What's hot and what's not in self-help

Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
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Contact: Alana Podolsky
alana.podolsky@oup.com
212-726-6033
Oxford University Press

Self-help is a big business but, alas, not always a scientific one. 95% of self-help resources in mental health possess no scientific research attesting to their success. For every life challenge, there are dozens of self-help books to help individuals navigate, creating another problem: How do you find the self-help manual that's most effective? In SELF-HELP THAT WORKS, Dr. John C. Norcross and five scientist-practitioners identify the best and the worst of self-help manuals. Drawing on careful research, clinical expertise and national studies, they recommend self-help materials for 41 different behavioral disorders and life challenges.

The self-help movement has moved online and Dr. Norcross and his colleagues explore the effectiveness of online resources. SELF-HELP THAT WORKS provides print and online resources to navigate issues from Abuse to Divorce, Schizophrenia to Dementia/Alzheimer's, and PTSD to Sexuality. In addition to evaluating self-help texts, the authors recommend films, support groups and websites. The revised 4th edition of this award-winning book, previously titled Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health, has expanded, updated content and new chapters focusing on autism, bullying, chronic pain, GLB issues, happiness, and nonchemical addictions. The final chapters provide key strategies for consumers evaluating self-help as well as for professionals integrating self-help into treatment.

Altogether, SELF HELP THAT WORKS evaluates more than 2,000 self-help resources to give professionals and individuals the most up-to-date resources to change their lives.

###

SELF-HELP THAT WORKS
Resources to Improve Emotional Health and Strengthen Relationships
by John Linda F. Campbell, John M. Grohol, John W. Santrock, Florin Selagea and Robert Sommer,
will be published in paperback by Oxford on March 21, 2013
624 Pages ? $45.00? 9780199915156

To request a review copy or interview the authors, please contact Alana Podolsky, Publicity, 212-726-6033 or alana.podolsky@oup.com

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Alana Podolsky
alana.podolsky@oup.com
212-726-6033
Oxford University Press

Self-help is a big business but, alas, not always a scientific one. 95% of self-help resources in mental health possess no scientific research attesting to their success. For every life challenge, there are dozens of self-help books to help individuals navigate, creating another problem: How do you find the self-help manual that's most effective? In SELF-HELP THAT WORKS, Dr. John C. Norcross and five scientist-practitioners identify the best and the worst of self-help manuals. Drawing on careful research, clinical expertise and national studies, they recommend self-help materials for 41 different behavioral disorders and life challenges.

The self-help movement has moved online and Dr. Norcross and his colleagues explore the effectiveness of online resources. SELF-HELP THAT WORKS provides print and online resources to navigate issues from Abuse to Divorce, Schizophrenia to Dementia/Alzheimer's, and PTSD to Sexuality. In addition to evaluating self-help texts, the authors recommend films, support groups and websites. The revised 4th edition of this award-winning book, previously titled Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health, has expanded, updated content and new chapters focusing on autism, bullying, chronic pain, GLB issues, happiness, and nonchemical addictions. The final chapters provide key strategies for consumers evaluating self-help as well as for professionals integrating self-help into treatment.

Altogether, SELF HELP THAT WORKS evaluates more than 2,000 self-help resources to give professionals and individuals the most up-to-date resources to change their lives.

###

SELF-HELP THAT WORKS
Resources to Improve Emotional Health and Strengthen Relationships
by John Linda F. Campbell, John M. Grohol, John W. Santrock, Florin Selagea and Robert Sommer,
will be published in paperback by Oxford on March 21, 2013
624 Pages ? $45.00? 9780199915156

To request a review copy or interview the authors, please contact Alana Podolsky, Publicity, 212-726-6033 or alana.podolsky@oup.com

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/oup-wha032013.php

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Banning food ads targeted at kids

Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
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Contact: Bryan Alary
bryan.alary@ualberta.ca
780-492-0436
University of Alberta

Researchers from the University of Alberta are leading a charge among Canada's obesity experts and calling on the federal government to ban food and beverage ads that target children.

Kim Raine, a professor with the Centre for Health Promotion Studies in the School of Public Health at the U of A, says governments need to take action to stem the rising obesity epidemic. The only exception to a proposed food and beverage marketing ban would be for approved public health campaigns that promote healthy eating.

"Restricting marketing is not going to be a cure for childhood obesity, but it's one step in a multi-pronged approach to creating an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice," said Raine, lead author of new consensus recommendations calling for the ban.

"Right now, it's the flashy, highly marketed, 'fun,' high-sugar and high-fat foods that are the easy choice. Kids see them and want them, and parents' efforts to encourage their kids to eat a healthy diet are undermined."

The recommendations were developed by leading Canadian and international obesity experts at an obesity conference held in Montreal in 2011. They were published last month in the peer-reviewed Journal of Public Health Policy, in an early online release.

More than five million Canadians are considered obese, including 500,000 children, and the number of kids who are overweight or obese has more than doubled since the early 1980s.

That's a trend Raine says cannot continue without overloading the health-care system80 per cent of costs are associated with obesity-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and certain cancers. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults, she said, meaning the rates of these preventable chronic diseases are only going to rise.

"Without investing in strong prevention efforts, like the proposed ban, the health system is not sustainable," she said.

Raine and the consensus panel said there are important lessons to be drawn from the ban on tobacco advertising to minors, which has helped cut smoking rates. The rest of the country can also learn from Quebec, which since 1980 has banned all marketing to children under 13 years oldlegislation that withstood a Supreme Court challenge in 1989.

The panel, which also included U of A researchers Timothy Caulfield and John C. Spence, is also calling on government to create a regulatory body that would ensure children are protected from exposure to food ads. The body would be required to create minimum standards for food marketing, monitor companies for compliance and impose penalties when necessary.

Though some may view marketing bans as a heavy-handed approach, Raine notes the food industry has deep pockets that governments and public health advocates cannot come close to matching. Food advertisements appear not only on TV and in schools, but also on the Internet; in video games; through sponsorships, product placements, emails and brand mascots; and even through viral marketing.

"It really is about trying to set a more level playing field because the healthy choices aren't being promoted well. They're getting buried, they're getting lost in an ocean of flashy marketing."

###

The panel's work was funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bryan Alary
bryan.alary@ualberta.ca
780-492-0436
University of Alberta

Researchers from the University of Alberta are leading a charge among Canada's obesity experts and calling on the federal government to ban food and beverage ads that target children.

Kim Raine, a professor with the Centre for Health Promotion Studies in the School of Public Health at the U of A, says governments need to take action to stem the rising obesity epidemic. The only exception to a proposed food and beverage marketing ban would be for approved public health campaigns that promote healthy eating.

"Restricting marketing is not going to be a cure for childhood obesity, but it's one step in a multi-pronged approach to creating an environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice," said Raine, lead author of new consensus recommendations calling for the ban.

"Right now, it's the flashy, highly marketed, 'fun,' high-sugar and high-fat foods that are the easy choice. Kids see them and want them, and parents' efforts to encourage their kids to eat a healthy diet are undermined."

The recommendations were developed by leading Canadian and international obesity experts at an obesity conference held in Montreal in 2011. They were published last month in the peer-reviewed Journal of Public Health Policy, in an early online release.

More than five million Canadians are considered obese, including 500,000 children, and the number of kids who are overweight or obese has more than doubled since the early 1980s.

That's a trend Raine says cannot continue without overloading the health-care system80 per cent of costs are associated with obesity-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and certain cancers. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults, she said, meaning the rates of these preventable chronic diseases are only going to rise.

"Without investing in strong prevention efforts, like the proposed ban, the health system is not sustainable," she said.

Raine and the consensus panel said there are important lessons to be drawn from the ban on tobacco advertising to minors, which has helped cut smoking rates. The rest of the country can also learn from Quebec, which since 1980 has banned all marketing to children under 13 years oldlegislation that withstood a Supreme Court challenge in 1989.

The panel, which also included U of A researchers Timothy Caulfield and John C. Spence, is also calling on government to create a regulatory body that would ensure children are protected from exposure to food ads. The body would be required to create minimum standards for food marketing, monitor companies for compliance and impose penalties when necessary.

Though some may view marketing bans as a heavy-handed approach, Raine notes the food industry has deep pockets that governments and public health advocates cannot come close to matching. Food advertisements appear not only on TV and in schools, but also on the Internet; in video games; through sponsorships, product placements, emails and brand mascots; and even through viral marketing.

"It really is about trying to set a more level playing field because the healthy choices aren't being promoted well. They're getting buried, they're getting lost in an ocean of flashy marketing."

###

The panel's work was funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uoa-bfa032113.php

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Google Chrome's World Wide Maze turns your favorite website into 3D game for your phone (video)

Google's latest Chrome experiment is a marble maze game that binds your smartphone to your PC through those shareable tabs. Once you've opened the same tab on both platforms, you'll be put in control of a metallic Nexus Q lookalike, steered by the accelerometers baked into your smartphone -- as well as power and jump buttons. Better still, there's (arguably) an infinite number of levels to tackle, with the experiment transforming your favorite sites into a multi-stage mazes. You'll need a phone that's running at least iOS 5.0 or Android 4.0 to make the connection. Take it for a cautious spin at the link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Internet, Software, Mobile, Google

Comments

Via: Engadget Japan

Source: Chrome World Wide Maze

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-GDk3u4Hx8E/

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James Clear: How to Get Motivated When You Don't Feel Like ...

You've probably noticed that it's hard to be motivated all the time.

No matter what you are working on, there are bound to be days when you don't feel like showing up. There will be workouts that you don't feel like starting. There will be reports that you don't feel like writing. There will be responsibilities that you don't feel like handling. And there will be "off days" when your energy and emotions are in the gutter.

The good news is that there is a simple tactic that can get your butt in the gym even when you're not feeling motivated.

What Baseball Can Teach You About Getting Motivated

I played baseball for 17 years, mostly as a pitcher.

One thing that makes baseball different from most other sports is the sheer number of games that are played. Major League Baseball teams play 162 games in a season -- even high school baseball players will routinely play 40 to 60 games each year.

With so many games, there will always be days when you don't feel motivated, when your body is tired, or you're just not mentally "up" for the game. But the game is going to be played whether you feel like playing or not, so you better figure out a solution to overcoming your lackluster emotions.

I did this by developing a pre-game routine that would automatically pull me out of a funk and push me over that threshold to perform well.

Here's what my pre-game routine looked like...

Grab a baseball and my glove. Jog out to the outfield foul pole. Jog across along the outfield wall. Stop at the opposite foul pole. Stretch hips and hamstrings. Jog back along the outfield wall. Toss lightly, working back to 75 feet or so. Head to the bullpen. Stand one step behind the mound and toss three or four times from there to the catcher. Step up onto the mound. Toss a few pitches without going into the full windup. Start throwing from the windup for 10 pitches or so. Throw from the stretch for 10 pitches or so. Finish with one of each pitch (change up, curveball, fastball in, fastball out). Walk to the dugout.

That whole sequence usually took 20 to 25 minutes and I did it the same way every single time.

While this routine physically warmed me up to play, it also put me in the correct mental state to compete at a high level. Even if I wasn't feeling up for the game at the beginning, by the time I finished my pre-game routine, I was in "game mode."

Imagine if you had a routine that could pull you into "exercise mode," no matter how little motivation you had at the start.

If you look at top performers in any field, you'll see similar patterns all over the place. NBA players who do the same thing before every free throw shot. Comedians who recite the same words before they step onto stage. Corporate executives who follow the same meditation sequence every morning.

Do you think these people always feel motivated? No way. There are some days when the most talented people in the world wake up feeling like sluggish lard bombs. But they use their pre-game routines to pull them into the right mental state, regardless of how they feel.

Here's how you can do it too...

Step 1: So Easy You Can't Say No

A good pre-workout routine starts by being so easy that you can't say no to it. You shouldn't need motivation to start your pre-workout routine.

For example...

My writing routine starts by getting a glass of water. So easy, I can't say no.

My weightlifting routine starts by putting on my lifting shoes. So easy, I can't say no.

My pitching routine started by picking up a baseball and my glove. So easy, I couldn't say no.

The most important part of any task is starting. If you can't get motivated in the beginning, then you'll find that motivation often comes after starting. That's why your pre-workout routine needs to be incredibly easy to start.

For example, you could create an exercise routine that starts with filling up your water bottle. That way, when you don't feel like working out, you can simply tell yourself, "Just fill up the water bottle." Your only goal is to start the routine and then continue from there.

For more about the importance of getting started, read this.

Step 2: Get Moving

Your routine should get you moving toward the end goal.

Most of the time, your routine should include physical movement. It's hard to think yourself into getting motivated.

Here's why...

What is your body language like when you're feeling unmotivated or lacking energy?

Answer: You're not moving very much. Maybe you're slumped over like a blob, slowly melting into the couch. This lack of physical movement is directly linked to a lack of mental energy.

The opposite is also true. If you're physically moving and engaged, then it's far more likely that you'll feel mentally engaged and energized. For example, it's almost impossible to not feel vibrant, awake, and energized when you're dancing.

While your routine should be as easy as possible to start, it should gradually transition into more and more physical movement. Your mind and your motivation will follow your physical movement.

Step 3: Do It Even When You Don't Have to

You need to follow the same pattern every single time.

The primary purpose of your pre-workout routine is to create a series of events that you always perform before doing a specific task. Your pre-workout routine tells your mind, "This is what happens before I do ___."

Eventually, this routine becomes so tied to your performance that by simply doing the routine, you are pulled into a mental state that is primed to perform. You don't need motivation, you just need to start your routine.

This is important because when you don't feel motivated, it's often too much work to figure out what you should do next. When faced with another decision, you will often decide to just quit. However, the pre-workout routine solves that problem because you know exactly what to do next. There's no debating or decision making. You just follow the pattern.

Make Excellence a Routine

You can train yourself for success just as well as you can train for failure.

Today you may be saying, "I need to be motivated to get anything done," but I guarantee that it doesn't have to be that way. If you've taught yourself to believe certain limitations, then you can also teach yourself to break through them.

The patterns that you repeat on a daily basis will eventually form the identity that you believe in and the actions that you take. You can transform your identity and become the type of person who doesn't need motivation to perform well.

This is the difference between approaching life as a professional or an amateur.

If you only work when you feel motivated, then you'll never be consistent enough to become a pro. But if you build small routines and patterns that help you overcome the daily battles, then you'll continue the slow march towards greatness even when it gets tough.

James Clear writes at JamesClear.com, where he shares strategies that make it easier to live a healthy life. Readers of The Huffington Post can get his free ideas on how to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve your health by clicking here.

For more by James Clear, click here.

For more on fitness and exercise, click here.

For more on success and motivation, click here.

?

Follow James Clear on Twitter: www.twitter.com/james_clear

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/exercise-motivation_b_2887701.html

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LA Times hack: Security breach or harmless prank?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Federal prosecutors say Reuters' deputy social media editor conspired with a notorious hacker network to cause an online security breach that should be punished by decades in federal prison.

Fervent online supporters of Matthew Keys say the journalist was just taking part in an online prank that briefly altered the Los Angeles Times' website, and he shouldn't even have been suspended from his job.

In an age when the line between tech superstardom and outright hacking grows increasingly blurry, the case against Keys, 26, lays bare sharp divisions about what constitutes Internet crime and how far the government should go to stop it.

"Congress wants harsh penalties doled out for these crimes because they don't want people defacing websites, but there has to be a way that we can bring the law into harmony with the realities of how people use technology today," said Hanni Fakhoury, an attorney at the San Francisco-based nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Keys, a well-known figure in the Twitterverse, was charged Thursday with conspiring with the hacking group Anonymous to alter a Times news story in late 2010.

The federal indictment accuses Keys of giving hackers the information they needed to access the computer system of Times' parent company, Tribune Co. Tribune also owns a Sacramento television station Keys had been fired from months earlier.

An attorney for Keys said he is not guilty, and that the government is overreaching in its zeal to prosecute Internet pranks.

"No one was hurt, there were no lasting injuries, no one's identify was stolen, lives weren't ruined," his Ventura-based attorney, Jay Leiderman, said Friday. "Mr. Keys was no different than any other embedded journalist. The story he was going after was inside this chat room, and he went there."

Keys was hired in 2012 as deputy social media editor for the Reuters news service. He didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

"I'm okay," he tweeted Friday in response to a journalism colleague wondering how he was doing.

According to Keys' Facebook profile, he is single and works at Thomson Reuters Corp.'s New York office, where "I get paid to use Twitter and Facebook at work."

He was suspended with pay late Thursday, said Reuters spokesman David Girardin, who did not elaborate. A spokesman for the Chicago-based Tribune Co. declined to comment.

According to the indictment, a hacker identified only as "Sharpie" used information Keys supplied in an Internet chat room and altered a headline on a December 2010 Times story to read "Pressure builds in House to elect CHIPPY 1337." The reference was to another hacking group credited with defacing the website of video game publisher Eidos in 2011.

Keys is charged with one count each of conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer, as well as transmitting and attempting to transmit that information. If convicted, prosecutors say the Secaucus, N.J., resident faces a combined 25 years prison and a $500,000 fine if sentenced to the maximum for each count.

However, first-time offenders with no criminal history will typically spend much less time in prison than the maximum sentence, said Mary Fan, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in criminal law and procedure at the University of Washington School of Law.

Keys' arraignment is scheduled for April 12 in Sacramento.

His indictment comes after recent hacks into the computer systems of two other U.S. media companies that own The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Both newspapers reported in February that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, likely to monitor media coverage the Chinese government deems important.

Anonymous and its offshoot, Lulz Security, have been linked to a number of high-profile computer attacks and crimes, including many that were meant to embarrass governments, federal agencies and corporate giants. They have been connected to attacks that took data from FBI partner organization InfraGard, and they've jammed websites of the CIA and the Public Broadcasting Service.

Keys' indictment also follows the suicide of Aaron Swartz, a 26-year-old Internet activist who was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment Jan. 11 as a trial loomed in his future.

Family and friends say Swartz killed himself after he was hounded by federal prosecutors. Officials say he helped post millions of court documents for free online and that he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles from an online clearinghouse.

"In the wake of the Aaron Swartz case, we really thought that Justice would kind of catch their breath and maybe understand that they had erred in pushing these cases forward in such an aggressive manner for what are essentially pranks," Leiderman said.

Keys' Facebook page says he worked as an online news producer for Tribune-owned FOX affiliate KTXL from June 2008 to April 2010.

After that, he worked briefly in San Francisco as the tech industry began its latest ascent. Today, top software companies often sponsor 'hackathons,' weekends of intense work and little sleep, to get free outside programming help to solve problems or advance products.

Sometimes, coding straddles the lines between what's legal and illegal.

The hacking crimes Keys is charged with come from the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was enacted in the 1980s.

Federal prosecutors use the act to go after a wide range of Internet crimes, but the law may not reflect how our behavior online has changed over the last three decades, Fan said.

"Some might say if you take someone's property or break into a private place without permission, we don't get upset about prosecutions, so why would we be upset about these prosecutions if the trespass happened online?" Fan said. "Others might say is what happened in this case really even a problem? It's kind of a culture clash."

___

Follow Garance Burke at http://twitter.com/garanceburke .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/la-times-hack-security-breach-harmless-prank-224741715.html

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Oscars 2013 Predictions: Best Picture

'Argo' and 'Lincoln' are neck-and-neck for the ultimate award.
By Amy Wilkinson

Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
Photo: DreamWorks

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702449/oscar-2013-best-picture-predictions.jhtml

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WWE formally invites Glenn Beck to appear on Raw

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/outside-the-ring/wwe-invites-glenn-beck-to-appear-on-raw

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Patrick Carney Mocks Justin Bieber: All About Swag!!!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/patrick-carney-mocks-justin-bieber-all-about-swag/

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California drama cuts into speech coverage

NEW YORK (AP) ? The California standoff involving fugitive Christopher Dorner shortened television's previews of President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday but did not interrupt coverage of the speech.

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC had set aside the hour before Obama spoke to discuss the annual Washington ritual but instead spent most of that time showing aerial footage of a cabin burning in southern California, marking the apparent end of Dorner's effort at targeting police officers ? even as information on what was actually happening was sketchy.

Fox at one point showed a split screen of the burning cabin on one side with anchor Bill O'Reilly talking to analyst Charles Krauthammer about Obama on the other.

MSNBC stuck with the California story the longest before turning its attention to Washington as Obama began making his way to the podium.

The State of the Union address is "still the big national story," MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews said. "But this one certainly challenged it. This was a saga."

ABC briefly mentioned the Dorner drama before shifting into a discussion of gun violence being on the minds of many attending Obama's speech. CNN's sister network, HLN, presented full-time coverage of the Dorner story when the main network presented the State of the Union.

Following the speech, CNN immediately shifted to Anderson Cooper reporting that Dorner had apparently died, before returning to Washington for a pundit panel on the State of the Union. ABC also briefly reported the Dorner story following the speech.

But no equivalency ? or split screen ? was given to the California story while Obama spoke on the cable news or broadcast networks.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-drama-cuts-speech-coverage-024439922.html

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Tesco experiments with free movie and TV streaming for Clubcard members

Brits who shop enough at Tesco to be on a first name basis with the clerks may soon have a reward that doesn't require leaving home. The UK retail chain is currently testing Clubcard TV, a web-based movie and TV streaming hub that would be a free perk of Clubcard membership. As it exists in beta form, the Blinkbox-derived service won't have Lovefilm or Netflix quaking in their boots: there's a limited slate of mostly family-oriented fare, and Tesco's notion of TV streaming involves the video output on a laptop. While neither is an issue as long as the trial is limited to staff, we hope there's a richer platform by the time Clubcard TV is open to anyone with a lot of grocery shopping in mind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Comments

Via: The Telegraph

Source: Clubcard TV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/12/tesco-experiments-with-free-movie-and-tv-streaming/

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PFT: Jets LB Thomas enters intervention program

AP

What might Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine be looking for in a safety?

WR Brian Hartline and S Chris Clemons continue to look like the likeliest Dolphins free agents to return next season.

Patriots DT Vince Wilfork?s offseason training program made room for shoveling snow last weekend.

Taking a look at the Jets linebacking corps.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has no problem leaving football matters to G.M. Ozzie Newsome.

Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons says there?s no blueprint for going from his job to head coach.

Former Browns coach Sam Rutigliano warns owner Jimmy Haslam not to lose touch with the team.

Should Steelers LB James Harrison stay or go?

Texans LB Brian Cushing will give some updates on his rehab in an interview with the team?s website on Tuesday.

Colts players hosted local students at a show about Jackie Robinson as part of Black History Month.

The Jaguars made some changes in?their front office and announced that Macky Weaver, nephew of former owner Wayne Weaver, will be leaving the team.

Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck is working with former NFL LB Isaiah?Kacyvenski to promote a product designed to help diagnosis head injuries.

Some people don?t get why the Broncos drafted QB Brock Osweiler last year.

The Chiefs added TE Kevin Brock?to their roster.

DT Richard Seymour?s contract voided, but the Raiders still have remnants of it on their cap.

Marty Schottenheimer?s new book spares no criticism of former Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith.

G Charlie Bryant and DT Nick Hayden are the newest additions to the Cowboys roster.

A look at the state of the Giants defensive line.

How is Eagles coach Chip Kelly handling being on the podium during his press conferences?

What is WR Santana Moss? future with the Redskins?

The Bears signed CB LeQuan Lewis, who spent time with the Buccaneers and Cowboys last season.

People are talking about the Lions making a run at signing RB Reggie Bush.

S Charles Woodson and LB A.J. Hawk loom large as the Packers set their strategy for the offseason.

A vote for the Vikings and WR Percy Harvin to part ways.

The Falcons waived DB/LB Matt Hansen, who injured his knee while with the team last offseason.

A letter from Charlotte?s mayor got the ball rolling on the deal that will provide money for the Panthers? desired stadium renovations.

S Rafael Bush was to be an exclusive rights free agent, but said he?s already re-signed with the Saints.

Should the Buccaneers keep CB Eric Wright for the 2013 season?

An explanation of why trading WR Larry Fitzgerald doesn?t make sense for the Cardinals.

The Rams have teamed with Washington University to promote heart-healthy nutrition and lifestyles.

The rhino named after 49ers T Alex Boone will be living in an enclosure named after the Ravens as part of the San Francisco Zoo?s Super Bowl bet with the Maryland Zoo.

Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune wonders if the Seahawks and Vikings should be talking about a trade involving QB Matt Flynn and WR Percy Harvin.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/11/bryan-thomas-enters-pre-trial-intervention-program-to-settle-pending-criminal-charges/related/

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36 dead in stampede at Hindu festival in India

ALLAHABAD, India (AP) ? The death toll from a stampede in a train station rose to 36 on Monday in a northern India city where millions of devotees had gathered for a Hindu festival that is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

At least 36 other pilgrims were injured in the crush in the city of Allahabad, medical superintendent Dr. P. Padmakar of the main state-run hospital said. Padmakar said 23 of the dead were women.

Tens of thousands of people were in the city's main rail station waiting to board a train when railway officials announced a last-minute change in the platform, forcing people to rush there, eyewitnesses said.

They said police stopped the throng from crowding onto a footbridge and had to use batons to stop the crowds from surging forward.

"We heard an announcement that our train is coming on platform number 4 and when we started moving towards that platform through an overbridge, we were stopped. Then suddenly the police charged us with batons and the stampede started," passenger Shushanto Kumar Sen said.

"People started tumbling over one another and within no time I saw people, particularly women and children, being trampled over by others," Sen said.

The police, however, denied that they had used batons to control the crowd.

"It was simply a case of overcrowding. People were in a hurry to go back and there were not enough arrangements by the railway authorities," said Arun Kumar, a senior police officer.

India's railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said an inquiry has been ordered into what led to the stampede.

Indian television stations showed large crowds pushing and jostling at the train station as policemen struggled to restore order.

"There was complete chaos. There was no doctor or ambulance for at least two hours after the accident," an eyewitness told NDTV news channel.

An estimated 30 million Hindus were expected to take a dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati rivers on Sunday, one of the holiest bathing days of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival. The festival lasts 55 days and is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

The auspicious bathing days are decided by the alignment of stars, and the most dramatic feature of the festival is the Naga sadhus ? ascetics with ash rubbed all over their bodies, wearing only marigold garlands ? leaping joyfully into the holy waters.

According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over nectar that would give them immortality. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns: Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.

The Kumbh Mela is held four times every 12 years in those towns. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. If they bathe at the Ganges on the most auspicious day of the festival, believers say they can rid themselves of their sins.

____

Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/36-dead-stampede-hindu-festival-india-041907625.html

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Mardi Gras ball 1st Superdome event since blackout

FILE- In this Jan. 21, 2013, file photo, singer Kelly Clarkson performs at the ceremonial swearing-in for President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The glitzy Mardi Gras Krewe of Endymion rolled its parade and super float through the Superdome on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, and Kelly Clarkson performed amid purple, green and gold lights in the first major event at the Superdome in New Orleans since the Super Bowl blackout. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE- In this Jan. 21, 2013, file photo, singer Kelly Clarkson performs at the ceremonial swearing-in for President Barack Obama at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The glitzy Mardi Gras Krewe of Endymion rolled its parade and super float through the Superdome on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, and Kelly Clarkson performed amid purple, green and gold lights in the first major event at the Superdome in New Orleans since the Super Bowl blackout. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? This time, the lights stayed on in the Superdome.

The glitzy Mardi Gras Krewe of Endymion rolled its parade and super float through the Superdome on Saturday night and Kelly Clarkson performed amid purple, green and gold lights in the first major event at the venue since the Super Bowl blackout.

While the black tie ball was nowhere near the size of the championship game a week ago, it was a test for dome officials and the stadium's electricity provider, Entergy, which has come under scrutiny since the lights went dark for more than a half hour.

The bright stadium lights were dimmed for the ball, but there were no signs of any electrical problems.

Darin Coker and his wife, Jeannine, wondered whether the ball would be affected in any way after the outage.

"I got my dress six months ago," she said. "I was hoping they would get it fixed before tonight, and I was glad to hear they did."

The couple, both former New Orleans residents, drove in for the weekend from their home in Ruston, La., to attend the ball and catch other parades with friends and family. Darin Coker said he loved the sight of the dome's exterior, all aglow in purple, green and gold lights ? traditional colors of Mardi Gras ? and hoped outsiders wouldn't see the blackout as a black eye for a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

"I was watching the game from home, and I was like, oh no, we were doing so good. The city looked so good," he said. "The city has come so far, and I hate to hear people say, 'Oh look at them, they just can't get it together.'"

Entergy said the blackout appeared to have been caused by a problem with a device the company installed to prevent power outages. It's still unclear whether the device had a design flaw or a manufacturing defect, causing an outage to about half of the stadium during the NFL's championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.

Entergy removed the equipment that failed, "and we're looking forward to hosting the Endymion ball," said Eric Eagan, spokesman for the Superdome.

The dome looked much different than a week ago, set up for a crowd of more than 30,000. The turf was covered with a floor and tables were set up where the field usually is.

The only hiccup Saturday occurred when the Endymion float had trouble negotiating a turn along its parade route on the way to the dome. The 330-foot float ? the largest-ever for Mardi Gras ? had to be separated and then re-attached to resume its journey.

The parade has 25 floats that roll through the dome, as revelers aboard them toss beads and trinkets to ball attendees gathered at tables and lower-level stadium seats.

Clarkson, the first winner of TV's "American Idol," was the parade's celebrity grand marshal. Her hits include "Because of You" and "Since You've Been Gone." She is one of several stars serving as celebrity riders in this year's Carnival parades.

On Sunday, actor G.W. Bailey of TNT's "Major Crimes" and the "Police Academy" movies is scheduled to reign as the king of the Bacchus parade.

On Monday, actor Gary Sinise and New Orleans musicians Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and Harry Connick Jr. will ride in the Krewe of Orpheus parade with Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Mariska Hargitay.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-10-Super%20Bowl-Power%20Outage/id-62df1dba53f943a7a1e615ec56edd95b

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Kazakhstan US sign new energy plan

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Richard Weitz The latest meeting of the Kazakhstani-US Energy Partnership Commission took place in Washington on October 15-16, 2012. The two delegation heads, Kazakhstan's Minister of ...

Gazprom closes on South Stream goal

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By Margarita Assenova Russia is moving rapidly to start building the South Stream natural gas pipeline before the end of the year. On October 29, Serbia became the first Gazprom partner to ...

Gazprom moves on helium demand

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By John Helmer MOSCOW - Blimps long ago lost their value as a means of cargo transportation, military reconnaissance, or anti-aircraft defense; whilst the helium that fills them - more safely ...

All Central Asian roads lead to Muscovy

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Kazakhstan to upgrade refinery production

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By Georgiy Voloshin On October 2 and 3, Kazakhstan's capital hosted an annual gathering of the Kazenergy Association, which is comprised of 50 of the biggest players in the oil and gas ...

Russia bridges Middle Eastern divides

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By M K Bhadrakumar A multi-billion dollar arms deal with Iraq, a summit meeting with Turkey, a fence-mending exercise with Saudi Arabia, a debut with Egypt's Sphinx-like Muslim Brothers - ...

Syria Waiting for someone named Obama

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Went to town Now, the intriguing part is that it was left to a third party to resort to shrill rhetoric - the United States. The State Department spokeswoman in Washington used harsh language to ...

Russia struggles to drawTajikistan into Customs Union

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Sergei Blagov Russian officials have reiterated pledges to boost economic cooperation with Tajikistan. Meanwhile, the authorities in Dushanbe seem to remain hesitant on some issues, notably ...

Moscow beckons Pakistans Kayani

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Moscow beckons Pakistan's Kiani By M K Bhadrakumar The phrase coined by the 17th-century English philosopher Francis Bacon is: "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then ...

Uzbekistan and the road to war

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Dmitry Shlapentokh The policies of Islam Karimov, the strongman of Uzbekistan, are not easy to decipher, at least in regard to foreign policy. He recently noted in conversation with Nursultan ...

Bishkek hands Putin Kyrgyz independence

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Fozil Mashrab Kyrgyz leaders are expected to play host to Russian President Vladimir Putin today, September 20, when he is due in Bishkek to oversee the signing of inter-governmental ...

Russia Kazakhstan slow to build growth

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Sergei Blagov Russian and Kazakhstani leaders have reiterated plans to further develop bilateral commerce, relying on the free-trade arrangements of their Customs Union. Two-way trade, ...

Turkmen navy backs eastward stance

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

serious implications for regions far away from the Caspian shores. Turkmenistan has come into possession of considerable amounts of gas, which it is anxious to sell to Europe. Indeed, European ...

Nuclear fuel bank or nuclear graveyard

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Zhulduz Baizakova Kazakhstan plans to build an international nuclear fuel bank in Ust-Kamenogorsk (Oskemen), in the country's east, at the site of Ulba Metallurgic Plant, part of the ...

Russia migrants kept to the shadows

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Tom Balmforth MOSCOW - Bek Takhirov knows all too well the problems that migrant workers face. The 38-year-old ethnic Uzbek came to Russia in 2004 and worked illegally, stacking cargo in a ...

... as Central Asia bracesfor militant returnees

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

By Jacob Zenn On December 4, 2012, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee, Kabdulkarim Abdikazymov, said that Jund al-Khilafa was a "real threat" to ...

Kazakhstan Photo Room with a View

EurasiaNet - Sunday 10th February, 2013

Joanna Lillis Girls enjoy an afternoon break at a caf in Almaty's Esentai Mall with a view of the snow covered Tien Shan mountain range in the distance. Joanna Lillis is a freelance writer who ...

Clashes challenge Azerbaijan strongman

Asia Times - Sunday 10th February, 2013

increasingly vocal opposition, many believe Azerbaijan is in for a lot more political turmoil in the year to come. "The opposition political parties hope to expand their electoral base by ...

Kyrgyzstan seeks to double its GDP

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reforms and intends to spend US$13 billion to double gross domestic product (GDP) in five years, drawing on aid and investment to fund projects in agriculture, mining, transport, power and other ...

ECO summit brings no change

Asia Times - Saturday 9th February, 2013

By Anar Valiyev Last month, Baku hosted the 12th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as the ...

A Wolfe loose as Miami meets Moscow

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A Wolfe loose as Miami meets Moscow Back to Blood: A Novel by Tom Wolfe Reviewed by John Helmer MOSCOW - The value difference and profit opportunity between a genuine piece of art and a fake ...

Uzbekistan bids to save culture from popping

Asia Times - Saturday 9th February, 2013

ensure students do not fall prey to supposedly subversive ideas. She's not thrilled about the task. "Students spend so much time playing games featuring violence, such as a ...

Source: http://www.turkmenistannews.net/index.php/sid/212481573/scat/929bcf2071e81801

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Islamists attack Malian troops in Gao

GAO, Mali (AP) ? Black-robed Islamic extremists armed with AK-47 automatic rifles invaded Gao in wooden boats Sunday to launch a surprise attack on the most populous city in northern Mali, two weeks after French and Malian troops ousted the jihadists.

Gunfire echoed for hours across the city of mud-walled buildings. The combat started at about 2 p.m. in downtown Gao and the fighting was continuing as night fell. Later the sound of gunfire was replaced by the clattering of French military helicopters overhead.

The attack in Gao shows the Islamic fighters, many of them well-armed and with combat experience, are determined and daring and it foreshadows a protracted campaign by France and other nations to restore government control in this vast Saharan nation in northwest Africa.

The Islamic radicals fought against the Malian army throughout the afternoon and were seen roaming the narrow streets blanketed in sand and on rooftops in the center of Gao, which had a population of 90,000 before the conflict caused thousands to flee.

Families hid in their homes. One family handed plastic cups of water through the locked iron gate to others hiding on their patio. Piles of onions lay unattended where market women fled when the Islamists arrived. There were no signs of civilian casualties.

The fighting appeared to center near the police headquarters, where Malian soldiers with rocket propelled grenades traded fire with the combatants believed to be from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO. The only sound in the city was gunfire and the bleating of goats. Soldiers were positioned at every corner in the neighborhood.

Ever since French forces took Gao on Jan. 26, the Islamic rebels had clashed with security forces on the city's outskirts. This was the first time they succeeded in entering the strategic city.

The Islamic fighters used pirogues, large wooden dugouts with motors, and other boats to cross the Niger River and penetrate Gao, according to French Gen. Bernard Barrera, who cited Malian officials.

The Islamic radicals had already tried to spread violence into Gao. On Saturday night, a suicide bomber detonated himself at a checkpoint at the entrance to the city, killing himself and wounded one Malian soldier. An earlier suicide bomber on a motorcycle also blew himself up at the same security spot on Friday, killing only himself.

Besides Gao, French and Malian forces have also retaken the fabled city of Timbuktu and other northern towns, pushing the Islamic extremists back into the desert, where they pose a constant threat to Malian and allied forces. But the Islamic fighters made strategic retreats and are dug into desert hideouts, from where they are expected to continue challenging the control of the cities by French, Malian and allied forces. Several African nations have contributed troops to battle the extremists, who imposed their harsh version of Islamic Shariah law when they controlled the northern cities.

The armed Islamic fighters seized the northern half of Mali in April 2012, sending poorly disciplined and equipped Malian forces retreating in disarray. France launched its military intervention in its former colony on Jan. 11 when the Islamic radicals, many of whom had fought for ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, began encroaching on the south, threatening the capital Bamako which lies deep in southern Mali, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from Gao.

France has said that it wants to hand over responsibility to the Malian military and other African nations who have contributed troops and has raised with the United Nations Security Council the possibility of establishing a U.N. peacekeeping operation in Mali.

Sunday's open combat and the two suicide bomb explosions have frightened many Gao residents.

Fears of suicide bombing attacks in Gao have been high since the discovery of industrial-strength explosives in the city last week. Four Malian soldiers also were killed by a land mine in the town of Gossi, raising fears the militants were planting explosives in the road.

Friday's suicide bomber had been living at a known jihadist hideout in Gao, according to local residents. A guard at the home said that it had been visited three months ago by the one-eyed terror leader Moktar Belmoktar, who claimed responsibility for the attack on the BP-operated natural gas plant in Algeria last month.

Other jihadist leaders from MUJAO also had stayed in the luxurious two-story home with a verdant courtyard, which the militants took over when they captured Gao last year, the guard said.

On Sunday, crowds of nearby residents gathered under the shade of a few trees by the site of the suicide bombing attack. It was the second time in as many days that their homes had been shaken by blasts from suicide bombers.

"I am really afraid. You hear about these kinds of things in Pakistan or Afghanistan," said Maouloud Dicko, 30, as he sat on his motorcycle. "Gao is becoming like Pakistan."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/islamists-attack-malian-troops-gao-171411995.html

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First Person: Nemo Buries Parts of Connecticut

Yahoo! News is gathering brief first-person accounts, photos and video from the severe winter weather in the northeastern United States. Here's one resident's story.

FIRST PERSON | The blizzard promised to be epic. It fulfilled its promise with parts of Connecticut seeing 38 inches of snowfall from the monster storm. I was up much of the night, watching and listening to the howling winds, wondering what daybreak would bring.

Fortunately, we never lost power. At about 3:30 in the morning, I took a measurement of the snowfall. It had reached 24 inches. With hours left of snowfall, I was certain this snowfall would surpass the epic snowstorm of '78. I remember that storm; we had more than 27 inches of snow and the roof of the Hartford Civic Center collapsed. We thought roof collapses were almost unheard of then. However, just two years ago, with an epic winter for New England, we had more than give feet of snow at times, and hundreds of roofs collapsed throughout the state. It started with some office buildings, one in Middletown, and spread throughout the coming weeks, into homes, car dealerships, barns, churches and all sorts of businesses.

Today, in Milford, weather.com noted 38 inches of snow. The storm has brought at least two deaths in Connecticut, and all the roads are to remain closed until further notice by order of the governor. He's called the National Guard out to help stranded motorists, including some emergency vehicles.

In Bolton, we have about 34 inches of snow. I spoke to the local news in the middle of the night to tell them we had 24 inches. They indicated the whole state was clobbered, with snow plows getting stuck and stranded cars strewn about. Many gas stations were without gas, and even the smaller plows were having a hard time finding gas.

As the plow comes to clear the drive here, it gets stuck in the mass of snow. The driver needs a few people to dig him out. It's been a crazy storm. We've had so many epic storms these last years, with Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Sandy, Tropical storm Albert, and now Blizzard Nemo; it's been a wild ride in Connecticut. In the last few mega-storms, the state has looked like a tree apocalypse has struck! We have yet to see how many trees will come down from this monster snowstorm. I think global warming is way off base here.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-nemo-buries-parts-connecticut-204900287.html

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Fewer New Year fireworks in polluted Beijing

BEIJING (AP) ? The annual Lunar New Year fireworks barrage in Beijing was notably muted Sunday following government appeals to reduce the smoky celebrations after air pollution rose to near catastrophic levels over recent weeks.

The holiday was also being celebrated in Vietnamese and Korean communities, and in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, streams of residents offered flowers and bowed deeply before giant statues of national founder Kim Il Sung and his son and late leader Kim Jong Il.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, where Chinese cultural observances had been suppressed before 1998, ethnic Chinese flocked to the city's oldest temple to pray for health and success.

China's capital saw almost twice the number of smoggy days as usual in January, with levels of small particle air pollution going off the charts at times. That prompted calls for restraint, along with a reduction in the number of licensed fireworks sellers and the amount of fireworks on sale.

The fusillades that began on Lunar New Year's eve on Saturday night started later than usual but still grew to furious intensity at midnight. They also died out earlier than usual on Sunday morning, and relatively few explosions were heard during the day.

Setting off fireworks to celebrate renewal and ward off evil spirits is a traditional part of the celebration that marks China's most important family holiday.

Sales of fireworks from Tuesday to Saturday fell 37 percent over the same period last year, from 410,000 cartons to just 260,000, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing figures from the city government. The city authorized 1,337 fireworks stands this year, down from 1,429 last year, and allowed 750,000 cartons of fireworks to go on sale, down from 810,000.

The Beijing Daily, the city government's official newspaper, carried appeals last week for residents to hold off on fireworks celebrations, saying not doing so would significantly worsen levels of PM2.5 particle pollution forecast to be in the hazardous zone. City environmental bureau readings showed levels well above 200 in most parts of the city Sunday, dangerous but still well below readings of more than 700 seen last month, when Beijing experienced 23 days of smog, up from 10 the previous January.

Beijing was largely helpless in the face of the January smog, while schools canceled outdoor activities, some factories closed and government cars were ordered off the streets. Scores of people, especially the young and elderly, were treated at hospitals for respiratory problems, elevated blood pressure and heart complaints.

Last year's fireworks display created a thick haze that sent 2.5 microgram pollution levels as high as 1,500.

Beijing on Saturday night also saw just 25 injuries and 83 fire emergencies related to fireworks, down almost 29 percent and 45 percent, respectively, from last year.

Beijing permits fireworks displays over a 16-day period surrounding the Lunar New Year, but largely restricts them to suburban areas outside the densely populated city center.

The holiday will continue through the week, with government and businesses shut down and millions of Chinese traveling to their home towns to visit family. Many foreign residents also leave the city, taking the opportunity to enjoy warmer weather in Southeast Asia or travel to Japan and South Korea for skiing holidays.

Chinese leaders have made few public appearances in recent days, although state broadcaster CCTV said new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited Saturday with policemen, subway construction workers, taxi drivers and street cleaners in Beijing to thank them for their service.

Premier Wen Jiaobao, who has made a point of spending the holiday eve with workers and the poor, celebrated the last such occasion of his term in office with victims of earthquakes and landslides in western China, CCTV said. Wen steps down in March.

The holiday took on a strong political flavor in North Korea, where current leader Kim Jong Un, the son of Kim Jong Il, who died in December 2011, recently marked his second year in office.

"My longing for our great leader and general has grown stronger as I visited their statues," Pyongyang resident Kim Son Sil told The Associated Press at Mansu Hill, which overlooks the city. "After this Lunar New Year's Day, I will work harder, true to the leadership of Marshal Kim Jong Un."

Crowds of children also packed a Pyongyang plaza and played traditional Korean games and watched singing and dancing performances, with the capital's streets covered in snow that had fallen Saturday.

Along North Korea's border with China last week, impoverished residents could be seen returning home by bicycle ferry and oxcart. North Korea's economy is on the brink of collapse, and the country remains dependent on China for food and fuel supplies.

At Jakarta's 350-year-old Buddhist temple, Vihara Dharma Bhakti, thousands of celebrants from the Indonesian capital and surrounding regions prayed before burning incense sticks and performed other rituals.

"Our hope for this new year is for our health, well-being and success to be even better than last year," worshipper Nio Ju-ie said.

The Lunar New Year could be celebrated only in private under Gen. Suharto's brutal 32-year dictatorship, but the occasion is now a national holiday in Indonesia, honoring the country's small but highly influential Chinese community.

___

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fewer-fireworks-polluted-beijing-114005504.html

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6 dead in rocket attack on Iraqi refugee camp

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 file photo, Members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq organization chant slogans and hold banners during a tour organized by the Iraqi government for foreign diplomats in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 say assailants have fired rockets at a refugee camp for an Iranian exile group outside Baghdad, killing at least six people and wounding more than 40. The camp houses members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the militant wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 file photo, Members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq organization chant slogans and hold banners during a tour organized by the Iraqi government for foreign diplomats in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 say assailants have fired rockets at a refugee camp for an Iranian exile group outside Baghdad, killing at least six people and wounding more than 40. The camp houses members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the militant wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 file photo, members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq organization are seen inside the Liberty refugee camp in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi police say assailants have fired rockets at a refugee camp for an Iranian exile group outside Baghdad, killing at least six people and wounding more than 40. The camp houses members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, the militant wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran. (AP Photo/ Hadi Mizban, File)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Assailants fired rockets and mortar rounds at a refugee camp for Iranian exiles outside Baghdad on Saturday, killing six people and wounding dozens, police and a camp spokesman said.

Nearly three dozen rockets and mortar shells struck the camp, home to some 3,100 people, before daybreak, said camp spokesman Shahriar Kia. He said more than 100 were wounded, several in serious condition. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

It was the first reported deadly attack against the camp. The facility houses members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK, the militant wing of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran. Iraq's Shiite-led pro-Iranian government considers the MEK a terrorist group and is eager to have it out of the country.

The refugee camp is located in a former American military base known as Camp Liberty, adjacent to Baghdad's international airport. It is meant to be a temporary way station while the United Nations works to resettle the residents abroad. They are unlikely to return to Iran because of their opposition to the regime.

Two police officials confirmed that six people were killed in Saturday's attack and said more than 40 were hurt, including three Iraqi policemen. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to share information with the media.

The Iranian opposition group provided amateur video and photos it said showed the aftermath of the attack. One photo showed six bodies swaddled in blankets lying on the ground in a hallway. Amateur video showed wounded, some with blood-covered faces, being treated at a small clinic.

Kia, the camp spokesman, said Iraqi authorities refused to let the wounded be taken to area hospitals for treatment. Iraqi government officials were not immediately available for comment.

The U.N. envoy in Iraq, Martin Kobler, said he asked the Iraqi authorities to ensure medical care for the wounded. Kobler's office said in a statement that Iraqi officials assured him the wounded were hospitalized.

Kobler also called for a speedy investigation of the attack.

The camp was set up in 2012. Before being moved by the government to the Baghdad area, members of the MEK had lived in northeastern Iraq, near the Iranian border. Iraq's government says its members are living in Iraq illegally.

The group, which is also called the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, opposes Iran's clerical regime and has carried out assassinations and bombings in Iran. It fought in the 1980s alongside Saddam Hussein's forces in the Iran-Iraq war, and several thousand of its members were given sanctuary in Iraq by Saddam.

The group renounced violence in 2001 and the Obama administration took the MEK off the U.S. terrorism list in late September.

___

Associated Press writer Karin Laub in Baghdad contributed reporting.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-09-ML-Iraq/id-38423ac468724d5eb85ea1e6883291f1

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