a suspect in the wildfire after witnesses reported seeing a passenger in a white van tossing burning objects into dry brush. Acting on a phone tip, investigators interviewed Fowler several months after the fire but didn't have enough evidence to file charges until six years later.
Fowler was serving time for burglary when he was charged with starting the wind-blown blaze in the foothills above San Bernardino ? one of many blazes that raged simultaneously throughout Southern California. While in prison awaiting trial, he was convicted of sodomizing an inmate and sentenced to three terms of 25 years to life.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Fowler lit the fire out of rage after he was thrown out of a house where his family was staying. They painted a picture of Fowler as a sadistic felon who raped, robbed and tortured people throughout his life.
Defense attorneys said Fowler never acknowledged starting the fire and suffered a horrific childhood with methamphetamine-addicted parents and a neighbor who molested him.
Prosecutors said Fowler gave authorities a note in 2008 acknowledging he was there when the fire began. The following year, he told reporters he had been badgered into making a confession.
MOGADISHU, Somalia --?Troops launched an amphibious assault before dawn Friday on the al-Qaida militant group al-Shabab's last stronghold in Somalia.
Other African Union forces were traveling overland to link up with the joint Kenyan-Somali force in the port city of Kismayo.
The commander of the U.N-backed African Union troops, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, said the aim was to "liberate the people of Kismayo to enable them to lead their lives in peace, stability and security."
Col. Cyrus Oguna, the Kenyan military's top spokesman, said the attack met minimal resistance, but al-Shabab denied that the city had fallen and said fighting was taking place.
Oguna told The Associated Press that al-Shabab, which formally merged with al-Qaida in February, had incurred "heavy losses" but that Kenyan forces have not yet had any injuries or deaths.
"We came from the beach side and we're moving towards the main city. Our surveillance aircraft are monitoring every event taking place on the ground," he told Reuters.
"For now, we're not everywhere. We've taken a large part of it without resistance, I don't see anything major happening," he said.
Born in the USA, but now among Somalia's Islamist terrorists
Residents in Kismayo, a city of about 193,000 people, contacted by The Associated Press said that Kenyan troops had taken control of the port, but not the whole city.
"Al-Shabab fighters are on the streets and heading toward the front line in speeding cars. Their radio is still on the air and reporting the war," resident Mohamed Haji told The Associated Press. Haji said that helicopters were hitting targets in the town in southeastern Somalia.
At an international one-day summit Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said the world would "pay a price" if it fails to help Somalia overcome terrorism, piracy and starvation. ITV's Lee Comley reports.?
Another resident, Ismail Suglow, told Reuters that he could hear shelling from the ships and that the rebels were responding with anti-aircraft guns.
"We saw seven ships early in the morning and now their firing looks like lightning and thunder. Al-Shabab have gone towards the beach. The ships poured many AU troops on the beach," he added.
Expert: War on terror at 'critical' point as al-Qaida looks to regroup in Africa
On Thursday, residents said planes had dropped leaflets on Kismayo warning civilians to evacuate within 24 hours, Reuters reported.?More than 10,000 residents fled Kismayo in the last several weeks.
Resident Faduma Abdulle said Friday that she is now leaving too.
She said al-Shabab made an announcement on its radio station Friday to trick residents into moving toward the invading troops.
"They told residents through their radio to loot a Kenyan ship that washed up on the coast, but instead the residents who rushed there were attacked by helicopters," she said. "Some of them have died but I don't know how many. The situation is tense and many are fleeing. It's a dangerous situation."
A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Cdr. Dave Hecht, said the U.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is closely monitoring the situation but that "we are not participating in Kenya's military activities in the region."
Militants: Taking city not 'a piece of cake' Al-Shabab said it would not give up Kismayu easily.
"Going into Kismayo is not a piece of cake. We are still fighting them on the beach where they landed," Sheik Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's spokesman for military operations, told Reuters on Friday. "For us, this is just the beginning, our troops are spread everywhere."
Oguna said the assault is part of a four-prong attack involving Kenyan forces currently in villages outside Kismayo.
The amphibious assault landed between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday local time (3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday ET)?, he said. Some of the troops had night-vision goggles, he said.
Somali Olympic chief killed in Mogadishu suicide blast
African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in August 2011, ending four years of control of the capital by the fighters.
The Ugandan and Burundian troops that make up the bulk of the African Union force in Mogadishu have slowly been taking control of towns outside of Mogadishu.
The expanding control by AU troops sent al-Shabab fighters fleeing south toward Kismayo, north to other regions of Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, according to American and African Union officials.
Kenya police: Imminent attack by suicide bombers thwarted
Al-Shabab still holds sway across many small, poor villages of southern Somalia. The loss of Kismayo would be significant.
The militants taxed goods coming into its port. Al-Shabab lost its major source of financing last year when it was pushed out of Bakara market in Mogadishu, where it also charged taxes.
The march toward Kismayo by the Kenyan forces has been nearly a year in the making.
Masked 'goons' kill at least 17 in attacks on churches in Kenya
Kenyan troops entered Somalia last October after a string of kidnappings inside neighboring Kenya, including of Westerners in and around the beach resort town of Lamu, which is also seeing the construction of a new port and could one day be final point of a new oil pipeline from South Sudan.
Kenyan forces were bogged down by rain and poor roads for months but have making slow and steady progress toward Kismayo in recent weeks.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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SYDNEY - Australians are suddenly a whole lot better off after the government statistician "found" A$325 billion ($338 billion) in share assets previously unrecognized.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday released its latest report on household assets which included massive upward revisions to estimates for equity holdings. Total financial assets were now put at A$3.1 trillion at the end of March, compared to the originally reported A$2.77 trillion.
The revision is worth roughly A$14,380 for every one of the country's 22.6 million people.
The world's 10 most expensive cities
"This issue incorporates new estimates for households holding of unlisted shares and other equity in other private non financial corporations," the statistician drily noted.
The value of such equity is now put at A$383 billion at the end of March, compared to the original A$91 billion.
"The Bureau of Statistics has effectively 'found' A$325 billion in household wealth," said Craig James, chief economist at CommSec.
The poorest countries in the world
Total financial assets also rose further in the second quarter to stand at A$3.11 trillion by the end of June, up A$76 billion on the same period last year.
The upward revisions to wealth also mean households do not look quite as stretched when compared to their debts.
The ABS now estimates the ratio of debt to liquid assets was 129.1 percent in March, well down on the original estimate of 170.1 percent.
There have been long-standing concerns that the high debt levels of Australian households left them vulnerable to an economic shock such as a sharp rise in the, currently low, 5.1 percent unemployment rate.
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) -South Africa was the latest African Cup of Nations host to face the challenge of filling stadiums with the continent's generally poor football fans as tickets for next year's tournament went on sale on Wednesday.
In an attempt to reverse a trend of poor crowds at recent African championships, 2013 organizers kept tickets relatively cheap and easily available having already opted for smaller stadiums to give them a better chance of sellouts.
The last African Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea was hurt by images of empty seats at some games, especially when the home teams weren't playing.
Tickets for South Africa range from the cheapest at $6 up to $24 for the most expensive seats at the final. Supporters could watch the semifinals and final for around $12 for each game and organizers also offered additional discounts of up to 20 percent to fans who buy early for the matches next January and February.
"The ticket pricing strategy was reached looking at the economy of the country and the levels of unemployment, people's disposable income as well as the time that the tournament is taking place," organizing committee chief executive Mvuzo Mbebe said.
There are also worries that the Jan. 19-Feb. 10 tournament could come too soon after the expensive holiday season.
But South Africa still hopes to sell 500,000 tickets for the 32 matches at the 16-team tournament, relying on the combination of affordable prices and easy access while, crucially, hoping to revive the excitement generated by the country's staging of the World Cup two years ago.
South Africa also apparently learnt from the World Cup in 2010 by making sure tickets could be bought at traditional shop outlets as well as online.
At the World Cup, the initial internet-only sales procedure was problematic as the majority of African football fans do not have credit cards or access to the internet and prefer to buy their tickets over the counter.
African Cup games next year will be played at five stadiums, but the country's showpiece 94,000-seat FNB Stadium in Soweto - which was completely renovated for the World Cup - was reserved for the opening game and the final only.
Smaller venues in the northern cities of Rustenburg and Nelspruit and their fellow World Cup stadiums in Durban and Port Elizabeth will host the bulk of the games as South Africa hopes to re-ignite fans' interest following the historic first World Cup on the continent.
However, the Cup of Nations will undoubtedly face challenges getting fans as excited for games involving possible qualifiers like Cape Verde and Central African Republic as they were when Spain, Brazil and England were in town for South Africa's last major football tournament.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Zidane head-butt now a statue
The historic head-butt that marked the end of France great Zinedine Zidane's international football career is now more than just a memory.
Rooney returns from injury as United wins in cup
LONDON (AP) - Wayne Rooney returned from a monthlong injury absence, helping Manchester United to a 2-1 victory Wednesday that eliminated Newcastle from the League Cup. Arsenal and Tottenham advanced with ease on Wednesday.
Whether or not there's a 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio spot in the world to fit LG's Optimus Vu is still up for debate, but the company is pressing on and has now officially revealed specs for its follow up, the Optimus Vu II. Matching the specs leaked previously the CPU is a Qualcomm MSM8960 that's a newer design than the previous one, but is still a dual-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz. The RAM has been doubled to 2GB, the battery is just a hair larger at 2,150mAh and it will come with Android 4.0 out of the box plus that integrated IR blaster and QRemote software to control your home theater. The VoLTE capability listed in the leak is here and accounted for, as well as a Rubberdium Pen 2.0 stylus with a thinner, more precise nub. One thing we hadn't heard about is its optional "One Key" accessory, a waterproof fob intended for your key ring that can be pressed to make your phone beep loudly if you need to find it, and light up blue or red to alert you when there are messages or if it has finished charging. The Optimus Vu II is priced at 966,900 won ($864) in Korea, though we'll have to wait for a US announcement to have any idea how much it will cost when it ships here.
Just because your Android hardware hasn't been upgraded to the most recent (or, next to the most recent) version of the OS doesn't mean you have to miss new features. Google has shipped a new version of its YouTube app that brings the preloading feature we saw arrive on ICS and above devices back in June to Gingerbread and Froyo. You'll still have to be online to watch preloaded videos from your subscriptions or watch later list, but they precache while you're on WiFi and plugged in so you don't have to wait through buffering to show someone Gangnam Style at the bus stop. Otherwise, the initial Watch page has changed slightly, there are more channels in the Channel Store and you can also queue up videos to play later on any YouTube-enabled TV device you've paired with your mobile.
Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers (Kindle Edition) By Christopher Grey
Review & Description
Time-tested lighting strategies that will improve the quality of a portrait are detailed in this book for beginning photographers. Terminology used by industry pros is explained, the equipment needed to create professional results is outlined, and the unique role that each element of the lighting setup plays in the studio is explored. Photographers learn how color, direction, form, and contrast affect the final portrait. The concise text, photo examples, and lighting diagrams enable photographers to easily achieve traditional lighting styles that have been the basis of good portraiture since the advent of the art. Time-tested lighting strategies that will improve the quality of a portrait are detailed in this book for beginning photographers. Terminology used by industry pros is explained, the equipment needed to create professional results is outlined, and the unique role that each element of the lighting setup plays in the studio is explored. Photographers learn how color, direction, form, and contrast affect the final portrait. The concise text, photo examples, and lighting diagrams enable photographers to easily achieve traditional lighting styles that have been the basis of good portraiture since the advent of the art. Read more
Although amazing progress has been made in synthetics, for heavy duty use (read, racing, trackdays, etc.) leather is still king. We've known for a while that there are benefits to the way cows are cared for. The most protective leather comes from cows that aren't kept in barbed wire fences, and raised above the mosquito lines; there is less damage to the hide that way, making for fewer potential points of failure.
Large sheets of leather are also valuable, as they reduce the number of seams in the leather, and permit them to be moved away from common abrasion zones.
Type of leather is also important to us... Good cow leather is usually at least 1.4mm thick, and a full leather suit can be quite heavy (>10lbs.) Kangaroo leather is desirable for this application, since it's lighter and often stronger than cow leather.
I'll be interested seeing what comes of these materials.
We have SO been looking forward to the cooler weather this Fall and with the change of Seasons comes lots of fun Fall family activities! Lindsay has been talking about how much fun her kiddos had recently apple picking and sharing delicious recipes for all things Autumn has to offer!
We had a fun weekend recently and decided to head over to Irons Fruit Farm and enjoy our last few days of being a ?family of three?! This year, because of the frost, they aren?t offering u-pick apples but what I do love about Iron?s is the fact that they don?t nickel and dime you during your visit. The hay ride to pick your own pumpkin out from the field is free, you just pay by the pound for whatever pumpkin you choose. I also love all the yummy treats they have on offer, no one beats their home made apple spice donuts! YUM! The cider is also great and so is their offering of a ?whacked apple? which includes a fresh apple, warm caramel, whipped cream and topped with nuts!
The boys loved it!
I was planning to get a bag of apples but decided to wait for now, I have a hankering (errr?the last of my pregnancy cravings?) for apple pie and vanilla ice cream. This might be on my ?list? of food to ask my mom to bring over once the baby arrives!
Check out that baby BUMP! We are 40 weeks officially when we took this pic and now a couple days overdue so she will be getting an eviction notice soon! We?re in no rush for her arrival, just thrilled and excited to meet her! We will have an ultrasound next week and if all continues to look well we?ll wait two weeks before talking about possible induction. I think she will be like her big bro and be a few days late so we will see! What are your favorite Fall activities to do with the Family?! Any fun Autumn traditions??
UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded international action to stop the war in Syria, telling a somber gathering of world leaders Tuesday that the 18-month conflict had become "a regional calamity with global ramifications."
In sharp contrast to the U.N. chief, President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support for Syrians trying to oust President Bashar Assad ? "a dictator who massacres his own people."
Opening the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, Ban said in his state of the world speech that he was sounding the alarm about widespread insecurity, inequality and intolerance in many countries.
Putting the spotlight on Syria, the U.N. chief said "the international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control."
"We must stop the violence and flows of arms to both sides, and set in motion a Syrian-led transition as soon as possible," he said.
While Obama didn't call for an end to the violence, he made no mention of arming the opposition and stressed the importance of ensuring "that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence."
"Together, we must stand with those Syrians who believe in a different vision ? a Syria that is united and inclusive, where children don't need to fear their own government, and all Syrians have a say in how they are governed, Sunnis and Alawites, Kurds and Christians," said Obama, who arrived at the U.N. after Ban spoke.
"That is what America stands for; that is the outcome that we will work for ? with sanctions and consequences for those who persecute; and assistance and support for those who work for this common good," the U.S. president said.
Ban, declaring that the situation in Syria is getting worse every day, called the conflict a serious and growing threat to international peace and security that requires attention from the deeply divided U.N. Security Council.
That appears highly unlikely, however, at least in the near future.
Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, leaving the U.N.'s most powerful body paralyzed in what some diplomats say is the worst crisis since the U.S.-Soviet standoff during the Cold War.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, whose country by tradition is the first to speak, supported the secretary-general, saying: "There is no military solution to the Syrian crisis. Diplomacy and dialogue are not just our best option: they are the only option."
With the Security Council unable to act, the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, said Arab countries should intervene "out of their national, humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed ... in order to guarantee a peaceful transition of power in Syria."
He cited a similar precedent when Arab forces intervened in Lebanon in the mid-1970s to stop the civil war "in a step that proved to be effective and useful."
French President Francois Hollande said almost 30,000 people have died and asked: "How many more deaths will we wait for before we act? How can we let the paralysis of the United Nations to continue?"
"I know one thing is certain, the Syrian regime will never again take its place in the council of nations. It has no future among us," he said.
He called on the United Nations to protect "liberated zones" within Syria and to ensure humanitarian aid to refugees.
Ban also expressed profound concern at continuing violence in Afghanistan and Congo, increasing unrest across west Africa's Sahel region where al-Qaida has made inroads, and the "dangerous impasse" between Israelis and Palestinians that may close the door on the two-state solution.
The "shrill war talk" by Israel in recent weeks, in response to its belief that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, "has been alarming," Ban said, and Tehran's rhetoric threatening Israel's existence is unacceptable.
"Any such attacks would be devastating," he said, reminding the presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and diplomats from the 193 U.N. member states of the need for peaceful solutions and respect for international law.
"Leaders have a responsibility to use their voices to lower tensions instead of raising the temperature and volatility of the moment," he said.
Alluding to the recently circulated amateur video made in the U.S. which attacks Islam and denigrates the Prophet Muhammad, Ban said that "in recent days we have seen hate speech and violent responses that perpetuate a cycle of blind violence."
He lamented that in the world today "too often, divisions are exploited for short-term political gain" and "too many people are ready to take small flames of difference and turn them into a bonfire."
The secretary-general said it's time for responsible political and community leaders and ordinary citizens to speak out.
"The moderate majority should not be a silent majority," Ban said. "It must empower itself, and say to bigots and extremists alike: 'you do not speak for us.'"
Obama urged all leaders "to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism" and join the U.S. in confronting the root causes of the rage across the Muslim world.
He condemned the anti-Muslim video that helped spark the recent attacks, calling it "cruel and disgusting." But he strongly defended the U.S. Constitution's protection of the freedom of expression, "even views that we profoundly disagree with."
Obama was not expected to cross paths with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who addresses the assembly on Wednesday morning, but he did have a message about the country's nuclear program: There is still "time and space" to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions "but that time is not unlimited."
Ahmadinejad insists his country's nuclear program is only for electricity generation and medical research, but the U.S. and Western allies are demanding that Iran open all its facilities to inspectors from the U.N. nuclear agency to prove the intent of its enrichment of uranium.
Obama said a nuclear-armed Iran "would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy" and would also risk triggering a nuclear arms race in the region.
"And that is why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he said.
Hollande said France is ready to discuss new sanctions against Iran, "not to punish the great Iranian people, but to say to its leaders that enough is enough now, and that it must restart negotiations before it's too late."
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan were downplayed by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who said his country has begun to deepen relations with its troubled neighbor.
"A sovereign, secure, stable Afghanistan is good for the Afghan people and it is good for Pakistan," he said, adding that peace will only come to Afghanistan if it is "Afghan-owned, Afghan-driven and Afghan-led."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said incidents like Pakistan's recent shelling of a border province in eastern Afghanistan threaten relations, but said his country remains "deeply committed to our brotherly relations with Pakistan."
Karzai called on the West to help "fight the forces of division and hatred" stoked by provocations like the anti-Islam video.
"The menace of Islamaphobia is a worrying phenomenon that threatens peace and coexistence among cultures and civilizations," he said. "I call upon leaders in the West, both politicians and the media, to confront Islamophoblia in all its many forms."
___
Associated Press writer Ron DePasquale contributed to this report at the United Nations.
No matter where you look in this day and age, someone is trying to scam you. You might not fall for it all the time, but every once in a while you?re probably going to get taken advantage of without you knowing it. But when it comes to selling your home, it?s important to watch your step. Getting scammed in this arena could mean thousands (if not your entire life savings) going missing. So here are a few ways to protect yourself:
1.) Know their history. Every professional out there has a track record of their experience in the home buying business. Even a simple Google search should give you a general idea of the kind of person you are working with (although a simple Google search is not nearly enough to count as research). Ask to see proof of their successes. And speaking of proof, make sure they can give you a list of references to get ahold of as well.
2.) Know their legal history. Not only is it important to know their home buying history, but it?s also important to know if they have been breaking any laws in the process. Contact your state?s Real Estate Commission or your District Attorney?s Consumer Fraud Unit. These places will be able to tell you if this individual or business has been participating in some shady dealings. And if it?s an established business you?re working with, there?s nothing wrong with contacting the Better Business Bureau as well. In the end, there is no such thing as too much research.
3.) Get everything in writing. If you?re making a deal with this person, everything needs to be in writing, and we?re talking everything. Verbal agreements are essentially useless in court, so if anything does come up you?re going to want to make sure there?s a record of your agreement.
4.) Understand what you?re signing. Just because the buyer says one thing doesn?t mean it?s the same thing that is written on the piece of paper you?re signing. The truth is, you could be signing completely different parameters than what is being explained to you. Scammers are notorious for hiding details in the fine print, so before you sign anything make sure all your contracts are reviewed by a trusted real estate lawyer.
5.) Trust your gut. If you?re getting that funny feeling that something just doesn?t feel write about this transaction, stop. Under no circumstances should you be rushed into doing something you feel uncomfortable with, especially when it is something of such a large magnitude as selling your home. If you need to slow down and work through every single detail, you should be able to do that. Any real estate professional that specializes in short sales, foreclosures and probate properties will be able to walk you through the process without giving you the heebie-jeebies.
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Public release date: 29-Sep-2012
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No matter where you look in this day and age, someone is trying to scam you. You might not fall for it all the time, but every once in a while you?re probably going to get taken advantage of without you knowing it. But when it comes to selling your home, it?s important to watch your step. Getting scammed in this arena could mean thousands (if not your entire life savings) going missing. So here are a few ways to protect yourself: