Clegg on defensive as sexual harassment claims batter party

LONDON (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Sunday denied covering up allegations of sexual misconduct by a former senior member of his Liberal Democrat party, already floundering in opinion polls.

Allegations of sexual impropriety by former party chief executive Chris Rennard threaten to engulf Clegg and further undermine the Lib Dems, the junior member of Britain's coalition government.

The latest furore comes at a bad time for the party, after the resignation of cabinet minister Chris Huhne this month who admitted he had asked his then wife to accept a penalty for a 2003 speeding offence he had committed.

A local election to replace Huhne is to be held on February 28.

Rennard, the mastermind behind the party's election strategy before quitting in 2009, was accused in a report by Britain's Channel 4 television channel on Thursday of inappropriately touching female party members and activists several years ago.

The report has since triggered a flurry of similar allegations in the British media.

Lawyers for Rennard, a member of parliament's upper house, said after the Channel 4 report that he was "deeply shocked by and strongly disputes" the allegations made against him.

Media reports have since then accused Clegg of knowing of the allegations long ago but not investigating them.

"I am angry and outraged at the suggestion that I would not have acted if these allegations had been put to me," Clegg said late on Sunday, rejecting suggestions of a "cover up".

He said was made aware of "indirect and non-specific concerns" about Rennard in 2008, and had acted on them, but there was a limit to how far the party could take the matter given sources of the concerns were indirect and anonymous.

The Lib Dems have announced two internal inquiries since more detail has come to light, one into how the party handled the allegations, and another into the allegations themselves. Clegg said they would reveal the truth of what happened.

"But in the meantime, I will not stand by and allow my party to be subject to a show trial of innuendo, half-truths and slurs," Clegg said.

Britain's opposition Labour party demanded an independent investigation.

"This series of allegations are too serious to allow the Lib Dems to investigate themselves," said Labour lawmaker Bridget Phillipson.

"Nick Clegg and other senior Liberal Democrat lawmakers and officials must come clean about what they knew and what action was taken about these serious allegations," she added.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; Editing by Stephen Powell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clegg-defensive-sexual-harassment-claims-batter-party-205416773.html

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Moody's strips UK of coveted triple-A debt rating

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain suffered its first ever sovereign ratings downgrade from a major agency on Friday, after Moody's stripped the country of its coveted top-notch triple-A rating, dealing a major blow to finance minister George Osborne.

Moody's cut Britain's rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, with a stable outlook, blaming weak prospects for Britain's economy over the coming years which have thrown the government's deficit reduction strategy off course.

Austerity has been the watch word for Osborne's fiscal policy since his Conservative-led coalition came to power in 2010 after an election in which he vowed to defend Britain's triple-A rating, which keeps down borrowing costs.

But weak growth - which the opposition Labour Party blames partly on too much austerity - has pushed the government's goal of largely eliminating the budget deficit by 2015 at least two years off track.

Many in financial markets had expected at least one major agency to downgrade Britain this year.

Following the release of January public finances data on Thursday, the government's fiscal watchdog said the government may struggle to reduce borrowing at all during the current fiscal year, which finishes at the end of March.

Britain now joins the United States and France in having lost its triple-A rating from at least one major agency, having held the top-notch rating from Moody's and S&P since 1978, and from Fitch Ratings since 1994.

Moody's said that despite considerable structural economic strengths, Britain's growth is expected to be sluggish due to a combination of weaker global economic activity and a drag "from the ongoing domestic public and private-sector de-leveraging process."

Trend growth for Britain's economy is between 2 and 2.5 percent, Moody's sovereign credit analyst Sarah Carlson said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

"We see growth slowly building back up to that trend ... but if you take a combination of the growth and fiscal dynamics, the result is that the debt burden of gross general debt to GDP peaks in 2016, which is substantially later than was expected a few years ago," she said.

Osborne insisted in a statement that now was not the time to change course and borrow more to boost growth, which the Labour Party as well as some political allies have recommended.

"Tonight we have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems," he said. "Far from weakening our resolve to deliver our economic recovery plan, this decision redoubles it."

Sterling fell to around $1.5160 after the downgrade from about $1.5240, just off Thursday's fresh 2-1/2-year low.

"It's a pretty big deal. We didn't see a huge reaction in the pound because it's late in the New York session. But you'll see some more aggressive selling when the markets open (in Asia) on Sunday," said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York.

But Charles Diebel, a fixed income strategist at British bank Lloyds, was more sanguine about the impact of the downgrade on British government debt prices.

"This has been speculated as inevitable and is most likely largely in the market. I would expect only very limited damage to the gilt curve and to sterling. Historically, losing your AAA is actually a bond bullish event," he said.

(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson in New York and Michael Holden in London; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moodys-cuts-uk-credit-rating-one-notch-aa1-215314223--finance.html

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Flipping the 'off' switch on cell growth: Protein uses multiple means to help cells cope when oxygen runs low

Feb. 22, 2013 ? A protein known for turning on genes to help cells survive low-oxygen conditions also slows down the copying of new DNA strands, thus shutting down the growth of new cells, Johns Hopkins researchers report. Their discovery has wide-ranging implications, they say, given the importance of this copying -- known as DNA replication -- and new cell growth to many of the body's functions and in such diseases as cancer.

"We've long known that this protein, HIF-1?, can switch hundreds of genes on or off in response to low oxygen conditions," says Gregg Semenza, M.D., Ph.D., a molecular biologist who led the research team and has long studied the role of low-oxygen conditions in cancer, lung disease and heart disorders. "We've now learned that HIF-1? is even more versatile than we thought, as it can work directly to stop new cells from forming." A report on the discovery appears in the Feb. 12 issue of Science Signaling.

With his team, Semenza, who is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute for Cell Engineering and Institute for Genomic Medicine, discovered HIF-1? in the 1990s and has studied it ever since, pinpointing a multitude of genes in different types of cells that have their activity ramped up or down by the activated protein. These changes in so-called "gene expression" help cells survive when oxygen-rich blood flow to an area slows or stops temporarily; they also allow tumors to build new blood vessels to feed themselves.

To learn how HIF-1?'s own activity is controlled, the team looked for proteins from human cells that would attach to HIF-1?. They found two, MCM3 and MCM7, that limited HIF-1?'s activity, and were also part of the DNA replication machinery. Those results were reported in 2011.

In the new research, Semenza and his colleagues further probed HIF-1?'s relationship to DNA replication by comparing cells in low-oxygen conditions to cells kept under normal conditions. They measured the amount of DNA replication complexes in the cells, as well as how active the complexes were. The cells kept in low-oxygen conditions, which had stopped dividing, had just as much of the DNA replication machinery as the normal dividing cells, the researchers found; the difference was that the machinery wasn't working. It turned out that in the nondividing cells, HIF-1? was binding to a protein that loads the DNA replication complex onto DNA strands, and preventing the complex from being activated.

"Our experiments answered the long-standing question of how, exactly, cells stop dividing in response to low oxygen," says Maimon Hubbi, Ph.D., a member of Semenza's team who is now working toward an M.D. degree. "It also shows us that the relationship between HIF-1? and the DNA replication complex is reciprocal -- that is, each can shut the other down."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. M. E. Hubbi, Kshitiz, D. M. Gilkes, S. Rey, C. C. Wong, W. Luo, D.-H. Kim, C. V. Dang, A. Levchenko, G. L. Semenza. A Nontranscriptional Role for HIF-1? as a Direct Inhibitor of DNA Replication. Science Signaling, 2013; 6 (262): ra10 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2003417

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/XQflXj1NWK4/130223111517.htm

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 preview: an 8-inch S Pen tablet that's also a phone

An updated, larger Galaxy Note from Samsung was inevitable. Given the undeniable popularity of mid-size tablets (see: Apple iPad mini), it's no surprise the Korean electronics giant would want to strengthen its foothold in a category it helped create. It was just three short years ago that Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab and now, three Notes later, it's ready to perfect the one-handed experience. With this new Note, the company's culled the best of what's around its Galaxy into an 8-inch form factor, housing a 1,280 x 800 TFT display, Exynos 4 Quad with 2GB RAM (clocked at 1.6GHz), TouchWiz-skinned Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 OS, S Pen (and suite of associated apps), as well as radios for HSPA+ and WiFi into that familiar, lightweight plastic body.

But that extra inch alone isn't the Galaxy Note 8.0's main attraction. Samsung's wisely made use of the additional screen real estate to bundle two extra features. Building upon market research that indicates over 80-percent of tablet use takes place within the living room, the company's partnered with Peel for its Smart Remote app, a visual programming guide with remote control functions baked-in that comes pre-loaded on the tab. And, in keeping with its portrait oriented design, the Note 8.0 also incorporates what the company calls "reading mode," effectively optimizing the slate's display for comfortable e-book use.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 hands-on

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/23/samsung-galaxy-note-8-preview/

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TAKARA TOMY A.R.T.S. - "Life Bank" - Une tirelire high-tech qui se synchronise avec votre iPhone

Takara Tomy Arts vient de nous pr?senter une nouvelle fa?on amusante d??conomiser son argent. Ils ont cr?? une application iPhone qui effectue le suivi de l?argent que vous avez mis de c?t? en se synchronisant avec un genre de ?tirelire?.

T?l?chargez l?application et r?glez un objectif. Ensuite, mettez votre iPhone sur la tirelire ? chaque fois que vous mettez une pi?ce de 500 yen dedans. Vous pouvez ainsi voir combien d?argent vous avez mis de c?t? et en combien de temps.

L?application simule aussi la vie d?un personnage. Vous pouvez voir la fa?on dont il vit dans la tirelire et si sa vie s?am?liore ou non selon l?argent mis de c?t?. Au d?but c?est un pauvre ?tudiant qui vit dans un petit studio, mais plus vous mettez d?argent de c?t?, mieux il vivra, am?liorant son appartement et sa vie.

Elle sortira en marche et co?tera 3.990 Yen.

Economisez jusqu?? 100.000 Yen tout en vous amusant !

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/phoenixjp/~3/pjLFUZHCJ7E/takara-tomy-a-r-t-s-life-bank-une-tirelire-high-tech-qui-se-synchronise-avec-votre-iphone

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Galaxy S4 to Feature Samsung Orb, Their TouchWiz Version of Photo Sphere

Even though it may not work as well as some would either expect or hope it to, Photo Sphere is still one of my favorite additions to Android 4.2. According to a report from Android Geeks, who supposedly have a friend on Samsung?s software engineering team, Photo Sphere will most certainly be present on the upcoming Galaxy S4 from Samsung. Naturally, they are renaming it to Samsung Orb, which throws me off, but I wouldn?t put anything past Sammy at this point.?

That does sort of imply they created the idea, but with Samsung being the only OEM currently making any real money off of Android, I don?t think Google cares what they do at this point. Apparently, the source stated that Samsung Orb will be even better than Photo Sphere, thanks to the ?S4?s amazing camera.?

So, with Photo?Sphere-like features possibly confirmed on the S4, we can also throw some money down on the device shipping with Android 4.2, unlike someone else?s flagship that was announced recently. Attention OEM?s, if you are making a flagship currently, you best be using Android 4.2+.

Via: Android Geeks

Cheers ItsASamsung!

Source: http://www.droid-life.com/2013/02/22/galaxy-s4-to-feature-samsung-orb-their-touchwiz-version-of-photo-sphere/

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Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider: FAA may close air traffic towers at smaller airports

FacilityNameCityStateBFMMobile DowntownMobileALDHNDothan RegionalDothanALTCLTuscaloosa RegionalTuscaloosaALASGSpringdale MunicipalSpringdaleARFSMFort Smith TowerFort SmithARFYVDrake FieldFayettevilleARROGRogers Municipal-Carter FieldRogersARTXKTexarkana Regional-Webb FieldTexarkanaARGEUGlendale MunicipalGlendaleAZGYRPhoenix GoodyearGoodyearAZIFPLaughlin/Bullhead InternationalBullhead CityAZRYNRyan FieldTucsonAZAPCNapa TowerNapaCACCRConcord TowerConcordCACMACamarillo TowerCamarilloCAEMTEl Monte TowerEl MonteCAFULFullerton MunicipalFullertonCAHHRJack Northrop Field/Hawthorne MunicipalHawthorneCALVKLivermore TowerLivermoreCAMERCastleAtwaterCAOXROxnardOxnardCAPMDPalmdale Regional/USAF Plant 42PalmdaleCAPOCBrackett TowerLa VerneCARALRiverside MunicipalRiversideCARNMRamonaRamonaCASACSacramento ExecutiveSacramentoCASCKStockton TowerStocktonCASDMBrown Field MunicipalSan DiegoCASMOSanta Monica TowerSanta MonicaCASNSSalinas MunicipalSalinasCASQLSan CarlosSan CarlosCASTSCharles M. Schultz-Sonoma CountySanta RosaCAVCVSouthern California LogisticsVictorvilleCAWHPWhitemanLos AngelesCAWJFGeneral William J. Fox AirfieldLancasterCABJCBroomfield TowerWestminsterCOFTGFront RangeDenverCOBDRIgor I. Sikorsky MemorialBridgeportCTDXRDanbury MunicipalDanburyCTGONGroton-New LondonGroton (New London)CTHFDHartford-BrainardHartfordCTHVNTweed-New HavenNew HavenCTOXCWaterbury-OxfordOxfordCTILGWilmington TowerNew CastleDEAPFNaples MunicipalNaplesFLBCTBoca RatonBoca RatonFLCRGCraig MunicipalJacksonvilleFLEVBNew Smyrna Beach MunicipalNew Smyrna BeachFLFMYPage FieldFort MyersFLFPRSt. Lucie County InternationalFort PierceFLHWONorth PerryHollywoodFLISMKissimmee GatewayOrlandoFLLALLakeland Linder RegionalLakelandFLLEELeesburg InternationalLeesburgFLOCFOcala International-Jim Taylor FieldOcalaFLOMNOrmond Beach MunicipalOrmond BeachFLOPFOpa-Locka ExecutiveMiamiFLORLOrlando ExecutiveOrlandoFLPGDPunta GordaPunta GordaFLSGJNortheast Florida RegionalSt. AugustineFLSPGAlbert WhittedSt. PetersburgFLSUAWitham FieldStuartFLTIXSpace Coast RegionalTitusvilleFLVQQCecilJacksonvilleFLABYSouthwest Georgia RegionalAlbanyGAAHNAthens-Ben EppsAthensGACSGColumbus MetropolitanColumbusGAFTYFulton County-Brown FieldAtlantaGALZUGwinnett County-Briscoe FieldLawrencevilleGAMCNMiddle Georgia RegionalMaconGARYYCobb County-McCollum FieldAtlantaGAJRFKalaeloa (John Rodgers Field)KapoleiHIALOWaterloo TowerWaterlooIADBQDubuque RegionalDubuqueIASUXSioux GatewaySioux CityIAIDAIdaho Falls RegionalIdaho FallsIDLWSLewiston-Nez Perce CountyLewistonIDPIHPocatello RegionalPocatelloIDSUNFriedman MemorialHaileyIDTWFJoslin Field-Magic Valley RegionalTwin FallsIDALNSt. Louis RegionalAlton/St. LouisILARRAurora TowerSugar GroveILBMICentral Illinois Regional at Bloomington-NormalBloomington-NormalILDECDecaturDecaturILDPADupageWest ChicagoILMDHSouthern IllinoisCarbondale/MurphysboroILMWAWilliamson County RegionalMarionILSPISpringfield TowerSpringfieldILUGNWaukegan RegionalChicago/WaukeganILBAKColumbus MunicipalColumbusINBMGMonroe CountyBloomingtonINGYYGary/Chicago InternationalGaryINHUFTerre Haute International-Hulman FieldTerra HauteINLAFLafayette TowerWest LafayetteINMIEDelaware County RegionalMuncieINFOEForbes FieldTopekaKSGCKGarden City RegionalGarden CityKSHUTHutchinson MunicipalHutchinsonKSIXDNew Century AirCenterOlatheKSMHKManhattan RegionalManhattanKSOJCJohnson County ExecutiveOlatheKSTOPPhilip Billard MunicipalTopekaKSLOUBowman TowerLouisvilleKYOWBOwensboro-Daviess CountyOwensboroKYPAHBarkley RegionalPaducahKYCWFChennault InternationalLake CharlesLADTNShreveport DowntownShreveportLALCHLake Charles RegionalLake CharlesLAMLUMonroe RegionalMonroeLANEWLakefrontNew OrleansLABAFBarnes MunicipalWestfield/SpringfieldMABVYBeverly MunicipalBeverlyMAEWBNew Bedford RegionalNew BedfordMALWMLawrence MunicipalLawrenceMAORHWorcester RegionalWorcesterMAOWDNorwood MemorialNorwoodMAESNEaston/Newnam FieldEastonMDFDKFrederick MunicipalFrederickMDHGRHagerstown Regional-Richard A. Henson FieldHagerstownMDMTNMartin StateBaltimoreMDSBYSalisbury-Ocean City Wicomico RegionalSalisburyMDARBAnn Arbor MunicipalAnn ArborMIBTLW.K. KelloggBattle CreekMIDETColeman A. Young MunicipalDetroitMIJXNJackson County-Reynolds FieldJacksonMIMKGMuskegon CountyMuskegonMISAWSawyer InternationalMarquetteMIANEAnoka County-Blaine Airport (Janes Field)MinneapolisMNFCMFlying CloudEden PrairieMNMICCrystal TowerCrystalMNSTCSt. Cloud RegionalSt. CloudMNBBGBransonBransonMOCOUColumbia RegionalColumbiaMOJEFJefferson City MemorialJefferson CityMOJLNJoplin RegionalJoplinMOSTJRosecrans MemorialSt. JosephMOGLHMid Delta RegionalGreenvilleMSGTRGolden Triangle RegionalColumbus/West Point/StarkvilleMSHKSHawkins FieldJacksonMSHSAStennis InternationalBay St. LouisMSMEIKey FieldMeridianMSOLVOlive BranchOlive BranchMSTUPTupelo RegionalTupeloMSGPIGlacier Park InternationalKalispellMTHLNHelena RegionalHelenaMTEWNCoastal Carolina RegionalNew BernNCHKYHickory RegionalHickoryNCINTSmith ReynoldsWinston SalemNCISOKinston Regional Jetport at Stallings FieldKinstonNCJQFConcord RegionalConcordNCGRICentral Nebraska RegionalGrand IslandNEASHBoire FieldNashuaNHCDWEssex CountyFairfieldNJTTNTrenton MercerTrentonNJAEGDouble Eagle IIAlbuquerqueNMHOBLea County RegionalHobbsNMROWRoswell International Air CenterRoswellNMSAFSanta Fe MunicipalSanta FeNMBGMBinghamton TowerJohnson CityNYFOKFrancis S. GabreskiWesthampton BeachNYIAGNiagara Falls InternationalNiagara FallsNYITHIthaca Tomkins RegionalIthacaNYPOUDutchess CountyWappingers FallsNYRMEGriffiss InternationalRomeNYCGFCuyahoga CountyClevelandOHMFDMansfield TowerMansfieldOHOSUOhio State UniversityColumbusOHTZRBolton FieldColumbusOHYNGYoungstown-Warren RegionalViennaOHADMArdmore MunicipalArdmoreOKLAWLawton-Fort Sill RegionalLawtonOKOUNUniversity of Oklahoma WestheimerNormanOKPWAWiley PostOklahoma CityOKSWOStillwater RegionalStillwaterOKWDGEnid Wooding RegionalEnidOKLMTKlamath FallsKlamath FallsOROTHSouthwest Oregon RegionalNorth BendORPDTEastern Oregon Regional at PendletonPendletonORSLEMcNary FieldSalemORTTDPortland-TroutdalePortlandORCXYCapital CityHarrisburgPAIPTWilliamsport RegionalWilliamsportPALBEArnold Palmer RegionalLatrobePALNSLancasterLancasterPAPNENortheast PhiladelphiaPhiladelphiaPARDGReading Regional-Carl A. Spaatz FieldReadingPACREGrand StrandNorth Myrtle BeachSCFLOFlorence RegionalFlorenceSCGYHDonaldson CenterGreenvilleSCHXDHilton HeadHilton Head IslandSCMKLMcKellar-Sipes RegionalJacksonTNMQYSmyrnaSmyrnaTNNQAMillington Regional JetportMillingtonTNACTWaco RegionalWacoTXBAZNew Braunfels MunicipalNew BraunfelsTXBPTJack Brooks RegionalBeaumontTXBROBrownsville/South Padre Island InternationalBrownsvilleTXCLLEasterwood FieldCollege StationTXCNWTSTC WacoWacoTXCXOLone Star ExecutiveHoustonTXFWSFort Worth SpinksFort WorthTXGGGEast Texas RegionalLongviewTXGKYArlington MunicipalArlingtonTXGPMGrand Prairie MunicipalGrand PrairieTXGTUGeorgetown MunicipalGeorgetownTXHYISan Marcos MunicipalSan MarcosTXRBDDallas ExecutiveDallasTXSGRSugar Land RegionalHoustonTXSSFStinson MunicipalSan AntonioTXTKICollin County Regional at McKinneyDallasTXTYRTyler Pounds RegionalTylerTXVCTVictoria RegionalVictoriaTXOGDOgden-HinckleyOgdenUTPVUProvo MunicipalProvoUTHEFManassas Regional/Harry P. Davis FieldManassasVALYHLynchburg Regional/Preston Glenn FieldLynchburgVAALWWalla Walla RegionalWalla WallaWAMWHGrant County InternationalMoses LakeWAOLMOlympia RegionalOlympiaWAPAESnohomish County Airport (Paine Field)EverettWARNTRenton MunicipalRentonWASFFFelts FieldSpokaneWATIWTacoma NarrowsTacomaWAYKMYakima Air Terminal/McAllister FieldYakimaWACWACentral WisconsinMosineeWIEAUChippewa Valley RegionalEau ClaireWIENWKenosha RegionalKenoshaWIJVLSouthern Wisconsin RegionalJanesvilleWILSELa Crosse MunicipalLa CrosseWIMWCLawrence J. TimmermanMilwaukieWIOSHWittman RegionalOshkoshWIUESWaukesha CountyWaukeshaWICKBNorth Central West VirginiaBridgeportWVHLGWheeling Ohio CountyWheelingWVHTSTri-State Milton J. Ferguson FieldHuntingtonWVLWBGreenbrier ValleyLewisburgWVPKBMid-Ohio Valley RegionalParkersburgWVCYSCheyenne Regional/Jerry Olson FieldCheyenneWY

Source: http://www.boortz.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2013/feb/22/faa-may-close-air-traffic-towers-smaller-airports/

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