Cairn Oil Exploration Most Successful Operation in Recent Times

The Sri Lankan oil exploration process undertaken by Cairn Lanka is one of the most successful operations in recent times in the region. Sri Lanka's dream of its own hydrocarbon reserves became true after the back to back discovery of natural gas in two wells in the Mannar basin by Cairn Lanka.

Cairn Lanka is a 100 percent subsidiary of Asia's fastest growing E&P Company. Cairn India, has notified the Sri Lankan government of its intention to enter the second phase of exploration.

The Indian company had invested $78 million for the process in 2011. Further investments are expected from Cairn Lanka, as the company plans to enter the second phase of exploration.

This announcement was made following the successful completion of the first phase of exploration, analysts said.

Cairn India is responsible for the delivery of significant domestic crude production from its operated assets across India.

With more than 40 discoveries to its credit date, the company has brought substantial benefits to India and to the states of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Three out of seven landmark discoveries in India in the last decade have been attributed to Cairn India.

Cairn India's 100 percent subsidiary Cairn Lanka is exploring in the Mannar basin. Cairn Lanka's successful drilling program, the first in Sri Lanka in 30 years - has established a working petroleum system in the frontier Mannar Basin. It has put Sri Lanka on the world hydrocarbon map.

Cairn Lanka (Private) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India?Limited, has successfully completed the first phase of the exploration campaign in Sri Lanka Block SL-2007-01-001. The exploration program?involved the acquisition, processing and interpretation of 677 square miles (1,753 square kilometers) of 3D seismic data and a three well deep water drilling program.

The state-of-the-art fifth generation drillship 'Chikyu', from Japan was mobilized for the exploratory drilling campaign in the SL 2007-01-001 block that commenced in August 2011. Prior to initiating the drilling campaign, Cairn Lanka had appointed CGG Veritas AS for collating the seismic data with the help of seismic vessel SR/V Viking II.

Cairn Lanka has completed the seismic program which exceeded the phase I commitment by about 20 percent and in the drilling program the company exceeded the drilling depth commitment by 50 percent.

The operations were conducted safely, in accordance with the highest global standards, within schedule, budget and in compliance with Sri Lankan regulations.

The support of the government and an effective partnership with the Sri Lanka authorities in Sri Lankan, were instrumental in ensuring the successful completion of the first phase exploration program.

Cairn India Limited, the parent company of Cairn Lanka, is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India since 2007.

Cairn India is headquartered in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region, with operational offices in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Sri Lanka.

According to Platts, Cairn India is Asia's fastest growing and world's fourth fastest growing hydrocarbon exploration and production company. The average daily gross operated production was 149,103 boe in FY2011. The company sells its oil to major refineries in India and its gas to both PSU and private buyers.

The company has a world-class resource base, with interest in nine blocks in India and one in Sri Lanka.

Cairn India's resource base is located in three strategically focused areas, namely, one block in Rajasthan, three on the west coast of India and six on the east coast of India, including one in Sri Lanka.?

Copyright 2011 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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Source: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=113788&rss=true

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Happy 75th birthday, Mary Tyler Moore

Everett Collection

Happy 75th birthday, Mary Tyler Moore. You might just make it after all.

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Mary Tyler Moore turns 75 today, but to millions of Americans, she's?still 32, forever driving from her small hometown to Minnesota's Twin Cities on a sunny freeway in 1970. How will she make it on her own? This world is awfully big, and girl, this time she's all alone.

But she had determination, moxie, smarts, charm, and something Lou Grant hated -- spunk.

After all, she'd already captured America's hearts in another beloved show when she played Laura Petrie, New Rochelle's "hostess with the mostess" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." There's something magical about this scene, in which she dances in her famed capri pants. What, your parents' parties didn't involve conga drums and elaborately choreographed dances in the living room? Ours either, but this show made us wish they did.

Before "Dick Van Dyke,"?a teenage MTM played the goofy little sprite Happy Hotpoint in?dozens of appliance commercials. You might not recognize her here. (Watch the whole ad though if you want a classic 1956 spiel on dishwashers.)

She was a million miles from Laura Petrie or Mary Richards in 1980's "Ordinary People," which earned her an Oscar?nomination. Just watch the trailer (and wow, did that movie have a heckuva cast all the way around) and see her brittle, repressed Beth trying to hold things together. Not exactly the mother Laura or Mary would have turned out to be.

But of course, we can't forget "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." I grew up in Minnesota in the 1970s, and although only the opening credits were shot there, it was still a point of pride for residents.?If you go to downtown Minneapolis, you can still eat at the very restaurant table (marked with a plaque)?in the IDS Crystal Court where Mary and then-husband Grant Tinker are seen?dining in the credits.

Everyone knew where the house was that was shown as Mary's, and also knew the real reason why Mary moved to an apartment in later seasons. When the studio came back to film the same giant lakeside home's exterior, its owner hung an "IMPEACH NIXON" banner on the home, forcing them to shoot elsewhere?(it was 1973, after all).

I once interviewed one of the Toughskins-clad schoolkids who appear in the credits crossing a street?with Mary and a school patrol. He was just walking home from school with friends one day, he said, when a man yelled "Hey! You kids wanna be on TV?" Half the gang scattered, and half stuck around and when ordered, crossed the street while Mary strode along with them, clutching a grocery bag. I sometimes wonder if the half that scattered know exactly what they missed out on.

?There are too many classic "MTM" scenes to share, but Chuckles the Clown gets mentioned more than any other, and for good reason. Watch the bit where Mary scolds Murray for cracking wise -- "A man has DIED!" -- and then see if you can't feel her embarrassment when it turns out she's the one who can't stop laughing. Until the moment she's told to laugh, when of course she bursts into tears.

What's your favorite Mary Tyler Moore character, scene or line? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Source: http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9774970-happy-75th-birthday-mary-tyler-moore

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Inside the Iowa caucus poll numbers: Good news for Romney, bad for Gingrich

Days before the Iowa caucus, the latest CNN/Time/ORC poll has Romney ahead of Paul, with Gingrich falling way behind his earlier strong standing and now trailing Santorum.

With the Iowa caucuses just six days away, the latest poll is good news for Mitt Romney and bad news for Newt Gingrich. It also shows a bit of a surge for Rick Santorum, who now leads the second tier of candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination ? particularly among evangelical Christians drawn to his clear and consistent positions on such issues as abortion and same-sex marriage.

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A CNN/Time/ORC International Poll Wednesday finds these results among Republicans who say they?re likely to participate in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses: Romney 25 percent, Ron Paul 22 percent, Rick Santorum 16 percent, Gingrich 14 percent, Rick Perry 11 percent, Michele Bachmann 9 percent, and Jon Huntsman 1 percent.

The three-point spread between Romney and Paul is within the survey?s margin of error, so the two can legitimately claim to be front-runners.

Romney and Paul are each up five points among likely caucus goers from a CNN/Time/ORC poll conducted at the start of December, reports CNN.

Meanwhile, Santorum and Gingrich passed each other going in opposite directions: Former US Senator Santorum is up 11 percentage points, former House Speaker Gingrich plunged 19 points.

"Most of Santorum's gains have come among likely caucus participants who are born-again or evangelical, and he now tops the list among that crucial voting bloc, with support from 22 percent of born-agains compared to 18 percent for Paul, 16 percent for Romney, and 14 percent for Gingrich," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Still, Wednesday?s poll does not cement any likely outcome next Tuesday.

Santorum and Paul may benefit from lower turnout, since they lead among likely voters who say that ?nothing at all? would prevent them from attending the caucus, the poll finds. For his part, Romney appears to have an edge among those who attended the caucuses four years ago, and he does best among older Republicans in Iowa.

"Add in the fact that nearly half of Iowa respondents say they are undecided or could change their minds and it looks like Iowa is a wide open contest," says Mr. Holland.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/dw7gO60cb6c/Inside-the-Iowa-caucus-poll-numbers-Good-news-for-Romney-bad-for-Gingrich

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Oil eases after Iran threat, Italy gets debt boost (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Crude prices broke a six-day rally on Wednesday after Iran's threat to stop the flow of oil from the Gulf was written off as no more than rhetoric, while a strong short-term Italian debt sale eased stress in European markets.

Tehran said on Tuesday it would stop oil transiting through the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions were imposed on its crude oil exports because of its nuclear ambitions. Washington said it saw "an element of bluster" in the threat.

Brent fell 0.9 percent to $108.28 a barrel by 1150 GMT after climbing more than a dollar in the previous session. Prices have surged over 5 percent since December 16.

European shares reversed early losses to add 0.5 percent (.FTEU3), while Asian stocks slipped, leaving the MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) flat on the day. Futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street.(.N)

"The threat by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz supported the oil market yesterday, but the effect is fading today as it will probably be empty threats as they cannot stop the flow for a longer period due to the amount of U.S. hardware in the area," said Thorbjoern bak Jensen, oil analyst with Global Risk Management.

It has been an ugly year for equities outside the United States.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.7 percent, keeping it on course for a 2011 loss of 18 percent, underperforming a 12 percent decline in European shares (.FTEU3) and a 9 percent drop in world stocks.

Japan's Nikkei stock average (.N225) ended down 0.2 percent, on track for a 17.6 percent drop this year. (.T)

Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory Co, said the chances of a violent confrontation with Iran were remote for now but added the tensions would be a major source of volatility in 2012 along with the unresolved euro zone debt crisis.

EURO CURBED

The euro held above an 11-month low against the dollar after Italian short-term debt costs halved at auction, helped by a new government austerity package and cheap liquidity from the European Central Bank.

The country faces the more difficult task of selling long-term debt on Thursday where there will be a greater reliance on international investors to buy 8.5 billion euros of debt with maturities of up to 10 years.

Analysts said market tensions could easily reignite. Italy faces almost 150 billion euros of debt refinancing in February-April alone.

"Tomorrow's auction is more important and will give more insight into general sentiment. Today was a warm-up," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon.

The euro was last marginally higher on the day at $1.3071.

Safe-haven German Bund futures were barely changed while yields on Italian 10-year bonds dropped to 6.8 percent, just below the 7 percent rate that is widely seen as unsustainable in the long term for the country's finances.

Banks deposited a record 452 billion euros ($538 billion) at the European Central Bank overnight, giving no sign that interbank lending is reviving, although the nearly half a trillion euros of 3-year liquidity handed out by the ECB last week pushed bank-to-bank lending rates lower.

In the United States, data suggested the economy was on track for a moderate recovery, with improving labor market conditions lifting U.S. consumer confidence to an eight-month high in December although U.S. single-family home prices fell more than expected in October.

Wall Street ended flat on Tuesday following a five percent rally last week which pushed the S&P 500 into positive territory for the year.

Gold edged lower, tracking falls in industrial metals and equities.

The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index (.CRB) -- largely influenced by U.S. crude oil -- is set for a 7 percent drop in 2011, faring slightly better than equities.

U.S. crude oil has been among the best performers this year with a 10 percent increase, while gold has gained 12 percent as a loss of confidence in the euro zone accelerated investor flight to bullion.

(Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan, Nia Williams and William James in London, Chikako Mogi in Tokyo, editing by John Stonestreet)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/bs_nm/us_markets_global

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Putin ejects Kremlin "puppet master" after protests (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? The architect of Vladimir Putin's tightly controlled political system became one of its most senior victims on Tuesday when he was shunted out of the Kremlin in the wake of the biggest opposition protests of Putin's 12-year rule.

The sacrifice of Vladislav Surkov, branded the Kremlin's 'puppet master' by enemies and friends alike, is also a rare admission of failure for Russia's 'alpha dog' leader: Surkov's system was Putin's system.

With irony worthy of Surkov's cynical novels, the Kremlin's 47-year-old political mastermind was shown grinning on state television when told by President Dmitry Medvedev that he would oversee modernization as a deputy prime minister.

When asked why he was leaving the Kremlin, Surkov deliberately misquoted a slogan from the French Revolution, saying: "Stabilization is eating up its children."

Almost in passing, Surkov told Interfax news agency he would not be running domestic politics after nearly 13 years doing exactly that from the corridors of the Kremlin.

Why? "I am too notorious for the brave new world."

His post will be taken by Putin's chief of staff and Surkov's arch enemy, Vyacheslav Volodin, a wealthy former lawyer who hails from Putin's ruling United Russia party. Anton Vaino, a 39-year-old former diplomat, becomes Putin's chief of staff.

By ejecting Surkov from the Kremlin just two months before the presidential election, Putin is betting that he can neutralize some of the anger against his rule by projecting the impression of a brave new world of political reform.

"What happened today is nothing more than shuffling people from one office into another," Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's third richest man who demanded Surkov be sacked in September, said through a spokesman. "Little will change from these shifts."

Though Surkov's exit may not usher in a vast political change, it is the end of an era for one of Putin's most powerful aides. And at Putin's court, personalities count for everything.

PUTIN'S ARTIST

Described as Russia's answer to France's Cardinal Richelieu or a modern-day Machiavelli, Surkov was one of the creators of the system Putin crafted since he rose to power in 1999.

To admirers, "Slava" Surkov is the most flamboyant mind in Putin's court: a writer of fiction who recited poets such as Allen Ginsberg but also strong enough to hold his own against the KGB spies and oligarchs in the infighting of the Kremlin.

To enemies, Surkov is a dangerous artist who used his brains to expand Putin's power and whose intellectual snobbery made Russian citizens beads in a grand political experiment called "Vladimir Putin."

Fond of black ties and sometimes unshaven, Surkov survived many turf wars but he could not survive the biggest protests of Putin's rule or Putin's need to find someone to blame for them.

As the manager of United Russia, the Kremlin's point man on elections and ultimately the day-to-day manager of Putin's political system, Surkov bore direct responsibility for the protests which have pitted Russia's urban youth against Putin.

He did not answer requests for comment.

Brought into the Kremlin under Boris Yeltsin in 1999 to serve as an aide to then chief of staff Alexander Voloshin, Surkov helped ease the handover of power to Putin.

He then worked with Putin and then President Medvedev to consolidate power, repeatedly using the specter of the chaotic 1990s to warn against swift change.

PUTIN'S SYSTEM

In practice, Surkov's rule meant centralizing power in Putin's hands: Surkov moved regional decision-making to the Kremlin, struck down any attempt at autonomy and directed party politics.

Such was his power that Russia's top party officials, journalists and cultural leaders would visit him in the Kremlin for 'direction' on how to present events to the public.

"He is considered one of the architects of the system," Putin's former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, told Kommersant FM radio.

"Now this system is being revised. New organizers are needed with different views on the political system," said Kudrin, who has offered to lead dialogue between the opposition and the authorities.

Signs of trouble for Surkov appeared in May when Volodin -the man who eventually took his job - helped Putin create a new movement, or popular front, that would compete with the United Russia party for Putin's patronage.

Volodin, a dollar millionaire fond of ducking reporters questions with irony or personal needling, presented thereporters' popular front to Putin as a way to revive the ruling party.

Volodin's stock rose after securing 65 percent of the vote for Putin's party in Saratov, a region where he was born.

Then in September, the main scriptwriter of Russian politics became the focus of an intriguing unscripted conflict with Prokhorov - the whizz kid of Russian finance - over the fate of a minor opposition party which was crippled by the Kremlin.

"There is a puppet master in this country who long ago privatized the political system and has for a long time misinformed the leadership of the country," Prokhorov, whose fortune Forbes put at $18 billion, said at the time.

"His name is Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov," said Prokhorov, who demanded Putin sack Surkov. Putin had to personally calm down the two sides in the row, two sources said.

But after mass protests in major Russian cities against the parliamentary election and against Putin himself, Surkov's analysis differed to that of his boss.

Putin has dismissed the protesters as chattering monkeys or a motley crew of leaderless opponents bent on sowing chaos, but Surkov gave a more refined view: he said they were among the best people in Russian society.

"You cannot simply swipe away their opinions in an arrogant way," said Surkov, who will now have to move his portrait of Argentine-born revolutionary Che Guevara from his Kremlin office.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/wl_nm/us_russia_surkov

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DanRiehl: RT @yidwithlid: Hey Paul-Bots! hre's More Proof abt yr Cult-Leader's Bigotry 4 U 2 Deny http://t.co/rOA3mFd4 #politics #gop #twisters

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As Iraq War ends, no parade for troops is imminent (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Americans probably won't be seeing a huge ticker-tape parade anytime soon for troops returning from Iraq, and it's not clear if veterans of the nine-year campaign will ever enjoy the grand, flag-waving, red-white-and-blue homecoming that the nation's fighting men and women received after World War II and the Gulf War.

Officials in New York and Washington say they would be happy to help stage a big celebration, but Pentagon officials say they haven't been asked to plan one.

Most welcome-homes have been smaller-scale: hugs from families at military posts across the country, a somber commemoration by President Barack Obama at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

With tens of thousands of U.S. troops still fighting a bloody war in Afghanistan, anything that looks like a big victory celebration could be seen as unseemly and premature, some say.

"It's going to be a bit awkward to be celebrating too much, given how much there is going on and how much there will be going on in Afghanistan," said Don Mrozek, a military history professor at Kansas State University.

Two New York City councilmen, Republicans Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo, have called for a ticker-tape parade down the stretch of Broadway known as the Canyon of Heroes. A similar celebration after the Gulf War was paid for with more than $5.2 million in private donations, a model the councilmen would like to follow.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week that he was open to the idea but added, "It's a federal thing that we really don't want to do without talking to Washington, and we'll be doing that."

A spokesman for the mayor declined to elaborate on the city's reasons for consulting with Washington. Ignizio said he had been told by the mayor's office that Pentagon officials were concerned that a celebration could spark violence overseas and were evaluating the risk.

Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said that he has not heard that issue raised and that New York has yet to make a formal proposal. He also said officials are grateful communities around the country are finding ways to recognize the sacrifices of troops and their families.

The last combat troops in Iraq pulled out more than a week ago. About 91,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are in Afghanistan, battling a stubborn Taliban insurgency and struggling to train Afghan forces so that they eventually can take over security. Many U.S. troops who fought in the Iraq War could end up being sent to Afghanistan.

A parade might invite criticism from those who believe the U.S. left Iraq too soon, as well as from those who feel the war was unjustified. It could also trigger questions about assertions of victory.

Mrozek noted that President George W. Bush's administration referred to military action in the Middle East as part of a global war on terror, a conflict that's hard to define by conventional measures of success.

"This is not a war on a particular place or a particular force," he said.

Bush himself illustrated the perils of celebrating milestones in the war, Mrozek said, when he landed on an aircraft carrier and hailed the end of major combat operations in Iraq behind a "Mission Accomplished" banner in May 2003. U.S. troops remained in Iraq for 8 1/2 more years, and Bush was criticized over the banner.

The benchmarks were clearer in previous wars. After World War II, parades marked Japan's surrender. After the Gulf War, celebrations marked the troops' return after Iraqi forces were driven out of Kuwait.

The only mass celebrations of U.S. military activities since Sept. 11, 2001, were largely spontaneous: Large crowds gathered in Times Square and outside the White House in April after Osama bin Laden was killed.

At the same time, Iraq veterans aren't coming home to the hostility many Vietnam veterans encountered. The first large-scale event honoring Vietnam veterans was not held until 1982, when thousands marched in Washington for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Parades were later held in New York in 1985 ? 10 years after the war ended ? and in Chicago the next year.

"I think we've seen recent history in Vietnam, where that wasn't done appropriately, and we want to make sure we do the appropriate thing by those that made the ultimate sacrifice and risked their lives for us to say thanks," Ignizio said.

At Fort Hood in Texas, troops have returned to welcome-home ceremonies at the post that were attended mostly by soldiers' families. Soldiers in uniform run to hug their loved ones after an announcer yells, "Charge!"

Col. Douglas Crissman, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, said Saturday after one such ceremony that that is as large-scale a welcome as the troops need.

"This is just the right size because it's quick and meaningful and it gets them home to their families," Crissman said.

Staff Sgt. Troy Rudolph was among the first troops to arrive in Iraq in March 2003 and was in the last combat brigade to leave. Rudolph said that a large-scale ceremony would be nice but that he feels appreciated even without confetti falling from the sky.

"I've had people buy me lunch at airports just because I was in uniform," said Rudolph, who lives at Fort Hood with his wife and 9-year-old stepdaughter. "It's emotional because you don't realize what kind of impact you have on people across the country."

In Washington, federal agencies take the lead on planning parades, and so far nothing is in the works. A spokesman for Mayor Vincent Gray said the city would be honored to host a parade but said local officials wouldn't take the lead in staging one.

In recent years, most of the ticker-tape parades in New York have been held for the city's championship sports teams.

"The sports celebrations that we've had in New York for the Yankees and the Mets were amazing," Oddo said. "But these are the real heroes."

___

Gross reported from New York. Associated Press writers Angela K. Brown in Fort Hood, Texas, and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at http://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_war_no_parade

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Trending in Mexico: Housewives becoming pro wrestlers

Christmas at our house is always the same: Dad plays the piano, mom whips up her famous chocolate gingerbread cookies, and grandma catches Uncle Dale in a perfect leg lariat and forces him to submit in the first round. That?s unusual in this country, but not in Mexico, where a growing number of women are turning to professional wrestling to help make ends meet.

The bouts pay between $10 to $200 ? a pittance compared to the lucrative contracts earned by male competitors ? but in a country where the average annual wage is $6,000.

And the sport, which is steadily growing in popularity, is also providing an outlet for victims of domestic violence keen to stand up to their abusers.

Shown above is Chispita (Little Spark), jumping over another wrestler, Catrina, during a street match in Mexico City recently. Catrina, 56, is a grandmother of seven, by the way. They call it Lucha libre wrestling in Mexico, in which most participants wear masks and take on secret identities. It?s hugely popular, so I hear. And from the looks of it, some bouts are not well regulated.

I?m guessing you won?t see any of the Top Ten Wrestling Moves of All Time in these bouts. But I could be wrong.

***
Mexican wrestling housewives taking on the macho world of Lucha libre [Daily Mail]

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Obama spends Christmas with family, military (AP)

HONOLULU ? President Barack Obama blended his roles as a father and commander-in-chief this Christmas, exchanging presents and singing carols with his family, then greeting U.S. service members stationed at a Marine base in Hawaii.

The president and his family woke up early Sunday to open gifts, the White House said, then had breakfast and sang Christmas carols at the multimillion-dollar house they rent in Kailua Beach, near Honolulu.

Obama made two trips on Christmas to nearby Marine Corps Base Hawaii, first to attend church services at the base chapel. The president dressed casually in dark khaki pants and a short-sleeve blue shirt, and his wife and daughters donned sundresses for Christmas services on a bright, breezy day on the island of Oahu.

After spending a few hours at their rental home, the president and Michelle Obama returned to the base to visit with several hundred service members and their families, as they have done in past years.

The Obamas posed for photos, signed autographs and stopped to chat with the military families gathered in the dining hall, where roast beef, salad and apple pie were on the Christmas Day menu.

Eight-month-old Cooper Wall Wagner, son of Capt. Greg Wagner, got up close and personal with the president, grabbing his face, then sticking his fingers in Obama's mouth.

An amused Obama said he thought the baby just liked his "big nose" ? a comment that drew laughter from several of the Marines.

Many of the service members stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii have deployed to Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, where the last American troops were withdrawn earlier this month.

Back in the Washington area, Vice President Joe Biden and wife Jill Biden spent Christmas visiting wounded service members and their families at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Obama also called 10 service members stationed around the world ? two from each branch of the military ? on Christmas Eve. The White House said he thanked them for their service and the sacrifice of being away from their families at the holidays.

The Obamas were wrapping up their Christmas festivities with dinner at the rental home with friends and family. Among those joining the first family in Hawaii are the president's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who lives on Oahu, and several friends Obama has known since high school.

The president has kept a low profile since arriving in Hawaii on Friday evening to start a vacation delayed by the stalemate in Washington over extending payroll tax cuts. He has no public events planned, and his only outings are expected to be to the golf course or to take his daughters for shave ice, a Hawaiian snow cone.

The Obamas are expected to return to Washington shortly after New Year's Day.

___

Associated Press writer Jaymes Song in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

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Last-minute buyers top off strong shopping season

A last-minute shopper leaves the Toys R Us flagship store in New York's Times Square, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011. As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A last-minute shopper leaves the Toys R Us flagship store in New York's Times Square, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011. As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A last-minute shopper walks past a window display announcing a sale in New York's Herald Square, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011. As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A street performer who poses for pictures in exchange for tips dressed like the Grinch beckons customers in front of a billboard announcing last-minute gifts at a store in New York's Times Square, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011. As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

FILE - In this Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 file photo, pedestrians walk along a shopping district on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. As the clock counts down to Christmas Day, retailers have begun a big push to snare procrastinating shoppers searching frantically for last-minute gifts and hoping for final-weekend deals. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 file photo, sale signs are displayed at a North Face store where a shopper browses the racks, in Freeport, Maine. Last-minute shoppers are hitting stores just before Christmas in a surge that is expected to top off an unexpectedly strong holiday shopping season. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

It's that time for caroling, eggnog, holiday cheer ? and for some, a frantic dash to the mall.

Last-minute shoppers hit stores on Christmas Eve in a surge that is expected to top off an unexpectedly strong holiday shopping season.

Among them was Len Boswell. He started his shopping at 6 a.m. at Starbucks. Later in the morning he was at a CVS drugstore in Decatur, Ga., picking up candy and a neck pillow for his wife.

"I should have done this a couple of weeks ago," acknowledges Boswell, 68, a director of book publishing at a nonprofit.

Taubman Centers, which operates malls across the country including The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey and Beverly Center in Los Angeles, reported almost-full parking lots at some malls by 10 a.m., earlier than last year. Apparel, electronics, perfume and jewelry were among the biggest sellers. Many stores in Taubman malls reported that Friday was shaping up to be the busiest day of the year, Taubman spokeswoman Karen MacDonald said.

Macy's, in New York's Herald Square, was packed with shoppers by late morning. The store has been open around the clock since Wednesday and was set to close at 6 p.m. Saturday. Kimberly Sylvester, 28, was out for the first time doing her holiday shopping Christmas Eve. She had already spent $160 at Victoria's Secret, taking advantage of a sale ? two bras for $40 ? for her sister. At Macy's, she picked up Lauren by Ralph Lauren sheets marked down to $79. Sylvester, who works with special needs children, said she has been too busy to shop.

"This is my first day off," Sylvester said.

Stores are expected to ring up $469.1 billion during the holiday season, which begins Nov. 1st and runs through Dec. 31st. The final week before Christmas can account for up to 20 percent of those sales. Retailers tempered their expectations heading into the season because they worried that Americans weren't ready to spend in the weak economy. But sales have been so brisk during the two-month period that the National Retail Federation, the industry's big trade group, upgraded its overall sales growth forecast a full percentage point, to 3.8 percent.

Online, shoppers spent almost $32 billion for the holiday season, a 15 percent increase from a year ago, according to the comScore, which tracks Web use.

"We're seeing good traffic, good sales," said Sherif Mityas, a partner in the retail practice at A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm. "Even with all the bad news and hesitancy in terms of the economy, consumers are still opening up their wallets more than last year, which is good news."

But at a time when Americans are still concerned about high unemployment, stagnant wages and market uncertainty, retailers aren't willing to leave anything to chance on the final shopping days before Christmas.

Toys R Us has also been open 24 hours a day in the days leading up to Christmas. At malls, Abercrombie & Fitch has been offering a blanket 50 percent off on all items while J. Crew and Madewell offered 30 percent off. Retailers' promotional e-mails are up 34 percent from a year ago, according to Responsys, which tracks e-mail activity from more than 100 merchants.

"They're clearly putting their best foot forward on promotions right now," said John Morris, analyst at BMO Capital Markets. Morris estimates that promotional sale activity is up about 7 percent compared with last year, taking into account the level of markdowns and the amount of goods marked down.

Whether it's the sales or just plain-old procrastination, last-minute shoppers were drawn to stores across the country on Christmas Eve.

At Manhattan Mall in New York, there was a steady stream of shoppers Saturday morning.

Shamek Shider, 22, was among them. He had spent $100 at Macy's on snow suits for his goddaughter on Friday, his first time out holiday shopping. He came back on Christmas Eve and spent $250 on jewelry and clothing at Macy's and J. C. Penney for his mother, sister and other relatives.

"This is when I see the best deals," said Shider, who lives in Newark, N.J.

Ryan Eagle, 25, planned to hit South Park Mall in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday morning to shop for presents for his wife. He always shops on Christmas Eve, he said, to get good deals and to people-watch. Last year, he found $200 boots on sale for $50 at Macy's.

"I'm a last-minute person," he said. "I enjoy going out and watching everyone run around."

___

Mae Anderson reported from Atlanta, Ga.

Retailer Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

Follow AP retail coverage at http://www.twitter.com/AP--Retail.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-12-24-Last-Minute%20Shopping/id-95570c1bc93c4edb88286f8d7062cda5

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Project Engineer ? Energy Management

Location flexible: Holyhead or Birkenhead

?50K + plus car and attractive benefits

The Company:

Stena Line, an ABTA member, is an international transport and travel service company and one of the world's leading ferry operators.

Stena Line operates in three business areas: Scandinavia, the North Sea and the Irish Sea with a network of 18 strategically located ferry routes in Europe. Stena Line has a modern fleet with a total of 35 vessels including fast ferries (Stena HSS), traditional combi-ferries, RoPax ferries for freight and passengers, and pure cargo ships.

During 2009, approximately 15.4 million passengers travelled with Stena Line. 3.3 million cars and 1.6 million freight units were transported during the same period.

The Role:

Working extensively across the business area covering operations on the Irish Sea, your primary objective will be to deliver sustainable reductions in energy consumption focusing principally on ship?s fuel. Central to the role will be the development of energy consumption strategies based on a close analysis of consumption surveys and benchmarking initiatives, together with the provision of motivation, support and co-ordination of local projects and initiatives that challenge the status quo and deliver against agreed efficiency objectives.

The Candidate:

Ideally experienced as a Chief Engineer or Superintendent

With core skills in Project Management, you will possess a strong personal presence and well developed influencing and communication skills. Above all, you will be a leader, coach and motivator, able to deliver multiple project milestones within agreed time and cost constraints.

Well organised, able to travel and capable of prioritising effectively in this fast paced setting, you?ll be looking for an opportunity to influence our business ? and your career.

To apply, please write or e-mail enclosing full career details and your salary progression to date by clicking "Apply For This Job".

ASH Search & Selection
PO Box 34
Whitchurch
Shropshire SY13 1WF

Alternatively, for more detailed information together with an online application facility,
search for Ash Search & Selection

Source: http://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/job/779560/permanent/holyhead-or-birkenhead/project-engineer-energy-management-job-vacancy.aspx?FromRSSFeed=14

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National Sports | Boxing Day Blast

Tip: Use your keyboard to navigate flyers; Use the up/down arrow keys to scroll, and the left and right arrow keys to quickly turn pages!

National Sports flyer posted on Friday, Dec 23, 2011 until Saturday, Dec 31, 2011. Please verify effective flyer start/expiry date on flyer cover and/or with retailer.

Source: http://brampton.flyerland.ca/national-sports/395/flyer/74360

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aashkingstonn: RT @mondell_: aw I got a new house, a ferrari, two jeeps, an ipad, 4 laptops, a playstation, an xbox and a swimming pool for my new hous ...

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aw I got a new house, a ferrari, two jeeps, an ipad, 4 laptops, a playstation, an xbox and a swimming pool for my new house, thanks santa! Il y a environ 4 heures via Twitter for BlackBerry? Retweeted by 18 people

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Journal of Clinical Virology assembles papers on HIV diagnostic testing algorithms

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Fiona MacNab
f.macnab@elsevier.com
44-020-742-44259
Elsevier

London, December 22, 2011 Elsevier's Journal of Clinical Virology in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced the publication of a special supplement entitled 'Update on HIV Diagnostic Testing Algorithms'. This timely supplement contains articles which summarize studies since the 2010 US HIV Diagnostics Conference validating the proposed new US HIV diagnostic testing algorithm. In addition, review articles and original research related to the topic of HIV diagnosis and viral load monitoring are included.

Dr. Bernard Branson, Associate Director for Laboratory Diagnostics, CDC-Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention said, "The Journal of Clinical Virology supplement assembles, in one place, the most important research papers validating the performance of the new diagnostic algorithm for HIV testing. This performance validation represents one of the most significant developments in HIV diagnostics since CDC first recommended the Western blot for supplemental testing 22 years ago. We especially appreciate the efforts by the publisher and editors of the Journal of Clinical Virology, as an important service to public health, in making this supplement freely accessible to all at http://www.Journalofclinicalvirology.com."

###

The Journal of Clinical Virology is edited by Dr. William Carman and Dr. Christine Ginocchio; the supplement was guest edited by Dr. Max Q. Arens, published as Volume 52, Supplement 1, (December 2011).

Notes for editors

The full table of contents for the supplement is available to credentialed journalists upon request, as are individual articles, contact newsroom@elsevier.com.

For journalists wishing to interview the authors:

CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention News Media Team
404-639-8895
NCHHSTPMediaTeam@cdc.gov

BIO-RAD Laboratories
Tina Cuccia, Corporate Communications Manager
510-741-6063

Roche
Bryan R. Cobb, Ph.D., F.A.C.M.G. Director, Scientific Affairs
bryan.cobb@roche.com

About the Journal of Clinical Virology

The Journal of Clinical Virology is affiliated to the European Society for Clinical Virology and the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. It is an international journal publishing papers on any aspect of human virology that directly pertains to virus-induced clinical conditions. Articles from any field of virological study will be considered if the article is relevant to the understanding or manipulation of a disease state.

The Journal of Clinical Virology, with an Impact Factor of 4.023, is ranked 7th out of 33 Virology titles according to the 2010 Journal Citation Reports published by Thomson Reuters.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV; the combined market capitalization of the two parent companies is approximately 12bn/13bn. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact

Fiona Macnab
Elsevier
44-20-7424-4259
f.macnab@elsevier.com

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Dec-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Fiona MacNab
f.macnab@elsevier.com
44-020-742-44259
Elsevier

London, December 22, 2011 Elsevier's Journal of Clinical Virology in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced the publication of a special supplement entitled 'Update on HIV Diagnostic Testing Algorithms'. This timely supplement contains articles which summarize studies since the 2010 US HIV Diagnostics Conference validating the proposed new US HIV diagnostic testing algorithm. In addition, review articles and original research related to the topic of HIV diagnosis and viral load monitoring are included.

Dr. Bernard Branson, Associate Director for Laboratory Diagnostics, CDC-Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention said, "The Journal of Clinical Virology supplement assembles, in one place, the most important research papers validating the performance of the new diagnostic algorithm for HIV testing. This performance validation represents one of the most significant developments in HIV diagnostics since CDC first recommended the Western blot for supplemental testing 22 years ago. We especially appreciate the efforts by the publisher and editors of the Journal of Clinical Virology, as an important service to public health, in making this supplement freely accessible to all at http://www.Journalofclinicalvirology.com."

###

The Journal of Clinical Virology is edited by Dr. William Carman and Dr. Christine Ginocchio; the supplement was guest edited by Dr. Max Q. Arens, published as Volume 52, Supplement 1, (December 2011).

Notes for editors

The full table of contents for the supplement is available to credentialed journalists upon request, as are individual articles, contact newsroom@elsevier.com.

For journalists wishing to interview the authors:

CDC National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention News Media Team
404-639-8895
NCHHSTPMediaTeam@cdc.gov

BIO-RAD Laboratories
Tina Cuccia, Corporate Communications Manager
510-741-6063

Roche
Bryan R. Cobb, Ph.D., F.A.C.M.G. Director, Scientific Affairs
bryan.cobb@roche.com

About the Journal of Clinical Virology

The Journal of Clinical Virology is affiliated to the European Society for Clinical Virology and the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. It is an international journal publishing papers on any aspect of human virology that directly pertains to virus-induced clinical conditions. Articles from any field of virological study will be considered if the article is relevant to the understanding or manipulation of a disease state.

The Journal of Clinical Virology, with an Impact Factor of 4.023, is ranked 7th out of 33 Virology titles according to the 2010 Journal Citation Reports published by Thomson Reuters.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV; the combined market capitalization of the two parent companies is approximately 12bn/13bn. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact

Fiona Macnab
Elsevier
44-20-7424-4259
f.macnab@elsevier.com

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/e-joc122211.php

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Seeking signatures, Newt Gingrich diverts to Virginia (Los Angeles Times)

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CMEGroup: A discussion on the invisible hand and public policy with @EconTalker and Dan Klein from George Mason University http://t.co/X8vsGTN6 $$

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A discussion on the invisible hand and public policy with @EconTalker and Dan Klein from George Mason University ow.ly/87udW $$ Il y a environ 5 heures via HootSuite Retweeted by 2 people

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Floyd Mayweather Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail for Domestic Assault

Floyd Mayweather is undefeated in the boxing ring. But the multiple-time, multiple-weight class champion just lost a battle in court: a judge sentenced him to 90 days in prison.

Mayweather was arrested in September of 2010 after ex-girlfriend Josie Harris, the mother of his children, accused the athlete of hitting her in the head in front of the former couple's kids.

Following the incident, this Grand Rapids, Michigan native agreed to a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence in exchange for lawyers dropping any felony charges. He also pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanor harassment charges stemming from an alleged threat to beat up his kids.

Mayweather must begin serving his sentence on January 3. He must also complete 100 hours of community service and a 12-month domestic violence program. So much for that spring bout with Manny Pacquiao.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/floyd-mayweather-sentenced-to-90-days-in-jail-for-domestic-assau/

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Pope heads into busy Christmas season tired, weak (AP)

VATICAN CITY ? Pope Benedict XVI seems worn out.

People who have spent time with him recently say they found him weaker than they'd ever seen him, seemingly too tired to engage with what they were saying. He no longer meets individually with visiting bishops. A few weeks ago he started using a moving platform to spare him the long walk down St. Peter's Basilica.

Benedict turns 85 in the new year, so a slowdown is only natural. Expected. And given his age and continued rigorous work schedule, it's remarkable he does as much as he does and is in such good health overall: Just this past week he confirmed he would travel to Mexico and Cuba next spring.

But a decline has been noted as Benedict prepares for next weekend's grueling Christmas celebrations, which kick off two weeks of intense public appearances. And that raises questions about the future of the papacy given that Benedict himself has said popes should resign if they can't do the job.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi has said no medical condition prompted the decision to use the moving platform in St. Peter's, and that it's merely designed to spare the pontiff the fatigue of the 100-meter (-yard) walk to and from the main altar.

And Benedict rallied during his three-day trip to Benin in west Africa last month, braving temperatures of 32 Celsius (90F) and high humidity to deliver a strong message about the future of the Catholic Church in Africa.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he kissed babies who were handed up to him, delivered a tough speech on the need for Africa's political leaders to clean up their act, and visited one of the continent's most important seminaries.

Back at home, however, it seems the daily grind of being pope ? the audiences with visiting heads of state, the weekly public catechism lessons, the sessions with visiting bishops ? has taken its toll. A spark is gone. He doesn't elaborate off-the-cuff much anymore, and some days he just seems wiped out.

Take for example his recent visit to Assisi, where he traveled by train with dozens of religious leaders from around the world for a daylong peace pilgrimage. For anyone participating it was a tough, long day; for the aging pope it was even more so.

"Indeed I was struck by what appeared to me as the decline in Benedict's strength and health over the last half year," said Rabbi David Rosen, who had a place of honor next to the pope at the Assisi event as head of interfaith relations at the American Jewish Committee.

"He looks thinner and weaker ... which made the effort he put into the Assisi shindig with the extraordinary degree of personal attention to the attendees (especially the next day in Rome) all the more remarkable," Rosen said in an email.

That Benedict is tired would be a perfectly normal diagnosis for an 84-year-old, even someone with no known health ailments and a still-agile mind. He has acknowledged having suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in 1991 that temporarily affected his vision. And his older brother, who has a pacemaker for an irregular heartbeat, has expressed concern about Benedict's own heart.

But Benedict is not a normal 84-year-old, both in what he is called to do and the implications if he were to stop.

Popes are allowed to resign; church law specifies only that the resignation be "freely made and properly manifested."

Only a handful have done so, however. The last one was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants.

There's good reason why others haven't followed suit: Might the existence of two popes ? even when one has stepped down ? lead to divisions and instability in the church? Might a new resignation precedent lead to pressures on future popes to quit at the slightest hint of infirmity?

Yet Benedict himself raised the possibility of resigning if he were simply too old or sick to continue on, when he was interviewed for the book "Light of the World," which was released in November 2010.

"If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign," Benedict said.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had an intimate view as Pope John Paul II, with whom he had worked closely for nearly a quarter-century, suffered through the debilitating end of his papacy. After John Paul's death at age 84, it was revealed that he had written a letter of resignation to be invoked if he became terminally ill or incapable of continuing on.

And it should be recalled that at the time Benedict was elected pope at age 78 ? already the oldest pope elected in nearly 300 years ? he had been planning to retire as the Vatican's chief orthodoxy watchdog to spend his final years writing in the "peace and quiet" of his native Bavaria.

It is there that his elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, still lives. Ratzinger, who turns 88 next month, is nearly blind. Benedict has said his brother has helped him accept old age with courage.

Benedict said in "Light of the World" that he knew his own strength was diminishing ? steps are difficult for him and his aides regularly hold his elbows as he climbs up or down. But at the same time Benedict insisted that he had no intention of resigning to avoid dealing with the problems of the church, such as the sex abuse scandal.

"One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say that someone else should do it," he said.

As a result, a papal resignation anytime soon seems unlikely.

And Benedict is maintaining a hectic agenda. His planned trip to Cuba and Mexico next spring will fall shortly before he turns 85 on April 16. He has also said he'd like to make it to Rio de Janeiro in 2013 for the next World Youth Day.

Sometime in the New Year he will presumably preside over a new consistory to name the new cardinals who will elect his successor. And he has lots of unfinished business close to his heart: Bringing back breakaway traditionalists under Rome's wing, the fate of the sex abuse-scarred Irish church, tensions with China.

And he still cuts a robust figure in public given his age, walking briskly, speaking clearly and emphasizing key points. But his public engagements have been trimmed back; he had far fewer speeches in Benin than during his September visit to his native Germany or the United Kingdom last fall.

And behind closed doors, during audiences without the glare of TV cameras or throngs of the faithful encouraging him on, he has begun to show his age, acquaintances say.

The Rev. Joseph Fessio, Benedict's U.S. publisher and onetime student, sees the pope every so often, including during the summer when Benedict gathers his former theology students for an informal academic seminar at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.

Fessio recalled a day in the 2010 edition that remains with him: "In the Saturday morning session, the pope looked older and weaker than I had ever seen him before. In fact I remarked to someone that it's the first time I've seen him look like the old man that he is. He was speaking in softer tones than even his normally soft speaking voice. His head was bowed. He was pale. He just looked frail."

But then, after lunch and an apparent rest, Benedict returned for the afternoon session. "It was a complete transformation. He was lively, vigorous, attentive, and with his usual good humor," Fessio said.

Clearly, at his age Benedict has good days and bad, even good half-days and bad.

Yet he's never called in sick. In fact as pope, he has only had one significant known medical incident: He broke his right wrist when he tripped on the leg of his bed and fell while on vacation in the Alps in 2009.

Lombardi says the pope realizes the limitations of his strength, and that's why the recent trip to Benin was a one-stop-only affair.

"I think it's an example of the great willingness and wisdom of the Holy Father to continue doing these trips, even those that are difficult or far away," Lombardi said. He said the pope "measures well what his strengths are, and the possibility of doing the trips well."

"When I'm 84 I think I'll have been buried for many years," he added.

But he refused to give any kind of medical updates on the pope.

"I'm not a doctor. I don't give medical bulletins," Lombardi said. He paused, then added quietly: "In this phase. At this moment."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111217/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_tired_pope

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Sky apples stun English motorists

Sky Apples? Motorists in England were pelted by apples falling from the sky, and were left to speculate as to the cause.

In the make-believe town of Chewandswallow, it rains soup and juice, and sometimes it snows ice cream. But who would have imagined that the world created by Judi Barrett in her bestselling children's book "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" would come true one evening in Coventry, England?

Skip to next paragraph

On Monday night, it started raining apples.

?I honestly don?t know where the apples could have come from,? Brian?Meakins, a retired truck driver told UK?s Daily Mail.?

More than 100 apples fell from the sky onto car roofs and windshields of motorists who were traveling through a busy intersection?in the English city.? The bizarre phenomenon caused traffic congestion, left many wondering what had happened.? ??

A motorist told the Daily Mail that the apples fell out of nowhere.? ?They were small and green and hit the bonnet hard,? she added.? ?Everyone had to stop their cars suddenly.??

Bewildered by the incident, Mr. Meakins speculated:? ?At first I assumed kids must have thrown them because we do get the occasional egg and apple thrown.? ?But there?s way too many for that,? he continued.

British media also puzzled over the rain of apples.

Some speculated that a mini-tornado sucked up the apples from an orchard and deposited the fruit over Coventry. Another theory was they the fell from a cargo crate in an passing aircraft.

BBC ?s Magazine reported that this is not the first time it has precipitated something other than H20. The site said that frogs had fallen from the sky in the past in Llanddewi, Powys as well as in Croydon, south London.? The? BBC also reported that back in 2000 scores of dead silver sprats dropped from the sky in the coastal resort of Great Yarmouth.

Paul Sieveking, co-editor of the Fortean Times, a magazine devoted to the analysis of strange global phenomena, told BBC that 300 apples came down in 1984? in Accrington, Lancashire.

However, Dr. Lisa Jardine-Wright, a physicist at Cambridge University described the event as unusual but not inexplicable.

?A tornado which has swept through an orchard will be strong enough to 'suck up' small objects like a vacuum [cleaner]. These small objects would then be deposited back to earth as 'rain' when the whirlwind loses its energy," she told BBC.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/d00M0-Q6YEc/Sky-apples-stun-English-motorists

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A look at key exchanges in the GOP debate (AP)

WASHINGTON ? PERRY TURNS TO TEBOW

The gaffe-prone Rick Perry sought strength from an unlikely source Thursday night: Tim Tebow.

The young Denver Broncos quarterback has captured the admiration of football fans across the country after a string of unlikely victories.

"There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn't going to be a very good NFL quarterback. There are people that stood up and said, `Well, he doesn't have the right throwing mechanisms,' or he doesn't ? you know, he is not playing the game right," Perry said. "Am I ready for the next level? Let me tell you, I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses."

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ROMNEY LINKS GINGRICH ATTACK TO OBAMA

Newt Gingrich jabbed at Mitt Romney's sometimes-controversial business career to score political points last week. But Romney was ready with an answer ? and a knock on President Barack Obama ? when asked about Gingrich's criticism that he shuttered American companies and laid off employees to make money in the private sector.

"I think the president is going to level the same attack," Romney said. "In the real world that the president has not lived in, I actually think he doesn't understand that not every business succeeds."

Romney said his successes and failures in business would make him a stronger president. And he suggested that Gingrich, like Obama, don't know how the "real economy" works.

"The president I'll look at and say, `Mr. President, how did you do when you were running General Motors as the president, took it over? Gee, you closed down factories. You closed down dealerships.' And he'll say, `Well, I did that to save the business.' Same thing with us, Mr. President. We did our very best to make those businesses succeed."

Expect to hear more of that from Romney on the campaign trail, especially as Democrats and his Republican rivals pour through his quarter-century business career.

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PAUL, BACHMANN GO TOE TO TOE ON IRAN

Michele Bachmann, in an aggressive exchange with Ron Paul, helped expose what may be his greatest vulnerability among conservative voters: a strongly isolationist foreign policy.

Asked what he would do as president if presented with intelligence that Iran was on its way to possessing a nuclear weapon, Paul questioned why the U.S. has military bases around the world and drones flying over countries like Iran. Bachmann insisted that Iran presents a grave threat to the U.S. and Israel.

"The problem would be the greatest under-reaction in world history if we have an avowed madman who uses that nuclear weapon to wipe nations off the face of the earth," Bachmann said of the Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On Paul's position, Bachmann was unambiguous: "Nothing could be more dangerous than the comments that we just heard."

Paul got the last word. "You're trying to dramatize this that we have to go and treat Iran like we've treated Iraq and kill a million Iraqis and 8,000 some Americans have died since we've gone to war. You cannot solve these problems with war," he said.

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"PRETTY PLEASE" POLICY

Obama all but guaranteed an attack line this week when he asked Iran to return a drone that Iran claimed to have brought down in its territory. Romney seized the opportunity and hit it out of the park.

"A strong America is the best ally peace has ever known," Romney said in responding to a question about whether Obama's drone request had appeared timid and possible invited war.

"This is a president with the spy drone being brought down, he says, `Pretty please'? A foreign policy based on `pretty please'? You got to be kidding," Romney said.

Republicans have been eager to paint Obama as weak on foreign policy despite some obvious successes, such as ordering the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. With his answer, Romney guaranteed enthusiastic applause and an oft-repeated slogan, no matter who becomes the Republican nominee.

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GINGRICH LIKES HOUSES

Defending $1.6 million in payments he received from federal mortgage giant Freddie Mac, Gingrich surprised many observers by insisting that government has a role to play in helping people buy houses.

"I'm not going to step back from the idea that in fact we should have as a goal, helping as many Americans as possible be capable of buying homes," Gingrich said. "There are a lot of government sponsored enterprises that are awfully important and do an awfully good job."

Gingrich's position is anathema to many conservatives who believe Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae played a key role in creating the housing bubble and the 2008 mortgage meltdown. He pushed back at Bachmann's claim that Freddie Mac is a "grandiose scam" that needs to be shut down, saying her allegations about his relationship with Freddie Mac were "factually untrue."

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BACHMANN PUSHES BACK

Later in the evening, after Gingrich said a second time that Bachmann misstated facts, the Minnesota congresswoman pushed back hard.

"I think it's outrageous to continue to say over and over throughout the debate I don't have my facts right when, as a matter of fact, I do," Bachmann said. "I am a serious candidate for president of the United States. My facts are accurate."

Strong throughout the debate, the Minnesota congresswoman was particularly fearsome when she stood her ground and refused to be patronized. Her subtext was clear: Don't belittle the only woman on the stage.

Bachmann's declaration was impressive, but for one problem: She does misstate facts. Repeatedly.

Politifact, the award-winning, nonpartisan fact-checking website, has cited Bachmann 38 times for false statements.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_takeaways

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