Kathmandu Interim Profit Boosted By Strong Sales | Stuff.co.nz

Outdoor gear retailer Kathmandu has posted net profit of $10.3 million for the six months to January 31, a 72 per cent leap compared to the same period last year.

The figure was at the upper end of the earnings forecast the company provided in February when it said it expected net profit between $9.5m to $10.5m.

The surge in net profit was helped by the fact that this time last year the company faced one-off costs as it bedded in new systems, particularly in warehouse management, which did not recur this year.

Sales surged 13.1 per cent, or $19.2m to $165.9m and earnings before interest and tax were 24.4 per cent higher at $15.8 million.

A fully imputed interim dividend of 3 cents a share will be paid.

Kathmandu chief executive Peter Halkett said strong sales growth over the period had been underpinned by successful new store openings and a "solid" increase in same-store sales, despite a challenging market overall.

Australian same-store sales growth surged 9.6 per cent, outperforming New Zealand stores.

Online sales growth of more than 50 per cent on the same period last year was an important part of the 3.7 per cent increase in same-store sales growth but still represented less than 5 per cent of total sales.

The company opened nine new stores in Australia during the six months, and relocated three stores.

The new stores had met or exceeded sales expectations, Halkett said.

Gross profit margin had held steady with the same period last year within the 62-64 per cent target range.

The company plans to open 15 new stores this financial year with five to open before July 31, four of them in Australia.

Overall earnings growth for the full year would rely largely on continued growth in Australia, Halkett said.

The stock last traded at $2.45 a share?

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/financial-results/8473307/Strong-sales-boost-Kathmandu-profit

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Online Marketing: When it's Time to Rebrand | Internet ... - TechWyse

You?ve taken years to create your brand, as many businesses have, including big names like business.com. And, whether you?re a small business or a corporate giant, changing your brand can be scary.

Many customers find you online based on brand alone ? the logo in your Facebook picture ? for example. However, with the business world evolving at a rapid pace, it?s important that your company is able to keep up, and for some that means taking the leap to rebrand.

They key to making it a smooth online transition is planning, prep and flawless execution.

Create Your Plan

When making a brand change, it?s imperative that you have a plan and process in place for creating your new brand and implementing it; this starts at a higher level, asking the right questions.

For example, Tony Uphoff, business.com?s new CEO told SearchEngineLand.com in an interview, ?We?ve been collecting data on how small-to-medium enterprise buyers research, compare and ultimately buy products on the Internet today.?

After answering these types of questions, business.com became fresh and modern, like many of their competitors in the online business sphere.

So, once you?ve been able to answer the high-level questions and collected the right information, you need to determine how the new brand will be incorporated into your online marketing efforts. There are two steps you need to take: Prepping your customers and perfecting your timing.

1. Prepping Your Customers

If you?re creating a new logo, not only do you want to prep your current customers but get them excited too. There are a number of ways you can use your online presence to do so ? both on your website and your social networks.

• Poll on Facebook: Ask your customers what they think is going to happen ? design change, new product, etc. This gets them thinking about it and makes them want to check back to see if they were right.
• Related blog posts: Business.com chose to run a teaser blog post ? Top 5 Companies That Have Teased a New Product. The final company was business.com; but with no new product. They opted for, ?Stay tuned to see the final product of our learnings.? The tease gets them involved and interested.
• Enticing shares: Intrigue your customers by reminding them of the upcoming change ? perhaps you release a clue about the new product, a blurry photo of the new design, or an employee working on the ?project.?

2. Having Timely Execution

Finally, the most important piece of the puzzle is how you execute your new brand. After all the hard work you?ve put into it, you want the final reveal to go off without a hitch. To do that, you want to be sure your updates and public changes are timely.

• Social assets and verbiage: The moment your new product or look is launched, be sure to update all your social networks, and direct customers and followers to the home or product page. Ideally you should have a statement from the company, whether in a blog post or press release, explaining the news.
• Follow up posts: Business.com followed up two days later with the blog post: Logo Upgades: 5 B2B Companies that Made the Change. The key is bringing awareness to what you?re doing in the context of your industry and competitors.
• Scheduled interviews: Be sure that you have done the necessary PR so online interviews and articles covering the changes will be live within 5-7 days of launch; this will keep people buzzing about your news.

Your brand is an integral part of online marketing, and making that change can be nerve-wracking. However, many big names, like business.com, have done it thanks to good preparation and timely execution, and you can too.

Written By Jessica Sanders.

Jessica Sanders is a professional blogger and copyeditor for ResourceNation.com, B2B lead generation resource. She writes on a variety of topics including online marketing. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook!

Related posts:

Source: http://www.techwyse.com/blog/internet-marketing/online-marketing-when-it%E2%80%99s-time-to-rebrand/

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Obama chooses first woman Secret Service director: officials (reuters)

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Unreal Engine 3 adding Oculus Rift support this April, Epic Citadel demo packed in

The engine that powered the vast majority of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's hit games, Unreal Engine 3, is getting a development kit update to support the soon-to-be-released Oculus Rift VR headset. Of course, the model of the Rift that's soon-to-be-released is intended for developers, so the Unreal Engine 3 UDK update is right on time; it arrives at some point in "early April," soon after the headset itself arrives for Kickstarter backers. Beyond UDK integration, full UE3 licensees will also get an update for integrating the headset into their games.

That said, if you snagged yourself a Rift dev kit and have no intention of actually developing games with it, the upcoming UDK release also includes a "VR Mode" version of the software's sample Unreal Tournament game, as well as a summer version of the Epic Citadel demo we were shown at CES 2013. Paired with Valve's offering of Team Fortress 2 VR Mode, that brings the grand total of playable things with the Rift headset to ... five or six (depending on what you define as a "demo"). Upcoming PC mech shooter Hawken is also promising Rift support, though it won't launch until mid-December. The Oculus folks are saying that Rift dev kits will begin shipping to Kickstarter backers this month, with orders fulfilled by mid-April.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/unreal-engine-3-oculus-rift/

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Cave-dwelling "Croods" settle at top of movie box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Animated movie "The Croods," the story of a prehistoric family seeking a new home, debuted at the top of box office charts with $44.7 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

The 3D family film from "Shrek" and "Madagascar" creator Dreamworks Animation dethroned two-time champion "Oz the Great and Powerful," which slipped to third place. The Walt Disney Co prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" earned $22 million during its third weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.

In between the two family films, thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" about a White House under terrorist attack took in $30.5 million from Friday through Sunday.

"The Croods" was produced by Dreamworks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. "Olympus Has Fallen" was released by privately held FilmDistrict.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cave-dwelling-croods-settle-top-movie-box-office-163634720--sector.html

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NYC's Met Museum accused of duping on fees

NEW YORK (AP) ? Before visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art can stroll past the Picassos, Renoirs, Rembrandts and other priceless works, they must first deal with the ticket line, the posted $25 adult admission and the meaning of the word in smaller type just beneath it: "recommended."

Many people, especially foreign tourists, don't see it, don't understand it or don't question it. If they ask, they are told the fee is merely a suggested donation: You can pay what you wish, but you must pay something.

Confusion over what's required to enter one of the world's great museums, which draws more than 6 million visitors a year, is at the heart of a class-action lawsuit this month accusing the Met of scheming to defraud the public into believing the fees are required.

The suit seeks compensation for museum members and visitors who paid by credit card over the past few years, though some who choose to pay less than the full price pull out a $10 or $5 bill. Some fork over a buck or loose change. Those who balk at paying anything at all are told they won't be allowed in unless they pay something, even a penny.

"I just asked for one adult general admissions and he just said, '$25,'" says Richard Johns, a high school math teacher from Little Rock, Ark., who paid the full price at the museum this past week. "It should be made clear that it is a donation you are required to make. Especially for foreign tourists who don't understand. Most people don't know it."

Met spokesman Harold Holzer denied any deception and said a policy of requiring visitors to pay at least something has been in place for more than four decades. "We are confident that the courts will see through this insupportable nuisance lawsuit," he said.

"The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances," said Arnold Weiss, one of two attorneys who filed the lawsuit on behalf of three museum-goers, a New Yorker and two tourists from the Czech Republic. "But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction."

Among the allegations are that third-party websites do not mention the recommended fee, and that the museum sells memberships that carry the benefit of free admission, even though the public is already entitled to free admission.

Lined up to testify is a former museum supervisor who oversaw and trained the Met's admissions cashiers from 2007 to 2011, said Michael Hiller, the other attorney representing the plaintiffs.

The supervisor is expected to testify that the term on the sign was changed in recent years from "suggested" to "recommended" because administrators believed it was a stronger word that would encourage people to pay more, Hiller said.

The Met's Holzer denied the former employee's allegations. He also said the basis for the lawsuit ? that admission is intended to be free ? is wrong because the state law the plaintiffs cited has been superseded many times and the city approved pay-what-you-wish admissions in 1970.

"The idea that the museum is free to everyone who doesn't wish to pay has not been in force for nearly 40 years," Holzer said, adding, "Yes, you do have to pay something."

As to the wording change on the sign, he said the museum "actually thought at the time, and still thinks, that 'recommended' is softer than 'suggested,' so the former employee is quite wrong here."

New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs agreed to the museum's request in 1970 for a general admission as long as the amount was left up to individuals and that the signage reflected that. Similar arrangements are in place for other cultural institutions that operate on city-owned land and property and receive support from the city, such as the American Museum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Museum. It's also a model that's been replicated in other cities.

The Metropolitan Museum is one of the world's richest cultural institutions, with a $2.58 billion investment portfolio, and isn't reliant on admissions fees to pay the majority of its bills. Sixteen percent of its $239 million budget in fiscal 2012 came from admissions. That same year, the city paid 11 percent of its operating budget. As a nonprofit organization, the museum pays no income taxes.

Holzer also noted that in the past fiscal year, 41 percent of visitors to the Met paid the full recommended admission price ? $25 for adults, $17 for seniors and $12 for students.

A random sampling of visitors leaving the museum found that there was a general awareness that "recommended" implied you could pay less than the posted price.

But Dan Larson and his son Jake, visiting the museum last week from Duluth, Minn., were unaware there was any room to negotiate the admission price. They paid the full $25 each for adult tickets, with a credit card.

"My understanding was you pay the recommended price," said Larson, 50. "That's clearly not displayed."

Alexander Kulessa, a 23-year-old university student from Germany, said friends who had previously visited New York tipped him off about the admission fee.

"They said, 'Don't pay $25,'" said Kulessa. "They said it will be written everywhere to pay $25 but you don't have to pay that. You don't even have to pay the student price."

For Colette Leger, a tourist from Toronto who visited the museum with her teenage daughter, paying the full $25 was worth every penny.

"It's a beautiful museum, and I was happy to pay," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Jake Pearson contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.metmuseum.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nycs-met-museum-accused-duping-fees-175540738.html

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How the Planck discovery could point toward a new physics

Captured by the European Space Agency's Planck space probe, the?most detailed map of the early universe reveals a host of unexpected anomalies.?

By Clara Moskowitz,?SPACE.com / March 22, 2013

This European Space Agency graphic shows a map of the universe that depicts the anomalies seen when comparing the Planck space observatory's map of the universe's cosmic microwave background and the standard model of the cosmos. Image released

ESA and the Planck Collaboration

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Europe's Planck spacecraft has revealed the most detailed map yet of the earliest light in the universe, which reveals some tantalizing anomalies that could point toward new physics.

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The new map tracks small temperature variations in the glow pervading space called the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This light was released just 380,000 years after the Big Bang, and contains a record of how our universe came to be.

By and large, the new data from Planck agree with cosmologists' leading ideas about how the universe formed. The theory of inflation suggests that after the Big Bang, the universe ballooned rapidly from its tiny, hot state, doubling in size every 10^-35 seconds (a decimal point followed by 34 zeroes and a one).

But where the basic models of inflation say this expansion should have happened uniformly in all directions, the new Planck results suggest that might not have been the case. [Universe's CMB Radiation Explained (Infographic)]

"One of the features of inflation is it says there should be no preferred direction ? everywhere in the universe should be more or less the same," astrophysicist Marc Kamionkowski of Johns Hopkins University said March 21 during a NASA press call. "But when you look at the amplitudes, even by eye you can tell that one side of the universe looks different from the other side."

That is to say, the temperature variations in the CMB appear to be sized and spaced differently when Planck looks in one direction, than when it looks in the other.

There are other anomalies as well. The variations don't appear to behave the same on large scales as they do on small scales, and there are some particularly large features, such as a hefty cold spot, that were not predicted by basic inflation models.

Ultimately, the data show "some features that are surprising and very, very intriguing," said Charles Lawrence, U.S. Planck project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"Hopefully in the process of understanding those features better we will be able to glimpse answers to some of our deepest questions."

Indeed, the map's deviations from what was predicted are not cause for disappointment among scientists, but rather exhilaration. They could even lead toward unraveling the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, two perplexing constituents of the universe that have yet to be explained by mainstream theories.

For example, the new CMB measurements produce a new estimate for the age and expansion rate of the universe, which the Planck scientists calculate to be 13.8 billion years old, and 41.73 miles (67.15 kilometers) per second per megaparsec, respectively. The expansion rate is also known as the Hubble constant, and the new estimate is significantly lower than the values derived through other astronomical observations.

"This is one of the most exciting parts of the data, is this apparent tension between these different ways to estimate how rapidly the universe is expanding," said Martin White, U.S. Planck scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. "The hope would be that this is actually pointing toward some deficiency in the models or some extra physics."

The expansion rate of the universe is deeply connected to the idea of dark energy, which is the name scientists have given to whatever is causing the universe's expansion to accelerate. The finding could point toward a new direction of thinking about dark energy, including the possibility that it has changed over time.

"If it was different than the simplest models, if the amount of dark energy was somehow increasing with time in a given volume of space, then that would alleviate some of the tension," White said, and added, "that's a pretty radical thing to propose."

And getting to the bottom of the other anomalies in the Planck data may point to even more radical conclusions, such as the idea of multiple universes and bubble universes created by areas of the primordial universe that inflated at different rates.

It turns out that collisions between these bubbles of space-time are one possible explanation for why inflation might not have proceeded uniformly in all directions.

"The fact that these anomalies not only exist but exist on the very largest scales gives us some hope that we may be actually able to say something in the future about a multiverse," Kamionkowski said.

Follow Clara Moskowitz on Twitter?and Google+. Follow us?@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/chGqRqrs8g0/How-the-Planck-discovery-could-point-toward-a-new-physics

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Gaybros, the Decline of Al Pacino, and How Not to Woo the GOP

If President Obama wants a grand bargain, he needs to get along with John Boehner.

Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

?How Not to Woo Republicans: If Obama really wants a grand bargain, he should knock off the wisecracks about the GOP,? by John Dickerson. Dickerson outlines how Obama?s public jokes are hurting his quest for a budget compromise and suggests that the president would be better off taking a page from LBJ and allowing his opponents to feel superior.

?Meet the Gaybros: They like sports, hunting, and beer. They make the gay community mad,? by J. Bryan Lowder. Lowder spends time with a group of gay men calling themselves ?gaybros,? who enjoy ?traditionally manly interests like sports, hunting, and beer,? and examines the conflict between so-called masculine gays and effeminate gays. He concludes that gaybros may not be as different from the rest of the gay community as they think.

?Is It Too Late for Al Pacino? Phil Spector suggests he might never regain his rightful place at the center of Hollywood,? by Karina Longworth. Longworth traces the unfortunate trajectory of Pacino?s acting and worries that his latest role is proof that he will spend the rest of his career ?pumping out endless variations on the trademarked Pacino Wall of Sound.?

?The Only Problem With the Greatest Hoodie Ever Made: They can?t make them fast enough,? by Farhad Manjoo. Revisiting American Giant, the company a previous Slate story rocketed to prominence, Manjoo learns how unprecedented demand lead to a complete restructuring of the apparel startup.

?Not That High: Today?s marijuana is too strong, and that?s bad for new business,? by Emma Marris. Now that weed is legalized in Washington and Colorado, demand for the drug is emerging among a new demographic?middle-aged parents. Marris explores how their desire for weaker recreational marijuana may change the market.

??Your Favorite Show Is Too Long: Why the miniseries is the ideal form for television,? by David Haglund. In honor of Top of the Lake, Jane Campion?s excellent new miniseries, Haglund argues that no matter how much we love to follow our favorite characters every week, limited series with planned out arcs and endings are the superior form artistically.

?South Africa?s Unfinished Revolution: The post-apartheid country has made enormous strides. But its progress won?t be complete until it deepens its democracy,? by Anne Applebaum. Though South Africa has changed radically in the last two decades, Applebaum argues that its transition won?t be complete until power is transferred away from the party that has ruled for that entire period.

?The GOP, Now With Less Crazy; The Republican plan to reform the party is less a program of reform than a rough blueprint about how to marginalize the nutters at the base,? by David Weigel. With the GOP floundering, Weigel analyzes the party?s plan to recover by reducing situations where candidates have to comment on polarizing social issues.

?Past Their Prime: When is a superaged spirit too old to drink?? by Kara Newman. Finding herself surprisingly unimpressed by a 50-year-old scotch, Newman investigates the process of aging and discovers that older isn?t necessarily better.

?The Sexual Fetish of Gay Marriage Opponents: Defenders of DOMA and Proposition 8 say marriage isn?t about love or parenting. It?s about coitus,? by Mark Joseph Stern. Stern looks at the difference between ?conjugal marriage??it?s all about the sex?and ?revisionist marriage??it?s an emotional union. And he critiques a book by Robert P. George that claims a ?conjugal union? between heterosexuals is the ?most appropriate environment for rearing children.? .

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=a38ce81322948c1d0bedada929da39a6

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Cyprus faces last ditch chance to save economy

By Michele Kambas and Karolina Tagaris

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, seeking a last-minute reprieve from financial meltdown at talks in Brussels on Sunday, has a "very difficult task" ahead of him if he is to save the island's economy, a government spokesman said.

With Cyprus facing a Monday deadline to avert a collapse of its banking system and potential exit from the euro, late night talks in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund broke up without result.

Anastasiades then headed to Brussels in a private jet sent by the European Commission to continue the talks ahead of a crunch meeting of euro zone finance ministers at 6 p.m. (12.00 p.m. ET).

The president and his team have a "very difficult task to accomplish to save the Cypriot economy and avert a disorderly default if there is no final agreement on a loan accord," the spokesman said.

Underlining the gravity of Cyprus' position, the EU's economic affairs chief said there were now "only hard choices left" for the latest casualty of the euro zone crisis.

After negotiations ended in the early hours of Sunday morning, the government issuing a statement saying talks were at "a very delicate phase" and deadlines were very tight.

The Cyprus government's tone jarred with earlier expressions of cautious optimism during days of intense negotiations between Cypriot leaders and officials from the island's "troika" of international lenders, the EU, IMF and European Central Bank.

Cyprus' overgrown banking sector has been crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece, and the EU says the east Mediterranean island must raise 5.8 billion euros on its own before it can receive a 10 billion euro bailout.

Without a deal on Monday, the ECB says it will cut off emergency funds to Cypriot banks, spelling certain collapse and potentially pushing the country out of the euro zone.

Conservative leader Anastasiades, barely a month in the job and wrestling with Cyprus' worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, is expected to meet the heads of the EU, the European Central Bank and IMF in Brussels.

Scrambling to find the funds, officials said Cyprus had conceded to a one-time levy on bank deposits over 100,000 euros, a dramatic U-turn from five days ago when lawmakers angrily threw out a similar proposal as "bank robbery."

A senior Cypriot official said Nicosia had agreed with its lenders on a 20 percent levy over and above 100,000 euros at the island's largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, and four percent on deposits above the same level at other troubled banks.

'ONLY HARD CHOICES LEFT'

Finance Minister Michael Sarris spoke of "significant progress" in talks on Saturday, as angry demonstrators outside the finance ministry chanted "resign, resign!"

The EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said progress was being made, but warned of tough times ahead.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available," he said on Saturday. "Today, there are only hard choices left."

In a stunning vote on Tuesday, Cyprus's 56-seat parliament rejected a levy on depositors, big and small, and Sarris spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

Rebuffed by the Kremlin, Sarris said the levy was back "on the table".

On Friday, lawmakers voted in late-night session to nationalize pension funds and split failing lenders into good and bad banks - a measure likely to be applied to the second-biggest lender, the largely state-owned Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki.

Cypriot media reports suggested talks were stuck on a demand by the IMF that Bank of Cyprus absorb the good assets of Popular Bank and take on its nine billion euros debt to the central bank as well.

The reports said the Cypriot government was resisting.

A Cypriot plan to tap pension funds had already been shelved, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters, under opposition from Germany, which had warned the measure might be even more painful for ordinary Cypriots than a deposit levy.

It was also far from certain that a majority of lawmakers would back a revised levy, or whether the government might even try to bypass the assembly.

Ordinary Cypriots have been outraged by the levy and stunned at the pace of the unfolding drama. They elected Anastasiades in February on a mandate to secure a bailout and save banks whose capital was wiped out by investments in Greece, the epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis.

RUN ON BANKS

For the past week they have been besieging cash machines ever since bank doors were closed on the orders of the government to avert a massive capital flight. Anticipating a run on banks when they reopen on Tuesday, parliament has given the government powers to impose capital controls.

On Saturday, some 1,500 protesters, many of them bank workers, marched on the presidency, holding banners that read, "No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus" and "Hands off workers' welfare funds".

The levy on bank deposits represents an unprecedented step in Europe's handling of a debt crisis that has spread from Greece, to Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Cypriot leaders had initially tried to spread the pain between big holdings and smaller depositors, fearing the damage it would inflict on the country as an offshore financial haven for wealthy foreigners, many of them Russians and Britons.

The tottering banks hold 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros - enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people which could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.

(Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Luke Baker in Brussels, Costas Pitas and Laura Noonan in Nicosia. Writing by Giles Elgood, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-seeks-11th-hour-deal-avert-financial-collapse-020917086--business.html

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Video: The end of CJ2K?

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Cyprus weighs big bank levy; bailout goes down to wire

By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus conceded on Saturday to a one-off levy on deposits over 100,000 euros in a dramatic U-turn as it raced to satisfy European partners and seal an 11th-hour bailout deal to avert financial collapse.

The island's finance minister, Michael Sarris, reported "significant progress" in talks with international lenders, with the clock running down to end-Monday deadline for Cyprus to clinch a bailout deal with the EU or lose emergency funding for its stricken banks and risk tumbling out of the euro zone.

His counterparts in Europe's 17-nation currency union scheduled talks in Brussels for Sunday evening to see if the numbers add up, and the EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said progress was being made towards a solution.

As Cypriot party leaders met, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters that Nicosia had agreed with EU/IMF lenders on a 20 percent levy over and above 100,000 euros at No. 1 lender Bank of Cyprus, and four percent on deposits over the same level at others.

Troika officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tweeted: "We are undertaking great efforts. I hope we have a solution soon."

The conservative leader, barely a month in the job and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was due to lead a delegation to Brussels, also on Sunday, to meet heads of the EU, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, in a sign a deal might be near.

"Hopefully by tomorrow in Brussels we will have the agreement of our partners," Averof Neophytou, deputy leader of the ruling Democratic Rally party, told reporters.

Government officials held talks through the day at the finance ministry with Cyprus's 'troika' of lenders - the EU, ECB and IMF. Angry demonstrators outside chanted "resign, resign!"

Its outsized banking sector crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece, Cyprus needs to raise 5.8 billion euros in exchange for a 10 billion euro EU lifeline to keep the country's economy afloat.

But in a stunning vote on Tuesday, Cyprus's 56-seat parliament rejected a levy on depositors, big and small, as "bank robbery", and Sarris spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

Rebuffed by the Kremlin, Sarris said on Saturday talks with the troika were centered on a possibly levy of around 25 percent on savings over and above 100,000 euros at failing Bank of Cyprus.

In a sign of how fluid the situation remains, however, a senior ruling party lawmaker said other options were on the table, including a "voluntary haircut" in exchange for equity that would not require parliamentary approval.

The EU's Rehn said the bloc recognized the progress made by the Cypriot government, and warned of tough times ahead.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available," he said in a statement. "Today, there are only hard choices left."

It was far from certain that a majority of lawmakers would back a revised levy, or whether the government might bypass the assembly.

Ordinary Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal, and have been besieging cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government to avert a massive flight of capital.

RESISTANCE

Racing to placate its European partners, Cypriot lawmakers voted in late-night session on Friday to nationalize state pensions and split failing lenders into good and bad banks - a measure likely to be applied to No.2 lender Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki.

They also gave the government powers to impose capital controls, anticipating a run on banks when they reopen on Tuesday.

A plan to nationalize semi-state pension funds has met with resistance, particularly from Germany which made clear that tapping pensions could be even more painful for ordinary Cypriots than a deposit levy.

The senior official who told Reuters of the levy agreement said the pension funds would not be part of the package to seal the bailout.

The bank restructuring has also angered Cypriots. On Saturday, around 1,500 bank workers marched on the presidency, holding banners that read, "No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus" and "Hands of workers' welfare funds".

OFFSHORE HAVEN

The pace of the unfolding drama has stunned Cypriots, who in February elected Anastasiades on a mandate to secure a bailout and save banks whose capital was wiped out by investments in Greece, the epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis.

Then news of the levy on bank deposits broke, an unprecedented step in Europe's handling of a debt crisis that has spread from Greece, to Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Cypriots leaders had initially tried to spread the pain between big holdings and smaller depositors, fearing the damage it would inflict on the country as an offshore financial haven for wealthy foreigners, many of them Russians and Britons.

The tottering banks hold 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros - enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people which could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.

But panicked by the visceral reaction of ordinary Cypriots, support from lawmakers fell away and they rejected the levy as "bank robbery".

Asked about the new plan for a possible 25 percent levy, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, whose country is allied with Germany in taking a hard line on Europe's debt-laden southern flank, replied in English:

"If it was like this, I think it might be quite suitable because it means that the highest deposits will be taxed."

Cyprus fears this will drive wealthy depositors away, but the likes of Germany and France say Cyprus's offshore-haven business model was never sustainable.

"Cypriot banks have for years been taking the kinds of risks that are not allowed in France," Bank of France governor Christian Noyer told the French newspaper Le Journal Du Dimanche.

"Nobody wants Cyprus to leave the euro," he said. "The first people to suffer would be Cypriot citizens."

(Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Luke Baker in Brussels, Costas Pitas and Laura Noonan in Nicosia Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-closes-eu-bailout-u-turn-levy-011411731--business.html

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Rebels push closer to C. African Republic capital

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? A military official says that rebels in Central African Republic are pushing closer to the capital, Bangui.

Lt. Evrard Tekremoyen says the rebels, known as Seleka, took control of the town of Bossembele early Saturday. He said that an aerial attack has stopped the rebels from advancing beyond 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the capital.

The rebels had seized Damara on Friday, crossing the boundary line drawn by regional forces in January, when the same rebel group threatened to take the capital if their demands were not met.

Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million located at the heart of the African continent, remains one of the world's poorest nations. It has weathered repeated coups and rebel invasions, which have become part of the nation's political DNA.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-push-closer-c-african-republic-capital-114034076.html

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UN to probe alleged chemical weapons use in Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? The United Nations will investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, which would amount to a crime against humanity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday.

The investigation could be broader than the Syrian government's request for an independent probe of a purported chemical weapons attack on Tuesday. Ban said he was aware of allegations of other, similar attacks and hoped the probe would ultimately help secure Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.

The secretary-general said investigators would look into Syria's allegation that rebels carried out a chemical weapons attack on Khan al-Assal village in northern Aleppo province. The rebels blamed regime forces for the attack.

A senior U.S. official, meanwhile, said Thursday that the United States now has strong indications that no chemical weapons were used at all in the attack. Officials won't entirely rule out the possibility, but the official said additional intelligence-gathering has led the U.S. to believe more strongly that it was not a weaponized chemical attack. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said France and Britain sent a letter to Ban on Thursday asking for an investigation of three alleged chemical weapons attacks.

Ban said in a reply to the British and French that while the U.N. investigation will focus on the Syrian allegation, "we must take seriously other allegations that chemical weapons were used elsewhere in the country," Nesirky said.

The secretary-general asked the Syrians, British and French to provide additional information about the alleged attacks, an indication that he might order a separate probe at a later time of the British-French allegations.

Syria is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons. The government has not confirmed it, saying only that it would never use chemical weapons against its own people.

"My announcement should serve as an unequivocal reminder that the use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity," the secretary-general said. "The international community needs full assurance that chemical weapons stockpiles are verifiably safeguarded."

Western nations fear President Bashar Assad would use chemical weapons if he sees the two-year civil war turning against his government. But they are equally concerned that rebel forces, including some linked to al-Qaida, could get their hands on unguarded chemical weapons or the materials to make them.

Ban said he was aware of "other allegations of similar cases involving the reported use of chemical weapons," but did not make clear whether these would be part of the U.N. investigation.

In their letter to Ban, France and Britain raised allegations of chemical weapons use in two locations in Khan al-Assal and the village of Ataybah in the vicinity of Damascus on Tuesday, and in Homs on Dec. 23. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, asked the U.N. chief to launch "an urgent investigation into all allegations as expeditiously as possible."

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States "supports an investigation that pursues any and all credible allegations of the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria." She said the U.S. will continue to work closely with its partners to obtain further information on allegations of potential or actual use, and underscored the importance of launching the investigation swiftly.

"President Obama has been clear that the use or transfer of chemical weapons is totally unacceptable," she said. "If Bashar Al-Assad and those under his command make the mistake of using chemical weapons, or fail to meet their obligation to secure them, then there will be consequences. Those responsible will be held accountable."

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, whose country is a close ally of Syria, welcomed Ban's announcement. On Wednesday, however, he had strongly opposed expanding the investigation beyond Tuesday's attack in Aleppo, accusing the West of "launching propaganda balloons" and engaging in delaying tactics.

Ban said his senior advisers are setting up an investigation in consultation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization. He said issues to be decided include the overall mandate, the composition, and operational conditions, including security.

The investigation will start "as soon as practically possible," Ban said, but "will not happen overnight."

Nesirky said there are "technical reasons for being on the ground sooner rather than later." He said the OPCW and WHO have the necessary technical expertise.

The OPCW, which oversees the Chemical Weapons Convention, said in a statement that it was ready to work closely with the U.N. on establishing and conducting the mission.

"While allegations of this nature are not new to conflict situations, they are nonetheless serious, especially in the context of Syria which is not a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention," the OPCW said. "This remains a matter of serious concern."

Ban said he would emphasize in a letter to the Syrian government that full cooperation from all parties and "unfettered access" would be essential to the investigation. The U.N. chief said he has spoken out repeatedly on the Syrian government's responsibility to secure any chemical weapons and has sent two letters to Assad "to remind him of this solemn duty."

"It is my hope that the mission would contribute to ensuring the safety and security of chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria," he said.

With more than 70,000 people killed and no end to the violence in sight, Ban said "the military solution in Syria is leading to the dissolution of Syria."

He called on the deeply divided region and international community to find unity and support efforts by the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to help the Syrian people reach a political solution.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-22-UN-Syria-Chemical%20Weapons/id-082f14be2cb04722ae5fac1bb29a95be

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Italy to return marine murder suspects to India

ROME (AP) ? The Italian government said on Thursday that it will return to India two marines facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen, reversing an earlier decision that had escalated diplomatic tensions between the nations.

The government said it decided to return the men, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, after receiving written assurance from Indian authorities that their "fundamental rights" would be respected. Italy says the men would return to India by Friday, the timeframe originally agreed to when they were given permission to travel to Italy to vote in national elections last month.

The pair ? who agreed to the decision ? were to leave immediately and will reside in the Italian embassy in New Delhi, officials said.

The move overturns a March 11 decision by the Italian Foreign Ministry that the marines would not go back because the decision to try them in India violated their rights.

The Indian Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the men should be tried by a special court to be set up by the central government in consultation with the chief justice. The decision removed the case from the jurisdiction of the southern state of Kerala, near where the shooting took place.

The case had turned into a full-blown spat between India and Italy, with the Indian Supreme Court announcing that the Italian ambassador could not leave the country. Italy insisted that any restrictions on its ambassador's movements violated conventions on diplomatic relations.

The Italian marines were on anti-pirate duty aboard a cargo ship off India's coast in February last year when the fishermen, aboard an Indian fishing boat, were killed.

Italy has insisted the shooting happened in international waters during an international anti-piracy mission and Italy should have jurisdiction.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-21-EU-Italy-India/id-2e45ac8210774de0a423256bb80f959a

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China's Premier Li meets the press ? but no unscripted questions, thank you

China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang addressed the foreign and domestic press for the first time today in an event carried live on national TV.

By Peter Ford,?Staff Writer / March 17, 2013

Chinese premier Li Keqiang gives a press conference on Sunday.

Andy Wong/AP

Enlarge

China is unlike any other country in the world when it comes to press conferences: You generally learn more from the questions that are asked than from the answers that officials give.

Skip to next paragraph Peter Ford

Beijing Bureau Chief

Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.

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That rule of thumb proved valid again Sunday as new Prime Minister Li Keqiang met the press for the first time. He seemed confident and relaxed, but like his predecessors, he answered only questions that journalists had submitted in advance, and that his press office had approved.

At Chinese press conferences you learn which topics the government thinks are important and what message it wants to transmit to the citizenry from the questions that the authorities allow. But you don?t get much fresh information from the answers.

Mr. Li?s responses were, for the most part, pretty bland. We did not learn much that we had not already known before we filed into the elaborately decorated ballroom in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square for the premier?s annual press conference carried live on national TV.

But a softball question from People's Daily, the official organ of the ruling Communist party, ("What are the government?s goals and the top priorities on its agenda?") allowed Li to stress his intention of raising incomes and strengthening the social security net ? a major worry for many Chinese ? and of making China a fairer country.

That will have gone down well with the hundreds of millions of citizens who have learned from experience that you don?t get far in this country without the right connections.

The Chinese state radio correspondent tossed him a question about the government?s plans to combat official corruption, another huge gripe among ordinary Chinese, which gave the new prime minister a chance to pledge his ?unshakeable resolve? to root out dishonesty in government.

Overseas reporters had a chance to put their questions, too ? an American was permitted a carefully worded query about US-China relations, including a reference to US allegations that the Chinese government is behind a lot of cyber-espionage; a Frenchman was allowed to ask about the foul air we have been breathing in Beijing for the past 10 weeks; a Russian asked about the future of Sino-Russian relations.

None of them elicited anything that could be mistaken for news, however. He batted away the question of hacking with the standard line that China too is a victim of hackers, and complained ? with a smile ? that he detected ?a presumption of guilt? in the reporter?s question that he did not accept.

The authorities were especially nervous on Sunday about what foreign reporters might ask because the press conference was being broadcast live on television, and they did not want any embarrassments.

Having attended six of these annual charades, and knowing how they work, it still astonishes me that the leader of a country such as China, which aspires to a serious place at the top table of world affairs, does not dare to take unscripted questions from journalists. Li talked a lot about reform this morning; he could do worse than start with the way the government relates to the local and foreign press.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/25ZZkXdOJqE/China-s-Premier-Li-meets-the-press-but-no-unscripted-questions-thank-you

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Steam Early Access makes public game tests a near-automatic affair

Many gotta-have-it-first gamers are very familiar with public betas and other chances to try titles before they officially reach the servers -- but not on Steam, where the closed system has usually left people waiting for final builds. Valve doesn't want to leave customers on the sidelines, though, and is launching Steam Early Access to provide officially sanctioned peeks. The portal gives pre-release games the same automatic updates and community features as their finished counterparts, making it easy to squash bugs as they're discovered, take feedback and simply let testers focus on playing rather than patching. Early Access' initial roster is small: it focuses mostly on the ArmA III alpha as well as a swath of puzzle and RPG releases, so don't expect to preview all the latest blockbusters. However, it might still be a win for both nervous game creators and especially eager players.

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House approves resolution to keep government running; bill heads to White House (Washington Post)

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IMF chief Lagarde's apartment searched by police

Lisi Niesner / Reuters

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde, seen in Frankfurt on Wednesday prior to the rain on her Paris apartment.

By Chine Labbe and Julien Ponthus, Reuters

PARIS - French police searched the Paris apartment of International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday as part of an investigation into misuse of public funds in her previous role as finance minister of France.

The probe centers on her awarding of a 2008 arbitration payment to a businessman supporter of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, her lawyer said.

Lagarde, who was serving in Sarkozy's government at the time, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in ending a judicial battle against billionaire Bernard Tapie and instead opting for arbitration.

Investigating magistrates suspect her of complicity in embezzling public funds after she overruled objections from advisers to proceeding with the controversial $367 million to Tapie.

"This search will help uncover the truth, which will contribute to exonerating my client from any criminal wrongdoing," Lagarde's lawyer, Yves Repiquet, told Reuters.

It was conducted a day after France's budget minister resigned after being targeted in a tax fraud inquiry.

Socialist President Francois Hollande came to power last May vowing to crack down on the cozy relationships between politicians and businessmen he said were rife under Sarkozy.

Lagarde was in Frankfurt and not in her Paris flat at the time of the search, a spokesman for the IMF chief said.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/20/17387052-imf-chief-christine-lagardes-paris-apartment-searched-by-police?lite

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YouTube searches are now on Google Trends

Remember that day when you first discovered YouTube, and you wasted approximately 100 percent of your working hours just clicking around? Now, Google's making it even easier to see what was popular back then, all the way back to 2008. Starting now, YouTube searches are surfacing on Google Trends, and some of the top memes are crafting some unsurprising charts. Turns out, Rebecca Black's only known song peaks on a very specific day of the week, while searches for "turkey" videos tend to jump during November. Searches for "Krispy Kreme" and "Froggy Fresh," however, are quite simply off of the charts -- but would you honestly expect anything different from the self-proclaimed Baddest Of Them All?

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President Obama: Indiana will win NCAA tournament (Washington Bureau)

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About 130,000 lack power in Southeast after storms

(Reuters) - About 130,000 homes and businesses were still without power early Tuesday in Alabama and Georgia following severe thunderstorms on Monday.

Alabama Power, a unit of Southern Co, said on Tuesday that it had about 98,200 customers still without power, down from more than 222,000 overnight.

Most of the Alabama outages, about 50,000, are in the Birmingham area, Alabama Power said.

In Georgia, Southern's Georgia Power said it still had less than 30,000 customers without power.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/100-000-without-power-alabama-storms-113712932--finance.html

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Fish Cannot Smell in Polluted Waters

When lakes recover from metal contamination, fish can recover their sense of smell. Pictured: Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens). Image: Flickr/Matt Tillett

Fish in lakes tainted with metals are losing their sense of smell, stoking concern among experts that the problem could devastate populations.

But if the fish can just get into cleaner water ? even if they?ve been exposed to pollutants their whole life ? they start sniffing things properly again, according to new research out of Canada.

Fish use their sense of smell to find mates and food, and to avoid getting eaten. It helps them navigate their often murky world, and it is necessary for their growth and survival. But when metals contact fish nostrils, the neurons shut down to protect the brain.

Metals already have been linked to impaired reproduction and growth in fish but now they are proving to be ?covert toxics,? said Keith Tierney, a University of Alberta assistant professor who did not participate in the new study. ?If you can?t smell food, or avoid predators, you?re more likely to die ? simple as that.?

Greg Pyle, a professor at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, said he suspects that impaired sense of smell ?has meaningful and profound effects? on many fish species. It may be jeopardizing entire populations of fish, including some endangered species.

?We?ve tested everything from leeches to water fleas to several species of fish,? Pyle said. ?Every species and every metal we?ve observed has had effects at low, environmentally relevant concentrations.?

Most contaminated lakes have a metallic mix, making it hard to tease out which pollutants are to blame.

In the latest study, Pyle and his team of researchers took yellow perch that lived in Ontario lakes contaminated with mercury, nickel, copper, iron and manganese, and put them in a cleaner lake. Within 24 hours of basking in the clean water, the fish regained their sense of smell.

This shows ?fish from metal contaminated lakes have the ability to recover once the lake recovers,? the authors wrote in the paper published in last month?s Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal.

The researchers used wild fish from two lakes with metal contamination (Ramsey and Hannah lakes) and from a cleaner one (Geneva Lake). Ramsey and Hannah, located in Sudbury, Ontario, are polluted from more than a century of mining, particularly with nickel. Hannah Lake is one of the worst-polluted lakes in the area, while Ramsey is similar to other North American lakes near industrial areas. Geneva Lake is far enough northwest to escape most contaminants.

Just as the clean lake revived the sense of smell for the Ramsey and Hannah fish, Geneva Lake?s perch had decreased smell after just 24 hours of hanging out in the dirtier lakes. Their response times to substances that smelled like their food dropped 75 to 59 percent.

Similar results have been reported with minnows and perch, with metals apparently reducing their ability to escape predators.

Some metals attack specific neurons in the nostrils that respond to certain smells, Pyle said. Nickel targets the neurons that help fish smell food, while copper ? at low concentrations ? targets the neurons that help fish avoid predators. At higher concentrations, copper impairs their smell for everything.

?Copper is a poster child for water pollution,? said Nathaniel Scholz, an ecotoxicology program manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Center. ?Copper is intensively used as a pesticide, fungicide?It?s found in cars, in boat paint, so boatyards are often contaminated. And it?s often found in industrial discharge and near legacy mining operations. It?s a rare pollutant that?s both agricultural and urban.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=70b15ef663d3f3d7c980b12a2c3bfc81

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