National Ice Cream Day: 7 smooth recipes

If you own an ice cream machine this is one recipe you have to try. Nutty and cool, this dessert is luscious. (The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook)

By?Patricia Tanumihardja?/?The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook

Makes: 1 quart
Time: 10 minutes, active

2 cups half-and-half, or heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

Special equipment:
Spice grinder

Ice cream maker

1. Combine 1 cup of the heavy cream, the sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved.

2. Stir in the remaining 1 cup heavy cream, the milk, and vanilla extract. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. (If you are in a hurry, skip this step.)

3. Grind the sesame seeds in a clean spice grinder for about 5 seconds until they turn into a coarse powder. Don?t grind for too long as the seeds will turn into a paste.

4. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and slowly pour in the ground black sesame. Churn according to the manufacturer?s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezersafe container and freeze for at least four hours or overnight.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0Mqc6c4-2ik/National-Ice-Cream-Day-7-smooth-recipes

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Quake hits northwest China; 47 dead

The death toll rapidly grew after a strong and shallow earthquake ripped through northwest China Monday morning, according to state media.

At least 47 people have died in the quake, and almost 300 more were injured in Gansu Province, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The quake hit along the border of two counties -- Min and Zhang -- at around 7:45 a.m. local time, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The tremors caused roofs to collapse, cut telecommunications lines and damaged a major highway linking the provincial capital of Lanzhou to the south, according to China Daily.

More than 300 armed police troops and 64 heavy machines have been dispatched to repair National Highway No. 212, the paper reported. Train services in the area have also been suspended.

Rescue efforts are expected to be hampered by heavy rain that's soaked the region in recent weeks. More rain is forecast and experts have warned about potential landslides.

According to the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau, the quake registered a magnitude of 6.6, however the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 5.9-magnitude tremor, which struck at the relatively shallow depth of about half a mile (1 kilometer).

The epicenter was eight miles (13 kilometers) east of Chabu and 110 miles (177 kilometers) south-southeast of Lanzhou, the USGS said.

Tremors were still being felt from the quake, Xinhua said, quoting sources within the Min County government. Locals said buildings and trees shook for about a minute.

Residents within the earthquake zone took to Weibo -- China's version of Twitter -- soon after to describe how the earth shook.

Source: http://www.wpbf.com/news/nationalnews/Quake-hits-northwest-China-47-dead/-/8788944/21092148/-/14n21c3/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Barcelona picks Gerardo Martino as coach

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Barcelona reached an agreement Tuesday to sign Gerardo Martino as coach for two seasons, replacing Tito Vilanova.

The club said it will specify plans for the Argentine's arrival in Barcelona "in the coming hours." Martino is expected to travel from Argentina to sign a contract and be presented officially to the club.

Vilanova stepped down as Barcelona coach last week following a recurrence of throat cancer.

Despite having no experience coaching a European club, the 50-year-old Martino received backing from Barcelona star Lionel Messi before the club's sporting director traveled to Buenos Aires to negotiate the deal.

Messi spoke glowingly of Martino, better known by the nickname "Tata" in Argentina.

"I like Tata Martino," Messi said recently. "He is a great coach," adding that "his teams play well and we all respect him."

Martino played as a midfielder from 1980-1996, including a short spell in 1991 at Spanish club Tenerife in the Canary Islands. He also led Paraguay to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time, in 2010.

Martino is due to arrive with his assistant from coaching Newell's Old Boys last season, Jorge Pautasso, fitness coach Elvio Paulo Rosso and coach Adrian Coria, who once was in charge of Messi at the Argentine club.

Barcelona said Martino will become the fourth Argentine to coach the club, after Helenio Herrera (1958-60, 1980 and 1980-81), Roque Olsen (1965-67), and Cesar Luis Menotti (1983-84).

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/barcelona-picks-gerardo-martino-coach-112128943.html

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Dealer data from Caterpillar suggests second-quarter results may be weak

By James B. Kelleher

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc released unaudited dealer data on Tuesday showing a slowdown in sales of its heavy equipment everywhere except North America, a possible warning sign ahead of the company's second-quarter earnings due on Wednesday.

The world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment said global dealer sales of its yellow earthmoving machines were down 8 percent year-over-year in June.

That represented a deterioration from May, when dealers reported that global equipment sales were down 7 percent from a year earlier.

The slowdown in June was led by dealer sales in the Asia Pacific region, which tumbled 21 percent. In May, those sales were down 14 percent.

Ann Duignan, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase, said the sales data released on Tuesday, which was based on unaudited reports from dealers and contained in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "foreshadows a likely weak Q2 earnings report tomorrow."

The news from Caterpillar's dealer network was not all bad.

The Peoria, Illinois-based company said global dealer sales of its gas turbines and diesel engines and generators in June were up 1 percent year over year. In May, those sales of so-called power systems were down 1 percent.

Sales of power systems to industrial users and the transportation industry surged 15 percent in June, but power system sales to the energy industry, a higher-margin business for the company, were down 10 percent.

Last week, short-seller Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates said he was betting against the shares of Caterpillar because the company was "tied to the wrong products at the wrong part of the cycle" - a reference to the big investment Caterpillar has made in mining equipment in recent years.

In April, Caterpillar posted disappointing quarterly results and cut its full-year 2013 profit forecast, citing a drop in demand from mining customers.

Caterpillar's current outlook for its mining business, which it may update on Wednesday, is for a 50 percent decline in sales of its traditional mining trucks and loaders this year, as well as a 15 percent decline in sales of draglines made by Bucyrus, a Milwaukee-based company it bought in 2010.

Mining equipment is Caterpillar's most profitable product category. But sales to the sector have been hurt in recent quarters because miners, facing investor backlash over unpopular takeovers, budget overruns and falling metal prices, have slashed capital spending, slowed the development on some projects and shelved others entirely.

Lawrence De Maria, an analyst at William Blair & Co, said the June numbers released Tuesday "do not point to an imminent turn in demand."

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dealer-data-caterpillar-suggests-second-quarter-results-may-151952851.html

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'Beverly Hills Cop' Pilot Isn't Moving To A New Network

EW:

The "Beverly Hills Cop" TV spin-off planned for CBS seemed to be a foregone conclusion, with a star in place (Brandon T. Jackson), a TV vet as the new police chief (Christine Lahti), and even the promise of occasional visits from original star Eddie Murphy as Detective Axel Foley. But in May, it was announced that CBS had passed on the hour-long drama, leaving the pilot's future up in the air.

Read the whole story at EW

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/21/beverly-hills-cop-pilot_n_3632332.html

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Off to camp: Former Elon star sets sights on NFL spot with Ravens

Published: Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 00:54 AM.

The Baltimore Ravens have held various minicamps and organized team activities during the past two months, each installment acquainting Aaron Mellette more with his new job as an NFL player.

And now it?s time to get down to work in full.

The former Elon University star receiver reports today for training camp, along with other Ravens rookies. Veterans arrive Wednesday. A day later the grind of practices and meetings commences.

Eventually, a 90-man training camp roster will be pared into a 53-man squad.

Mellette, a seventh-round draft choice, the 238th overall selection taken 17 picks before the end, is approaching the coming weeks with a no-nonsense focus on the business of professional football.

?You?re going in there trying to make a name for yourself, trying to impress the coaching staff and trying to prove you?re good enough to be kept around,? he said. ?And you?re going in there to not only earn a spot, but you?re going in there to try to take another guy?s spot, another guy who?s trying to feed his family.?

Mellette, Elon?s second NFL draftee in the last 21 years, can envision himself ultimately developing into one of the league?s go-to receivers ? an ?alpha dog,? in his words ? as he became in college on the Football Championship Subdivision level.

That?s a hopeful destination for the future.

In the here and now, he has formed and written down two primary goals:

-- Learn Baltimore?s playbook as quickly as possible and reach a strong understanding of it.

-- Make the team and make an impact.

?Those goals are going to start changing as the season goes along,? he said. ?They might even change during training camp, depending on how stuff goes.?

?

Training camp with the Super Bowl champion Ravens figures to offer plenty of opportunities for aspiring receivers to shine and earn playing time.

Anquan Boldin was traded in March and behind top targets Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, the depth chart is wide open, yet also packed with unproven candidates striving to secure roster spots.

Tandon Doss, David Reed, Tommy Streeter, Deonte Thompson and LaQuan Williams are the main competition for Mellette. Basic math suggests one from that group of six, Mellette included, likely won?t be retained on Baltimore?s final 53-man roster.

?I haven?t stepped on a real NFL field yet,? Mellette said, ?so those guys, they?re already ahead of me on the experience curve. But I?m not going to shy away from the moment when it presents itself.?

?

Mellette already has switched jersey numbers, discarding the No. 80 he had originally with the Ravens in favor of No. 13.

Visually, it?s not much of a departure from the No. 3 he wore so stylishly at Elon while amassing 304 catches, 4,264 receiving yards and 44 touchdown grabs to rank second in Southern Conference history in each category.

?I feel more like myself when I see a ?3? there on my number,? he said.

The 23-year-old Mellette wants to stay practical about the handsome new digits in his bank account.

He signed a four-year contract worth $2.2 million and is scheduled to be paid $405,000 this season, $495,000 in 2014, $585,000 in 2015 and $675,000 in 2016.

A certain message resonated last month at the NFL Rookie Symposium.

?You have an expiration date and nobody knows when that day is coming,? he said, repeating the advice that struck a chord.

?Financially, I just look at it like try to save as much as possible, only get stuff I absolutely need. That money might not last forever.?

?

Mellette has been on the move of late.

Las Vegas, to take part in a company retreat last weekend for Dow Lohnes Sports & Entertainment, the agency that represents him. He enjoyed the business meetings and bowling there.

Miami, to work out during the week of July 4 at Bommarito Performance, where he trained during most of January in preparation for the Senior Bowl.

Sanford, most recently, for a stopover to visit with family and friends, before training camp cranks up and the true demands of his new job take root.

Through it all, Mellette has maintained his morning running regimen that kicks off daily at 7:30 a.m.

?It would feel weird not to be working out,? he said. ?I?m just trying to stay focused and take it one day at a time, one meeting at a time, one play at a time. You?ve got to be your best every day, because every day you?re competing for a spot.?

Source: http://www.thetimesnews.com/sports/elon-sports/off-to-camp-former-elon-star-sets-sights-on-nfl-spot-with-ravens-1.175705

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Egypt: Islamist lawmakers demand Morsi's return

CAIRO (AP) ? Islamist lawmakers in Egypt's disbanded upper house of parliament demanded Saturday the army reinstate ousted President Mohammed Morsi, and called on other legislatures around the world not to recognize the country's new military-backed leadership.

Morsi's supporters, including his Islamist allies, remain steadfast in their rejection of the military coup that toppled the president nearly two weeks ago after millions took to the street to demand his ouster. They have staged a series of mass protests in Cairo to push their demands, and are vowing to stay in the streets until he is returned to office.

Speaking at a mass rally staged by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, the two dozen former parliamentarians, all Islamist members of the Shura Council that was dissolved by court order after the coup, accused the military of attempting to restore a "corrupt and dictatorial" regime.

The Brotherhood's website published a statement by the former lawmakers, in which they said the Shura Council's dissolution was invalid and claimed to have held a session at the rally.

Morsi was Egypt's first freely elected president, succeeding longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak who himself was toppled in 2011.

The military has brushed aside the Brotherhood's demands, while the new army-backed administration of interim President Adly Mansour has forged ahead with a swift timetable to amend the now suspended constitution, drafted under Morsi, and to hold parliamentary and presidential elections by early next year.

Local media have reported that a new Cabinet could be named next week. On Saturday, Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr submitted his resignation ahead of the expected shake-up.

While the presidency has floated offers of reconciliation with the Brotherhood, authorities are simultaneously clamping down on the group. So far, five of its top leaders have been arrested, and arrest warrants have been issued against the group's top leader and nine other Islamists. Islamist TV networks, meanwhile, have been shuttered.

Prosecutors on Saturday said they are looking into new complaints against Morsi, a number of Brotherhood leaders, including the group's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and a number of their supporters. Spokesman for the prosecutor's office Adel al-Saeed said the complaints filed include collaborating with foreign bodies to harm national interests, the killing of peaceful protesters, possession of weapons and explosives, assaults on military barracks and damaging the state of the economy.

It was not immediately known who filed the complaints. State prosecutors investigate numerous complaints daily, and many do not result in charges being brought to court.

Prosecutors also continue to investigate allegations that Morsi and 30 other Brotherhood leaders escaped from prison in 2011 with help from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Jailbreaks occurred amid the uprising that toppled Mubarak and led to the release of thousands of inmates.

Street violence has largely ceased since Monday's deadly clashes that left more than 50 Muslim Brotherhood supporters dead and hundreds wounded after they were holding a sit-in in front of Republican Guard forces club. The Brotherhood accuses the military of opening fire on protesters, while the army says Morsi supporters instigated the violence.

The Brotherhood has remained adamant in its opposition to the new political landscape, and shows no sign of backing down in its showdown with the military-backed interim leadership.

Mohammed el-Beltagy, a leading Brotherhood member and among those wanted by police, told thousands of the group's supporters overnight Friday that "for those who want reconciliation, our arms are open ... but those who want reconciliation do not fire bullets."

Morsi's supporters have pledged to keep protesting until the military meets their demands ? the reinstatement of Morsi, the Islamist-drafted constitution and the Islamist-dominated legislature ? and leading Brotherhood member Essam el-Arian called for another mass rally on Monday.

The deposed president's supporters have been holding a sit-in in front of the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo for two weeks. The rally has taken on a more permanent air, with tents going up as well as bathrooms being constructed behind brick walls to provide some privacy. Army soldiers stand guard from a relative distance, staking out positions about a kilometer (half-mile) away to try to avoid any direct confrontation.

On Friday, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters, many of them from provinces outside Cairo, turned out for a mass protest in front of the mosque, filling up the large intersection and spilling some ways down the boulevards. Witnesses said that military helicopters dropped leaflets on the crowd just before dawn encouraging them to leave the sit-in.

"The measures which have been taken were not targeting you and were not meant to belittle your role and your status," the leaflets said. "We assure to you that there will be no manhunt for those who want to end the sit-in and return to his home."

It also warned them not to approach nearby military buildings.

The Brotherhood responded to the flyers, saying that "the leaders of the coup are not keen on the stability of Egypt" and questioned the military's promise not to go after protesters.

"Egyptian people are not naive and cannot be bitten twice," the group said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-islamist-lawmakers-demand-morsis-return-151458157.html

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Hastings mayor aims high to secure oil, gas speakers

Topics:? council, hastings, oil

• Lawrence Gullery
• 14th Jul 2013 10:00 AM

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright could be among speakers at an upcoming forum on oil in Hastings. Mark Mitchell

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright may be among the speakers at a forum in Hastings on oil and gas exploration on the East Coast and Hawke's Bay regions.

Hastings District Council voted this week to support mayor Lawrence Yule's proposal to host the forum, which will be held in a similar manner to the one on the GE debate in 2012.

"The next step is to form a list of speakers for the forum so it can be held within the next six weeks to three months.

"The biggest challenge at the moment is that we are being swamped with names from various sides of this debate, about who should be there and I think this forum is going to be bigger than the one we had on GE."

Mr Yule said some likely speakers could include Ms Wright, who was looking into the rules and regulations of oil drilling and fracking. There would also be representatives of the oil and gas companies working in New Zealand as well as people with experience in the industry from Taranaki.

"We will also have people opposed to fracking and some from the Hawke's Bay Regional Council talking about the consenting process.

"We need to find a balanced range of speakers."

There would be a question and answer component of the forum. The meeting was likely to be held in the Hawke's Bay Opera House theatre in Hastings, to accommodate the expected large number of people.

"This is a sensitive issue, probably more than the GE topic.

"I suspect this is something we don't have a lot of time on because already there have been exploratory licences granted.

"But it is only exploratory at this stage and I don't think a large part of the community understands what that means and what the process is."

Mr Yule said the drilling permits had not moved from "exploratory to extraction rights" and so it was important to understand the difference and the possible next steps.

"It is something that I don't understand and it would be helpful to have more information and understanding around it."

---

Source: http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/news/hastings-mayor-aims-high-to-secure-oil-gas-speaker/1944109/

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Sony Xperia Tablet Z Getting Full-Seg TV Support in Japan

Sony Japan recently announced that the Xperia Tablet Z (SO-03E) slate will get an updated in August/September, that will introduce Full Seg digital TV support. Right now, the slate only supports One-Seg on NTT DoCoMo, but the Full-Seg addition will give it high def broadcasts in other versions.

This tablet is a 10.1 inch slate famous for its 6.9 mm waistline and it comes with a quad core 1.5 GHz CPU, the same CPU as the one on the Xperia Z. We also get 2 GB of RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. There?s an 8.1 MP cam at the back with Sony Exmor R sensor and 32 GB of storage inside, while connectivity includes NFC and LTE.

This product is both dustproof and waterproof and as far as One Seg goes, this is a mobile digital audio/video and data broadcasting service that?s famous in Japan and some parts of South America. It all started in 2005 and picked up really fast in Japan. The idea is to get TV channels to people on mobile in the best format available and Xperia Tablet Z does that.

If you like this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS Feed or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube for more interesting articles and video reviews!

Also you can recommend Tablet News on Google:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TabletNews/~3/_z5uw0fAn8A/

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Injured Kitten Dons Crocheted Mushroom Costume, Melts the Web

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/injured-kitten-dons-crocheted-mushroom-costume-melts-the-web/

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Angela & IK?s Pink Paradise Wedding in Texas

A royal carriage was the key theme of Angela and IK?s beautiful wedding in Texas! BellaNaija Weddings in collaboration with Munaluchi Bride Magazine bring you this pink and ivory hued beauty. So lovely.

Bride: Angela Njoku
Groom: IK Odezulu
Wedding date: May 25 2013
Wedding Location: Signature Manor, Sugarland, TX
Photography: Still-Life Media Photography

From the Bride
Proposal
We both travelled from different states to Detroit, Michigan to attend the end of year watch night service (Dec 31st, 2013) and also to see my Spiritual Father and Pastor. There, he arranged with my sister and some friends and took us all to a nice restaurant for dinner. When it was time for desert, the waitress came out with some cheesecake with strawberries and the wordings in strawberry syrup ? ?Will You Marry Me?? Then he got on his one knee and popped the most beautiful ring. After I said, ?Yes?, he cried.

Planning
I live in St Louis and worked up to a week before the wedding. It was mad planning at first but I had a fabulous wedding planner, A Conceal Affair, she helped pull it through ? it was beautiful and care free in the end.

Wedding Details
We were brought in by a white Cinderella carriage with 2 royal white horses which also took us out. People were taking pictures of us, greeting and waving to us when we passed by their homes.

The wedding guests were ecstatic!

This same carriage that was the theme of our wedding invitation and place cards. A monogram of the carriage was also created on the dance floor amidst the pink and champagne LED light in the reception hall. Wedding favors were M&M?s with our picture placed in paper carriages with the same theme colors.

There was ice cream from Marble Slab to keep the sugar fans happy. There was child care for the little ones and they had fun with all the 8 flavors and 8 toppings available.

Our MC, Comedian Wamilele from California, one of Nigeria?s funniest kept the crowd laughing. There was not a dull moment, he was awesome!

The cake was a 5-tier masterpiece with 7 flavors in vintage pink of course with floral arrangements to match the rest of the floral arrangements in the room. It was designed by ?A Conceal Affair?. Great job, Shade of Conceal!

Special Moments
When I danced with my dad at the reception, he got down ?to the floor? to the grooves of a Nigerian pop song. I was so surprised, I watched him for a minute before I got dancing.

I had not seen my dad in over 10 years! He lives in Nigeria and I live in the US; I had been so busy with school and work, I had not travelled to Africa in over 10 years. Also my mum comes to visit us about twice or three times a year.

Needless to say, the US embassy denied him a visa to come for the wedding the first time he applied, but later granted it after more thorough evaluation. I cried when I first saw him in Houston.

For more, visit our partners at Munaluchi Bride Magazine - https://munaluchibridal.com/?p=28706

Vendors
Photography: Still-Life Media Photography ? www.still-lifemedia.com/
Event Planner: A Conceal Affair ? work.aconcealaffair.com
Makeup: Lyzadora Beauty Consultants
Venue: Signature Manor ? www.signaturemanor.com
Wedding Dress: DaVinci from LaMerite Bridal Shop in St. Louis ? www.davincibridal.com
Bridesmaids: DaVinci
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Wedding Decor/Florals: Keisha?s Kreations ? www.keishaskreations.com
MC: Comedian Wamilele

Tags: A Conceal Affair, BN weddings, Munaluchi Bride Magazine

Filed under: News & Features, Weddings

Source: http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/07/11/angela-iks-pink-paradise-wedding-in-texas/

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Syria opposition: Some in US Congress delay arms

This Tuesday, July 9, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels running during heavy clashes with Syrian soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Syria is entering its third year of a war that began as an uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

This Tuesday, July 9, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels running during heavy clashes with Syrian soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Syria is entering its third year of a war that began as an uprising against the rule of President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's main opposition bloc complained that "elements in the U.S. Congress" are obstructing the Obama administration's efforts to step up support for the rebels, as regime forces on Friday intensified their offensive on opposition strongholds.

President Barack Obama recently said the U.S. is willing to send weapons to the opposition. Even so, Washington has been reluctant to arm the rebels battling President Bashar Assad's troops because radical Islamic groups, including some with al-Qaida links, have emerged as their most effective fighting force. Western countries have also been concerned over the lack of unified command among rebel groups.

The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition urged Congress to back arms deliveries to the rebels.

"The Syrian Coalition is deeply concerned by reports indicating that elements in the U.S. Congress are delaying the administration's efforts to increase its support to the Free Syrian Army" it said in a statement late Thursday.

The coalition will ensure "that arms will not reach extremist elements," it added.

Syria's main rebel units, known as the Free Syrian Army or FSA, regrouped in December under a unified rebel command called the Supreme Military Council, following promises of more military assistance once a central council was in place. The Western-backed council is headed by Gen. Salim Idriss, who defected from the Syrian army, and a 30-member group of senior officers. Idriss spent 35 years in the Syrian military and is seen as a secular-minded moderate.

Some FSA units still operate autonomously, however, often fighting alongside more effective groups on the battlefield, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, which has led most successful battles for army bases, villages and towns in the north along the border with Turkey.

The group, known in English as The Nusra Front, has claimed responsibility for several car bombs and suicide attacks on military installations and government buildings, including in the capital Damascus, the seat of Assad's power.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict that erupted in March 2011 with largely peaceful protests against Assad's rule but escalated into a civil war in response to a brutal government crackdown.

Over the past year, the conflict became increasingly sectarian, with mostly-Sunni rebels assisted by foreign fighters while Assad's forces are bolstered by fighters of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.

The regime in Damascus is also backed by Russia and Iran, and Moscow has continued to supply Assad with weapons throughout the crisis, saying it is fulfilling existing contracts.

The U.S., its European and Gulf allies have backed the opposition in the conflict, sending funds and non-lethal aid to the rebels.

In recent months, the rebels have gotten more powerful weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and surface-to-air missiles, likely from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

But rebel commanders say they still need more sophisticated weapons to more effectively battle Assad forces' superior fire power, including heavy artillery and fighter jets.

"The urgency of delivering these arms cannot be overstated as the regime continues to intensify its attacks on opposition forces in Homs, Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria," the coalition said in a statement Thursday, quoting Najib Ghadbian, its envoy to the U.S.

The SNC said at least 4,000 people have been trapped for weeks in Homs, "with no access to medical care, food, or protection."

Homs, Syria's third largest city and the capital of the country's largest province that borders Lebanon and Iraq, has been at the heart of a government offensive to secure a strategic strip running from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast and Syria's seaports. The government controls most of the city, although rebels have managed to hold on to several enclaves in the center of Homs for more than a year.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting raged on Friday there, with clashes concentrated in the two contested areas of Homs, Khaldiyeh and parts of the old city.

The Observatory, which relies on the network of informants inside Syria, also said that Assad's troops have been pounding villages outside Homs with artillery, including in the area that is home to Crac des Chevaliers, one of the world's best-preserved Crusader castles.

There was also fighting in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, the Observatory said, with several airstrikes on rebel positions.

For most of the past year, Aleppo has been carved up between areas under government and opposition control. The opposition forces launched an offensive in the north last summer, capturing whole neighborhoods inside Aleppo.

The Observatory said clashes were also heavy near Nairab military airport outside Aleppo ? an army facility the rebels have been trying to take for months.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-07-12-Syria/id-66bb0e4c9ef545a39ef13a924f71cb1a

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Rain: Pop star done with military service

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean pop sensation Rain is out of the military.

Under cloudy skies Wednesday, Rain fired off a crisp salute and thanked a large crowd of mostly media and women who'd gathered to commemorate his discharge after 21 months of mandatory service.

The fans held signs reading in Korean and English: "We waited for you" and "Rain's coming." One Japanese fan said she'd been waiting for more than a day to see the "entertainment soldier."

The 31-year-old served in an army unit that provides TV and radio programming that promotes the military.

Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, has made seven albums and acted in several South Korean and Hollywood films. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.

He hasn't said what his future plans are.

Source: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/entertainment/ci_23646105/rain-pop-star-done-military-service?source=rss

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When will Google Maps be released for iPad?

Alongside the announcement that a new Google Maps app is rolling out to Android users this week, Google on Wednesday revealed that it would be bringing the revamped app to iPhone and iPad "soon."

Above: Google Maps' dedicated tablet app is rolling out to Android devices this week, and is coming to iPad "soon."

After being booted out of iOS with the launch of Apple's widely criticised Maps in iOS 6 in September, Google released its Google Maps app for iPhone in December, which was downloaded more than 10 million times in 48 hours. Since then, iPad users have been wondering when they'll be able to get their hands on a dedicated Google Maps app, and yesterday's announcement reveals that an iPad version of Google Maps will be making its way into the iOS App Store "soon."?

"The new Google Maps for mobile builds on the design we released for iPhone last December and improves on it with a few useful search and navigation features," said Google. "And it's the first dedicated app for Android tablets and iPads."

Google highlighted several key features of the revamped app in its announcement.

Explore will allow users to find out about new places without needing to type. "Simply tap the search box and you'll see cards showing great places to eat, drink, sleep and shop," Google explains.

Navigation has been improved with new incident details to enable users to avoid traffic, and alerts to provide better, faster routes to desired destinations.

Due to the retirement of Latitude and check-ins in the new Google Maps app, Google has added location sharing and check-ins to Google+.

It is currently unclear exactly when the new Google Maps will be coming to iOS, but when it does, users will need to be running iOS 6 or higher in order to use its features.? Google also states that some of the features won't be available in all countries, so it's not yet clear which will be available in the UK.

See also:

Google Maps for iPhone review

Google Maps vs Apple Maps turn-by-turn Sat-Nav test

Google Maps sparks a 29% rise in iOS 6 adoption

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Outdoor clothing makers seek growth as Europe stagnates

By Victoria Bryan

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Makers of outdoor goods from ski jackets to tents and walking trousers are using international expansion, fashionable new products and the financial clout and expertise of big investors as they battle a slowdown in Europe.

The market for outdoor goods has expanded rapidly over the last decade, with growth rates often reaching 10 percent, as people spend more time in the hills and mountains to get away from the stress of work and keep fit.

The two biggest global markets for outdoor goods are Europe, where the market is worth over $12 billion euros, according to figures from the European Outdoor Group, and the United States, worth $6.5 billion, according to the Leisure Trends Group.

However, growth in the outdoor market is slowing in Europe's Nordic and Alpine regions, where walking up mountains or racing down them on skis has a long tradition.

"We've got a saturated market in Europe. There's no playing catch-up anymore, brands are now fighting for market share," Klaus Jost, president of world's biggest sports retailer Intersport International Corp, told Reuters.

Such concerns with be in the sector's minds as it gathers for an annual trade fair in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany, starting on Thursday.

Private-equity owned Jack Wolfskin, for example, saw sales stagnate at 351 million euros ($448.8 million) in 2012, compared with growth of almost 23 percent the previous year.

Although it is the biggest brand in Germany, Wolfskin is still small fry compared with the sector's most familiar brand, VF Corp-owned The North Face, which had sales of $1.9 billion euros in 2012 and is making a push into Europe, despite what it terms a "soft" consumer environment in the region.

In the face of such competition, small specialist companies like Hagloefs and Schoeffel are also having to come up with new ways to make their products stand out and lure customers in.

Family-owned Schoeffel, which saw flat sales of 93 million euros in 2012, is steeling itself for falling profits over the next two to three years as its invests in new products, advertising and shops. The group called in Ogilvy & Mather to help it come up with a new advertising campaign, which has been running on TV channels, cinema screens and the Internet.

The group declined to provide further details of its earnings or investments, saying only it was still profitable.

FRESH AND NEW

Hagloefs, the Swedish brand that started when Victor Hagloef made backpacks for local foresters and farmers in 1914, has the backing of a strong partner - Japanese owner Asics - and last year grew sales 14 percent.

"This year looks a bit tougher," CEO Nicolas Warchalowski told Reuters. "In today's marketplace, you need to bring something fresh and vibrant to the customer for them to be interested."

Experts say Hagloefs and companies like Arcteryx, owned by Finland's Amer Sports , have benefited from being part of a bigger company.

Under Asics, the running shoe maker which bought Hagloefs for about $130 million in 2010, Hagloefs has doubled the size of its design team and used Asics gel technology in its hiking and trail running shoes.

It has expanded into Asia and sales there now account for 10 percent of its business, up from 5 percent before the takeover.

"With the footwear technologies, we've hit on something that very few other outdoor brands have," Warchalowski said. Along with that, Hagloefs has brought out a range of neon-colored footwear and clothing to meet a rising demand for products that are not only practical but stylish.

Wang Rui, 24, a student in product design shopping in the North Face shop in Frankfurt, said this was important. "For outdoor gear in general, I would like to see better fusion between function and colors."

REJECTION LETTER

Despite lower growth rates, outdoor is a market that's still attracting interest.

German sportswear brand Puma (majority owned by French group Kering ) is dipping its toe into the market with plans to bring out trail running shoes. Canada Goose Inc is seeking new investors to help it expand.

Recent deals in the sector include Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's acquisition of a majority stake in Norwegian outdoor clothing brand Helly Hansen for about $350 million, Blackstone's buy of Jack Wolfskin for about $900 million and Adidas's acquisition of Five Ten for $25 million.

The interest is such that Peter Schoeffel, the seventh generation of Schoeffels to run the eponymous company, has a ready-prepared rejection letter that he gets his assistant to send out to interested parties, whether they be private equity or overseas rivals looking to break into the European market.

"It's a market that's interesting for M&A because it's growing and because of the brands. But I'm not going to sell."

In any case, the market looks set fair for further growth, even if it is not at the levels some had expected.

"People just like being in the great outdoors and that's why outdoor sport is a global trend," Stefan Herzog, CEO of retailer Sportscheck told Reuters. Outdoor products make up about a fifth of its business.

Just-Style.com, an online provider of information to the textiles and apparel industry, forecasts the global market for performance outdoor clothing, which makes up around 50 percent of overall outdoor sales, will grow by almost a quarter to $21.6 billion in 2018, from around $17.5 billion now.

"We're seeing a paradigm change in the industry," Schoeffel told Reuters. "We as an industry have to realize that it's not so wrenching to have sales growth of 2 percent a year." ($1 = 0.7778 euros)

(Additional reporting by Natalia Drozdiak; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/outdoor-clothing-makers-seek-growth-europe-stagnates-060849058.html

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Tech and Fashionista Savvy News| Vogue Paris Launches the First Magazine Created for iPhone

Lady Tech

Published on July 10th, 2013 | by StyleCartel.com

Who knew the French were so Tech and Fashionista Savvy in today?s Tech Tuesday news last week, Vogue Paris announced the Launch of the first Magazine created for the iphone and curated by Vogue Paris.? Only a year a go they celebrated 1K followers on twitter.? Now they have gotten more innovated and create a version of the magazine designed especially for the iPhone. Users will be able to read the specially created version of the magazine for the iPhone, or download it as a PDF.? What?s better then Emmanuelle Alt and the ?Voguettes? on the go. In?Tech and Fashionista Savvy News Vogue Paris Launches the First Magazine Created for iPhone.

?Reader mode? allows users to read the full magazine fitting the smaller screen, with a choice of portrait or landscape formats and horizontal or vertical scrolls. Among other innovative technology that has been applied to the app, users will now be able to share pages of the magazine with a single click on Facebook, Twitter and via email.?Now we aspiring ?Voguettes? can carry the bible of French style everywhere we go.

?

The application is available to download now, with the June/July 2013 issue exclusively free of charge. Future?issues will be ?3.59, instead of ?4.90 for the print magazine. ?Now will you download your dose of French Vogue ?on the beach?

?

Images?courtesy?Vogue.

Tags: apple, emmanuelle alt, Facebook, Handhelds, iPhone, Smartphone, Smartphones, Twitter, Vogue Paris

About the Author

StyleCartel.com Style Cartel provides a diverse perspective on global topics covering fashion, travel, beauty and entertainment.

Source: http://stylecartel.com/2013/07/tech-and-fashionista-savvy-news-vogue-paris-launches-the-first-magazine-created-for-iphone/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tech-and-fashionista-savvy-news-vogue-paris-launches-the-first-magazine-created-for-

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Tropical storm Erick forms off Pacific coast of Mexico

Tropical storm Erick, the fifth named storm of the season, has formed off Mexico's Pacific coast, the National Weather Service said.

As of 0300 GMT Friday the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour (45 mph), located 225 kilometers (140 miles) south of Acapulco and moving northwest at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour (12 mph), the service and the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Mexico said the storm could cause heavy rain, fierce winds and rough seas off the coasts of the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero in the south of the country and Michoacan in the west.

The storm is expected to strengthen somewhat over the next 48 hours.

A tropical storm warning is in effect from the port of Lazaro Cardenas to the port city of Manzanillo.

Authorities have warned coastal communities and shipping companies to take precautions.

Source: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Tropical_storm_Erick_forms_off_Pacific_coast_of_Mexico_999.html

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Nanomaterial to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have developed a new nanomaterial that could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/physics/~3/yJOT_-sUIAY/130709115024.htm

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Google Pays Homage to Roswell UFO Legend (Voice Of America)

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