Pigbag: Year Of The Pigbag - album review

Pigbag: Year Of The Pigbag (Sugar Shack Records)
CD/DL
Out Now

7/10

Thirty years after going their separate ways, Pigbag are back with a new album. Our man Paul Scott-Bates gives us his thoughts below.

Pigbag?s Got A Brand New Album!

This was very intriguing. Makers of one of the finest dance singles of the eighties (and one guaranteed to get everyone on their feet at the time) have reformed with founding members Chris Lee, Ollie Moore and Kofi Adu and bombed back to the studio to record nine new tracks in the shape of ?Year Of The Pigbag?. The title is as adventurous as the sound of their debut single, but, we all know what happened to that.

Since those heady days of dancing like there?s no tomorrow, members of Pigbag have been playing with the likes of The Pogues, Neneh Cherry and the mighty Abyssisians, and, it would appear from the tracks on the new album, maturing a bit.

With track titles like ?Cuban Rice (Is Very Nice)? and ?Jumpers For Goalposts?, their sense of humour clearly hasn?t deserted them and neither has their ability to crack out a good tune. The former opens the album with a dubbed horn and launches straight into, as the title would suggest, a Cuban beat with cool funky guitar and tinkling keyboards.

The sound quality of the recording is striking, crystal clear and the eight-piece could almost be sat over your shoulder, the hook is compulsive listening and the baritone saxophone is delightful. At over nine minutes long, it?s a quite brilliant start to the album.

?

The melody hooks on the album are probably as you?d imagine ? rousing horn sections playing tunes that become unforgettable ? ?Disco Mama? being no exception with its ?70s wah-wah guitar and bass reminiscent of ?Car Wash? or ?Shaft?. There are hints of The Apples? ?Fly On It? album from last year with the groovy horns brought right up to date in a modern day, almost clinical sounding, style.

Where the album goes slightly of the rails, is where Pigbag have obviously matured. Some of the tracks are far too long and become slightly pretentious. From the opening of ?Out Of Chaos? is an almost avant garde, freestyle sort of format. It?s not unlistenable, but, is very film soundtrack based, (and more forgettable), sounding more like a jazz jam session than a structured track. A case of too much too, with a couple of minutes that could have been quite easily shaved off. It?s s shame, and a lively horn section at the end is most welcome.

?Beluga? for me is just filler. It experiments and doesn?t really have any cohesiveness. It doesn?t really go anyway and could really have been left off the album.

What happens next though is marvellous, ?Jumpers For Goalposts? is a monster of a track, superb hook and great feel and possibly the natural progression from ?Papa?s Got A Brand New Pigbag? for us 40-something year olds. Bootsy Collins would be proud of recording ?Brains?, and the Black President himself, Fela Kuti, would be more than happy to have ?Afrodite On The Horizontal? to his name with the funkiest of funky basslines going on.

In summary, some diamonds and some dirt. When Pigbag fail to deliver, they barely glisten in the sun, but, when they shine, they shine brightly, and really come up with the goods. The year of the Pigbag? Possibly.

Check out the Pigbag website here. Follow them on Twitter here and do Facebook stuff here.

All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul?s writing on Louder Than War can be found here?and his?website is Heaven Is A Place On Pendle.

Paul has been working hard to save Radio Lancashire?s On The Wire, easily one of the best radio shows on the BBC. Follow him on twitter as @saveonthewire for all On The Wire news or follow his personal twitter, @hiapop.

Source: http://louderthanwar.com/pigbag-year-of-the-pigbag-album-review/

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Insert Coin: Dash charts your car data live, with gauges and a dashcam (video)

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

We've seen a few stabs at smartphone-enhanced car diagnostics as of late, but many good solutions like Automatic Link and Delphi's Vehicle Diagnostics are primarily useful after you've parked. The upcoming Dash OBD-II adapter is certainly up to that side of the job, telling a Bluetooth-connected iOS device (and eventually, Android) about your car's problems and estimating fuel costs based on the gas tank's levels. Where it stands out is its usefulness while on the road: the custom app offers custom live gauges, including a Green-Meter for ideal fuel economy that you won't usually find in a real instrument cluster. There's even a dashcam mode that overlays travel details on captured video, whether it's to support insurance claims or just to immortalize a drive through the back country.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Transportation

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Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/31/insert-coin-dash-charts-your-car-data-live-with-gauges-and-dashcam/

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Shroud of Turin authenticity up for debate again after new report

Scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have used infrared light and spectroscopy (the study of a physical object's interaction with electromagnetic radiation) to examine the shroud and found that it's actually much older than a previous study found.

By Marc Lallanilla,?LiveScience Assistant editor / March 29, 2013

Williams Jones, Shenadoah, Pa., shows some of the points of interest in the Shroud of Turin replica on display in front of the altar after the Divine Liturgy during the Shroud of Turin exhibit at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Shenandoah, Pa., in Feb.

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The Shroud of Turin, an icon of faith and controversy among Christians, is back in the news.

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The linen cloth, allegedly the burial shroud of Jesus, was closely examined in 1988 in laboratories in Switzerland, England and the United States using carbon-14 dating techniques, the?Telegraph?reports.

Those examinations of the shroud ? which bears the image of a man's face and torso ? dated the cloth from 1260 to 1390, supporting claims that it's merely an elaborate medieval hoax, as Jesus' life is thought to have come to an end in A.D. 33.

Some believers, however, insisted that the linen fibers used in the 1988 examinations were not from the original shroud, but rather from a portion of the cloth that had been repaired after suffering fire damage in the Middle Ages.

Now, scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have used infrared light and spectroscopy (the study of a physical object's interaction with electromagnetic radiation) to examine the shroud and found that it's actually much older, the Telegraph reports.?

In his recent book, "Il Mistero della Sindone," translated as "The Mystery of the Shroud," (Rizzoli, 2013), Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical engineering at Padua University, said his analysis proves the shroud dates from 280 B.C. to A.D. 220 ? meaning it existed during Jesus' lifetime, the?Guardian?reports. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]

The Shroud of Turin is said to be the cloth that covered Jesus' body after the crucifiction. Previous examinations that dated the shroud to the Middle Ages mesh with historical records, which don't start mentioning the cloth until that time. But some researchers believe the shroud is older. Thomas de Wesselow, author of "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection" (Dutton Adult, 2012), argues that medieval artists did not paint in photorealistic style, and that a forged shroud created in the Middle Ages would be an anachronism.?

That doesn't mean the shroud is evidence of a miracle, however, de Wesselow told LiveScience last year. He believes natural chemical reactions caused by a decomposing body and annoiting oils could have created the body imprint on the shroud, which may have then been?used as evidence of Christ's resurrection.?

For the first time in 30 years, the shroud will be shown on television this Saturday (March 30), the Guardian reports. Before leaving the papacy,?Benedict XVI?approved a special broadcast of the shroud to be held at the Turin Cathedral, where the cloth is preserved in a climate-controlled case.

And for those who want an even more intimate examination of the cloth, a new mobile app, Shroud 2.0, was just released on Good Friday (March 29),?Zenit.org?reports.

Designed in collaboration with the Museum of the Holy Shroud and the Archdiocese of Turin, Shroud 2.0 synthesizes 1,649 high-definition photographs into a single 12-billion-pixel image. An Android version is also being developed, Zenit reports.

Follow Marc Lallanilla on?Twitter?and?Google+. Follow us?@livescience,?Facebook?&?Google+. Original article onLiveScience.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mqx3wwYN9f4/Shroud-of-Turin-authenticity-up-for-debate-again-after-new-report

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Business: Avoid Complacency: Employ Change Management Now

Any time that your business undergoes a change, it is important to utilize proper change management in order to ensure that the change goes through smoothly. This is becoming more and more important over time, as change becomes the norm rather than the exception. Once management identifies the need for change, it can be helpful to hire a change manager to assist them through the process. They can then be expected to undergo some of the following changes.

First of all, the change needs to be effectively communicated to all affected parties. It needs to be made perfectly clear what changes are going to be made. Affected parties should understand why the changes are taking place. Just as important, they should understand what would happen if the change were not to take place. Finally, they need to understand what training will be undergone in order for the change to take place. This communication process is one of the most important aspects of change management. If it is not utilized properly, a company will be met with a great deal of resistance from employees.

Managers and employees must then become heavily involved in the process of change. Management must effectively teach the necessary skills to the employees that they need in order to do their job properly.

The next step is to incentivise the training process so that it works more effectively. The target goals should be divided into several smaller goals so that the change does not seem as large or as insurmountable. When short-term goals are met, employees should be rewarded accordingly. This helps motivate the work force, allowing it to work more effectively. This process also helps subdue critics and negative thinkers who hinder the transition process.

Employees feel more comfortable and motivated when they are kept in touch with the results of the changes that they are making. When success is achieved it should be congratulated. Analysis of performance should be used to encourage continued improvement.

Ultimately, the changes should be included in a new organizational culture. This means that the change should be recognized for the additional changes that it creates. When one aspect of business is changed, it has effects on all other aspects of business. This should be properly recognized and dealt with through structural changes. Both managers and employees will require regular encouragement for the transmission to be completed. Old habits can take quite some time to reverse. A change manager is highly recommended for this process to run smoothly.

Source: http://themakingsofanotsograndescape.blogspot.com/2013/03/avoid-complacency-employ-change.html

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Pope leads traditional Good Friday rite at Rome Colosseum

By Philip Pullella

ROME (Reuters) - Thousands of people holding candles turned out at Rome's Colosseum to see Pope Francis mark the first Good Friday of his pontificate with a traditional "Way of the Cross" procession around the ancient amphitheatre.

Francis, who was elected on March 13, sat under a red canopy on Rome's Palatine Hill as representatives of the faithful from around the world alternated carrying a wooden cross on the day Christians commemorated Jesus's death by crucifixion.

"Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil, as if he is silent," the Argentine pope said, speaking slowly in Italian and in a somber voice at the end of the evening service.

"And yet, God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It is also reveals a judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us," he said.

"Christians must respond to evil with good," he said, urging them to beware "the evil that continues to work in us and around us".

The meditations for the 14 "stations of the cross" which commemorate events in the last hours of Jesus's life - from when Pontius Pilate condemned him to death to his burial in a rock tomb - were written by young people from Lebanon.

The wooden cross was passed from one group and person to another - including a person in a wheelchair. Those who carried it came from Italy, India, China, Nigeria, Syria, Lebanon and Brazil.

Several of the meditations, read by actors, referred to conflict in the Middle East and the suffering of its people.

One meditation called the Middle East "a land lacerated by injustice and violence".

Francis praised those Lebanese Christians and Muslims who tried to live together and who, he said, in doing so gave a sign of hope to the world.

Prayers were read out for exploited and abused children, refugees, the homeless and victims of religious intolerance, war, violence, terrorism, poverty, injustice and drug addiction.

There were also prayers against abortion and euthanasia.

Good Friday is the second of four hectic days leading up to Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar.

On Holy Thursday, two young women were among 12 people whose feet the pope washed and kissed at a traditional ceremony in a Rome youth prison, the first time a pontiff has included females in the rite.

After celebrating an Easter eve service, on Easter Sunday he will deliver his first "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message in St. Peter's Square.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-leads-traditional-good-friday-rite-rome-colosseum-005958820.html

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21years later, Pitino and Krzyzewski meet again

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino are finally doing an encore.

For the first time since their teams played perhaps the greatest game in the history of the NCAA tournament, Krzyzewski and Pitino will meet in the NCAA tournament Sunday when top-seeded Louisville faces Duke. In the regional finals, no less.

Never mind that few of their current players were even born in 1992. Or that Pitino is no longer at Kentucky, having switched sides in the state's civil war after his brief trip to Boston and the NBA ended badly.

Krzyzewski and Pitino are forever linked by that one game in Philadelphia, immortalized by Christian Laettner's improbable shot.

"It's one of those moments in time that helped define our sport," Krzyzewski said Saturday. "When I've talked to Rick about it, we realize we were the lucky guys. We had different roles at that time, but we were both lucky to be there."

Said Pitino, "It was like being in Carnegie Hall and seeing the best musician or the best singer. Just sitting there in amazement of what they were doing out on the basketball court."

Krzyzewski and Pitino are two of the finest coaches of their generation, with five NCAA titles and 1,618 victories between them. Yet for all of their success, and for as good a friends as they are, Krzyzewski and Pitino rarely play each other.

When Louisville (32-5) and Duke (30-5) played in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November ? Duke won ? it was the first time Krzyzewski and Pitino had played each other since '92. Sunday's game will be their third meeting ever.

"That's why we got them in the conference. Got to start doing this a little bit more," Krzyzewski joked, referring to Louisville's upcoming move to the ACC.

But almost nothing could top that first meeting between them.

The Blue Devils, led by Laettner and Grant Hill, were defending national champions in 1992. Kentucky was on the rise again after two years on probation. When they met in the old Spectrum for the East Region finals, it was a showdown of the 1 and 2 seeds, a game worthy of a national championship.

"It was such a high-scoring game with so much perfection in the way players passed and shot the ball. That's what made it stand the test of time," Pitino said. "It was a game where two coaches could sit back and watch great players perform at the highest level."

After coming from 10 down in regulation, Kentucky appeared to have the game won when Sean Woods made a running bank shot in the lane with 2.5 seconds left in overtime. Duke called a timeout, and gave the ball to Grant Hill to inbound.

The Wildcats knew the ball was going to Laettner, a 6-foot-11 center who'd made a buzzer-beater against Connecticut in the regional finals two years earlier. But without Jamal Mashburn ?he'd fouled out ? Pitino pulled John Pelphrey and Deron Feldhaus aside and warned them not to foul.

"I said, 'Whatever you do, don't foul him. He hasn't missed a shot,'" Pitino recalled. "I shouldn't have done that. That was the mistake I made. I should have said, 'Whatever you do, bat down the ball. I don't care what the contact is, go for the basketball.'

"You saw my guys freeze a little bit."

As anyone who's ever watched the NCAA tournament in the last 21 years knows, Hill threw a strike from the far baseline and found Laettner at the foul line with his back to the basket. Laettner faked right, spun to his left and his 15-footer hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded.

"I don't think you can realize the significance at that time," Krzyzewski said. "I will always remember the stark difference in emotion. Because, right in front of me, Richie Farmer collapsed. I see our guys jump and I see him fall. And really, I was more taken by Richie. I understood by looking at him ... just how tough that was."

It was agonizing for the first 24 hours, Pitino said. But when he popped a tape of the game in the next day, he saw it in a different light.

"I just sat back and said, 'Darn, that was some hell of a basketball game,'" he said. "I got the guys together and I said, 'Man, that was a great game.' Really was a great game, especially playing without Mash."

Duke would go on to win its second straight title, beating Michigan in the final. Kentucky would complete its revival four years later when the Wildcats beat Syracuse for their sixth NCAA title and first since 1978.

But it is that game that everyone remembers, and the years have done nothing to diminish it.

Clips of the play are on repeat throughout the tournament each year. And as the NCAA celebrates 75 years of March Madness this year, the Laettner play has been among the highlights.

"I do think about it often," Pitino said. "Not from a revenge standpoint, but as a great game that I was happy to be part of.

"To me, it's one of the best losses I've ever had," he said. "A bad loss is where your guys play terrible, you don't play. It was a great loss because my guys played almost a perfect game and we just had the wrong ending for us. But it was one of the greatest basketball games ever played because it was so high-powered with great play. One great play after another. That was fun to be part of."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/21years-later-pitino-krzyzewski-meet-again-215503493--spt.html

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Practice Fusion Seeking to Heal One of the ... - Yahoo! Finance

In a world where everyone is connecting online, doctors and hospitals have been struggling to streamline decades of disconnected data. Electronic health records (EHR) are the way of the future. A 2011 McKinsey & Company study suggested that the health care industry could save $300 billion a year with the better data management that EHR provides. San Francisco-based Practice Fusion is trying to fix the data problem and is a leader in the industry, putting you health records online and making them accessible to doctors.

CEO Ryan Howard launched the company in 2005 after running into his own problems transferring his health records. "In 1999 I drove from New Hampshire to San Francisco, and I realized during the transition that I had a struggle getting my health records," he explains. "As I dug into this further I realized that the average patient sees 19 different doctors in their lifetime and that there's 200,000 deaths a year because this information is not available."

Practice Fusion handles every step of your doctors visit beginning with scheduling your appointment. When you arrive and a nurse takes your vitals, like weight, blood pressure, allergies, and your ailment, that is added to the Practice Fusion system, creating a personalized medical record that can be shared with any doctor that may need it. It's even connected to most pharmacies so when you leave the office your medication will be ready to pick up.

"It's the most efficient place for [pharmaceutical companies ] to come and have a dialog with doctors. The laboratories, it's the most efficient place for them to come and connect with doctors," says Howard.

And perhaps the best part, it's free for doctors and patients. As for profit, it's all about the data.

"It's the largest, highest transaction health care platform in the United States," says Howard. "So we know what type of drugs are being written on the platform, why doctors are writing particular drugs. We know different standards of care. We can identify the best doctors in the country and take that standard and apply it to all the other doctors as well. So there?s a number of different things that the data at scale brings to the market where there?s a monetization opportunity."

Practice Fusion now has over 150,000 medical professionals, mostly at smaller private practices, and tens of millions of patients in their system.

"Eighty-percent of all doctors are in offices of eight or less [employees], that's really where we thrive," Howard says. "There's about 400 competitors...but one out of four doctors choosing an electronic health record in that market today chooses practice fusion, so we are by far one of the, if not the de facto market players out there."

And the competition could get even more fierce next year as millions of uninsured Americans are due to enter the health care system as Obamacare takes full effect.

"It will definitely help the business," Howard contends, "making sure that the 40 million patients that are uninsured today are getting treatment and care is something we can definitely help with...We're able to free up a lot of the doctor's inventory to make it available to those 40 million patients that need to be treated."

And Practice Fusion is banking on that growth. Literally.

"We've raised roughly 66 million dollars, we have Peter Thiel in the founders fund, Artis Capital and some other top tier firms with the company," he says. "I think in this current market and with the current growth of the company, an IPO is very potential in the future and I think that's something we'll talk about over the next couple of years."

So Howard has the funding, the demand, and the drive to take his company public. The question is whether Practice Fusion can maintain their lead and continue to grow profits in this super competitive industry.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/putting-health-records-online-could-mean-big-money-151850908.html

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Greenwich resident Grainger wins squash title at Chelsea Piers ...

Greenwich resident and Chelsea Piers squash director Natalie Grainger receives her trophy for winning the United States Squash National Championship on her home court.

For Greenwich resident Natalie Grainger, the timing couldn?t be more perfect for her return to competitive squash.

Grainger, who is the Chelsea Piers Connecticut Racquets Director, got a unique opportunity and made the most of it.

It turns out that Chelsea Piers hosted the United States Squash National Championships and Grainger jumped at the idea of competing once again on her home turf. Not only did Grainger get to play the game she loves, but she won the national championship and reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the country.

?It was fantastic,? Grainger said. ?To see so many friends and family come to the club to watch and support made it that much more special. There were little kids there watching and being able to produce a good outcome on the day in front of those people that wanted me to win was great.?

During the U.S. Championships Women?s Open Singles event, Grainger was the No. 2 seed and was able to take care of her first round opponent, Niki Clement of Bryn Mawr, Pa. (6,2,5). The semis had Grainger up against Wilton?s Olivia Blatchford, but again it was Grainger with the 4,4,3 victory.

In the championship match, Grainger was up against a familiar foe, top-seed, Amanda Sobhy from Sea Cliff, N.Y. and Grainger won the championship with a score of (8), 3, 3, (5), 7.

?I knew it was going to be a very tough match against Amanda,? Grainger said. ?It meant that in order to win that title, I would have to play a phenomenal opponent, who is on the rise of her own career and she?s someone that I?ve coached and mentored in the past as well. It was a great match and it was clean. Amanda is a champion, so it meant a lot to actually have a tough and accomplished opponent.?

The victory against Sobhy gave Grainger the sixth national championship of her career. However, this title was more rewarding.

During her previous five championship runs, Grainger was an active member on the squash tour and was also ranked one of the top players in the world.

Now things are different. Grainger has been retired from the tour for a few years now and is currently teaching and directing squash full-time at The Squash Club at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, a 12 International court state-of-the-art facility in Stamford.

?I could have showed up with the expectations of really having to play well, but I felt like there wasn?t as much pressure because of being retired,? Grainger said. ?It meant a lot to me to win the event.?

In order to get ready for the championship, Grainger had to change things up a bit. With the success of The Squash Club at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Grainger has been coaching quite a bit, but didn?t really have the time to play some competitive squash.

Leading up to the national championships, Grainger did her best to prepare. In the weeks before the championship, Grainger got in a couple of matches a week with some of her fellow pros that work at Chelsea Piers and from other pros from around the area.

While lightening her coaching in the days before the tournament, Grainger also entered a tournament in New York and played in the men?s division so she could get a little bit of match practice under her belt.

?We just finished with the height of the season and I just finished coaching in the junior championships, so my focus had to be on them,? Grainger said. ?I was able to get a couple of matches a week with some pros and I entered a tournament in New York and played in the men?s division there, so I could get a little bit of match practice. That was really helpful and that gave me a wake-up call to remind me not to do too much coaching in the lead-up to competing because it makes your legs so heavy. I lightened my coaching mode a day or two leading up to the event.?

While winning the championship in front of all the local supporters was an amazing feeling for Grainger, seeing the Squash Club at Chelsea Piers roar to life was equally exciting.

?The club was able to hold a great championship,? Grainger said. ?Everybody that I talked to had such a phenomenal time at the tournament. The masters players really enjoyed the club and seeing people enjoy the facility and having it spring to life with such a major championship was really exciting.?

Although competing at a high level, as well as winning championships, never gets old, don?t expect to see Grainger giving up coaching the sport she loves any time soon.

?The interesting thing about Chelsea Piers is that we have a lot of kids in our program that have never been exposed to the sport of squash,? Grainger said. ?It?s great to have this facility Chelsea Piers and the ability to take squash outside of some of the private clubs and have kind of an all-access facility. To build a program where kids can enjoy the sport is phenomenal because it?s such a fun sport for young kids to try.?

Source: http://www.greenwich-post.com/12050/greenwich-resident-grainger-wins-national-title-on-home-turf-at-chelsea-piers/

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Samsung Galaxy S 4 for Verizon swings through the FCC

We weren't kidding about that influx of FCC filings: the Verizon edition of Samsung's Galaxy S 4, the SCH-i545, has passed through the US regulator's approval right on cue. The device on display ticks all the checkboxes we'd expect, including LTE on both Verizon's main 700MHz band and the carrier's recently acquired AWS frequencies. We also notice HSPA-based 3G, which suggests Big Red's GS4 won't be a paperweight when abroad. The filing just leaves AT&T and T-Mobile as the major stragglers in the US; at the current rate, though, they'll have little trouble getting clearance before they have to fulfill any future orders.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Verizon

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Source: FCC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/coTyB819R2c/

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Pope refers to "Muslim brothers" on Good Friday

Pope Francis lies down in prayer during the Passion of Christ Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis began the Good Friday service at the Vatican with the Passion of Christ Mass and hours later will go to the ancient Colosseum in Rome for the traditional Way of the Cross procession. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis lies down in prayer during the Passion of Christ Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis began the Good Friday service at the Vatican with the Passion of Christ Mass and hours later will go to the ancient Colosseum in Rome for the traditional Way of the Cross procession. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession celebrated in front of the Colosseum on Good Friday in Rome, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis is sitting in silent prayer during this year's Good Friday procession, which is re-enacting Christ's crucifixion and recalling the wars and "violent fundamentalism" that are devastating the Middle East today. The Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum is one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week, when Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A worker adjusts a giant torch lit cross overlooking the ancient Colosseum prior to the start of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession which will be celebrated by Pope Francis, on Good Friday, in Rome, Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A crowd gathers beneath the ancient Colosseum prior to the start of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession which will be celebrated by Pope Francis, on Good Friday, in Rome, Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis presides the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession celebrated in front of the Colosseum, not pictured, on Good Friday in Rome, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis is sitting in silent prayer during this year's Good Friday procession, which is re-enacting Christ's crucifixion and recalling the wars and "violent fundamentalism" that are devastating the Middle East today. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

ROME (AP) ? Pope Francis reached out in friendship to "so many Muslim brothers and sisters" during a Good Friday procession dedicated to the suffering of Christians from terrorism, war and religious fanaticism in the Middle East.

The new pontiff, who has rankled traditionalists by rejecting many trappings of his office, mostly stuck to the traditional script during the nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum, one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week.

With torches lighting the way, the faithful carried a cross to different stations, where meditations and prayers were read out recalling the final hours of Jesus' life and his crucifixion.

This year, the prayers were composed by young Lebanese, and many recalled the plight of minority Christians in the region, where wars have forced thousands to flee their homelands. The meditations called for an end to "violent fundamentalism," terrorism and the "wars and violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East."

Francis, who became pope just over two weeks ago, chose, however, to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in the region in his brief comments at the end of the ceremony.

Standing on a platform overlooking the procession route, Francis recalled Benedict XVI's 2012 visit to Lebanon when "we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others."

"That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world, a sign of hope," he said.

Friday's outreach followed Francis' eyebrow-raising gesture a day earlier, when he washed and kissed the feet of two women, one a Muslim, in the Holy Thursday ritual that commemorates Jesus' washing of his apostles' feet during the Last Supper before his crucifixion.

Breaking with tradition, Francis performed the ritual on 12 inmates at a juvenile detention center, rather than in Rome's grand St. John Lateran basilica, where in the past, 12 priests have been chosen to represent Jesus' disciples.

Before he became pope, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio long cultivated warm relations with Muslim leaders in his native Argentina. In one of his first speeches as pope, he called for the church and the West in general to "intensify" relations with the Muslim world.

The Vatican's relations with Islam hit several bumps during Benedict XVI's papacy, when he outraged Muslims with a 2006 speech quoting a Byzantine emperor as saying some of Prophet Muhammad's teachings were "evil and inhuman." And in 2011, the pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, Cairo's Al-Azhar institute, froze dialogue with the Vatican to protest Benedict's call for greater protection of Christians in Egypt.

However, Francis' past outreach to the Muslim community in Argentina seems to have changed that. Al-Azhar's chief imam, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib, sent a message of congratulations to Francis on his election and said he hoped for cooperation.

The Vatican's efforts to reconcile with the Islamic world have not been welcomed by all. Italy's most famous Muslim convert to Catholicism, Magdi Allam, announced last week he was leaving the church because of its "soft" stance on Islam. Allam was baptized by Benedict XVI in 2008 during the high-profile Easter Vigil service when the pope traditionally baptizes a handful of adults. There has been no Vatican comment on his about-face.

Thousands of people packed the Colosseum and surrounding areas for the nighttime procession, holding candles wrapped in paper globes as Francis sat in silent prayer as a giant torch-lit crucifix twinkled nearby. Some in the crowd had Lebanese flags around their shoulders in an indication of the special role Lebanese faithful played in this year's procession.

Lebanon has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East ? nearly 40 percent of the country's 4 million people, with Maronite Catholics the largest sect. As civil war has raged in neighboring Syria, Lebanon's Christian community has been divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Overall, Christians in the Middle East have been uneasy as the Arab Spring has led to the strengthening of Islamist groups in most countries that have experienced uprisings. Thousands of Christians have fled the region ? a phenomenon that the Vatican has lamented, given Christianity's roots in the Holy Land.

"How sad it is to see this blessed land suffer in its children, who relentlessly tear one another to pieces and die!" said one of the Good Friday meditations. "It seems that nothing can overcome evil, terrorism, murder and hatred."

Francis picked up on that message, saying Christ's death on the cross is "the answer which Christians offer in the face of evil, the evil that continues to work in us and around us."

"Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the cross upon themselves as Jesus did," he said.

At the end of the ceremony, a male choir sang a haunting Arabic hymn, a reflection of the Eastern rite influence that infused the ceremony.

On Saturday, Francis presides over the solemn Easter Vigil ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica and on Sunday, he celebrates Easter Mass and delivers an important speech. Usually the pope also issues Easter greetings in dozens of languages.

In his two weeks as pope, Francis' discomfort with speaking in any language other than Italian has become apparent. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Friday "we'll have to see" what Francis does with the multilingual greetings.

The Good Friday procession was conducted entirely in Italian, whereas in years past the core elements recounting what happens at each station would be recited in a variety of languages.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-29-EU-Vatican-Good-Friday/id-0653c3732eaa44a1871cdae1213f7ce7

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'Nasty piece of work': Cloud over London's 'sunshine' mayor Boris Johnson

Matthew Lloyd / Getty Images, file

London mayor Boris Johnson (right) and Irvine Sellar, developer of the new skyscraper The Shard, cut a ribbon.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

LONDON -- He is the goofy London mayor whose jovial self-deprecation and quick intellect have rescued him from a string of political missteps and personal indignities. But floppy-haired Boris Johnson?s happy-go-lucky reputation took a battering this week, just as he revealed his ambition to one day become Britain?s prime minister.

New York-born Johnson -- memorably caught on camera dangling from a broken zip-wire during the London Olympics?-- was accused of being a ?nasty piece of work? in a train-wreck television interview that surfaced a darker side to his persona.

The mayor was asked about a number of embarrassing episodes in his past including being fired from his former job as a reporter with The Times newspaper for making up a quote, losing his opposition cabinet role after lying to his Conservative party leader about an affair and the accusation that he agreed to provide a reporter?s address to his friend, a convicted fraudster, so the journalist could be beaten up.

There were no new revelations in Sunday?s interview, which was hardly in the mold of Frost vs Nixon. But the feline approach of BBC presenter Eddie Mair exposed a testy, evasive side to Johnson that observers say has undermined his affable public image.

?What?s remarkable is not that the interview happened but the fact that it hasn?t happened before,? said Johnson?s biographer, Sonia Purnell.

?He has always used his jovial fellow act and has never really been challenged like that in an interview until now.

?It is true that he is very charismatic, very clever and engaging. But there is a dark side to his character. He has a ferocious temper and he bears grudges.?

The clash was in stark contrast to Johnson?s winning encounter on ?Late Show with David Letterman? last year, when he entertained the studio audience and shrugged the gibe that he cut his own hair.

It has sparked a debate in Britain about whether the mayor, a keen cyclist and classical scholar whose full name is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson -- can still be taken seriously as a contender to replace David Cameron as prime minister and leader of his Conservative party.

Mair teased Johnson about his repeated refusal to admit that he harbors ambitions to replace Cameron, with whom he has a mild personal rivalry that dates back to their shared time at Eton, Britain?s most elite private school.

Jan Kruger / Getty Images, file

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor of London Boris Johnson warm up for a tennis match during the London Olympics.

?What should viewers make of your inability to give a straight answer to a straight question?" asked Mair, adding: ?You?re a nasty piece of work, aren?t you??

An online Guardian newspaper poll found 62 percent of its readers thought Johnson could no longer be considered a candidate for Britain?s top job. The interview ?was inevitably described as a car crash, but in the case of Johnson, it was more of a bicycle crash: spokes all over the road, wheels mangled and a reputation badly dented,? wrote the newspaper?s veteran political editor, Patrick Wintour.

Purnell added: ?I think it left a tidemark in people?s minds about Boris?s character.?

However, conservative commentator Toby Young said Johnson?s leadership prospects remain unchanged. ?It's an elementary rule of politics that if you have any skeletons lurking in your closet that are likely to make an appearance during an election campaign, better to get them out in the open now,? he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. ?Not only will it rob them of their bad juju, it will enable his supporters to claim -- yet again -- that he's popular?in spite of?his character flaws, not because the public isn't aware of them.?

Matthew Norman, in The Independent, asked: ?Boris would be a disastrous PM. So why do I quite like the idea?? He wrote: ?Life for diarists and political pundits would improve immeasurably, which strikes me as a very reasonable price to pay for the national shame of having Boris Johnson as prime minister.?

Johnson, 48, has long been a grassroots favorite to lead the Conservatives if Cameron stood down or lost office. However, to be prime minister he would first need to stand again for election to the House of Commons, which he quit in 2008 to run to be mayor of London. He is currently serving his second four-year term and has remained coy about whether he will quit early and return to parliament.

London mayor Boris Johnson attempts to make a dramatic entrance at an Olympic party?but gets stranded on a zip wire instead. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

His mix of conservative economics and liberal social values -- he supports gay marriage and an amnesty for immigrants -- helped secure his election in a city long dominated by left-of-center politics, but it may not sit well with the U.K.-wide Conservative party.

His personal morality may also hinder his progress: He has acknowledged a number of affairs and has been likened to Italy?s serial philanderer and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi by satirical magazine editor Ian Hislop.

Then there is Johnson?s apparent lack of attention to detail. Purnell, who worked alongside him in the Brussels bureau of the Daily Telegraph, said: ?Some of the things he wrote were on the limits of the truth. He was, at best, creative.?

Max Hastings, a former editor of Johnson's during his time as a journalist, described Johnson as "utterly chaotic,"?adding: "Supposing he became prime minister, the idea of Boris Johnson's finger on the nuclear button ... one day he would get it mixed up with the one to call the maid."

However, there remains a lot of affection for a man whose unvarnished approach is a breath of political fresh air.

?He is a sunshine politician and people like that,? said Ross Lydall, chief news correspondent of London?s Evening Standard newspaper, which supports Johnson.

?The way he has improved life for cyclists in London is remarkable -- as a cyclist myself, it certainly puts a smile on my face. He represents a sense of optimism compared to the old, miserable municipal politics of London.?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a274445/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C30A0C1750A23550Enasty0Epiece0Eof0Ework0Ecloud0Eover0Elondons0Esunshine0Emayor0Eboris0Ejohnson0Dlite/story01.htm

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Decimation of critically endangered forest elephant detailed

Mar. 28, 2013 ? African forest elephants are being poached out of existence. A study just published in the online journal PLOS ONE and supported in part by San Diego Zoo Global shows that a staggering 62% of all forest elephants have been killed across their range in central Africa, for their ivory over the past decade. The severe decline indicates what researchers fear is the eminent extinction of this species.

"Saving the species requires a coordinated global effort in the countries where elephants occur, all along the ivory smuggling routes and at the final destination in the Far East. We don't have much time," say Wildlife Conservation Society conservationists Fiona Maisels, PhD, and Samantha Strindberg, PhD, the lead authors.

The study -- the largest ever conducted on the African forest elephant -- includes the work of more than 60 scientists between 2002 and 2011, and an immense effort by national conservation staff who spent a combined 91,600 days surveying elephants in 5 countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and the Republic of Congo), walking over 13,000 kilometers (more than 8,000 miles) and recording over 11,000 elephant dung piles for the analysis.

The paper also shows that almost a third of the land where African forest elephants were able to live 10 years ago has become too dangerous for them. Results show clearly that forest elephants were increasingly uncommon in places with high human density, high infrastructure density such as roads, high hunting intensity, and poor governance as indicated by levels of corruption and absence of law enforcement.

Bethan Morgan, PhD, head of San Diego Zoo Global's Central Africa Program, stressed the importance of this study. "This is the largest collaborative study of its kind across the whole of Central Africa and really highlights the plight of this ecologically important species. Forest elephants are integral to a functioning forest in Africa, opening up the forest floor and acting as a vital part of the life cycle of many plant species through their role as seed dispersers. We have increasing evidence of a decline in certain tree species as a result of the local extinction of forest elephants."

Distinct from the African savanna elephant, the African forest elephant is slightly smaller than its better-known relative and is considered by many to be a separate species.

Research carried out by the CITES-MIKE program has shown that the increase in poaching levels across Africa since 2006 is strongly correlated with trends in consumer demand in the Far East and that poaching levels are also strongly linked with governance at the national level and poverty at the local level. This has resulted in escalating elephant massacres in areas previously thought to be safe.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Zoological Society of San Diego, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Fiona Maisels, Samantha Strindberg, Stephen Blake, George Wittemyer, John Hart, Elizabeth A. Williamson, Rostand Aba?a, Gaspard Abitsi, Ruffin D. Ambahe, Fid?l Amsini, Parfait C. Bakabana, Thurston Cleveland Hicks, Rosine E. Bayogo, Martha Bechem, Rene L. Beyers, Anicet N. Bezangoye, Patrick Boundja, Nicolas Bout, Marc Ella Akou, Lambert Bene Bene, Bernard Fosso, Elizabeth Greengrass, Falk Grossmann, Clement Ikamba-Nkulu, Omari Ilambu, Bila-Isia Inogwabini, Fortune Iyenguet, Franck Kiminou, Max Kokangoye, Deo Kujirakwinja, Stephanie Latour, Innocent Liengola, Quevain Mackaya, Jacob Madidi, Bola Madzoke, Calixte Makoumbou, Guy-Aim? Malanda, Richard Malonga, Olivier Mbani, Valentin A. Mbendzo, Edgar Ambassa, Albert Ekinde, Yves Mihindou, Bethan J. Morgan, Prosper Motsaba, Gabin Moukala, Anselme Mounguengui, Brice S. Mowawa, Christian Ndzai, Stuart Nixon, Pele Nkumu, Fabian Nzolani, Lilian Pintea, Andrew Plumptre, Hugo Rainey, Bruno Bokoto de Semboli, Adeline Serckx, Emma Stokes, Andrea Turkalo, Hilde Vanleeuwe, Ashley Vosper, Ymke Warren. Devastating Decline of Forest Elephants in Central Africa. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (3): e59469 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059469

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/nZ7F7Ebz8jc/130329125303.htm

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Pistorius allowed to leave SAfrica with conditions

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? Oscar Pistorius could compete at this year's world championships after a South African judge eased his bail restrictions and ruled Thursday that the athlete, who faces a murder trial for the shooting death of his girlfriend, can travel overseas to run.

The international athletics body said that if Pistorius qualifies, it had no objections to him running ? an event that could eclipse the stir last year when he became the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics. Pistorius' agent told The Associated Press soon after the ruling that the world championships in Moscow in August could be a possibility if the runner wanted to return to the track on his carbon fiber blades.

Judge Bert Bam upheld the Olympic athlete's appeal against some of his bail restrictions, but said the 26-year-old Pistorius must travel under certain conditions. The athlete could face a life sentence if found guilty of murder for the Valentine's Day shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp.

His passport will be held by a court while he is in South Africa, and he can only leave the country if he provides an itinerary of his travel plans at least a week before he is due to leave. Pistorius must also hand his travel documents back to the court within 24 hours of returning home, Bam ruled.

"Based on this (the judge's decision), and if he is up for it and qualifies, the world championships will definitely be on the radar," Pistorius' agent, Peet van Zyl, told the AP by telephone.

The judge's decision was "fair," Van Zyl said, but any return to track would be up to Pistorius, who hasn't run competitively since September and hasn't trained for two months. The worlds are in August, while Pistorius' next court appearance is June 4.

"It's his call. He's the one under all the pressure for the court case and grieving for Reeva," the agent said.

Although Pistorius' lawyers said in the appeal hearing that he had no immediate plans to compete, he would likely need to return to track in the future to earn money, they said. Pistorius, widely known as the Blade Runner for his prosthetic legs, did not attend the court session.

"He has no desire to compete now but it might change and it will change," defense lawyer Barry Roux told the judge in arguing for Pistorius' travel restrictions to be eased. Roux said Pistorius would not try and evade trial if he is allowed to travel internationally, and would eventually need to run again "to earn an income."

"He is not going to run away and hide. He is going nowhere," Roux told the judge in the brown-walled courtroom in the high court, where television cameras and photographers were allowed in to record the proceedings. "Why stop him from traveling under controlled circumstances?" Roux added.

Pistorius says he killed Steenkamp accidentally when he fired shots through a door in his bathroom in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, fearing there was an intruder in his house. Prosecutors say he shot the model and reality TV star intentionally after they argued, and they have charged him with premeditated murder.

The IAAF, athletics' ruling body, reiterated that it wouldn't comment on the case involving Pistorius, but he would be allowed to run at the world championships if he met the sporting criteria.

"If he qualifies for (the) Moscow World Championships next August, then on the basis of (the) 'innocent unless proved guilty' principle he would be free to run," IAAF spokesman Yannis Nikolaou said in a statement emailed to the AP.

The decision on whether Pistorius could run at other events would be at the "discretion of meeting organizers" and not the IAAF, Nikolaou said.

British Athletics chairman Ed Warner said it was too early to say if Pistorius would be invited to the London Anniversary Games in July at Olympic Stadium, a meet to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Olympics. Any decision would be taken "with great care," Warner said.

Pistorius' last competitive race was his victory in the 400 meters final at the London Paralympics in September last year. He hasn't trained or "seen a track" for around nine weeks, agent Van Zyl said, but when he was ready they would consider both able-bodied and Paralympic events.

Van Zyl saw no reason why Pistorius shouldn't be allowed to run again by athletics authorities while accused of murder and said that he had been contacted by race promoters who wanted to see Pistorius return to competition.

"If they (track bodies) don't allow him to run and he walks out (of court) a free man, there might be a problem," Van Zyl said.

The judge also ruled in favor of Pistorius on three other bail restrictions.

He no longer has to be regularly supervised by a probation official and a ruling that he wasn't allowed to consume alcohol and could be tested at any time for alcohol and "prohibited substances" was lifted. Bam also slammed one of the bail conditions imposed by another court, saying a condition that Pistorius would be in breach of his bail if he was merely accused of another crime against women was "fraud." It went against Pistorius' constitutional right to be innocent until proven guilty, Bam said.

The high court judge's rapid ruling came three hours after the hearing began.

Two other restrictions ? that Pistorius was not allowed to return to his house, where he shot Steenkamp dead on Feb. 14, and had to report regularly to a police station ? should be "disregarded," the judge said.

It meant Pistorius' legal team succeeded in all its appeals. Pistorius' lawyers smiled after the judge ruled in their favor.

The prosecution wouldn't comment on how the ruling affected its case.

"Our focus is on the upcoming trial and we need to focus on that with all our minds," National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Medupe Simasiku said. "The investigation is going well and we believe that soon it will be completed."

The athlete's lawyers had earlier argued that he was being treated as a flight risk by his bail restrictions even though a magistrate ruled last month that he was not when he released Pistorius on 1 million rand ($108,000) bail.

Defense lawyer Roux also argued against a ruling that prevented him from speaking to residents near his home, saying he should be allowed to consult with them to prepare his defense.

Prosecutors had opposed the relaxing of Pistorius' bail restrictions and also said the appeal should have gone to the original magistrate's court that set bail for Pistorius, and not Pretoria's high court. Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair imposed the bail conditions on Feb. 22. Pistorius had been held in a police station until then. He hasn't been seen in public since and is believed to have been staying at an uncle's house.

Pistorius was not required to attend his appeal hearing and none of his family members were present at the court in the heart of South Africa's capital city.

At Pistorius' next court appearance in early June, the prosecution would aim to serve indictments, chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court. Nel said there is a possibility that Pistorius' trial will begin by the end of the year.

___

AP Sports Writers Stephen Wilson and Rob Harris in London, and Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Follow Gerald Imray at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pistorius-allowed-leave-safrica-conditions-121032354--oly.html

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Syrian rebels in strategic battle for south

BEIRUT (AP) ? Capitalizing on a recent influx of weapons, Syrian rebels are waging a strategic battle for the southern part of the country and seeking to secure a corridor from the Jordanian border to Damascus in preparation for an eventual assault on the capital.

On Friday, the rebels celebrated their latest victory: They seized full control of Dael, a key town along a main highway, after forces of President Bashar Assad's regime all but withdrew from the area.

"God is great! We are coming, Bashar!" armed fighters cried overnight Thursday after they captured the last of the military checkpoints in the town where Assad's forces had been holed up, according to amateur video posted online.

Dael is one of the bigger towns in the southern Daraa province, where the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, when security forces arrested high school students who scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall.

Activists say it was in Dael that the first statue of Assad's father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, was first toppled shortly after the protests broke out.

The regime responded with a ferocious military crackdown in the area. For a long time, it succeeded in muting the revolt there while government troops turned their attention to defending Syria's northern and eastern regions against rebel advances as the uprising turned into a civil war in which an estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

But in dusty agricultural towns and villages across the province, the rebels have recently gone on the offensive, expanding their presence with a renewed sense of purpose. The rebel fighters include Islamic militants.

The strategic region ? known as the Houran plains, which stretch from the outskirts of the capital south into Jordan ? is seen as a crucial gateway to the ultimate prize of Damascus.

A recent influx of weapons appears to have made the goal seem more within reach than ever.

Although rebels control wide areas in northern Syria that border Turkey, the Jordanian frontier is only about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Damascus, or a third of the distance to Turkey in the north, where fighters control large swaths of territory.

Rebels have established footholds in a number of Damascus suburbs but have only been able to push into limited areas in the southern and northeastern parts of the capital. Fighters say they are trying to carve out a route from Jordan to Damascus.

In recent weeks, they have made significant advances in the southern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra bordering Jordan and Israel, seizing towns and villages near the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights and along the international highway linking Damascus with Jordan.

They also seized several army checkpoints, clearing a 25-kilometer (15-mile) stretch along the Syrian-Jordanian border. Last week, rebels seized a major air defense base near the village of Saida.

It is difficult to know the size of the area controlled by the rebels. Activists say that in many towns and villages in the province, regime forces maintain "symbolic" presence through small bases and checkpoints that are increasingly coming under attack.

Fighting takes place on daily basis in areas like Tafas, Sheikh Maskin and Izraa along the route.

On Friday, regime forces abandoned the last of several checkpoints in Dael after a 24-hour rebel offensive. Dael has a population of 40,000 people, making it one of the bigger towns in the region, which is dotted with small family farms, and is less than 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Jordanian border in Daraa province.

An activist in Tafas, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared government retaliation, said the presence of the regime forces in the province was shrinking daily.

The Ababil Houran and al-Omari brigades are among the prominent groups taking part in the fighting, along with the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, a band of Islamic militants that held 21 Filipino peacekeepers hostage for four days last month, raising concerns about the future of U.N. operations in the Golan Heights.

Amateur video posted online by activists showed rebels in the streets of Dael and the bodies of dead soldiers on the ground. They also showed women celebrating and fighters shouting, "We are coming, Bashar." The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to other Associated Press reporting on the events depicted.

The series of rebel gains coincided with what regional officials and military experts say is a sharp increase in weapons shipments to opposition fighters by Arab governments, in coordination with the U.S., in the hopes of readying a push into Damascus.

Officials and Western military experts have told the AP that Jordan has opened up as a new route for the weapons late last year. Two military analysts who closely follow the traffic said the weapons include more powerful, Croatian-made anti-tank guns and rockets, which the rebels have not had before.

Eliot Higgins in Britain and Nic Jenzen-Jones in Australia said they include M60 recoilless guns, M79 Osa rocket launchers, and RBG-6 grenade launchers, which all are powerful anti-tank weapons.

The weapons appear to have come in play recently. In videos posted on the Internet earlier this month, rebels are seen carrying M79 Osa rocket launchers and more advanced weapons than the ones that the rebels were previously known to have.

A Syrian opposition figure who closely follows the fighting on the ground said recent rebel gains were due to the new flow of weapons from Jordan. He said a new supply route from Jordan to Damascus meant the rebels can now advance from different fronts to the capital. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss such matters on the record.

Syrian activist Maher Jamous, who is from Dael but lives in the United Arab Emirates, said that despite the steady advances and the latest rebel victory in Dael, the regime still maintains a strong presence in the strategic province that leads to the capital.

The regime is known to have posted elite troops in Daraa province, which separates Damascus from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that the Jewish state captured in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

The province was once considered one of the most loyal regime strongholds. Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad, Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi and several others high ranking officials are from Daraa.

"Our tactical plan is (control of) Daraa and strategically Damascus because the regime will only be defeated and brought down in Damascus," said Col. Ahmad Fahd al-Naameh, commander of the Military Council of the Southern Front.

In comments to Al Arabiya, he denied receiving weapons through Jordan and said most of the weapons were captured after overrunning army posts or were bought with money from rich Syrians.

In other fighting, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy clashes took place between regime forces and fighters trying again to storm a strategic military facility, known as the 17th Division base, north of the city of Raqqa that was captured by rebels this month.

The base is considered one of the most important remaining regime strongholds in the northern province that borders Turkey, the Observatory said. It added that warplanes carried out several air raids in the area.

The Observatory said regime forces bombarded the Damascus suburb of Adra, while the government-run Al-Ikhbariya TV said troops in the area killed "many terrorists" ? the term the regime uses for rebel fighters. The site is close to one of the main jails in Syria.

The Aleppo Media Center and the Observatory reported fighting, shelling and attacks by helicopter gunships near the international airport of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and its commercial center.

At least 15 people were killed and many others wounded when a missile struck in the town of Hreitan, in Aleppo province, according to the Local Coordination Committees activist group. The report could not be independently verified.

___

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-strategic-battle-south-200520164.html

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S&P 500 closes at a record high, beating '07 mark

NEW YORK (AP) ? For the second time in less than a month, the stock market marched past another milepost on its long, turbulent journey back from the Great Recession, toppling another record left over from the days before government bailouts and failing investment banks.

The Standard & Poor's 500 closed at a new high Thursday, three weeks after another popular market gauge, the Dow Jones industrial average, obliterated its own closing record. The S&P capped its best quarter in a year, rising 10 percent, and the Dow had its best first quarter in 15 years, climbing 11 percent.

The numbers offer more evidence that investors believe the economy is on the mend, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.

"The low-flying recovery is gaining altitude," Stovall said, citing a truism among investors that rising stock prices come first, then the economy catches up.

Thursday's performance was driven by encouraging economic data. Companies are making record profits quarter after quarter. They're hiring in greater numbers, and the housing market is finally recovering. The economy has expanded for 14 quarters in a row.

The Fed has helped, too. By keeping interest rates near record lows, the central bank has encouraged people to move money out of savings accounts that pay next to nothing and into stocks and other investments.

Investors warned clients not to get overly excited.

"Getting back to where we were is an important step," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. But he cautioned in a note to investors: "Markets are volatile, and if you are a long-term investor you should expect declines."

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 6.34 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,569.19, beating by four points its previous record of 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007. The index is still shy of its all-time trading high of 1,576.09.

The index has now recovered all of its losses from the recession and the financial crisis that followed. Investors who put their dividends back into the market have done even better. A $10,000 investment in the S&P back in October 2007 would be worth $11,270.

On any other day, a market gain of six points would go unheralded but not after the turmoil that began in late 2008 and persisted through a slow, sometimes stalled recovery.

The S&P 500 is a barometer that gauges market performance. And while professional investors might scoff at using it to decide when to buy and sell, the breaking of an old record can be psychologically important.

However, many obstacles still loom.

The U.S. economy is stable, but growth is anemic. Unemployment is 7.7 percent, versus 4.7 percent, the last time the S&P notched a record. The European debt crisis is far from resolved. And some investors are concerned that the market's gains are being fueled by the Federal Reserve's easy money policy and will disappear once the Fed reverses course.

The crisis of the moment is Cyprus, the Mediterranean island country that struggled this week to get an emergency bailout. For many investors, the bailout deal was a reminder of Europe's lingering economic problems. Elsewhere, Italy failed to set up a new government this week, raising fears that the country will be unable to manage its deep debts.

On Thursday, U.S. economic news was mixed.

The U.S. economy grew faster than first estimated in the fourth quarter, the government reported. But the growth, an annual rate of 0.4 percent, was still weak. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped for the second straight week. Longer-term, though, applications for benefits have been declining since November.

In Europe, Cyprus reopened its banks after closing them for nearly two weeks to keep depositors from making panicked withdrawals. Portugal reported that its budget deficit was widening.

"If you're a bull or a bear, you could find enough news out there to convince you of your position," said Jim Lauder, CEO of Global Index Advisors in Marietta, Ga., and co-portfolio manager on Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds.

Brian Singer, partner at William Blair in Chicago, said the market's gains Thursday were more about a lack of any major negative developments than the appearance of any good ones.

"We are looking at a realization that Western civilization is not ending as we know it," Singer said. "Fiscal discussions in the U.S. have settled into an acceptable stalemate. The Italian elections that did not result in a government are on hold. Cyprus hasn't sunk into the Mediterranean."

Thursday marked the end of the first quarter, since markets are closed for Good Friday. Overall, it was a strong quarter.

The Dow climbed for the first 10 trading days of March ? a record not matched in more than 16 years. In the past 10 days, though, it has wavered under the weight of Cyprus.

The Dow rose 11 percent in the first three months of the year, its best quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2011. Last year, it lost ground in two quarters and was up by smaller amounts ? 4 percent and 8 percent ? in the other two. On March 5, it beat its own all-time record of 14,164.53, which was also set on Oct. 9, 2007, and has been climbing ever since.

To be sure, the S&P 500's last record was followed by a painful downfall. By March 2009, long after the subprime mortgage market had been revealed as an unsustainable bubble, the S&P had cratered from its lofty heights. On March 9, 2009, it fell to its Great Recession low of 676.53 ? down 57 percent from its October 2007 pinnacle.

With Thursday's gains, it has climbed 132 percent since reaching the bottom. Including dividends, it is up more than 150 percent.

___

Associated Press Business Writer Matt Craft in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/p-500-closes-record-high-beating-07-mark-201022179--finance.html

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?The Korean Zombie,? Boston and Tito Ortiz: Where did they fall on the Cagewriter Hot or Not list?

It's been a slow week for MMA, but it's likely to pick up as we start an eventful April. In this last week of March, who was hot or who was not?

Hot ? Boston: According to a tweet from UFC president Dana White, the promotion is headed back to Boston, his hometown. Fox's new channel, Fox Sports 1, will get its first UFC event with this card, scheduled for Aug. 17.

Not ? Commissions: First, Nick Diaz's camp said his weigh-in at UFC 158 was mishandled by the commission in Quebec. Then, Andrei Arlovski's camp said there was a timing error at the World Series of Fighting 2 card that caused Arlovski to take extra damage. Commissions' doing things right is necessary for the sport to grow, so mistakes like these are worrisome.

Hot ? Chan Sung Jung, aka "The Korean Zombie:" He stood up to the UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre with a respectful dignity. Jung informed GSP, and much of the MMA world, about the symbolism behind the Rising Sun that the welterweight champion wore on his gi for UFC 158. GSP and Hayabusa, the company behind the gi quickly apologized. Jung handled the situation with quiet courage, and used it as a teachable moment. It was an impressive moment for both TKZ and GSP.

Not ? Tito Ortiz: The retired UFC legend is now working as the manager for Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, and he has a plan. Santos is fighting on next weekend's Invicta card, and he wants her to fight her next few fights in Invicta. Then on New Year's Eve, Ortiz wants Santos, who won't move down to bantamweight, to fight UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in the UFC.

"Cris has shown in Strikeforce, why she's so dominant, why women are afraid of her. She has three fights with Invicta, she will be the world champion and she will walk away a world champion. Like I said, New Year's Eve, let's make a super fight. Forget the title. Champion vs. champion, who cares about the title?"

That's a nice plan if you forget that Rousey has said she doesn't want to move up in weight, or that most of her 2013 is set. She will coach against the winner of Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate in the next edition of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Hot ? Fans: You're getting another Fan Expo. The UFC will host a Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 162 in Las Vegas. Get your tickets here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/korean-zombie-boston-tito-ortiz-where-did-fall-183338427--mma.html

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