Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/313094038?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Golf
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U.N. says Israel-Syria ceasefire jeopardized by Golan violence
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A spillover of violence from Syria's civil war into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is jeopardizing a decades old ceasefire between Israel and Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
Ban recommended to the 15-member council that self defense capabilities of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area, known as UNDOF, be enhanced, "including increasing the force strength to about 1,250 and improving its self defense equipment."
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war, and the countries technically remain at war. Syrian troops are not allowed in an area of separation under a 1973 ceasefire formalized in 1974.
UNDOF monitors the area of separation, a narrow strip of land running 45 miles from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan.
"The ongoing military activities in the area of separation continue to have the potential to escalate tensions between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and to jeopardize the ceasefire between the two countries," Ban said.
The 15-member Security Council is due later this month to renew the mandate of UNDOF for six months. Ban recommended that the force, which has been operating with about 900 troops, be boosted to its authorized strength of 1,250.
The peacekeeping mission has been caught in the middle of fighting in the Golan Heights area of separation, which had been largely quiet since the ceasefire. Stray shells and bullets have also landed on the Israeli-controlled side and Israeli troops have fired shells into Syria in response.
"The presence of the (Syrian army) and unauthorized military equipment in the area of separation is a grave violation of the 1974 Agreement of Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces," Ban said in the report. "(Israeli) retaliatory fire across the ceasefire line is also a serious violation."
"Any Israeli military action inside Syria puts the ceasefire at risk. I call upon Israel to exercise maximum restraint to prevent an escalation of the situation," he said.
NO NEED FOR RUSSIAN TROOPS
Last week two peacekeepers were wounded when Syrian rebels captured a border post, but were then driven out by Syrian government troops, while rebels have also detained peacekeepers on several different occasions before releasing them.
Japan and Croatia have already withdrawn troops from UNDOF due to the violence and Austria started bring home its contingent of some 380 troops on Wednesday, as the United Nations urgently tried to find another country to fill the gap.
About 170 Fijian troops are due to deploy later this month to replace the Croatian troops, the United Nations has said.
A senior Western diplomat said that Fiji had also offered to send additional troops and that the Philippines, which already has some 340 troops in UNDOF, was considering sending more troops after Ban lobbied Manila. India is also a part of UNDOF with nearly 200 troops.
Russia has offered to replace Austria's troops, but the agreement with Israel and Syria precludes permanent members of the U.N. Security Council from taking part.
A U.N. official told Reuters that sufficient offers had already been made from other countries to fill the gap that will be left by Austria's departure.
About 70 Austrian soldiers were due to return home on Wednesday and the United Nations said they were continuing talks with Vienna on a timetable for withdrawing its remaining troops. Austria plans to bring all its troops home by the end of June but diplomats said Ban asked them to delay that by one month.
(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Vicki Allen)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-says-israel-syria-ceasefire-jeopardized-golan-161047153.html
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NY approves sale of Central Hudson utility to Fortis of Canada
June 13 |
June 13 (Reuters) - New York utility regulators on Thursday approved Canadian power company Fortis Inc's $1.5 billion agreement to buy CH Energy Group Inc, the parent of New York power company Central Hudson.
Fortis said in a statement it expects to close the acquisition shortly after receipt, review and acceptance of the New York Public Service Commission's official written order.
On Feb. 21, 2012, Fortis and CH Energy announced that Fortis would buy CH Energy for $65 in cash per share. The deal included the assumption of about $500 million of debt, Fortis said.
Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/mergersNews/~3/z3f52bZjBwU/story01.htm
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Attention turns to vote-counting on immigration
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Backers of far-reaching immigration legislation are turning their attention to courting support and counting votes after the Senate pushed the contentious bill over early procedural hurdles.
Two votes to place the bill formally before the Senate and open for amendments each drew more than 80 votes Tuesday, reflecting a bipartisan desire to debate the legislation to remake the nation's immigration laws and open the door to citizenship to millions.
Despite the lopsided votes, Republicans served notice they will seek to toughen the bill's border security provisions and impose tougher terms on those seeking to gain legal status. "This bill has serious flaws," said their party leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
At the White House, President Barack Obama insisted the "moment is now" to give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally a chance at citizenship and prodded Congress to send him a bill by fall.
At its core, the bill sets out a 13-year journey to citizenship for the millions of immigrants who arrived in the country illegally through the end of 2011 or who overstayed their visas. The bill also requires a tighter border to prevent future illegal immigration.
Other key provisions would create a new program for low-skilled workers to enter the country and expand the number of visas for high-skilled workers who are particularly in demand in technology firms.
Supporters expressed confidence they could muster the 60 votes needed for the bill to pass the Senate by July Fourth. Democrats control 54 Senate votes, and Republicans 46. But a number of opponents said success was far from assured. And supporters are hoping for closer to 70 votes on final passage to show resounding momentum for the bill and pressure the Republican-led House to act.
To that end, the bill's four Democratic and four Republican authors were looking for ways to accept Republican amendments on border security and other issues that could win over additional supporters ? without making the path to citizenship so onerous that Democratic support is threatened.
"Just because the process has been to date so encouraging does not mean we can take anything for granted. So we welcome constructive input from our colleagues, we want to work with them," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the authors. "But the one thing none of us will do is condition the path to citizenship on factors that may not ever happen in order to appear tough."
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a potential 2016 Republican presidential contender and the author of the bill with the strongest ties to conservatives, said that about half the Senate's Republicans might be prepared to back the measure ? but only with stronger border provisions.
An early skirmish took shape over a proposal by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. It would permit the legalization process to begin but require several changes before anyone currently in the country illegally could receive a green card that confers permanent legal residence.
Those changes include apprehension of at least 90 percent of those seeking to cross into the United States at every segment of the southern border, implementation of a biometric exit system at all airports and seaports of entry and a nationwide E-Verify system to check the legal status of prospective employees.
Democratic supporters of the legislation have deemed Cornyn's plan a "poison pill," designed to wreck the bill's chances for passage instead of enhance them. But the Texan told reporters he had some leverage to force changes, if nothing else.
"I think if they had 60 votes to pass a bill out of the Senate, they probably wouldn't be talking to me. And they are," Cornyn said of majority Democrats.
____
AP Special Correspondent David Espo contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attention-turns-vote-counting-immigration-071313373.html
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Resilience in trying times -- a result of positive actions
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tZCfFo2bJojQN2rbB_7hJMqp9JBOuglz7opu-Jf_H_rlm-YfbUSILY8OZipZCu823iZSt-_8-_HBwgcS5IAKoPXhJAFwmzWNec_BIzw7U=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 12-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer
Humans are happier when they do the right thing; it also helps them overcome difficulties
Communities that stick together and do good for others cope better with crises and are happier for it, according to a new study by John Helliwell, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and colleagues. Their work suggests that part of the reason for this greater resilience is the fact that humans are more than simply social beings, they are so-called 'pro-social' beings. In other words, they get happiness not just from doing things with others, but from doing things both with and for others. The paper is published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.
How does the social fabric of a community or nation affect its capacity to deal with crises and to develop resources that maintain and improve people's happiness during those difficult times? "Communities and nations with better social capital, in other words, quality social networks and social norms as well as high levels of trust, respond to crises and economic transitions more happily and effectively," Helliwell and his team conclude.
Their paper begins with an assessment of social capital and happiness during the recent years of economic crisis in 255 US metropolitan areas. Overall, social capital has improved the nation's happiness during the period of economic crisis, both directly and indirectly by mitigating the impact of rising unemployment.
Helliwell and colleagues then take a broader perspective by examining national average happiness in OECD countries after the 2008 financial crisis. They group countries according to their levels of happiness:
- The group with rising happiness includes countries less directly affected by the crisis, with policies well chosen to enhance the well-being of their residents - as in South Korea, for example.
- The group with falling happiness includes those countries worst hit by the original crisis, and by its subsequent spillovers in the Euro zone. In this group, social capital and other key supports for happiness were damaged during the crisis and its aftermath.
The study also digs deeper into the relative roles of social capital and income as determinants of happiness. Evidence from countries in economic transition demonstrates the power of social trust, i.e., the belief that generally speaking, most people can be trusted. Social trust is an indicator of the quality of a country's social capital, which increases happiness directly but also permits a softer landing in the face of external economic shocks.
The authors wrap up with a look at the power of human nature and the suggestion that the core goal of public policy should be to facilitate the development of institutions that bring out the best in humans - a view articulated by Elinor Ostrom, an American political economist and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
###
References
1. Helliwell, J.F., Huang, H., Wang, S. (2013). Social Capital and Well-Being in Times of Crisis. Journal of Happiness Studies; DOI 10.1007/s10902-013-9441-z
2. The research is part of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program in Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being.
The full-text article is available to journalists on request.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 12-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer
Humans are happier when they do the right thing; it also helps them overcome difficulties
Communities that stick together and do good for others cope better with crises and are happier for it, according to a new study by John Helliwell, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and colleagues. Their work suggests that part of the reason for this greater resilience is the fact that humans are more than simply social beings, they are so-called 'pro-social' beings. In other words, they get happiness not just from doing things with others, but from doing things both with and for others. The paper is published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.
How does the social fabric of a community or nation affect its capacity to deal with crises and to develop resources that maintain and improve people's happiness during those difficult times? "Communities and nations with better social capital, in other words, quality social networks and social norms as well as high levels of trust, respond to crises and economic transitions more happily and effectively," Helliwell and his team conclude.
Their paper begins with an assessment of social capital and happiness during the recent years of economic crisis in 255 US metropolitan areas. Overall, social capital has improved the nation's happiness during the period of economic crisis, both directly and indirectly by mitigating the impact of rising unemployment.
Helliwell and colleagues then take a broader perspective by examining national average happiness in OECD countries after the 2008 financial crisis. They group countries according to their levels of happiness:
- The group with rising happiness includes countries less directly affected by the crisis, with policies well chosen to enhance the well-being of their residents - as in South Korea, for example.
- The group with falling happiness includes those countries worst hit by the original crisis, and by its subsequent spillovers in the Euro zone. In this group, social capital and other key supports for happiness were damaged during the crisis and its aftermath.
The study also digs deeper into the relative roles of social capital and income as determinants of happiness. Evidence from countries in economic transition demonstrates the power of social trust, i.e., the belief that generally speaking, most people can be trusted. Social trust is an indicator of the quality of a country's social capital, which increases happiness directly but also permits a softer landing in the face of external economic shocks.
The authors wrap up with a look at the power of human nature and the suggestion that the core goal of public policy should be to facilitate the development of institutions that bring out the best in humans - a view articulated by Elinor Ostrom, an American political economist and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
###
References
1. Helliwell, J.F., Huang, H., Wang, S. (2013). Social Capital and Well-Being in Times of Crisis. Journal of Happiness Studies; DOI 10.1007/s10902-013-9441-z
2. The research is part of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program in Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being.
The full-text article is available to journalists on request.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/s-rit061213.php
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Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Nokia and Microsoft 'working even closer,' will have something to show us soon
At a UK briefing for Nokia's incoming Lumia 925, the company revealed that it's continuing to deepen its relationship with Microsoft. Nokia UK's Ray Haddow said that it was "working even closer" with Redmond and that we can expect to see the fruits of this pairing "in the next few weeks." While we're not sure what that will entail just yet (and we're already expecting to see some beta software functionality land on our review model), we're hoping to see some new features from the team-up. Better still, we've just received our very own Lumia 925 to test, so expect a review very soon.
Update: As the meeting progresses, we've heard another small tidbit out of Nokia related to this collaboration. It appears that reps have been emphasizing the marketing aspects of this pairup, suggesting the two companies will work together in advertising and increasing Nokia's visibility. We'll update this post with more info if we get more clarification on exactly what we can expect.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/RIRwtGljR1A/
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