IMF plays down risk of China "hard landing" (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A senior International Monetary Fund official said on Monday that China was taking steps to reduce property bubble risks and said it has room to add fiscal stimulus if conditions worsen.

"China can move away from its reliance on external demand and needs to build up domestic demand," said Anoop Singh, the IMF director for Asia and the Pacific at a news conference. He said Beijing was working on measures to stimulate demand.

"We don't see (a) hard-landing risk as likely," Singh added, noting property prices were moderating and sales volumes declining.

"Our sense is that these risks are being addressed and our prediction is clear: that growth will remain above 8 percent at the baseline and that if there were to be greater risks externally China has sufficient fiscal space to respond."

(Reporting By Glenn Somerville; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/bs_nm/us_imf_asia_china

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Islam critic's invite to West Point draws protest (AP)

WEST POINT, N.Y. ? A retired U.S. general who made comments denigrating Islam has been invited to speak to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy during a national prayer breakfast next month.

The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports ( http://bit.ly/wyhEis) that Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin is among the speakers scheduled to attend the Feb. 8 event at West Point. Military academy officials say Boykin will speak to a gathering of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cadets.

Boykin served as an intelligence official during President George W. Bush's administration. In 2003, he made statements portraying the fight against terrorism as a Christian fight against Satan and suggesting that Muslims worship idols.

Boykin retired in 2007.

VoteVets.org, whose supporters include veterans and an Islamic group, has asked West Point's superintendent to drop Boykin from the prayer breakfast.

___

Information from: The Times Herald-Record, http://www.th-record.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_west_point_speaker_islam

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Hazanavicius wins at Directors Guild for 'Artist' (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The Directors Guild of America Awards are the latest Hollywood film honors to go silent.

Hollywood's top filmmakers group presented its feature-film honor Saturday to Michel Hazanavicius for his silent film "The Artist," giving him the inside track for the best-director prize at the Academy Awards.

"I really love directors. I really have respect for directors. So this is really very moving and touching for me," said Hazanavicius, whose black-and-white silent charmer has cleaned up at earlier Hollywood honors and could emerge as the best-picture favorite at the Feb. 26 Oscars.

The Directors Guild honors are one of the most-accurate forecasts for who might go on to take home an Oscar. Only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to win the Oscar for best director. And more often than not, whichever film earns the directing Oscar also wins best picture.

French filmmaker Hazanavicius, whose credits include the spy spoofs "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" and "OSS 117: Lost in Rio," had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood until "The Artist." His throwback to early cinema centers on a silent-era star whose career crumbles when talking pictures take over in the late 1920s.

First-time nominee Hazanavicius won over a field of guild heavyweights that included past winners Martin Scorsese for "Hugo" and Woody Allen for "Midnight in Paris." Past nominees David Fincher for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and Alexander Payne for "The Descendants" also were in the running.

Accepting his nomination plaque earlier in the ceremony from his stars in "The Artist," Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, Hazanavicius recalled his childhood education in great cinema, including Hollywood classics such as "Red River" and "Rio Bravo."

Hazanavicius said he felt he was being welcomed by the Directors Guild for a language they had in common: cinema.

"Maybe you noticed, but I'm French. I have an accent. I have a name that is very difficult to pronounce," Hazanavicius said. "I'm not American, and I'm not French, actually. I'm a filmmaker. ... I feel like I'm being accepted by you not as Americans but as filmmakers."

James Marsh won the film documentary prize for "Project Nim," his chronicle of the triumphs and trials of a chimpanzee that was raised like a human child. It was the latest major Hollywood prize for Marsh, who earned the documentary Academy Award for 2008's "Man on Wire."

Scorsese went zero-for-two at the guild awards. He also had been nominated for the documentary award for "George Harrison: Living in the Material World."

Robert B. Weide won the TV comedy directing award for an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," while Patty Jenkins earned the TV drama prize for the pilot of "The Killing."

The award for TV movie or miniseries went to Jon Cassar for "The Kennedys."

Other television winners were:

? Reality programming: Neil P. DeGroot, "The Biggest Loser."

? Musical variety: Glenn Weiss, "The 65th Annual Tony Awards."

? Daytime serials: William Ludel, "General Hospital."

? Children's programs: Amy Schatz, "A Child's Garden of Poetry."

? Commercials: Noam Murro.

At the start of the ceremony, Guild President Taylor Hackford led the crowd in a toast to one of his predecessors, Gil Cates, the veteran producer of the Oscar broadcast who died last year.

The Directors Guild awards were the first of two major Hollywood honors this weekend. The Screen Actors Guild hands out its prizes Sunday.

___

Online:

http://www.dga.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_ot/us_directors_awards

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Kyle Richards: 'Real Housewives' Reunions Are 'Mental Torture' (VIDEO)

With "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" reunion set to air Monday night on Bravo, Kyle Richards sat down for an interview with "Good Morning America" (weekdays, 7 a.m. EST on ABC) to talk about her sister Kim Richards' struggles with alcohol abuse, and just how stressful the reunions can be.

The segment started off with a preview clip from the show in which Kim admits that she's an alcoholic. Reflecting on her at times rocky relationship with her sister, Kyle told "GMA" that, "There was a lot of passive agressiveness going on between the two of us ... The limo fight ... there were things going on that the audience wasn't aware of. I had a lot of pain and built-up anger and frustration towards her and obviously she did towards me too. It was a vicious cycle," she explained.

Richards also discussed the psychological toll that the "Housewives" reunions take on the cast. "It's really like mental torture sitting there with all the women. We put our arguments to rest a few months ago and then all of the sudden to rehash everything, is very painful. And if you're very honest and people are highly sensitive, it leads to an argument again. I always laugh because in the morning we're running around and laughing, going back and forth to each other's dressing rooms, and by the end of the day, there are always a few who aren't talking or whose feelings are hurt."

One of the arguments that viewers can reportedly expect to see rehashed is Richards' long-simmering feud with Camille Grammer, which came to a head in Season 1 during a dinner party with Richards' friend Faye Resnick and Grammer's friend Allison DuBois.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Tune in to the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" reunion Monday, January 30, at 9 p.m. EST on Bravo.

Related on HuffPost:

MONDAY, JANUARY 23: "Gossip Girl"

1? of ?19

"Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW) "Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret. "Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW)
"Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret.

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT?> ??|?? <?PREV

MONDAY, JANUARY 23: "Gossip Girl"

"Gossip Girl" (8 p.m. EST, The CW) "Clueless" writer/director Amy Heckerling makes her first foray into TV directing since 2005 for Blair's bachelorette party, as others scheme behind Queen B's back to make it a night to remember. After discovering the truth behind Chuck and Blair's car accident, Nate joins forces with a surprising ally to gather the evidence, while Serena and Dan pretend to be dating again to protect Blair's secret. "; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/kyle-richards-housewives-reunion-mental-torture_n_1237288.html

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Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million

Nokia released its latest quarterly earnings report today, following up on a somewhat disappointing Q3 with a similarly bleak Q4. The Finnish manufacturer finished 2011 with a little more than €10 billion ($13.1 billion) in net sales -- 11 percent higher than Q3, but 21 percent lower than 2010, when Nokia raked in about €12.7 billion (approximately $16.7 billion). Operating profit, meanwhile, rose by 90 percent over Q3, but is still down on the year by a whopping 56 percent; this quarter, in fact, saw an operating loss of €954 million (about $1.3 billion). Its net cash and liquid assets also dropped by €1.4 billion over the year, marking a 20 percent decline. The general takeaway, then, is that things are looking better than they were last quarter, but worse than they were last year.

To date, the company has sold "well over" one million Lumia devices, but this Windows Phone surge has apparently come at Symbian's expense. "In certain markets, there has been an acceleration of the anticipated trend towards lower-priced smartphones with specifications that are different from Symbian's traditional strengths," CEO Stephen Elop said in a statement. "As a result of the changing market conditions, combined with our increased focus on Lumia, we now believe that we will sell fewer Symbian devices than we previously anticipated." Looking forward, Nokia expects to break even during the first quarter of 2012, due in part to lower than expected seasonal sales and what it calls "competitive industry dynamics." For the full report, check out the source link below.

Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/nokia-releases-q4-2011-earnings-report-operating-profits-drop/

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The nations weather (AP)

Weather Underground Forecast for Thursday, January 26, 2012.

Active weather will spread across much of the East on Thursday as the storm system from eastern Texas lifts northeastward across the Eastern Valleys to the Northern Appalachians. Ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will accompany this system and will aid in producing moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on the northern and eastern edge of this system, from the Central Gulf Coast through the Ohio River Valley and Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast later in the day. Energy from an associated warm front lifting through the Mid-Atlantic will enhance precipitation in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and the Appalachians, while energy from a trailing cold front enhances storms in the Gulf Coast States. There is a slight chance for severe weather development across the central to northeastern Gulf Coast. Damaging wind and isolated tornadoes will be the main concerns with severe storms in these areas. Meanwhile, more light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms will be possible on the back of this system in eastern Texas.

To the north, a few flurries may be possible in the northern Upper Great Lakes as a low pressure system moves eastward through southern Canada. A cold front associated with this low pressure will extend through the nation 1/4's mid-section during the day before dissipating by the evening.

In the West, another wet system will move through the Northwest, bringing rain and high elevation snowfall to areas from the Pacific Northwest and areas of northern California through the Northern Intermountain West and the northern tier of the Central Great Basin. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of -4 degrees at Big Piney, Wyo. to a high of 96 degrees at Bonifay, Fla.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_weatherpage_weather

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Nations seeking action against Syria in UNESCO (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? A group of Western and Arab nations are seeking the expulsion of Syria from the U.N. cultural agency's human rights committee, diplomats said, the latest international effort to isolate Damascus over its violent crackdown on domestic unrest.

The U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) executive board, which includes the United States, France and Russia, elected Syria to two panels in November, including one that judges human rights violations.

A letter seen by Reuters and signed by 14 ambassadors, including those of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Qatar and Kuwait, asks for Syria's situation to be discussed at the 58-member UNESCO executive board meeting on February 27.

"UNESCO must respond to these appeals for concerted action to address the egregious human rights situation in Syria," an explanatory memo attached to the letter said.

"The situation in Syria challenges UNESCO's basic constitutional objectives, in particular to further respect for justice, for the law and for human rights and fundamental freedoms," said the letter, which was drafted in December.

More than 5,000 people have been killed since a revolt erupted in March against President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to the United Nations. Damascus says "terrorists" have killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.

Exploratory meetings were taking place at UNESCO this week and early next week to decide how to proceed on Syria.

A UNESCO official said the agency was aware of the letter. "The committees were elected by the executive board and a new decision of the board can reform the committees so that Syria could be removed if there was a majority vote," said Neil Ford, director of public information at UNESCO.

An Arab diplomat said it was possible the board could condemn Syria, which would probably be backed by Arab League states that have parted ways with Assad, although agreeing to Damascus' expulsion could prove more difficult.

"I am not aware that UNESCO has ever before expelled a member state from one of its committees, or passed a resolution condemning Syria, so both actions would be unprecedented," Geneva-based NGO UN Watch said in a statement.

The letter was signed by major Western powers plus Denmark, Spain, Chile, Slovakia, Qatar and Kuwait and diplomats said support from more countries was likely.

A U.N. commission of inquiry in November said Syrian military and security forces had committed crimes against humanity including murder, torture and rape, putting the blame on Assad's government.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/wl_nm/us_syria_unesco

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Will you have a heart attack or stroke?

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Will you have a heart attack or a stroke in your lifetime? Your odds may be worse than you think.

Men and women may have a false sense of security about their chances of having a heart attack or stroke based on the current practice of calculating a patient's risk 10 years into the future. New Northwestern Medicine research shows a young or middle-aged adult who is at low risk in the short term may be at very high risk in the long term -- if he or she has just one or two risk factors such as higher than optimal cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

This is the first study to examine the lifetime risk of heart disease in white and black men and women. Previous studies have been in whites and predominantly males. It's also the first study to look at the entire adult age spectrum. The research also looked at the risk across multiple birth cohorts and found the effect of the risk factors remained consistent regardless of the decade in which a person was born.

The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Part of the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project, the research tracks more than 250,000 participants from 18 different groups of people living in the community over a period of more than 50 years. The patients' risk factors for cardiovascular disease -- blood pressure, cholesterol levels, smoking status and diabetes status -- were measured at ages 45, 55, 65 and 75 years for each participant.

"We are giving incomplete and misleading risk information if we only focus on the next 10 years of someone's life," said principal investigator Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, chair and associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "With even just one risk factor, the likelihood is very large that someone will develop a major cardiovascular event that will kill them or substantially diminish their quality of life or health."

The risk-factor profile was considered optimal when a participant had a total cholesterol level of less than 180 milligrams per deciliter and untreated blood pressure of less than 120 over less than 80, was a nonsmoker and did not have diabetes.

The new research on long-term risk may be important in estimating the future burden of cardiovascular disease in the general population, Lloyd-Jones noted.

Some key findings of the study:

  • Men who are 45 years old and have all risk factors at optimal levels have a 1.4 percent risk of having a heart attack or stroke or other form of death from heart disease while having two or more risk factors hike the risk to 49.5 percent.
  • For 45-year-old women with all risk factors being optimal, the chance of having a heart attack or stroke in their lifetimes is 4.1 percent while having two or more risk factors boost it to 30.7 percent.

"Just even one small increase in risk, from all optimal risk factors to one that isn't optimal, like slightly elevated cholesterol or blood pressure, significantly bumps up a person's lifetime risk," Lloyd-Jones said. (Non-optimal means a person doesn't have diabetes and doesn't smoke but either cholesterol is 180 to 199 or blood pressure is 120 to 130 on top or 80 to 89 on the bottom. These numbers aren't at levels that need to be treated with medication, but they are still higher than desired.)

  • Women have a higher risk than men for a stroke over their lifetimes but a lower risk for a heart attack.
  • African-Americans have higher risk factors such as more hypertension and diabetes than whites, but because they also tend to die at younger ages, their lifetime risk of having a heart attack or stroke ends up being the same as whites.

"This study underscores the importance of lifestyle -- particularly diet, exercise and smoking cessation -- all the lifestyle patterns that are important in reducing the development of the risk factors in the first place," said Jarett Berry, MD, who worked on the study when he was at Northwestern's Feinberg School and is now assistant professor of medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

"We need to do a much better job of making sure these risk factors don't develop in the first place, getting kids and young adults off to better starts so they don't gain weight and are following healthier lifestyles throughout their lives," Lloyd-Jones said.

Lloyd-Jones pointed out that maintaining the full package of optimal risk factors through middle age had a dramatic effect on the remainder of a person's life. "It appears that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts," he said.

The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University. The original article was written by Marla Paul.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Jarett D. Berry et al. Lifetime Risks of Cardiovascular Disease. NEJM, 2012 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1012848

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125172310.htm

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