Mauritanian president says returning to France for treatment

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said on Thursday he will once again travel to France for medical treatment for a bullet wound he suffered in mid-October.

The Western ally in the fight against al Qaeda in Africa already spent nearly six weeks in France recuperating from the wound to his abdomen, which his government said was caused when a Mauritanian patrol accidentally fired on his car.

He returned to Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, last Saturday, easing fears concerning the state of his health and uncertainty over who was managing the country - which has suffered two coups since 2005.

"I leave tomorrow for appointments in France," Abdel Aziz said in a press conference broadcast on national television. "I need to do further testing and X-rays. I will leave only for a few days," he said.

He has repeatedly said that he has remained in charge of the country throughout the ordeal, and that his injury was not life threatening.

Straddling black and Arab Africa on the continent's west coast, Mauritania, a country of 3.2 million people, is an iron ore, copper and gold producer with a budding off-shore oil and gas sector.

The country has launched at least two airstrikes on Islamist camps in neighboring Mali since 2010, raising fears of a fresh attack on Mauritanian soil.

The northern two-thirds of Mali is now in the hands of al Qaeda-linked rebels since a coup earlier this year, and African and western governments are mulling an international intervention to retake the zone.

On Thursday, rebels from Islamist group Ansar Dine took control of a Malian town near the Mauritanian border after ousting Tuareg rebels from the MNLA separatist group.

(Reporting by Laurent Prieur; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mauritanian-president-says-returning-france-treatment-002053643.html

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*BONUS DEAL* Microsoft Windows 8 Pro - Upgrade Version - $69.99

Microsoft 3UR-00001 Windows 8 Pro Operating System Software
Get a great deal on a great upgrade with the Microsoft 3UR-00001 Windows 8 Pro Operating System Software. Reimagined and reinvented with an all-new touch interface and a new Windows for your devices ? Windows 8 is smooth, intuitive, and designed to do what you want, the way you want. Windows 8 is designed with you in mind. Instantly access your people, apps, and more ? spend less time searching and more time doing. Apps snap open quickly, and flipping between them is smooth and responsive. Put your favorites right on your Start screen so you never have to go far for what matters most. Built for speed, Internet Explorer delivers a faster web experience that lets you browse with ease, and with more security, privacy, and peace of mind. Integrate your favorite online hangouts such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Flickr to make sharing media easier than ever. The Microsoft 3UR-00001 Windows 8 Pro Operating System Software provides everything you get in Windows 8, along with improved features that help connect you to company networks, access your files and media remotely, secure your data with encryption, and more! Enjoy the brilliant, versatile, hands-on computing experience you?ve been waiting for with the Microsoft 3UR-00001 Windows 8 Pro Operating System Software.

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If your PC is running Windows 7, your files, apps, and settings will easily transfer to Windows 8 Pro. If your PC is running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you may need to reinstall your apps. Some features, such as touch, may require a new PC.

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Is Windows Media Center included in the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro?
If you want to install Windows Media Center, you need to purchase the Windows 8 Media Center Pack after you upgrade to Windows 8 Pro through the Add features to Windows 8 wizard.

Will DVD playback work after upgrading?
If you already have third-party playback software, the Windows Upgrade Assistant helps determine if this software is compatible with Windows 8. If your PC is running Windows 7, you will have the option to keep this software during the upgrade to Windows 8. If your PC is running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you will need to reinstall it. Otherwise, you will need to acquire third-party playback software after the upgrade to play DVDs. Alternatively, you can acquire the Windows 8 Media Center Pack or the Windows 8 Pro Pack after the upgrade. Both packs include Windows Media Center, including the ability to play DVDs.

What is the minimum screen resolution for Windows 8?
To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768. You also need this screen resolution to run the apps built in with Windows 8. To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1360 x 768.

Is there a limit to the number of upgrades I can purchase?
The promotional price is limited to a maximum limit of five upgrades per customer.

Why is there a limit of five upgrades per customer?
This is a consumer promotion on individual PCs and for non-commercial purposes. The installation process and media is designed for individuals. Businesses and other organizations can take advantage of other programs that allow upgrades to Windows 8 through Microsoft volume licensing programs.

Will businesses or enterprise be eligible for these promotions?
The promotion is for individual customers like students, home users, and enthusiasts. Organizations can be eligible subject to this maximum limit per organization.

Can all Windows 7 PCs be upgraded to Windows 8?
To upgrade a PC to Windows 8, the PC must meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 8 and pass required compatibility checks.

Will I receive support when I purchase an upgrade either at retail or online?
Yes. The purchase of the upgrade comes with 90 days of no-charge support from Microsoft. The 90-day period begins after you install and activate Windows 8. Note: Telecom or other access fees may apply.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FeaturedMemory-Tigerdirectcom/~3/-OTKrIKZlnk/item-details.asp

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Abbas: UN vote last chance on two-state solution

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly before a key vote on Thursday that it "is being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine."

The Palestinians were certain to win U.N. recognition as a state, but Israel and the United States warned it could delay hopes of achieving an independent Palestinian state through peace talks with Israel.

Abbas said the vote is the last chance to save the two-state solution.

The General Assembly vote was certain to succeed, with most of the 193 member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, recently announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state.

Palestinians say the successful vote will strengthen their hand in future talks with Israel, which has lambasted the recognition bid as an attempt to bypass such negotiations.

Jubilant Palestinians crowded around outdoor screens and television sets at home Thursday to watch the United Nations vote.

At least formally, the vote would put Palestine on equal footing with Israel, meaning future talks would be conducted between two states, rather than between a military occupier and a people under occupation.

The vote grants Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas' hand if peace talks resume.

The U.N. bid also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/abbas-un-vote-last-chance-2-state-solution-210740078.html

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HIV treatment reduces risk of malaria recurrence in children

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? A combination of anti-HIV drugs has been found to also reduce the risk of recurrent malaria by nearly half among HIV-positive children, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

The combination of protease inhibitors lopinavir and ritonavir contributed to an overall reduction of 40 percent in the rate of malaria among a group of HIV-positive infants and children up to 6 years old in Uganda who were also being treated with anti-malarial drugs. This reduction was in comparison to malaria incidence among children receiving a drug treatment of one of a class of drugs called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).

Protease inhibitors interfere with the reproduction of HIV by blocking the protease enzyme of HIV. The protease inhibitor combination used in the study did not appear to inhibit an initial bout of malaria--but reduce the chances of a recurrence of the disease following a successful treatment.

The researchers found that blood levels of anti-malarial drugs were higher in children who had received the protease inhibitors, which may help explain their effectiveness at preventing malaria's return.

"It's possible that these protease inhibitors prevent antimalarial drugs from breaking down or have some other additive effect against the malarial parasite," said Lynne Mofenson, M.D., chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent, and Maternal AIDS Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the NIH institute that funded the study. "Laboratory studies also suggest that protease inhibitors can block the malaria parasite outright. Finding out why this drug combination is effective is an area for further study."

Previous studies have shown that the lopinavir-ritonavir combination also is more effective for treating HIV-positive infants than widely used treatment regimens based on the medication nevirapine.

The NNRTI nevirapine is the first-line treatment for HIV recommended by the World Health Organization for children in developing countries. It is less expensive than the protease inhibitor combination and, unlike the protease inhibitors, does not need refrigeration. Compared to nevirapine, the liquid formulation of the protease inhibitor combination is also unpleasant tasting. However, recent changes in the protease inhibitor formulation may overcome these barriers to expanding its use in resource poor settings, Dr. Mofenson said.

"New formulations have been developed for the drug so that it can be sprinkled on food, tastes better, and doesn't need refrigeration," she said. "This may help where it is needed most."

First author Jane Achan, MMed, of Makerere University and the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration, in Uganda, collaborated with colleagues in Uganda and at the University of California, San Francisco.

Their findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More than 170 HIV-positive infants and children participated in the study. They received either an NNRTI (nevirapine for children under age 3, efavirenz for children over age 3) or the protease inhibitor-based treatment. In addition, the children received insecticide-treated nets to keep mosquitoes away while they slept, vitamins, a clean source of water, and medication to prevent infection with the malaria parasite, which is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Even with these measures, the researchers found that the children's risk of developing malaria in the first six months of their anti HIV treatment was greater than 40 percent. Although the risk was slightly higher in the nevirapine-treated group, the difference was not significant statistically.

However, of the children who developed malaria and were successfully treated for it during the study, 41 percent of those taking an NNRTI developed another case of malaria within 28 days of clearing their system of the parasite the first time. In contrast, only 14 percent of those on the combination lopinavir-ritonavir treatment developed another case of malaria within this time period.

When comparing the two groups over a 63-day period, the researchers found that 54 percent of the NNRTI group had a recurrence of malaria, compared with 28 percent of the group taking the lopinavir-ritonavir treatment.

In addition, tests conducted one week after the start of malaria treatment showed that blood levels of an anti-malaria drug were higher among children receiving the protease inhibitor combination than among their counterparts taking the nevirapine-based treatment.

"The finding that this protease inhibitor combination not only appears more effective at treating HIV than NNRTIs, but also protects against malaria recurrence, merits its consideration for children living in areas where malaria is rampant," Dr. Mofenson said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 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. Jane Achan, Abel Kakuru, Gloria Ikilezi, Theodore Ruel, Tamara D. Clark, Christian Nsanzabana, Edwin Charlebois, Francesca Aweeka, Grant Dorsey, Philip J. Rosenthal, Diane Havlir, Moses R. Kamya. Antiretroviral Agents and Prevention of Malaria in HIV-Infected Ugandan Children. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012; 367 (22): 2110 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1200501

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/igEequfrxrs/121128182951.htm

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Wine Goggle ? Wijnhuis and Valium

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Those more accustomed to City Bowl life may not appreciate the excitement of heading to Cape Town?s Southern Suburbs after dark. To put it mildly, the pace is a bit slower. The vibe more calmed down and the atmosphere a tad less edgy. Here even the car-guards are upright, clean men with bright teeth who wouldn?t think of offering you drugs and try as hard as you like, they absolutely refuse to scratch your car?s paintwork upon being give a substandard tip.

There are a few so-so eateries in the Rondebosch-Claremont-Mowbray area, but I recently decided to see what all the renovating at the Wijnhuis in Newlands had been in aid of. The way they were smashing and plastering and building one would not have been blamed for thinking that some Nkandla contractors were honing their skills on this veritable establishment.

Once inside, however, the changes were as obvious as a throaty cry of ?bingo? at the Rosebank Pensioners Club. Walls, nooks and crannies had been opened up leading to an airier, spacious feel. Everything was new and spic, apart from the quaint wooden wine boxes lying about for a veil of vinous authenticity. A long bar had been installed, as well as a couple of ubiquitous flat-screen TV?s on which are able to follow the Border Collie Trials, Knitting Nightly or the riveting monthly Grand Croquet Show Down.

On the eating and drinking side of this wine-bar/grill/Italian joint, things are, however, a bit confusing. The wine list is about 200 times more detailed than the menu which is disappointingly sparse and lonely-looking.

But then again, the Wijnhuis is king of the pay-as-you-play wine-list meaning that wineries wishing a listing need to cough a monthly fee for the privilege. Listing fee plus mark-up? Who said there ain?t bucks in the wine business.

Besides its sparseness, the food menu is freakishly unbalanced.

The Wijnhuis has, for one, decided to wipe its slate clean of pizza, not one of which remains on the menu. Neither the lavish list of pasta concoctions that had always been so pleasing. Instead, seven carpaccios take-up the bulk of the carte. Kudu with mustard mayonnaise. Beef with Venetian dressing capers. Even beetroot carpaccio. As they say in the twitter classics, WTF?

When salad and carpaccio dominate the menu, it either means the Tim Noakes Diet has more influence in these suburbs than we are aware of, or the restaurant is taking electricity conservation to new heights.

And of course, carpaccio is a margin-savvy restaurateur?s wet dream. For example, said Beef with Venetian is yours for R85 while the total meat content can be fitted into a table-spoon. Plus, carpaccio does not require the dubious cooking talents or salary perks of a township griller or Silwood Kitchen drop-out.

On the real food side of things there are a handful of uninspired pasta dishes, some chicken, seafood and a couple of steaks. Cheaper Paninis and a Wijnhuis Burger were also on offer, and checking out the wine mark-ups I could see why.

After a Peroni draft for me and a glass of MCC for the other side of the table, an order was forwarded to a reticent waitron. A Wijnhuis salad to start, with my guest opting for grilled kingklip while I went for broke by ordering away from the menu, namely veal limone which was advertised as a special.

I would have loved to report on the Wijnhuis salad ? promises of lettuce, carrot, cucumber, egg, olives ? but aforementioned waitron forgot to put the order through. This forgetfulness is characteristic of the Wijnhuis Stellenbosch where the waiting staff are made up of hung-over students with attention deficit disorder and must have been imported to Newlands as a party trick.

The main courses managed to make it to the table intact, however, with extra portions of veggies on the side.

The veal was like the tip I was planning for the waitron ? small, but beautifully presented. A couple of slices of youngish beef tenderised to hell and gone, but with a perky sauce on top. Good fries, though. My dining partner, a self-confessed culinary ignoramus, was not offended by the fish which appeared flaky white and good.

Vegetables were, surprinsingly, the star of the show. Delicious fresh spinach cooked to just before the stage of self-implosion, tasty blanched broccoli and melt-in-your mouth cubes of sweet potato.

The uninvitingly empty menu does not do much to whet the appetite for dessert, so after a couple of coffees, that was that. Got to be careful driving around the Burbs with all that caffeine in the system.

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Source: http://www.winegoggle.co.za/index.php/2012/11/28/wijnhuis-and-valium/

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Bizarre Insectlike Creatures Discovered in Spanish Cave

Three bizarre-looking springtails, tiny insectlike creatures, have been discovered in a Spanish cave.

Springtails are amongst the most ancient and widespread animals on the planet. Like insects, they have six legs, but are small, more primitive and lack wings. They usually have a furca, or a tail used to spring away from danger, hence the name "springtails." Many cannot be seen with the naked eye; the largest species is about 0.24 inches long (6 millimeters).

The three species ? dubbed Pygmarrhopalites maestrazgoensis, P. cantavetulae and Oncopodura fadriquei ? are very different from one another. But each of the new species has the requisite springy tails and hairy, tiny bodies, resembling Lilliputian monsters. One of them, O. fadriquei, lacks eyes.

They were found by researchers from Spain's University of Navarra in the isolated Maestrazgo caves in the Teruel region of Spain, at elevations up to 6,560 feet (2,000 meters). Outside the isolated caves, winter temperatures drop to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). Inside, however, temperatures stay between 41 and 54 F (5 to 11 C).

The scientists plan to study how these creatures adapt to the cold, wet and lightless conditions in the cave, according to a release from the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology.

"Like other cave-adapted animals, the [springtails] require greater chemical sensitivity as they cannot use their sight in the absence of light," said University of Navarra researcher Enrique Baquero in the statement.

"Studying fauna in the caves allows us to expand on our knowledge of biodiversity," Baquero said. "In the case of the three new species that we have found in Teruel, they are organisms that have survived totally isolated for thousands of years. Having 'relatives' on the surface means they act like relics from the past that have survived the climate change [that has] taken place on the outside of the caves."

The new species are described in a study published in October in the journal Zootaxa.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bizarre-insectlike-creatures-discovered-spanish-cave-182518736.html

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Why Abe Lincoln was lucky

By Jeff Greenfield
????
It?s no wonder audiences are flocking to ?Lincoln,? the new film about the 16th president. It?s a clear-eyed, dramatic, and ultimately inspiring tale that portrays Lincoln not as a saint, but as a hard-nosed, determined political leader who uses all the tools of politics, high and low, to push a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery through a reluctant House of Representatives. From uplifting rhetoric to political threats to temporizing on the issue of equality to patronage to bribery, Lincoln and his allies deploy every weapon at their command to win the battle.

But as the words of Lincoln?s second inaugural still echoed in the theater, I found myself thinking that in one sense, Lincoln was lucky. All he had to contend with was ingrained racism, a war-weary nation and daunting political arithmetic. What he didn?t have to deal with was?modern media.

He didn?t have to wage this fight in a time when every backroom deal, every casual remark, every public assertion or private behavior of an ally was the focus of constant, intense scrutiny--when the often messy sausage-making at the heart of political progress was on 24-hour display.

Suppose the tools of modern political communication were around back in Lincoln?s day. What would he have been up against? Well, consider:

?Tonight! New scandals as a desperate President Lincoln finds himself accused of moral degeneracy as his attempt to rewrite the Constitution is on life support?AND new details about the public and private hypocrisy of his radical allies. THIS?.is the Vallandigham Report!

?We begin tonight with a shocking revelation of President Lincoln?s true moral character. In a just-obtained video shot during what he thought was a private conversation among cronies, the president was captured telling a joke involving a portrait of our beloved Founding Father George Washington hanging in the bathroom of a British aristocrat. We can?t broadcast the full audio, but in this coarse attempt at humor, the president of the United States employs a common barnyard obscenity?and then laughs at his own crudity! Bernie, as our media analyst what?s your reaction??

?Clement, like every decent American, I?m appalled. I?m outraged. For our Head of State to resort to such language?well, it?s just unthinkable that such language could emerge from a president.?

?Thank you, Bernard. This latest stain on the president?s moral standing comes as we learn that the president has employed what can only be called blatantly dishonest language to conceal the fact that he is willing to prolong this Civil War in pursuit of his political goals. As we?ve been reporting, Francis Preston Blair, founder of Lincoln?s own Republican Party, has reached out to Confederate officials in search of a negotiated peace. When he was asked if such a group was in Washington?which would doom the 13th Amendment?s passage, the president said there is no such group in the capital and 'is not likely' to be here. What he didn?t say is that?s because he?s forbidden them to come here, according to our sources. Mary, your reaction??

?That?s what we?ve come to call ?typically Lincolnian language?, Clement. Just what you?d expect from a political narcissistic sociopath.?

?Fair and balanced as always, Mary. And Lincoln?s own dishonesty applies to his closest cronies. We?ve also learned that Secretary of State William Seward has employed the services of disreputable but highly efficient fixers to win the votes of lame-duck Democrats by offering patronage jobs and in at least one depicted case, handfuls of cash. Congressman Fernando Wood?your reaction??

?Apparently the only way the president and his Radical Republican buddies can win is with ?Postmaster Payoffs? and other cheap tricks. To think his media team calls him ?Honest Abe.? ?

?And speaking of his allies, the president?s been telling some of those Radicals, like Pennsylvania?s Thaddeus Stevens, to soft-pedal their outrageous beliefs about full voting rights for blacks. Well, later tonight, we?re going to air a special hour broadcast featuring years of speeches where Stevens actually argues that blacks and whites?are equal!? And as if that?s not enough,--Ann, tell us the shocking news you?ve learned about Stevens? private life.?

?Well, Clement, it turns out that for years, Congressman Stevens has been living in sin with his so-called ?housekeeper? who happens to be?a mulatto! His neighbors actually call her, ?Mrs. Stevens!'"

??In other words, Ann, the real goal of these radicals may in fact be ?"

? "? Exactly: not one nation, but miscegenation."

?Truly shocking, Ann. When we come back, a look behind the real purpose of The Homestead Act. It gives 160 acres of land to anyone who wants it! Was it a scheme to buy votes with gifts to slackers? We report?you decide.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-abe-lincoln-was-lucky-27424562-165922294.html

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Robbie Williams aims to seal solo legacy with tour

LONDON (Reuters) - Still famous as the in-again/out-again member of chart-topping boyband Take That, British singer Robbie Williams says it is time to get serious as a solo artist and prove his place at the top of the pop pile.

Williams told reporters on Monday he planned a 15-date European stadium tour kicking off in Manchester on June 19, 2013 and concluding in Tallinn, Estonia on August 20.

"I'm buzzing. I'm ready to go. I haven't done a tour of this size since 2006," he said in London.

"I think it's legacy time, because I'm venturing into getting my handicap down at golf and all that business.

"I'm nearly 40, that's what I'm trying to say. I want to go and seal my place in pop history and go off and deliver a tour of great magnitude while I still can."

The 38-year-old in fact enjoyed major success after leaving Take That in 1995, producing a string of hit albums and singles including "Angels" and "Millennium" and signing a contract with EMI in 2002 reportedly worth tens of millions.

But by the time his 2006 album "Rudebox" came out followed by "Reality Killed the Video Star" in 2009, he was seen as a dwindling force in British pop who had failed to break the key U.S. market.

Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 and they recorded the hit album "Progress" before touring together in 2011, and the singer said the experience had helped give him confidence to tour large venues again as a solo artist.

"I just ran out of ideas and ran out of a bit of creativity and ran out of energy and did the textbook 'burnt out'," he said of the late 2000s.

"But I've been working really hard and I needed to do something else, and fortunately it came in the shape of my old band. A lot of demons were vanquished from the past. A lot of wrongs were put to rights.

"That tour last summer was just absolutely incredible. It kick-started my professional career."

Earlier this month, Williams returned to the top of the album charts with "Take the Crown".

Asked whether he would consider rejoining Take That again, he replied: "I haven't officially left ... What I do know is that ... if we all remain healthy then I will definitely be a part of Take That at some point. It's joyful being around them."

Williams conceded it may be too early to talk about his legacy at 38, but added he wanted to "put my stamp down.

"The fact that 40 is looming plays on my mind more than it does on anybody else's mind. Pop stars cease to be pop stars at 40 and start being old people singing, don't they?

"There is a forum for a male solo star to get up there in stadiums and own the place and I want that to be me, so I've kind of been lethargic for the last couple of albums."

Williams recently became a father, and said his daughter would accompany him on tour. Olly Murs, who rose to fame on "The X Factor" reality TV show, will support Williams on his tour.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/robbie-williams-aims-seal-solo-legacy-tour-174749370.html

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Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans.

The deal, clinched at the third attempt after weeks of wrangling, removes the biggest risk of a sovereign default in the euro zone for now, ensuring the near-bankrupt country will stay afloat at least until after a 2013 German general election.

"Tomorrow, a new day starts for all Greeks," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told reporters at 3 a.m. in Athens after staying up to follow the tense Brussels negotiations.

After 12 hours of talks, international lenders agreed on a package of measures to reduce Greek debt by more than 40 billion euros, projected to cut it to 124 percent of gross domestic product by 2020.

In an additional new promise, ministers committed to taking further steps to lower Greece's debt to "significantly below 110 percent" in 2022.

That was a veiled acknowledgement that some write-off of loans may be necessary in 2016, the point when Greece is forecast to reach a primary budget surplus, although Germany and its northern allies continue to reject such a step publicly.

Analyst Alex White of JP Morgan called it "another moment of ?creative ambiguity' to match the June (EU) Summit deal on legacy bank assets; i.e. a statement from which all sides can take a degree of comfort".

The euro strengthened, European shares climbed to near a three-week high and safe haven German bonds fell on Tuesday, after the agreement to reduce Greek debt and release loans to keep the economy afloat.

"The political will to reward the Greek austerity and reform measures has already been there for a while. Now, this political will has finally been supplemented by financial support," economist Carsten Brzeski of ING said.

PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL

To reduce the debt pile, ministers agreed to cut the interest rate on official loans, extend the maturity of Greece's loans from the EFSF bailout fund by 15 years to 30 years, and grant a 10-year interest repayment deferral on those loans.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Athens had to come close to achieving a primary surplus, where state income covers its expenditure, excluding the huge debt repayments.

"When Greece has achieved, or is about to achieve, a primary surplus and fulfilled all of its conditions, we will, if need be, consider further measures for the reduction of the total debt," Schaeuble said.

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said ministers would formally approve the release of a major aid installment needed to recapitalize Greece's teetering banks and enable the government to pay wages, pensions and suppliers on December 13 - after those national parliaments that need to approve the package do so.

The German and Dutch lower houses of parliament and the Grand Committee of the Finnish parliament have to endorse the deal. Losing no time, Schaeuble said he had asked German lawmakers to vote on the package this week.

Greece will receive 43.7 billion euros in four installments once it fulfils all conditions. The 34.4 billion euro December payment will comprise 23.8 billion for banks and 10.6 billion in budget assistance.

The IMF's share, less than a third of the total, will be paid out only once a buy-back of Greek debt has occurred in the coming weeks, but IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the Fund had no intention of pulling out of the program.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann welcomed the deal but said Greece still had a long way to go to get its finances and economy into shape. Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger told reporters the important thing had been keeping the IMF on board.

"It had threatened to go in a direction that the IMF would exit Greek financing. This was averted and this is decisive for us Europeans," he said.

The debt buy-back was the part of the package on which the least detail was disclosed, to try to avoid giving hedge funds an opportunity to push up prices. Officials have previously talked of a 10 billion euro program to buy debt back from private investors at about 35 cents in the euro.

The ministers promised to hand back 11 billion euros in profits accruing to their national central banks from European Central Bank purchases of discounted Greek government bonds in the secondary market.

BETTER FUTURE

The deal substantially reduces the risk of a Greek exit from the single currency area, unless political turmoil were to bring down Samaras's pro-bailout coalition and pass power to radical leftists or rightists.

The biggest opposition party, the hard left SYRIZA, which now leads Samaras's center-right New Democracy in opinion polls, dismissed the deal and said it fell short of what was needed to make Greece's debt affordable.

Greece, where the euro zone's debt crisis erupted in late 2009, is proportionately the currency area's most heavily indebted country, despite a big cut this year in the value of privately-held debt. Its economy has shrunk by nearly 25 percent in five years.

Negotiations had been stalled over how Greece's debt, forecast to peak at 190-200 percent of GDP in the coming two years, could be cut to a more bearable 120 percent by 2020.

The agreed figure fell slightly short of that goal, and the IMF insisted that euro zone ministers should make a firm commitment to further steps to reduce the debt if Athens faithfully implements its budget and reform program.

The main question remains whether Greek debt can become affordable without euro zone governments having to write off some of the loans they have made to Athens.

Germany and its northern European allies have hitherto rejected any idea of forgiving official loans to Athens, but European Union officials believe that line may soften after next September's German general election.

Schaeuble told reporters that it was legally impossible for Germany and other countries to forgive debt while simultaneously giving new loan guarantees. That did not explicitly preclude debt relief at a later stage, once Greece completes its adjustment program and no longer needs new loans.

But senior conservative German lawmaker Gerda Hasselfeldt said there was no legal possibility for a debt "haircut" for Greece in the future either.

At Germany's insistence, earmarked revenue and aid payments will go into a strengthened "segregated account" to ensure that Greece services its debts.

A source familiar with IMF thinking said a loan write-off once Greece has fulfilled its program would be the simplest way to make its debt viable, but other methods such as forgoing interest payments, or lending at below market rates and extending maturities could all help.

German central bank governor Jens Weidmann has suggested that Greece could "earn" a reduction in debt it owes to euro zone governments in a few years if it diligently implements all the agreed reforms. The European Commission backs that view.

The ministers agreed to reduce interest on already extended bilateral loans in stages from the current 150 basis points above financing costs to 50 bps.

(Additional reporting by Annika Breidhardt, Robin Emmott and John O'Donnell in Brussels, Andreas Rinke and Noah Barkin in Berlin, Michael Shields in Vienna; Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/greece-markets-satisfied-eu-imf-greek-debt-deal-061514983.html

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Former baseball union head Miller dead at 95

NEW YORK (AP) ? Marvin Miller was a labor economist who never played a day of organized baseball. He preferred tennis. Yet he transformed the national pastime as surely as Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, television and night games.

Miller, the union boss who won free agency for baseball players in 1975, ushering in an era of multimillion-dollar contracts and athletes who switch teams at the drop of a batting helmet, died Tuesday at 95. He had been diagnosed with liver cancer in August.

"I think he's the most important baseball figure of the last 50 years," former baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said. "He changed not just the sport but the business of the sport permanently, and he truly emancipated the baseball player ? and in the process all professional athletes. Prior to his time, they had few rights. At the moment, they control the games."

In his 16 1/2 years as executive director of the Major League Players Association, starting in 1966, Miller fought owners on many fronts, not only achieving free agency but making the word "strike" stand for something other than a pitched ball.

Over the years, his influence was widely acknowledged if not always honored. Baseball fans argue over whether he made the game fairer or more nakedly mercenary, and the Hall of Fame repeatedly rejected him in what was attributed to lingering resentment among team owners.

Players attending the union's annual executive board meeting in New York said their professional lives are Miller's legacy.

"Anyone who's ever played modern professional sports owes a debt of gratitude to Marvin Miller," Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chris Capuano said. "He empowered us as players. He gave us ownership of the game we play. Anyone who steps on a field in any sport, they have a voice because of him."

Major League Baseball's revenue has grown from $50 million in 1967 to $7.5 billion this year. At his last public speaking engagement, a discussion at New York University School of Law in April marking the 40th anniversary of the first baseball strike, Miller said free agency and resulting fan interest contributed to the increase. And both management and labor benefited, he said.

"I never before saw such a win-win situation in my life, where everybody involved in Major League Baseball, both sides of the equation, still continue to set records in terms of revenue and profits and salaries and benefits," Miller said. He called it "an amazing story."

Miller, who retired in 1982, led the first walkout in the game's history 10 years earlier, a fight over pension benefits. On April 5, 1972, signs posted at major league parks simply said: "No Game Today." The strike, which lasted 13 days, was followed by a walkout during spring training in 1976 and a midseason job action that darkened the stadiums for seven weeks in 1981.

Miller led players through three strikes and two lockouts. Baseball has had eight work stoppages in all.

Slightly built and silver-haired with a thick, dark mustache, Miller operated with an eloquence and a soft-spoken manner that belied his toughness. He clashed repeatedly with Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

Before Miller took over the union, some players actually opposed his appointment as successor to Milwaukee Judge Robert Cannon, who had counseled them on a part-time but unpaid basis.

"Some of the player representatives were leery about picking a union man," Hall of Fame pitcher and former U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning said in 1974. "But he was very articulate ... not the cigar-chewing type some of the guys expected."

Miller recalled that owners "passed the word that if I were selected, goon squads would take over the game. They suggested racketeers and gangsters would swallow baseball. The players expected a 'dese, dem and dose' guy. The best thing I had going for me was owner propaganda."

He was elected by the players by a vote of 489-136. Baseball had entered a new era, one in which its owners would have to bargain with a union professional.

When he took over, the union consisted of a $5,400 kitty and a battered file cabinet, and baseball's minimum salary was $6,000. By 1968, Miller had negotiated baseball's first collective bargaining agreement. By 1970, players obtained the right to take disputes to an arbitrator.

Nowadays, baseball's biggest stars make up to $32 million a season, the average salary is more than $3 million and the major league minimum is $480,000. While the NFL, NBA and NHL have salary caps, baseball does not.

Miller's biggest legacy ? free agency ? represented one of the most significant off-the-field changes in the game's history. The reserve clause that had been in place since 1878 bound a player to the team holding his contract. Miller viewed it as little more than 20th-century slavery.

"Before Marvin, there were no such things as the negotiations. It was take it or leave it," Hall of Famer Joe Morgan said. "What was your recourse, to quit?"

Acting with union backing, outfielder Curt Flood finally challenged the reserve clause when he refused to report to his new team when he was traded in 1969 from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies. Three years later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the reserve clause by a 5-3 vote, keeping intact baseball's antitrust exemption.

In 1975, however, the union found a new test case, when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally refused to re-sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Montreal Expos, respectively. Arbitrator Peter Seitz sided with the players.

The owners went to court, saying the reserve system was not subject to arbitration. Two months later, U.S. District Judge John Watkins Oliver upheld Seitz, and a federal appeals court did the same.

In 1976, management and labor agreed to a contract that allowed players with six years of major league service to become free agents and sell their services to any team willing to pay. In a 1982 letter to The New York Times, Seitz called Miller "the Moses who had led Baseball's Children of Israel out of the land of bondage."

"Marvin possessed a combination of integrity, intelligence, eloquence, courage and grace that is simply unmatched in my experience," said Donald Fehr, a successor to Miller as union head. "Without question, Marvin had more positive influence on Major League Baseball than any other person in the last half of the 20th century."

Yet baseball's Hall of Fame refused to vote him in, despite five appearances on the ballot.

"I and the union of players have received far more support, publicity and appreciation from countless fans, former players, writers, scholars, experts in labor management relations, than if the Hall had not embarked on its futile and fraudulent attempt to rewrite history," Miller said after falling one vote shy in 2010. "It is an amusing anomaly that the Hall of Fame has made me famous by keeping me out."

Miller's next opportunity for election is December 2013.

Former Commissioner Peter Ueberroth said Miller should be inducted "without question."

"He changed the game of baseball," Ueberroth said. "He was very tough, but he was very fair in the end."

Miller was born in New York, the son of a salesman in the heavily unionized garment district. He was born with a withered right arm, which didn't prevent him from playing tennis into his 90s. His mother was a schoolteacher. He studied economics at Miami University in Ohio and New York University.

He entered the labor field in 1950 as an associate director of research for the United Steelworkers Union. In 1960, he was promoted to assistant to union president David McDonald. When McDonald lost a hotly contested election, Miller began looking for a new job.

Miller remained current on baseball events right up until his death, never hesitating to criticize owners for collusion and the union for agreeing to drug testing.

While baseball has had labor peace since 1995, turmoil has engulfed the other major U.S. pro leagues in recent years.

"Marvin exemplified guts, tenacity and an undying love for the players he represented," said DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL players union. "He was a mentor to me, and we spoke often and at length. His most powerful message was that players would remain unified during labor strife if they remembered the sacrifices made by previous generations."

Miller is survived by his daughter, Susan; son, Peter; and a grandson. His wife, Terry, died in 2009. Susan Miller said her father wanted his body donated to science. She said the family had not decided whether to hold a service.

___

AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-baseball-union-head-miller-dead-95-153136375--mlb.html

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Use online surveys to listen to your customer - Ayo's Website Design

Success through customer feedback

Successful businesses must be successful at listening to what their customers are saying. Understanding what the other party thinks about a business practice, product, or service is worth it?s weight in gold. The ?other party? may be a customer or an employee. Both have valuable information, which if captured correctly, can lead to improved sales figures and better service. The bottom line is that we need feedback in our business to succeed and grow. Lets focus on listening to our customers and making course corrections if necessary using the right tools.

Real world feedback story

More than a decade ago, on a business trip in a moment of weakness, I bought a certain breaded fish sandwich from a certain fast food restaurant with a certain clown for a mascot. Perhaps I was remembering my days outside of the United States where this product was highly superior to it?s American counterpart. Nevertheless on this day this particular product was, lets just say, substandard by anyone?s measure. One bite in I was so moved by this culinary experience that I decided that I was not only done with my meal, I was going to complain. I rarely make a fuss about these issues but this day was different. Because I had used the drive through window to order my product and did not feel like turning back and retracing my steps going back to the restaurant to speak with a company representative I went online.

Things aren?t always like they appear

The website was very welcoming and allowed for a detailed account of the experience including a method for locating the store and a description box for commenting about the occasion. The comment box was large so I assumed they want the truth and nothing but the lengthy truth so that?s what I detailed. This was perfect I could reach out and express my frustration with such convenience. I spent a few precious moments detailing the account of my experience to the online form. After completing my survey and submitting it?s contents I immediately received an auto-generated response in my inbox thanking me for reaching out but apologizing that they could not help. I realized that no human eyes would ever see my masterpiece. The parent company has no connection to the franchises and apparently no one assigned to read the comments left on their site. The response told me If I had a concern I needed to speak to the store directly. The problem was that I would not be returning to that store because I was traveling and would probably never return to the restaurant. Hope was lost and dinner was ruined.

Learning from others mistakes

In the years following I have never ordered the same sandwich and more importantly never forgotten my unheard cries for recognition. As a small business owner that experience has taught me several valuable lessons. I must make every effort to reach out and listen to my customers. Most of my customers are never met with face to face so I rely heavily on technology to provide this feedback.

Gathering feedback through online surveys

Much of my feedback comes in the form of online surveys. I can gather valuable data directly from customers concerning my products and services and learn from my business mistakes with software tools. The tools for gathering information from customers has come leaps and bounds in the past few years and without a programming background I can use templates to make custom surveys that look great and fit my business identity. A form on my site as well as forms within emails sent to customers has helped me improve in more ways than one. Getting online forms has never been easier to do and no business big or small should have an excuses as to why the customer?s voice cannot be heard this way. Remember that all the tools in the world will profit a business nothing unless they take that time to listen, really listen to the customer. Sometimes simply listening is enough to make it right.

Jared Jaureguy is a Technology Consultant who has helped many businesses implement the best use of technology to help grow their business. You can follow Jared on Twitter @JaredJaureguy.

Source: http://www.ayoswebdesign.com/2012/11/use-online-surveys-to-listen-to-your-customer.html

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U.K. Government Mulls Targeted Tax Break for Big Givers ...

November 26, 2012, 10:08 am

A report to Britain?s cabinet on ways to increase giving for the arts and cultural preservation calls for rewarding the country?s most generous donors with a lower income tax rate, according to the U.K. daily The Telegraph. The government commissioned the study following the outcry earlier this year from charities and philanthropists over a since-scrapped proposal to cap tax relief for charitable giving.

The study urges a cut in the top rate for those who make a ?minimum period financial commitment to a charity? and also recommends steps to encourage philanthropic bequests whereby wealthy donors can minimize inheritance taxes. ?There is enormous potential for the arts to benefit from philanthropy over the next few years, and we need to look at new ways of unlocking it,? said Culture Secretary Maria Miller, who is considering the proposal.

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Source: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/u-k-government-mulls-targeted-tax-break-for-big-givers/58398

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Vampires take care of Bond, others at box office

By Reuters

Teen vampire film "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn?-- Part 2" took another bite of the domestic box office, drawing $64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of the James Bond film "Skyfall."

Summit Entertainment

After opening with a massive $141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the "Twilight" franchise brought in a holiday swarm of fans to see teen favorites Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, pushing "Breaking Dawn" to $227 million in domestic ticket sales.

"Skyfall," starring Daniel Craig in the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, finished second, collecting $51 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates compiled by the box office division of Hollywood.com.

"Lincoln," Steven Spielberg's historical film on the last days of President Abraham Lincoln, grabbed third with $34.1 million over the Wednesday-through-Sunday period.

Making its debut in fourth place with $32.6 million was the animated film "Rise of the Guardians," featuring the voices of Chris Pine and Alec Baldwin as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and other childhood favorites save the world.

"Life of Pi," based on Yann Martel's 2001 best-seller about a boy who survives on a raft with a tiger after a ship sinks, collected $30.15 million for a strong fifth-place finish.

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Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/25/15431356-breaking-dawn-vampires-too-much-for-bond-others-at-box-office?lite

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GOP opposition to diplomat Rice begins to crack

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican opposition to the possible nomination of Susan Rice to be secretary of state is showing signs of cracking.

Arizona Sen. John McCain now says he'd be willing to meet with Rice, the current U.N. ambassador, and consider her much-scrutinized explanation about how the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, unfolded.

McCain has said GOP senators would do "whatever is necessary" to block Rice if President Barack Obama were to nominate her to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton at the State Department.

On Sunday, McCain was asked on "Fox News Sunday" if Rice could change his mind. McCain said "sure" and that he'd like to meet with her.

McCain and other Republicans have accused the White House of distorting the deadly Benghazi attack for political gain.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-opposition-diplomat-rice-begins-crack-155718014--politics.html

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95% Argo

All Critics (239) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (228) | Rotten (11)

'Argo' is one of the best movies of the year.

Argo has that solid, kick-the-tires feel of those studio films from the 70s that were about something but also entertained. Only it's as laugh outright amusing as it is sobering.

The movieland satire is laid on thick, but it's also deadly accurate. Schlock has never seemed so patriotic, and Arkin and Goodman have rarely been so good.

Argo is a rollicking yarn, easily the most cohesive and technically accomplished of Affleck's three films so far, but a part of me wishes the director hadn't cast himself in the lead role.

If nothing else, it proves that every so often, the CIA can pull something off - and that yes, Canadians are just about the nicest people on the planet.

The film is a whopper of a tale, one designed for Oscar nominations, Best Picture and Best Director among them.

A brilliant thriller that's based on a historical incident, 'Argo' is one of the best films of 2012.

A wonderfully lively and engrossing movie ...

An enthralling and deliciously entertaining movie -- and a deserved triumph for its star and director.

The details make for a rip-roaring story, which Affleck invests with old-school directorial ?lan.

Ben Affleck leaps on to the A-list of directors with this relentlessly entertaining thriller, combining comedy and nerve-jangling suspense to maximum effect.

If you're a nailbiter, bring gloves, because the suspense will see you reach your knuckles.

Surprisingly enjoyable, given that you may have little prior commitment to this story and only mildly fancy Affleck.

Affleck skilfully turns the screw of suspense, gaining added traction from an extremely convincing recreation of the setting and period.

Ben Affleck's movie tells an amazing but true story set against the context of the Iranian hostage crisis.

Talent borrows and genius steals, but Affleck does something in between: he mimics.

It's impossible to be bored by a story this good, especially with that cast.

Part of what makes this headspinning story believable is the fact that it pans out in an oddly uncomplicated way.

The shaggy and bearded Ben Affleck, barely recognisable from his former self, gives a great lead performance. Understated, intense and steely-eyed, Affleck has the screen presence of legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood.

Affleck the director is utterly sure-footed with an instinctive feel for characterization, tension and pacing as he builds the action towards a nail-biting climax.

A dum-tight thriller demonstrating that Affleck is one of the most accomplished directors working in Hollywood today.

[A] gripping, beautifully performed and often very funny but dramatic thriller.

[Affleck] once again proves, as he did in The Town, that he's a pretty good actor but a great director.

Nailing the tension, the terror and the gallows humour of its story without resorting to jingoism or losing sight of its political context, Argo is a close-to-flawless thriller with a devilishly smart mouth.

Better to watch it as a meta cinema commentary than a historical thriller. Either way, Argo is both smart and fun but ultimately lightweight. Star Wars fans may well cry before the credits roll.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/argo_2012/

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Kipling Seoul Laptop Large Backpack Black ? Travel & Leisure ...

The Seoul Large Backpack from Kipling has laptop protection and padded shoulder straps making it great for travel or school. Main zipped compartment contains laptop pocket with Velcro closure, and a padded back and bottom panel. Zip-front pocket contains 2 pen sleeves, cell phone pocket, iPod/PDA pocket and large internal zippered pocket. Additional large zippered front pocket for more storage. Padded straps that are adjustable to a maximum length of 32 inches and top grip handle. Zippered pockets at the top and left hand side of bag are perfect for quick access to small items.

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Source: http://boyajianmarc.com/travel/2012/11/17/kipling-seoul-laptop-large-backpack-black/

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German research points way to faster flu vaccines

LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental vaccine based on a molecule related to DNA protects animals against influenza and may one day offer an ultra-rapid way to develop new shots for humans, German scientists reported on Sunday.

Assuming it also works in people, the new approach could allow commercial flu vaccines to be designed and manufactured in weeks rather than months.

Making vaccines quickly is critical in fighting flu, particularly during a pandemic when health authorities and drugmakers are in a race to keep up with mutating strains of virus.

Flu vaccines have traditionally been produced in chicken eggs, a tricky and lengthy process. More recently some firms have started using animal cell cultures, with Novartis on November 20 winning the first U.S. approval for such a product.

Both approaches, however, still involve virus cultivation, which can result in variable yields and production delays.

The new vaccine developed by Lothar Stitz of Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut and colleagues uses a quicker approach. It is made solely of messenger RNA (mRNA) - a single-stranded molecule that carries information telling cells which proteins to make.

"The only thing we need is the sequence of the relevant genes," Stitz said. "It's a new option and it doesn't take long to do."

His team vaccinated mice, ferrets and pigs with an mRNA vaccine and found that the immune response was similar or better than that found with conventional vaccines. What is more, the new vaccines showed high efficacy in very young and very old animals, which can be a problem with current flu shots.

Reporting their results in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the scientists calculated that a completed vaccine could be produced within six to eight weeks of the genetic code of a flu virus strain being published.

In contrast growing vaccines in fertilised chicken eggs can take up to six months, while using cell cultures may reduce that by up to eight to 10 weeks.

Another potential advantage of mRNA vaccines is the fact that they do not need to be refrigerated.

A human vaccine based on the research is still years away, since extensive clinical trials will be needed to test safety and efficacy, and the job of taking the work forward now rests with CureVac, a privately owned biotech company.

CureVac, backed by billionaire German investor and business software firm SAP's co-founder Dietmar Hopp, is already developing a therapeutic mRNA vaccine for prostate cancer in human trials.

The firm also has a vaccine for lung cancer in development and is working on prophylactic vaccines against several unnamed infectious diseases in a collaboration with Sanofi.

Sanofi is a major supplier of flu vaccines, along with Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline.

(Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-research-points-way-faster-flu-vaccines-180319382--finance.html

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Pope elevates 6 cardinals to choose successor

Pope Benedict XVI makes his way through cardinals as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI makes his way through cardinals as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI makes his way through cardinals as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI prays as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI prays as he arrives inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to preside over a consistory, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Benedict XVI presides over a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals. The new cardinals are: Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household; Abuja, Nigeria Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; Manila, Philippines Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI responded to criticism that the club of churchmen who will choose his successor is too Eurocentric, elevating six new cardinals from Colombia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. during a formal ceremony Saturday.

Benedict welcomed the prelates into the College of Cardinals during a short, hour-long ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, telling them that their presence among the other red-robed prelates was a sign of the "unique, universal and all-inclusive identity" of the Catholic Church.

"In this consistory, I want to highlight in particular the fact that the church is the church of all peoples, and so she speaks in the various cultures of the different continents," he told the crowd.

The ceremony was both joyful and emotional: Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, seen by many to be a rising star in the church, visibly choked up as he knelt before Benedict to receive his three-pointed red hat, or biretta, and gold ring. He wiped tears from his eyes as he returned to his place.

The archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, meanwhile, seemed to want to sit down and chat with each one of the dozens of cardinals that he greeted in the traditional exchange of peace that follows the formal elevation rite.

Benedict has said that with this "little consistory," he was essentially completing his last cardinal-making ceremony held in February, when he elevated 22 cardinals, the vast majority of them European archbishops and Vatican bureaucrats.

The College of Cardinals remains heavily European even with the new additions: Of the 120 cardinals under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope, more than half ? 62 ? are European.

Critics have complained that the "princes of the church" no longer represents the Catholic Church today, since Catholicism is growing in Asia and Africa but is in crisis in much of Europe.

The issue of numbers is significant since these are the men who will elect the next pope from within their ranks. Will the next pontiff hail from the southern hemisphere, where two-thirds of the world's Catholics live? Or will the papacy return to Italy, which has 28 voting-age cardinals, following a Polish and German pope?

While there's no rule that papal ballots are cast along geographic lines, the new cardinals do give an eventual conclave a slightly more multinational air: Latin America, which boasts half of the world's Catholics, now has 21 voting-age cardinals; North America, 14; Africa, 11; Asia, 11; and Oceana, one.

Among the six new cardinals is Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household. As prefect, Harvey was the direct superior of the pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who is serving an 18 month prison sentence in a Vatican jail for stealing the pope's private papers and leaking them to a reporter in the greatest Vatican security breach in modern times.

The Vatican spokesman has denied Harvey, 63, from Milwaukee, is leaving because of the scandal. But on the day the pope announced Harvey would be made cardinal, he also said he would leave the Vatican to take up duties as the archpriest of one of the Vatican's four Roman basilicas. Such a face-saving promotion-removal is not an uncommon Vatican personnel move.

Harvey's departure has led to much speculation about who would replace him in the delicate job of organizing the pope's daily schedule and arranging audiences.

Aside from Harvey, Tagle, and Onaiyekan, the new cardinals are: Bogota, Colombia Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez; the Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.

Later Saturday after the ceremony, the cardinals received visitors in the frescoed rooms of the Apostolic Palace, which opens its doors to the general public for these special cardinal-making occasions.

Cardinals serve as the pope's closest advisers, but their main task is to elect a new pope. And with Benedict, 85, slowing down, that task is ever more present. For the second time, the consistory ceremony was greatly trimmed back, lasting just over an hour to spare the pope the fatigue of a lengthy ceremony.

He will, however, celebrate Mass on Sunday with his new cardinals.

While Benedict didn't mention the cardinals' primary task in his remarks, he did remind them that the scarlet of their cassock and hat that they wear symbolizes the blood that cardinals must be willing to shed to remain faithful to the church.

"From now on you will be even more closely and intimately linked to the See of Peter," he said.

The six new cardinals are all under age 80. Their nominations bring the number of voting-age cardinals to 120, 67 of whom were named by Benedict, all but ensuring that his successor will be chosen from a group of like-minded prelates.

Saturday's consistory marks the first time in decades that not a single European or Italian has been made a cardinal ? a statistic that has not gone unnoticed in Italy. Italy still has the lions' share of cardinals, though, with 28 voting-age "princes" of the church.

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Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-24-EU-Vatican-New-Cardinals/id-95678c6515d542b1849dee3e35ef944c

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