A fire caused by a kerosene heater that flipped over in a center for refugees who had fled the Syrian civil war killed seven members of a family, a civil defense spokesman said Wednesday. The center is a temporary shelter for refugees before they are moved to a camp called Zaatari, which has been battered by a flash flood.
World Briefing | Middle East: Jordan: Fire Kills Family at Camp for Syrian Refugees
Label: WorldAmerican Idol's New Judges Make Their Debut
Label: Lifestyle
TV Watch
American Idol
From left: Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Ryan Seacrest, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban
Michael Becker/FOX.
American Idol is back!
Season 12 premiered Wednesday night with the first auditions in New York City. And fans hoping to get a taste of drama from new judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj were not disappointed.
"Right away we knew it was going to be an interesting couple of days," host Ryan Seacrest said at the start of the two-hour episode.
And he was right. (Spoilers ahead!) While fellow newbie Keith Urban and veteran judge Randy Jackson were all about the business of finding talented singers, there was immediate tension between Carey and Minaj, who wore a drum major's hat to her first day on the job.
"We can have accessories?" Carey said disapprovingly after taking her seat at the panel. "I didn't know that was allowed."
"Why did you have to reference my hat?" Minaj responded.
Later, when Carey boasted about her holiday hit, "All I Want for Christmas," Minaj clenched her fists, gritted her teeth and used the b-word. Carey's response? "I rebuke it," she said.
The two women talked over each other at times, rolled eyes and seemed to annoy one another. More than once Carey said "Nicki" like an frustrated mother calls her child out for misbehaving. And Minaj pushed Carey's buttons by talking in a British accent.
But as the two formerly feuding judges have said in recent interviews, the show should be about the hopeful contestants – and there were a handful of talented singers who earned golden tickets to Hollywood:
• Tenna Torres, who attended Camp Mariah and had previously sung for the singer, impressed the panel with her version of "You've Got a Friend," and made her idol very proud.
• Christina "Isabelle," who told a story of losing weight and finding confidence, had Minaj saying, "OMG! OMG!" with her version of "Summertime."
• Frankie Ford, who sings for change on the New York City subway system, stumbled at first but delivered a soulful version of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams." "I like your big voice," Urban said. "There's a lot of musicality in the tone."
Added Carey: "You have an inner glow, which is always beautiful to see."
• Despite hearing loss in both ears, Angela Miller, who sang "Mama Knows Best" by Jessie J, was "definitely one of the best," according to Jackson.
• And Ashlee Feliciano thrilled the female judges with her version of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On." "So pretty," Minaj said. "I want to come to your show ... I'm so inspired by you."
"The potential is great. It was beautiful," Carey said. "You should be really proud of yourself."
At the end of the first two days of auditions, the re-invented Idol panel had done its job: the judges praised the talented singers and handed out 41 tickets to Hollywood; they sent home the kooky contestants (often sweetly) and offered constructive criticism and an invitation to come back next year to the ones still on their way to greatness.
"We gel well in a weird crazy way," Minaj said at the end of the show. Carey said, "I agree."
We'll see how long that lasts! Auditions continue Thursday (8 p.m. ET) on Fox.
Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy
Label: HealthNEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.
The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.
The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health officials began recommending flu shots for them more than five decades ago, following a higher death rate in pregnant women during a flu pandemic in the late 1950s.
But the study is perhaps the largest look at the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, experts say.
"This is the kind of information we need to provide our patients when discussing that flu vaccine is important for everyone, particularly for pregnant women," said Dr. Geeta Swamy, a researcher who studies vaccines and pregnant women at Duke University Medical Center.
The study was released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday as the United States and Europe suffer through an early and intense flu season. A U.S. obstetricians group this week reminded members that it's not too late for their pregnant patients to get vaccinated.
The new study was led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It tracked pregnancies in Norway in 2009 and 2010 during an international epidemic of a new swine flu strain.
Before 2009, pregnant women in Norway were not routinely advised to get flu shots. But during the pandemic, vaccinations against the new strain were recommended for those in their second or third trimester.
The study focused on more than 113,000 pregnancies. Of those, 492 ended in the death of the fetus. The researchers calculated that the risk of fetal death was nearly twice as high for women who weren't vaccinated as it was in vaccinated mothers.
U.S. flu vaccination rates for pregnant women grew in the wake of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, from less than 15 percent to about 50 percent. But health officials say those rates need to be higher to protect newborns as well. Infants can't be vaccinated until 6 months, but studies have shown they pick up some protection if their mothers got the annual shot, experts say.
Because some drugs and vaccines can be harmful to a fetus, there is a long-standing concern about giving any medicine to a pregnant woman, experts acknowledged. But this study should ease any worries about the flu shot, said Dr. Denise Jamieson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The vaccine is safe," she said.
___
Online:
Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org
Asian shares consolidate, caution ahead of Chinese data
Label: BusinessTOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares eked out modest gains Thursday, consolidating amid better-than-expected U.S. earnings but demand was capped by caution ahead of Chinese data on Friday.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> added 0.1 percent, after falling in the past two sessions, pulled higher by a surge in Australian shares <.axjo>, which rose 1 percent to a 20-month high.
Australian employment surprisingly contracted by 5,500 in December, bolstering the odds for another interest rate cut. The prospect of further policy easing boosted local shares but sent the Australian dollar down to session lows of $1.0534 from $1.0560 before the data.
Analysts said the data came against a fairly positive global backdrop.
"There's a growing sentiment among investors that international risks have been significantly reduced, particularly after the U.S. made a start on its fiscal negotiations," said Ric Spooner, market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.
World stock markets ended flat on Wednesday with the banking sector rising as earnings from Goldman Sachs
Investors will now turn to economic reports from China on Friday, including fourth-quarter GDP, December industrial output, retail sales and house price, which will offer clues on the health of Asia's biggest economy.
Data showing demand for new cars in recession-bound Europe fell to a 17-year low in 2012 reminded investors of the challenges facing the global economy, after the World Bank sharply cut its outlook for world growth this year to 2.4 percent from 3 percent, citing a slow recovery in developed nations.
YEN RESUMES WEAKNESS
The dollar and the euro regained ground against the yen, snapping two days of selling when investors took profits from these currencies' sharp and rapid rises against the Japanese currency since November.
Traders expect the yen to remain on a weakening trend amid expectations for bolder monetary easing measures from the Bank of Japan as part of the new government's push to drive Japan out of years of deflation and economic slump.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average <.n225> inched up 0.2 percent, after tumbling 2.6 percent for its largest daily decline in eight months on Wednesday. The Nikkei hit a 32-month high on Tuesday as the yen's slump to multi-year lows against the dollar and the euro bolstered exporters on improving earnings outlook. <.t/>
The dollar was up 0.1 percent to 88.50 yen, off its peak since June 2010 of 89.67 touched on Monday, while the euro climbed 0.3 percent to 117.75 yen, after surging to its highest since May 2011 of 120.13 yen on Monday.
Anxiety about a possible protracted fight in Washington over raising the federal borrowing limit pushed the five-year cost to insure against a U.S. default up to 44 basis points on Wednesday, the highest since August 2011 during the first debt ceiling battle between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers.
The euro was up 0.1 percent to $1.3306 against the dollar, after reaching an 11-month high of $1.3404 on Monday.
COMMODITIES SEEN RISING
Reduced concerns over the euro zone debt problems, relatively more solid global economic fundamentals than last year and China's moderate recovery suggest there are buying opportunities for shares in cyclically dependant sectors and economies including Japan, Philip Poole, Head of Strategy at HSBC Global Asset Management, told a seminar in Tokyo this week.
"Recovery will feed through into 2013, but China won't go back to pre-crisis (of 2008) levels of growth of 10 percent," Poole said, adding that growth was likely to be 7-8 percent in 2013, a level investors now need to get used to.
"Cyclically sensitive sectors look relatively cheap in emerging countries and developed countries," while defensives were less attractive given their relative outperformance in 2012 under the more stressed financial environment, Poole said.
Another sector likely seen getting a boost from the reduced risk environment is commodities.
"Investment focus for 2013 is shifting to economically sensitive areas as global recovery takes place, boosting commodities prices," said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory.
The rally in platinum prices to 3-month highs this week, regaining its premium over gold for the first time since March 2012, is an indication of investors turning more proactive about taking risks, he said.
U.S. crude was down 0.2 percent at $94.05 a barrel while Brent was steady around $109.64.
(Additional reporting by Thuy Ong in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Room for Debate: A New Line in the Sand Against Terror?
Label: WorldThe arid northern African state of Mali once seemed like one of the continent’s rare stable democracies. But a coup, an influx of Libyan arms after the fall of Muammar el-Qaddafi, and an uprising by well-financed militants have led to Islamists controlling the north. Even as they face off against French troops protecting the south, the stronghold raises the specter of a new base of terror just south of the Sahara.
With Islamist groups in Mali connecting with militants from Libya, Nigeria, Algeria and elsewhere, how can northern Africa avoid fostering terrorism and becoming the next Afghanistan?
Read the Discussion »
It's a Boy for Elton John
Label: Lifestyle
Mom & Babies
Celebrity Baby Blog
01/15/2013 at 10:00 PM ET
George Pimentel/WireImage
Elton John is a father again!
The musician and David Furnish welcomed their second child, son Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, via surrogate on Friday, Jan. 11 in Los Angeles, the couple confirm to HELLO.
Born at 6:40 p.m., Elijah weighed in at 8 lbs., 4 oz.
John and Furnish, who married in 2005, are already parents to son Zachary Jackson Levon, 2.
“Both of us have longed to have children, but the reality that we now have two sons is almost unbelievable. The birth of our second son completes our family in a most precious and perfect way,” the couple say in a statement.
“It is difficult to fully express how we are feeling at this time; we are just overwhelmed with happiness and excitement.”
John, 65, has been open about his desire to expand their family.
“I know when he goes to school there’s going to be an awful lot of pressure, and I know he’s going to have people saying, ‘You don’t have a mummy,’” says the singer-songwriter of his decision to have another baby.
“It’s going to happen. We talked about it before we had him. I want someone to be at his side and back him up. We shall see.”
– Sarah Michaud
Dow, S&P 500 inch up with retailers but Apple drags again
Label: BusinessNEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected retail data, though tech heavyweight Apple dragged on the market for a third day.
Apple was the biggest weight on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 <.ndx> after reports on Monday of cuts to orders for iPhone parts. Shares declined 3.2 percent to $485.92 and closed below $500 for the first time since February.
Retail stocks advanced after a government report showing retail sales rose more than expected in December was seen as a favorable sign for fourth-quarter growth. A separate report showed manufacturing activity in New York state contracted for the sixth month in a row in January.
"A little better-than-expected news on retail sales once again reinforces that the consumer remains alive and reasonably well," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, which manages about $54 billion in assets.
Among retailers, American Eagle Outfitters Inc gained 4.8 percent to $20.58 and Gap Inc
Express Inc
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 27.57 points, or 0.20 percent, at 13,534.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 1.66 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,472.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 6.72 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,110.78.
Apple's stock has lost about 7 percent in the last three sessions and is down 8.7 percent since the start of the year.
"It's tough to discern exactly what's putting the pressure on it. But at the end of the day, its influence, considering it's still 3 1/2 to 4 percent of the S&P 500 index, is being felt," Luschini said.
"I attribute (it) to just some of the bloom coming off of the rose. They haven't necessarily done anything wrong, as much as others have caught up."
Also keeping investors on edge is the looming debt ceiling debate. On Monday, President Barack Obama rejected any negotiations with Republicans over raising the U.S. debt ceiling. The United States could default on its debt if Congress does not increase the borrowing limit.
Resolving the debt ceiling is more a question of how than if. Investors don't expect a U.S. default, but they are also wary of another eleventh-hour agreement like the one in August 2011.
An expected lackluster earnings season, too, kept investors from taking aggressive bets. Analyst estimates for the quarter have fallen sharply since October. S&P 500 earnings growth is now seen up just 1.8 percent from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Homebuilder Lennar
Dell Inc
On the down side, shares of Facebook
Volume was roughly 5.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the 2012 average daily closing volume of about 6.45 billion.
Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE by about 17 to 12 and on the Nasdaq by about 13 to 11.
(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)
At War Blog: Russian Military Ordered to Switch Portyanki for Socks
Label: WorldNear the end of World War II, Soviet and American soldiers met at the Elbe River in Germany. Lacking a common language, they compared their boots.
The Americans wore socks and lace-up boots. The Russians wore something that boggled the minds of their allies from the West: pieces of cloth twirled around their feet and inserted into bulky, knee-high boots.
The cloth strips, called portyanki, have been a signature element of the Russian military uniform since the 16th century. On Monday Russia’s minister of defense issued an order for a militarywide switch to socks.
“I have an instruction for you,” the minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said to a gathering of the equivalent of the chiefs of staff and regional commanders in comments broadcast on NTV television news. “In 2013, or at least by the end of this year, we will forget foot bindings. I’m asking you, please, if there is need we will provide additional funds. But we need to finally, fully reject this concept in our armed forces.”
It is hardly the stuff to alarm a Central Intelligence Agency military analyst. But it sheds light on the Russian military all the same.
NTV in Russia, reporting the change, noted that foot bindings were a common solution in militaries predating industrial looms, though “Russia is just about the only country where new enlisted men still learn to twirl portyanki.” (The video below gives a sense of what twirling looks like.)
The bindings are not unique to Russia. Such foot coverings were known as puttees when they had wide-scale use in the United States, Canadian and British militaries before and during World War I. Then, they were worn wrapped around the calf, above the boot.
(The video below shows another variety of these sock alternatives.)
In the Russian version, a swath of cloth about a foot wide, cotton in the summer, flannel in the winter, is inserted into the boot, effective against trench foot and frostbite alike, if bound correctly.
In basic training, even before breaking down a Kalashnikov, a Russian conscript learns to twist the portyanki around his feet to form mummylike cocoons, fit for the inside of the standard-issue Russian infantry boots, made today, as they were a century ago, of blackened canvas on a sole of rawhide. Running in these heavy boots, former soldiers say, is all but impossible.
This system of footwear had its principal advantage in military-industrial planning and logistics, freeing up Soviet factories from sewing millions of socks and allowing soldiers to tear wraps from old sheets in the field, if needed. During the Afghan war, however, Russian soldiers soured on the heavy boots; officers allowed soldiers to shed them for nonregulation running shoes.
The switch to socks began during the never-completed military reform in 2007, so some units march at parades in socks and lace-up boots, others in portyanki and boots without laces.
The minister’s statement on socks to the assembled generals may also have carried a deeper meaning, said Ruslan Pukhov, an analyst with the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. The cloth strips, almost a symbol of the Russian enlisted man’s life, are also emblematic of outmoded practices, he said.
Deeper changes, with higher stakes, are under way in the Russian military. Since 2007, the political leadership has systematically thinned the top-heavy officer ranks to alter the “egg-shaped” hierarchy of the army into a pyramid form. Mr. Shoigu’s order to complete the switch to socks, Mr. Pukhov said, signaled to the generals that they would not be exempt from following through with the reforms begun by his disgraced predecessor, Anatoly E. Serdyukov, who is under investigation for real estate deals involving the ministry’s property.
“We cannot fight the wars of the 21st century with the equipment we used 35 years ago in Afghanistan,” Mr. Pukhov said. “That is impossible to think about.”
TSX off 10-month high, energy weakness offsets RIM jump
Label: TechnologyTORONTO (Reuters) – Canada‘s main stock index finished short of a 10-month high on Monday as investor optimism for Research In Motion Ltd shares over the upcoming launch of its BlackBerry 10 devices was offset by falling energy shares.
Weakness in the materials sector, which includes mining stocks, also added pressure, while volatile oil prices were a drag on the energy sector. The two heavyweight sectors kept an otherwise positive index in check.
RIM shares extended a 13-percent gain made on Friday. The stock added 10.44 percent to C$ 14.70 and helped the information technology sector gain 2.48 percent.
“The investor confidence is brought about simply because of hope, and hope that the new BlackBerry 10 is going to be an answer to their prayers,” said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.
“There has been some talk that this is a revival of RIM. We’ll have to wait and see,” he added.
The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> finished little changed, up a 0.91 of a point, or 0.01 percent, at 12,603.09. Earlier, it touched 12,636.68, its highest since March 5, 2012.</.gsptse>
The index, which marked its fifth consecutive day of gains, swung back and forth between positive and negative territories in choppy trade.
“There’s a lot of indecisiveness out there. People don’t really know which way to go and you’re getting these markets that aren’t really doing much of anything,” said Julie Brough, vice president at Morgan Meighen & Associates.
Investors kept a close watch on the U.S. debt ceiling talks, seen as a significant catalyst for the markets, with hopes that a compromise will be reached. “There is reasonable optimism that it would be resolved,” Brough said.
The energy sector was down 0.5 percent, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd slipping 1.81 percent to C$ 29.26 and Talisman Energy Inc falling 2.64 percent to C$ 11.78. Oil prices were volatile, with Brent crude rising to $ 112 on supply concerns.
Encana Corp shares dropped 2.31 percent to C$ 19.05 after the surprise resignation of the chief executive officer of Canada’s largest natural gas producer.
The three energy companies were the three biggest drags on the index.
Materials stocks, home to mining firms, was down 0.3 percent amid a slew of deals within the sector.
Miner Alamos Gold Inc said it will buy Aurizon Mines Ltd for about C$ 780 million ($ 793 million) in cash and stock to get access to Aurizon’s only operating gold mine, Casa Berardi, in northern Quebec. Aurizon shares jumped 34 percent to C$ 4.57, while Alamos Gold fell 11.94 percent to C$ 14.90.
Russia’s state uranium firm agreed to pay $ 1.3 billion to take Canada’s Uranium One Inc private, as the successor to the Soviet Union’s nuclear industry seeks to strengthen its grip on supplies. Uranium One’s stock rose 14.52 percent to C$ 2.76.
In other company news, shares of Harry Winston Diamond Corp rose 4.41 percent to C$ 14.90 on the company’s plans to sell its high-end watches-to-necklaces division to Swatch Group in a $ 750 million cash deal that expands the Swiss watchmaker’s luxury offering and lets the Canadian group concentrate on its diamond mines.
(Additional reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by James Dalgleish and Nick Zieminski)
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Bachelor Sean Lowe: My Girl Must Love Dogs
Label: LifestyleFor any of the 25 women looking to win over this season's Bachelor, Sean Lowe, here's a tip straight from the source: "The girl I'm dating must be into my dogs," he tells PEOPLE.
The proud pet parent to two pooches, a boxer named Lola and a chocolate Labrador named Ellie, Lowe says, "For so long it's just been me and my two dogs, and I'm certainly not going to replace them with any woman."
Having had both animals for the past six years, the hunk has developed a special bond with the duo – though he admits his quest for love has forced him to make some changes.
"For many years, my dogs would sleep in the bed with me," he says. "I'm a big guy and I've got two good-sized dogs, so it's a full bed. Then I just realized one day, 'Alright, if I get married and a woman's going to join me in the bed, there's not going to be enough room.' I had to break the dogs of the habit of sleeping in the bed."
Luckily for Lowe, the pair have taken to their new accommodations easily.
"They're very intelligent dogs; they pick up on things really quickly," he says. "They learn pretty fast."
To hear more from Sean Lowe – including how his dogs help him navigate the dating world – check out the video above.
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