Royal wedding: Newly-weds celebrate at Buckingham Palace

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have celebrated their marriage with dinner and dancing at Buckingham Palace, along with about 300 friends and family.

The bride wore a white evening gown by Sarah Burton, who created her wedding dress, to the event.

The couple stayed at the palace after the reception, which lasted into the early hours.

It is thought they may depart for their honeymoon later, though details of their plans have not been made public.

The reception, hosted by the Prince of Wales, is believed to have featured Prince Harry's best man speech and Michael Middleton's father of the bride address.

A St James's Palace spokesman said the new duchess had donned a white angora bolero cardigan over her white satin gazar dress, which featured a circle skirt and diamante embroidered detail round the waist.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13246783

Terrorists safe havens in Pak a challenge: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Continued presence of terrorist safe havens and role of certain "actors" in Pakistan remains a challenge in the war against terror, a US defence official has said.

"The concern about the role of safe havens in Pakistan and the role of actors in Pakistan, including the Haqqani Network, the Afghan Taliban who are located primarily, the leadership is located either in the south or in the north around Peshawar, that remains a significant challenge," a senior defense official said at a Pentagon briefing.

Pentagon has sent its six-monthly report to the Congress on progress made in Afghanistan, the official said, adding that the United States is looking for continued and increased cooperation with the Pakistanis on the border.

"As we've seen it some areas; other areas we've seen it doing very well in some areas; other areas it's gotten better; other areas we're seeking much more improvement. That's something that we continue to look at very closely. It's certainly an area of strategic risk," the official said.

"At the same time, given the progress that we've made in areas that we've put our effort into over the last 18 months ... are we through that success on the ground able to mitigate that?"

One of the keys is the fact that some of the people who are coming in to reintegrate were in Pakistan before, the official said adding that there was a recent ceremony in Kandahar where a group of about 40 or 50 Taliban fighters appear to have come in and reintegrated.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Terrorists-safe-havens-in-Pak-a-challenge-Pentagon/articleshow/8123993.cms

Errant Visitors Caught at Old Faithful

BILLINGS - Some Yellowstone National Park visitors went off the beaten path at Old Faithful and were caught by an onlooker all the way in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin resident was watching one of the park's webcams when he saw four people standing on the cone of the geyser Wednesday. More than two dozen others jumped on the bandwagon. The Wisconsin onlooker notified park rangers, who then issued fines to three of the offenders.

"It's very difficult to approach the Old Faithful geyser without seeing several signs that tell you to be careful. I don't know that anyone remembers a time that we had this number of people walk off the boardwalk at Old Faithful in recent history," said park spokesman Al Nash.

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http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/Errant-Visitors-Caught-at-Old-Faithful-121004024.html

Lost City Revealed Under Centuries of Jungle Growth

Hidden for centuries, the ancient Maya city of Holtun, or Head of Stone, is finally coming into focus.

Three-dimensional mapping has "erased" centuries of jungle growth, revealing the rough contours of nearly a hundred buildings, according to research presented earlier this month.

Though it's long been known to locals that something—something big—is buried in this patch of Guatemalan rain forest, it's only now that archaeologists are able to begin teasing out what exactly Head of Stone was.

Using GPS and electronic distance-measurement technology last year, the researchers plotted the locations and elevations of a seven-story-tall pyramid, an astronomical observatory, a ritual ball court, several stone residences, and other structures.


The Maya Denver?

Some of the stone houses, said study leader Brigitte Kovacevich, may have doubled as burial chambers for the city's early kings.

"Oftentimes archaeologists are looking at the biggest pyramids or temples to find the tombs of early kings, but during this Late-Middle Preclassic period"—roughly 600 B.C. to 300 B.C.—"the king is not the center of the universe yet, so he's probably still being buried in the household," said Kovacevich, an archaeologist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/04/110426-maya-lost-city-holtun-science-guatemala-ancient/

Thousands of Surrey residents gear up for royal wedding

Thousands of people are expected to take part in celebrations across Surrey

Thousands of people will take part in public celebrations to mark the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton later.

More than 205 applications for royal wedding street parties have been given the go-ahead in Surrey, according to the latest figures.

Thousands more residents are expected to hold private parties or watch the ceremony in pubs across the county.

The Met Office has forecast sunny spells and showers for Friday.
'Community spirit'

The last figures available showed Elmbridge had planned the most street parties in the county, with 32, followed by Reigate and Banstead with 30.

Ahead of the wedding Ian Lake, of Surrey County Council, said the numbers showed people in Surrey had real community spirit.

He said he hoped the sun shone when the couple got married.

Southern Railway will be running extra services to help spectators get to central London for the royal wedding from Surrey on Friday.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-13224182

NATO airstrike mistakenly kills 12 Libyan rebels

Reporting from Benghazi, Libya—
A NATO airstrike in the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata mistakenly killed 12 Libyan rebels, an official with the transitional government confirmed Thursday, while new fighting was reported on Libya's western border with Tunisia.

The strike Wednesday was at least the third reported friendly fire incident since North Atlantic Treaty Organization fighter jets began pounding forces loyal to Moammar Kadafi more than five weeks ago in a mission to protect Libyan civilians.

Leaders of the anti-Kadafi forces have labeled the incidents unfortunate accidents in a worthy cause, reflecting wide support in rebel ranks for the NATO strikes.

Nonetheless, both NATO and the rebels have said additional precautions — such as marking rebel vehicles and reporting precise positions to NATO — have been employed to avoid further tragedies.

"It is regrettable, but we know the people of Misurata understand," said Shamsiddin Abdulmolah, a press liaison with the transitional council, who confirmed the death toll. "We know NATO didn't do this on purpose."

There was no immediate response from North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials.

NATO's bombing campaign is widely seen as having prevented Kadafi forces from retaking rebel-held territory, including the eastern city of Benghazi, de facto capital of the opposition. Despite the deadly friendly fire episodes, rebel officials have urged their international allies to step up the air campaign against the Kadafi regime.

Two previous inadvertent NATO strikes on anti-Kadafi forces left at least 18 rebels dead and many injured.

Reports from the scene indicated that Wednesday's strike occurred near Misurata's port, which has been a lifeline for supplies into the city and refugees going out. NATO has been bombarding loyalist forces shelling the port area.


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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-fighting-20110429,0,2078877.story

'Papa Boys' fete John Paul II's step to sainthood

Both Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, shown here at the Vatican in 1997, are on the "fast track" to sainthood -- the Vatican sped up consideration of their "cause"

ROME — As John Paul II mania grips Rome ahead of Sunday's ceremony that will put the late pope on the path to sainthood, thousands of young devotees are flocking to the city to celebrate their hero.

"We were born during John Paul II's pontificate, attended his audiences and spent World Youth Days with him," said Massimo Manzolillo, a member of the Papa Boys Association, a fan club set up in 2005 after his death.

"He was our friend. A friend of ours is being beatified, it's an incredible, wonderful thing," he said. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Armed with sleeping bags, "blessed" John Paul II T-shirts and an irrepressible enthusiasm, up to 13,000 Papa Boys are making their way by the busload from across Italy to St. Peter's Square for the beatification.

Dismissing critics who have accused the Vatican of unjustly fast-tracking the process, the youngsters have no doubt their mentor merits sainthood and has more than the two miracles up his sleeve necessary to achieve it.

"We have hundreds of people calling us up and telling us about the pope's miracles," said Daniele Venturi, head of Italy's Papa Boys.

"I know of at least 700 children who have been named after John Paul II because they were miracle babies, born to mothers who couldn't conceive and whose prayers for help were then answered," he added.

Those arriving in Rome in time for a vigil on Saturday will be cramming into hostels near the Vatican or bunking for free in a youth camp set up by the city council a nearby seaside town.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gN_GOuA1srV24hYydec5-n_iaRxg?docId=CNG.e49d7072431b9d040ed45d20817b91e5.451

The hype, the controversy, the drama. Sound familiar?

IT took some time, but Lionel Messi eventually speared through the callousness of so much of the encounter between Real Madrid and Barcelona with two goals of beauty and ingenuity.

However, beyond the deft brilliance of the Argentine, the abiding images were of malice and aggression; the dark edges of a long-held rivalry.

Scotland fell victim to an angst-ridden bout of introspection when Celtic and Rangers engaged in similar hostility in a Scottish Cup replay at Celtic Park last month. The two games, shaped by cultural, political, football (and in the case of the Old Firm, religious) differences were comparable in nature: they represent a blatant opposition of identities.

Spain will be less inclined to hand-wringing, although the Barcelona directors called an emergency board meeting to discuss Jose Mourinho’s post-match comments accusing Uefa of fixing the team’s passage to the Champions League final. “I don’t know if it’s the friendship of [Spanish football federation president Angel Maria] Villar at Uefa, where he is vice-president,” the Real Madrid manager said. “[Pep] Guardiola is a fantastic coach, but he’s won one Champions League which I would be ashamed to win after the scandal at Stamford Bridge and, if he wins it again, it will be after the scandal at the Bernabeu. I hope that one day he will win a clean Champions League, with no incidents behind it.”

Mourinho, pictured, is a schemer, as comfortable manipulating with cruelty as much as praise, but comments like these in Glasgow would cause turmoil. If the constant haranguing of the referee, Wolfgang Stark, the bouts of play-acting and the altercations in the Bernabeu stands on Wednesday night are not common to Scottish football, the aggressive posturing, the reckless tackles, the brawl at half-time, and the showing of three red cards would not seem out of place in an Old Firm game.

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http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/english-football/the-hype-the-controversy-the-drama-sound-familiar-1.1098580

Royal wedding invite to Syrian envoy withdrawn

THE Syrian ambassador was yesterday banned from the royal wedding to stop the growing guest list row.

There was fury after it emerged Dr Sami Khiyami, whose regime is continuing to kill democracy protesters, was invited but Labour PMs Gordon Brown and Tony Blair were not.

Foreign Secretary William Hague stepped in and his department said: “In the light of attacks against civilians by Syrian security forces, Buckingham Palace shares the view that it is not appropriate for the Syrian ambassador to attend.”

Dr Khiyami said the situation was “a bit embarrassing”.

Former Labour Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane said Mr Hague should rescind invitations to any hard-line regime with “blood on their hands”.

Read more:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/04/29/palace-withdraws-wedding-invite-to-syrian-envoy-115875-23093434/#ixzz1KsgwTzPd

Did Sai Baba die in early April?

BANGALORE: An order placed for a VIP freezer box with a Bangalore-based firm by a "trust" has fuelled speculation about the exact date of Sathya Sai Baba's death.

Shiva Ganesh, Business Development Officer of Kumar and Company International, Malleswaram, says he received an email on April 4 at 4 pm from one Reddy asking for a VIP freezer box.

The request was for immediate despatch. However, when Ganesh replied that it would take a week to despatch the freezer, Reddy insisted that the freezer be despatched within a day as a "senior member" of the trust that Reddy belonged to, was critically ill and could die anytime soon.

After receiving quotations, Reddy immediately dispatched Rs 50,000 the same day and Rs 57,000 the following day.

However, the freezer was not dispatched immediately since Reddy wanted changes to make it look "grand".

Reddy got the glass of the freezer changed and ordered for the borders to be neatly gold plated.

Ganesh told Express, "When I asked Reddy who he was and what trust he worked for, he was evasive... There are speculations that the box was used for Baba's body since it looks similar and has the same dimensions."

But if the box was indeed meant for Baba, why was the order placed on April 4 when the godman passed away on April 24?

The freezer dispatched was 6.52 to 7 feet tall and 2 and a half to 3 feet in width, similar to the dimensions of the freezer used for Baba's body. Another similarity was the glass sheets and the gold plated borders.

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http://expressbuzz.com/cities/bangalore/did-sai-baba-die-in-early-april/269629.html

Afghan pilot kills 9 U.S. trainers

The Afghan pilot who killed nine U.S. trainers in Kabul on Wednesday came from the security force that has been more closely screened for insurgent sympathizers than any other force.

More than nine in 10 members of the Afghan air force had undergone screening for criminal, drug and medical problems as part of program to weed out unfit recruits or Taliban infiltrators.

The screening, conducted by the Afghans with help from NATO, is aimed at improving the quality of Afghan troops that will take on increasing responsibility for security beginning in July, when U.S. troops are scheduled to begin withdrawing from the country.

There are 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and 284,000 Afghan troops and police. President Obama has asked Congress for $12.8 billion to train and equip the Afghan security forces this coming fiscal year.


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http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2011-04-27-Afghanistan-Taliban-US-trainers-_n.htm?csp=34news

Train overturns in Taiwan, kills five mainland tourists

TAIPEI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A small train overturned in Taiwan's Ali Mountain area on Wednesday, killing at least five tourists and injuring more than 100 as of 11:00 p.m. local time.

The deceased, all female, were confirmed to be mainland tourists from tour groups, according to Taiwan authorities.

Sources with the Chiayi fire department say a tree branch had broken and fallen over the railway line, which hit the last carriage and then caused several carriages to overturn.

"There was a loud clattering sound, and we thought it was an earthquake. But later we knew that huge tree branches smashed into a carriage," recalled Chen Zhenbin, 58, from the Wenzhou city in eastern Zhejiang Province, after being sent to the St. Martin De Porres Hospital in Chiayi.

Chen told Xinhua that he and his two sisters were sitting in the eighth carriage when the accident happened.

"The sixth, seventh and eighth carriages were overturned, but our carriage was stopped by the trees at the side of the road and didn't roll too far," Chen said, adding that the three of the passengers later climbed out of the upside-down carriage.

"I heard tourists in the sixth and seventh carriages shouting for help. We went there quickly and helped pull people out. But still, some were crushed under the carriage and didn't stand a chance," Chen said.

As of 11:00 p.m., a total of 112 members from the tour groups, including the five deceased and 18 seriously injured, had been sent to nearby hospitals, according to Xinhua's tally based on Taiwan authorities and the Chiayi county government.

A spokesperson with the St. Martin De Porres Hospital told Xinhua that among 40 received by the hospital, one died prior to arrival and the rest were in a stable condition. Most of them had minor wounds such as bruises on faces and limbs.

"We will save the injured at all costs with the Taiwan side," said Liu Kezhi, director of the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association's Taipei office, as he visited the hospital.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/27/c_13848287.htm

Royal wedding shows Diana's influence lives on

London (CNN) -- Just after announcing his engagement, Prince William told the world he had given Kate Middleton the distinctive sapphire and diamond ring belonging to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, as "my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement."

The prince was particularly close to his mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, and both he and his brother Harry know how much his wedding would have meant to her. William is even reported to have taken his fiancee to visit Diana's tomb at her ancestral home, Althorp House, in central England, in the run-up to the big day.

Royal experts say the second-in-line to the British throne has been closely involved in the planning of the wedding, which has other echoes of Diana.

As well as taking place at Westminster Abbey, where his mother's funeral took place, after they are married, William and Kate will ride to Buckingham Palace in the open-topped 1902 State Landau carriage Video that carried Prince Charles and Diana after their wedding in 1981. The Glass Coach that transported Diana to St. Paul's Cathedral will be used if the weather is wet.

And while Diana cannot be at the wedding, William seems to have taken care to invite guests of whom his mother might have approved. These include Elton John, a friend of Diana's who sang "Candle in the Wind" at her memorial service, soccer star David Beckham and Madonna's former husband Guy Ritchie.

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http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/04/27/uk.royal.diana.influence/?hpt=C2

Sathya Sai Baba interred at Prashanthi Nilayam

Sathya Sai Baba, whose message of universal love and brotherhood attracted millions of followers across the globe, was on Wednesday interred at the very spot from where he used to meet and address his disciples for years.

The mortal remains of the 85-year-old spiritual leader, whose clout spread far and wide among both the commoners and the high mighty, were buried after the last rites were performed by his nephew R.J. Ratnakar in accordance with vedic customs following full police honours.

The spot where he was buried is now expected to become an eternal memorial for Sai Baba, who at the age of 14 announced himself as a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. He made his mark initially with miracles but later founded institutions of excellence in education and medical facilities besides undertaking development work and philanthropy.

Sai Baba died on Sunday morning after fighting illness for nearly a month caused by multi—organ failure.

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1772631.ece

China in no mood to listen in U.S. rights talks

China's increasingly tough line against dissent suggests it will be in no mood to bend to U.S. demands to soften its approach when the two begin talks on human rights on Wednesday.

Analysts said the gulf between the two sides looks especially deep ahead of this year's annual U.S.-China human rights dialogue, with Beijing nervous of social unrest and Washington sounding more vocal in its criticism.

"This is the first time that the human rights dialogue will be held in an environment this bad," said Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based advocacy group.

Washington came out jabbing before the two-day talks began, saying it would use them to press Beijing over a "recent negative trend of forced disappearances, extralegal detention, and arrests and convictions" of dissidents and rights advocates.


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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/27/us-china-usa-rights-idUSTRE73Q0UE20110427

France, Italy Seek Tighter Borders

ROME—The leaders of France and Italy called on the European Union to overhaul its border policy in an effort to stop the influx of migrants unleashed by North African unrest, but failed to reach a concrete agreement over how Europe should handle the wave.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi issued a joint letter at the end of a summit here on Tuesday that pressed the EU to reinforce patrols of European borders and stem the flow of migrants from Tunisia and Libya.

The letter stopped short, however, of making concrete demands, ducking the thorniest issue facing Europe: What to do about the more than 25,000 migrants who have already landed on Italian shores, many with plans to hopscotch across the Continent to richer economies.

Instead, the summit seemed to underscore the EU's lack of a common policy on immigration. That policy vacuum has led to clashes between France and Italy over the past month as migrants, after reaching the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which is off the coast of Tunisia, have begun making their way toward the French border.

France, in an attempt to wall off the flow of migrants, has resurrected patrols and checkpoints along its border with Italy


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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703956904576286930610634842.html

Swiss bank list has Indian names: Assange

NEW DELHI: In an interview that could trigger a new controversy over Indian businessmen stashing black money in Swiss banks, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he had seen Indian names in a list of Swiss bank account holders and added that the data was going to be made public.

"Yes, there are Indian names in the data that we have already published or are going to publish. I can't remember specifically whether there are Indian names in the coming publication. But I have read Indian names," Assange told Times Now in an interview telecast on Tuesday. He, however, declined to reveal anything more on the issue at this stage.

In the course of the 50-minute interview, Assange appealed to Indians to "absolutely not lose hope" that names of those with secret Swiss accounts will come out in future. Hinting that WikiLeaks might work with specialized agencies before releasing the Swiss bank data he pulled up the Indian government for not being aggressive like Germany in going after the list of Indian account holders. "India should be more aggressive because India seems like it is losing per capita more tax money than Germany."

Assange had earlier claimed that he was handed over documents of bank accounts by a former banker Rudolf Elmer and the whistleblower also claimed that the names in the documents came from "US, Britain, Germany, Austria and Asia — from all over," and include "business people, politicians, people who have made their living in the arts and multinational conglomerates — from both sides of the Atlantic".

Assange also dismissed the contention of the Indian government that accords on double taxation were coming in the way of tracking the trail of black money. "Double taxation does not have anything to do with asset hiding. It doesn't simply cover asset hiding," he said. Assange said that issue of stashing black money in foreign banks was worse than local corruption as when money is pushed offshore, "... everytime they are selling rupees and the result is that the currency of the nation is debased... everything for all Indians become expensive as a result of that transfer."


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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Swiss-bank-list-has-Indian-names-Assange/articleshow/8095782.cms

Chernobyl impact felt 25 years later

Natalia Manzurova, 59, arrived in Chernobyl just nine days after the April 26, 1986, explosion at the nuclear power plant in Ukraine created a radiation cloud that stretched across Europe.

She says that at the time, she and other experts in the region had no idea how much radiation had been released in the nuclear disaster at reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Manzurova has been marking the 25th anniversary of the explosion with speaking engagements — including one in Washington earlier this month — aimed at raising awareness of the potential consequences of nuclear energy, which March’s nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan brought back to the forefront.

Manzurova, a nuclear engineer who was called to Chernobyl from her job in Ozersk, Russia, spent four and a half years studying the effect of the radiation on the environment in Chernobyl, and helping cleanup workers, or liquidators.

She says that she would work in the zone 20 days and then go home for 10, and that she experienced many side effects.

“I would get huge headaches and nose bleeds,” says Manzurova, who was later diagnosed with thyroid cancer she attributes to that experience.

How many illnesses resulted from radiation exposure at the Chernobyl cleanup are unclear.

Gregory Hartl, a World Health Organization spokesman, says 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been detected in the region affected by Chernobyl’s disaster

WikiLeaks: al Qaeda watched towers burn

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 plot mastermind for al Qaeda, was in Pakistan, watching the attacks on television. according to WikiLeaks documents.

Each of us remembers where we were on September 11, 2001, but we never knew what the masterminds of al Qaeda's terrorist plot were doing that terrible day.

Now, we have an answer, as found in more than 700 documents from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and just published by WikiLeaks.

As it turns out, while Americans watched in horror as the twin towers burned, al Qaeda's top leaders were watching, too. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the plot mastermind, was in Karachi, Pakistan, watching on television with Ramsi bin al Shib, the day-to-day coordinator of the operation.

"After the success of the attacks, the operatives prostrated themselves and gave thanks to Allah," one document says.

Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, who engineered the bombing of the USS Cole, couldn't be there. He was in a Karachi hospital after having had his tonsils out. Nashiri may have been the most dedicated terrorist of all. "He reportedly received injections to promote impotence (rather than be distracted by women)," a document says.

The documents, based on the interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, say after 9/11, all senior operatives left Pakistan for Afghanistan to meet with Osama bin Laden, who had watched the attacks from Kandahar.

Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, spent the next couple of months moving about Afghanistan by car, finally taking refuge in the Tora Bora mountains. In mid-December 2001, the two disappeared across the border into Pakistan. The others were eventually captured, but not before Bin al Shib threatened to slit his own throat rather than be taken alive.

Of course, one should not believe everything a captured terrorist says. One sensational but unconfirmed claim found in the documents says al Qaeda had a nuclear bomb it would set off if Bin Laden were ever captured.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/25/eveningnews/main20057231.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

Defense helps Bolts even series against Penguins

TAMPA - The Lightning found a way to stay plugged into the playoffs Monday, thanks in large part to some of their pluggers.

Often, in any team's story of playoff success, the triumphs are not built around the stars or the familiar faces, but rather around those who rarely show up in front of the camera, players who are content to mind their own business while others find the spotlight.

On elimination night at the Forum, those types of behind-the-scenes players took on roles of stars as Tampa Bay knocked off Pittsburgh 4-2. A crowd of 20,309 fans witnessed the Lightning's first home playoff victory since April 16, 2007.

The victory knotted the best-of-seven series at 3. Tampa Bay will attempt to become just the 24th team in league history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit when the teams meet Wednesday in Game 7, with the winner advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Had it not been for the contributions of some of the team's grinding-style players, however, the Lightning probably would be making summer plans instead of boarding a plane for Pittsburgh this morning.

Read More

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/apr/25/260024/defense-helps-bolts-even-series-against-penguins/news-breaking/

Amazon seller lists book at $23,698,655.93 -- plus shipping

Lots of normal people would pay $23 for a book.

But $23.7 million (plus $3.99 shipping) for a scientific book about flies!?

This unthinkable sticker price for "The Making of a Fly" on Amazon.com was spotted on April 18 by Michael Eisen, an evolutionary biologist and blogger.

The market-blind book listing was not the result of uncontrollable demand for Peter Lawrence's "classic work in developmental biology," Eisen writes.

Instead, it appears it was sparked by a robot price war.

"What's fascinating about all this is both the seemingly endless possibilities for both chaos and mischief," writes Eisen, who works at the University of California at Berkeley and blogs at a site called "it is NOT junk." "It seems impossible that we stumbled onto the only example of this kind of upward pricing spiral."

Eisen watched the robot price war from April 8 to 18 and calculated that two booksellers were automatically adjusting their prices against each other.

One equation kept setting the price of the first book at 1.27059 times the price of the second book, according to Eisen's analysis, which is posted in detail on his blog.

The other equation automatically set its price at 0.9983 times the price of the other book. So the prices of the two books escalated in tandem into the millions, with the second book always selling for slightly less than the first. (Not that that matters much when you're selling a book about flies for millions of dollars).

The incident highlights a little-known fact about e-commerce sites such as Amazon: Often, people don't create and update prices; computer algorithms do.

Individual booksellers on Amazon and other sites pay third-party companies for algorithm services that automatically update prices. Some of these computer programs purportedly work very well, getting sellers up to 60% more sales because they underbid the competition automatically and repeatedly.

The advantages are clear: If you're managing dozens of sale items on Amazon or eBay, it's difficult if not impossible to keep up with all of them.

"If you have more than 100 items, then it's impossible for you to manually focus on the price," said Victor Rosenman, CEO of a company called Feedvisor, which sells algorithm services to people who use Amazon.

"It's pretty much like the stock exchange. What you see there is the prices changing all the time -- but they never change drastically. Sometimes it's a dollar here a dollar there -- maybe $10. For a book, it probably would be pennies."

These algorithms vary widely in quality, however, as the Amazon case shows.

Sellers easily can avoid the million-dollar-book situation if they set price ceilings and floors on their pricing algorithms, so that the competitive bidding shuts off at a certain dollar mark, Rosenman said.

"It's like you put on the gas and didn't have the handbrake," he said. "This is a very basic mistake. So I am very, very surprised this thing happened at all."

Some of these algorithm services give clients control over their equations, letting them edit them as they go. That doesn't always work out well, Rosenman said.

Read More

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/25/amazon.price.algorithm/

Baba leaves behind two huge controversies

Baba has left behind two big controversies and unanswered questions for devotees to ponder on:

1: Who will succeed Baba?
2. Did the Baba get proper treatment at the proper time as he was controlled by a few people around him?

The first big question looming large in the mind of the devotees is: Who will succeed Baba?

Even before the demise of Baba, a wrangle had reportedly broken out among the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. In fact, the Trust met on Thursday as the Baba was ailing to determine who can manage the Rs 40,000 crore spiritual empire.

It was then decided that Baba's nephew R J Ratnakar and spiritual leader's student and caretaker Sathyajit would together manage the ashram and other important affairs.

But according to sources, in the course of the discussion, it was made clear that this was only a temporary arrangement. The two will have no control over Trust's future activities.

Sources said Trust secretary K Chakravarthy struck a formula calling for a joint management system.

Sathyajit, an MBA who joined the ashram when he was a kid, has been taking care of the godman for over a decade-and-a-half now; Ratnakar is the son of Baba's younger brother Janakiramaiah, a former trustee who expired about six years ago.

But behind all the mourning and show of sorrow, there is a quiet backroom drama unfolding among the `investors in the godman's business'. In typical boardroom style battle for stakes, a silent battle has broken out in the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, the all-powerful inheritor of Sai Baba's legacy.

There are three people in the row: the powerful Trust secretary Chakravarthy, Sathyajit and Ratnakar. There is also deep unrest now that Baba is no more.

Ratnakar reportedly wanted cheque power which is presently with trust member secretary A. Chakravarthi, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who quit his job on Baba's advise to join his network.

Though not a member of the trust, Satyajit, Baba's personal caregiver, is allegedly trying to have a greater say in the financial matters as Baba had reportedly promised him last year a key post on the trust.

The biggest worry is the growing fears of the misuse of assets of the trust by the members themselves and the possibility of members of Sai Baba's family.

In 2005 came a change with the death of Sai Baba's older brother Janakiraman. He had strongly protected the interests of Sai Baba's immediate family. After the demise of Janakiraman, his son Rathnakar, was picked by Sai Baba himself. But he has never asserted himself and is a weak link in the chain of succession.

Now there is fear that the family members of Sai Baba -- mostly unemployed nephews and nieces -- would demand a greater say in the affairs of the trust.

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http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5137916&page=3

Wenger shoulders the blame

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted his players lacked "maturity, experience and calm" but he stepped into the firing line after his side's 2-1 loss to Bolton, saying it is he who should be blamed.

Arsenal's already-slim chances of pushing for the Premier League title were reduced to a mere mathematical possibilty after Tamir Cohen headed a late winner at Reebok Stadium on Sunday, leaving the Gunners nine points behind Manchester United and three behind Chelsea with four games to play.

Wenger conceded ground in the ongoing debate over his youthful squad's mentality but he still refused to criticse them publicly, defending them to the point of sacrificing his own reputation by claiming he is at fault for the side's poor run in recent months.

Wenger said: "I feel the players have had an outstanding attitude this season. They are not to blame. If somebody is to blame, it's me. I pick the team.

"It's very unsatisfactory because it's one of the easiest run-ins we've had for a long time and we didn't take our chances many times. That's frustrating because you feel the potential is there but you have to take your chances.

"We still lack maturity, experience and calm in important situations.''

Wenger said there was no point giving up hope in the final few games since Arsenal are in no other competitions but he admitted that the likelihood of reeling in United was approaching miracle territory.

"The chances are very minimal now, that is for sure, but we have to continue to fight,'' said Wenger. "We dropped too many points today. It is very frustrating because we should have come home with nine points this week and we came back with two. It's a bit the story of our season.''

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http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/911603/arsene-wenger:-i%27m-to-blame-for-arsenal-slump?cc=4716

Japan launches massive search for tsunami bodies

TAGAJO, Japan (AP) — Some 25,000 Japanese troops are fanning out on the wreckage-strewn northeastern coast Monday in a massive search for thousands of bodies still missing from last month's earthquake and tsunami.

Backed by dozens of boats and aircraft, the soldiers are scouring the region for remains swept to sea or buried under masses of rubble.

The operation is the third intensive military search for bodies since the disaster that killed up to 26,000 people. Some 12,000 remain missing and are believed dead. Monday's search is an all-out effort to recover any remains for their families.

The soldiers are combing through the rubble and navy boats and divers are searching the waters up to 12 miles (20 kilometers) off the coast.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hKSa_f4B-YmqkNFTir81z0iPuDYw?docId=2d89252c0ac4494599fef88ae276458d&index=0

Hundreds of Taliban in tunnel jail escape

Some 540 Taliban officers and commanders have escaped from Kandahar prison via a 320 metre-long tunnel, Afghan government officials have confirmed to Al Jazeera.

A Taliban official on Monday also confirmed the overnight escape, boasting that the prison break had been "very well-planned" and that it was five months in the making, Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said.

According to a Taliban statement the tunnel was not dug by the inmates but by fighters outside the prison.

"Mujahideen started digging a 320 metre-long to the prison from the south side, which was completed after a five month period, bypassing check posts and the Kandahar-Herat main highway leading directly to the political prison," the statement read.

"The tunnel reached its target last night, from where the prisoner Mujahideen were led away through the escape route by three previously informed inmates in a period of four and a half hours, starting from 11:00 pm last night and ending at 3:30 am this morning. Mujahideen later on sent vehicles to the inmates who were led away to secure destinations."

"They all have made it safe to our centres and there was no fighting," Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said.

Ahmadi said that 106 were Taliban commanders while the rest were foot soldiers. Kandahar police said they have re-captured eight commanders so far.

The Taliban claim that the prison guards did not notice the escape until four hours after the operation was completed.

The prison in Kandahar typically holds drug dealers as well as Taliban commanders captured by NATO forces, our correspondent said.

If the officials have the correct number for those who have escaped - 540 Taliban commanders and senior officers on the run - then this break will constitute a "big success" for the Taliban.

It is also sure to "have a dramatic effect on the fight against the Taliban in the region," said Azimy.

Security concerns

There have been previous escapes from this prison. In June 2008, Taliban fighters attacked the facility in southern Afghanistan, blasting through its entrance and engaging in a gun battle with police.

Nearly all of the estimated 1,150 prisoners, including some 400 Taliban, escaped, according to Afghan officials.

A Taliban spokesperson said that two suicide bombers blew themselves up near the entrance of the gate to the prison before 30 Taliban fighters attacked and killed 16 policemen.

Kandahar prison was the scene of a mass hunger strike by hundreds of inmates in May, 2008 during which 47 of the prisoners sewed their lips shut after complaining they had been tortured and denied fair trials.

Kandahar is seen as the birthplace of the Taliban movement and the city and surrounding area is scene of some of the worst fighting in Afghanistan.

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http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/news/india/sathya-sai-baba-passes-away/articleshow/8077610.cms

Japan earmarks first $50 billion for post-quake rebuild

Wakana Kumagai, 6, waits for her mother Yoshiko after visiting the grave of her father, who was killed by the March 11 tsunami

Japan's cabinet approved on Friday almost $50 billion of spending for post-earthquake rebuilding, a downpayment on the country's biggest public works effort in six decades.

The emergency budget of 4 trillion yen ($48.5 billion), which is likely be followed by more reconstruction spending packages, is still dwarfed by the overall cost of damages caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, estimated at $300 billion.

"With this budget, we are taking one step forward toward reconstruction ... and toward restarting the economy," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and 15 meter tsunami that followed caused Japan's gravest crisis since World War Two, killing up to 28,000 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes.

It also smashed a nuclear power plant which began leaking radiation, a situation the plant's operator says could take all year to bring under control.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/us-japan-idUSTRE72A0SS20110422

BP Agrees to Pay $1 Billion for Start of Gulf Restoration

WASHINGTON — BP will provide $1 billion for early oil spill restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico in a voluntary agreement with the federal government and five states, company and government officials announced on Thursday.

The agreement, the largest of its kind in an oil pollution case, does not absolve BP of legal liability for the explosion and spill that occurred April 20, 2010, or from the costs of any additional economic and environmental damages. The company faces fines and penalties of as much as $21 billion as a result of the disaster, the worst offshore drilling accident in United States history. The company could face additional penalties under a Justice Department criminal and civil investigation.

The advance payment, to be divided among the states and the two lead federal agencies overseeing restoration efforts, will be used to rebuild coastal marshes, replenish damaged beaches, conserve ocean habitat and restore barrier islands.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/science/earth/22spill.html

Obasanjo laughs with Abiola’s daughter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday showed no signs of strife with the daughter of late politician and businessman, Moshood Abiola, Lola Abiola-Edewor, contrary to speculations of a strained relationship between the two.

During the campaign finale of Tunji Olurin, governorship candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) held at Itoku market in Abeokuta. Mrs Abiola-Edewor was invited to take her place at the high table. She went straight to where Mr Obasanjo was seated and took the chair next to him. The former president in turn welcomed her with a friendly gesture and they immediately started chatting and laughing.

Support for Jonathan

Mr Obasanjo while addressing the party supporters later, called on the electorate to vote for Mr Olurin during the governorship election scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, 2011, saying “Let’s follow whoever knows the way; he has done it before, he knows how to do it, he has been successful.

“Adetunji Olurin will do it; he has done it before, he knows how to do it. Don’t let them deceive you; don’t let them defraud you. We have a lot of work to do and God will help us. Mr Olurin will address the problems of road, education, school fees, power,” he assured.

The former president added, “I have ruled as a military head of state and as a civilian president and I did not fail. Our president in Abuja is of the PDP. Some people said they wanted change because they are tired of PDP. We were also tired of it before and that’s why we said those that did not do well should leave the party. They have gone to another party. The PDP we have now is a new PDP.” Speaking of his commitment to the development of the country, Mr Obasanjo said, “They are asking, what does Obasanjo want in this entire struggle? I’m looking for two things: first, I want Nigeria to be developed. That’s why I left no stone unturned to ensure the emergence of Jonathan as president. The second reason. I want Ogun State to also progress.”

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http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5691687-146/story.csp

India spiritual leader Sai Baba 'critical' in hospital

One of India's most revered spiritual leaders, Satya Sai Baba is critically ill and on a life-support system, his doctors say.

Thousands of his followers have begun converging at his home town in southern India, prompting the authorities to increase security.

The 84-year-old guru is thought to have millions of followers around the world.

His distinctive orange robes and distinctive hairstyle have made him one of India's most recognisable gurus.

Sai Baba was admitted to a hospital in his hometown of Puttaparthi last month with what doctors described as lung and chest congestion.

After initially showing signs of improvement, his condition has again turned critical, they say.

A health bulletin issued by the hospital said his vital organs were not responding well to treatment.

"Non-functioning of the liver and persistent episodes of low blood pressure are causing great worry to the doctors," said the bulletin.

The news of Sai Baba's ill-health has prompted many of his followers to rush to Puttaparthi.

Police have erected barricades around the hospital as a safety measure and also announced a ban on large public gatherings to prevent a build-up of crowds.

Sai Baba counts former Indian prime ministers, prominent businessmen and cricketers among his followers.

But his career has also been dogged by controversy. He has been accused of faking some of the so-called miracles attributed to him.

And some former followers have levelled accusations of sexual abuse against him and other members of his ashram - charges that he has denied.

He has never been charged by police in connection with these allegations.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13167420

Japan bans entry into Fukushima evacuation zone

Japan has made it illegal to enter a 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor.

People were urged to leave the area shortly after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant, but the order was not enforced by law.

Cooling systems were knocked out by the twin disasters and radiation has been leaking from the plant.

Brief re-entry will be allowed to the area's 80,000 former residents to collect belongings.

It is not clear how many people are living in the evacuation zone, but reports said police had counted at least 60 families.

After the disaster the government also declared a wider 10km zone around the 20km evacuation area where people should either stay indoors or leave.

It later recommended that people also evacuate that area as well.

"The plant has not been stable," said chief government spokesman Yukio Edano.

"We have been asking residents not to enter the area as there is a huge risk to their safety," he said. "Unfortunately, there are still some people in the areas."

"Today... we have decided to designate the area an emergency area based on disaster law."

Long wait

Most of the evacuees are living in sports hall and gymnasiums waiting to return home.

It could be a long wait, says the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo, as the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), has said it aims to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown within nine months.

The evacuation zone will be reassessed then, adds our correspondent.

Residents would be allowed supervised visits of two hours to collect belongings, which would be screened for radiation contamination.

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are attempting to remove highly radioactive water from a reactor building to allow repair work to the cooling systems knocked out on 11 March.

Emergency workers have been unable to enter any of the damaged reactor buildings at the plant since then.

Nearly 14,000 people have been confirmed to have died in the earthquake and tsunami and more than 13,000 people are missing.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13153339

Forget the Royal Wedding, Obamas to Attend Shuttle Launch

If the First Family was fretting over not being invited to the royal wedding next week, at least they won't have to sit around the White House and watch it on TV. Instead, President Barack Obama and his family will come to Florida to watch one of the final launches of the space shuttle.

"I didn't realize when the wedding was when we moved the launch date," to April 29, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for spaceflight, told reporters.

Endeavour had been targeted to launch April 19, but scheduling conflicts at the International Space Station prompted a 10-day delay. It now falls on the same day that Prince William and Kate Middleton plan to wed.

NASA routinely postpones shuttle launches for technical reasons, poor weather but "wedding constraints" hasn’t made it to NASA's launch guidelines, "so we did not factor that in," deadpanned Gerstenmaier.

The launch is the next-to-last in the 30-year old space shuttle program, which is ending due to high operating costs and to free up funds to develop new types of space vehicles that can travel beyond the 220-mile-high orbit of the International Space Station.

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http://news.discovery.com/space/wedding-royal-obamas-to-attend-shuttle-launch-110420.html

Facebook Could Block Content To Enter China

If Facebook is to gain entry into China and other countries, a representative of the social networking site thinks his company could wind up blocking certain content because it allows "too much, maybe, free speech" for some governments to handle.

"Maybe we will block content in some countries, but not others," Facebook lobbyist Adam Conner told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. "We are occasionally held in uncomfortable positions because now we're allowing too much, maybe, free speech in countries that haven't experienced it before."

Facebook is currently banned in China. Earlier this month, a reported deal on a joint social-networking Web site between Facebook and Chinese search engine company Baidu apparently fell through when the site was taken down by Chinese authorities.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's eagerness to gain access to China's 420 million Internet users is such that he recently claimed he's learning the language.

"It's kind of a personal challenge this year, I'm taking about an hour a day and I'm learning Chinese," Zuckerberg told an audience during a recent appearance at Stanford University. "I'm trying to understand the language, the culture, the mind set—it's just such an important part of the world. How can you connect the whole world if you leave out a billion people?"

Zuckerberg visited China last year with his girlfriend, Priscilla Chan.

The Chinese government is increasingly concerned about Western social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter given their effectiveness as organizing tools used by protesters in the wave of popular uprisings that have swept across parts of the Middle East in recent months, according to the Journal.

Like Facebook, Twitter is also banned in China.

Conner's comments came ahead of President Barack Obama's town hall meeting on the economy at Facebook's Silicon headquarters scheduled for later on Wednesday.

Obama's former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had reportedly been in talks with Facebook to take over the company's communications strategy, but those "have fallen apart," the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

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http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383878,00.asp