Kenya Union wants varsities to honour Sh3.9b deal

Sify - Monday 9th September, 2013

Kenyans came out in droves early Wednesday to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, part of the reform process aimed at avoiding a repeat of the violence that followed December 2007's ...

Clashes on Kenya-Ethiopia border among the Gabra Burji and Borana communities

API - Monday 9th September, 2013

MOYALE , - Thousands of families remain displaced from the northern Kenya district of Moyale, close to the Ethiopian border, following the latest spate of clan violence, which has left at least two dozen dead since it broke out on 30 ...

Kenya Deputy President Ruto?s ICC Trial to begin Tuesday

VOA - Monday 9th September, 2013

Kenya?s Deputy President William Ruto goes on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Tuesday on charges of involvement in violence that left about 1,300 people dead. The ICC accuses Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta of human rights abuses through involvement in Kenya?s 2007-2008 post-election violence that left about 1,300 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced from ...

Kenya Union wants varsities to honour Sh3.9b deal

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

KUSU ) wants the management of public universities to honour the Sh3.9 billion pay deal intended for a second phase of staff salaries and house ...

Kenya Shahbals witness jailed for perjury

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

IEBC 's report shows that the convict was registered to vote and his name appears in the manual and biometric rolls. However, the report shows that his name was not crossed out to indicate he had voted. Mwakembe was the second witness to be accused of perjury. On Monday, Mwakemba started his new life behind bars after Justice Ochieng found him guilty of lying on oath that he voted at ...

Kenya Situation on Mr Ruto and Mr Sang Case Interview with Karim Khan

All Africa - Monday 9th September, 2013

The Hague, Netherlands - In this issue of "ICC in Focus", we talked to Karim Khan, Mr Ruto's principal defence counsel, about the role of the defence counsel, his expectations at the beginning of the trial, whether or not his client will be present at the hearings, and how the defence is preparing for the beginning of the trial. "ICC in Focus" is a new television and ...

Kenya Gachagua two MPs win poll petitions

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

A governor and two MPs whose election had been challenged on Monday breathed a sigh of relief after judges hearing their cases ruled in their ...

Kenya Works on Parliament office block begin

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Parliament will this morning break ground for the construction of a multi-billion shilling office block in a controversial tender in which the taxpayer may have lost more than Sh200 ...

Kenya Man locks family in house sets it on fire after quarrel with wife

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

The machete-wielding man then waited outside the door ready to cut up any one who dared to force his/her way out. Villagers came to their rescue after they raised an alarm. The incident happened at 2.30am in Donge Village, Ahero. The children suffered injuries on their limbs while the woman was hit on the head with a machete as she fled from the burning house. "He hit one after another as ...

Kenya Kenyas health inequalities wide

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

World Vision Grants Acquisition Director Nick Wasunna (centre), National Health Coordinator Margaret Njenga (left) and Campaign Coordinator Brezhnev Otieno during the launch of the health report in Nairobi. [PHOTO: MOSES ...

Kenya Gangsters gun down AP officer

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Moyale police boss Nehemiah Lang'at said the officer was shot dead at about 9pm. The motive of the murder was not established but the police boss said investigations had been launched. He explained that the deceased was attached to the ...

Kenya County signs pact with police to help fight crime

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

The MoU, which was signed yesterday, allowed the police to accept up to 50 vehicles donated by individuals and institutions in Mombasa. The first batch of 12 vehicles and ten motorcycles will be launched tomorrow and handed over to the local police. The rest, which include fire engines, will be delivered in the coming weeks, Governor Hassan Joho said. The event took place ...

Kenya State House comptrollers wife robbed

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

AK 47 rifle , on a motorcycle, blocked her vehicle and robbed them of Sh22,000 and two mobile phones valued at Sh84,000," said Kiura. Police say the gunmen sped off on the motorcycle, which they are yet to identify. Ms Lenayapa and her friend were however, not injured during the robbery and police are carrying out investigation into the incident. By time of going to press on Monday, no ...

Kenya Military to be deployed in Moyale

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Marsabit County leaders to ensure all clans in the area are included in leadership matters. "We are informed the clashes broke out because some clans feel they were deliberately locked out of the leadership, but we are engaging the local leaders to ensure there is inclusiveness as part of efforts to solve the conflict," said Lenku. The clashes have so far claimed more than 10 lives and ...

Kenya Multinational processors threaten tea KTDA

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Mombasa County : Kenya's tea trade faces uncertainty as multinationals intensify their efforts to source the commodity directly from factories, reducing reliance on the auction ...

Kenya Governor finally releases names of PSB nominees

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Kisumu County Residence Association threatened to move to court over failure by the governor to constitute the board and interfering with the operations of the Assembly. Ranguma's (pictured) list to be vetted next week comprised those who have served in the civil society and public service for more than ten years. dispute resolution The governor has nominated ...

Kenya Court allows use of visual aids in hearing

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

The case is coming up today at The Hague-based court after a pre-trial conference yesterday. Ruto arrived at The Hague yesterday evening ahead of his trial appearance today. Presiding Judge Eboe-Osuji ...

Kenya Top lawyers lined up for Ruto Sang case

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Shyamala Alagendra Shyamala studied for her law degree in Malaysia and graduated in 1995. She is an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaysia. She acted as defence counsel for the former Head of the Public Service Francis Muthaura, whose charges were dropped in March this year in relation to allegations that he orchestrated crimes against humanity. The Malaysian lawyer has prosecuted ...

Kenya Coast leaders speak out on Hague cases

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Even as Ruto arrived at The Hague, several leaders pleaded with the court to drop his case, expressing frustration over its alleged double standards. Some said the Deputy President should not have honoured the court's summons. But a section of human rights advocates and other leaders hailed ...

Kenya LSK backs Uhurus plea for separate trial dates

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

LSK chair Eric Mutua (centre) addresses the press at the society's offices Monday. He is flanked by members Getrude Angote (right) and Ambrose ...

Kenya Human rights groups want fair hearing for Ruto Sang

Standard Digital - Monday 9th September, 2013

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) said the trials would provide an opportunity for the society to unearth the truth about the violence that took place after the 2007 disputed presidential election. KHRC Deputy Executive Director David Malombe said victims of the 2007/2008 post-poll skirmishes had waited for more than five years to get justice. "This process is needed to pave the road ...

Kenya Ruto begins fight to clear criminal charges

The Standard - Monday 9th September, 2013

The nation will be glued to television to watch proceedings from the court at The Hague in the Netherlands, which will rekindle the dark moments of the horrific 2007 post-election violence. Opening statements in the trial of Ruto and his co-accused, radio presenter Joshua arap Sang, who are facing crimes against humanity charges in Case One, will be heard before a three-judge panel. President ...

Source: http://www.kenyanews.net/index.php/sid/216951421/scat/a262965e0c331d64

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Irving Oil Deal Doubles to $300M

By Carol J. Clouse

July 29, 2013

The transaction marks the Canadian oil company's fifth visit to the USPP market.

The full article is available to Private Placement Letter subscribers only

Already a print subscriber? As a print subscriber, you are entitled to online access. Please click here to activate your account.

Source: http://www.privateplacementletter.com/news/Irving-Oil-Deal-Doubles-242659-1.html

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Aaron Hernandez to Facebook Fan Page Creator: I'd Like it But There's No Internet in Here LOL!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/08/aaron-hernandez-to-facebook-fan-page-creator-id-like-it-but-ther/

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Documents: SEC probing McAuliffe former e-car firm

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? The electric-car company headed until last fall by Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and a sister company led by the brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are under federal scrutiny over how they used a foreign investor visa program.

Nearly 100 pages of newly released documents reveal the Securities and Exchange Commission in May subpoenaed records of GreenTech Automotive and Gulf Coast Funds Management, a partner in GreenTech's efforts to establish plants in Mississippi. The inquiry is related to their use of a Department of Homeland Security program that grants permanent residency to foreign investors who invest $500,000 or more in economically struggling areas for ventures that create American jobs.

McAuliffe is a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and close friend and chief fundraiser for the presidential campaigns of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He was a co-founder and chairman of GreenTech until he quietly resigned after announcing his candidacy for governor in November.

"I left the company in December of last year, and I don't know anything about it," McAuliffe said after participating in a forum in Wytheville, Va., with state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, his Republican opponent in the nation's only competitive governor's race this fall.

Gulf Coast's chief executive and president is Anthony Rodham, the brother of the former first lady.

There was no reply to telephone messages the AP left Friday afternoon at Gulf Coast's McLean, Va., headquarters and at Rodham's home.

GreenTech, in an emailed statement to AP, acknowledged receiving the subpoenas and said the company is cooperating with investigators.

SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment on the investigation.

GreenTech, with the aid of Gulf Coast, used what is known as the EB-5 program to attract overseas capital, particularly from China where the company has its roots. Gulf Coast is one of hundreds of "Regional Centers" that pool investments from foreign nationals looking to invest in U.S. businesses or industries as part of the foreign investor visa program.

Documents posted on the website of Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa and the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, show that the SEC's subpoena sought unspecified documents from GreenTech and banking records from Gulf Coast. The documents also indicate that GreenTech impermissibly guaranteed investors returns on their money.

"The SEC is looking into the Regional Center (Gulf Coast) for possible security violations. SEC has issued subpoenas on the Regional Center's bank records. The SEC also informed USCIS of a publicly posted (an) unsigned promissory note posted online which guarantees returns on the GreenTech Automotive investment," according to one official summary that found "fraud was possible but not fully verified."

The documents include a 12-page letter from Grassley to Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services which oversees the EB-5 program, accusing Mayorkas of providing unusually preferential treatment to the politically connected McAuliffe and Rodham to expedite EB-5 applications from foreign investors.

Among documents Grassley references is an email from McAuliffe in which he complains about the deliberate pace of USCIS staff in approving an application and drops the name of Virginia's senior U.S. senator, Mark R. Warner, to drive home his point.

"I have been extremely frustrated by the USCIS approval process," McAuliffe wrote to Doug Smith, a Homeland Security assistant secretary on July 28, 2010. "You should be aware that Senator Warner and other Members of Congress have made inquiries on this project."

Mayorkas, testifying last week on his appointment before a skeptical Senate Homeland Security Committee, denied ever exercising undue influence on the outcome of a case.

McAuliffe, in the gubernatorial campaign, touts his stewardship at GreenTech as an example of his prowess at creating jobs. Last year, he said he located a start-up plant for the tiny, all-electric, two-seat MyCar in the Memphis, Tenn., suburb of Horn Lake, Miss., because Virginia economic development officials would not bid on the factory.

Years' worth of emails and other correspondence between McAuliffe and other GreenTech executives and Virginia Economic Development Partnership first reported by AP in December showed that VEDP staff under Democratic and Republican governors showed company officials a variety of sites in economically depressed Virginia regions. But the Virginia officials never got answers to questions about company operations and became skeptical of the investments-for-visas EB-5 program as a cornerstone of GreenTech's financing.

___

Online:

Senate Judiciary Committee documents (Grassley): http://1.usa.gov/1cmhM8c

___

Debra McCown, reporting from Wytheville, Va., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-08-02-SEC%20Investigation-McAuliffe/id-e392c54c25914502a0d0ca0bc57ba8d3

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Dying 2-year-old is Pa. couple's best man

AAA??Aug. 3, 2013?10:37 PM ET
Dying 2-year-old is Pa. couple's best man
AP

Christine Swidorsky carries her son and the couple's best man, Logan Stevenson, 2, down the aisle to her husband-to-be Sean Stevenson during the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Christine Swidorsky carries her son and the couple's best man, Logan Stevenson, 2, down the aisle to her husband-to-be Sean Stevenson during the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Newlywed Christine Stevenson kisses the hand of her son, Logan Stevenson, 2, after marrying Sean Stevenson in a wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Newlywed Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson smile after sharing their first kiss at the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Their son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Detail from a wedding cake donated by Leslie Joseph of Hunker shows a representation of Logan Stevenson, 2, and his favorite stuffed animal at the Stevenson wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson's son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

Logan Stevenson's stuffed toy, Bun Bun, rests on a table with his suit jacket after his parent's wedding ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 in Jeannette, Pa. Christine Stevenson and Sean Stevenson's son, Logan Stevenson, 2, stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father. The boy has leukemia and other complications. The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos. Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer. (AP Photo/Tribune Review, Eric Schmadel) PITTSBURGH OUT

JEANNETTE, Pa. (AP) ? Looking dapper in a tiny tan pinstripe suit and orange shirt, a 2-year-old boy with only weeks to live served as the best man Saturday afternoon for his parents' Pennsylvania wedding.

Christine Swidorsky carried Logan Stevenson on her shoulder at the Saturday afternoon wedding in Jeannette, a suburb of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

Logan stood with his grandmother, Debbie Stevenson, during a 12-minute ceremony uniting Logan's mother and his father, Sean Stevenson. The boy has leukemia and other complications.

"We're married," Swidorsky exclaimed joyously after kissing her groom to applause from family and friends.

After a whirlwind week, the Jeannette couple tied the knot in a hastily arranged backyard ceremony that formalized their union and celebrated Logan's life, which doctors say will be cut short soon by cancer.

The Stevensons abandoned an original wedding date of July 2014 after learning from doctors late last month that their son had two to three weeks to live. The couple wanted Logan to see them marry and to be part of family photos.

Logan dozed off and on during the ceremony, nestled on his grandmother's shoulder, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Debbie Stevenson said he is on medication to make him comfortable, but it also makes him sleepy.

Swidorsky's mother died six years ago and her father died just two months ago, the newspaper said.

Logan, who was born Oct. 22, 2010, was diagnosed shortly after his first birthday with acute myeloid leukemia. He has Fanconi anemia, a rare disease that often leads to cancer.

He endured a stem cell transplant in July 2012. Last March, he underwent surgery to remove a kidney ravaged by a tumor.

During a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in June, Logan fell ill. He was hospitalized in Florida before he was flown back to Pittsburgh.

During a trip to the emergency room last month, a test revealed a mass in his remaining kidney, which led to his terminal prognosis. Logan is spending his remaining days at home, where he is showered with attention from family members.

Swidorsky's daughter, Isabella Johns, 13, served as bridesmaid and the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Savannah, was her parents' flower girl.

"This is our dream come true," Swidorsky said through tears, the Post-Gazette reported.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-08-03-Dying%20Boy-Best%20Man/id-849e5871ecee4c13a2e2aed21a170e1c

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Duke Energy cancels plans for nuclear power plant

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AT&T out, Google in at Starbucks

Bloomberg

Starbucks is replacing AT&T as a provider of Wi-Fi.

In a grande-sized deal Google Inc. and Broomfield, Colo.-based Level 3 Communications Inc. will replace AT&T Inc. as providers of faster Wi-Fi service at thousands of U.S. Starbucks locations, Starbucks Corp. announced Wednesday.

The service will be roughly 10 times faster than what AT&T now provides, although speeds will vary by location, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) said.

The new vendors will provide service at new Starbucks locations starting in August, then eventually expand to 7,000 more company-owned U.S. stores over the next 18 months.

Level 3 (NYSE: LVLT) will upgrade the existing Wi-Fi devices used at Starbucks locations and manage in-store connectivity for point-of-sale transactions and Starbucks' other retail functions. The Wi-Fi service will carry Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) brand.

Financial terms were not announced.

AT&T (NYSE: T) currently provides 1.5 megabit Wi-Fi speeds at Starbucks shops via a T1 line, CBS' CNET reports.

Level 3 has worked on projects that share many of the same technical features, but not one putting together the different elements for such a high-profile customer, said Anthony Christie, Level 3's chief marketing officer.

?This is a watershed deal for us,? he said. ?Not because this is something we?ve never done, but it showcases our ability to develop unique solutions on a scale that?s very different from our competitors.?

CNET analyst Shara Tibken writes that the faster service may draw mobile-device users with limited data plans who want to use fast Wi-Fi for data-gobbling services like downloading big files and streaming.

?Every day, our customers rely on the free Wi-Fi at Starbucks to study, work, connect with friends or just relax,? said Adam Brotman, chief digital officer at Starbucks. "We want to make sure that they can access the web effortlessly and quickly, no matter what they?re doing, or what device they are using."

Mark Harden directs print and digital news content for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Broadway & 17th" blog. Email: mharden@bizjournals.com. Phone: 303-803-9227.

Greg Avery covers tech, telecom, aerospace and bioscience for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Boosters, Bits & Bioscience" blog. Phone: 303-803-9222.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_42/~3/_XhhQAkc0p0/att-out-google-in-at-starbucks.html

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Michael Douglas-Robert De Niro comedy 'Last Vegas' wins appeal of R-rating

By Todd Cunningham

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - BS Films on Thursday won its appeal of the R-rating initially given to the Michael Douglas-Robert De Niro comedy "Last Vegas," which will now be rated PG-13.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America's classification and rating appeals board announced the switch Thursday. The new rating for the film, which is to open on November 1, is for "brief sexual content."

Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen co-star in "Last Vegas," which is directed by Jon Turteltaub ("National Treasure") from an original screenplay by Dan Fogelman. The plot follows four friends who throw a Las Vegas bachelor party for the only one who's remained single.

CBS Films in February shifted the release date from December 20 to November 1, positioning it as counter-programming to Summit's young adult sci-fi film "Ender's Game."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michael-douglas-robert-niro-comedy-last-vegas-wins-010307793.html

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GOP's Long-Predicted Comeuppance Has Arrived (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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U.S. economy finds momentum in second quarter, eyes further gains

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, laying a firmer foundation for the rest of the year that could bring the Federal Reserve a step closer to cutting back its monetary stimulus.

Gross domestic product grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday, stepping up from the first quarter's downwardly revised 1.1 percent expansion pace.

The economic picture was further brightened by the ADP National Employment Report, which showed private employers added 200,000 jobs in July, maintaining June's pace. It offered hope the government's comprehensive employment report on Friday could show a recent run of fairly strong job gains extended to July.

"The economy is improving and the ADP report is emblematic of a pattern of growth that will continue to tilt to the upside," said Eric Green, chief economist at TD Securities in New York. "That is enough for the Fed to taper in September."

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy growing at a 1.0 percent pace after a previously reported 1.8 percent advance in the first three months of the year.

The surprisingly better GDP report buoyed U.S. stocks and lifted the dollar against a basket of currencies. Investors sold U.S. Treasury debt, with the price on the 30-year government bond falling a full point at one stage.

Rebounds in business spending and export growth, and a sharp moderation in the pace of decline in government outlays boosted economic growth in the April-June period, offsetting cooler consumer spending and a steady rate of inventory accumulation.

Still, the report marked a third straight quarter of GDP growth below 2 percent, a pace that normally would be too soft to bring down unemployment. But growth was poised to gain even more momentum in the second half of the year as the fiscal burden brought on by belt-tightening in Washington eases.

Federal Reserve officials, wrestling with a decision on the future of their $85 billion per month bond-buying program, will likely draw comfort from the pick-up in output last quarter. They wind up a two-day meeting later on Wednesday.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the central bank would probably start curtailing the bond purchases later this year with an eye toward bringing them to a complete halt by the middle of 2014, if the economy progressed as expected.

REVISIONS GIVE ECONOMY A GLOW

Revisions to earlier GDP data released along with the report on Wednesday cast the economy in a better light than previously, and contributed to the report's solid tenor.

The government implemented a number of changes in how it calculates GDP. For example, research and development spending will now be treated as investment, and defined benefit pension plans will be measured on an accrual basis, rather than as cash.

The revisions showed the economy grew 2.8 percent last year, 0.6 percentage point faster than previously estimated.

They also yielded a higher rate of savings, a good omen for future consumer spending.

Still, higher taxes, as Washington tries to shrink the government's budget deficit, constrained consumer spending in the second quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slowed to a 1.8 percent growth pace after rising at a 2.3 percent rate in the first quarter.

The slow pace of consumption kept a lid on inflation pressures, with a price index in the report holding steady in the second quarter. Excluding food and energy, prices rose at a subdued 0.8 percent pace. Both measures were the weakest since the first quarter of 2009.

Tepid domestic demand also led businesses to keep close watch on their inventories. Inventory accumulation added 0.41 percentage point to growth, less than half its contribution in the prior quarter.

But higher savings and a firming labor market should help to spur consumer spending and encourage businesses to continue a steady pace of restocking.

"We remain confident that the economy will expand much faster in the second half of the year as the drag from fiscal tightening continues to fade," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.

"The most important support factor will remain the improving labor market, which already in the past has allowed consumer spending to weather most of the fiscal drag."

Private employers added 200,000 jobs in July after hiring 198,000 in June, the ADP report showed. The figure was in line with the pace of job growth seen since the start of the year.

Exports rebounded in the second quarter, showing the largest percentage gain since the third quarter of 2011, even as demand weakened in Europe and China.

But the increase was insufficient to offset strong import growth, leaving a trade deficit that weighed on GDP.

There was good news from the housing sector, with spending on residential construction rising at a double-digit rate. Housing, which triggered the 2007-09 recession, is growing strongly, helping to keep the economic recovery anchored.

However, a rise in mortgage rates on the back of growing expectations of a reduction in the Fed's bond purchases has cooled the appetite of some potential buyers.

Business spending reversed the prior quarter's decline, and while government spending contracted for a third straight quarter, the pace of the decline slowed sharply as state and local government spending rebounded.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani,; Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-economy-likely-lost-step-second-expected-regain-050834234.html

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Get Two Android Apps That Display Crucial Phone Information for Free

Sometimes I need to check information on my phone that the notifications bar doesn?t show ? such as GPS signal strength and CPU temperature. For example, when traveling, knowing whether your mobile is on the verge of an overheated shutdown or if your GPS signal might soon conk out, helps a lot. I spent a lot of time puttering around with different ways of visualizing this data and discovered two apps that stand out: Power Line and Cool Tool.

Power Line and Cool Tool allow you to monitor a huge amount of information, regardless of what you?re doing on the phone. They use a feature of the Android operating system called ?screen overlay? which allows apps to display images over other apps. While sounding similar to the Android notifications bar, which displays at the top of the screen, screen overlay appears anywhere you want on the screen.

Also, for those of you using Paranoid Android or Pacman custom ROMs, you may not even have a notifications bar to show the clock or cellular signal quality ? installing an improved form of notification bar could help. For those of you with questions on how to root and install a custom ROM, check out Danny?s article on the subject.

Power Line

Power Line shows all its information without text ? using extremely minimal lines. Although Power Line can display fewer kinds of readouts than Cool Tool, its colorful bars look extremely good and are much easier to setup. To get started with Power Line, you only need to fire the app up. If you need to add additional lines, navigate to ?settings? and hit the ?+? button in the upper right corner.

Core Features

• The Power Line app displays your phone?s information using customizable, colorized bars, which it lays out in one of three positions: (1) Top of the screen; (2) bottom of the screen; (3) center of the screen. You can alter the color, thickness, positioning and transparency of these bars.
• Large number of readouts: Power Line provides thirteen different readouts ? there?s a fourteenth option to include bars as decoration.
• Full screen bars/lines: The colored bars can span the entire length of the screen. For example, using the mobile signal bar readout, when in an area with great cellular reception, the bar spans the length of the screen. The colors of the lines can also change, depending on their strength ? for example, if a cellular signal is strong, the color can be set to turn blue.

The Good

• Minimal aesthetics: Power Line features extremely minimal graphics ? it?s just a bar.
• Inexpensive: The paid version of Power Line costs $1.49.
• Beautiful: While Cool Tool focuses on raw functionality, Power Line emphasizes appearance. Below, I enabled several bars against a black background, for contrast. You can see that the lines are of varying thickness, color and positioning.

The Bad

• Free version heavily limited: The Free versions unfortunately doesn?t come with very much, aside from the battery and signal strength indicators. If that?s good enough for you, though, you won?t need to purchase the paid version.
• The clock available in Power Line, predictably, is a line. To me this made it extremely difficult to gauge the time ? looking at the sun provided a more reliable estimate of time.
• Difficult to distinguish between each line: You can only tell the difference from each line by changing color, width, transparency and positioning. Oftentimes, even with different colored lines, I found myself not really being able to tell whether my battery was overheating or if it was simply low on charge.

Cool Tool

Out of the two apps, Cool Tool possesses the most functionality, with less emphasis on aesthetics. It features a huge number of readout options, including GPS signal, cellular network signal strength, free RAM, battery temperature and more. One of the more interesting features of Cool Tool is that it can function as a task killer ? though I don?t recommend using this feature on any Android versions newer than 2.2, Froyo. Additionally, it has several custom themes that you can download for free.

Core Features

• GPS information: Cool Tool includes GPS monitoring. Below, you can see the GPS signal strength in purple. Typically any rating above zero indicates a functional connection. You can also choose to set the GPS to display as a graph, which can indicate whether or not GPS signal will soon drop off.
• Adjustable positioning: The Cool Tools display can appear anywhere on your mobile. To change its position, simply use the virtual joystick to move the display around.

• Text, histogram or graph display: Cool Tool can display information in either text form (such as showing battery temperature in degrees Fahrenheit), as histograms or graphs.

• There are several free custom themes for the free version. I suggest pairing Cool Tool with a custom theme and using a launcher, such as Nova Launcher, to rid yourself of the notifications bar. As a replacement, Cool Tool takes up zero space and provides many times more the information.

The Good

• Themes: Cool Tool also offers a variety of free themes. Some increase the size of the graphs and readouts. Others change the color. Cool Tool gives a great deal of leeway to those with custom icons and launchers.
• Highly customizable: There are hundreds of customizable sensor display options in Cool Tool.
• Ridiculously feature rich: It can monitor almost any metric available on your phone.
• Broad compatibility: Cool Tool works on almost any phone. Believe it or not, it worked on all of my many Android devices, going back as far as Android 2.1, which is paleolithic-old in Internet time.

The Bad

• The free version includes an ad, but this only displays during the setup process. Overall, this isn?t much of a negative.
• Turning on too many gauges will drain your battery faster.
• Complex: It can take some time to properly configure the app, as there are hundreds of configuration options.

Conclusion

Comparing Cool Tool to Power Line for me is very difficult; over the past few months I?ve alternated use between the two. Are they worth purchasing? Yes, although Cool Tool?s Pro version only exists in the Amazon app store and Power Line doesn?t include ads. It comes down to this: If you prefer raw minimalism, go with Power Line. If you want a more feature rich application, give Cool Tool a try.

For those of you looking for all kinds of hardware info on your phone, check out Erez?s breakdown of Elixer 2. I can personally vouch for Elixer 2?s thoroughness. It will tell you all kinds of things about your phone.

Does anyone else use overlay tools? Let us know in the comments.

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/get-two-android-apps-that-display-crucial-phone-information-for-free/

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Apple, Samsung Claim Bulk of Smartphone Profits

Apple, Samsung Claim Bulk of Smartphone Profits

Published on 07-31-2013 02:24 PM

Here's a newsflash. Apple and Samsung are still - overwhelmingly - the two biggest players on the smartphone scene today, with each claiming a nearly identical dominant share of total smartphone revenue.

According to Cannacord analyst Michael Walkley, Apple claimed 53 percent of smartphone profits in Q2 of 2013, which is down 4% from Q1. Nonetheless, Apple's share remains a handsome one in the face of stiff competition from Samsung. The South Korean tech titan saw its share of smartphone industry profits climb from 43 percent in Q1 to 50 percent in Q2.

Sales of Samsung?s Galaxy S4 and Apple?s iPhone 5 have been especially strong during the summer months... so much so that the two companies now account for 103% of industry profits combined. The Financial Post reports that the only excitement in this race pertains to third place, where Nokia, BlackBerry and other Android-centered manufacturers like HTC Corp., ZTE Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. are fighting to determine who is going to be next in line to Apple and Samsung.

To be fair, of course, the distance between third and second place isn't really a "gap." It's the Grand Canyon.

Source: The Financial Post

Source: http://modmyi.com/content/11707-apple-samsung-claim-bulk-smartphone-profits.html

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Exercise is good for you, but it won't cut hot flashes

Public release date: 31-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Eileen Petridis
epetridis@fallscommunications.com
216-696-0229
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (July 30, 2013)Exercise has proven health benefits, but easing hot flashes isn't one of them. After participating in a 12-week aerobic exercise program, sedentary women with frequent hot flashes had no fewer or less bothersome hot flashes than a control group. This randomized, controlled study from the MsFLASH Research Network was published today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.

The 248 women in the trial were either approaching menopause or were postmenopausal; 142 of them continued to go about their usual activities, and 106 participated in aerobic exercise training three times a week for 12 weeks at a fitness center. All the women kept daily diaries on their hot flashes and night sweats and on how well they slept and also completed questionnaires about insomnia, depression, and anxiety.

Although exercise had small positive effects on sleep quality, insomnia, and depression, it had no significant effect on hot flashes for the women overall. Race and initial fitness did make some difference, however. White women in the exercise program did show improvement in their hot flashes compared with white women who maintained their usual activity level, but there was no similar difference among African-American women. Also, women who were more fit to begin with had greater improvement in their hot flashes with exercise.

The study helps to settle a debate about the effect of exercise on hot flashes. Previous studies have been inconsistent, but this study corroborates a recent Cochrane review on the topic, which concluded that there was no evidence to support the use of exercise as an effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats.

"Midlife women cannot expect exercise to relieve [hot flashes and night sweats] but may reasonably expect it to improve how they feel and their overall health," said the investigators.

###

The National Institutes of Health established the MsFLASH (Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health) Research Network to study promising treatments for the most common symptoms of menopause. This study was funded and supported by the National Institute on Aging in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Office of Research and Women's Health. At the Indiana University site, the project was funded in part by the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, which is funded in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award.

The study will be published in the April 2014 print edition of Menopause.

Founded in 1989, The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is North America's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the health and quality of life of all women during midlife and beyond through an understanding of menopause and healthy aging. Its multidisciplinary membership of 2,000 leaders in the fieldincluding clinical and basic science experts from medicine, nursing, sociology, psychology, nutrition, anthropology, epidemiology, pharmacy, and educationmakes NAMS uniquely qualified to serve as the definitive resource for health professionals and the public for accurate, unbiased information about menopause and healthy aging. To learn more about NAMS, visit http://www.menopause.org.

---

[ | 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: 31-Jul-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Eileen Petridis
epetridis@fallscommunications.com
216-696-0229
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (July 30, 2013)Exercise has proven health benefits, but easing hot flashes isn't one of them. After participating in a 12-week aerobic exercise program, sedentary women with frequent hot flashes had no fewer or less bothersome hot flashes than a control group. This randomized, controlled study from the MsFLASH Research Network was published today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.

The 248 women in the trial were either approaching menopause or were postmenopausal; 142 of them continued to go about their usual activities, and 106 participated in aerobic exercise training three times a week for 12 weeks at a fitness center. All the women kept daily diaries on their hot flashes and night sweats and on how well they slept and also completed questionnaires about insomnia, depression, and anxiety.

Although exercise had small positive effects on sleep quality, insomnia, and depression, it had no significant effect on hot flashes for the women overall. Race and initial fitness did make some difference, however. White women in the exercise program did show improvement in their hot flashes compared with white women who maintained their usual activity level, but there was no similar difference among African-American women. Also, women who were more fit to begin with had greater improvement in their hot flashes with exercise.

The study helps to settle a debate about the effect of exercise on hot flashes. Previous studies have been inconsistent, but this study corroborates a recent Cochrane review on the topic, which concluded that there was no evidence to support the use of exercise as an effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats.

"Midlife women cannot expect exercise to relieve [hot flashes and night sweats] but may reasonably expect it to improve how they feel and their overall health," said the investigators.

###

The National Institutes of Health established the MsFLASH (Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health) Research Network to study promising treatments for the most common symptoms of menopause. This study was funded and supported by the National Institute on Aging in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Office of Research and Women's Health. At the Indiana University site, the project was funded in part by the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, which is funded in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award.

The study will be published in the April 2014 print edition of Menopause.

Founded in 1989, The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is North America's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the health and quality of life of all women during midlife and beyond through an understanding of menopause and healthy aging. Its multidisciplinary membership of 2,000 leaders in the fieldincluding clinical and basic science experts from medicine, nursing, sociology, psychology, nutrition, anthropology, epidemiology, pharmacy, and educationmakes NAMS uniquely qualified to serve as the definitive resource for health professionals and the public for accurate, unbiased information about menopause and healthy aging. To learn more about NAMS, visit http://www.menopause.org.

---

[ | 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/2013-07/tnam-eig073013.php

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Google debuts new, free Zagat site and apps

Indecisive foodies have another tool to help them find top-notch eating and drinking destinations. Google on Monday overhauled the Zagat.com website and released new, free Zagat mobile apps for Android and iOS.

Until now, Zagat required people to login to access the reviews. With this overhaul, Google is making Zagat content free and accessible to everyone without having to sign up.

Google purchased the restaurant-review company in 2011 and added its database of reviews to existing Google services like Google Maps and Google Plus in 2012.

Zagat ratings score dining, hotel and other entertainment venues on a scale of one to 30. They haven't replaced Google's own Yelp-like scoring system, which assigns locations a one- to five-star rating based on user reviews in Google Plus. Those scores currently show up in Google.com search results.

Zagat competes with other review databases such as Yelp and Foursquare. Unlike those crowd-sourced rankings, Zagat still relies on a slightly older, less-freewheeling model. It collects information about the places it rates using surveys and then tallies the results for the final scores.

The new Zagat has four categories of content. There are listings for individual places that bear the familiar one-paragraph summary and ratings for food, decor, service and an average cost. There is also original content put together by local editors in the form of lists, blog posts (called "Buzz") and videos.

The revamped Zagat site and apps only cover restaurants and nightlife in nine cities to start, but Google says it will add 50 locations in the coming months. It also plans to add in results for other types of destinations, including stores, hotels and places of interest.

For now, anyone living in or visiting Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco or Washington can use the tools to choose an adventure.

Source: http://www.wyff4.com/news/money/technology/Google-debuts-new-free-Zagat-site-and-apps/-/9323972/21238540/-/7l9l22/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Data reveals the century's trendiest names come from soap opera characters, reality stars, actors, sports stars and politicians

• Names that have had short-term yet dramatic spikes over the past century can often be directly linked to historical events or popular culture
  
• The number one most trendy name for girls, peaking in 1972, is Catina - the name of a soap opera character
• Presidents, singers, actors and sports stars names have also spiked in relation to popularity
• Analysis shows that U.S. parents are choosing more and more unique names for their babies

By Alex Greig

PUBLISHED: 16:50 EST, 29 July 2013 | UPDATED: 22:52 EST, 29 July 2013

Catina, Jalen and Aaliyah are among the most popular baby names from the twentieth century - and they are all based on well-known personalities of their time.

A new study has revealed the 10 girls and boys names that saw the biggest spikes in the 1900s, and through-out the years it was always star sportsmen, famous actors and actresses and even military chiefs who captured the imagination of parents.

In 1937, the most trendy name given to baby girls was Deanna. At that time Deanna Durbin was an actress who often played the model daughter in films and TV shows.

Top 10: These are the top trendiest boys and girls names according Flowing Data

Looking back on 2013, data may reveal a huge spike in certain unusual names. Perhaps Barack,? Beyonce, or even Snooki may briefly flare in popularity before returning to obscurity.

Flowing Data used the Social Security Administration's data to track the trendiest names of the past century, and the results are interesting in that they can almost always be directly linked to events or popular culture of the time.

?

There are always 'regular' names, such as Sophia, Matthew, Mary or John, that maintain a certain level of use. It's the more unusual names that go from nothing to hugely popular and back again that Flowing Data is interested in.

Popular: The name of Zoe Saldana's Colombiana character Cataleya (left) peaked in 2012, while girls called Aaliyah (right) are likely to have been born in 1994

'If a small percentage of the baby population was given a name one year and a relatively much higher percentage of the next year's baby population got said name, we consider that a trendy name,' according to Flowing Data.

The website used a mathematical equation to find out which names had the highest 'relative risk' - the probability of a name being used that generally has a low likelihood statistically.

Many of the names that proved the most trendy can be easily linked to contemporary events.

Wishful thinking: Deanna Durbin (left) often played the ideal daughter and her name was given to many girls in 1937, while Woodrow Wilson (right) was the namesake of boys the year he was elected President

The number one most trendy girl name was Catina, which reached its peak in 1972, when a character in the popular soap Where the Heart is gave birth to a baby girl and named her Katina.

The name Dustin spiked in 1967, the year Dustin Hoffman starred in the film The Graduate. The name Dawson reached its high the year the hugely popular Dawson's Creek debuted on television.

Many baby girls were named Aja in 1978, the year the Steely Dan album Aja came out.

1978: The Steely Dan album release coincided with a jump in baby girls named Aja

And Yulissa spiked in 1997, another soap opera name from the Mexican telenovela Te Sigo Amando.

There was a jump in boys with the unusual name of Woodrow in 1913, the year Woodrow Wilson was elected President.

Other names aren't as easy to place.

In 2005, there was a spike in baby boys who were named Talan, which Flowing Data tentatively puts down to Talan Torriero, a 'star' of the reality television show Laguna Beach.

The popularity of the name Deneen rose in 1964, but the analyst of the data couldn't put forth a candidate from whom the name might have gained it popularity.

Flowing Data also noted a trend for uniqueness in the past few decades, meaning people are using more unique names than ever before.

What's in a name: These are the top five names for boys and girls per quarter century from 1880

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dailymail/femail/~3/7I_fM2tcDps/Data-reveals-centurys-trendiest-names-come-soap-opera-characters-reality-stars-actors-sports-stars-politicians.html

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How to learn successfully even under stress

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Whenever we have to acquire new knowledge under stress, the brain deploys unconscious rather than conscious learning processes. Neuroscientists have discovered that this switch from conscious to unconscious learning systems is triggered by the intact function of mineralocorticoid receptors. These receptors are activated by hormones released in response to stress by the adrenal cortex.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/MyGvyeF0RpU/130730101740.htm

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Cambodia's Hun Sen shaken as opposition rejects poll result

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen faced his biggest political setback in two decades on Monday as the country's opposition rejected an election result as tainted by widespread fraud, despite heavy losses for the ruling party.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, buoyed by a near doubling of seats in parliament, called for an inquiry into what he called massive manipulation of electoral rolls in Sunday's vote.

The government announced late on Sunday that Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had won 68 seats in the 123-seat parliament to the opposition's 55, a loss of 22 seats for the ruling party.

That marked the 60-year-old Hun Sen's worst election result since the war-torn country returned to full democracy in 1998, although the CPP retained a governing majority to enable the prime minister to extend his 28-year rule.

Prolonged wrangling over the result and a weakened Hun Sen could raise policy uncertainty in the small but fast-growing Southeast Asian nation that is drawing growing investor interest and has forged strong economic ties with China and Vietnam.

But the opposition's chances of overturning the outcome are slim given the ruling party's grip on the courts and with major foreign donors like the United States unlikely to reject the result without evidence of massive fraud.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), whose campaign was given a boost by the return from exile of leader Sam Rainsy, said it wanted an investigation committee set up with representatives from political parties, the United Nations, the election authority and non-governmental organizations.

"There were 1.2 million to 1.3 million people whose names were missing and could not vote. They deleted our rights to vote, how could we recognize this election?" Sam Rainsy, a French-educated former finance minister, told a news conference.

"There were ghost names, names only on paper."

The opposition tapped into growing concern among Cambodians over rising inequality and entrenched corruption that Hun Sen's critics say his policies have exacerbated.

Hun Sen, who has yet to speak publicly about the outcome, may have to adjust some policies in light of the surge in opposition support and show more sensitivity to public opinion. The loss of its two-thirds majority means the CPP will need opposition support to enact any changes in the constitution.

But Hun Sen still has the ability to control policymaking through his majority and the entrenched networks of political influence he has built within the CPP.

"It's definitely unprecedented and unexpected but for now I don't think regime stability is at stake," said Giulia Zino, a Southeast Asia analyst at Control Risks group in Singapore.

ANGRY VOTERS

The CPP had 90 seats in the outgoing parliament and the parties that united to form the CNRP had 29, with minor parties holding the remaining four. Cambodia's election commission has yet to announce how many seats each party has won, and will not announce full, official results until August 15 at the earliest.

Rights groups have criticized the electoral system as heavily biased in favor of the ruling party. The European Union declined to deploy poll monitors for this election after Cambodia did not act on its previous recommendations.

The Transparency International group, which helped monitor the election, cited various irregularities in the vote and said in a statement it was "very concerned about the disenfranchisement of citizens and suspect voters".

Voting on Sunday, like the campaign itself, was for the most part peaceful.

The CPP, backed by a compliant domestic media and superior resources, had been confident of victory. Analysts had predicted a reduction in its majority after the merger of two main opposition parties, as well as the return of Sam Rainsy, but the extent of opposition gains was a surprise.

Rising garment exports plus heavy flows of aid and investment from China have fuelled rapid economic growth, but that has been accompanied by a rise in social tension.

Cambodians have protested more frequently over poor conditions in the garment industry and land rights in the country of 14 million, where a third of people live on less than 65 U.S. cents per day.

The urban population has swelled in recent years, giving rise to a new generation of young voters who have access to wider sources of information online and who tend to support the opposition.

"Democracy is stronger in Cambodia than most outsiders anticipated," said Douglas Clayton, the chief executive of the Leopard Capital investment fund in Phnom Penh.

"The government will likely become more consultative and sensitive to public opinion."

The United Nations organized an election in 1993 that put Cambodia on a rocky path towards stability after decades of turmoil that included the 1975-79 "Killing Fields" rule of the communist Khmer Rouge.

Hun Sen, a former junior commander in the Khmer Rouge who broke away during their rule, lost that election but refused to accept the result and negotiated a position as joint prime minister before seizing power in a coup in 1997.

(Writing by Alan Raybould and Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cambodian-opposition-party-rejects-poll-result-wants-inquiry-032938491.html

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