India Ink: In Hyderabad, Anger and Frustration

Srinivas Mahesh, 28, was snacking outside his hostel near the Konark Theater in Dishknagar, his usual hangout in Hyderabad, when he heard a loud explosion Thursday evening. Not long after, he saw smoke filling up the air. Once he realized it was a bomb blast, instead of rushing back to his hostel he resolved to helping the injured.

“I saw disfigured bodies for the first time in my life,” he said. He helped three severely injured people into ambulances and took another injured man by auto to Osmania Hospital.

Mr. Mahesh, who is originally from Kurnool, came to Hyderabad two years ago to do a graduation in engineering from Ashok Institute in Dilsukhnagar. After yesterday’s blasts though, he might have to return home.

“My parents were visiting Hyderabad in 2007, when there were blasts. They had a tough time then,” he said. “After yesterday, they are convinced that this city is cursed and want me home.”

More than 24 hours after two bombs went off near the ever-crowded Dilsukhnagar bus stand, there is palpable frustration and anger in the area. N.Pradeep Reddy, 29, a chartered accountant who lives in Dilsukhnagar, heard the first blast and came to the balcony of his house. Then he saw the second explosion. Aghast, he couldn’t move for several seconds, he said.

Mr. Reddy’s family has been in Hyderabad for 10 years now, but now he is disillusioned with the charm of the city, he said. “No one cares for our lives here – not the politicians, not the media not the police,” he added.

Hyderabad has been the site of numerous explosions in recent years, including two in 2007 attacks that killed dozens of people.

Soon after Thursday’s blasts, the road in front of the Dilsukhnagar bus stand had a median dividing it into two. While traffic was allowed on one side, the other side of the road was cordoned off by the police.

“This is obstructing traffic and adding to the commotion,” said P. Sadanandam, who commutes through the road regularly. “They are not doing this for security, it is just so that the VIPs can visit the blast site and have a photo-op,” he said angrily.

Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police and other senior police officers visited the at blast site today to look for evidence.

All the shops on a two kilometer stretch on the Dilsukhnagar main road were shuttered down all day today. Some security men outside the shops said that this was not due to the bandh, or shutdown, that the Bharatiya Janata Party had called, but because the shop owners were sure that there would be no customers today. They might open on Monday, they said.

Narsing Vennala, 25, sells flowers on the main road. He is one of the only three flower vendors who reopened their shops today. A temple next door needs flowers, he said, and therefore he had to come to work.

His 18-year-old sister is so paranoid about his coming to work a day after the blasts that she keeps calling him every half-an-hour to check if he is alright.  Mr Vennala walks home at 11 p.m. every night, and he plans to do the same even today.

“Whatever had to happen, happened,” he said. “Now how long can we stay hungry and not earn because of that?”

“Bharat mata ki jai,” (Victory for mother India) was loudly shouted by a bunch of residents. They said that was their answer to those that were against peace in the country.  There was also some anti-Pakistan sloganeering.

One resident estimated that there were 500 to 600 educational institutions in Dilsukhnagar. They have offerings ranging from short-term computer courses to three-year degrees. Thousands of students, from smaller towns and neighboring districts, live in hostels around their respective institutions. Many of them were on the streets yesterday to help the injured.

While some students don’t see any option but to stay in the city, others, like Mr. Mahesh, are packing their bags.

“I have to go home, even if I don’t like to,” he said “My family will be worried every day I stay in Hyderabad.”

Read More..

Jessica Biel's Style Is 'More Confident' as a Married Woman, Says Her Stylist

Stylewatch
Style News Now

02/22/2013 at 03:00 PM ET

Gregory Pace/BEImages

Justin Timberlake has been getting lots of notice for his “Suit and Tie” style lately, but his new wife Jessica Biel has been making quite a fashionable impact herself these past few months.

And her longtime stylist and friend Estee Stanley credits a certain accessory for Biel’s noticeable confidence on the red carpet: her wedding ring.

“I definitely think any woman changes after [she gets] married,” Stanley tells PEOPLE. “I feel like she feels more secure and safe on the planet having found her partner.”

Biel, whom Stanley calls “the cutest,” says this security manifests itself in less behind-the-scenes fussing: “It’s not ‘should I do this or should I do this?’ It’s like ‘Okay, great!’” she says.

And we’ve certainly noticed: just check out how gorgeous Biel looked at the Grammys!

Biel isn’t planning an Oscar dress this year, but that doesn’t mean Stanley is off the hook. Clients Lea Michele and Minka Kelly are attending Sunday’s Vanity Fair afterparty, and while she’s tight-lipped about their looks, she does share her top pick for red carpet undergarments: “The Victoria’s Secret Fabulous Bra is incredible,” she shared at an event for the lingerie superstore in L.A. “You can wear it regular, one shoulder, racer back, strapless and it gives you the lift.”

Though she won’t even dish on which of those necklines we can expect from her clients, she made some general predictions for us. “I feel like there will be a lot of bigger dresses,” she says. “Fuller, with nothing underneath, like Oscar de la Renta last season.”

And like any stylist on a big night, she’s hoping things go smoothly, without incidents like one with Penélope Cruz a few years back. “She was nominated and the dress was not what we thought it was going to be. I lost my mind!” Stanley recalls. “We ran to [everyone] who had a dress left. Thank God Versace had a secret stash.” The result? “It was the most gorgeous dress I’ve ever seen.”

We have a feeling we’ll be repeating those words about a few of her clients on Sunday.

–Raha Lewis

PHOTOS: SEE MORE RED CARPET MOMENTS HERE!

Read More..

FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."

Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.

The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.

FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.

Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.

FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer

Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.

Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.

Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.

Read More..

Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.

On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Read More..

India Ink: Can Doordarshan’s New Look Attract Profits?

A Doordarshan newscast from the late 1990s.

After it became the first TV channel in India in 1959, the public broadcaster Doordarshan enjoyed a monopoly on viewership for decades. Even after the government opened the airwaves to private players in 1992, Doordarshan enjoyed a 90 percent share of the audience in the 1990s and had no reason to take the threat of competition seriously.

Twenty years later, its rivals have not only caught up, but they have surpassed Doordarshan in terms of revenue. In the late 1990s, advertisers began to see Doordarshan, which dominates coverage in rural areas, as catering to only the lowest socioeconomic classes, and the public broadcaster slipped even further after an accounting scandal. Since then, Doordarshan has never turned a profit, and some media industry observers have even declared Doordarshan dead.

But Jawhar Sircar, chief executive of Prasar Bharati, the autonomous organization that includes Doordarshan and All India Radio, is betting that a complete overhaul of its TV programs, in both format and content, will draw the viewers that Doordarshan has lost to private satellite channels.

There is only one formula for success, said Mr. Sircar: “You bring out a good product, spend money, put in taste, autonomy and the right professionals, you will get the right product. You have the right product, you will get the right revenues,” he said.

Revenues are sorely needed at the government-financed broadcaster. According to the last five-year Broadcast Plan, which ended in March 2012, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting spent 122 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) of taxpayers’ money to run Prasar Bharti, which generated only 60 billion rupees in revenue over the same period. That means a loss of 62 billion rupees, or more than $1 billion, over the five years.

Prasar Bharti accounts for about 60 percent of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s budget, and Doordarshan takes about half that amount, raising the rest of the money it needs through advertising.

Reliable data on Doordarshan’s viewership is difficult to find because the company that reports ratings, Television Audience Measurement, covers only satellite channels, and Doordarshan’s network, which now has 37 channels and four affiliated channels, is largely terrestrial. Doordarshan has sued Television Audience Measurement, accusing it of under-reporting its audience and costing the broadcaster advertising revenue.

The biggest move for Mr. Sircar, who took over in March 2012, was to push aside the appointed bureaucrats who ran operations even though they had no media experience. For the first time in its history, Doordarshan’s news channel, known as DD News, has hired several news professionals who have worked with CNN, Bloomberg and BBC for its board. DD News also poached top anchors at major Indian channels like NDTV and Times Now.

“This new team is one of the best DD has ever seen,” said Rajiv Mehrotra, managing trustee of the nonprofit Public Service Broadcasting Trust, referring to Doordarshan. “They have ensured that Prasar Bharati, especially DD, is breathing again.”

The main focus of the makeover is Doordarshan’s prime-time news program, “News Night,” which now tackles controversial topics – a marked change at a network that has been criticized for allowing the government to shape its media coverage in the past. The last time Doordarshan went through an overhaul was in 2003, a year before the national elections, and the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled central government ordered Doordarshan to downplay certain events, like the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat, a B.J.P. stronghold.

“DD News has always been known for dry reporting on government affairs,” said Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, an independent journalist who has worked with the public broadcaster.

On Wednesday night, DD News officially introduced its retooled show with a discussion on the state of the Indian TV news media and the role a public broadcaster should play, led by anchors already well known for their work at other channels, which lent the program a gravitas that had been missing when newsreaders used to present the news.

Given that this latest revamp also comes a year before national elections, many in the media industry are closely watching Doordarshan for any evidence of government meddling. Manish Tiwari, the information and broadcasting minister, promised at a news conference earlier this month that “this time, the government would keep an arm’s length from content and presentation of DD.”

But Rajiv Mehrotra, a longtime TV producer for Doordarshan, said Prasar Bharati’s “identity crisis” may limit the scope of the new changes.

“Prasar Bharati has to stay on the right side of the government as it gets a substantial monetary help from them, and it cannot go whole hog like the privately owned channels do,” he added.

Next in line for a makeover is the early morning show, with sharper reporting and market analysis planned, and then DD National, the entertainment channel, and DD Urdu.

On the technical side, Doordarshan will change from analog to digital transmitters, which will allow for enhanced picture quality, spectrum efficiency and multichannel transmission from a single transmitter. Other technological changes will allow Doordarshan to split screens so that more than one person can be shown on air, something private news channels have long been able to do.

Mr. Sircar also put the network’s outside broadcasting vans to use so that reporters could do live reports outside the studio. “We never used our O.B. vans. It was such a waste of our resources,” he said.

DD News is also getting a new, more polished look. At his office in New Delhi, Mr. Sircar pointed at two large TV screens, which displayed the new DD News format on one screen and an NDTV 24×7 format on the other. Both screens had four boxes with an expert in each one discussing swine flu in Delhi.

“See the similarity?” he asked. “There used to be a miserable green board behind a sleepy anchor on DD News before. We have changed the color scheme to make it in tune with the younger generation.”

While there may be a similarity in form and presentation between the private channels and DD News, there will never be a similarity in content, pledged Mr. Sircar. “We will stick to the ideals of public service broadcasting and never sensationalize news,” he said.

In the current five-year Broadcast Plan, which ends in March 2017, the government has agreed to raise the amount it gives Prasar Bharati to 132 billion rupees. Whether its faith in Mr. Sircar is rewarded, however, is uncertain.

“Now is the time,” said Mr. Thakurta, the independent journalist. “DD can become the Indian version of the BBC or Al Jazeera or just a mouthpiece of those in authority. Only time will tell.”

---

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 22, 2013

"An earlier version of this article misstated the year of the Gujarat riots, which happened in 2002, not 2003. "

Read More..

Josh Brolin & Diane Lane: Inside Their Up-and-Down Marriage

By Dahvi Shira

02/22/2013 at 07:30 AM EST

Diane Lane and Josh Brolin

Steve Granitz/Wireimage

Josh Brolin and Diane Lane's eight-year marriage is ending in divorce, but the road wasn't always rocky for the occasionally tumultuous pair.

"We're very similar in that celebrity is not a necessity," Brolin, 45, told PEOPLE in 2003, after meeting his soon-to-be-bride, 48, the previous year through stepmom Barbra Streisand. "Everything is easy."

The simplicity seemingly continued for Brolin and his beauty, who wed the following year in a ceremony at the actor's central California ranch.

Though there was a bit of a rocky start to their marriage, the pair got on track in 2005. As Lane told PEOPLE at the time, "I feel much better having a strong man with me who makes me feel embraced and secure. It's wonderful."

With her first marriage to actor Christopher Lambert behind her, Lane went on to say, "I wasn't going to go relationship shopping with my young daughter. I didn't want her to get attached to something that wasn't going to last."

In 2008, Lane praised Brolin, telling Redbook: "It's just invigorating to be around him. Josh completes me because I'm so attracted to his otherness."

On Thursday, reps confirmed the pair split, with a source telling PEOPLE, "They've been separated for several months. This was a hard decision for both of them to make. They were together for 11 years, the relationship just ran its course."

News of the breakup came almost two months after Brolin was held for public intoxication just before midnight on New Year's Eve 2013. Released without charge, the actor was spotted without his wedding ring the following day, donning sunglasses, in Venice, Calif., where he seemed unfazed by the trouble as he ate with a male friend at Sauce on Hampton.

Read More..

Flu shot doing poor job of protecting older people

ATLANTA (AP) — It turns out this year's flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting older people, the most vulnerable age group.

The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in those 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Health officials are baffled as to why this is so. But the findings help explain why so many older people have been hospitalized with the flu this year.

Despite the findings, the CDC stood by its recommendation that everyone over 6 months get flu shots, the elderly included, because some protection is better than none, and because those who are vaccinated and still get sick may suffer less severe symptoms.

"Year in and year out, the vaccine is the best protection we have," said CDC flu expert Dr. Joseph Bresee.

Overall, across the age groups studied, the vaccine's effectiveness was found to be a moderate 56 percent, which means those who got a shot have a 56 percent lower chance of winding up at the doctor with the flu. That is somewhat worse than what has been seen in other years.

For those 65 and older, the vaccine was only 27 percent effective against the three strains it is designed to protect against, the worst level in about a decade. It did a particularly poor job against the tough strain that is causing more than three-quarters of the illnesses this year.

It is well known that flu vaccine tends to protect younger people better than older ones. Elderly people have weaker immune systems that don't respond as well to flu shots, and they are more vulnerable to the illness and its complications, including pneumonia.

But health officials said they don't know why this year's vaccine did so poorly in that age group.

One theory, as yet unproven, is that older people's immune systems were accustomed to strains from the last two years and had more trouble switching gears to handle this year's different, harsh strain.

The preliminary data for senior citizens is less than definitive. It is based on fewer than 300 people scattered among five states.

But it will no doubt surprise many people that the effectiveness is that low, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious-disease expert who has tried to draw attention to the need for a more effective flu vaccine.

Among infectious diseases, flu is considered one of the nation's leading killers. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

This flu season started in early December, a month earlier than usual, and peaked by the end of year. Hospitalization rates for people 65 and older have been some of the highest in a decade, at 146 per 100,000 people.

Flu viruses tend to mutate more quickly than others, so a new vaccine is formulated each year to target the strains expected to be the major threats. CDC officials have said that in formulating this year's vaccine, scientists accurately anticipated the strains that are circulating this season.

Because of the guesswork involved, scientists tend to set a lower bar for flu vaccine. While childhood vaccines against diseases like measles are expected to be 90 or 95 percent effective, a flu vaccine that's 60 to 70 percent effective in the U.S. is considered pretty good. By that standard, this year's vaccine is OK.

For senior citizens, a flu vaccine is considered pretty good if it's in the 30 to 40 percent range, said Dr. Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan flu expert.

A high-dose version of the flu shot was recently made available for those 65 and older, but the new study was too small to show whether that has made a difference.

The CDC estimates are based on about 2,700 people who got sick in December and January. The researchers traced back to see who had gotten shots and who hadn't. An earlier, smaller study put the vaccine's overall effectiveness at 62 percent, but other factors that might have influenced that figure weren't taken into account.

The CDC's Bresee said there is a danger in providing preliminary results because it may result in people doubting — or skipping — flu shots. But the figures were released to warn older people who got shots that they may still get sick and shouldn't ignore any serious flu-like symptoms, he said.

___

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Read More..

Stock futures rise after HP earnings, German data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Friday, indicating the S&P 500 may halt a two-day losing skid, boosted by positive economic data from Europe and better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard.

The S&P 500 <.spx> has dropped 1.9 percent over the past two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly decline of the year. The retreat was triggered by minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting released earlier in the week which suggested stimulus measures may end earlier than thought.

Still, the index is up more than 5 percent for the year and has held the 1,500 support level.

Hewlett-Packard Co climbed 4.7 percent to $17.90 in premarket trading after the No. 1 personal computer maker's quarterly revenue and forecasts beat Wall Street expectations as it continued to cut costs under CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround plan.

The German Ifo business climate indicator for February rose to 107.4, its best one-month rise in more than two years, boosting optimism after Thursday's disappointing PMI data stoked concerns over the euro zone economy.

S&P 500 futures rose 6.4 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 28 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 10.5 points.

Insurer American International Group Inc reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations, although Chief Executive Robert Benmosche said some employee bonuses will be smaller this year because the company did not meet all of its performance targets. Shares advanced 3.8 percent to $38.68 in premarket trading.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd rose 4.5 percent to $9.90 in premarket trade after the chipmaker forecast results this quarter that were largely above analysts' expectations as it gained market share in the hard-disk drive and flash-storage businesses.

Fellow chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc raised its quarterly dividend by a third and said it would buy back an additional $5 billion in stock.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Thursday morning, of 427 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 69.3 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.9 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

European shares advanced after the better-than-expected German survey, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> up 1.1 percent. <.eu/>

Asian shares recouped some of the previous session's steep falls as investors reassessed concerns that the Federal Reserve may end its ultra-soft monetary policy earlier than expected, but weak U.S. and European data capped Friday's recovery.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Read More..

Car Bomb in Damascus Kills Dozens, Opposition Says

Sana/European Pressphoto Agency

An injured man was carried near the site of a car bomb explosion in Damascus on Thursday.

In renewed violence reaching the center of the Syrian capital, a car bomb exploded in Damascus on Thursday near the headquarters of President Bashar al-Assad’s ruling party, killing more than two dozen people, mainly civilians and but also including security forces, according to opposition sources.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad group based in Britain that has a network of contacts in Syria, reported that at least 31 people were killed by the bomb in the neighborhood of Mazraa.

Syrian state television said two children were wounded, while Al Ikhbariya, a pro-government television channel, showed footage of two dead bodies and body parts in a park.

The area where the bomb exploded was near the headquarters of Mr. Assad’s ruling Baath Party and the Russian embassy. State television and the Syrian Observatory also said that mortar shells exploded near the Syrian Army General Command in the center of the capital, but there were no reported casualties.

The strikes were the latest to extend to the heart of the Syrian capital.

Reports this week appeared to show that rebel shells have reached new areas in Damascus.

Both state media and opposition activists reported on Wednesday that mortar rounds had hit the Tishreen sports stadium in the downtown neighborhood of Baramkeh. The state news agency, SANA, said the explosion killed an athlete from the Homs-based soccer team Al Wathba as he was practicing.

Government forces hit a rebel command center in a suburb east of the capital on Wednesday, injuring a founder of the Liwaa al-Islam brigade, Sheik Zahran Alloush, the brigade said in a statement.

On Tuesday, activists reported that up to seven mortar rounds had been fired by fighters of the Free Syrian Army toward Mr. Assad’s Tishreen Palace in Damascus.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not known whether Mr. Assad was there at the time. The palace, surrounded by a park, is in a wealthy area that has largely been insulated from the insurgency and it lies less than a mile from the main presidential palace.

Syrian rebels are entrenched in suburbs south and east of the capital, but they have been unable to push far into the center, although they strike the area with occasional mortars and increasingly frequent car bombs.

Such indiscriminate attacks however risk killing passersby, exposing the rebels to charges that they are careless with civilian life and property. Many Damascus residents are undecided about taking sides and fear their ancient city will be ravaged like Aleppo and other urban centers to the north.

At the same time, the government has decimated pro-rebel suburbs with air strikes and artillery, leaving vast areas depopulated or terrorized.

Fighting continued also for control of the main civilian airport in Aleppo on Wednesday.

Read More..

Dean Cain 'Not Surprised' By Mindy McCready's Death

By Sandra Sobieraj Westfall

02/21/2013 at 08:00 AM EST

Mindy McCready and Dean Cain at the Scream 2 premiere

Fred Prouser/Reuters/Landov

Speaking out for the first time about his former fiancée's suicide, actor and writer-producer Dean Cain tells PEOPLE that Mindy McCready was deeply troubled even 15 years ago, but it was her manipulations and lies – not substance abuse – that sank their future together back then.

"I'm saddened to hear of her passing, but I'm not surprised," says Cain, 46, whose starring role in TV's Lois & Clark ended just as he and McCready began their relationship in 1997.

They lived together and were engaged, but things imploded after a year. From his Los Angeles home on Monday, one day after McCready fatally shot herself, Cain struggled to remember any joy to their relationship: "I can't paint too pretty a picture. She would start arguments, start drama. Things weren't allowed to be good."

Though drugs and alcohol would later send McCready to rehab, Cain said neither was a factor in their relationship – or its demise.

"She was never abusive or addictive with me, but red flags were everywhere," he says. "I saw all the bad signs and told her to get out." At the end, he says he fled his own home for a hotel to escape her. "Everything she did was a manipulation of sorts. She would just get combative."

In the decade and a half that followed, Cain, who fathered a son with a subsequent girlfriend and is single today, severed all ties with McCready.

"When I did speak to her, truth didn't come out," he says. "She was kind of poisonous and not somebody I was going to have in my life anymore – or anywhere around my son."

Now, says Cain, he feels for the two boys McCready left behind.

"My first thought was of the poor kids. To think about the legacy those boys have been left, it's just tragic. ... All her troubles were self-inflicted. She had everything. She was a tremendous talent but everything about it was a waste."

Read More..

Adults get 11 percent of calories from fast food

ATLANTA (AP) — On an average day, U.S. adults get roughly 11 percent of their calories from fast food, a government study shows.

That's down slightly from the 13 percent reported the last time the government tried to pin down how much of the American diet is coming from fast food. Eating fast food too frequently has been seen as a driver of America's obesity problem.

For the research, about 11,000 adults were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours to come up with the results.

Among the findings:

— Young adults eat more fast food than their elders; 15 percent of calories for ages 20 to 39 and dropping to 6 percent for those 60 and older.

— Blacks get more of their calories from fast-food, 15 percent compared to 11 percent for whites and Hispanics.

— Young black adults got a whopping 21 percent from the likes of Wendy's, Taco Bell and KFC.

The figures are averages. Included in the calculations are some people who almost never eat fast food, as well as others who eat a lot of it.

The survey covers the years 2007 through 2010 and was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors couldn't explain why the proportion of calories from fast food dropped from the 13 percent found in a survey for 2003 through 2006.

One nutrition professor cast doubts on the latest results, saying 11 percent seemed implausibly low. New York University's Marion Nestle said it wouldn't be surprising if some people under-reported their hamburgers, fries and milkshakes since eating too much fast food is increasingly seen as something of a no-no.

"If I were a fast-food company, I'd say 'See, we have nothing to do with obesity! Americans are getting 90 percent of their calories somewhere else!'" she said.

The study didn't include the total number of fast-food calories, just the percentage. Previous government research suggests that the average U.S. adult each day consumes about 270 calories of fast food — the equivalent of a small McDonald's hamburger and a few fries.

The new CDC study found that obese people get about 13 percent of daily calories from fast food, compared with less than 10 percent for skinny and normal-weight people.

There was no difference seen by household income, except for young adults. The poorest — those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 — got 17 percent of their calories from fast food, while the figure was under 14 percent for the most affluent 20- and 30-somethings with a household income of more than $50,000.

That's not surprising since there are disproportionately higher numbers of fast-food restaurants in low-income neighborhoods, Nestle said.

Fast food is accessible and "it's cheap," she said.

Read More..

Wal-Mart holiday profit rises despite lackluster sales

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a larger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as a lower-than-anticipated tax rate helped to overcome some weakness in sales at its major Walmart U.S. unit that persisted into the beginning of February.

The world's largest retailer also raised its dividend payout. Its shares fell 1 percent in premarket trading.

Wal-Mart earned $1.67 per share from continuing operations in the fiscal fourth quarter, up from $1.51 per share a year earlier. Wal-Mart had forecast a profit of $1.53 to $1.58 per share from continuing operations, and analysts expected it to earn $1.57 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Walmart U.S. has had a slow start to February, which Walmart U.S. Chief Executive Bill Simon attributed largely to a delay in income tax refunds. The company expects sales at Walmart U.S. stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, to be about flat during the current first quarter. A year earlier, such sales rose 2.6 percent.

Efforts such as extending its layaway program and matching competitors' prices attracted shoppers during the competitive holiday season, but Walmart U.S. same-store sales rose just 1 percent in the fourth quarter. The company had forecast an increase of 1 percent to 3 percent, and analysts, on average, had looked for a 1.5 percent gain.

A year earlier, Walmart U.S. same-store sales rose 1.5 percent.

Still, Wal-Mart said that its biggest unit gained market share in major categories of food, consumables, health and wellness and over-the-counter medications, as well as in entertainment and toys, which are big sellers during the holiday period, citing data from Nielsen and the NPD Group.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Boca Raton, Florida; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Read More..

Vladimir Pekhtin Resigns From Russian Parliament

MOSCOW — A senior lawmaker from Russia’s ruling party, who is also the chairman of Parliament’s ethics committee, resigned from the legislature on Wednesday after opposition bloggers revealed that he owned more than $1.3 million worth of luxury real estate in Florida, which he did not list on required disclosure forms.

The lawmaker, Vladimir A. Pekhtin, said that he did not want the scandal to taint his party colleagues in United Russia, and announced his departure at a morning parliamentary session.

He said he had not broken any law, but that “there are very controversial documents that have been made public on the Internet,” and it was necessary to clear up “obvious legal misunderstandings.”

“I will give up my mandate, which I always achieved in honest political battle, and my opponents, my rivals, know this,” he said, in comments broadcast on television. “Nevertheless, I will not cling to it. Because I think that my personal matters are secondary to United Russia. Thank you for many years of work, and for your trust.”

Whether he surrendered his seat voluntarily or under pressure from the Kremlin, Mr. Pekhtin’s departure set a precedent in the Russian government, where high-level corruption and lavish spending overseas have developed into a serious political liability. It represents a victory for opposition activists, who have never achieved such a swift response to an exposé.

Officials, meanwhile, have been given a powerful reminder of their own vulnerability, said Mikhail Y. Vinogradov, chairman of the St. Petersburg Politics Fund. He added that it is not yet clear whether this case represents a one-time occurrence or “a change in the rules of the game.”

“This is a way to show that discussion of a ‘battle against corruption’ leaves the majority of officials without protection,” he said. “Naturally, officials’ anxiety over their property will grow for the time being. There won’t be any attempts to torpedo this campaign — they will simply hope that this is just another campaign that will exhaust itself in three or four months. That’s what the representatives of the elite will count on.”

The blogger Aleksei Navalny, who published documents about Mr. Pekhtin’s extensive real estate holdings last week, was jubilant, remarking that “now he can finally move to Miami and live in peace, without having to listen to any complaints.”

“In fairness, one must acknowledge that Mr. Pekhtin’s actions show that somewhere deep inside him there are remnants of a conscience,” he wrote on the Web site of Ekho Moskvy, a radio station. “Maybe other members of United Russia felt this, and that’s the reason they named him to the ethics committee? Let’s watch how the others who are hiding foreign property behave.”

Mr. Navalny published the property records last Wednesday, a day after Mr. Putin proposed legislation that would bar senior Russian officials from holding bank accounts or owning stock outside the country.

The proposal did not prohibit officials from owning real estate overseas, but signaled a Kremlin crackdown on their lavish spending abroad, so the revelations about Mr. Pekhtin came as an ill-timed embarassment.

The records showed the lawmaker’s name on the deeds of at least three properties in Florida, including a South Beach apartment bought last year for nearly $1.3 million, in a building where Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, also owns a unit.

Late last year, the newspaper Vedomosti published a report on a huge mansion outside St. Petersburg and other properties which Mr. Pekhtin had not disclosed.

Mr. Pekhtin initially shrugged off the reports, telling the newspaper Izvestiya that he had “practically no” real estate holdings outside Russia, though his grown son did. Within a matter of hours, however, he announced that he was temporarily relinquishing his position as chairman of the parliamentary ethics committee until his name was cleared by an investigation.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Pekhtin cast the scandal as a salvo in a larger standoff between social forces in Russia.

“In this case, our opponents are not interested in Pekhtin,” he said, according to  Interfax. “They need to discredit the Parliament, the authorities, which are represented by every person sitting in this hall, and every one of us may turn out to be a target for them. As an honest person, I do not want and cannot make peace with this, and I do not want the shadow of unfounded allegations to fall on our party.”

After Mr. Pekhtin made his announcement, fellow lawmakers gave him a standing ovation and warmly applauded. Many went out of their way to praise his decision. But Sergei Mironov, head of the minority A Just Russia party, said he expected Mr. Pekhtin’s decision marked the beginning of a process, not the end.

“Pandora’s box has been opened,” said Mr. Mironov, in comments broadcast on Channel One. “I don’t doubt that the sixth sitting of the State Duma will have a record number of early terminations of deputies’ authority. For me it is completely obvious that, if there were not some real facts there, the deputy would not have voluntarily given up his authority.”

Read More..

Robin Roberts Welcomed Back to GMA by the Obamas

By Stephen M. Silverman

02/20/2013 at 07:50 AM EST

From left: Josh Elliott, Sam Champion, Robin Roberts, Lara Spencer, and George Stephanopoulos

Heidi Gutman/ABC

A standing ovation from her crew greeted Robin Roberts at the door of the ABC Times Square studio of Good Morning America, even before the sun rose Wednesday – exactly five months after the anchor had a bone marrow transplant to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a rare blood disorder.

Outside, in the street, a crowd of fans had already gathered with placards, banners and even an ebullient fellow from Dallas waving what he called the world's largest wristband, hailing his heroine. It read, "WELCOME BACK ROBIN."

Once the show hit the air, Roberts, with her colleagues surrounding her, looked into the camera, broke into a great big smile, and announced: "Hi, it's Robin. I've been waiting 174 days to do this: Good Morning America!"

Said her co-anchor George Stephanopoulos: "We've been waiting for that drumroll. It is official now. Welcome back, Robin."

From Jimmy Kimmel and Bradley Cooper, sitting at Kimmel's talk show desk in Hollywood: "Welcome back, girlfriend."

And from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: "Good morning, America, and welcome back, Robin," said President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama sitting with him.

"Robin," said Mrs. Obama, "we just want you to know that the whole Obama family, we've been thinking about you, and praying for you, and rooting for you every step of the way."

"You've been an inspiration to all of us," said the President, "and we couldn't be happier that you're back here, doing what you do best."

Said Roberts, 52 – besides claiming she wasn't wearing the froggy slippers she had sported around her apartment ("Or, am I?" she said) – "I keep pinching myself and I realize that this is real. This is really happening.

"Faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment and I am so full of gratitude."

Her medical team was introduced later in the show. Before that, Roberts said, "There's so many people that I want to thank throughout the morning, my doctors and nurses and family and colleagues and people who have sat in this chair and those who have blazed the trail before me."

"As my mother said, 'We all have something.' Everyone’s story has purpose and meaning and value, and I share this morning, this day of celebration with everyone."

She added later, after witnessing an impromptu jam session taking place in her honor outside the studio, "Our viewers have been incredible."

Roberts recently received the all-clear from her doctors, as tests have shown no abnormalities and she has continued to gain strength. She had already been back in the studio, doing a series of dry runs before her official return Wednesday.

A special edition of 20/20 on Feb. 22 will offer a behind-the-scenes look at Roberts's experience and those who have been inspired by her example.

Read More..

Drug overdose deaths up for 11th consecutive year

CHICAGO (AP) — Drug overdose deaths rose for the 11th straight year, federal data show, and most of them were accidents involving addictive painkillers despite growing attention to risks from these medicines.

"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.

In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60 percent of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.

The report appears in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

It details which drugs were at play in most of the fatalities. As in previous recent years, opioid drugs — which include OxyContin and Vicodin — were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.

Frieden said many doctors and patients don't realize how addictive these drugs can be, and that they're too often prescribed for pain that can be managed with less risky drugs.

They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.

Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.

Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides.

The report's data came from death certificates, which aren't always clear on whether a death was a suicide or a tragic attempt at getting high. But it does seem like most serious painkiller overdoses were accidental, said Dr. Rich Zane, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The study's findings are no surprise, he added. "The results are consistent with what we experience" in ERs, he said, adding that the statistics no doubt have gotten worse since 2010.

Some experts believe these deaths will level off. "Right now, there's a general belief that because these are pharmaceutical drugs, they're safer than street drugs like heroin," said Don Des Jarlais, director of the chemical dependency institute at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center.

"But at some point, people using these drugs are going to become more aware of the dangers," he said.

Frieden said the data show a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" — doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.

Last month, a federal panel of drug safety specialists recommended that Vicodin and dozens of other medicines be subjected to the same restrictions as other narcotic drugs like oxycodone and morphine. Meanwhile, more and more hospitals have been establishing tougher restrictions on painkiller prescriptions and refills.

One example: The University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora is considering a rule that would ban emergency doctors from prescribing more medicine for patients who say they lost their pain meds, Zane said.

___

Stobbe reported from Atlanta.

___

Online:

JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com

Read More..

Stock futures flat with data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, ahead of data on the housing market and inflation, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting.

Housing starts and permits for January along with the January producer price index are due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).

Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the housing starts data to show a 925,000-unit annualized rate in January versus 954,000 in December, and a total of 915,000 permits in January compared with 909,000 in the prior month. PPI is expected to show a 0.4 percent rise compared with a 0.3 percent drop in December. Excluding volatile food and energy items, PPI is expected to rise 0.2 percent versus with a 0.1 percent increase in December.

Later in the session, investors will look to the minutes from the Fed's January meeting for any clues on how long the current monetary policy will remain in effect.

The S&P 500 <.spx> is up 7.4 percent for the year, fueled by legislators' ability to sidestep an automatic implementation of spending cuts on tax hikes on January 1, better-than-expected corporate earnings and modestly improving economic data that has been tepid enough for the Fed to maintain its stimulus policy.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.5 point and were slightly below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 14 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 2 points.

As earnings season winds down, S&P 500 companies set to report include Devon Energy Corp and Fluor Corp .

According to the Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of the 391 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 70.1 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.6 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

European shares traded flat, consolidating after the previous session's sharp gains, held back by weak earnings newsflow and as traders cited caution ahead of the minutes from the Fed's January policy meeting. <.eu/>

Asian shares scaled their highest levels since August 2011 after an improving global economic outlook whetted investor appetite for risk, while the yen firmed amid doubts over Japan's commitment to drastic reflation.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Read More..

Pistorius Denies Murder in Killing of Girlfriend

PRETORIA, South Africa — Facing a charge of premeditated murder following the killing of his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star and one of the world’s best-known athletes, flatly denied on Tuesday that he intended to take her life when he opened fire at a closed bathroom door at his home last week.

“I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated, ” he said in an affidavit read to a packed courtroom, “I had no intention to kill my girlfriend.”

His assertion contradicted an earlier accusation from prosecutor Gerrie Nel that Mr. Pistorius committed premeditated murder when he rose from his bed, pulled on prosthetic legs, walked more than 20 feet from a bedroom and pumped four bullets into the door, three of which struck Reeva Steenkamp, Mr. Pistorius’s girlfriend, on the other side.

It was the first time that either the prosecution or Mr. Pistorius, appearing at a bail hearing, had publicly provided details of their version of events. The case — one of the most sensational in recent times — stunned South Africa last Thursday when the police arrived at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated community in Pretoria to find Ms. Steenkamp dead from gunshot wounds.

“We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way,” Mr. Pistorius’s affidavit said. As it was read out, the athlete wept so uncontrollably that magistrate Desmond Nair ordered a brief recess to permit him to regain his composure.

Mr. Pistorius said he heard a noise from the bathroom and walked on his stumps, not prosthetic legs. He was nervous, he said, because the toilet window did not have burglar bars and contractors who had been working there had left ladders.

The room was dark, he said, and he did not realize that Ms. Steenkamp was not in bed. He felt vulnerable and fearful without his prosthetics and opened fire at the door, he said, then broke it down with a cricket back to discover Ms. Steenkamp.

He carried her downstairs, he said, and “she died in my arms.”

Earlier, Mr. Nair, the magistrate, had said he could not exclude premeditation in the killing so Mr. Pistorius’s bail application would be much more difficult. But he said he would consider downgrading the charges depending on evidence at subsequent hearings.

Prosecutor Nel said Ms. Steenkamp, a model and law graduate who had just made her debut in a reality television show, had been in a tiny room measuring less than 20 square feet when the shots rang out. “She could not go anywhere,” he said. “It must have been horrific.”

“She locked the door for a purpose. We will get to that purpose,” he said. She was struck by three of the four rounds, he said.

But a lawyer acting for Mr. Pistorius, Barry Roux, said the defense would “submit that this is not a murder.” He said there was no evidence that Mr. Pistorius, 26, and Ms. Steenkamp, 29, had fought and there was no evidence of a motive. He also challenged the prosecution to produce a witness to corroborate its version of Mr. Pistorius’s actions.

“Scratch the veneer” of the prosecution case, he said, and there was no evidence to support it.

“All we really know is she locked herself behind the toilet door and she was shot,” Mr. Roux said.

Mr. Nel, the prosecutor, however, declared: “If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated,” he said. “The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven meters and I kill.”

He added “The motive is ‘I want to kill.’ That’s it.”

If convicted of premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius would face a mandatory life sentence, though under South African law he would be eligible for parole in 25 years at the latest. South Africa abolished the death penalty in 1995.

Mr. Pistorius was appearing for the second time since Friday. He arrived in court looking grim-faced, his jaw set. But, as during his earlier appearance, he broke down in tears when the prosecutor said that he had “killed an innocent woman.”

As the court went into a midday recess, Ms. Steenkamp’s private funeral service began in the southern coastal city of Port Elizabeth, her hometown, with six pallbearers carrying a coffin swathed in a white cloth and white flowers as mourners expressed emotions from dismay to rage. More than 100 relatives and friends attended the funeral at the Victoria Park crematorium.

“Why? Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?” June Steenkamp, the victim’s mother, said in a published interview in The Times of Johannesburg.

Gavin Venter, a former jockey who worked for the victim’s father, a horse trainer, said on Tuesday, “She was an angel. She was so soft, so innocent. Such a lovely person. It’s just sad that this could happen to somebody so good.”

“I’m disgusted with what he did. He must be dealt with harshly,” he added, according to news reports.

The affair has stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius as an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa’s ability to project its achievements onto the world stage.

During his first court appearance on Friday, Mr. Pistorius did not enter a formal plea. But a statement released by his agent said that he disputed the charge of premeditated murder “in the strongest terms” and that “our thoughts and prayers today should be” for Ms. Steenkamp, and her family, “regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”

Mr. Pistorius was born without fibula bones and both of his legs were amputated below the knee as an infant. But he became a Paralympic champion and became the first Paralympic sprinter to compete against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.

His triumphs made him a global track star. Several companies have withdrawn lucrative sponsorships and his case has played into an emotional debate in South Africa about violence against women.

Members of the Women’s League of the ruling African National Congress protested outside the building, waving placards saying: “No Bail for Pistorius,” Reuters reported.

Lydia Polgreen reported from Pretoria, South Africa, and Alan Cowell from London.

Read More..

Oscar Pistorius Charge Upgraded to Premeditated Murder

Breaking News

By Stephen M. Silverman

02/19/2013 at 07:20 AM EST

Oscar Pistorius

Antonie de Ras/Reuters/Landov

Charges against Oscar Pistorius have been upgraded to premeditated murder, after the judge in Pretoria, South Africa, said during Tuesday's bail hearing that he could not rule out the possibility that the "Blade Runner" track star planned the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, reports CNN.

Magistrate Desmond Nair said he would consider downgrading the charge at a later date. Wearing a blue shirt and gray suit, and sometimes clenching his jaw, Pistorius also openly wept in the packed courtroom as prosecutors provided details of their accusations.

Prosecutors said Pistorius, 26, opened fire on Steenkamp, 29, four times through a locked bathroom door of his home in a gated community last Thursday after attaching his prosthetic legs and walking more than 20 feet from a bedroom.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Steenkamp, a model who only recently had made her debut in a reality TV show, had been in a room less than 20 square feet when the shots were fired, reports The New York Times.

"She could not go anywhere," said Nel. "It must have been horrific."

A lawyer for Pistorius, Barry Roux, said the defense would "submit that this is not a murder," citing a lack of evidence or motive.

Read More..

Hip implants a bit more likely to fail in women

CHICAGO (AP) — Hip replacements are slightly more likely to fail in women than in men, according to one of the largest studies of its kind in U.S. patients. The risk of the implants failing is low, but women were 29 percent more likely than men to need a repeat surgery within the first three years.

The message for women considering hip replacement surgery remains unclear. It's not known which models of hip implants perform best in women, even though women make up the majority of the more than 400,000 Americans who have full or partial hip replacements each year to ease the pain and loss of mobility caused by arthritis or injuries.

"This is the first step in what has to be a much longer-term research strategy to figure out why women have worse experiences," said Diana Zuckerman, president of the nonprofit National Research Center for Women & Families. "Research in this area could save billions of dollars" and prevent patients from experiencing the pain and inconvenience of surgeries to fix hip implants that go wrong.

Researchers looked at more than 35,000 surgeries at 46 hospitals in the Kaiser Permanente health system. The research, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, was funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

After an average of three years, 2.3 percent of the women and 1.9 percent of the men had undergone revision surgery to fix a problem with the original hip replacement. Problems included instability, infection, broken bones and loosening.

"There is an increased risk of failure in women compared to men," said lead author Maria Inacio, an epidemiologist at Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego. "This is still a very small number of failures."

Women tend to have smaller joints and bones than men, and so they tend to need smaller artificial hips. Devices with smaller femoral heads — the ball-shaped part of the ball-and-socket joint in an artificial hip — are more likely to dislocate and require a surgical repair.

That explained some, but not all, of the difference between women and men in the study. It's not clear what else may have contributed to the gap. Co-author Dr. Monti Khatod, an orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles, speculated that one factor may be a greater loss of bone density in women.

The failure of metal-on-metal hips was almost twice as high for women than in men. The once-popular models were promoted by manufacturers as being more durable than standard plastic or ceramic joints, but several high-profile recalls have led to a decrease in their use in recent years.

"Don't be fooled by hype about a new hip product," said Zuckerman, who wrote an accompanying commentary in the medical journal. "I would not choose the latest, greatest hip implant if I were a woman patient. ... At least if it's been for sale for a few years, there's more evidence for how well it's working."

___

Online:

Journal: http://www.jamainternalmed.com

Read More..

Stock futures edge higher after seven-week rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday, indicating the S&P 500 will build on its seven-week winning streak ahead of data on the housing market.

* The S&P 500 <.spx> has risen for seven straight weeks, its longest streak since January 2011, and is up 6.6 percent for the year.

* The strong start to the year was fueled by legislators in Washington averting a series of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that were set to take effect on January 1, as well as better-than-expected corporate earnings and data that pointed to modest economic improvement but no immediate change in the Federal Reserve's stimulus plans.

* But further gains for the benchmark S&P index have been a struggle recently as investors look for new catalysts to lift the index as it hovers near five-year highs.

* Economic data on tap includes the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index for February at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 48 compared with 47 in January.

* Improving housing data has been cited by analysts as one of the key factors in the equity market rally.

* S&P 500 futures rose 1.4 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 18 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5.25 points.

* Office Depot Inc jumped 11.1 percent to $5.10 in premarket trading after a person familiar with the matter said the No.2 U.S. office supply retailer is in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax Inc and a deal could come as early as this week. OfficeMax shares climbed 13.5 percent to $12.20 in light premarket trade.

* Computer-maker Dell reports fourth-quarter results, expected to show earnings per share fall to $0.39 from $0.51 one year earlier. Analysts will have their first chance to question management on a buyout deal struck earlier this month by chief executive Michael Dell, private equity firm Silver Lake and Microsoft .

* An investor bid to break up Hess Corp's sprawling energy empire has drawn unwelcome attention to one of the commodity trading world's lesser-known players, a venture that has stumbled in recent years after a decade of success.

* European shares rose on Tuesday, lifted by gains at food group Danone and fresh signs of a German economic recovery, although broader market sentiment remained cautious ahead of Italian elections this weekend. <.eu/>

* Philippine and Australian shares scaled new heights but other Asian shares were mixed, with worries about the risk of an inconclusive outcome in Italy's election and U.S. budget talks limiting the upside after strong rallies in early February.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Read More..

South African Leader Launches New Political Party

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Respected anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele launched a new political party on Monday to challenge South Africa's ruling ANC, saying self-interested and corrupt leaders were threatening the continent's biggest economy.

Invoking the spirit of Nelson Mandela and the optimism that prevailed at South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994, Ramphele said the dream of the "Rainbow Nation" was dying under the African National Congress (ANC).

"Our society's greatness is being undermined by a massive failure of governance," she said, urging South Africans to "build our nation into the country of our dreams".

Ramphele, 65, faces a formidable challenge. Although political support for the ANC is weakening 19 years after the end of white-minority rule, it remains an unrivalled political machine and commands a nearly two-thirds majority in parliament.

But the medical doctor and former World Bank managing director has the respect of much of the country's black majority as a partner of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died in 1977 in apartheid police custody.

She was also placed under house arrest for seven years by the apartheid government because of her political work. She has regularly challenged authority and the ANC on its failings.

The new party, which will contest elections due early next year, will be called 'Agang', the Sesotho word for "Let us build".

The ANC "noted" her announcement but said Ramphela's launch speech, outside the Constitutional Court in central Johannesburg, offered nothing new.

The 101-year-old liberation movement also dismissed Ramphele's accusation that it was to blame for income inequality, social violence, failing education and other problems.

"The criticism of the ANC is a failure to acknowledge that many of the challenges were not created by the ANC. It is historical," party spokesman Keith Khoza said.

"Any party that won elections would have faced the same societal issues in education, health, housing and so on."

A group of ANC heavyweights split off in 2008 to form the Congress of the People (COPE) but the party fared poorly in elections the following year and has since all-but imploded amid infighting and wrangling.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by David Dolan and Andrew Heavens)

Read More..

Photo Fun at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon

Jessica Chastain, Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington and more pull their best poses at PEOPLE's exclusive photo shoot

Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty for People.com

Updated: Tuesday Feb 05, 2013 | 01:30 PM EST
By: Alison Schwartz

Subscribe Now

Read More..

Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior

SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.

The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said.

"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel. What children watch is as important as how much they watch," said lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute.

The research was to be published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics.

The study involved 565 Seattle parents, who periodically filled out TV-watching diaries and questionnaires measuring their child's behavior.

Half were coached for six months on getting their 3-to-5-year-old kids to watch shows like "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer" rather than more violent programs like "Power Rangers." The results were compared with kids whose parents who got advice on healthy eating instead.

At six months, children in both groups showed improved behavior, but there was a little bit more improvement in the group that was coached on their TV watching.

By one year, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups overall. Low-income boys appeared to get the most short-term benefit.

"That's important because they are at the greatest risk, both for being perpetrators of aggression in real life, but also being victims of aggression," Christakis said.

The study has some flaws. The parents weren't told the purpose of the study, but the authors concede they probably figured it out and that might have affected the results.

Before the study, the children averaged about 1½ hours of TV, video and computer game watching a day, with violent content making up about a quarter of that time. By the end of the study, that increased by up to 10 minutes. Those in the TV coaching group increased their time with positive shows; the healthy eating group watched more violent TV.

Nancy Jensen, who took part with her now 6-year-old daughter, said the study was a wake-up call.

"I didn't realize how much Elizabeth was watching and how much she was watching on her own," she said.

Jensen said her daughter's behavior improved after making changes, and she continues to control what Elizabeth and her 2-year-old brother, Joe, watch. She also decided to replace most of Elizabeth's TV time with games, art and outdoor fun.

During a recent visit to their Seattle home, the children seemed more interested in playing with blocks and running around outside than watching TV.

Another researcher who was not involved in this study but also focuses his work on kids and television commended Christakis for taking a look at the influence of positive TV programs, instead of focusing on the impact of violent TV.

"I think it's fabulous that people are looking on the positive side. Because no one's going to stop watching TV, we have to have viable alternatives for kids," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston.

____

Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

___

Contact AP Writer Donna Blankinship through Twitter (at)dgblankinship

Read More..

Euro, dollar up after G20, stocks ease on growth concern

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro and the dollar rose against the yen on Monday after the G20 decided not to criticize Japan for its expansionist policies, but shares eased as Europe's weak growth outlook weighed on sentiment.

Financial leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies promised on Saturday not to devalue their currencies to boost exports, aiming to defuse talk of currency wars that had been roiling the markets.

The euro gained 0.2 percent to 125.32 yen, edging up toward a 34-month high of 127.71 yen hit earlier this month, while the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 94 yen, closer to its highest level since May 2010 of 94.46 hit on February 11.

"Future yen direction will continue to be driven by domestic monetary policy from the Bank of Japan and improving international investor confidence, which are both driving the yen weaker," said Lee Hardman, currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to nominate a new BOJ governor. Sources told Reuters that former financial bureaucrat Toshiro Muto, considered likely to be less radical than other candidates, was leading the field.

Abe said on Monday that buying foreign bonds was a future option for the Bank of Japan, which would entail selling of the yen by the central bank.

The euro was also rising against the dollar, gaining 0.1 percent to $1.3375 ahead of address by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to the region's parliament which may touch on the outlook for the single currency after the G20 meeting.

In European markets, attention was also switching to the release of euro area Purchasing Managers' Indexes for February and German sentiment indices due later in the week, and the upcoming general elections in Italy.

Analysts expect Thursday's euro area flash PMI indices, which point to economic activity around six months out, to show growth stabilizing across the recession-hit region, leaving hopes for a recovery in the second half of the year intact.

Concerns over an inconclusive outcome in Italian elections at the end of the week added to the weaker sentiment as a fragmented parliament could hamper a future government's reform efforts.

The worries about the outlook for Italy were encouraging investors back into safe have German government bonds on Monday, with 10-year Bund yields easing 3.6 basis points to be around 1.63 percent.

"Political uncertainty will keep Bunds well bid this week," ING rate strategist Alessandro Giansanti said, adding that only better than expected economic data could create selling pressure on German debt near term.

EARNINGS HIT

European equity markets were taking their lead from corporate earnings reports which have been reflecting the sluggish economic conditions across the region.

Danish brewer Carlsberg , which generates just over 60 percent of its sales in western Europe, became the latest company to report a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, sending its shares to lowest level in nearly a month.

The 5 percent drop in price for shares in the world's fourth biggest brewery helped send the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> of top European shares down 0.4 percent in morning trade. Germany's DAX <.gdaxi>, the UK FTSE <.ftse> and France's CAC-40 <.fchi> were all also slightly weaker. <.l><.eu/>

Earlier, the effect of the G20 statement and the comments from Abe indicating a renewed drive to stimulate the economy lifted the Nikkei stock index <.n225> by 2.1 percent, near to its highest level since September 2008.

U.S. stock futures were barely changed and are expected to stay little changed as Wall Street will be closed on Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday. <.n/>

MSCI's world equity index <.miwd00000pus> was flat as markets extended two-week period of consolidation that has followed the big run up in January when demand was buoyed by the efforts of global central banks to stimulate the world economy.

Data from EPFR Global, a US-based firm that tracks the flows and allocations of funds globally, shows investors pulled $3.62 billion from U.S. stock funds in the latest week, the most in 10 weeks after taking a neutral stance the prior week.

But demand for emerging market equities remained strong, with investors putting $1.81 billion in new cash into stock funds, the fund-tracking firm said.

CHINA RETURN

In the commodity markets traders played catch up after a week-long holiday last week in China, the world's second biggest consumer of many raw materials, had kept activity subdued, with worries about the euro zone economy weighing on sentiment.

Copper, for which China is the world's largest consumer, fell 0.8 percent to $8,135 a metric ton (1.1023 tons) on the London futures market.

Gold rebounded by 0.3 percent from a six-month low to be $1,614 an ounce as jewelers in China returned to the physical market after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Crude oil markets were mostly steady after some weak U.S. industrial production data on Friday [ID:nL1N0BF44A] was seen dampening demand, while tensions in the Middle East lent some support.

U.S. crude fell 20 cents to $95.66 a barrel but Brent inched up two cents $117.86.

(Reporting by Richard Hubbard; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Read More..

IHT Rendezvous: In Singapore's Immigration Debate, Sign of Asia's Slipping Middle Class?

BEIJING — Immigration is a hot-button issue nearly everywhere in the world, though the contours of the debate vary from place to place. In the United States, sweeping changes to the law may offer legal residency for millions of people who have entered the country illegally, my colleague Ashley Parker reports.

Here in Asia, in the nation of Singapore, the debate looks somewhat different: The government plans to increase the population from just over five million to a possible high of nearly seven million by 2030, via regulated, legal immigration. It’s provoking opposition.

So much so that on Saturday, about 3,000 people turned out for what some commentators said was one of the biggest demonstrations in the nation’s history. (If the number seems small, it reflects the tight political control exerted over Singapore life by the People’s Action Party, which has run the country for about half a century and discourages public protest.)

What are the contours of the debate in Singapore?

Concern over booming immigration, often focused on new arrivals from increasingly rich China, has been simmering in the nation, with many feeling that the immigrants don’t play by the same rules, that their manners are poor and that they are pushing up prices. That feeling crystallized last year when a wealthy Chinese man driving a Ferrari at high speed killed three people (including himself) in a nighttime accident.

(Similar sentiments are found in Hong Kong, as my colleagues Bettina Wassener and Gerry Mullany wrote.)

Vividly illustrating the resentment, Singaporeans sometimes call the wealthy immigrants “rich Chinese locusts,” according to an article in the Economic Observer’s Worldcrunch.

Less controversially, the article quoted Peng Hui, a professor of sociology at National Singapore University, as saying: “Singaporeans do not discriminate against the Chinese. On the contrary, they very much identify with their Chinese ancestry.” (Of course, rich Chinese are not the only new immigrants, but they are a major group, many commentators have pointed out.) “What the local people do not appreciate is the fact that Chinese people talk loudly in public, eat on the subway and like to squeeze through in a crowd or grab things,” Mr. Peng was quoted as saying.

So the Singapore government’s Population White Paper that passed in Parliament earlier this month, just before Chinese New Year, was bound to stir things up.

The government is presenting the rise in immigration as a target that is needed if Singapore, where immigrants already make up about 40 percent of the population, and which has the highest concentration of millionaires in the world, is to continue to flourish, reports said. Singaporeans just aren’t having enough children, said the prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.

“In my view, in 2030, I think 6 million will not be enough to meet Singaporeans’ needs as our population ages because of this problem of the baby boomers and bulge of aging people,” Mr. Lee said in Parliament, adding that 6.9 million was not a target but a number to be used to help plan for infrastructure.

“Do we really need to increase our population by that much?” wrote a person called Chang Wei Meng in a letter to The Straits Times, according to Reuters. “What happened to achieving the Swiss standard of living?”

Gilbert Goh, a main organizer of the rally Saturday at Singapore’s Speaker’s Corner in a public park, said the protesters had a message: “They want to tell the government, please reconsider this policy. The turnout is a testimony that this policy is flawed and unpopular on the ground,” The Associated Press quoted Mr. Goh as saying.

Yet amid the familiar rhetoric about immigrants, heard around the world – they don’t fit in, they’re rude, they’re different – might something more important be going on here?

In a blog post on Singapore News Alternative, Nicole Seah, a politician who has run for Parliament and comments on social issues, wrote: “Along with many other Singaporeans, I oppose the White Paper.”

Why? She is looking for “a society that lives in harmony, rather than tense and overcrowded conditions,” she writes.

“Not the Singapore Inc. that has been aggressively forced down our throats the past few years – a Singapore which is in danger of becoming a transient state where people from all over, come, make their fortunes, and leave.”

Not “a Singapore that has become a playground for the rich and the people who can afford it. A Singapore where the middle class is increasingly drowned out because they do not have the social clout or sufficient representatives in Parliament to voice their concerns.”

Ms. Seah’s statements raise an interesting question: Is this part of a phenomenon that the columnist Chrystia Freeland has written about so ably for this newspaper, the ascendancy of a wealthy, “plutocrat” class and the slipping status of the middle class?

As Ms. Freeland wrote last week: “The most important fact about the United States in this century is that middle-class incomes are stagnating. The financial crisis has revealed an equally stark structural problem in much of Europe.” Is it hitting Asia, too, and does Singapore’s protest speak, at least in part, to this? Hong Kong’s dissatisfaction too?

Read More..