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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Violent protests outside Cairo as protests spread

An Egyptian protester shouts slogans as another holds anti-Muslim brotherhood banner reading, "no for bloody state security," during a protest in support of victims of Friday's clashes in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

The body of Hossam Eldin Abdullah Abdelazim, 14, who activists say died when an armored police vehicle crushed him, is carried for burial from the international hospital in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta province of Dakahliya, Egypt, Saturday, March 2, 2013. Egypt's Interior Ministry says one protester has died and dozens have been wounded in violent anti-government clashes with police that erupted overnight and continued for several hours before dawn Saturday. (AP Photo/Sayed Baz)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks out of his plane upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Egyptian activists burn a poster depicting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a protest outside the Egyptian foreign ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement to the media at the start of a meeting with business leaders in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Cairo is the sixth leg of Kerry's first official overseas trip and begins the Middle East portion of his nine-day journey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

PORT SAID, Egypt (AP) ? Violent protests erupted outside Egypt's capital on Saturday as activists accused police of using excessive force in two cities and running over protesters, including one who was crushed to death by an armored vehicle.

The violence in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura and the Suez Canal city of Port Said came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Cairo meeting with opposition figures.

Some liberals and seculars are angry that Washington is urging them to take part in next month's parliamentary elections and see U.S. support for the vote as backing for President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party. The U.S. Embassy invited 11 opposition figures to meet with Kerry, but five declined.

The U.S. State Department said Kerry had a telephone conversation with opposition figurehead and Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, who heads the opposition National Salvation Front. Kerry also met with Amr Moussa, a longtime diplomat and prominent figure in the group. Kerry was scheduled to meet with Morsi on Sunday.

Protesters in Mansoura and Port Said have been calling for civil disobedience campaigns, or work stoppages, to bring down Morsi. The Interior Ministry, embattled by months of demonstrations aimed against its forces, called on political groups to reign in protesters in Mansoura who stormed the city's old police headquarters Saturday evening.

Protesters and opposition parties accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power and of reneging on promises of reform. They also want parts of a new constitution amended and are calling for the formation of a more inclusive government.

Calls for strikes coincide with a diesel crisis that has caused microbuses, taxi and truck drivers to wait in fuel lines for hours across Egypt. The political turmoil has rocked the country's economy and the government is struggling to contain declines in foreign reserves, which threatens to affect the country's ability to provide subsidies that millions of Egyptians rely on for survival.

ElBaradei's Salvation Front says the vote will only further polarize the nation and that elections should not take place during the current climate of violence. Liberal parties have trailed behind their Islamist rivals in all elections since the country's uprising two years ago.

Since the second anniversary of the uprising in late January, more than 70 people have been killed in clashes with police.

Despite calls by some to delay the vote, the elections commission on Saturday announced procedures, including an eight-day window starting March 9 for candidates to register to run for the 546-seat legislature.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the country's police force, said one protester died and dozens were wounded before dawn Saturday in Mansoura where about 400 people protested outside the local council office. The ministry said protesters were chanting anti-government slogans before they cut off a main road and threw firebombs at the building.

Activists there told The Associated Press that protester Hossam Eldin Abdullah Abdelazim was killed when an armored police vehicle crushed him to death during the clashes. A funeral was held for him later in the day.

An initial autopsy said he was 35 years old.

The Interior Ministry suggested Abdelazim's death was an accident.

Mansoura activists say a teenager also was shot in the head and critically wounded during the protests.

By nightfall, demonstrators were still clashing with police, who fired tear gas and bird shot, according to activist Abdullah el-Nikeety.

"All of Mansoura will not allow this death to be in vain," he said. "I am seeing people who are protesting for the first time."

The ministry said 12 policemen were wounded, nine by bird shot. Police arrested 28 people.

Abdel-Rahman Saad, a law student in Mansoura, likened Saturday's violence to what happened on Jan. 28, 2011, the bloodiest day of the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak that led to his ouster. The office of the opposition "Tayar al-Shaabi" was turned into a field hospital to treat the wounded, he said.

Saad was among around 100 protesters who had been demonstrating on Monday along a main road in Mansoura, convincing some government employees on their way home from work to join the strike. He and others there said pro-Brotherhood residents assaulted their sit-in, and that both sides threw rocks at one another.

Police moved in to try to stop the fight that day, but clashes have continued between protesters and security forces since.

Activists uploaded videos of the violence online. One video purported to show an armored police vehicle rushing protesters at high speed on Thursday. Another video showed a protester from the overnight clashes Saturday with what appeared to be a crushed skull. The videos could not be independently verified.

Tayar al-Shaabi released a statement, saying police violence is unjustified and accused security forces of deliberately running over the protester who died. It accused Morsi and his Brotherhood backers of tyranny and said the violence in Mansoura and other cities is evidence of "people's rejection of the current regime."

Elsewhere in Egypt, a police car in the restive Suez Canal city of Port Said hit five protesters along a main road and sped off, according to an AP reporter at the scene. The protesters were blocking traffic during an anti-government march.

The reporter said that when the protesters refused to allow a police car passage, the driver fired warning shots into the air and rammed into the crowd, hitting five people. The protesters, who are angry with the police, then torched a number of vehicles at a nearby police station, the AP reporter said.

A police official said demonstrators first threw stones at the police vehicle before the driver hit protesters. Several hundred protesters then threw firebombs at the nearby police station, causing part of it to catch fire, the official said, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Health official Helmy el-Afani said those hit by the car were admitted to a nearby hospital with broken bones, including one man who had a broken pelvis.

Schools have been closed for a month in Port Said following deadly clashes there late last month that killed around 40 people. The violence erupted after protesters tried to storm the city's prison in January to free 21 defendants sentenced to death for their roles in a deadly soccer riot.

It was unclear if schools would resume classes on Sunday as planned.

ElBaradei's Dustor Party said the violence was reminiscent of police assaults on protesters during the anti-Mubarak uprising. It condemned what it said was "an excessive use of force" by police and Brotherhood loyalists.

Human Rights Watch said Saturday that Morsi should "order the police to limit any use of force to what is strictly necessary."

"Neither the Interior Ministry nor the president has admitted any wrongdoing on the part of the police in Port Said," the statement said.

___

Batrawy reported from Cairo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-02-Egypt/id-06632388143e4b6198ed5e89aee2baa8

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Humans kill nearly 100 million sharks each year, say conservationists

Shark populations have declined rapidly, driven largely by demand for shark fins, a delicacy in many Asian countries.

By Alister Doyle,?Reuters Environment Correspondent / March 1, 2013

A great white shark in captivity swims Monterey Bay Aquarium's 'Outer Bay' exhibit in 2005. Great white sharks off the coast of California are set to enjoy greater protection, as state officials consider whether to add the predator to California's list of endangered species.

Vern Fisher/Monterey County Herald/AP/File

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Protection measures have failed to stop around 100 million sharks being fished every year and a third of all shark species are now threatened with extinction, conservationists say.

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Many are caught for their fins, a delicacy in Asian soup. The fins are sliced off and the animals are often dumped alive overboard to die of suffocation or eaten by other predators.

Protection for endangered sharks may have lagged because they are relatively unloved compared to animals such as pandas or lions, even though they usually kill fewer than 10 people a year worldwide.

An estimated 97 million sharks, or 1.41 million tonnes, were caught in 2010 compared to 100 million in 2000, according to a study in the journal Marine Policy, the first to estimate the number of sharks killed annually.

"We are now the predators. Humans have mounted an unrelenting assault on sharks and their numbers are crashing throughout the world's oceans," said Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

A meeting of 170 nations in Bangkok from March 3 to 14 will consider limits on trade in hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and porbeagle sharks to curb over-fishing. Great white sharks, whale sharks and basking sharks already have protection.

"More has to be done. Some species are really hanging on by a thread," said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University in Canada, who was lead author of the study with other experts in Canada and the United States.

Demand in Asia for shark fins, a delicacy in soup, is a main driver of catches that also target meat, liver oil and cartilage.

The small fall in catches from 2000 to 2010 may be an encouraging sign of steps to outlaw finning by the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia in the past decade, Worm said. And China plans to phase out shark fin soup in official banquets.

But it may be a sign that sharks are getting harder to find because there are fewer in the oceans, he told Reuters.

Unloved fish

Sharks killed seven people worldwide in unprovoked attacks in 2012, down from 13 in 2011 but above the average for 2001 to 2010 of 4.4, according to the International Shark Attack File compiled by the University of Florida.

On Wednesday, a New Zealand man was attacked and killed by a great white shark.

Friday's study estimated that between 6.4 and 7.9 percent of the world's sharks are caught every year, depleting numbers since sharks grow slowly, have few offspring and numbers can only rebound at about 4.9 percent a year.

Pew urged delegates at the Bangkok meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to agree more protection for sharks and rays.

Worldwide there are about 500 species of shark, ranging from the dwarf shark that can fit in the palm of a hand to the whale shark, the largest fish in the oceans that can grow up to 12 metres (40 feet), the length of a bus.

A third of those species risk being wiped out, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/zGLI4rlN6oo/Humans-kill-nearly-100-million-sharks-each-year-say-conservationists

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FDA staff say calcitonin salmon cancer risk appears plausible

(Reuters) - Staff reviewers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that a potential increased risk of cancer with drugs containing calcitonin salmon appears plausible.

In briefing documents released on Friday, the reviewers said the risk raises concerns about the overall risk versus benefit of calcitonin products to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Calcitonin products include Novartis AG's Miacalcin injection and nasal spray and Unigene Laboratories Inc's nasal spray. Privately held Upsher Smith Laboratories Inc distributes Unigene's product in the United States. Generic calcitonin products are also available.

Calcitonin salmon is a man-made version of the hormone calcitonin that is found in salmon.

The reviewers said significant questions remain about calcitonin salmon's effectiveness in reducing fractures in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

An advisory panel to the FDA is scheduled to discuss the products on March 5 and will make a recommendation to the agency on whether to allow the continued marketing of these products for that use.

Last July European regulators recommended that long-term use of calcitonin be curtailed after a review found evidence of a small increased risk of cancer with long-term use of the drugs.

They recommended that they should only be authorized for short-term use in Paget's disease, a bone disorder; for acute bone loss due to sudden immobilization; and for excess calcium in the blood caused by cancer. They ruled that the benefits of calcitonin-containing medicines did not outweigh their risks in the treatment of osteoporosis and that they should no longer be used for this condition.

Unigene officials declined to comment on the FDA staff review as they do not distribute a calcitonin product in the United States. Upsher Smith officials were not immediately available for comment. Novartis said in a statement that it "places the highest priority on patient safety and the appropriate use of its medicines and is looking forward to the opportunity to engage in the discussion at the upcoming meeting."

Unigene shares were down 20.65 percent at $0.12 on the pink sheets. Novartis shares were up 1 percent.

(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-staff-calcitonin-salmon-cancer-risk-appears-plausible-142654375--finance.html

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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Blasts at Iraqi market kill 5 south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AP) ? An Iraqi official says a pair of car bombs has exploded at a livestock market in the south of the country, killing five and wounding dozens.

The head of the provincial council, Jubair al-Jabouri, says 70 people were wounded in the Friday attack in Diwaniyah.

He blamed the blasts on al-Qaida, though there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Diwaniyah is 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad.

Violence in Iraq has fallen since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks are still frequent. Friday's attacks come a day after bombings in Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital killed at least 22 people.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-01-Iraq/id-d12f55295216476fb343bf67d55a5ca3

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Indians Lower Food and Drink Prices |

March 1, 2013 ? 5:23 am

The Cleveland Indians on Thursday announced the rollback of concession prices at Progressive field, including a 33 percent drop in price of a hot dog and a 24 percent drop in the price of a 12-ounce domestic beer.? Team president Mark Shapiro said it came in response to fans who have called for more affordable food and drink at the ballpark.? Read more here.? Read press release here.

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Source: http://ballparkbiz.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/indians-lower-food-and-drink-prices/

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Taxes squeeze households, factories to add to growth

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending was tepid in January as higher taxes squeezed incomes, but vigor in the manufacturing sector last month suggested economic growth picked up early this quarter.

Other data on Friday showed strong auto sales and a rise in consumer sentiment in February, which should help support spending.

The reports suggested the economy had enough momentum to withstand the $85 billion in federal budget cuts known as the "sequester" that were set to start taking hold on Friday, but not so much as to convince the Federal Reserve to decrease its monetary support for the recovery.

"The numbers say the economy does have a reasonable amount of momentum that is probably enough to deal with whatever comes from the sequestration," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in January, the Commerce Department said. The increase was driven by spending on utilities after a cold snap.

After adjusting for inflation, spending was up just 0.1 percent.

In a separate report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 54.2 in February on strong orders growth. It was the highest level since June 2011 and followed as reading of 53.1 in January.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing and the rise bucked the global trend, where factories in the euro zone were mired in weakness and activity in China slowed.

The report suggested manufacturing will continue to support U.S. growth, a welcome sign as consumer spending is expected to pull back sharply this quarter due to higher taxes.

"We expect a significant decrease in real consumer spending in the first half of the year," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, a U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

Shulyatyeva said she expects the economy to advance at a meager 1.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter. In the final three months of last year, it rose at a 0.1 percent pace, even as consumer spending rose at a healthy 2.1 percent rate.

U.S. stocks closed higher on the factory and confidence reports, while the dollar hit a six-month high against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on worries that the automatic government spending cuts would dent growth.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that the cuts, if fully implemented, could shave at least half a percentage point from growth this year.

TAXES ERODE INCOMES

The pressure on spending from the expiration of a 2 percent payroll tax cut and higher tax rates for wealthy Americans is expected to be even larger in February and possibly extend through the first half of the year.

But there is reason to be cautiously optimistic.

U.S. auto sales rose nearly 4 percent in February and were above a 15-million unit annual rate for a fourth straight month, the first time this has happened since early 2008.

In addition, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 77.6 in February from 73.8 in January, amid optimism over jobs.

Steady job growth should help support spending, given that income tumbled 3.6 percent in January, the largest drop since January 1993. Part of the decline was payback for a 2.6 percent surge in December as businesses rushed to pay dividends and bonuses before taxes moved higher.

Taking taxes into account, income plunged a record 4.0 percent in January after advancing 2.7 percent in December.

With income dropping sharply, consumers put a brake on their spending to pay their bills. The saving rate - the percentage of disposable income households are socking away - fell to 2.4 percent, the lowest level since November 2007. The rate had jumped to 6.4 percent in December.

The report showed inflation under wraps with a price index for consumer spending flat for a second straight month and a core reading that strips out food and energy costs up just 0.1 percent.

Over the past 12 months, inflation has risen just 1.2 percent, the smallest gain since October 2009 and a slowdown from the 1.4 percent logged in the period through December.

Core prices are up 1.3 percent, the smallest rise since April 2011 and well below the Fed's 2 percent target.

The lack of inflation should come as welcome relief for American households, but it could cause some nervousness at the U.S. central bank, which may see it as a symptom of the economy's weakness.

In testimony to Congress this week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that the central bank would press forward with plans to buy $85 billion in bonds per month.

"The poor performance in real spending activity will continue to augur for more policy accommodation as they try to provide a monetary offset for the expected fiscal drag, which should accelerate in the second quarter," said Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at TD Securities in New York.

(Additional reporting by Richard Leong and Leah Schnurr in New York; editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/consumer-spending-income-posts-largest-drop-20-years-133526379--business.html

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Visualized: Nokia's product smorgasbord at MWC 2013

What you see in the shot above (and the gallery below) is a display containing almost every Lumia handset and accessory currently manufactured by Nokia -- all arranged buffet-style for your viewing pleasure. These photos, captured during a special event at MWC 2013, include the Lumia 920, 820, 720, 620 and 520, PlayUp speaker, Purity HD stereo headset and Luna Bluetooth headset (among others).

Gallery: Nokia's product smorgasbord at MWC 2013