Thursday 11 April 2013

Mali's leading party picks candidate for July presidential poll

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's largest political party, Adema-PASJ, has chosen Dramane Dembele, a 46-year-old mining engineer, as its candidate in a July presidential election aimed at ending a tumultuous political transition in the West African nation.

Once an example of democracy in what is known as West Africa's "coup belt", Mali has been mired in turmoil since March 2012, prompted by a Tuareg rebellion, an occupation of the north of the country by Islamic militants and a military coup.

Dembele was chosen following a meeting of the party's executive committee late on Wednesday, a senior party official told journalists.

The party's current leader and Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, is prevented from contesting the poll following a deal struck with coup leaders that allows him to lead the country during the transition.

Dembele will be up against about a dozen other candidates including former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-finance minister Soumaila Cisse, but he will be able to count on Adema-PASJ's popularity.

The party controls 54 seats in the country's 160-seat national assembly following the last election in 2007.

France, which led a lightning intervention to drive out the Islamists who had occupied northern Mali, has pushed for the election to complete Mali's transition to democracy.

But there are widespread concerns over the organization of credible elections following continued Islamist rebel attacks in northern Mali and the lack of an effective government presence in many areas.

(Reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/malis-leading-party-picks-candidate-july-presidential-poll-225517061.html

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Numark announces Mixtrack Quad four-channel DJ controller, we go hands-on

Numark announces Mixtrack Quad fourchannel DJ controller, we go hands on

Who'd have thunk it? Numark, at a music trade show with a new another DJ controller for your consideration. This time it has taken its popular Mixtrack console, and doubled down on the number of channels on offer. This now means between the Mixtrack, the Mixtrack II, the Mixtrack Pro II, and this, there's likely a Mixtrack for everyone. Evidently it's a format that works, so it only makes sense to offer a number of options based around the theme. As with other members of the Mixtrack family, the layout is fairly traditional, with two platters plus transport controls flanking a central mixer section. Above each platter is a set of eight MPC-style trigger pads and some rotary controls for FX and filters.

If the Quad looks like it's got an extra splash of color compared to its siblings, that's because it has. The pads and platters have have configurable RGB LEDs, which we first saw in the NS7 II (Numark is going strong on the colors generally, it seems). Again, as before there's a built-in audio interface, which is pretty much essential for a controller of this level. And what level is that? Around the $349 one, apparently, whenever it comes to market (no word on that at this point). While you're waiting to find out, however, you might as well scoot over the fold for the hardware impressions.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/esca7FkAVNE/

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Wednesday 27 February 2013

Why do Republicans so hate Michelle Obama? (Americablog)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/287602005?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Kerry says time is now for Syria's Assad to quit

PARIS (AP) ? New U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the time has passed for Syrian President Basher Assad to leave power.

His first official meetings with France's leadership come amid increasing efforts by both countries to bolster Syria's opposition.

Kerry met Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande in Paris, chatting in French on the front steps of the Elysee Palace.

The war in Syria and Iran's nuclear program have topped the agenda of Kerry's tour of Europe and the Middle East.

Officials in the United States and Europe said Tuesday the Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to provide non-lethal assistance to carefully vetted fighters opposed to Assad.

"We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the political transition that the Syrian people want and deserve," Kerry said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-says-time-now-syrias-assad-quit-134016394--politics.html

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Asian stocks mostly up on Fed's low rates support

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Asian stock markets mostly rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve chief played down risks from the U.S. central bank's low interest rate policies, offsetting worries that Italy's indecisive election result will rekindle Europe's debt crisis.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 22,642.27 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,005.91. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 5,040.20. Shares in mainland China, Taiwan and Indonesia also rose.

Japanese stocks were the only losers in Asia as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar following several months of weakness that boosted exporters. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 11,310.45.

In testimony to Congress on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expressed confidence that the central bank's low-rate policies currently pose little risk of causing runaway inflation or a stock market bubble. That eased recent jitters the Fed would start to withdraw its super easy monetary policy.

U.S. economic indicators also gave Asian markets a lift. Home sales rose to the highest level in more than four years last month and American consumers showed confidence for the first time in three months in February.

Yet stock market gains in Asia remained modest, showing that investors have not fully regained their appetite for risky assets ahead of looming automatic spending cuts due to start Friday in the U.S.

And with Italy emerging from elections on Tuesday with no clear winner, there are lingering uncertainties about the fate of deficit and debt reduction measures in one of Europe's biggest economies.

The Italian election result drove markets in Europe markedly lower. If Italian parties fail to form a governing coalition, new elections would be required, causing more uncertainty and a leadership vacuum.

On Tuesday, Italy's FTSE MIB index fell nearly 800 points, or 5 percent, to 15,552. Germany's DAX was down 176 points, or 2.3 percent, to 7,597 and the CAC-40 in France fell 99 points, or 2.7 percent, to 3,621.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 115.96 points, or 0.8 percent, to 13,900.13 on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.09 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,496.94. The Nasdaq composite index rose 13.40 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,129.65.

In currency markets, the euro was trading at $1.3066. The dollar weakened to 91.99 yen.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 24 cents at $92.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-stocks-mostly-feds-low-rates-support-035849694--finance.html

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Monday 25 February 2013

A Crazy Aussie Wants to Fly From Sydney to London in a Plastic-Powered Plane

Come summer, one of the best targets for some good old-fashioned British whinging is always air travel - the discomfort, the long queues, the freakishly cheery staff. But I promise you, no matter how much you might want to gripe, your journey won't suck nearly as bad as this guy, who's trying to fly from Australia to Britain, in a Cessna, using the contents of a landfill as fuel. Right. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/jaHQgXzXPoM/a-crazy-aussie-wants-to-fly-from-sydney-to-london-in-a-plastic+powered-plane

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Ultimate taboo: Actress takes on rape in Afghanistan

Fereshta Kazemi's film "The Icy Sun" breaks new ground for Afghanistan, where victims of rape can be forced to marry their attackers to preserve their families' honor. NBC News' Mandy Clark reports.

By Mandy Clark, Correspondent, NBC News

KABUL, Afghanistan ? A woman is raped. Instead going after her attacker, the law and society imprison the victim.

This is often the reality in Afghanistan. To bring attention to the issue, Afghan-American actress Fereshta Kazemi took the role of a rape victim in a recent film, "The Icy Sun."

"The concept of honor for the men rests on a woman?s shoulders," said Kazemi, 35.?"Her brothers and her family feel that they have been raped of their honor."


This perception of honor means that society often blames the women who are attacked, she says.

"There is this atmosphere where women are vulnerable to having people talk about them or say negative things or say that she wanted to be raped or say, 'Look at the way they were behaving,'" Kazemi said.

These deeply ingrained attitudes exist against a hostile backdrop for Afghan women and girls: The country remains one of the most dangerous countries in which to be a woman, according to a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey. Close to 90 percent of women face at least one form of physical, sexual or psychological violence in their lifetimes, according to a?Human Rights Watch annual report. Up to 80 percent of women face forced marriage, Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.

Additionally, many Afghan women are imprisoned for so-called moral crimes, which include running away from an abusive home or fleeing a forced marriage. Human Rights Watch estimates that around half of the approximately 700 women and girls in prison in the country are facing such charges.

One woman?s real-life story vividly illustrates the problems confronting women who are violently attacked.

In 2009, Gulnaz?s cousin?s husband tied her to a bed and raped her when she was home alone. She was left pregnant from the assault. Her family reported the crime to local police in the northern province of Kunduz, but instead of going after her rapist, officials jailed her for adultery. While in prison she gave birth to a baby girl, Masqa.

Her plight made international headlines over a year ago. American lawyer Kim Motley took on her case and helped Gulnaz get a presidential pardon in December 2011.

"I think in theory justice was done. She was released, she was exonerated," Motley said. "What trumped that once she was released was the culture. It was the ? perception of her probably going to fail as a woman, as a single woman with a kid in Afghanistan."

After her release, Gulnaz was confined to a women?s shelter for 13 months.? She felt it was no different from prison. Afghan officials blocked Gulnaz, now 22, from getting papers to apply for asylum in another country, Motley says.

The same officials pushed Gulnaz into a decision -- two weeks ago, Gulnaz married her rapist.

"Basically there were people in the Afghan government who helped to facilitate and pressure her to marry the guy," Motley said.

Many Afghan rape victims are forced to marry their attackers as a way of restoring the family honor.

Against this backdrop, Motley says she understands why women hesitate to go to the authorities.

"I can certainly understand a woman not wanting to report a rape," she said. "Frankly ? if I was raped here as an Afghan woman, I don?t know if I would do the same," she said.

A recent United Nations report found one positive trend: In some areas, such as the major cities of Kabul and Herat, more women are reporting rape. This does not necessarily mean that more are being assaulted, only that victims are willing to come forward. In contrast, in Taliban strongholds such as Logar and Wardak, there were no reports of rape. U.N. officials say in the report that this does not mean that no rapes occurred but that women were too scared to report them.

So when it comes to security, it is safety close to home that seems foremost in the minds of Afghan women.?

As one American diplomat speaking on the condition of anonymity said:

"I am always taken aback when I talk to Afghan women and ask them what worries them the most. Their reply is domestic abuse. They are more concerned with being beaten or set on fire by their husbands or uncles than any larger issue like Taliban."

Related:?

Afghanistan: Where actresses risk their lives for their art

'Game with a purpose': Vietnam vet, teen bring Scouting and help to Afghanistan

Photos: Afghanistan - Nation at a crossroads

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17087773-ultimate-taboo-actress-takes-on-rape-in-afghanistan?lite

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