idnapping groupbusted in arwan

Transcription

Eye on the News
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MARCH 04 2016 -Hoot 14, 1394 H.S
KABUL: The attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad on
Wednesday is part of a trend
of such attacks launched from
Pakistan, said former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
“They are simply attacking India’s presence in Afghanistan, whenever they get
the opportunity. The whole
spectrum of the India-Afghan
relations, the relationship itself, is the target of the attacks”, Mr. Karzai told The
Hindu in an exclusive interview in Delhi hours after a
suicide squad targeted the Indian mission in Jalalabad.
According to the Afghan
police, two persons were
killed and 19 injured after Afghan security forces battled a
group of gunmen outside the
mission, which is in the diplomatic district.
The attack on Wednesday
is also the third such major
strike on an Indian mission
since May 2014, with the last
attack on January 3 this year
in Mazar e Sharif.
“What is there in the relationship between India and
Afghanistan that would irk
someone so much that they
would come and attack the
Indian consulates, or attack
Afghanistan”, asked Mr.
Karzai during the interview,
adding that terror emanating
from Pakistan was the single
reason for problems between
Afghanistan and Pakistan as
well. The spate of attacks also follow Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s visit to Kabul and Lahore
on December 25 last, when he had
announced the transfer of four attack helicopters to Afghanistan,
the first time India had provided
Afghanistan with lethal hardware.
While Mr. Karzai said he didn’t
think the attacks were linked to
MAZAR-I-SHARIF : Two people were killed and 24 others injured in a bomb blast in Dawlat
Abad district of northern Balkh
province on Thursday, an official
said. The district chief, Amir Shah
Khan, told Pajhwok Afghan News
the blast took place in the district’s
bazaar at around 2pm. “The explosion happened after I passed the
bazaar in my car,” he said, adding
all victims of the blast were civilians including children and womeninfo-icon. Mohammad Ewaz, a
resident of the district bazaar, said
the explosives had been planted on
a rickshaw. “The rickshaw was already parked in the bazaar and was
detonated when the district chief
was passing through the bazaar,”
he said. However, he put the number of those killed at three, saying
a large of other people had been
injured in the incident. (Pajhwok)
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“any one specific decision by India”, he said the common link was
the origin of the groups carrying
out the attacks. “Each of those attacks has originated from across
the border, from the neighbouring
Pakistan. That’s where the origin
of this trouble is: the Lashkar-eTaiba is from there, the Lashkar-eJhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad, all
these outfits are from Pakistan. So,
the sanctuaries, the training
grounds, the financial factors and
the motivating factors are all inside Pakistan, and come from
across the border”, Mr. Karzai,
who has been a strong critic of
Pakistan, said. According to him,
there was no possibility Afghans
carrying out attacks on Indian mis-
sions, including the one in Jalalabad, because of India’s popularity
in the country. “There will never
be an Afghan-motivated, Afghanfinanced attack on Indian interests
in Afghanistan. There never was
and there can never be, because
India is seen as the greatest friend
of Afghanistan, historically and
today”, he said. However, to a
question whether India should increase its security presence in Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai said while it
was only natural for Indian personnel to protect Indian missions
and interests, there was no other
requirement for its presence otherwise at present. (The Hindu)
IDNAPPING GROUPBUSTED IN
AT News Report
KABUL: The National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Thursday said thatit has arrested a notorious kidnapper along with five
accomplices in northern Parwan
province. In a press statement issued here,the security agency said
that its operatives succeeded to
arrest a leader of kidnapping
group, known as Major General
Paikar, with his five colleagues including a woman in Parwan province. Twenty-threedifferent types
of assault rifles, two vehicles with
military uniforms and fake documents were recovered from the
possession of the kidnappers dur-
ing the operation. The NDS also
freed the captives, added the statement. The detained kidnappers
had
links
with
the
Taliban’sshadow governor Maw-
ARWAN
lawiNasimMoshfeq and planned
to conduct subversive activities.
According to the statement, the
group also planned to abduct
high-profile people.
By Akhtar M. Nikzad
KABUL: The Democracy International (DI) released a report on
Thursday claiming that Hamid
Karzai has ruled the country far
better than President Muhammad
Ashraf Ghani because majority of
lawmakers have lost trust over the
National Unity Government
(NUG.) In its survey about the
Wolesi Jirga and Meshrano Jirga,
the DI interviewed 215 legislators
about corruption, insecurity, electoral reforms, rule of law, governance, and joblessness in the country. The report said that the current
level of pessimism among members
of the parliament illustrates a staggering drop from the optimistic outlook Afghans had just after establishment of the NUG in 2014. The
report found out that majority of
lawmakers preferred Hamid Karzaiadministration than the NUG because of growing insecurity, rampant corruption and joblessness in
the country. Technical Advisor of
DI, Zekria Barakzai, said that according to the survey, except seven
percent of interviewed lawmakers,
majority of them were pessimistic
about the current government. He
said that the parliamentarians underlined growing insecurity, corruption, unemployment, interference of
foreign counties and violations of
the laws as major causes of the pessimism. “Unfortunately, majority
of the interviewed legislators alleged
that the NUG is going in the wrong
direction. Only seven percent of
them expressed optimism over the
current government. Fifty percent
of the lawmakers pointed out insecurity and joblessness as serious
challenges in the country, and
claimed that they are unable to visit
their respective constituencies to
address grievances of the electorates,” he explained. Hinting to the
parliamentary and district councils
elections, Barakzai said that major-
ity of the legislators demand
fundamental electoral reforms before the polls. “The
lawmakers are concerned
about the security situation.
In order to ensure free and
transparent polls, they [legislators] asked the government to improve coordination among the state institutions and hold zonal parliamentary election,” he said.
By zonal parliamentary election Barakzai meant elections at each zone to avoid
mishap in the polling process while keeping the fragile security situation in view.
Sayed Akhtar, an employee
of the DI who presented the
report, said that 40 percent
of lawmakers are satisfied
about peace talks with the
Taliban and they believe that
the militant group could join
the political administration
on the condition that they
accept and respect the Constitution. He added that a
large number of the senators
and Wolesi Jirga members
are worried about presence
of Daesh fighters in the country, and claimed that they
could not meet with people
in the areas where the Middle Eastern terror group had
established strongholds. Regarding to President Ashraf
Ghani efforts for good governance, he highlighted that
31 percent of the interviewed
lawmakers were optimistic
about Ghani’s good governance, but majority of them
expressed pessimism, he
mentioned. On the other
hand, 21 percent of lawmakers expressed satisfaction
over efforts of Abdullah Abdullah for good governance,
but a large number of them
were not optimistic.
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FRIDAY MARCH 04, 2016
AFGHANISTANTIMES
AFGHANISTAN TIMES
Editor: Abdul Saboor Sarir
Phone No: +93-772364666
E-mail: [email protected]
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www.afghanistantimes.af
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Printed at Afghanistan Times Printing Press
The constitution says
Article 117
The President shall appoint one of its members as Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court. Members of the Supreme Court, except under circumstances stated in Article
One Hundred Twenty Seven of this Constitution, shall not be dismissed till the end
of their term.
Editorial
By Olivier Guitta
When the African, South American and European countries
are focusing on regionalism and integration, unfortunately, South
Asian countries are not ready to bury the hatchets and move
forward together for prosperity of the region and welfare of
general masses. European Union has been through difficult times
and still faces challenges such as mass influx of immigrants
and weaker economy of a few member states. But, it is still
united and working on common grounds to resolve the problems and differences. The Arab world has its own organization, effective in sense of integration. The Arab League brought
the Arab countries together. African countries have forged military alliance to respond to existing and potential threats.
In Asia many have put their past behind and working jointly
in the pursuit of common goals. The Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) is just one example to count. ASEAN
is doing well. This regional organization has brought the members together to improve regional economy and improve lifestyle of people. It is only South Asia countries who are not
ready to become a single unit with determination. Although,
the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) has been there but it has failed to bring the member
states together with broader consensus on major issues such
as political, economical and educational integration. Countries in this southern part of Asia are involved in internal rivalries. They are not ready to forget the past and resolve the
differences in an amicable way.
Politics of poorly-defined national interests and narrow
mindset had overshadowed economic growth opportunities in
this region. More than half of the SAARC member countries
are rivals and have fought several wars. Some have supported
non-state actors to pursue the narrowly defined foreign policy
objectives. In other words, SAARC is a body of rival countries with no mechanism to bring the nations together with increased and uninterrupted interactions. There are some SAARC
members whose citizens find it extremely difficult to visit another member country. People of Bangladesh and India find it
a herculean task to get Pakistani visa and visit different areas
without fear or regret. The same is true about Pakistani nationals. Afghans are also paying heavy price for these rivalries.
Yet, there is a hope. The Raisina Dialogue, concluded on
Thursday in New Dehli, is part of this hope. It has strengthening the optimism because it focused on geopolitics and geoeconomics in order to build consensus over the issue of regional integration. Connectivity was core of its agenda. Hope
that the South Asian countries would pay heed to the suggestions forwarded in the dialogue.
In the course of a few days, the
United States and France reportedly conducted military
operations in Libya against the
Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant, known as ISIL. That is
not new: Both countries have
allegedly been involved in special forces operations in the
North African country for the
past two years.
At first, the targets were
linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoun. Now the emergence and
the fast expansion of ISIL in
Libya is a game changer. Some
countries consider that time is
of the essence, and that they
cannot afford to sit around and
do nothing.
The US is one of them: the
commander of their special
forces in Africa believes that
Libya will need the US to defeat ISIL.
On February 19, in concert
with Britain, France and Italy,
the US conducted an air strike
on an ISIL camp in Sabratha
killing at least 41 people, Tunisians for the most part.
Deaths reported in US raids
on 'ISIL camp' in Libya
The main target was a man
who had links to attacks in Tunisia at the Bardo Museum in
March and Sousse beach in
June 2015. The jihadists were
allegedly planning more attacks in that country. Interestingly enough, the US warned
neighbouring Algeria about the
raid only minutes before it took
place.
The presence of Western
special forces is an open secret:
French, US and British forces
are likely to be on the ground.
Indeed, it is interesting that
the question is not whether
French special forces are in Libya or not, but whether they are
taking part in military operations.
French special forces have
reportedly been helping Libyan troops battle ISIL fighters
in Benghazi for two months. Le
Monde, the French newspaper,
has revealed the extent of the
presence of French undercover operations in Libya. It has
also discovered that France
provided the intelligence that
led to the killing of ISIL leader
Abu Nabil in a strike in Derna
in November 2015.
In January, the Libyan National Army, known as the LNA,
claimed France carried out its
first strikes against ISIL in Sirte
and Bin Jawad. Coincidence or
not, the son of General Khalifa
Haftar, the LNA's leader, was
in Paris in early January probably to coordinate military operations. The political stalemate
is ongoing with Libya's two
governments having competing patrons: Tripoli supported
by Qatar and Turkey, while Tobruk gets the nod from the
West, Egypt and the United
Arab Emirates.
The recent victory of the
LNA in Benghazi in kicking out
ISIL and Ansar al-Sharia forces from some parts of town may
be the proof that Western help
could have been a deciding factor.
Other international actors
might get involved. The European Union has also reached
out to General Haftar, whom
they consider as the only viable option for taking on the
various jihadist groups. What
is interesting is how General
Haftar is reaching out to Russia as well.
The latest US raid on ISIL
in Sabratha seemed to have
pushed some of its members to
move towards the Tunisian
border. The risk of a larger
Western intervention may have
incited ISIL fighters to leave
their bases in Libya and head
south, potentially putting both
Niger and Chad at risk.
In the light of this, it is not
surprising that Niger's president repeats what he has said
over the past two years: Foreign intervention in Libya is a
must.
Moreover, neighbouring
Algeria is said to have amassed
50,000 soldiers at its borders
with Tunisia and Libya, and
beefed-up drone and plane surveillance to counter jihadist
threats.
Little doubt is left about a
Western military intervention
in Libya: For instance Egypt's
foreign minister said in Washington that Libya intervention
should wait. That meant not if
but when.
The timing may be sooner
than later. Indeed, that French
aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
that was sent to the Gulf in
December to strike ISIL in Syria after the November Paris attacks has been recalled to the
Mediterranean, probably to go
to Libya. It will carry out joint
exercises with Egypt - a country very concerned about the
ISIL's activities in Libya that
conducted air strikes there in
2015.
This shows how Libya has
replaced Syria and Iraq as the
top military priority, especially
for the Europeans. The rapid
expansion of the ISIL in Libya
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in terms of fighters, leaders and
territory is a huge cause for
concern for the West: In December, the United Nations estimated that ISIL had between
2,000 and 3,000 fighters in Libya, and now the US is talking
of 6,500 fighters.
Additionally, reports of ISIL
leaders leaving Syria for Libya
and calling for new recruits to
join them there prove the central importance of the country
for the group.
Some pundits in Washington are calling for Western air
strikes on ISIL in Libya now,
claiming there is no need to wait
for a unity government.
The political stalemate is
ongoing with Libya's two governments having competing
patrons: Tripoli supported by
Qatar and Turkey, while Tobruk
gets the nod from the West,
Egypt and the United Arab
Emirates.
Patience is running thin and
there is speculation that if a national government is not agreed
upon soon, Italy may push a
plan to split Libya into three
mini-states.
In the meantime, countries
such as France or Britain cannot afford to witness a massive
terror attack at home that would
have been planned in Libya.
Sadly, in light of this, more chaos and violence are in store for
Libya.
Olivier Guitta is the managing director of GlobalStrat, a
geopolitical risk and security
consultancy firm with a regional specialisation on Europe, the
Middle East and Africa.
The views expressed in this
article are the author's own and
do not necessarily reflect Al
Jazeera's editorial policy.
Peace
message
.
AFGHANISTAN TIMES
BANK OF
AMERICA REVS
UP AUTO LOANS
BUSINESS
DESPITE
WARNING SIGNS
LONDON : European stocks and
oil prices fell on Thursday but still
held on to most of this week's gains,
KARACHI: Bangladesh High
Commissioner Suhrab Hossain
has said that Karachi and Chittagong should have a direct shipping line to reduce time and cost
of transportation.
He said this while talking to
the office bearers of Karachi
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). KCCI needs to
take up this issue with the government so that the suggestion of
having direct shipping line could
be considered, he advised, according to a KCCI press release.
Hossain said both countries
should take advantage of their
close proximity and consider furthering economic relations. Hossain said this during his farewell
visit to KCCI as his six-year long
term as High Commission in Pakistan is coming to an end.
“Total trade between the two
countries is $743 million, which
is heavily tilted in favour of Pakistan,” said Hossain. During fiscal year 2014-15, Pakistan exported goods worth $689 million
as concern eased about the global
outlook for economic growth.
Upbeat data from major econ-
to Bangladesh while its imports
were recorded at $54 million.
Deputy High Commissioner of
Bangladesh Noor-e-Helal Saif ur
Rehman and KCCI Senior Vice
President Zia Ahmed Khan were
also present in the meeting.
Referring to the growth and
progress witnessed by Bangladesh,
he said that the country had faced
severe foreign exchange shortages
when it came into existence and
even a food crisis in 1974.
Today, Bangladesh holds
strong foreign reserves of $28 billion and it is self-sufficient in food
and agriculture that is being exported to numerous countries, he
said, adding that Bangladesh was
also the second largest exporter of
garments after China.
He pointed out that many Pakistani businessmen were successfully doing business in Bangladesh
and invited the business and industrial community to invest more
in Bangladesh which will be fully
protected under government’s foreign investment policy.
low in February but remained solid, underpinned by growing services, a survey showed on Thursday. European stock markets
(.FTEU3) (.STOXX) fell at the
open but remained close to twomonth highs, reflecting a more upbeat mood among investors. Oil
prices reversed earlier gains as
swelling U.S. crude inventories
outweighed a growing belief that
the market's 20-month-long rout
is ending. Brent crude prices
(LCOc1) slipped 0.9 percent to
$36.63 but are still some 35 percent above last month's lows. U.S.
crude futures lost 0.4 percent to
$34.51 (CLc1). However, they
have risen more than a third since
Feb. 11, when prices dropped to
levels not seen since 2003 at just
over $26 a barrel. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down
0.46 percent, with blue-chip stocks
in London (.FTSE), Paris (.FCHI)
and Frankfurt (.GDAXI) all losing ground. That followed a strong
session in Asia, where MSCI's
broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan added another 1.1 percent to reach a twomonth peak. Focus turned to the
U.S. non-manufacturing ISM report, due later on Thursday, with
investors eyeing the employment
component for clues about Friday's non-farm payrolls report.
A solid report on Friday could
bolster expectations that the Federal Reserve remains on track to
raise interest rates this year and
boost the dollar.
The dollar was back above
114.00 yen (JPY=), up 0.5 percent at 114.05 and moving towards
the previous day's two-week high
of 114.56. Even the low-yielding
euro was up 0.6 percent at 123.95
yen (EURJPY=).
"We are seeing better risk appetite weighing on the yen," said
Niels Christensen, FX strategist at
Nordea. "The focus is on the ISM
report, and if, like the manufacturing survey, it is a good one, then
we could see the dollar move higher." Data on Wednesday showed
U.S. private-sector jobs rising a
surprisingly strong 214,000 in February, adding to speculation Friday's payrolls report would also
be upbeat.
The calmer mood in world
markets showed in the CBOE Volatility index (.VIX), a measure of
investor anxiety, which closed at
its lowest level so far this year.
Against this backdrop, U.S.
Treasury and German Bund yields
have pulled away from lows hit in
February as greater risk appetite
lessens the appeal of safe-haven
bonds.
The Australian dollar was up
0.2 percent to $0.7303
(AUD=D4) after earlier reaching a
2016 high of $0.7325. Data
showed Australia's fourth-quarter
economic growth unexpectedly
picked up to an annual 3.0 percent. Yet fissures remain in the global outlook, with the European
Central Bank likely to ease monetary policy further when it meets
next week. "The overriding economic concerns that were vexing
investors at the end of last year
are still here - concerns about a
weaker Chinese economy, for instance," said Michael Hewson,
chief markets analyst at CMC
Markets in London. "That makes
me cautious about the rebound in
stock markets."
omies this week and signs of a rebound in commodity prices have
helped restore some calm to global
markets after a turbulent start to
the year. Growth in Germany's
private sector slid to a five-month
Stock markets in the Gulf may be
firm on Thursday as investors’
mood has started to improve after
oil prices firmed, but Egypt may
stall as investors worry about a
possible interest rate hike, currency devaluation or both.
Brent futures have risen back
to around $37 a barrel amid a growing belief that oil prices may have
bottomed, fueled by Saudi Arabia’s decision to raise prices for
Asia. Also, purchasing managers’
indexes released on Thursday
showed non-oil business activity
in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates accelerating
slightly in February from January’s multi-year lows.
Dubai’s stock index pulled
back on Wednesday as traders
dumped Arabtec after its shares
jumped their 15 percent daily limit twice this week. Amlak Finance,
an Islamic investment, firm was
also sold off as local traders turned
a quick profit. However, the drop
of speculative stocks may encourage a rotation into blue chips if longer-term traders rebuild their port-
folios. Egypt’s bourse has been struggling, however, in weak volumes. The Egyptian purchasing managers’
index for February showed business activity there shrank for a fifth straight month. “Investors may not want
to commit a portion of their funds to equities when they may see their returns hit by a currency devaluation,”
said a Cairo-based trader.
VOLKSWAGEN SHARES FALL AFTER STATEMENT ON EMISSIONS
FRANKFURT : Volkswagen
(VOWG_p.DE) shares fell almost
2 percent in early trading on
Thursday after the carmaker said
its former chief executive did not
pay particular attention when he
was alerted to problems with U.S.
diesel emissions tests in 2014.
Europe's biggest carmaker released its most detailed account yet
late on Wednesday of the events
leading up to the revelation last
September that it had cheated U.S.
tests, which at the time unleashed
a scandal that caused the CEO's
resignation and wiped billions off
its market value.
Volkswagen issued the statement to reject shareholder accusations that it did not inform them
of the looming problems in time,
causing them massive losses.
Shares in Volkswagen were
down 1.9 percent at 113.55 euros
by 0824 GMT, at the bottom of a
flat German blue-chip index
(.GDAXI).
"VW's firm rejection of emissions risk disclosure violations and
detailed account of the sequence
of events reduce -- but do not remove -- the risk of shareholder suit
liabilities," Exane BNP Paribas
analyst Stuart Pearson wrote in a
note.
He kept his "outperform" rating on the stock and raised his target price by 2 euros to 138 euros,
saying Exane was trimming its legal liability estimate by 1 billion
euros ($1.1 billion) to 10.7 billion euros as a result.
Home 'flipping' exceeds peaks in some hot US housing markets
NEW YORK : Home flipping buying and reselling a home to make
a quick buck - has risen in some
hot U.S. housing markets,
prompting concerns that local
housing bubbles could be developing, according to a report published
on Thursday.
The report by RealtyTrac
found that home flipping in 12 active metropolitan areas last year
was above a peak set in 2005, just
two years before the U.S. mortgage market started to collapse,
leading to a banking crisis and the
Great Recession.
Profits generated by home flipping also hit a 10-year high, with
home flippers netting an average
$55,000 per sale before renovation
and transaction costs. Profits
topped $100,000 in expensive
markets such as New York and Los
Angeles. There were also indications smaller investors were starting to pile in on the action. The
number of home flippers rose to
levels not seen since 2007, while
the number of home flips per individual investor fell at the same
time.
"When home flipping numbers
go up, it is usually an indication
that the housing market is in trouble," said Matthew Gardner, chief
economist at Windermere Real
Estate, who was quoted in the report.
"These sales artificially inflate
home prices, making housing even
less affordable for buyers and increasing the risk of a bubble," said
Gardener.
Nearly 20 percent more homes
were flipped than in 2005 in Pittsburgh and Memphis. Home flip-
ping was above 2005 levels in Buffalo, New York; Birmingham, Alabama; Cleveland, and San Diego.
Seattle and San Diego, however,
saw a decrease from 2014 levels.
Three metro areas in Florida, a
housing market that has been
prone to overheating, saw the largest increase in home flips. Lakeland, Jacksonville, and Homosassa Springs all saw home flips rise
40 percent to 50 percent.
The Miami metro area had the
most homes flipped of any market nationwide. In 2015, 10,658
were flipped in Miami, representing 8.6 percent of all Miami-area
sales for the year and up 4 percent
as a share of all sales from 2014.
The report defines a home flip
as any transaction that occurred
on the same property twice within 12 months. It surveyed 110 U.S.
metro areas Home flipping grew nationally as 179,778 homes were flipped last year, the highest level since
2007. The number, however, was well under the 2005 peak of 259,192. The share of flipped homes edged up
to 5.5 percent of sales from 5.3 percent in 2014.
Bank of America (BAC.N) is
making a big push into auto lending just as regulators are sending warning signals, losses from
auto loans are rising, and rivals
are growing more cautious after
years of strong returns.
The bank tapped mortgage
executives Matt Vernon and
John Schleck to lead the auto
lending business last May, saying they would be able to sell
auto loans alongside other products such as checking accounts
and home equity loans.
In interviews, the executives
and their boss, D. Steve Boland,
who oversees a broad swath of
consumer lending, said they still
see room for growth from borrowers who have good credit.
They have hired extensively in
recent months, adding dozens
of loan officers and salespeople. But some competitors and
bank analysts said hiring doesn't
make sense at this stage, because
auto sales may be close to peaking, and consumer credit is showing signs of weakness.
Industry-wide, banks classified $1.1 billion worth of auto
loans as uncollectible in the
fourth quarter, according to the
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp. That is up 15 percent
from the year-ago period, and
up 39 percent since the fourth
quarter of 2011. Ultimately,
much of that bad debt turns into
losses for the banks.
For a graphic showing auto
loans that are 30-89 days past
due and an auto sales projection, see http://tmsnrt.rs/
24xv9vV
"I'm not actively hiring or
growing our operations across
the platform. That's for sure,"
said Andrew Stuart, head of TD
Auto Finance, which is slightly
smaller than Bank of America's
auto business.
At a Feb. 10 conference,
Capital One Financial Corp
(COF.N) CEO Richard Fairbank said that while auto loans
provided "once in a lifetime type
returns" after the financial crisis, the business has begun to
lose strength. In a January interview on CNBC, JPMorgan
CEO Jamie Dimon called the
market "stretched."
Portales Partners analyst
Charles Peabody said Bank of
America is late to the auto loans
party. But in its defense, he
noted that the bank's Chief Executive Brian Moynihan and his
management team were too busy
trying to resolve mortgage-related issues when the auto lending business seemed like a
smarter bet.
"They should have been
beefing this thing up two years
ago, but two years ago Moynihan was still trying to stabilize
the ship," Peabody said. All
banks are struggling to boost
revenue during a period of stubbornly low interest rates and
tough post-crisis regulation, but
Bank of America has felt the pain
more acutely than most of its
peers.
The second-largest U.S.
bank by assets, Bank of America trades at just 50 percent of
book value, compared to 90
percent for JP Morgan Chase
& Co (JPM.N) and 130 percent
for Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N).
Bank of America took bigger
losses than those rivals during
the crisis, and still lags them by
other key metrics, including return on equity and costs in relation to revenue.
While Bank of America
showed some progress in 2015,
it still has to prove it can generate consistent performance under Moynihan, who took the
helm in 2010. During his tenure, the bank has paid tens of
billions of dollars in fines and
settlements related to mortgages that were issued before he
became CEO.
Bank of America ranks 11th
among U.S. auto lenders, with
just 1.72 percent of the market
in the third quarter of last year,
according to the latest available
data from Experian Automotive.
Ally Financial Inc (ALLY.N),
the largest U.S. auto lender, accounts for 6 percent, followed
by Wells Fargo, which ranked
second with 5.57 percent. JPMorgan was fifth with 4.15
percent.
Bank of America may rank
higher on Thursday, when Experian says it will release
fourth-quarter data, because
Vernon said much of its growth
came at the end of the year.
Auto sales remain very robust. Figures carmakers released
on Tuesday showed that sales
climbed to a 15-year high for
the month of February, driven
by low gasoline prices, wage
growth, and because loans are
both available and cheap. But
most forecasters expect sales to
peak in 2016 and trend down
over the next few years.
"We remain in the 'plateau'
camp," RBC Capital Markets
analyst Joseph Spak wrote on
Tuesday, sticking to his flat
sales forecast.
.
FRIDAY MARCH 04 2016
AFGHANISTANTIMES
PET SCANS
REVEAL KEY
DETAILS OF
ALZHEIMER’S
PROTEIN
GROWTH IN
AGING BRAINS
‘Broken heart
syndrome’
caused by
happiness, too
Sixteen years after scientists first
discovered “broken heart syndrome,” a new study suggests its
nickname may be misplaced. Why?
Because happy hearts can cause it
too.
Characterized by shortness of
breath and difficulty breathing,
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTS)
gets the playful “broken heart”
moniker from the belief that the
weakening of heart muscles, which
causes a ventricle to balloon out,
is prompted only by sadness.
But in a new study published
Thursday by the European Heart
Journal, scientists catalog 20 cases in which TTS was caused by
something happy. It’s the first
time scientists have found a positive cause for the rare condition.
The discovery suggests that both
sad and happy events operate
through the same neural pathways.
TTS, also referred to as transient apical ballooning syndrome,
was discovered by Japanese scientists in 1991. They found the
condition while analyzing autopsies from people who died of assaults but weren’t actually injured.
Due to the nature of the ballooning ventricle, they named it after a
pot used to catch octopuses.
The first case in the U.S. was
not documented until 1998, and
scientists here didn’t begin researching it seriously until the early 2000s. The first major study in
America, performed at Johns Hopkins, was released in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005
with the headline: “‘Broken Heart’
Syndrome: Real, Potentially Deadly but Recovery Quick.”
Since then, scientists and the
general public alike have been enamored by the condition, but until
now, wrote about it exclusively as
something tied to extreme sadness.
After establishing the Takot-
subo registry, an enormous online
database cataloging patients with
TTS, cardiologist and leader of the
study Dr. Jelena Ghadri began noticing positive events in some of
the descriptions. To determine how
often this occurred, she and her
team zeroed in on the first 1750
patients who registered.
Hailing from nine different
countries, 95 percent of the patients were female, with an average age of 65. Of all the cases, 485
were triggered by an emotional
event. Of that number, 20 of them
(four percent) were positive—a
phenomenon the researchers call
“happy heart syndrome.” Among
the happy events that they observed: a birthday party, wedding,
several wins at the casino, and the
birth of a grandson.
“We have shown that the triggers for TTS can be more varied
than previously thought. A TTS
patient is no longer the classic ‘broken hearted’ patient, and the disease can be preceded by positive
emotions too,” said Ghadri. “Clinicians should be aware of this and
also consider that patients who
arrive in the emergency department with signs of heart attacks,
such as chest pain and breathlessness, but after a happy event or
emotion, could be suffering from
TTS just as much as a similar patient presenting after a negative
emotional event.”
The researchers point out that
despite the “extensive chart review,” the sample size necessitates
more research. Still, the overall result is a potentially “substantial
paradigm shift” from the commonly accepted views about TTS.
“Our findings broaden the clinical
spectrum of TTS. They also suggest that happy and sad life events
may share similar emotional pathways that can ultimately cause
TTS.”
Ovarian cancer isn’t actually just
one type of cancer. It isn’t — as it
has been described — “a silent killer.” And it often doesn’t start in
the ovaries.
So says a new report from the
National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering & Medicine — commissioned by Congress — that
describes “surprising gaps” in the
understanding of ovarian cancer.
“While progress has been made
in ovarian cancer research over the
last few decades, much remains to
be learned,” said Jerome F. Strauss,
chair of the committee that carried
out the study. Ovarian cancer accounts for only 3 percent of cancer diagnoses in women but is the
fifth-leading cause of cancer-related death. With roughly two-thirds
of women diagnosed when the cancer is at an advanced stage, the fiveyear survival rate for ovarian cancer is less than 46 percent.
Ovarian cancer is actually a
“constellation of cancers,” said
committee member Heidi Donovan of the University of Pittsburgh
School of Nursing, with “emerging evidence around recognizing
that ovarian cancer is not a single
disease.” The report recommends
prioritizing research on one of
those types of cancer, high-grade
serous carcinoma, which accounts
for about 70 percent of deaths.
Recent research shows that
most cases of high-grade serous
carcinoma actually originate in the
fallopian tubes and spread to the
ovaries, where the cancer grows
and is eventually discovered. “The
ability to spread is a marker of an
aggressive tumor,” said Ms. Donovan, a professor at Pitt’s nursing
school and vice chair of research in
the Department of Health and
Community Systems. “Once we
find them, they’ve already metastasized.”
High-grade serous carcinoma
tends to respond well initially to
aggressive chemotherapy, she said,
but usually recurs within a couple
of years. On the flip side, other
forms of ovarian cancer, which are
easier to detect and usually caught
in earlier stages, might be being
overtreated, she said.
These are really very distinct
cancers and need to be treated as
distinct cancers — the past practice of lumping them together
should be a thing of the past,” she
said. “The goal is to get away from
giving almost everybody this very
toxic chemotherapy.”
Ovarian cancer has been described over the years as a “silent
killer,” she said, under the idea that
it appears without causing symptoms. She called that a misnomer,
noting that most women do actu-
SAN FRANCISCO : Google is
taking steps to combat the spread
of Zika in Brazil and throughout
Latin America.
The Internet giant's philanthropic arm, Google.org, is giving
a $1 million grant to UNICEF. The
grant is earmarked to raise awareness of the mosquito-borne virus,
reduce mosquito populations, develop diagnostics and vaccines and
work with communities and governments to prevent disease transmission. Google also has launched
a matching campaign for Google
employees with the goal of providing an additional $500,000 to
UNICEF and the Pan American
Health Organization.
To map and anticipate the
spread of the virus, Google has
assigned a team of engineers, data
scientists and designers to work
with UNICEF to analyze data such
as weather and travel patterns. The
epidemic, which is spreading at an
alarming rate through the Americas, has been linked to a surge in
birth defects and in Guillain-Barre
syndrome, a neurological illness.
Last month, the World Health Organization declared a public health
emergency. Study associates Zika
with more extensive birth defects
"Ultimately, the goal of this open
source platform is to identify the
risk of Zika transmission for different regions and help UNICEF,
governments and NGO’s decide
how and where to focus their time
and resources," Google.org director Jacquelline Fuller wrote in a
blog post. "This set of tools is being prototyped for the Zika response, but will also be applicable
to future emergencies."
In an effort to raise awareness
of the virus, Google search has
added information about Zika in
16 languages, providing an overview of the virus, symptoms and
a public health alert that can be
updated with new information.
Google says it has seen a more than
3,000% increase in searches on the
virus since November. Google has
also enlisted popular YouTube creators in Latin America, including
Brazilian physician Drauzio Varella, to raise awareness about Zika
prevention on their channels.
"Unlike many other global
pandemics, the spread of Zika has
been harder to identify, map and
contain. It’s believed that 4 in 5
people with the virus don’t show
any symptoms, and the primary
transmitter for the disease, the
mosquito Aedes aegypti, is both
widespread and challenging to eliminate," Fuller said.
Fighting Zika, she wrote, entails raising awareness about how
people can protect themselves and
supporting organizations that can
drive development of rapid diagnostics and vaccines.
"We also have to find better
ways to visualize the threat so that
public health officials and NGO’s
can support communities at risk,"
she wrote. Jose Wesley who
screams uncontrollably for long
stretches,
ally experience symptoms, but
often ignore them as part of daily
life. Those symptoms can involve
abdominal bloating, cramping, feeling of fullness or urinary problems,
and women who experience them
for more than two weeks should
see their gynecologist and ask
about being screened for ovarian
cancer.
While there is no effective routine screening for ovarian cancer,
women who have symptoms
should be tested with a blood test
and ultrasound, she said. As for
prevention, women with a family
history or known genetic risks have
the option of surgery, as was publicized by movie star Angelina Jolie. One of the few promising research findings for prevention has
come from what are commonly
known as birth control pills —
women who have taken oral contraceptives for more than five years
cut their chance of developing ovarian cancer in half.
The report also delves into the
quality of care received by women
with ovarian cancer. Less than half
of women with ovarian cancer are
receiving the recommended standard of care, which is most likely
if women are treated by a gynecologic oncologist or at a high-volume hospital or cancer center.
“Ovarian cancer is a disease
worth traveling for,” said Ms.
Donovan. “This is a missed opportunity for women to achieve
twice as long survival rates by accessing experts.”
Inducing labor may not boost C-section risk
Contrary to longstanding concerns, pregnant older women who
have their labor induced near their
due date may not face an increased
risk of needing a cesarean section,
a new clinical trial suggests.
British researchers found that
when older first-time moms had
their labor induced during the 39th
week of pregnancy, they were at
no greater risk of a C-section -- or
any other negative effects for themselves or their newborns.
Experts said the study, published in the March 3 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine,
suggests that labor induction is
safer than doctors have thought.
But the question remains: Is
there any benefit to doing it when
a woman is having a healthy pregnancy? "There's no clear evidence
that there is," said Dr. William
Grobman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwest-
ern University Feinberg School of
Medicine, in Chicago.
"This was a very good study,
but it shouldn't lead to any massive change in practice," said Grobman, who wrote an editorial published with the study.
Officially, labor induction is
recommended only in certain circumstances -- such as when a
woman has a medical condition
that is putting her or her baby at
risk, or if pregnancy goes beyond
42 weeks. (A full-term pregnancy
lasts about 40 weeks.)
Labor induction for certain
nonmedical reasons can be done -when a woman lives far from a
hospital, for instance -- but not
before the 39th week of pregnancy, according to the American
Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG).
The new trial tested a practice
that is not standard, Grobman said:
Trying labor induction in women
who were relatively older -- age 35
and up -- and expecting their first
baby, but who were having a
healthy pregnancy.
In theory, labor induction during the 39th week could prevent
some late stillbirths. And previous
studies have found that older
women -- particularly those having their first baby -- are at greater
risk of those stillbirths, said lead
researcher Dr. Kate Walker.
But even with the increased
risk, late stillbirth is rare. So, there's
been concern that any benefit of
labor induction would be outweighed by potential complications, including a failed labor that
then requires a C-section.
To get some answers, Walker
and her colleagues at the University of Nottingham recruited 619
women older than 34 who were
having their first baby. They ran-
domly assigned half to have a labor induction during their 39th
week of pregnancy, while the rest
waited for Mother Nature or had
an induction because a medical
problem arose.
In the end, women with a
planned induction showed no greater risk of needing a C-section. Onethird of women in both groups had
one. On the other hand, induction
did not show any difference in
health of the moms or newborns.
But that, Walker said, was because
the study was not large enough to
detect effects on rare complications: No woman in either group
suffered a late stillbirth. "The ideal course would now be to perform a much larger trial to prove a
reduction in stillbirths," Walker
said. Grobman said he is leading
just such a trial. It's already underway and aims to ultimately enroll
6,000 first-time moms-to-be -- of
all ages, he noted. The trial "has
the potential," he said, to prove
whether or not labor induction can
carry any benefit for women with
healthy pregnancies.
"But for now," Grobman said,
"people should not be routinely
asking for a labor induction in the
39th week." And unless there is a
medical reason, he added, inductions should never be done before
week 39, to help ensure a healthy
newborn. Walker acknowledged
the unknowns, but also said that
some older first-time mothers
might not want to wait for more
clinical trial results. "If they are
offered induction of labor at 39
weeks," she said, "they can have
peace of mind that it will not result in an increased risk of cesarean section, or worsening of their
birth experience. This study provides evidence to help them make
an informed choice." In the United
States, the rate of labor induction
has dipped slightly in recent years
-- after two decades of rising
steadily, according the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2012, about 23 percent of all singleton births were
induced.
New research led by scientists at
UC Berkeley shows for the first
time that PET scans can track the
progressive stages of Alzheimer’s
disease in cognitively normal
adults, a key advance in the early
diagnosis and staging of the neurodegenerative disorder.
Dr. William Jagust shows how
PET scans can help track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
(UC Berkeley video produced by
Roxanne Makasdjian and Stephen
McNally)
In the process, the scientists
also obtained important clues
about two Alzheimer’s-linked proteins – tau and beta-amyloid – and
how they relate to each other.
The findings, published
March 2 in the journal Neuron,
come from positron emission tomography (PET) of 53 adults. Five
were young adults aged 20-26, 33
were cognitively healthy adults
aged 64-90 and 15 were patients
aged 53-77 who had been diagnosed
with probable Alzheimer’s dementia. The stages of tau deposition
were established by German researchers Heiko and Eva Braak
through post-mortem analysis of
the brains of suspected Alzheimer’s patients.
“Braak staging was developed
through data obtained from autopsies, but our study is the first to
show the staging in people who
are not only alive, but who have
no signs of cognitive impairment,”
said study principal investigator
Dr. William Jagust, a professor at
UC Berkeley’s School of Public
Health and at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and a faculty
scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “This
opens the door to the use of PET
scans as a diagnostic and staging
tool.”
PET scans are used to detect
early signs of disease by looking
at cellular-level changes in organs
and tissue. The results of the scans
in this study paralleled Braak neuropathological stages, which range
from one to six, describing the degree of tau protein accumulation
in the brain.
Jagust worked with study colead authors Michael Schöll, a visiting scholar, and Samuel Lockhart,
a postdoctoral fellow, both at UC
Berkeley’s Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.
A new study led by Dr. William Jagust shows how tau and beta
amyloid, two proteins associated
with Alzheimer's disease, develop
in the aging brain. (Photo by
Stephen McNally, UC Berkeley)
Dr. William Jagust explains
how tau and beta amyloid, two
proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, develop in the aging brain. (Photo by Stephen McNally, UC Berkeley) Tau vs. amyloid Their findings also shed light
on the nature of tau and amyloid
protein deposits in the aging brain.
For many years, the accumulation
of beta amyloid plaques was considered the primary culprit in
Alzheimer’s disease. Over the past
decade, however, tau, a microtubule protein important in maintaining the structure of neurons, has
emerged as a major player. When
the tau protein gets tangled and
twisted, its ability to support synaptic connections becomes impaired. While a number of symptoms exist that signal Alzheimer’s
disease, a definitive diagnosis has
been possible only through an examination of the brain after the
patient has died. The availability
of amyloid imaging for the past
decade has improved this situation,
but how Alzheimer’s developed as
a result of amyloid remains a mystery. Studies done in autopsies
linked the development of symptoms to the deposition of the tau
protein. Through the PET scans,
the researchers confirmed that with
advancing age, tau protein accumulated in the medial temporal lobe
— home to the hippocampus and
the memory center of the brain.
“Tau is basically present in almost
every aging brain,” said Schöll, who
holds an appointment at Sweden’s
University of Gothenburg. “Very
few old people have no tau. In our
case, it seems like the accumulation of tau in the medial temporal
lobe was independent of amyloid
and driven by age.” The study revealed that higher levels of tau in
the medial temporal lobe was associated with greater declines in
episodic memory, the type of
memory used to code new information. The researchers tested
episodic memory by asking subjects to recall a list of words viewed
20 minutes earlier. Both proteins
involved in dementia One question
yet to be answered is why so
many people have tau in their medial temporal lobe yet never go on
to develop Alzheimer’s. Likewise,
adults may have beta amyloid in
their brains and yet be cognitively
healthy. Shown are PET scans that
track tau (top row) and beta-amyloid from two normal older people
and a patient with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The normal older adult
on the left has no brain.
.
AFGHANISTAN TIMES
GOOGLE TESTING
HANDS FREE
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The man who set the record for
the most consecutive days in space
by an American made it home to
the U.S. on Thursday.
Astronaut Scott Kelly, who
landed in Kazakhstan from the International Space Station on Tuesday, touched down at Ellington
Field in Houston at around 2.15
a.m. ET. Kelly and his identical
brother, Mark Kelly — who is a
retired fellow astronaut and husband to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — will be examined
by NASA doctors.
Scott Kelly's adventure in the
skies was part of a study of twins.
Mark remained earthbound for his
part of the study, that will allow
scientists to pinpoint the effects
of space travel on the human body
in preparation for a crewed mission to Mars. Specifically, NASA
is looking at the effects of space
radiation, as well as the effect of
long-term isolation on mental
health.
One obvious change for Kelly
was that he came back 2 inches
taller than his brother because a
lack of gravity causes spinal disks
to expand.
Vice President Biden's wife,
Jill, joined Mark, and a group of
students on a tour of NASA's
Mission Control Center — as well
as a full-scale model of the International Space Station — as they
awaited Kelly's arrival. Mark
Kelly said his brother was anxious
to get home and joked that he still
hadn't showered since returning.
Russiaís Soyuz TMA-
18M space capsule carrying the
International
The Soyuz
TMA-18M spacecraft landing site
is seen A member of the search
and rescue team works at the
Russiaís Soyuz TMA-18M space
capsule carrying the International
Mikhail Kornienko of Russia is
seen inside the Soyuz-TMA-18M
The landing site of the Soyuz
TMA-18M space capsule.
Members of NASA support team
help Scott Kelly get off
Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, Sergey Volkov
“When I left here in February
I was 50 and now I’m 52. It’s great
to be back in Texas, on U.S. soil.
It’s an unbelievable feeling to be
back here on Planet Earth, back in
our great country and back with
all my family and my friends.”
He paid tribute to people including is girlfriend Amiko, daughters Samantha and Charlotte, brother Mark and the rest of his family
and friends. He also paid tribute
to Biden and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.
Welcoming Kelly home, Jill
Biden said: "You’re truly an inspiration to all of us. I brought you
some beer and apple pie, nothing’s
more American than that.”
President Obama called Kelly
Wednesday to welcome him back
to Earth and to thank him for "inspiring a new generation of young
people" to pursue careers in math
and sciences. Obama said the data
from Kelly's trip will help achieve
his vision of sending American astronauts to Mars by the 2030s.
TINYDRAGONFLY
MAYBE WORLD’S
LONGESTDISTANCE FLIER
A small dragonfly found in several
countries including India may be
the animal world’s most prolific
long distance traveller — flying
thousands of miles over oceans as
it migrates across continents, scientists say.
Scientists at the Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) found
that populations of this dragonfly, called Pantala flavescens, in
locations as far apart as Texas,
eastern Canada, Japan, Korea, India, and South America, have genetic profiles so similar that there
is only one likely explanation.
Prolific travellers
These insects travel distances
that are extraordinarily long for
their small size, breeding with each
other, and creating a common
worldwide gene pool that would
be impossible if they did not intermingle, researchers said.
“This is the first time anyone
has looked at genes to see how far
these insects have travelled,” said
Jessica Ware, assistant professor
of biology at RU-N.
“If North American Pantala
only bred with North American
Pantala, and Japanese Pantala only
bred with Japanese Pantala, we
would expect to see that in genetic
results that differed from each other,” said Ms. Ware. “Because we
don’t see that, it suggests the mixing of genes across vast geographic expanses,” she said.
They have the adaptations
“These dragonflies have adaptations such as increased surface
areas on their wings that enable
them to use the wind to carry
them,” Ms. Ware said.
Dragonflies, in fact, have already been observed crossing the
Indian Ocean from Asia to Africa.
“They are following the
weather. They’re going from India
where it’s dry season to Africa
where it’s moist season, and apparently they do it once a year,”
said Daniel Troast, who analysed
the DNA samples in Ms. Ware’s
lab. These need moisture to multiply “Moisture is a must for Pantala to reproduce, and that is why
these insects would be driven to
even attempt such a perilous trip,”
Ms. Ware said.
The species depends on it.
While many will die en route, as
long as enough make it, the species survives.
Flight patterns appear to vary.
The hardiest of the dragonflies
might make the trip nonstop,
catching robust air currents or even
hurricane winds and gliding all the
way. Others may be puddle jumpers. Freshwater as breeding ground
Pantala need freshwater to
mate and lay their eggs — and if
they spot a freshwater pool, even
on an island in the middle of an
ocean — it is likely they use those
pools to mate, researchers said.
After the eggs hatch and the
babies are mature enough to fly —
which takes just a few weeks —
the new dragonflies join the
swarm’s intercontinental and now
multi-generational trek right where
their parents left off. New recordholders Monarch butterflies migrating across North America were
thought to be the longest migrating insects, travelling about 4,023
kilometres each way, but Pantala
breaks any migrating record they
would have, with its estimated
The Unreal Reality week continues. On the heels of Microsoft's
start of pre-orders for the HoloLens development kit and Meta's
second AR dev headset, Intel is
now claimed to be working on an
augmented reality headpiece of its
own, according to people familiar
with the matter. The difference,
however, is that Intel isn't exactly
making one for end user consumption. Instead, it is more interested
in selling companies that do make
these devices the components inside, a business that is more relevant to Intel than selling ready to
use products. While it may seem
that Intel is just playing catch up
with the likes of Microsoft and
Google, in truth it isn't a stranger
to augmented reality, or at least the
technologies that together make up
the devices used for AR. As early
as January 2015, Intel has already
flaunting its RealSense camera that
gives devices, particularly tablets
and smartphones, a sense of depth.
This technology would eventually find its way into at least one
variant of Google's Project Tango
device. Intel would later on acquire
Recon Instruments, a company
that specializes in sports goggles
that can display information in a
corner of the wearer's field of view.
But a Tango-like sensor with
Google Glass like display does not
an AR headset make, so Intel still
has a lot of work ahead of it. Good
thing it's not really in a race to get
a product out the market ASAP.
At its core, Intel is a chip maker so
its business is more concerned that
it gets its chips inside the devices
that will be sold to consumers.
That is the strategy it has been
employing with the likes of the
MICA luxury smart bracelet and,
in the near future, a drone as well.
Intel has been struggling to reclaim its prominence in the computing industry in the face of the
smartphone onslaught. Dipping its
fingers into the cookie jar of new
markets like wearables, IoT, and,
now, AR could be its solution.
Naturally, Intel isn't confirming or
denying the speculation, but VP
and GM for the perceptual computing group Achin Bhowmik has
confirmed as much, pointing to
Intel's practice of selling prototypes to actual sell the components
inside them.
Authorities shouldn't trust their
UAVs too much, even if they're of
the more expensive variety. Nils
Rodday, a security researcher
working for IBM, demonstrated at
the RSA security conference in San
Francisco how a high-tech, pricey
police drone* can be hijacked.
Someone with the skills can take
over its controls from as far as a
mile away, using only a laptop and
a USB radio chip. According to
Wired, Rodday discovered that it's
possible to get in between a police/military quadcopter's controller module or "telemetry box" and
its real pilot's tablet when he was
a graduate student at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
In order to hijack a police
UAV's controls, he said attackers
can exploit either the WiFi connection between their modules and
the operators' tablets or the radio
protocol between the modules and
the drones themselves. Both connections are rather weak and can
easily be cracked. Those with truly malicious intent could exploit
the flaws to crash the quadcopters
into people/buildings. They could
also steal them for their info or for
the purpose of selling them in the
black market. You can listen to
Rodday explain the vulnerabilities
below or check out his slides from
the RSA conference.
In this particular slide, he noted that he only needed $40 worth
of hardware parts to set up a sys-
tem that can hack professional
UAVs:
Rodday also published a thesis about his study, which focuses
on a particular $21,000 surveillance
quadcopter Dutch cops use. He
believes a lot of expensive, advance
drones share its flaws, though, so
authorities have to take precautions whatever brand they get.
The deepest spot on Earth is a
surprisingly noisy place, scientists
from Oregon discovered when they
lowered a hydrophone almost seven miles below the ocean surface
into the Challenger Deep. Listen
to what they found.
The deepest spot on Earth is a
surprisingly noisy place, scientists
from Oregon discovered when they
lowered a hydrophone almost seven miles below the ocean surface
into the Challenger Deep.
Left in place for several
months, the device recorded the
booming cries of whales, the rumble of ships passing overhead and
crescendos from earthquakes deep
in the planet’s crust.
“This should be one of the
quietest places in the world, but it
was a lot noisier than we expected,” said Oregon-based oceanographer Robert Dziak, who led the
project for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). “There really is almost
constant sound from natural and
man-made sources.”
Only a handful of vessels have
ever penetrated the Challenger
Deep, the deepest canyon in the
fabled Mariana Trench near Micronesia. If Mount Everest were
tucked into the nearly 36,000-foot
chasm, it would still be covered
by more than a mile of water.
The most recent human visitor was filmmaker James Cameron,
who descended to the bottom
alone in 2012 and spent two hours
there in his custom-built submarine.
111365 – Mars Hill Church
held Easter Service at Qwest
Field.Racketeering suit claims
Mark Driscoll misused Mars Hill
donor dollars
Michael Bennett and Richard
Sherman, and the Seahawks defense, try to regroup at the end of
the first quarter.5 things we
learned about the Seahawks at the
NFL combine
A few remotely operated vehicles and instruments have been
deployed in the Mariana Trench,
but Dziak said the recent recordings might be the first ever captured at such great depths.
“It’s not an easy thing to do to
get an instrument package to the
seafloor, recover it from that depth
and have it survive,” he said.
The 20-inch-long hydrophone
was designed for the job by Oregon State University engineer
Haru Matsumoto and Chris Meinig, of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle.
It was crafted from titanium nearly an inch thick to withstand pressures of 16,000 pounds per square
inch — a force that could crush a
car like paper crumpled in a fist.
“We had never put a hydrophone deeper than a mile or so
below the surface,” Matsumoto
said.
To avoid rapid pressure
change, the device was lowered to
the seafloor over a six-hour period. An anchor system also developed at the marine laboratory held
the instrument in place, suspended about 20 feet above the soft
bottom.
The U.S. Coast Guard volunteered the Guam-based cutter Sequoia for the deployment mission
in July 2015. The scientists returned to fetch the recorder in
November, sending an acoustic sig-
nal that triggered a release mechanism and allowed the device to rise
slowly to the surface.
The research is part of a broader effort to monitor increasing levels of man-made noise in the
world’s oceans — and their effect
on marine life. “Our goal is to make
comprehensive sound maps of the
ocean,” Dziak explained.
The team targeted the Challenger Deep for baseline recordings,
because they expected the slotshaped canyon to be largely insulated from the global cacophony.
So they were surprised as they
began analyzing the recordings.
The Mariana Trench is a seismically active subduction zone,
where one tectonic plate dives under another, so earthquakes were a
regular occurrence. Captured by
the hydrophone, the rumble of the
quakes builds in intensity like an
approaching train.
Ship noise is higher-pitched
and more rhythmic. The nearby
island of Guam is on a major transoceanic route, so vessel traffic was
a nearly constant source of noise
in the environment, the researchers found.
Google is launching a pilot test of
its Hands Free mobile app, which
will let users pay for purchases
by verbally giving their initials to
a cashier.
Google has begun pilot-testing a new mobile-payment application that will let smartphone
users pay for purchases by verbally providing their initials to the
cashier at the point-of-sale system.
The company is inviting Android and iOS users in San Francisco's South Bay area to try out
the new app, dubbed Hands Free,
at a small number of participating
merchants in the area. Among
those who have agreed to participate in the trial run are McDonald's,
Papa John's and a handful of local
restaurants in the area.
The pilot program is open to
users of Android devices running
version 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and higher of the operating system and
owners of iPhone 4S and later versions. The app, available for download here, contains a list of all participating merchants in the South
Bay area. Users will get up to $5
off their first purchase for testing
the service.
Some of the participating retailers will also be testing an earlystage Google visual identification
technology that involves the use
of an in-store camera to confirm
the identity of a Hands Free user
based on their profile picture in
the app. The goal is to enable an
even faster checkout process, compared with the one requiring users
to verbally say their initials to the
cashier, according to Google.
The Ultimate Guide to Mobility for Businesses: How to
Lead, Innovate, and Win in the Age
of Mobile Apps Download Now
"Imagine if you could rush
through a drive-thru without
reaching for your wallet, or pick
up a hot dog at the ballpark without fumbling to pass coins or your
credit card to the cashier," Pali
Bhat, Google senior manager of
product management, said in a blog
post announcing the pilot test.
Hands Free relies on a combination of Bluetooth LE (low energy), WiFi and the location-tracking services on smartphones to
detect when a Hands Free app user
is at or near a participating store.
To pay for a purchase, a user has
to inform the cashier of his or her
intention to pay with Google. The
casher will confirm the identity of
the individual by asking for their
initials and looking at the profile
picture in the Hands Free app.
Neither Bhat nor the Hands
Free app's Web page offered any
details on how exactly the transaction would be completed after
the user's identity is confirmed.
But a previous description of
the app, when rumors of it first
surfaced last year, suggest that it
involves the use of a separate
Hands Free payment device at the
checkout location. The device will
display all Hands Free users located in the store or in the immediate vicinity. When a user approaches the cashier and announces his or her intention to pay with
Google, the cashier matches that
user with the appropriate profile
presented on the device to complete the transaction.
Google has not described how
it will protect the mobile app from
being misused.
According to the company,
users subscribed for the mobilepayment service will get immediate notification of any transaction
against their Hands Free account,
presumably so they can quickly
spot any unauthorized transactions quickly.
According to an FAQ on the
Hands Free Website, cashiers can
also only charge customers when
they are near the store. "The cashier then verifies your identity to
make sure that they are charging
the right person," the FAQ noted.
"You'll also be alerted of any unusual activity. Suspicious transactions won't go through without
your approval."
For Google, Hands Free represents yet another effort to spark
broad consumer interest in its mobile-payment technologies. When
Google launched Wallet in 2011, it
was the first out of the gate with a
mobile-payment app. Last year
the company began rolling out
Android Pay, a mobile payment
tap-and-pay service it launched to
compete more directly with Apple Pay. Google claims an average
of 1.5 million new sign-ups for
Android Pay every month in the
United States and more than 2 million locations that accept the app.
Even so, Google as well Apple, Samsung and others with mobile-payment apps have had less
success getting consumers to use
their technologies than many analysts had predicted.
On the optimistic side, eMarketer had predicted that mobile
payments would triple from
around $8.7 billion in 2015 to $27
billion by the end of this year.
However, Accenture suggested the growth could be somewhat
less dramatic. In a survey last year,
Accenture found that while U.S.
consumers are extremely aware of
mobile payment options, barely 18
percent use it regularly. That number was just 1 percentage point
higher than the proportion of consumers using mobile-payment services regularly in 2014.
.
AFGHANISTANTIMES
Prachi Desai or Parineeti Chopra
are rumoured to have been approached for a biopic on 'only Indian woman' to qualify as international football referee.
2016 has been billed as the year
of biopics. While two films on real
personalities - Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Neerja' and Hansal Mehta's
source close to the makers says,
"In this film, the actress in consideration will have to somewhat do
what Shah Rukh Khan did in 'Chak
De! India' (2007) or Priyanka
Chopra did in 'Mary Kom' (2014).
We are looking for a someone with
a childlike face but also mass appeal to be able to shoulder the film.
'Aligarh' - have already released,
nearly half a dozen more will hit
the big screen all year round and
an equal number will roll out in the
coming months.
Now add to this a proposed
biopic on G Rupa Devi, a young
physical training teacher from
Tamil Nadu who was recently selected to officiate international
matches conducted by the Federation Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA). Sources say
the makers have approached Prachi Desai and Parineeti Chopra for
the protagonist's role.
"It will be shot in various parts
of the world and will go on floors
by June. Talks are on with Prachi
and Parineeti to star in the film
which will be helmed by a newcomer. An official announcement
will be made soon," says a source
working on the untitled project,
without divulging details about the
production house involved. Rupa,
a science graduate from Dindigul
in Tamil Nadu, is the only Indian
woman to have been selected by
FIFA as an international referee,
claims the source. After passing
several tests and enrolling for
Project Future Referees (the FIFA
programme for referees), she qualified as the first female referee from
the state to be selected by the apex
football association. This entry
marked a milestone in the sports
arena since football, like most
sports, is considered a male bastion.
Prachi and Parineeti, who is
currently in Australia, remained
unavailable for comment while a
We are already in talks with various top seed footballers to feature
in the film alongside the actress."
Bollywood actress Shraddha
Kapoor took to Twitter to unveiled
the first look of Tiger Shroff from
their upcoming film 'Baaghi' on his
birthday.
Tiger Shroff, who turned 25
on Wednesday has made his debut
with 'Heropanti' which also starred
Kriti Sanon.
Shraddha Kapoor shared the
first look of 'Baaghi' also wishing
Tiger Shroff on his birthday. Here's
what she wrote on Twitter along
with the photo:
Recently Shraddha Kapoor,
Tiger Shroff alongwith the cast and
crew celebrated the wrap up bash
of their film, 'Baaghi', with cupcakes and biryani.
Tiger Shroff and Shraddha
Kapoor will be seen sharing screen
space for the first time in 'Baaghi'.
Directed by Sabbir Khan,
'Baaghi', also stars Sudheer Babu
and Ronit Roy among others, is
slated to release on April 29.
> Meena Kumari biopic: Tigmanshu Dhulia's proposed project was
to be adapted from late journalist
Vinod Mehta's biography on Bollywood's Tragedy Queen. However, it may not become a reality
as the late actress' stepson, Tajdar
Amrohi is already making a film
on her and is opposed to Dhulia's
film and choice of actress - Kangana.
Sonnalli Seygall had a rather hectic
night at the Zee Cine Awards ceremony. The actress was seated on
the second row and was nicely sitting back and enjoying the evening
until she realised that someone had
flicked her phone.
While she started looking
around, people around noticed the
panic on her face and immediately
showed concern. Everyone was on
a hunt, and someone pointed out
at a man who was clicking pictures
around and appeared rather suspicious. Noticing that he was driving attention, the man quickly fled
it to the crowd. While someone had
to save the day, so appeared Salman Khan who made an entry and
with him came the paparazzi and
OS ANGELES: It seems like there might be some bad blood between Australian singer
Kylie Minogue and American reality TV star Kylie Jenner, as the two are currently in a
legal battle over the trademark of their shared first name, Kylie. Minogue took to Twitter,
seemingly to take a dig at the 18-year-old Jenner. She tweeted “Hello…My name is Kylie
#lightyears,” quoting a lyric of her 2000 hit track Light Years from the album of the same
name. According to reports, the Get Outta My Way singer wanted to convey that she had far
greater experience than Jenner. Last year, Jenner filed a US trademark application to protect her
first name in connection with advertising services. In February, an Australia-based company
representing Minogue, filed a notice of opposition to Jenner’s application, in order to prevent
her from claiming ownership of the name.
Nimrat to start shooting
for 'Wayward Pines' soon
Nimrat Kaur will soon jet off to
Vancouver, Canada, to shoot for
Manoj Night Shyamalan's TV series "Wayward Pines", and hopes
to have a bundle full of "fun" with
the show's foreign cast. The actress, who earlier garnered applause for her role as a Pakistani
ISI agent in American show
"Homeland", will be adding a mysterious twist to "Wayward Pines"
as an architect. She says details of
her role in the American psychological thriller will be unraveled
gradually. "I'm playing the part of
a girl called Rebecca, who's an architect and it's very mysterious,
and you know like cards that unfold episode after episode and towards end of the season, you realise who really she is and what her
role is in the world they live in,`
Nimrat said in a statement. She
said the team will start filming very
soon. "I will be joining them soon
in three-four days at most. It
should be fun. We will be filming
in Vancouver and maybe little bit
in Los Angeles, so I am going to be
stationed out there.`
The `Airlift` actress will be
paired with American star Jason
Patric in the series, based on the
"Wayward Pines" novels by Blake
Crouch and developed for television by Chad Hodge. The first season of the series is currently being
aired on FX in India.
The series stars Matt Dillon
as Ethan Burke, a US Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of two fellow agents in
the mysterious small town of
Wayward Pines, Idaho.
to Sonnalli's surprise, that suspicious man was back to click Salman's pictures. Sonnalli and her
manager quickly noticed the guy
and further interrogated him only
to find Sonnalli's phone back and
there it was in his pocket.
Talking about the incident,
Sonnalli said, `Once the phone was
flicked, I really didn't expect to get
it back. Its all thanks to the people
around, including my manager,
who were so adamant and proactive about getting it back. It's funny how Salman came to my rescue, yet again.`
So this is how the evening ended for Sonnalli, on a rather pleasant note! Not everyone has such
lucky encounters!
Why Sonam is
disappointed
these days?
Actress Sonam Kapoor is disappointed with
her Pakistani fans, who are watching pirated
versions of her film "Neerja". She also
questioned the logic behind the film's ban in
the neighbouring country. "The film has not
released officially there, but it is very sad that
this has happened. Today I was doing a live
chat and there are several of my fans who are
from Pakistan... Since my films have done
well in Pakistan, they're all watching pirated
copies of the film over there," Sonam said at a
press conference in Mumbai. "It's a matter of
sadness, I am very disappointed," the actress
added. The film is based on the life of Neerja
Bhanot, the air hostess who sacrificed her life
while saving passengers on board hijacked
Pan Am flight 73. The film released in India
on February 19, but it was banned in Pakistan
for reportedly showing the country in a poor
light Sonam, who has essayed the role of
Neerja Bhanot in the film, says she is unable
to understand the reason behind the ban. "I
can't understand it, but I think this is all
politics between both sides. I had said this
before, there is no place for politics in art and
sports and unfortunately that's what has
happened," she said.
.
AFGHANISTANTIMES
Steph Curry is
breaking records
but how is he
changing the NBA?
Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal's confidence is shot in the
wake of the Gunners' 2-1 home
Premier League defeat to Swansea.
Arsenal take on Tottenham in
the north London derby at White
Hart Lane on Saturday, now trailing Premier League leaders Leicester City by six points with 10
games to play.
Wenger's men blew the chance
to cut Leicester's lead as Wayne
Routledge and Ashley Williams
struck at the Emirates Stadium to
steal Swansea victory.
Some of Arsenal's supporters
turned on their team and left well
before the game's end, leaving
Wenger admitting his side's mood
has hit a rut.
"It looks a little bit like that,
yes," said Wenger, when asked if
Arsenal are suffering a crisis of
confidence. "We have to focus on
our job and come back reminding
ourselves that we have some quality as well. We've got to analyse
this result and bounce back. We
have a big game this weekend."
Wenger admitted Arsenal have
surrendered the right to consider a
first Premier League title since
Lewis Hamilton,
Tyson Fury and
Jessica Ennis-Hill
among Laureus
award nominees
Lewis Hamilton, Tyson Fury and
Jessica Ennis-Hill are among the
leading nominees for the annual
Laureus World Sports Awards.
Hamilton is nominated for the
Laureus World Sportsman of the
Year alongside Lionel Messi while
Jessica Ennis-Hill is in the running
for the World Comeback of the
Year prize.
Other contenders for Sportsman of the Year are Jamaican
sprinter Usain Bolt, NBA star
Stephen Curry, tennis world No 1
Novak Djokovic - the current holder - and US golfer Jordan Spieth.
Hamilton, who won his third
F1 world title in 2015, said: "I want
to say thank you to Laureus for
nominating me for the Sportsman
of the Year Award.
"I feel very privileged. I'm a
big admirer of what Laureus does
and it's so great to be a part of it. I
wish all the other nominees the
best. I'm really excited to see what
the outcome will be. Either way I
feel privileged to be among some
of the greats."
Barcelona star Messi said: "It
is an honour and a source of pride
to once again be nominated for
Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
"As a team (Barcelona), we
had an excellent 2015, achieving
many of the goals we set out for
ourselves. This nomination, both
individually and for the team, gives
extra motivation to all of us to
keep working hard every day and
to achieve even more."
Ennis-Hill's rivals in the comeback category include All Blacks
legend Dan Carter, Australia surfer Mick Fanning, US swimmer
Michael Phelps, Kenyan 800m
runner David Rudisha and skier
Lindsey Vonn.
Fury and English swimmer
Adam Peaty are others who could
be making it to Berlin next month
as both are nominated in the Breakthrough category; their four rivals
are the Chile football team, golfers
Jason Day, Spieth and Formula 1
driver Max Verstappen.
Great Britian's Davis Cup
team are up for the Team of the
Year along with the World Cup
winning All Blacks, Barcelona,
Golden State Warriors, Mercedes
F1 Team and the US Women's
Football Team.
The six World Sportswoman
of the Year Award nominees are
athletes Genzebe Dibaba, ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce, skier Anna
Fenninger, swimmer Katie Ledecky, footballer Carli Lloyd and
two-time winner Serena Williams.
The awards ceremony will be
held in the German capital on April
18.
2004, and must now quickly move
on from Wednesday night's
Swansea defeat.
"At the moment I am worrying more about the result than the
title," said Wenger.
"At the moment we don't
dream, we have to be realistic and
come back to what we do well. And
do the basics.
"We want the focus to be on
trying to win the next game, and
we won't talk about the title. I'm
not in the mood to do that. It's a
big disappointment and we have
to swallow that and bounce back."
"At the moment, I believe that we
need to get back to positive results
before we speak about the championship which is at stake at the
moment. It is very difficult as it is
unpredictable. Manchester City
lost, Tottenham lost. It is very difficult to predict what will happen
in this league.
"Let's focus on winning the
next game and not talk about the
title tonight. I'm not in the mood
to do that tonight. It is a big disappointment for us to swallow this
and we need to bounce back." Arsenal Specials. Click here to bet.
Lleyton Hewitt plays down
Davis Cup comeback reports
Lleyton Hewitt has played down
reports he could return to the court
for Australia's Davis Cup tie
against the United States after Nick
Kyrgios was ruled out of the tie.
The 35-year-old team captain
called time on his playing career at
the Australian Open six weeks ago
but made himself available for
Davis Cup duty on Thursday after Kyrgios pulled out due to a virus.
However, Hewitt said there
was "zero" chance he would play
at Melbourne's Kooyong Lawn
Tennis Club with Sam Groth
named to play both the opening
and reverse singles against John
Isner and Jack Sock in place of
Kyrgios at the draw ceremony on
Thursday.
Groth and John Peers will play
the Bryan brothers in Saturday's
doubles on the specially prepared
grass court at the former Australian Open venue.
Nominations for the doubles
and the reverse singles on Sunday
can still be changed, but former
world No 1 Hewitt, who was busy
on the practice court this week,
suggested he would only play a
part if there was no-one left standing. "I've been around enough Davis
Cup ties now to know you've got
to have back-ups and plans in
place," said Hewitt, a Davis Cup
winner in 1999 and 2003.
"I'm hitting the ball well and
we've got as good a team as we can
field going in and I'm confident we
can still win."
World No 77 Groth leads off
the Friday singles against world No
11 John Isner, a battle between
two of the game's biggest servers.
Tomic, ranked 20th, then meets
world No 23 Sock, who has beaten him in both their previous
matches. "I'm playing very well
and I'm playing on a surface that's
my favourite," said Tomic, runnerup at Acapulco on Saturday. "I love
this grass. It's not too quick and I
move well on it so it suits my tennis and it's going to suit Grothy as
well so it favours us."
Amir Khan says British support
will help him beat Canelo Alvarez
Amir Khan says the British support in Las Vegas will help him to
victory when he challenges Saul
'Canelo' Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title on May 7.
Both fighters rounded off a
three-city media tour in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, where the
crowd gave Alvarez a great reception, but former two-time world
champion Khan insists the British
fans will be the ones making an
impact in Vegas.
Going up against the current
WBC middleweight champion Alvarez, the British fighter will be
making a jump up from his signature welterweight limit of 147lb to
fight the Mexican champion at a
catchweight of 155lbs.
They will face off in the first
major sporting event at the brand
new T-Mobile Arena and Khan has
dubbed it the biggest fight of his
career.
"We will go in to win this fight,
and I will prove people wrong.
Even though it is Cinco de Mayo,
the British fans will come out. In
Vegas, there will be more British
flags then Mexican flags," he said.
Johnny Nelson rounds up the
three day press tour for the May
7th fight between Khan and 'Canelo' Alvarez
Johnny Nelson rounds up the
three day press tour for the May
7th fight between Khan and 'Canelo' Alvarez
"Thank you for the massive
opportunity for this fight. This
fight will be an exciting one, and I
really believe I can win this fight
and if I didn't I wouldn't be here."
Khan knows he is the clear
underdog in the upcoming contest,
but the 29-year-old has claimed
five straight wins and is hoping to
prove he can compete against the
physical stature of Alvarez.
"This trip has been amazing
for me. This is the biggest fight of
my career. Canelo is physically
very strong, and come fight night,
I will be ready and coming in very
happy and very strong.
"It will be like a game of chess.
Canelo is very strong. I have a very
good trainer who will tell me the
right game plan.
"Come May 7, everyone will
enjoy this fight." Meanwhile, 25year-old Canelo will be hoping to
defend his world title for the first
time, and also has hopes that the
fans will encourage him to victory.
The Mexican has only lost one
fight in his career, against Floyd
Mayweather in 2013, but bounced
back to win four straight fights in
a row including the world title bout
in November with Miguel Cotto.
"You guys motivate me to keep
winning. Because of you, I wake
up and want to be triumphant. Not
only for me, but for you guys. I
am going to prepare like always,
100 per cent," he said.
"Amir Khan is a difficult opponent. I am ready for this and
much more. We'll see you May 7."
Steph Curry is the biggest star in
the NBA at the moment, and noone else seems to be able to exist
in the same planet. Our US sportswriter Alex Ferguson looks at Curry's season and examines how he
and the Warriors are changing the
game…
It's another three-point shot
from Steph Curry, this time from
nearer the halfway line than the
three-point shot. The game is won
in overtime, and the Golden State
Warriors are one game closer to
beating the 1995/96 Chicago Bulls
single season record of 72-10.
They've only lost five games this
season….and won 53 of them.
They've already qualified for the
play-offs, and quite frankly look
unstoppable.
Steph Curry's season has been
unbelievable, smashing more
records than a 'Who' concert in the
1970s. He's just broken his own
NBA record for three-pointers in
a season…with 24 games to go.
He's on 286. He's aiming for 300,
and even he is incredulous about
his form.
"I never would have thought
at this point in the season I would
be closing in on 300 and all that
kind of stuff," Curry told reporters. "That doesn't make sense to
me. I've always tried to push the
envelope and keep getting better,
but a lot has to go right to get to
this point."
And Curry's really good at
getting the ball away at the other
end - he's fifth in the league in
steals.
The great thing for Curry is,
despite leading the league in points
per game average (30.2), he is also
an unselfish player playing on a
very unselfish team. He is 10th in
the league in assists (his colleague
Draymond Green is No.6).
The Golden State Warriors
love passing the ball to each other
- they total 29.1 assists a game
(first in the NBA), and they love
drilling the ball from the three-point
line, hitting 42% of their shots from
behind the arc (averaging 12.9 per
game on 30.7 attempts). The "other" shooter on the team - Klay
Thompson - is No.11 in NBA scoring average to Curry's first.
Oh, and the team plays defence - they are second in the league
in defensive rebounds per game
average (36.2), led by Draymond
Green, and strong shot blockers
too, led by Andrew Bogut.
But is he better than Jordan?
The answer? We don't know.
Curry is now drawing comparisons with Michael Jordan - but
such comparisons are unfair given
they are very different players
Curry is now drawing comparisons
with Michael Jordan - but such
comparisons are unfair given they
are very different playersThey are
different players. Jordan wasn't
Curry's 6ft (he was 6'6), and he
was a great defensive player as
well as an offensive juggernaut.
Curry is good at stealing the ball
but he's not a rebounder. Unlike
Curry, Jordan wasn't a brilliant
three-point shooter (.332), but like
Curry, he was the player that you
want to have the ball in your hands
when the game is on the line. And
like Curry, Jord an was absolutely
unstoppable. Like the dunk fashion that swept the courts in the
1990s, more and more people are
worshipping the guy who can hit
the ball from anywhere. You know,
be like Steph and all that. Jordan
was a bigger moneymaker outside
of the court, but look for Curry to
drop some jaws in the 2016 offseason. We predict he'll have his
existing contract ripped up and
Warriors will sign him to a "life"
extension making him one - if not
the - richest player in the NBA.
The great thing about Curry is that
he's changing the game. The threepoint shot, which was never as cool
as the dunk going back through the
years, is suddenly hugely fashionable. This NBA year looks as
though it's going to be a record year
for three pointers and three-point
attempts (23.8 right now vs the
previous record of 22.4 in 2015)
per game. Curry is making the
change. Why? Because if Curry
and the Warriors are shooting so
well from three-point range, a game
can be finished by the end of the
third quarter. Other teams need to
shoot well to go head-to-head with
the Warriors. That's why you've
got almost half the league chucking up over 25 three-point attempts a game. They are just trying to keep up.
Lucy Garner on starting her season Down Under and goals for 2016
Lucy Garner got her season under
way in Australia last month.
The 21-year-old finished 53rd
overall in the four-day Santos
Women's Tour and then 17th in the
one-day Cadel Evans Great Ocean
Road Race in her first outings for
new team Wiggle-High5.
She is now back in the UK getting stuck into the European season.
Here are the latest thoughts
from the Sky Academy Sports
Scholar….
I'm pleased to say I've had a
really good start to the year. My
winter training was probably the
best I've ever had, I'm loving life at
Wiggle-High5 and I kicked the season off quite well in Australia.
Now I want to keep the momentum building back here in Europe. There are a handful of smaller races in Holland, such as the
Ronde van Gelderland, that I've
done well at in the past and I'm
hoping for some decent results
again this year.
Further down the line, the
Women's Tour is also a big goal.
It's my home race and I would really like to do well there.
Later in the year, the Olympics are obviously another major
target. The road race takes place
on a very hilly course and that
doesn't necessarily suit me, but
you never really know what the
selectors are looking for.
Lizzie Armitstead is going to
be the Great Britain team leader
and she will need help on the flatter sections before the climbs.
I'm into my fourth year in the
professional peloton now, so I'd
like to think I can perform that role
for her.
Then, right at the end of the
year, the World Championships
take place in Qatar on a course that
suits me a lot better.
We will have to see how Lizzie comes out of the Olympics
because, as the current world
champion, I'm sure she will be keen
to defend her title.
But purely from my perspective, it's a flat course and it has a
technical finish, which I like, so
I'm just hoping I can build up as
much form as possible for Qatar.
It will be hard to do that because the Worlds are in October
this year and we are usually in our
rest period then, but if an opportunity arises, I would love to take
it.
Aside from individual races,
one of my big priorities is to generally make a step up in my results. I've spent the last three years
getting used to life as a professional
and gaining experience, so now I
want to start getting some results.
Hopefully, being with WiggleHigh5 will help me do that. I had
the opportunity to stay with LivPlantur but I felt like I needed
something new and a change of
environment to mark this next
phase of my career. Hopefully it proves a wise move. You never know until you do it.
FRIDAY
.
.
MARCH 04 2016 -Hoot 14, 1394 H.S
Vol:X Issue No:215 Price: Afs.15
Syrian rebels said on Wednesday
they were under fierce government
attack near the Turkish border despite a cessation of hostilities
agreement and a representative cast
doubt on whether U.N.-backed
peace talks would go ahead on
March 9 as planned.
The agreement drawn up by
the United States and Russia came
The United Nations said on
Tuesday a new attempt at peace
talks would begin on March 9 in
Geneva, urging warring sides to
ensure the cessation agreement take
hold to allow them to come to the
table. But opposition official
George Sabra said the date for a
resumption of talks remained “hypothetical” as long as the truce did
not fulfil humanitarian demands including a release of detainees held
by the government.
“What is the value of a truce if
its overseers - meaning America
and Russia - do not push all sides
to abide by it?” Sabra told Arabic
news channel Arabiya al-Hadath
on Wednesday. The White House
said it had seen a reduction in air
strikes against the opposition and
civilians in Syria in recent days but
was concerned by some reported
tank and artillery attacks. Washington was also aware of reports
of possible chemical weapons use
by the Syrian government, the
State Department said, adding that
it could not confirm them but that
they were being investigated. Israel said on Tuesday Syrian forces
had been dropping chlorine barrels
on civilians over the past few days.
There was no immediate comment
from Damascus, which has denied
breaching the terms of the truce.
The opposition is pressing for full
humanitarian access to rebel-held
areas and for detainees to be released - terms set out in a U.N.
Security Council resolution passed
in December. Opposition officials
say an increase in aid access has
fallen short of what is required.
Security forces in the western Libyan city of Sabratha said they had
killed seven suspected ISIS fighters in a raid on a militant hideout
on Wednesday. Local brigades have
been battling militants in Sabratha
since they briefly overran the city
center last week and beheaded
more than 10 brigade members.
That followed a U.S. air strike
on the outskirts of Sabratha on
Feb. 19 in which more than 40
people were killed. Sabratha is one
of several Libyan cities in which
militants loyal to ISIS have established a presence, taking advantage
of the political chaos that has
plagued Libya since Muammar
Qaddafi was toppled in an uprising five years ago. A spokesman
for Sabratha’s military council,
Sabri Kshada, said Wednesday’s
raid took place about 20 km (12
miles) south of the city. “Our forces were confronted by the militants
and there was an exchange of fire,”
he said. Three suspects escaped
during the operation, and a Syrian
fighter and a female Tunisian militant with a three-year-old son were
detained, Kshada said. Earlier,
Kshada said that 46 members of
local brigades had been killed in
clashes with militants since last
week. He could not give a toll for
the militants, but said a “great
number” had died. The situation
in the city was largely calm, he
said, with state offices expected
to reopen in the next few days.
Also on Wednesday, military forces in the eastern city of Benghazi
said four troops had been killed.
At least 50,000 people have been
killed in South Sudan’s two-year
civil war, a senior United Nations
official said on Wednesday, a fivefold increase in the death toll given
by humanitarian agencies in the
early months of the conflict.
A political dispute between
President Salva Kiir and his former
deputy, Riek Machar, sparked the
war in December 2013, which has
reopened ethnic fault lines between
Kiir’s Dinka and Machar’s Nuer
people.
“Fifty thousand killed, maybe more, 2.2 million refugees and
displaced, famine coming and looming in just a few months,” the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told a small
group of reporters. He added that
he saw little prospect of implementing an August peace deal.
The United Nations said last
month that South Sudan’s warring
parties are killing, abducting and
displacing civilians and destroying
property despite conciliatory rhetoric by Kiir and Machar.
After months of ineffective
negotiations and failed ceasefires,
both sides agreed in January to
share positions in a transitional
government, and last month Kiir
reappointed Machar to his former
post as vice president.
Greece conceded Wednesday it is
making long-term preparations to
help as many as 150,000 stranded
migrants as international pressure
on Balkan countries saw Macedonia open its border briefly for
just a few hundred refugees.
“In my opinion, we have to
consider the border closed,” Greek
Migration Minister Ioannis
Mouzalas said. “And for as long
as the border crossing is closed,
and until the European relocation
and resettlement system is up and
running, these people will stay in
our country for some time.”
At the moment, some 30,000
refugees and other migrants are
stranded in Greece, with 10,000 at
the Idomeni border crossing to
Macedonia. On Wednesday, hundreds of more people, including
many families with small children,
continued to arrive at two official
camps by the border that are so
full that thousands have set up
tents in surrounding fields.
A migrant shaves the face of
another in a makeshift camp, near
the Greek village of Idomeni
March 2, 2016. (Reuters) Syrian
Ramasan Al Hassan said he was
stopped from crossing the border
after Greek police took down his
details wrong, which meant the
date of birth on his official papers
and passport didn’t match.
“I showed Greek authorities
my papers - I was born on July
24, 1963 - and they recorded my
date of birth as Jan. 1, 1963. As a
result, I was unable to cross the
border ... It’s happened to others
too,” he said, adding that the error
was eventually corrected.
Mouzalas, the migration minister, met for several hours with
mayors from across Greece, examining ways to ramp up shelter capacity. The ministers of health and
education also held emergency
talks to provide health care and
basic schooling for children, who
make up about a third of arrivals
in Greece.
Migrants queue to receive travel papers near the Greek-Mace-
donian border, near the village of
Idomeni, Greece March 2, 2016.
(Reuters)
Nikos Kotzias, the foreign
minister, said the country could
handle a capacity of up to 150,000.
“No one in Europe predicted
this problem would reach such a
giant scale,” Kotzias told private
Skai television. “But this is not a
cause for panic. The problems
must be addressed soberly.”
into effect on Saturday and has
slowed but not entirely stopped a
conflict that has been going on for
almost five years. Both the government and rebels have accused
each other of violations.
The agreement does not include ISIS or al Qaeda’s Nusra
Front, which is widely deployed
in opposition areas.
Aftershocks rock
Indonesia after
massive quake
Strong aftershocks rocked Indonesia early on Thursday after a
massive undersea earthquake
sparked fears of a region-wide
disaster similar to the 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami that
killed more than 200,000 people.
There were no reports of
deaths or damage to buildings
from Wednesday night’s 7.8 magnitude quake, which caused panic in the Sumatran island port of
Padang as people tried to reach
higher ground when a tsunami
warning was issued. No tsunami
occurred. Daily life resumed as
normal at daybreak in Padang, a
city of around 1 million people,
and there were few visible signs
of damage. Indonesian patients
and relatives gather outside a hospital in Padang late March 2,
2016, after a powerful earthquake
struck off the coast of the island
of Sumatra. (Reuters)
The National Meteorological
Agency said there were six aftershocks during the night, but called
for calm as they were diminishing in strength. “We do not believe that there will be an earthquake of greater strength,” it said
on its Twitter account. “And so
residents are urged to keep calm
and not be taken in by rumors.”
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster
Mitigation Agency said there had
been no tsunami, casualties or
damage along the coast, and people had returned to their homes.
Fears ran high on Wednesday
evening when it was reported that
the tremor had measured 8.2 and
authorities issued evacuation
alerts on loudspeakers, radio and
TV. Patients at hospitals in
Padang were evacuated and there
were traffic jams as panicking residents tried to leave.
However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) revised the
magnitude down to 7.8 and within two hours of the quake striking the tsunami warnings were
canceled. USGS said the epicenter was 808 km (502 miles)
southwest of Padang.
Indonesia straddles the socalled “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a
highly seismically active zone,
where different plates on the
earth’s crust meet and create a
large number of earthquakes and
volcanoes.
A Kremlin spokesman said on Thursday that remarks by a woman who
said she had beheaded a child in Moscow to avenge Muslims killed in the
Kremlin’s campaign of air strikes in
Syria should be regarded as those of
someone who is mentally unsound.
Gulchekhra Bobokulova, of Muslimmajority Uzbekistan, was shown in
video footage posted online earlier on
Thursday as saying she had committed the crime because she was unhappy with President Vladimir Putin’s
decision to launch air strikes in the
Middle East.
OVER 85
OFFICIAL SAYS AT
PERCENT OF
LEAST
DEAD IN
YEMEN
LIBERATED
OUTH UDAN WAR
“Where are we on the implementation of the peace agreement?
Nowhere,” the senior U.N. official said.
“We see violence spreading
along ethnic lines in other parts of
South Sudan which had been
spared so far.”
A U.N. panel that monitors the
conflict in South Sudan for the Security Council stated in January
that Kiir and Machar are still completely in charge of their forces and
are therefore directly to blame for
killing civilians.
U.N. peacekeepers are sheltering nearly 200,000 people at six
protection sites in South Sudan.
Angola said last week it had
proposed that the U.N. Security
Council impose an arms embargo
on South Sudan, but veto-power
Russia has said it was opposed to
such a move as it did not believe it
would be helpful.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry said Kiir and
Machar would face individual sanctions if they did not deliver on the
peace deal, warning of a “critical
moment for South Sudan’s survival.” The conflict in South Sudan,
whose 2011 secession from Sudan
had long enjoyed the support of
the United States, has torn apart
the world’s youngest country.
Riyadh : Yemen’s national army
and popular resistance forces
have liberated more than 85 percent of the Yemeni territories
from Houthi militia control and
the forces of the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni
President Abdrabbu Mansour
Hadi said in an exclusive interview with the Saudi Gazette and
Okaz newspapers.
Hadi also admitted during the
exclusive interview with the Saudi newspapers that Yemen would
have fallen in four days and would
have been an Iranian state had it
not been for the Operation Decisive Storm launched by the Arab
military coalition under the leadership of Saudi Arabia.
The president expressed
confidence that Sanaa, which was
taken by the Houthis, would be
freed after the liberation of both
Taiz and Hudaidah. Pro-government army soldiers man a checkpoint on a road in Fardhat Nahm
area. (Reuters) Hadi described his
relationship with Saudi King Salman as sublime, close and strong
and said Deputy Crown Prince
Muhammad Bin Salman, minister of defense, is providing them
with all the necessary facilities
and support. He added there are
a number of Iranians and elements
of Hezbollah in Yemen providing military training to the
Houthis militias. The circumstances require that we remain
together Abdrabbu Mansour
Hadi During the interview, Hadi
also revealed that Iranians came
to Yemen to build a factory for
the manufacture of Grad missiles
for the rebels.
REVIEWS YRIA CEASEFIRE HOTLINE AFTER LANGUAGE PROBLEMS
The United States is to review
staffing on a hotline to report ceasefire violations in Syria after some
volunteers had trouble understanding Arabic speakers.
State Department personnel in
Washington are manning a line to
allow witnesses in Syria to report
breaches in a tentative truce between rebels and regime forces.
But in recent days reports
have surfaced that callers from the
Middle East have found it hard to
explain the details of alleged air and
artillery strikes. According to nonprofit news organization “Syria
Direct” one U.S. official mistook
“Harbnifsah” -- a frontline village
-- for “Harb Bebsi” or “Pepsi
War.”
The report said some reporters and activists have given up on
the U.S. line and are instead reporting breaches to the United
Nations or to the opposition. On
Wednesday, spokesman Mark
Toner admitted that U.S. staff -volunteers from other departments
“some of whom speak Arabic” -had had some difficulties. “These
are State Department employees
who are doing this in addition to
their usual jobs,” he said. “We are
aware that there were some language issues, and we’re working
to correct those, because it’s important that we have Arabic speakers that are able to field incoming
calls.” A ceasefire was declared in
Syria’s almost five-year civil war
on Saturday, but there have already
been many reports of violations.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Nayef reiterated on Wednesday that the Arab world is faced
with challenges and “emphasized
the importance of synergizing efforts and coordinating stances to
bolster joint Gulf security, in implementation of directives of the
GCC member states leaders to
maintain their nations’ stability.”
Prince Mohammed Bin
Nayef’s comments came following the meeting of 33 Arab ministers of interiors in Tunis, which
condemned Hezbollah’s practices
and behavior in the region.
The challenges and threats are
led by several ambitious people
with the aim of destabilizing the
Arab world and fragmentating our
unity. Some of these people invest
in sectarian differences to foment
discord and rivalry to achieve its
political and economic objectives,”
he said. France has announced that
it will be hosting Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in
Paris on Friday on an official visit.

idnapping groupbusted in arwan

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