World powers and Iran end talks, sides to meet again

ALMATY (Reuters) - World powers ended two days of talks with Iran on Wednesday with no sign of a breakthrough, and the two sides have agreed to meet at expert level in Istanbul next month and to hold further high-level negotiations in Kazakhstan in April.

At the talks that ended in the Kazakh city of Almaty, the six world powers - France, Germany, the United States, China Russia and Britain - offered to lift some sanctions if Iran scaled back nuclear activity the West fears could be used to build bombs. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Hopes of a significant easing of the deadlock in the decade-old dispute were dented when Russian media cited a source close to the talks as saying there had been no clear progress.

"So far there is no particular rapprochement. There is an impression that the atmosphere is not very good," Interfax news agency quoted the source as saying shortly before the talks ended.

Iran said the expert-level talks between the two sides would be held in Istanbul on March 18 and another round of political negotiations in Almaty on April 5-6.

Russia's negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, said the Istanbul meeting would take place on March 17-18 and gave the same dates as Iran of April 5-6 for the Almaty talks.

The meeting in Almaty that ended on Wednesday was the first between the world powers and Iran in eight months. Western officials described the first day of the talks as "useful". Iranian state television described the atmosphere in the discussions as "very serious".

The outcome will be closely watched in Israel, which has strongly hinted that it could attack Iran's nuclear sites if diplomacy and sanctions fail to stop Tehran's uranium enrichment program.

Iran says Israel's assumed nuclear arsenal is the main threat to peace and denies Western allegations it is seeking to develop the capability to make atomic bombs. It says it is only aiming to produce nuclear energy so that it can export more oil.

In their latest attempt to break years of stalemate in the dispute, the powers are offering Iran a relaxation of some of the sanctions that are taking a heavy toll on its economy.

Western officials have confirmed the offer includes some limited sanctions easing if Iran closes a underground site where it carries out its most controversial uranium enrichment work.

Diplomats had seen scant chances of a conclusive deal with Iran before a June presidential election - with the political elite preoccupied with domestic issues - but they had hoped to hold follow-up talks soon.

(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Almaty, Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich, Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Marcus George in Dubai; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powers-wait-hear-iran-response-nuclear-offer-043022098.html

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Police and firefighters at higher risk for mental disorders following traumatic events

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Police, firefighters and other protective services workers who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events and are new to their profession are at greater risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers also found that protective services workers do not appear to have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than workers in other occupations.

The study results are featured in the February 2013 issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

"Our findings suggest that exposure to diverse types of traumatic events among protective services workers is a risk factor for new onset of psychopathology and alcohol use disorders," said Christopher N. Kaufmann, MHS, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health. "When we examined the relationship of exposure to common traumas with the development of mood, anxiety and alcohol use disorders among protective services workers, we found that these workers were at greater risk for developing a mood or alcohol use disorder. Interestingly, this relationship was not seen in those who had been in these jobs for a longer period, but was strong and statistically significant in workers who recently joined the profession. Developing curricula in coping skills and providing timely interventions for early career protective services workers may help reduce future psychiatric morbidity in these workers."

Using data from the U.S National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions researchers compared the prevalence of mental disorders of protective services workers to that of adults in other occupations. In addition, they examined the association of exposure to common traumatic experiences with the development of new mood, anxiety and alcohol use disorders among protective services workers who recently joined the workforce and those who had been in these jobs for a longer period. Lifetime and recent trauma events most commonly reported by protective services workers included: seeing someone badly injured or killed; unexpectedly seeing a dead body; having someone close die unexpectedly and having someone close experience a serious or life-threatening illness, accident or injury.

"The association between the number of different traumatic event types and incident mood and alcohol-use disorders, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, was virtually confined to the group of early career protective services workers," said Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, MPH, senior author of the study and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health. "Future research should examine the coping skills of protective services workers who have been in these jobs for many years, which might make them less likely to develop psychiatric complications in the face of various potentially traumatic experiences."

The authors note, "Special support programs and services for these early career workers can potentially help to prevent development of chronic psychopathology and attrition from these critical jobs."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. C. N. Kaufmann, L. Rutkow, A. P. Spira, R. Mojtabai. Mental Health of Protective Services Workers: Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2012; DOI: 10.1001/dmp.2012.55

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/WSK0dd0C2xI/130226141256.htm

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Video: Balloon crash kills 19 tourists in Egypt

>>> the first video is now emerging from a terrifying moment today in egypt. the fatal incident involving a hot air balloon . 19 tourists were killed when the balloon caught fire over the ancient city of luktor, plunged 1,000 feet to the ground. two people survived, including the pilot, who was badly burned. it's another blow to the egyptian tourist industry , which has taken a big hit after two years of unrest already in that country.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50964389/

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Google+ Photos app coming to Chrome, developer gives us a peek

A new Chrome app is in the works, and developer François Beaufort  has let the cat out of the bag and shown the world a quick peek at Google+ Photos.

Nicknamed "Pulsar" the app is powered by Native Client technology and is gives you the ability to upload and share photos from Google Chrome. For now, Beaufort warns the app is broken (we can't get it to open on our Chromebook Pixel running the latest Chrome stable build, but it does install), but he's shared a few pictures showing a good bit of the UI.

Two of the features are mentioned specifically are automatic selection of the best shots and automatic import when inserting a memory card or plugging in a camera. It's a great example of what a full Chrome app might look like, and lets us know Google still has plans for ChromeOS.

If you're interested in checking out the source, you'll find it at the link below. Be sure to jump through the break to see the screenshots.

Source:+François Beaufort

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/c5q_Bldmhrs/story01.htm

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LG unveils world's smallest wireless charger, preps it for global availability

LG may have an obsession with hulking smartphones, but it's taken a different tact with its latest wireless charger, which is being hailed as the world's smallest. Christened the WCP-300, the pad juices up Qi-compatible devices such as the Nexus 4 (if you're not in the mood for a sliced sphere, of course) and the outfit's Optimus G Pro, Vu II and LTE II. South Korea will see the hardware arrive this week with a 65,000 won (roughly $60) price tag, but the charger is slated to roll out across the globe gradually, and the US is somewhere on its itinerary.

Filed under: Mobile, LG

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Source: LG Newsroom (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/lg-worlds-smallest-wireless-charger-qi/

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Egypt balloon crash not due to criminal activity: probe | Morocco ...

CAIRO, Feb 27, 2013 (AFP) -

An initial probe into a hot air balloon crash that killed up to 19 tourists in Egypt has ruled out any criminal activity as a cause of the accident, the official MENA news agency reported on Wednesday.

?Investigations so far by the general prosecution show no suspicion of criminal activity,? MENA said, citing the preliminary findings of the investigation into Tuesday?s accident at the Egyptian temple city of Luxor.

Four investigating teams were formed after Prime Minister Hisham Qandil ordered a probe into the crash that killed tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, France, Britain and Hungary.

Investigators inspected the scene of the crash in the dense sugar cane fields of Luxor, spoke to witnesses and residents and reviewed the operating company?s paperwork and licences.

According to one of the investigating teams, the balloon company, Sky Cruise, had passed a routine inspection by the Civil Aviation Ministry on February 13-15, said MENA.

Civil Aviation Minister Wael al-Maadawi said, meanwhile, that he had agreed to a request by British authorities to attend the probe.

The balloon had been floating over the west bank of Luxor, one of Egypt?s most renowned archaeological sites and home to the famous Valley of the Kingsand the grand Temple of Hatshepsut, when it exploded.

A video shot by a passenger on another flight appears to show smoke pouring from the balloon?s basket for some time before the balloon itself collapses, leaving the basket full of tourists to freefall to earth.

The pilot and one tourist survived by jumping out of the basket at some point before it hit the ground, said an employee of Sky Cruise. Both were taken to hospital.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/02/80232/egypt-balloon-crash-not-due-to-criminal-activity-probe/

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Kim Kardashian Sex Tape: Saved by Porn Giant!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/kim-kardashian-sex-tape-saved-by-porn-giant/

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'Darkest day': Two police officers killed in line of duty

Butler family via NBC Los Angeles

Detective Elizabeth Butler was killed in the line of duty Tuesday. She is survived by a long-time partner and two young sons.

By Erika Conner, Kyle Bonagura and Lisa Fernandez, NBCBayArea.com

Two Santa Cruz, Calif., police officers were shot to death Tuesday afternoon - the first time in city history that officers were killed in the line of duty. One suspect was also killed.

The two officers who died, Det. Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Det. Elizabeth Butler, had a combined 38 years of experience with the Santa Cruz Police Department.

"We at the Santa Cruz Police Department are like family," Santa Cruz police chief Kevin Vogel said. "I've known both of these officers for a long, long time and there just aren't words to describe how I feel personally about this and how our department is reacting to this horrific, horrific tragedy."

Baker had been with the department for 28 years and leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son, Adam, who works for the department as a community service officer.

Butler leaves her partner, Peter, and two young sons.

"This is the darkest day in the history of the Santa Cruz Police Department," Vogel said.

Baker and Butler went to an address on North Branciforte Avenue as a part of an investigation Tuesday. Details are unclear, but in making contact with the suspect, Santa Cruz resident Jeremy Goulet, 35, an altercation ensued.

Both detectives were killed at the scene.

After going door-to-door in the community authorities say there are no more outstanding suspects or any danger to the community.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel said the investigation was possibly domestic violence related, but Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak could not confirm what the investigation was about.

A Santa Cruz resident, who declined to give his name, said he was sitting in his house in the 800 block of North Branciforte Avenue when he heard gunfire across the street around 3:30 p.m. Police arrived soon, he said.? That's when a suspect fired at police, hitting the two officers.

More news from NBCBayArea.com

A while later, he heard a "multitude of gunfire" coming from an area nearby. He said police told residents to stay inside and not to leave.

Following the incident, schools in the immediate area were placed on lockdown.

"We need to figure out a way to bring our department together and get through this," Vogel said. "It's a horrible, horrible day for the Santa Cruz Police Department and the community of Santa Cruz."

After the police were killed, a second shooting occurred a half-hour later while police were in pursuit of at least the suspect on Doyle Street. A barrage of gunfire erupted that left Goulet dead on Doyle Street, according to the Sentinel.

Police were on a citywide manhunt for several hours after the initial shooting. The FBI joined the investigation just after 4 p.m. as well as law enforcement from the sheriff's office, Capitola, Watsonville and Scotts Valley police departments and the California Highway Patrol.

NBC Bay Area's George Kiriyama and Bay City News contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:08 PM EST

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17108764-darkest-day-two-police-officers-killed-in-line-of-duty?lite

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doubleTwist and Qualcomm to launch MagicPlay, an open-source ...

Qualcomm has teamed up with the developers of doubleTwist?to create an open sourced media streamer for all Android devices called MagicPlay. Well, all devices with a Qualcomm chip with their AllJoyn protocol, that is. That AllJoyn protocol will allow a device to stream media to any other device, and it?s being positioned as a competitor to Apple?s AirPlay.

MagicPlay will let users wirelessly stream media through WiFi, completely skipping Bluetooth connectivity. It?s also to bet set up so manufacturers can add a single component to devices to allow streaming, and developers can freely embed MagicPlay streaming in their applications. Hopefully we?ll see this take off as well as Qualcomm?s Snapdragon chips have done in the past few years. Hit the break for the press release, and be sure to check out the rest of our MWC coverage here.

doubleTwist? Announces MagicPlay?

Today at Mobile World Congress, doubleTwist announced a partnership with global chip maker Qualcomm to bring a new open source wireless media streaming platform to the marketplace.

The two companies will demonstrate the new technology to representatives from the mobile, wireless and consumer electronics industries at this week?s premier global mobile conference. Built upon Qualcomm?s AllJoyn platform, doubleTwist?s MagicPlay will effortlessly connect smartphones and tablets with speakers, TVs, car audio systems and more.

?Over the last year we have been asked by many device makers if we could develop a simple and universal solution for the consumer electronics market that would serve the hundreds of millions of Android and other devices outside the Apple ecosystem,? said Jon Lech Johansen, of doubleTwist. ?MagicPlay enables users to amplify their smartphone?s music and enjoy it on any speaker or entertainment system. Our partnership with Qualcomm will enable OEMs to easily integrate this functionality with devices they bring to market.?

Wireless speakers, wireless headphones, Smart TVs and many other device manufacturers will be able to add support for MagicPlay by simply embedding an open source component. doubleTwist Player for Android will be the first application to integrate MagicPlay this Spring. Subsequently, the MagicPlay source code will be released to third-party developers to embed into their apps starting in the 3rd quarter of 2013. Consumers will be able to stream their music to any MagicPlay connected device from doubleTwist Player or any other MagicPlay-compatible app on their mobile device.

MagicPlay is built on top of Qualcomm?s AllJoyn platform, which provides the core building blocks developers need to address discoverability, connectivity, security and management of dynamic, ad-hoc networks between nearby devices.

Qualcomm Extending AllJoyn Software Framework to Drive Interoperability for Internet of Everything

Core Services Being Added to Proximal Networking Software Framework

BARCELONA, SPAIN ? February 25, 2013 ? Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc. (QuIC), will extend the AllJoyn? software development project with new core interoperable services to enable richer experiences for consumers. These new services will be available on devices with different operating systems and from different vendors.

The AllJoyn framework will include new services designed to address fundamental use cases to enable a truly useful Internet of Everything. Today, the AllJoyn SDK provides the core building blocks developers need to address discoverability, connectivity, security and management of dynamic, ad-hoc networks between nearby devices. With the addition of these planned AllJoyn services, manufacturers and developers will be able to utilize higher-level components that implement some of the most common use cases. QuIC expects to release fully functional versions of these core services under an open source license on AllJoyn.org and such services will include:

• Onboarding ? a ?headless? or other simpler smart device can easily be configured via an intermediary, such as a smartphone application, for use onto a user?s personal network
• Notifications ? enabling a standard way for devices to broadcast and receive text, image and multimedia notifications
• Audio Streaming ? facilitating an interoperable, open, wireless audio streaming protocol that allows users to stream their music across products from any manufacturer
• Control ? allowing for devices to export their control interfaces, including rich graphical elements associated with them

?

These new core services will be upstreamed into the AllJoyn open source project by May 2013. It is expected that many Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. platforms and products will include integrated support for these services as well.

A useful Internet of Everything will emerge when connected products, applications and consumer services can interact via a common communications protocol,? said Rob Chandhok, president of QuIC. ?We are driving toward this vision by adding new core services intended for very broad application but deliberately designed to be simple and basic so that they can be adapted to as-yet unforeseen future requirements. The opportunities for proximal networking in the home and automotive environments are a clear place to start; over time, and with the engagement of the open source community and manufacturers, we hope to extend AllJoyn such that any product with a processor can be made more useful to individuals and enterprises through simple connection and interaction with other devices, regardless of vendor or operating system.?

The audio streaming and notification services will be demonstrated in the Qualcomm booth (Hall 3, Booth #3864) at Mobile World Congress from Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona. The audio streaming demo is via an Android multimedia player application from doubleTwist Corporation and will be showcased with the recently introduced Qualcomm Skifta Audio Module.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm?s licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm?s engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm?s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

? See more articles by Jared Peters

Source: http://www.talkandroid.com/151884-doubletwist-and-qualcomm-to-launch-magicplay-an-open-source-media-streaming-solution-for-qualcomm-devices/

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PFT: Raiders want to chop down Palmer's pay

Getty Images

When I first heard about Peter King?s report that the Patriots had signed quarterback Tom Brady to a three-year, $27 million extension, I assumed the deal was worth $27 million per year.

It?s not.? For committing to the Patriots in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons, Brady gets a total of $27 million.

It appears, as explained last night, to be nothing more than an effort to reduce Brady?s cap number in 2013 and 2014, the final two years of his existing deal.? It?s hard to spread money over the years of a contract if the contract covers only two more seasons.? Come 2015, the likely reality is that a new deal will be done ? after the appearance that Brady has taken less is used to squeeze other players into doing the same thing, which the Pats did masterfully last decade.

Still, teams and agents are looking at the numbers and wonder what else could be going on.? Whispers of a side deals already have begun in league circles, even though there is (and likely will be) no proof of a wink-nod arrangement that will see Brady get compensated in other ways.

Sides deals aren?t unprecedented in pro football.? The Broncos lost a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and paid a $950,000 for violations relating to $29 million in deferred payments to John Elway and Terrell Davis during the team?s Super Bowl window of the late 1990s.? Again, there is (and likely will be) no proof of a side deal in this case.

Now that more and more teams are pressed against the salary cap and trying to finagle spending space, suspicions of side arrangements and briefcases full of cash will return to the NFL ? even if no team is ever caught or is ever guilty.

In Brady?s case, the facts as presently known raise natural red flags.? At a time when the high-water mater for quarterbacks is $20 million, the notion that Brady would commit to playing for less than half that average over a three-year window starting three seasons from now makes no sense.

At a minimum, agent Don Yee has provided his competitors with more than enough ammunition for the inherently cutthroat game of chasing new clients.? At a maximum, teams and agents will probe for something/anything to explain why Tom Brady was willing to sign a contract that pays him so much less than he?ll be worth starting two years from now.

Maybe, in the end, the explanation is that, given his wife?s obscene earnings, he?s willing to take a lot less money in order to help that Pats stack the deck for another Super Bowl run or two.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/25/raiders-to-try-to-chop-down-carson-palmers-salary/related/

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Seth MacFarlane, Anne Hathaway, Bond Hit High (And Low) Notes

Jennifer Lawrence takes a tumble, while 'Argo' wins the night's biggest prize at the 85th Academy Awards.
By Ryan J. Downey

Seth MacFarlane at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702531/oscars-2013-seth-macfarlane-anne-hathaway-highlights.jhtml

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Akon Sued For Crushing Concert Worker During Stage Dive

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/akon-sued-for-crushing-concert-worker-during-stage-dive/

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Most 2014 GM cars will also be a Wi-Fi hotspot

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 11 hrs.

General Motors will partner with AT&T to offer embedded 4G Internet access in ?most? of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. and Canada starting next year, the maker announced during a mobile communications conference in Spain on Monday.

An early leader in so-called ?connected car? services with its OnStarsystem, GM sees a number of advantages in tapping into AT&T?s 4G LTE wireless service, promising it will expand the range of infotainment options motorists will have while also providing the potential to use the broadband service to improve vehicle safety.

Among other things, passengers will be able to tap into a WiFi hot spot that can handle up to eight different cellphones, table and laptop computers and other devices.

?In addition to allowing consumers to bring in and connect to personal mobile devices, the vehicle will also act as its own mobile device, enabling embedded vehicle capabilities,? said Mary Chan, president, Global Connected Consumer, General Motors.

?Turning this vision into a reality starts with enabling fast, reliable and responsive connectivity within the vehicle,? she added. ?Through this built-in 4G LTE connection we have the opportunity to reinvent the mobile experience inside a vehicle.?

GM is by no means the only maker that has that goal in mind. Audi has been offering broadband capabilities on several models, such as the A7 and A8 sedans, in recent years and uses that to merge Google images into its real-time navigation system, as well as to offer in-vehicle WiFi hotspots. BMW is also adding 4G capability, as is the Chrysler Group, the latter teaming up with Sprint to enhance its Uconnect infotainment system on vehicles such as the Ram 1500 pickup and SRT Viper sports car.

The Detroit Bureau: Despite Recent Price Spike, DoE Expects Gas to Level Off, Even Decline

According to GM?s Chan, adopting 4G LTE will yield data speeds as much as 10 times faster than older 3G wireless technology. The challenge for AT&T will be to expand its own network coverage to ensure that motorists actually have access to the service.

The most recent Initial Quality Survey, or IQS, by J.D. Power and Associates found that infotainment-related glitches are now the number one source of complaints from new car buyers, surpassing traditional issues like wind noise or powertrain problems. On the other hand, other studies have illustrated that consumers can be swayed by manufacturers who offer the best in-car technologies.

According to GM, the partnership with AT&T will allow the maker to begin offering or enhance existing features such as streaming audio, on-demand video, voice-to-text messaging and more.

It also will permit the maker to enhance the suite of safety and security features offered by the OnStar system, which was a pioneer in what then was known as telematics when it debuted in 1995.

OnStar had previously partnered with Verizon which had been serving GM vehicles through the much slower 2G network ?so the switch in service providers is a major coup for AT&T.

?Introducing 4G LTE into GM vehicles is a game-changing opportunity,? said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility.?We?re working closely with GM to grow the connected car base, and provide unique and relevant services that will improve the connected experience inside automobiles for both drivers and passengers.?

The Detroit Bureau: Ford Looking to Novel Way to Get Back into Compact Pickup Market

With smartphones rapidly replacing conventional cellphone technology, communications industry experts say broadband is rapidly becoming the norm for consumers wherever that are. But the auto industry and automotive regulators see opportunities to use such technology for more than just keeping drivers in touch and their passengers entertained.

One active field of development aims to connect individual cars and a fixed highway infrastructure. This would improve the ability to stay on top of changing road conditions, for example, alerting motorists when there are accidents or weather-related issues. Such systems could warn oncoming traffic if a vehicle runs a red light.

Connected car technology is now undergoing extensive testing, including a major program in the Detroit suburb of Ann Arbor, Michigan. One question is how vehicles will communicate with one another. The Federal Communications Commission this month rejected an auto industry request to preserve an open spectrum of radio space solely for connected car systems, instead assigning some of it for such things as home and office WiFi.

The Detroit Bureau: Over 250,000 Vehicles Damages, Destroyed By Sandy

GM sees even more options for the new alliance with AT&T. Having a high-speed, two-way line of communications with virtually every 2015 model and beyond could simplify vehicle maintenance, especially when it comes to the software-based control systems that are now found on every modern automobile.

?We will literally start downloading maintenance and updates on equipment (in) vehicles that we used to have to bring in,? GM CEO Dan Akerson said during a conference call with company employees last year.

While today?s announcement focuses on vehicles that will be sold in the U.S. and Canada, the world?s second-largest automaker says it will look to offer similar services in other parts of the world, such as in Europe through its Opel and Vauxhall brands.

Copyright ? 2009-2013, The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/most-2014-gm-cars-will-also-be-wi-fi-hotspot-1C8539395

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Kerry urges Syrian opposition to attend Rome talks

BERLIN (AP) ? Skeptical Syrian opposition leaders agreed Monday to attend an international conference in Rome after first threatening to boycott the session that was to be the centerpiece of Secretary of State John Kerry's his first overseas mission in his new job.

Opposition leaders had protested what they see as inaction by other nations in the face of violence from Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Kerry not only made a public plea at a joint news conference Monday with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, he also called Moaz Khatib, leader of the Syrian Opposition Council, "to encourage him to come to Rome," a senior U.S. official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter, described the conversation as "good" but declined to offer more detail.

Spokesman Walid al-Bunni said the council had decided to send a delegation to Rome after all.

Al-Bunni told Al-Arabiya TV the decision was made based on guarantees al-Khatib heard from western diplomats that the conference would be different and that the opposition would receive real commitments this time. "We will go and we will see if the promises are different this time," he said.

After speaking with Khatib, Kerry flew to Berlin from London, the first stop of his first trip as secretary of state ? a hectic nine-country dash through Europe and the Middle East.

Kerry had also dispatched his top Syrian envoy to Cairo in hopes of convincing opposition leaders that their participation is critical to addressing questions from potential donors and securing additional aid from the United States and Europe.

"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind, wondering where the support is, if it is coming," Kerry told reporters in London after meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron and Hague. "We are not going to let the Syrian opposition not have its ability to have its voice properly heard in this process."

For his part, Hague said the violence in Syria, especially recent scud missile attacks on the city of Aleppo, was unacceptable and that the west's current position could not be sustained while an "appalling injustice" is being done to Syrian citizens.

"In the face of such murder and threat of instability, our policy cannot stay static as the weeks go by," Hague told reporters, standing beside Kerry. "We must significantly increase support for the Syrian opposition. We are preparing to do just that."

Kerry agreed.

"We are not coming to Rome simply to talk, we are coming to Rome to talk about next steps," Kerry said, adding that he was sympathetic to opposition complaints that they were not getting the support they need to defend themselves against the Assad regime or oust him from power.

"I am very sensitive to that frustration," recalling that as a U.S. senator he was one of several who pushed the administration to consider military aid to the Syrian opposition.

"But I am the new secretary of state ... and the president of the United States has sent me here and sent me to this series of meetings and in Rome because he is concerned about the course of events.

"This moment is ripe for us to be considering what more we can do," he said, adding that if the opposition wants results, "join us" in Rome.

Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Monday the Assad regime was ready to hold talks with opposition leaders, the first time that a high-ranking Syrian official has stated publicly that the government would meet with the opposition. Al-Moallem made his comments after meeting in Moscow with Russian officials.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Moallem's remarks appeared positive but expressed caution about the seriousness of the offer.

"I don't know their motivations, other than to say they continue to rain down horrific attacks on their own people," Ventrell told reporters. "So that speaks pretty loudly and clearly."

If the Assad regime is serious, he said, it should inform the U.N. peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi of its readiness for talks. Ventrell said the Assad regime hasn't yet done that.

Obama administration officials have debated whether the U.S. should arm the rebels, with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey having said they urged such a course of action. The White House has been unwilling to do so for fears the weapons could end up in the wrong hands. Currently, the U.S. provides only non-lethal support and humanitarian aid.

The United Nations says at least 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's 2-year civil war, which began as an uprising against Assad's regime.

Kerry said the Syrian people "deserve better" than the violence currently gripping their country as he stood alongside Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague.

___

Associated Press writers Cassandra Vinograd in London and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-urges-syrian-opposition-attend-rome-talks-144755191--politics.html

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Small Canadian satellite to hunt big space rocks

A suitcase-sized Canadian spacecraft launched Monday aboard an Indian rocket is designed to spot large asteroids that cross paths with our planet.

By Miriam Kramer,?SPACE.com / February 25, 2013

A view of Canada's asteroid-hunting NEOSSat satellite from above. The $25 million satellite is about the size of a suitcase and designed to seek out large asteroids near Earth.

Canadian Space Agency

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A small Canadian satellite launching from India on Monday will be the first spacecraft specifically designed to search for large asteroids and monitor space junk in the solar system.

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The Canadian Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite, or NEOSSat, will seek out and track huge space rocks orbiting the sun from its position in Earth orbit, its builders say. The satellite will also track space debris and satellites still in service in Earth's orbit, splitting time between its two missions.

"The project with the CSA is essentially to survey the sky and get the best, improved near-Earth asteroid population and the ones that can sometimes cross Earth orbit," said Denis Laurin, a CSA space astronomy program scientist working on the NEOSSat mission.

The $25 million NEOSSat spacecraft is about the size of a suitcase and destined to circle the Earth every 100 minutes in an orbit about 497 miles (800 kilometers) above the planet. [See how NEOSSat tracks asteroids (Video)]

NEOSSat is due to blast off atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The PSLV rocket will also launch the larger SARAL ocean-monitoring satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation and five other small spacecraft, including two tiny nanosatellites billed as the?world's smallest space telescopes.

One benefit to having NEOSSat in orbit and hunting for asteroids is that the satellite can survey the sky during Earth's night and daylight hours, Laurin added.

Most ground-based?asteroid mapping technologies?today require a dark sky, but a space telescope like NEOSSat doesn't depend upon the night sky. When searching from orbit, the satellite can survey parts of the sky close to the sun, a nearly impossible feat for ground telescopes, said William Harvey, a CSA senior project manager with NEOSSat.

NEOSSat will analyze the asteroids it monitors in great detail, giving scientists the chance to understand what the space rocks could be composed of and where their orbits take them, mission scientists said.

The small spacecraft isn't capable of catching relatively small space rocks like the Russian meteor that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, or?asteroid 2012 DA14, a?130 foot (40 meters) rock?that buzzed close by Earth on that same day.

"NEOSSat will probably reduce the impact hazard from unknown large NEO's by a few percent over its lifetime, but is not designed to discover?small asteroids near the Earth?that may be on collision course," NEOSSat co-principal investigator Alan Hildebrand of the University of Calgary told SPACE.com.

Instead, the satellite aims to track Atira and Aten class space rocks ? asteroids that pass within Earth's orbit or occasionally cross the planet's orbit, Hildebrand added.

The asteroids NEOSSat will search for are at least 31 million miles (50 million kilometers) from Earth. The satellite will look slightly behind and in front of the Earth, as well as east and west of the sun to spot any asteroids far off in Earth's orbit.

"I'm hoping people will get interested in following up the NEOSSat mission with other missions. Maybe some of the?asteroids?will become candidates for future missions or mining," Harvey said. "They could be unmanned or other endeavors. It's a very interesting time. This could be the start of one of the next missions for humans."

NEOSSat's mission is part of the High Earth Orbit Surveillance System project by the Defence Research and Development Canada agency, which is a partner in the mission with CSA. It was built by Microsat Systems Canada, Inc., which also built the CSA's small MOST space telescope that launched in 2003.

You can watch the launch of NEOSSat live via?India's official Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle webcast.

Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter?@mirikramer?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

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/csm/~3/SZjLNybbQC4/Small-Canadian-satellite-to-hunt-big-space-rocks

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Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth

Feb. 25, 2013 ? Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.

Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.

"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.

"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."

Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.

Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.

"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."

Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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Journal Reference:

1. Tammy Z. Movsas, Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, Agnes H. Whitaker, Judith F. Feldman, John M. Lorenz, Steven J. Korzeniewski, Susan E. Levy, Nigel Paneth. Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated with Ventricular Enlargement in a Low Birth Weight Population. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.12.084

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/CRxm3nh61Tc/130225112510.htm

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BHP's Kloppers Says Chinese Mineral Demand to Slow

SYDNEY--Growth in China's demand for mineral commodities could slow substantially over the coming years, forcing miners to focus on cutting costs, outgoing BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU) Chief Executive Marius Kloppers said in an interview televised Sunday.

Over the next five years, Chinese demand for minerals could slow to growth of between 2% and 4% a year from 15% to 20% a year, Mr. Kloppers told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in a joint interview with Chief Executive-elect Andrew Mackenzie. Mr. Kloppers didn't mention specific minerals.

"That means the suppliers will be able to respond and meet demand and, therefore, you have to be low-cost and you have to take into account that price is not going to help you here," Mr. Kloppers said.

His comments come after the world's biggest mining company by market capitalization on Wednesday announced that Mr. Kloppers will step down in May and be replaced by Mr. Mackenzie, the current head of the company's nonferrous metals division.

Mr. Mackenzie reiterated comments made Wednesday that he'll be committed to improving productivity at the miner, saying it will be a "top theme" of his tenure.

Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

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February 23, 2013 20:39 ET (01:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Source: http://www.euroinvestor.com/news/2013/02/24/bhpaposs-kloppers-says-chinese-mineral-demand-to-slow/12221210

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Oscar Pistorius Brother Faces Murder Trial (Voice Of America)

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Conservative leads in Cyprus presidential runoff

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Conservative candidate Nicos Anastasiades was set to defeat his left-wing rival Stavros Malas by a wide margin in Cyprus' runoff presidential election Sunday, early official results showed, as Cypriots cast ballots for who will lead them through the country's financial crisis.

With more than 52 percent of the vote counted, Anastasiades had 57.73 percent of the vote, compared to Malas' 42.27 percent. A simple majority is needed for a win.

If confirmed, the margin of victory will be one of the largest for any candidate in 30 years. With the release earlier of exit polls that showed similar results, dozens of Anastasiades' supporters celebrated outside his campaign headquarters in the capital Nicosia, honking horns and waving flags.

The election comes at a crucial time. Cyprus faces the specter of financial meltdown, and the new president will be under pressure to quickly finalize a financial rescue package with the eurozone's other 16 countries and the International Monetary Fund.

He will face a tough battle convincing reluctant countries, especially Germany, that tiny Cyprus deserves help after its banks lost billions of euros on bad Greek debt.

Anastasiades has capitalized on what many feel were five years of failed left-wing rule under outgoing President Dimitris Christofias and his communist-rooted AKEL party ? which backs Malas ? that caused Cyprus' sorry economic state. The 66-year-old leader of the main opposition Democratic Rally party has boasted of his connections with Europe's center-right leaders and seeks to spend political capital he's built up over the years to convince Europe that Cyprus deserves help.

Last year, Cyprus sought financial assistance of up to ?17 billion ($22.7 billion), a sum roughly equivalent to its annual gross domestic product, which has raised concerns whether the country would be able to pay back any loan. The country has been unable to borrow from international markets since mid-2011, and turned to long-time ally Russia last year for a ?2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) loan to keep it afloat.

Cyprus, a divided island of around 1 million people in the far eastern end of the Mediterranean, is one of the smallest members of the 27-nation European Union and faces deep political and economic problems. The country has a presidential system of government, and the office carries a lot of power.

Cyprus has already enacted deep public sector wage cuts and tax hikes under a preliminary bailout agreement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/conservative-leads-cyprus-presidential-runoff-161748708--finance.html

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Te'o doing tough balancing act at NFL combine

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer
Published: 2/23/2013??2:13 PM
Last Modified: 2/23/2013??2:13 PM

INDIANAPOLIS ? Manti Te'o wants everyone to know he's over the embarrassment of an online hoax, and he's ready to focus on football. The Heisman Trophy runner-up acknowledges he could have done things to avoid a public spectacle. But he says if he was still embarrassed by it, he wouldn't have taken questions Saturday at the NFL's annual scouting combine. Instead, nearly two dozen television cameras and a room full of reporters were capturing every word out of Te'o's mouth as he again tried to explain how he was duped into believing a girlfriend that never existed died last fall. It was the largest group of reporters Te'o has faced since the story broke last month More than 300 players, including Te'o, are in Indy this weekend to work out for NFL scouts.
Copyright 2013 World Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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McCain: Obama should have Camp David budget summit

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sen. John McCain says President Barack Obama should invite lawmakers to Camp David or the White House to hammer out a last-minute deal to avert deep budget cuts set to start taking effect at week's end.

The Arizona Republican says Obama should be talking with lawmakers instead of demonizing them over the looming across-the-board cuts in domestic and defense spending.

McCain calls the Pentagon cuts "unconscionable" and says military leaders are already warning they would be devastating.

McCain, the 2008 GOP president nominee, says it's time for Obama to show leadership and call lawmakers either to Camp David or to the White House for a budget summit.

McCain appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-24-US-Budget-Battle-McCain/id-6fefe922ab8f4d4da2b2c87a0896e01a

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Missing The Evil Empire: Bring Back Microsoft

This might be strange to say on a Mac site, but does anybody miss the old Microsoft Do you remember when the sheer mention of the Redmond, WA, giant would send Mac geeks into apoplectic rants, and Linux geeks refused to spell the company's name ?

Read more at Macgasm.

Source: http://www.twytter.net/blog/missing-the-evil-empire-bring-back-microsoft/

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Authorities: Report of gunman at MIT was a hoax

Pedestrians on the MIT Campus in Cambridge, Mass., duck underneath police tape, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, after police responded to reports of a gunman on campus that Cambridge police later said were unfounded. Police said that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor and found nothing. A spokeswoman for the university says the school also called off a campus-wide lockdown. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Pedestrians on the MIT Campus in Cambridge, Mass., duck underneath police tape, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, after police responded to reports of a gunman on campus that Cambridge police later said were unfounded. Police said that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor and found nothing. A spokeswoman for the university says the school also called off a campus-wide lockdown. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Pedestrians on the MIT Campus in Cambridge, Mass., duck underneath police tape, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, after police responded to reports of a gunman on campus that Cambridge police later said were unfounded. Police said that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor and found nothing. A spokeswoman for the university says the school also called off a campus-wide lockdown. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Pedestrians walk by police tape on the MIT Campus in Cambridge, Mass.,after police responded to reports of a gunman on campus that Cambridge police later said were unfounded, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Police said that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor and found nothing. A spokeswoman for the university says the school also called off a campus-wide lockdown. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) ? A false report of a gunman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that briefly caused a campus-wide lockdown Saturday stemmed from an electronic message sent to police, authorities said.

Officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armor but found nothing unusual, Cambridge police said. The report ? that alleged the gunman was barricaded inside a building on campus ? turned out to be a hoax, and there was no threat to public safety, state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Cambridge police received the tip in an electronic message around 7:30 a.m., but witnesses on the scene eventually contradicted it, spokesman Dan Riviello said. Neither police nor MIT specified how the tip was received, though the police department's website says anonymous tips may be made via text message or email, in addition to a telephone hotline.

"The MIT community was sent a precautionary text message at 8:52 a.m. asking them to remain indoors and shelter in place," the university said in a statement issued following online criticism over the delay in alerting the public that a gunman was possibly on campus. It did not explain why it took more than an hour to issue the alert.

A room-to-room search by MIT and Cambridge police, along with state police troopers, led officers to declare that the scene was clear at about 10:30 a.m., MIT said.

"No armed suspects were found in the building or on campus and police believe that the event, as reported, did not occur," according to a statement by Cambridge police.

Investigators are trying to identify the prankster and will pursue criminal charges if they do, Riviello said.

He declined to provide additional details or confirm reports that the IP address used by the prankster has been traced to New York, saying the investigation continued.

John DiFava, chief of MIT's campus police, acknowledged the delay in telling students about a possible gunman on campus. "I have to look into it and find out the reason for the lag," he told the Boston Globe.

Junior Zach Wener-Fligner told the newspaper that the delay was "a little worrisome."

"But I assume the relevant area was locked down," he said.

About 11,000 people attend the prestigious school outside Boston where students are famous for their smarts as well as their stunts, including once putting a police car on top of a domed campus building.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-23-MIT%20Lockdown/id-16b1da51180e4d56bd017f6452d52a47

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EJ Manuel carries confidence into NFL combine

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Italians vote in parliamentary elections

ROME (AP) ? Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italy votes in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe's biggest economies.

Fellow EU countries and investors are watching closely, as the decisions that Italy makes over the next several months promise to have a profound impact on whether Europe can decisively put out the flames of its financial crisis. Greece's troubles in recent years were enough to spark a series of market panics. With an economy almost 10 times the size of Greece's, Italy is simply too big a country for Europe, and the world, to see fail.

Leading the electoral pack is Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who has shown a pragmatic streak in supporting tough economic reforms spearheaded by incumbent Mario Monti. On Bersani's heels is Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul seeking an unlikely political comeback after being forced from the premiership by Italy's debt crisis. Monti, while widely credited with saving Italy from financial ruin, is trailing badly as he pays the price for the suffering caused by austerity measures.

Then there's the wild card: comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose protest movement against the entrenched political class has been drawing tens of thousands to rallies in piazzas across Italy. If his self-styled political "tsunami" sweeps into Parliament with a big chunk of seats, Italy could be in store for a prolonged period of political confusion that would spook the markets.

While a man of the left, Bersani has shown himself to have a surprising amount in common with the center-right Monti ? and the two have hinted at the possibility of teaming up in a coalition. Bersani was Monti's most loyal backer in Parliament during the respected economist's tenure at the head of a technocratic government. And in ministerial posts in previous center-left governments, Bersani fought hard to free up such areas of the economy as energy, insurance and banking services.

But it's uncertain that Monti will be able muster the votes needed to give Bersani's Democratic Party a stable majority in both houses of Parliament.

"Forming a government with a stable parliamentary alliance may prove tricky after elections," said Eoin Ryan, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "A surge in support for anti-austerity parties is raising chances of an indecisive election result and post-vote political instability."

Another factor is turnout. Usually some 80 percent of the 50 million eligible voters go to the polls but experts are predicting many will stay away in anger, hurting mainstream parties.

When Berlusconi stepped down in November 2011, newspapers were writing his political obituary. At 76, blamed for mismanaging the economy and disgraced by criminal allegations of sex with an underage prostitute, the billionaire media baron appeared finished as a political force.

But Berlusconi has proven time and again ? over 20 years at the center of Italian politics ? that he should never be counted out.

The campaign strategy that has allowed him to become a contender in these elections is a simple one: please the masses by throwing around cash.

Berlusconi has promised to give back an unpopular property tax imposed by Monti as part of austerity measures. Even his purchase of start striker Mario Balotelli for his AC Milan soccer team was widely seen as a ploy to buy votes. Berlusconi has also appealed to Italy's right-wing by praising Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust victims.

The most recent polls show Bersani in the lead with 33 percent of the vote, against 28 percent for Berlusconi's coalition with the populist Northern League. Grillo's 5 Star movement was in a surprise third place, with 17 percent support, while Monti's centrist coalition was notching 13 percent. The COESIS poll of 6,212 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.

Pollster Renato Mannheimer said among his biggest clients heading into the elections were foreign banks seeking to gauge whether to hold or sell Italian bonds.

"They are worried mostly about the return of Berlusconi," Mannheimer said.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the vote has pushed the Milan stock exchange down in the days running up to the vote and bumped up borrowing costs, as investors express concern that Italy may back down from a reform course to pull the country out of recession.

Mannheimer said many undecided voters ? who comprise around one-third of the total electorate ? identify with the center-right, and that may help Berlusconi. He said that the undecided vote may also tilt heavily toward Grillo's protest movement.

The professorial Monti looked uncomfortable at first as a candidate but has recently warmed to the role. Like the others, he has not shied away from name calling, warning that Berlusconi is a "charlatan" and saying his return would be "horrific."

Bond analyst Nicholas Spiro said the election "will deliver the most important verdict on the eurozone's three-year-old austerity focused policies."

But he is betting on a period of political instability after the vote.

"An upset victory by Mr. Berlusconi may be markets' nightmare scenario," he said, "but the prospects for a stable and harmonious Bersani-Monti coalition government ? still the mostly likely outcome in our view ? are bleak."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italians-vote-parliamentary-elections-072036240--finance.html

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