Africa on Edge - Central African Republic Regional Force Needs Bolstering

The U.N. assistant secretary-general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, is calling for strengthening the regional security force (FOMAC) in the Central African Republic. U.N. Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said ongoing instability since the March 24 rebel coup could intensify ethnic and religious divisions, and that humanitarian aid remains largely insufficient.

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate following the ousting of former President Francois Bozize by the Seleka rebel coalition. Civilians continue to report widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, rape, torture, looting and summary executions. During a visit to the country this week, Simonovic said that security in CAR remains "virtually non-existent," particularly outside the capital, and that state institutions are "close to collapse."

He said respect for human rights is paramount in resolving the crisis. ?Violations of human rights are the root causes of this conflict and reflect the current situation. Preventing further violations and ensuring respect of all human rights for all is a way to end conflict and to achieve reconciliation and sustainable peace, stated Simonovic. "Without security, there will be no return, no social services, no agricultural and no economy.?

A regional force, known as FOMAC, was created by the Economic Community of Central African States and was deployed in the CAR last December as the Seleka rebellion gained momentum. The number of FOMAC troops has been increased since the rebel takeover on March 24th. However, Simonovic says still more are needed, and says the U.N should also send international troops.

Other priorities, he said, include the continued disarmament of Seleka fighters and increased funding for humanitarian aid for more than 200,000 people that the U.N. says have fled their homes since December because of insecurity.

Aid agencies say they have received less than a third of the funding requested for this year. Simonovic said disease, malnutrition and maternal mortality are on the rise and less than 20 percent of health care facilities are operational.

Insecurity and logistical issues have made it difficult for aid agencies to operate outside the capital, Bangui. U.N. aid agencies have yet to redeploy nationwide, after withdrawing their operations to Bangui at the start of the rebellion in December.

Jennifer Lazuta writes for VOA, from where this article is adapted.

Source: http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com//index.php?article=81021

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J&J pleased Chinese anti-monopoly dispute is over

BEIJING (AP) -- Health care giant Johnson and Johnson says it is pleased to put a legal dispute behind it after a Chinese court ordered it to pay compensation to a former distributor under an anti-monopoly law.

Thursday's ruling said Johnson & Johnson was guilty of "vertical monopoly" for setting minimum prices its distributors charged for surgical sutures. It noted that J&J has stopped that practice but ordered it to pay 530,000 yuan ($85,000) to a Chinese distributor that said it lost potential sales due to the restriction.

"While we are disappointed with today's ruling by the Higher People's Court of Shanghai, we are pleased to have put this matter behind us and look forward to continuing to provide our high quality products and services to healthcare institutions and patients in China," said J&J in a statement.

Lawyers said the ruling indicates Chinese authorities are stepping up anti-monopoly investigations.

The ruling was the first of its kind against a Fortune 500 company under China's 5-year-old anti-monopoly law, according to lawyers and Chinese news reports.

Business groups welcomed the law in 2008 as a step toward making operating conditions clearer but have said since then it is enforced more actively against global companies than against their local rivals.

The case comes amid separate Chinese investigations of possible bribery, price-fixing and other misconduct by global suppliers of milk, pharmaceuticals and other products.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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A tiny Minn. tourist town re-elects its 4-year-old mayor.

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An Alaska city sees its first sunset in months; residents shrug it off.

Source: http://www.wtop.com/628/3411104/JampJ-pleased-Chinese-anti-monopoly-dispute-is-over

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buyer broker vs. realtor - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Are you asking what the difference is between a buyer broker and a real estate agent?? If so, a buyer broker has a signed contract with you and you are the client (that agent works in your best interests). This agent can pull comparables and guide you. ?Everyone else works on the seller's behalf or in?the seller's best interests. When you sign a buyer broker agreement, you are responsible for the agents commission for a set amount of time if?any listing does not compensate for "buyer broker agency".

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/buyer-broker-vs-realtor/504861/

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LinkedIn's 2Q impresses Street, stock climbs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? LinkedIn's online professional networking service is still doing a good job of pleasing investors.

Wall Street gave LinkedIn its latest endorsement Thursday, driving the Mountain View, Calif., company's shares up by more than 7 percent after it released its second-quarter results.

The performance burnished the impressive resume that LinkedIn has put together since going public two years ago. The company has delivered earnings and revenue above the analysts' projections that guide investors in all nine of its quarters as a publicly traded company.

LinkedIn supplemented that accomplishment by adding 20 million more registered users during the three months ending in June. That's the service's biggest membership gain in any quarter since LinkedIn's initial public stock offering in May 2011.

The networking service has thrived by establishing itself as the go-to place for employers to find talented workers and for people to get job tips and other advice to manage their careers. It doesn't cost anything for people to set up a personal profile anchored by their resume. The company makes most of its money by charging employers, headhunters and perpetual job seekers fees to gain additional access to its member's profiles and other data.

Some of those fees were raised in the second quarter, a change that should give a lift to LinkedIn's revenue.

Subscriptions and fees accounted for three-fourths of LinkedIn's revenue in the second quarter, with the rest coming from advertising.

The company is also trying to boost its advertising sales by allowing more commercial messages to be displayed within its users' feeds, much like Facebook does on its social network.

Although LinkedIn remains much smaller and less profitable than Facebook, the professional networking company is delivering much bigger returns to shareholders than its peer in social networking.

The strong financial and membership growth in the past quarter is likely to catapult LinkedIn's high-flying stock to new heights Friday. The shares rose $16.05, or 7.5 percent, to $229.05 in Thursday's extended trading. That is more than five times LinkedIn's IPO price of $45.

By comparison, Facebook is hovering around its IPO price of $38.

LinkedIn earned $3.7 million, or 3 cents per share, during the quarter, from $2.8 million, or 3 cents per share, last year. The earnings-per-share figure didn't change because the company has slightly more stock outstanding this year.

If not for certain items unrelated to its ongoing business, LinkedIn said it would have earned 38 cents per share. That topped the average estimate of 31 cents per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue surged by 59 percent to $364 million ? about $10 million above analysts' predictions.

LinkedIn ended June with 238 million members, up from 218 million in March. Until the past quarter, LinkedIn's biggest three-month gain in membership had been 16 million.

Many of the new members are coming from outside the U.S., according to LinkedIn. The company said nearly two-thirds of its membership is in international markets.

Like many other digital services, LinkedIn is increasingly relying on its applications for smartphones and tablets to attract visitors and create more opportunities to sell ads. The company said mobile devices delivered 33 percent of its second-quarter traffic, up from 21 percent a year ago.

As part of its effort to sell more ads, LinkedIn has been adding more material from outside contributors to give members a reason to visit its website more frequently and linger for longer periods. The second-quarter growth indicated that push is paying off. About 11.7 billion pages were viewed on LinkedIn's service during the second quarter, a 5 percent increase from the opening three months of this year.

The company's management forecast revenue of $367 million to $373 million in the current quarter, which ends in September. That's below the average analyst estimate of $384 million. Its revenue forecast for the year is also short of Wall Street's view.

Analysts have been raising the bar on the theory that LinkedIn lowballs its financial guidance in an effort to make it easier to surpass the quarterly estimates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-08-01-US-Earns-LinkedIn/id-4e7f2d985ad24bc4a5c81203d16ac3fd

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Sports columnist tries to tie Jay Z to the Aaron Hernandez murder case Here's h...

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Pakistan's President simply relishes Agra Biryani!

Fireworks lit up the evening sky over Mantola and kettle drums sounded as news reached here of the election of Mamnoon Hussain as the new President of Pakistan.?

Sweets were distributed by residents of the locality to celebrate the elevation of one who was born in the Mantola area to the highest office in the neighbouring country.

People gathered to talk excitedly about the announcement which was expected, while many others offered prayers to Allah, who they said had answered their prayers.

Hussain, a close aide of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was elected as the 12th President of Pakistan after trouncing his lone opponent in a one-sided contest.

Hussain was born in Agra in 1940 and spent his childhood in Agra before his family migrated to Pakistan in 1948, leaving their family mansion and many relatives behind.

The ancestral home at Chhoti Hathai in the Nai ki Mandi locality, adjoining Mantola, still stands, part of it in its original form while another portion has been rebuilt in the modern style.

Hussain's cousin (the son of his father's younger brother) Usman Qureishi lives in the Shahid Nagar locality.

Qureshi's sister, too, is a resident of the locality along with her sons Seemab Alam and Khaleequzzaman.

Hailing Hussain's election, Qureishi said, "I am very happy to hear to hear the news. Our prayers have been answered.

"I have high hopes he would do his best to improve ties between India and Pakistan as he hails from Agra, the city of Akbar?s Sulh-i-kul," he said.

Nephew Khaleequzzaman, too, expressed similar hopes that his uncle's elevation would usher in an era of peace and friendship between the two countries.

Seemab said he had talked to Hussain's elder brother, Akhtar Hussain, and his wife in Pakistan to congratulate them.

Akhtar was sure that whenever Hussain visited India, Agra would be a part of his itinerary, Seemab said.

The two nephews recalled how Hussain relished the Agra biryani, which he never forgot to mention every time they spoke over the phone. Hussain had visited Agra some 25 years to meet his relatives.

"Uncle also remembers Agra's sweetmeat 'Petha' and the snack 'Dalmoth'," Seemab said.

? Copyright 2013 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pakistan-president-simply-relishes-agra-biryani/20130731.htm

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Why Some People Can Eat A Lot and Stay Thin / Nutrition - FitDay

We all have that one friend who seems to defy all laws of calories and weight gain. You know, the one who can put down jumbo-size fries, jelly-filled donuts and staggering portions of spaghetti and never seem to gain an ounce. Is it just luck, or does this person have a weight-maintenance secret that we can all learn from? The latter is most likely, and adopting the tactics of the thin-yet-well-fed crowd can help the rest of us keep (or restore) our trim waistlines.

Eat A Lot and Stay Thin? Sounds NEAT!

Health experts are beginning to explore the idea that people who eat all they want and don't gain weight are actually more active than the rest of the population, and therefore burn more calories. However, these folks don't necessarily spend more time at the gym. They probably engage in a practice known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

NEAT may sound like a lofty concept, but it's actually quite simple: all physical activity--aside from regimented workouts--counts. When you stand up and pace while talking on the phone, chop cabbage for dinner or even twiddle your thumbs sitting at your desk, you are engaging in NEAT. So that friend who can pig out without consequence probably fidgets more than you do and stands on her feet while you're sitting down.

According to ACE, engaging in NEAT throughout the day can increase your metabolism by up to 50 percent--so if you normally burn 2,000 calories per day while sedentary, NEAT can help you burn up to 3,000 calories per day. That translates to a lot of pasta, and definitely entitles you to dessert.

How to Be NEAT

If NEAT doesn't come naturally to you, you may be able to train yourself by consciously including more small movements into your day. Wiggle your legs or tap your fingers at your work desk, rock back and forth on your heels while waiting in line at the post office, and choose standing over sitting whenever possible. You may also burn more calories by purchasing a pedometer and setting goals for yourself, such as 12,000 steps a day.

Lean Muscle Tissue is Also a Factor

Aside from NEAT, people with fast metabolisms may have one other trick up their sleeve: a high percentage of lean muscle tissue. Muscle takes more calories to maintain than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn--even as you sleep. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that you can increase your metabolism by up to 15 percent by building more muscle.

Increasing muscle mass takes time (months, rather than seconds as with NEAT), but the payoff is worth it. Not only will weight control become easier, but you'll also be able to perform everyday activities more capably, and may even help curb arthritis, osteoporosis and back pain. To build more muscle, lift weights, take a vigorous yoga class or simply perform calisthenic exercises like push-ups, squats and sit-ups two to three times per week, working all major muscle groups.

ARE YOU READY TO LOSE WEIGHT? ANSWER THESE 9 QUESTIONS TO FIND OUT!

Nina Kate is a certified fitness nutrition specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She also studied journalism at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and has contributed to numerous major publications as a freelance writer. Nina thrives on sharing nutrition and fitness knowledge to help readers lead healthy, active lives. Visit her wellness blog at BodyFlourish.com.

Source: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/why-some-people-can-eat-a-lot-and-stay-thin.html

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