31 January 2012Last updated at 02:22By Victoria GillScience reporter, BBC Nature
Gorillas bare their teeth in a playful "grin" to reassure one another during play, scientists have discovered.
This "flash of teeth" seems to let their playmate know that they do not intend to harm them.
The researchers, from the University of Portsmouth, study the facial expressions of primates to uncover the evolutionary origins of human smiling and laughter.
They published their findings in the American Journal of Primatology.
Lead researcher Dr Bridget Waller explained that non-human primates have two expressions "that shed light on our smiling".
Their "playface", she explained, appears to be a foundation of human laughter.
Dr Waller told BBC Nature: "[During play, gorillas] open their mouths and cover their teeth as if to say, 'I could bite you but I'm not going to'."
Another expression the primates use, where they reveal both rows of "sparkly white teeth" is believed to show one of the origins of human smiling.
Smiling signal
This is not a playful expression, Dr Waller said. "It's a greeting; a subordinate display."
The different contexts in which gorillas use these facial expressions reveals that smiling and laughing are probably rooted in very different "ancestral displays", as Dr Waller explained.
Continue reading the main story
The gorillas would play for longer when they "grinned"
"People think we smile when we're happy, but that's not true," she told BBC Nature.
"You smile when its appropriate in a situation. You smile at someone in the corridor - you don't laugh at them."
Dr Waller and her colleagues wanted to find out more about the contexts in which these two expressions combined; when gorillas flashed their upper teeth as they played.
Watching the animals revealed that they would do this during particularly "rough" and intense play and they would play for longer when they bore their teeth.
"It's possibly because, when play gets rough, you need an extra signal to show each other that [you're] just playing," Dr Waller said.
The findings, she said, showed the foundation of people's social laughter; when humans laugh along in conversation to put one another at ease.
"I always think of facial signals as about reducing uncertainty," said Dr Waller. "We use [these] non-verbal signals all the time."
Prof Richard Byrne, an expert on primate communication and behaviour from the University of St Andrews said it was interesting to study the facial expressions of non-human primates because most of our our own expressions "seem to be 'primitive', in the main".
"Superficially [their] expressions may look a bit different because the ape or monkey faces are so different to our own," he said.
"But when examined properly, most human expressions have proved to be shared with quite distantly related primate species - and therefore must derive from an ancient shared ancestor."
In a stand beneath the main sports stadium in Kabul, young Afghan women have taken up boxing for the first time in the country's history. Despite the lack of any proper facilities, they're not just competing, but winning medals. Alex Thompson reports for Europe?s Channel Four.
NEW YORK ? Federal regulators on Monday approved a pill that treats the most common type of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma.
The pill is called Erivedge and is made by Genentech, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Roche. Erivedge is intended to treat locally advanced cancer for patients who are not candidates for surgery or radiation, and for patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The capsule is taken once per day.
Genentech said Erivedge is the first drug approved to treat advanced basal cell carcinoma. It said the drug will be available within one to two weeks.
The drug's label will warn that it is linked to fetal death and severe birth defects when it is used by pregnant women. The most common side effects of Erivedge include muscle spasms, hair loss, weight loss, diarrhea, fatigue, changes or loss in sense of taste, decreased appetite, constipation, and vomiting.
Curis Inc. of Lexington, Mass., which collaborated with Genentech on the drug, is getting a $10 million payment from Genentech now that the drug has been approved.
The approval comes ahead of schedule, as the Food and Drug Administration previously said it would make a decision on Erivedge by March 8. The drug was given a fast six-month review because there are no approved treatments for basal cell carcinoma.
BEIJING ? Militants apparently captured 29 Chinese workers after attacking a remote worksite in a volatile region of Sudan, and Sudanese forces were increasing security for Chinese projects and personnel there, China said Sunday.
China has close political and economic relations with Sudan, especially in the energy sector.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said the militants attacked Saturday and Sudanese forces launched a rescue mission Sunday in coordination with the Chinese embassy in Khartoum.
The Ministry's head of consular affairs met with the Sudanese ambassador in Beijing and "urged him to actively conduct rescue missions under the prerequisite of ensuring the safety of the Chinese personnel," the statement said.
In Khartoum, a Chinese embassy spokesman said the northern branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement announced that 29 Chinese workers had been captured in the attack. The spokesman, who asked not be identified, gave no other details and it wasn't clear if the militants had demanded conditions for their return.
Other details weren't given. The official Xinhua News Agency cited the state governor as saying the Sudan People's Liberation Army attacked a road-building site in South Kordofan and seized the workers.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army are a guerrilla force loyal to the southern movement and hail from a minority ethnic group now in control of much of South Sudan, which became the world's newest country only six months ago in a breakaway from Sudan.
Sudan has accused South Sudan of arming pro-South Sudan groups in South Kordofan. The government of South Sudan has called such accusations a smoke screen intended to justify a future invasion of the South.
China has sent large numbers of workers to potentially unstable regions such as Sudan and last year was forced to send ships and planes to help with the emergency evacuation of 30,000 of its citizens from the fighting in Libya.
China has consistently used its clout in diplomatic forums such as the United Nations to defend Sudan and its longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. In recent years, it has also sought to build good relations with leaders from the south, where most of Sudan's oil is located.
Chinese companies have also invested heavily in Sudanese oil production, along with companies India and elsewhere.
___
Associated Press writer Mohamed Saeed contributed to this report from Khartoum.
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ? A company hired to perform a groundwater study in southern West Virginia for the Department of Environmental Protection admits it made an error.
Triad Engineering says one of 33 samples taken from the communities of Seth and Prenter in Boone County exceeded DEP standards for lead in drinking water.
The DEP said Wednesday in a release that the agency and the engineering company accidentally overlooked the result. The DEP says it plans to contact the owner of the well and let him aware of the finding.
DEP officials say the study still shows no evidence of widespread groundwater pollution related to mining.
But a lawyer for 350 residents suing coal companies over water pollution says the study is fundamentally flawed and calls the DEP a shill for the coal industry.
He was appointed with a fair bit of fanfare as the United States' first Chief Technology Officer back in May of 2009, but it looks like Aneesh Chopra has decided that it's now time to make room for the nation's second CTO. The White House confirmed today that Chopra is stepping down from his position, noting that he has amassed a "dizzying array of accomplishments." Among those are his contributions to the Obama administration's national wireless strategy, a set of internet policy making principals, and a number of efforts related to the President's open government strategy, including the Data.gov platform. No word on his successor just yet, nor is there any official word on what Chopra plans to do next -- although The Washington Post reports that he's expected to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia.
Niliah Banks, foreground, works with other students in her fifth grade class at Ross Elementary create hand-made signs Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Creve Coeur, Mo. The signs will be used when St. Louis hosts a "Welcome Home the Heroes from Iraq Day" on Jan. 28 with a noontime parade through downtown to welcome veterans of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Niliah Banks, foreground, works with other students in her fifth grade class at Ross Elementary create hand-made signs Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Creve Coeur, Mo. The signs will be used when St. Louis hosts a "Welcome Home the Heroes from Iraq Day" on Jan. 28 with a noontime parade through downtown to welcome veterans of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Ross Elementary fifth grade students, clockwise from left, Juilanna Bell, Mollie Weinberg, Courtney Turner and Mckenzie Thompson work to create a hand-made sign Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Creve Coeur, Mo. The sign will be used when St. Louis hosts a "Welcome Home the Heroes from Iraq Day" on Jan. 28 with a noontime parade through downtown to welcome veterans of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Since the Iraq War ended there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.
So, two friends from St. Louis decided to change that. They sought donations, launched a Facebook page, met with the mayor and mapped a route. On Saturday, hundreds of veterans are expected to march in downtown St. Louis in the nation's first big welcome home parade since the last troops left Iraq in December.
"It struck me that there was this debate going on as to whether there should or shouldn't be a parade," said Tom Appelbaum, one of the organizers. "Instead of waiting around for somebody somewhere to say, 'Yes, let's have a parade,' we said, 'Let's just do it.'"
Appelbaum, a 46-year-old lawyer, and Craig Schneider, a 41-year-old school technology coordinator, said they were puzzled by the lack of celebrations marking the war's end. But, they wondered, if St. Louis could host thousands of people for a parade after their beloved Cardinals won the World Series, why couldn't there be a party for the troops who put their lives on the line?
The effort got help with donations from two corporations with St. Louis connections ? $10,000 from Anheuser-Busch and $7,500 from the Mayflower moving company. Individual donations have boosted the project's total budget to about $35,000. By comparison, more than $5 million was spent two decades ago on New York's welcome-home parade for Gulf War veterans who helped drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Ticker-tape salutes to returning troops are part of the American culture, including parades in many cities honoring veterans of World War I and World War II.
Since the end of the latest Iraq War, there have only been small events at military posts, gatherings of families at airports and a low-key appearance by President Barack Obama at Fort Bragg, N.C., a base that endured more than 200 deaths from fighting in the war.
"Many communities across the country are finding ways to recognize the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families," said Maj. Chris Perrine, a spokesman for the Defense Department. "We are certainly encouraged by that and grateful for it."
Celebrating the end of the Iraq War isn't as simple as the outpourings after the world wars, said Wayne Fields, professor of English and American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. With 91,000 troops still fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, many Iraq veterans could be redeployed ? suggesting to some that it's premature to celebrate their homecoming.
"We're not celebrating the end of a war the way we were with V-E Day or V-J Day (after World War II)," Fields said. "Part of what this is trying to do is recognize the special service of those who were there even though we can't declare a victory over a clearly identified enemy."
In May 2003, President George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier to hail the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Behind him during that speech was a banner that read, "Mission Accomplished," yet U.S. troops remained in Iraq for 8 ? more years.
Even some of the festivities in St. Louis will serve as a reminder that Bush launched the Iraq War as part of the larger war on terror following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
As part of the weekend, a "Reading of the Fallen" will begin at 9:11 p.m. Friday at Soldiers Memorial downtown. It will continue until the names of the approximate 6,500 Americans killed since the attacks are read.
"Veterans have sacrificed so much for the safety and well-being of St. Louisans," Mayor Francis Slay said. "This is a chance to demonstrate our appreciation for them."
City officials agreed to waive permit fees and allow use of streets for the parade from the heart of downtown along Market Street to Union Station, the former train station that is now a shopping center and hotel. A "Resource Village" will be set up there that will include food, music and entertainment but will also connect returning vets with organizations to help ease transition to civilian life.
Organizers expect about 100 parade entries ? floats, marching bands, first-responders, veterans groups. Appelbaum said that while the parade marks the end of the Iraq War, any military personnel involved in post-Sept. 11 conflicts are welcome.
Appelbaum has no idea how many people will turn out to cheer on the troops but said response has been overwhelming despite the lack of any substantial marketing.
"It's significant that this is strictly a grassroots effort, and coming out of the heartland of the U.S., I think it really says something," he said.
Job Code: 27767 Location: Abuja, NIGERIA Type of Contract: Service Contract Post Level: SB-3 Languages Required: English Starting Date (date when the selected candidate is expected to start): 26-Mar-2012 Duration of Initial Contract: Initial period of one year Organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sector: Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
Background:
? Under the direct supervision of the International Project Co-ordinator (TIP and SOM) and UNODC Finance Officer and the overall guidance of the UNODC Country Representative for Nigeria, this individual will be responsible for ensuring effective execution of financial services and processes with respect to the project in a transparent and accountable manner in accordance with UN rule and regulations, financial requirements, as well as the applicable EU and UNDP rules and practices.
? S/he will work in close collaboration with the Finance Officer and project personnel and will liaise with the EU, UNDP, and UNODC HQs personnel, as appropriate, to ensure full compliance with applicable rules and regulations and to resolve any quagmires that arise.
? S/he will also be responsible for providing overall operational and administrative support to the project, including managing correspondence, organizing travel, events, workshops, and meetings, and preparing and disseminating documents.
Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Provide overall financial support to the project, including preparing budgets and financial reports
2. Undertake finance business process mapping and ensure proper accounting for project expenditures
3. Adapt and implement processes and procedures to ensure full compliance with UN, UNODC, UNDP and EU rules, regulations, financial records, reports, audit requirements, and internal controls
4. Ensure effective and efficient administration of budget and functioning of the optimal cost-recovery system
5. Ensure proper cash management, including assistance to the Finance Officer in managing and disbursing project related cash
6. Process payment requests and documents in a timely manner for execution
7. Assist in the preparation, monitoring, and management of technical contracts for the provision of goods and services
8. Initiate activities leading to procurement, maintenance, and disposal of items
9. Assist in ensuring that internal control systems are observed and all relevant records and files are maintained
10. Carry out various administrative tasks in support of the project, including managing correspondence, keeping appointments, arranging various meetings, ordering for supplies, and other related tasks
Education:
1. University degree in accounting, finance, business or public administration, or finance, law or relevant disciplines is required.
2. An internationally recognized professional certificate in accountancy and/or finance may be considered in lieu of a university degree when one has 2 more additional work experience.
Experience:
1. A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration or related field is required.
2. Experience in budget preparation, budget monitoring and analysis are required.
3. Experience in UN/UNDP financial procedures is an asset.
4. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Access, Power Point MS Publisher, etc) is also required.
5. Experience in the UN ATLAS and ProFi systems will be considered a plus.
Language: Fluency in any UN (preferably English) and national language of the duty station.
Other Skills: Up-to-date knowledge and/or practical experience of auditing approaches and practices is desirable.
Interested candidates should apply online through the website by clicking on the Apply now button. The system will prompt you to upload a CV on the next page.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply online through the website by clicking on the Apply now button. The system will prompt you to upload a CV on the next page.
Please note that instead of a CV you're required to download the UNDP Personnel History Form (P11). Complete it and upload when prompted.
Applications without a fully completed P11 form will not be considered. Only applicants that are shortlisted will be contacted.
The system will only allow for one attachment.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
Deadline: 07 February 2012.
NB: Do not pay for job recruitment. In case, you are requested to pay, please post in the Scam Alert Discussion Forum.
Women with certain type of ovarian cancer and BRCA gene mutation have improved survival at 5 yearsPublic release date: 24-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: NCI Press Office ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov 301-496-6641 JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO Among women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, patients having a germline (gene change in a reproductive cell that could be passed to offspring) mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes was associated with improved 5-year overall survival, with BRCA2 carriers having the best prognosis, according to a study in the January 25 issue of JAMA.
"Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the strongest known genetic risk factors for both breast and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and are found in 6 percent to 15 percent of women with EOC," according to background information in the article. "The relative prognosis of BRCA1/2 carriers and noncarriers is unclear."
Kelly L. Bolton, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues conducted a study to provide evidence of the relative effect of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations on prognosis for women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The study consisted of a pooled analysis of 26 observational studies on the survival of women with ovarian cancer, which included data from 1,213 EOC cases with pathogenic germline mutations in BRCA1 (n = 909) or BRCA2 (n = 304) and from 2,666 noncarriers recruited and followed up at variable times between 1987 and 2010. During the 5 years following EOC diagnosis, 1,766 deaths occurred.
The researchers found that 5-year overall survival was 36 percent for noncarriers of the gene mutations, 44 percent for BRCA1 carriers, and 52 percent for BRCA2 carriers. In a model only adjusted for study site and year of diagnosis, BRCA1 carriers had a more favorable survival than noncarriers, which improved slightly after additional adjustment for stage, grade, histology, and age at diagnosis. BRCA2 carriers had a greater survival advantage compared with noncarriers, particularly after adjusting for other prognostic factors.
The survival advantage for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers compared with noncarriers was present but less marked among women who reported a family history of ovarian, breast cancer, or both.
"Our study results have potentially important implications for the clinical management of patients with EOC. Most immediately, our findings can be used by health care professionals for patient counseling regarding expected survival. BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers with EOC respond better than noncarriers to platinum-based chemotherapies and have improved survival despite the fact that the disease is generally diagnosed at a later stage and higher grade. If patients could be stratified based on their BRCA status, their treatment could be tailored to reflect this, with noncarriers targeted for more aggressive treatments. Our data provide further support that there may be different functional mechanisms involved in the etiology of different subtypes of EOCs and, therefore, different therapeutic targets based on germline and somatic [changes to the genetics of a multicellular organism which are not passed on to its offspring through the germline] genetic variation," the researchers write.
" given the important prognostic information provided by BRCAl and BRCA2 status and the potential for personalized treatment in carriers, the routine testing of women presenting with high-grade serous EOC may now be warranted."
(JAMA. 2012;307[4]:382-390. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Editorial: Unwrapping the Implications of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in Ovarian Cancer
David M. Hyman, M.D., and David R. Spriggs, M.D., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, write in an accompanying editorial that the data from this study have important implications for the future of ovarian cancer research and treatment.
"Phase 3 studies that do not stratify by BRCA mutation status or account for this factor in a preplanned statistical analysis risk possible confounding because approximately 15 percent of unselected patients with serous ovarian cancer will carry germline BRCAl/2 mutations. Moreover, other studies have found differences in chemotherapy responsiveness and progression-free survival between sporadic BRCAl -and BRCA2-associated ovarian cancers. Germline BRCA testing needs to be consistently incorporated into both the routine management and future phase 3 trials of ovarian cancer."
(JAMA. 2012;307[4]:408-410. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
###
To contact corresponding author Paul D. P. Pharoah, Ph.D., email paul.pharoah@srl.cam.ac.uk; to contact Kelly L. Bolton, Ph.D., call the NCI Press Office at 301-496-6641 or email ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov. To contact editorial co-author David R. Spriggs, M.D., call Courtney DeNicola Nowak at 212-639-3573 or email denicolc@mskcc.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Women with certain type of ovarian cancer and BRCA gene mutation have improved survival at 5 yearsPublic release date: 24-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: NCI Press Office ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov 301-496-6641 JAMA and Archives Journals
CHICAGO Among women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, patients having a germline (gene change in a reproductive cell that could be passed to offspring) mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes was associated with improved 5-year overall survival, with BRCA2 carriers having the best prognosis, according to a study in the January 25 issue of JAMA.
"Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the strongest known genetic risk factors for both breast and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and are found in 6 percent to 15 percent of women with EOC," according to background information in the article. "The relative prognosis of BRCA1/2 carriers and noncarriers is unclear."
Kelly L. Bolton, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues conducted a study to provide evidence of the relative effect of germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations on prognosis for women with epithelial ovarian cancer. The study consisted of a pooled analysis of 26 observational studies on the survival of women with ovarian cancer, which included data from 1,213 EOC cases with pathogenic germline mutations in BRCA1 (n = 909) or BRCA2 (n = 304) and from 2,666 noncarriers recruited and followed up at variable times between 1987 and 2010. During the 5 years following EOC diagnosis, 1,766 deaths occurred.
The researchers found that 5-year overall survival was 36 percent for noncarriers of the gene mutations, 44 percent for BRCA1 carriers, and 52 percent for BRCA2 carriers. In a model only adjusted for study site and year of diagnosis, BRCA1 carriers had a more favorable survival than noncarriers, which improved slightly after additional adjustment for stage, grade, histology, and age at diagnosis. BRCA2 carriers had a greater survival advantage compared with noncarriers, particularly after adjusting for other prognostic factors.
The survival advantage for BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers compared with noncarriers was present but less marked among women who reported a family history of ovarian, breast cancer, or both.
"Our study results have potentially important implications for the clinical management of patients with EOC. Most immediately, our findings can be used by health care professionals for patient counseling regarding expected survival. BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers with EOC respond better than noncarriers to platinum-based chemotherapies and have improved survival despite the fact that the disease is generally diagnosed at a later stage and higher grade. If patients could be stratified based on their BRCA status, their treatment could be tailored to reflect this, with noncarriers targeted for more aggressive treatments. Our data provide further support that there may be different functional mechanisms involved in the etiology of different subtypes of EOCs and, therefore, different therapeutic targets based on germline and somatic [changes to the genetics of a multicellular organism which are not passed on to its offspring through the germline] genetic variation," the researchers write.
" given the important prognostic information provided by BRCAl and BRCA2 status and the potential for personalized treatment in carriers, the routine testing of women presenting with high-grade serous EOC may now be warranted."
(JAMA. 2012;307[4]:382-390. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Editorial: Unwrapping the Implications of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in Ovarian Cancer
David M. Hyman, M.D., and David R. Spriggs, M.D., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, write in an accompanying editorial that the data from this study have important implications for the future of ovarian cancer research and treatment.
"Phase 3 studies that do not stratify by BRCA mutation status or account for this factor in a preplanned statistical analysis risk possible confounding because approximately 15 percent of unselected patients with serous ovarian cancer will carry germline BRCAl/2 mutations. Moreover, other studies have found differences in chemotherapy responsiveness and progression-free survival between sporadic BRCAl -and BRCA2-associated ovarian cancers. Germline BRCA testing needs to be consistently incorporated into both the routine management and future phase 3 trials of ovarian cancer."
(JAMA. 2012;307[4]:408-410. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
###
To contact corresponding author Paul D. P. Pharoah, Ph.D., email paul.pharoah@srl.cam.ac.uk; to contact Kelly L. Bolton, Ph.D., call the NCI Press Office at 301-496-6641 or email ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov. To contact editorial co-author David R. Spriggs, M.D., call Courtney DeNicola Nowak at 212-639-3573 or email denicolc@mskcc.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
KHARTOUM, Sudan ? South Sudan is suing Sudan for "looting" its oil and will no longer export crude through its northern neighbor's territory, a Sudanese daily reported Sunday, citing officials, in the latest spat between the two governments over the coveted resource in the newly independent southern nation.
South Sudan Information Minister Marial Benjamin said the lawsuit was filed in "specialized international tribunals against Sudan and some companies" that bought the crude, the Al-Sahafa daily said. Benjamin did not provide additional details on the venue or when the lawsuit was filed.
The case is the latest development in a long-simmering fight between the two governments over the oil they share. Most of it lies within the borders of South Sudan, which achieved independence last July.
On Jan. 17, South Sudan Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau said Sudan is diverting about 120,000 barrels of oil pumped from the south daily, a move the northern government said stemmed from the unpaid transit fees for the oil carried in pipelines from the south to export terminals in its territory. The two sides have been unable to resolve the dispute.
South Sudan's Cabinet Affairs minister, Deng Alor, said that his country has halted pumping crude through Sudan and would begin building a pipeline across east Africa that would allow it to export its oil through Kenya. The project would take about a year, he told Al-Sahafa.
"Our economy will not be affected by this step," he said, adding that South Sudan had enough in cash reserves to sustain it for five years. Even if the economy was affected, it would be preferable to the "looting" taking place by Sudan, he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The Khartoum government downplayed the potential impact of the move by the south. Sudanese State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Amin Hassan Omar said that the oil currently held in pipelines would cover a considerable portion of the debts owed by the south.
The suspension of oil production is a "tactical move that will not last long," he told Al-Sahafa.
With the right funding and scholarship, are you sure that you can spot the exact communications diploma for you? Numerous jobs are vacant that welcome those with degrees of communication, and as such, grants and scholarships can be found everywhere. For you to be able to save budget you must have knowledge of the financial aids that are given to you when you want to pursue a masters in communication.
If one graduates from a communications program, then he is able to have various choices regarding his career, which is why scholarships are vast. Are you aware of the perks of having a communications diploma? With it, you can be accepted in radio announcing, advertising, publishing, journalism and many more.
Seeing that there are many jobs related with the program, there is really no deficiency in terms of the scholarships that can be given in this area of study. You would want to earn a financial aid, but how? You can earn them the same way that you would earn them in other programs.
To get financial assistance, may need you to apply for it. However, not all schools require the traditional way of application. Due to the fact that a communication program is a different type of programs, there are times that you must display your communication skills in order to be accepted.
As with English majors, being granted the scholarship might need you to state your opinions. You may be requested to present your speaking ability or to write essays. Applying is mostly going to require a paper that tells them why you deserve it.
In here, we may have the idea of who is deserving and who does not really belong. If communication is really your passion, then you will do everything just to stand out and to pass the application process. Once you have chosen to go after a communications diploma, you should asses yourself with all the speaking skills that you have in order for your application to be the genuinely representative of you.
As for financial assistance, a lot of academies seem to have it. If you are interested in a certain communication program then go online and see the website of the specific college. Sometimes private scholarships are offered, which is really a great financial help to those pupils who are majoring in other courses.
A financial aid called the EDSF David Hoods Memorial Scholarship is being offered to those with communications degree by the EDSF or the Electric Document System Foundation. They offer 30 scholarships every year to students (fulltime) with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Betty Endicott/NTA-NCCB Student Scholarship and the James Lawrence Fly Scholarship are both grants that can be of service to students with communication degrees.
The communications section of every institution can guarantee financial aid to deserving students with communication majors. At this time, there are schools that give financial help to their students. Some of the most popular universities include the University of Miami and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
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Hey kids, it's that time again! We're kicking off the year right with an action-packed edition of the Engadget Show. The first episode of 2012 is going to be a doozy. We're going to take you through the coolest gadgets of CES and Apple's bid to transform the textbook industry. We'll also be taking a close up look at the latest camera from Red and the new MakerBot Replicator. Plus we've music from Brooklyn's Ducky and all kinds of surprises. We'll be live tonight at 6PM ET, and you can join us at this very URL -- so keep your browser locked to this spot.
Samsung has announced that the white version of its phone/tablet hybrid device, the Galaxy Note, will be launching in the UK from next Monday, Jan. 23. The catch is that for a limited time it'll only be available at the John Lewis store on Oxford Street, London, as part of an exclusivity deal between Samsung and the upmarket retailer.
Samsung's already seen considerable interest in the Note, which combines a 5.3-inch HD SuperAMOLED screen with stylus input and a 1.4GHz Exynos CPU. It announced in late December that it'd shipped one million units since the device's November launch.
If you're not in London, Samsung says that "additional channels" will begin offering the white Galaxy Note in February. However, if you do pick up your white Note at John Lewis, you'll be rewarded with £250 worth of "free music, films and e-books", presumably meaning some sort of voucher.
We've got the full press release after the break. For more on the Note, check out our full review.
WASHINGTON ? Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, promising his State of the Union address will offer an economic blueprint that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."
In a video released Saturday to millions of campaign supporters, Obama said he will concentrate on four areas designed to restore economic security for the long term: manufacturing, energy, education, job training and a "return to American values." The release came the same day as the South Carolina primary, where four candidates competed in the latest contest to determine Obama's general election rival.
The prime-time speech will be not just a traditional pitch about the year ahead. It will be perhaps Obama's biggest stage to make a sweeping case for a second term.
"We can go in two directions," the president said in the video. "One is toward less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few."
That line of argument about income equality is emerging as a defining theme of the presidential race, as Republicans are in their own fierce battle to pick a nominee to challenge Obama in the fall.
By notifying the millions of supporters on his email list, Obama gave advance notice to his Democratic base and trying to generate an even larger audience for Tuesday's address.
Obama's preview did not mention national security. He is not expected to announce new policy on that front in a speech dominated by the economy ? the top concern of voters.
Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable and to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.
His policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.
The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.
So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.
The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.
That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the details.
The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.
On national security, Obama will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.
But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.
In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.
In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.
The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.
The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.
Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress.
His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.
Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.
For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.
If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.
Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.
The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.
The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.
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AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
New York ? Republicans all but dared the president to say no to a big Canada-to-Texas pipeline project, and Obama took the bait. A look at the fallout
As part of last year's payroll-tax deal, congressional Republicans squeezed a seemingly unrelated promise out of President Obama: Instead of punting until after the 2012 election, he'd have to decide by Feb. 21 whether to allow TransCanada to build an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, Obama made his decision,?denying TransCanada's permit request ? at least for now. The State Department notes that TransCanada can still reapply for a permit, and the company says it will try again. But in the meantime, the political fallout was swift and immediate. Here, some winners and losers from the rejected Keystone project:
WINNERS
SEE MORE: Will ethanol survive without government subsidies?
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Environmentalists "Environmental activists deserve to take a bow" for the (at least temporary) death of Keystone XL, says Steve Benen at?Washington Monthly. They successfully increased "visibility of the issue, and the pressure no doubt affected White House" thinking on the pipeline. "Denying this one permit isn't going to halt climate change," says Erik Loomis at?Lawyers, Guns, and Money. But keeping environmentally awful tar-sands crude from flowing through, and spilling into, the U.S. Midwest is "a pretty big victory for those trying to move us to a cleaner energy future."
Mitt Romney Obama's rejection of the Keystone pipeline "is being greeted with glee by Republicans" and their probable 2012 presidential nominee, says Jennifer Rubin at?The Washington Post. And rightly so: Romney immediately recognized the "political gift" Obama had given him, accusing the president of robbing America of potential jobs and confusing "the national interest with his own interest in pleasing the environmentalists in his political base." You can bet that Romney will "make the Keystone pipeline a centerpiece of his general-election campaign," says Jonathan Chait at?New York.
SEE MORE: Will Iran's oil threat lead to $5 gas?
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President Obama The Keystone rejection was "politically beneficial to all parties involved," including Obama, say Glenn Thrush and Darren Samuelsohn at?Politico. In fact, except for angering labor unions, this is "no-brainer election-year politics" for the president. The pipeline was as much a cause celebre for deep-pocketed environmentalists as it was for pro-pipeline Republicans, and only one of those groups cuts Obama checks. Besides, says Ed Morrissey at?Hot Air, in punting the decision until after the election, Obama essentially got what he wanted in the first place, House GOP be damned.
LOSERS
President Obama Republicans rightly point out that Keystone would have resulted "in job gains during a sluggish economic recovery" ? the key issue in the election, says The Washington Post in an editorial. And it has to sting that Obama's own jobs council just recommended building oil pipelines. "The Obama team knew that the issue had the potential to be a loser no matter how it was decided," says Alex Koppelman at?The New Yorker. "Congressional Republicans aren't stupid" to have forced his hand.
Big Oil "There have been very few days in the last two decades when the scientists have been smiling and Big Oil scowling," but this is one of them, says Bill McKibben at?The Daily Beast. Building a "leaky pipeline" through the Midwest that would raise gas prices there, for fuel that would be shipped overseas, only makes sense for one reason: "To make even more money for the richest industry on earth." Killing Keystone won't stop climate change, "but it does stop Big Oil's winning streak, and that's a hopeful sign."
U.S.-Canada relations Obama's decision "will probably be ugly for U.S.-Canada relations,"?says Michael Levi at?The Washington Post. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had made the pipeline a top priority, and he even invoked Iran's oil blockade threat to change Obama's mind. After the decision, Canada started threatening to ship their tar sands exports to China. "Certainly,"?David Pumphrey at the Center for Strategic and International Studies?tells?Bloomberg, this "introduces new uncertainties into the economic relationship" between the U.S. and Canada.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Safety investigators on Wednesday cited air traffic controller error for a near mid-air collision of a commuter jet and a small plane last year in Mississippi.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the ExpressJet flight with 53 people aboard and a single-engine Cessna 172 came within 300 feet of each other over the Gulfport-Biloxi airport last June 19.
Both took off nearly simultaneously from intersecting runways after receiving clearance to do so from the airport tower staffed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controllers, the NTSB said.
"Wow, that was close," the captain of the commuter jet was quoted as saying by his co-pilot, who was flying the plane.
The crew of the ExpressJet Embraer 145 operating as a United/Continental flight to Houston did not sense a potential conflict even though the two were monitoring radio traffic and acknowledged that the other plane had also been cleared for takeoff from the other runway, NTSB interview transcripts showed.
The crew said their plane's automatic proximity warning system did not sound and there was no need to take evasive action.
The commuter plane flew on to Houston where it landed uneventfully later that afternoon. The Cessna was ordered to go around the airport following takeoff to remove it from any danger.
The safety board documents alleged that the controller in question, who was not identified, had a history of "professional deficiencies" that included non-compliance with standard checklist procedures.
The controllers' union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, had no comment on any disciplinary issues but said it took "reports like these very seriously."
The FAA said in a statement it made management changes at Gulfport following the incident and suspended and decertified the controller involved. The controller has since been retrained and is back on the job.
NTSB investigators have made reducing air traffic controller errors and improving runway safety top transportation priorities.
The agency is investigating at least two other cases of potential air traffic mistakes, including one involving first lady Michelle Obama's plane flying near Washington last April.
In the other, two jumbo jets nearly collided on the ground at New York's John F. Kennedy airport last June, according to a Government Accountability Office report in October that said controller errors nearly doubled between 2008 and 2011.
The increase, the GAO said, may be attributable to a changes in FAA policies that encourage reporting mistakes without fear of disciplinary action.
(Reporting By John Crawley; Editing by Philip Barbara)
WASHINGTON ? The scientists who created easier-to-spread versions of the deadly bird flu say they're temporarily halting more research, as international specialists debate what should happen next.
Last month, U.S. officials had urged two labs not to publicly reveal how they brewed the new viruses, for fear would-be bioterrorists might copy them. Critics also worried a lab accident might allow the strains to escape.
The viruses are held in high-security labs in the U.S. and the Netherlands. They were created to help learn how bird flu might mutate to become a bigger threat to people. But in a letter Friday to the journals Science and Nature, the scientists said they would "pause" additional research for 60 days as world health officials debate how to learn from the work, safely.
SEATTLE (Reuters) ? A historic snow and ice storm paralyzed Seattle on Thursday, shutting the airport and schools, causing car crashes, downing trees and cutting power to at least 90,000 households as blown-out transformers lit up the skies.
The National Weather Service declared an ice storm warning early on Thursday through noon local time for eight western Washington counties.
Record-setting daily snowfall of 6.8 inches was measured early Thursday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, shattering the previous record of 2.9 inches in 1954, said meteorologist Dan DePodwin on Accuweather.com.
As a result of the storm which arrived on Tuesday evening and was nicknamed "Snowmageddon," the airport remained closed with its three runways and ramps coated with ice.
"We're still not seeing departures at this point," airport spokesman Perry Cooper said.
The airport was stocked up on de-icing supplies, but "the best we can hope for is a warming situation," he said.
Streets were also a mess as frigid temperatures and freezing rain in the Tacoma area, 35 miles south of Seattle, coated roads with ice and played havoc with traffic.
In the greater Seattle area, downed trees blocked lanes on at least three state highways, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Julie Startup told Reuters at 6:30 a.m. local time. She said there were many collisions on the icy roads.
Power outages kept residents in the dark but blown-out transformers put on a spectacular show.
"Skies just keep lighting up," Startup said.
Charles Tomala, spokesman at the Washington Emergency Operations Center, said that 24,000 residents in the Tacoma area were without power at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday.
An additional 70,000 people in southern King County, Thurston and Pierce counties were without power at 7:15 a.m. local time, Puget Sound Energy spokesman Roger Thompson said.
"Ice is really the big issue right now," Thompson said.
Puget Sound Energy warned that power outages in some areas may not be restored until Saturday.
Mark Clemens, a spokesman with the state's Emergency Operations Center, said Governor Christine Gregoire issued an unannounced "proclamation of emergency" late on Wednesday that would officially extend the hours that truck drivers could legally transport milk and other dairy products throughout the state.
Gregoire spokeswoman Karina Shagren, however, said she was unable to confirm that Gregoire had signed the proclamation.
(Writing By Barbara Goldberg; editing by Paul Thomasch)
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Public release date: 24-Jan-2012
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