Heavy clashes hit Syrian capital for second day

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers during clashes with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers during clashes with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers clashing with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers running for cover during clashes with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago.(AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

In this image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, a Free Syrian Army soldier aims his weapon during clashes with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Sunday, July 15, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers during clashes with Syrian government forces in Damascus, Syria. Syrian troops and rebels clashed inside Damascus for a second day on Monday, causing plumes of black smoke to drift over the city's skyline in some of the worst violence in the tightly controlled capital since the country's crisis began 16 months ago. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video) TV OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE CONTENT, DATE, LOCATION OR AUTHENTICITY OF THIS MATERIAL

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels fired at tanks in Damascus residential districts, armored vehicles blocked the main entrances to a neighborhood and protesters briefly barricaded a main highway into the city with bricks and burning tires, leaving hundreds of cars backed up in some of the worst clashes to hit the tightly controlled capital since the uprising began 16 months ago.

The scenes from the second straight day of fierce clashes in Damascus, unfolding in amateur videos posted online, were the latest evidence that Syria's conflict is fast devolving into a civil war that is moving ever closer to the seat of President Bashar Assad's power.

Plumes of black smoke drifted over the city skyline and gunfire could be heard throughout the capital, even in the upscale cafes in downtown frequented by members of Assad's regime. The fighting left many streets deserted in a string of neighborhoods on the city's southwest corner where the fighting was focused. Many families have fled, and fear grips many who remain behind.

"It is a war here, a war," said a woman reached by phone in the Midan neighborhood who said her 5-year-old son had not stopped screaming since the clashes started. She didn't give her name for fear of repercussions from Syrian security.

"It seems there is a new strategy to bring the fighting into the center of the capital," Mustafa Osso, an activist inside Syria, told The Associated Press, referring to the rebels who fight under the banner of the Free Syrian Army. "The capital used to be safe. This will trouble the regime."

The violence in Syria has grown increasingly bloody and chaotic in recent months as the uprising has morphed from a peaceful revolt into an armed insurgency aimed at toppling Assad's regime.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of using blackmail to secure a new U.N. Security Council resolution that could allow the use of force in Syria. A Chapter 7 resolution authorizes actions to enforce sanctions that can ultimately include the use of military force, which U.S. administration and European officials ? for now ? are playing down as a possibility.

U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan was expected in Moscow to discuss the Syria crisis with Russian leaders on Monday. The meeting ? the latest in Annan's efforts to save his faltering peace plan ? comes a day after the conflict crossed an important symbolic threshold, with the international Red Cross formally declaring it a civil war, a status with implications for potential war crimes prosecutions.

Monday's fighting in Damascus was concentrated in the neighborhoods of Kfar Souseh, Midan and Tadamon, according to Osso and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said there were casualties but did not provide a number.

An amateur video posted online showed several gunmen, some of them masked, as they ran or opened fire in the streets of Tadamon. Other gunmen took positions behind sand bag fortifications and fired toward areas where government forces were said to be taking positions.

Another video showed Kfar Souseh with the sound of intense gunfire in the distance. The presidential palace, on a mountain overlooking the capital, could be seen in the background.

The authenticity of the videos could not be independently confirmed.

There have been sporadic clashes in Damascus in recent months, although President Bashar Assad's forces remain firmly in control of the city. Many of the Damascus suburbs, however, have risen up against the regime, prompting a ferocious response from the military in an attempt to clear out rebel fighters from the towns that ring the capital.

On Monday, activists reported government attacks in the Damascus suburb of Qatana.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said Monday's fighting was taking place about 2 kilometers (1 mile) from the airport highway.

A Damascus resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said gunfire and sporadic explosions could be heard throughout the morning. The resident said that unlike previous clashes that occurred at night, the recent fighting took place during the day ? a sign that the rebels are becoming more brazen.

Another resident said black smoke could be seen all over Damascus since Sunday. The resident added that shooting and bombing can be heard in Damascus and that security forces deployed along the army all areas in the city.

"People are fleeing from Midan and Tadamon," the resident said. "It is the most serious clashes in Damascus."

The Syrian regime has grown increasingly isolated as it has ramped up its offensive against the opposition, and several Western and Arab nations have either expelled Syrian diplomats or pulled their own ambassadors from Damascus to protest the crackdown.

On Monday, Morocco asked the Syrian ambassador to leave the country, Moroccan Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi told The Associated Press. Within hours, Syria's state-run TV said the Foreign Ministry declared Morocco's ambassador to Syria persona non grata.

Tunisia was the first Arab country to withdraw its ambassador from Syria in February to protest the harsh crackdown on the opposition and it was followed shortly by the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

On Sunday, United Nations observers gathered new details on what happened in a village where dozens were reported killed in a regime assault. After a second visit to Tremseh on Sunday, the team said Syrian troops went door-to-door in the small farming community, checking residents' IDs and then killing some and hauling others away.

According to the U.N., the attack appeared to target army defectors and activists.

"Pools of blood and brain matter were observed in a number of homes," a U.N. statement said.

Syria denied U.N. claims that government forces had used heavy weapons such as tanks, artillery and helicopters during the attack Thursday.

Anti-regime activists estimate that more than 17,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-16-Syria/id-041ee0d475134d53aff25fd0a80cc4bf

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Clinton's calls fall flat in Egypt political fight

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi walks with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton was holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders, just hours after calling for them to help smooth the country's full transition to democracy. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi walks with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton was holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders, just hours after calling for them to help smooth the country's full transition to democracy. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, left, greets US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton before a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton is holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders to press for the military to work with Egypt's new Islamist leaders on a full transition to civilian rule. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi walks with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton is holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders to press for the military to work with Egypt's new Islamist leaders on a full transition to civilian rule. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, back center, watches as Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, second left, greets members of the American delegation before a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton is holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders to press for the military to work with Egypt's new Islamist leaders on a full transition to civilian rule. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi before a meeting at the Ministry of Defense July 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Clinton is holding talks with Egypt's top military leaders to press for the military to work with Egypt's new Islamist leaders on a full transition to civilian rule. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

CAIRO (AP) ? The head of Egypt's military took a tough line Sunday on the Muslim Brotherhood, warning that he won't let the fundamentalist group dominate the country, only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged him to work with Egypt's elected Islamist leaders.

Clinton's visit to Egypt underscored the difficulty Washington faces in trying to wield its influence amid the country's stormy post-Hosni Mubarak power struggles. Protesters chanting against the U.S. ? sometimes reaching several hundred ? sprung up at several sites Clinton visited this weekend. On Sunday, protesters threw tomatoes, water bottles and shoes at her motorcade as she left a ceremony marking the opening of a new U.S. consulate in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Islamist Mohammed Morsi, a longtime Brotherhood figure, was sworn two weeks ago as Egypt's first democratically elected president. Led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the military handed over power to him June 30 after ruling Egypt for 16 months. The military, however, dissolved the Brotherhood-led parliament and stripped Morsi of significant authorities in the days before his inauguration, while retaining overwhelming powers for itself, including legislative power and control of the writing of a new constitution.

The United States is in a difficult spot when it comes to dealing with post-Mubarak Egypt ? eager to be seen as a champion of democracy and human rights after three decades of close ties with the ousted leader despite his abysmal record in advancing either.

This has involved some uncomfortable changes, including occasional criticism of America's longtime faithful partners in Egypt's military as it grabs more power and words of support for Islamist parties far more skeptical of U.S. intentions in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.

That has fueled accusations among some Egyptians who back the military or oppose Islamists that Washington is promoting the rise of the Brotherhood to power.

At the ceremony in Alexandria, Clinton denied the U.S. supports any particular party. She also called for religious tolerance and respect of minorities in the new Egypt ? a major concern among the Christian minority, women and secular liberals who fear restrictions if the fundamentalist Brotherhood wields power.

"Democracy is not just about reflecting the will of the majority," she said. "It is also about protecting the rights of the minority."

"Real democracy means that no group or faction or leader can impose their will, their ideology, their religion, their desires on anyone else."

Still, Clinton does want the military to work with Morsi and his Islamist allies on a full transition to civilian rule. But with the U.S. having already approved another massive delivery of military aid, it was unclear what leverage Washington has as it seeks to stabilize Egypt and build a new relationship with America's once ironclad Arab ally.

This weekend, she tried to stake out a middle ground.

Meeting with Morsi on Saturday for the first time, she called for consensus. Without taking a position on the specific disputes, she urged Tantawi to return the armed forces to a "purely national security role," as she termed it.

But her criticism of the military was muted. She commended it defending lives during the Jan. 25-Feb. 11, 2011 revolution against Mubarak and for the progress Egypt made under its interim leadership, which included free and fair elections.

Still, after talks with Clinton on Sunday, Tantawi made clear the military will not allow the Brotherhood to hold sway, though he didn't specify the group by name.

"Egypt will never fall. It belongs to all Egyptians and not to a certain group ? the armed forces will not allow it," he warned in comments to reporters after a handover ceremony for the transfer of command of the armed forces' 2nd Field Army in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia.

"The armed forces will not allow anyone, especially those pushed from outside, to distract it from its role as the protector of Egypt," he said. "The army will never commit treason and will continue to perform its duties until Egypt reaches the shores of safety."

The U.S is looking to safeguard its interests in the region ? from counterterrorism cooperation to Arab-Israeli peace efforts. But the deepening paralysis and lack of clarity over the leadership in Egypt has put much of its agenda on hold. Clinton headed Sunday evening to Jerusalem, where she is tackling another realm where Washington's influence has failed to bring a breakthrough, reviving Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Egypt's military and the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's strongest political force, are in a competition over power that has intensified with Morsi's winning of the presidency last month. Days before he was sworn in, the Brotherhood-led parliament was dissolved and the generals gave themselves legislative and budgetary authority and control over the process of drafting a new constitution, while severely limiting the president's authority.

Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years, is the most senior of the generals who took power after the longtime leader's ouster 17 months ago. Under their tutelage, however, the military came under harsh criticism from the youth groups behind Mubarak's ouster. The military is accused of doing nothing to stop a surge in crime, a faltering economy and of killing scores of protesters.

The military and the Brotherhood have bad blood since the 1950s, when then-president Gamal Abdel-Nasser jailed the group's leaders and hundreds of its members. He ordered another crackdown in the early 1960s, jailing some again and executing a few. Mubarak spent most of his years in office chasing after the Brotherhood, jailing thousands.

Morsi's efforts to reconvene parliament suffered a setback Saturday, when an appeals court said it stood by another court's ruling that the chamber was invalid because a third of its members were illegally elected.

Acting on the Supreme Constitutional Court's June 14 verdict, the then-ruling military disbanded the 508-seat chamber.

Morsi defied that ruling and ordered the legislature to reconvene last week. During a brief session on Tuesday, speaker Saad el-Katatni referred the constitutional court's ruling to the country's highest appeals court for a legal opinion.

After a lengthy discussion on Saturday, the appeals court refused to take up the case, saying it had no jurisdiction over the implementation of the constitutional court's ruling.

It is not clear yet how Morsi planned to respond to the latest setback to his efforts to assert his authority. Another crisis was looming in the run-up to court rulings expected on Tuesday over the legitimacy of a 100-member panel elected by the dissolved legislature to draft a new constitution.

The administrative court on Tuesday is also likely to refer to the Supreme Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of parliament's mostly toothless upper chamber. The higher court is vrtually certain to rule against it because it was elected under the same law declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-15-US-Egypt/id-8a14e1e2d1cc40ebbe39e837829e2431

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Diabetes explosion in India

Curing Diabetes The Indian Way

HINDU GODDESS KALI 'S METHOD OF ELIMINATING DIABETES

A recent report by United Press trust of India (UPI) stated that during the past three years more than 2,500 young boys and girls were sacrificed to goddess Kali in India. Another of AFP's recent reports say: hundreds of young boys and virgin girls are sacrificed every month for the deity Kali. In one case Rama Sewak hacked his eight year old son to death in broad daylight in Delhi because goddess Kali had told him he would come back to life and bring him good fortune. Bloodthirsty Kali is worshipped openly the length and breadth of India. Kali's statue stands naked astride the inanimate body of the Hindu deity Shiva, tongue stuck out with blood dripping from fang-like teeth. She holds a noose, a skull-topped staff, a blood-encrusted sword and a severed head. She is also known as Durga, Devi, Shaktima, Uma and Parvathi in other manifestations. The priest of Delhi, Kali Bari, says that a child sacrificed to Kali ensures a man the birth of a son. Human sacrifices are also made to these gods or goddesses, either to appease them or to ask favours of them.

July 13, 2012 at 4:27 pm |

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_newsroom/~3/Ui1lpz3LEyM/

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Ouya, Android Game Console Reaches $4 Million On Kickstarter

published: 2012-07-12 13:42:13

With just under a month to go, Ouya, an Android-based home gaming console has surpassed the $4 million mark on Kickstarter (as of the publishing of this article). The initial goal was only $950,000. I guess there are a lot of people out there, 32,062 to be exact, that want something a little different out of their home console gaming experience.

The Ouya is an open-style game console for televisions based on Android's design platform. So if you can make a game for the Android you can make a game for the Ouya. One of the main selling points is that ANYONE can make a game for the Ouya and get it out there. No more retail fees, no more royalty fees, no more massive distribution costs. Effectively, it's a console made for gamers but designed for developers.

I also really love the selling point that hackers are welcome. I nearly chuckled out loud at that statement on the Kickstarter page and when it was mentioned in the promo video, which you can watch below.

Now for everyone thinking "Ohhh, this will murder home console gaming" it's not quite like that. The most core games that will be available from the start are games most mobile gamers will already be familiar with, including Minecraft from Mojang, Shadowgun, and Deadtrigger from Madfinger Games. And speaking of core games...right now the go-to-engine for high-end mobile titles is the Unity Engine, so we can expect to see the Unity tech showcased quite a bit early on in the lifecycle of the Ouya given that most devs don't want to deal with the licensing fees attached to other AAA engines such as the CryEngine and Unreal Engine (although the UDK is still highly supported).

I'm sure the biggest obstacle of the Ouya will be finding a mainstream audience, but assuming that's not the actual goal of the project then I think Ouya will be perfectly fine with a more niche development and support community. I can easily see this becoming the home console rendition of Linux.

The project is also being heavily supported by a lot of indie-devs right now who just want to make and create great games. So even if we're not seeing Uncharted 3 quality titles on the Ouya, you can bet your bottom dollar you'll be seeing plenty of original and creative games nonetheless.

You can donate to the project just for kicks (they've already surpassed their goal by a substantial margin, to say the least) or you can learn more about the open-development platform that could help breathe some new life into the home console arena by visiting the Official Kickstarter Page. You can check out the specs for the console below.

Specifications:
? Tegra3 quad-core processor
? 1GB RAM
? 8GB of internal flash storage
? HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
? WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
? Bluetooth LE 4.0
? USB 2.0 (one)
? Wireless controller with standard controls (two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button), a touchpad
? Android 4.0

Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Ouya-Android-Game-Console-Reaches-4-Million-Kickstarter-44541.html

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Online lingerie shopping makes great sense

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Source: http://articlelib.org/online-lingerie-shopping-makes-great-sense/

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PEPFAR recommends integrating international TB screening ...

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 | Posted by ScienceSpeaks By ScienceSpeaks

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Pointing to mounting evidence of the impact of tuberculosis on the health of pregnant women and their children, the President?s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief is recommending improvements to efforts to detect the disease in settings offering health services to pregnant women, women with HIV, newborns, and children. ?Recent studies have shown that HIV-infected pregnant (Read more?)

The rest is here:
PEPFAR recommends integrating international TB screening guidelines into?

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Posted by ScienceSpeaks on Jul 11 2012. Filed under Infectious Disease. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Source: http://www.globalhealthhub.org/2012/07/11/pepfar-recommends-integrating-international-tb-screening-guidelines-into/

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Mark Boucher eye injury: South Africa wicketkeeper to have emergency surgery

By Sportsmail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 10:10 EST, 9 July 2012 | UPDATED: 12:59 EST, 9 July 2012

South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher is a major doubt for the Test series against England after he underwent surgery on his left eye on the first day of the tour.

Boucher, who at 35 had hinted he was considering retirement after the series, was struck by a bail during the opening afternoon of the two-day tour match against Somerset at Taunton.

Boucher was helped from the field with blood coming from his eye after the incident, which occurred when leg-spinner Imran Tahir bowled Gemaal Hussain.

Face blow: Blood pours from the wicketkeeper's eye

The wicketkeeper, wearing a cap rather than a helmet, had been standing up to the stumps.

At the end of play South Africa Team Manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said: 'It is a significant injury. Mark sustained a direct blow to the left eye, which resulted in a laceration to the white part. It is what we call an eyeball rupture.

'The ophthalmic surgeon had a look at him at the Accident and Emergency Unit and decided that he needed to undergo exploratory surgery to identify the extent of the damage.

Howzat?: Wicketkeeper Boucher is struck in the face by a bail

'He will need a general anaesthetic so there has to be a six-hour gap since he last ate a meal. That means the operation will be performed at around 7pm.

'After the operation we will talk to the surgeon again. With eye injuries one cannot make predictions.

'From a medical point of view a lot depends on whether there is damage to the retina, which allows us to see and focus. We won't know about that until after the surgery.

'The surgeons will be able to give us a better indication of the damage after the operation. Then it will take 48 to 72 hours for the swelling to start going down.'

Flat out: Boucher lies on the floor after taking a blow to the face

Dr Moosajee was more worried about Boucher's health than his place in the side but a decision will have to be made whether to continue with AB de Villiers keeping wicket or send for specialist replacement Thami Tsolekile.

'The concern at the moment is for Mark Boucher the patient, rather than whether he is going to take part in the rest of the tour,' he said.

'The selectors back home are being kept abreast of what is happening. I don't think he will be ready for the first Test, if the series, but I would like to wait for the information the surgery gives us.'

South Africa coach Allan Donald was distraught for his former team-mate, who had big plans for the current tour.

'He wanted to finish here. He's been talking about maybe going, if needed, to Australia but he wanted to go out on a real high in England,' Donald told Sky Sports News.

'I can't think of a bigger kick in the teeth than that.

'To happen on the first day is a cruel blow. Let's just hope he is going to be okay and take it from there.'

Somerset's Peter Trego, a centurion on the day, said: 'All our thoughts are with Mark Boucher. Sight is such an important thing for a cricketer and we all hope the injury is not as serious as it looked.'

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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2171007/Mark-Boucher-eye-injury-South-Africa-wicketkeeper-emergency-surgery.html?ITO=1490

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