Christie tries to turn page on traffic scandal: 'Mistakes were clearly made'

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again took responsibility for a traffic scandal that has engulfed the start of his
second term in office and threatens to undermine his potential 2016 presidential bid.

But in his annual State of the State address, Christie sought to change the subject — insisting the scandal
won't diminish his ability to do his job as governor and that he'll work to make sure a similar scandal doesn't
happen again.

"Mistakes were clearly made, and as a result we let down the people we are entrusted to serve. I know our citizens deserve better, much better," Christie said. "I am the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that
happens on my watch — both good and bad. Without a. doubt we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure this breach of trust does not happen again."

Christie made a brief mention of the scandal at the top of his annual address before the state Legislature, which has often laid out the governor's policy goals for the year.

But the speech, which detailed a new push on education and other policy goals, was largely overshadowed by the political scandal that has already claimed the jobs of two senior Christie aides and a handful of other political appointees.

Christie's remarks came a week after newly released emails revealed that some of his closest aides conspired
with Christie loyalists to orchestrate lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in September to punish political opponents. Christie fired one close aide and cut ties with
his top political adviser, while others resigned.

Christie has denied any knowledge of the traffic plot — insisting in a press conference last week that he had not
spoken to David Wildstein, a high school friend and Christie political appointee who arranged the lane
closures, "in a long time."

But the Wall Street Journal published a photo Tuesday that showed Christie with Wildstein on Sept. 11—the third
day of the lane closures, which by then had generated many local headlines because of the massive traffic gridlock leading to the bridge. The two were photographed together at a ceremony at the World Trade Center in New York marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

A Christie spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News but told the Journal the governor had attended the ceremony and "had numerous interactions with public officials that morning."

Christie's speech Tuesday was a remarkable turn of events for a governor who entered the same speech last year a public hero for his handling of Superstorm Sandy.

Aides had hoped this year's speech would not only be a victory lap for his re-election win in November but also lay the policy groundwork that could cement Christie's status as a front-runner for the Republican presidential
nomination.

But at least one of the governor's supporters privately fretted whether Christie could overcome the drama with Republican donors and activists eager to pick a White House candidate who can go the distance in 2016.

"It's still early, but it has shaken a few people," the Christie supporter, who declined to be named discussing
the governor's political fate, acknowledged. "People want
someone who is a safe bet, who won't give us any big surprises in the middle of the race. … They are watching very closely how he handles this."

In his speech, Christie sought to firmly turn the page.

"What has occurred does not define us or our state,"Christie said. "The administration and this Legislature will not allow the work that needs to be done to improve people's lives in New Jersey to be delayed."

"I am the leader of this state and its people, and I stand here today proud to be both," he added. "Those of you
who know me know I am always determined to do better."
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"Sam Berns dies at 17" Massachusetts teen dies of rare aging disease

Sam Berns and Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins walk out to center ice for the ceremonial puck drop before the game on Nov. 9, 2013 in
Boston, Massachusetts.

A Massachusetts teenager who became a well-known face of the premature aging disease progeria has died, his family confirmed online.

Sam Berns, of Foxborough, Mass., died on Friday at 17 years old, according to a statement posted on the website of the Progeria Research Foundation. Children with the rare disease live on average 13 years before succumbing to the genetic condition, which gives them the appearance of accelerated aging.

Berns was the subject of a 2013 HBO documentary film,"Life According to Sam." The film drew the attention of
Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots NFL football team, which plays in Berns' hometown. The
Patriots planned a moment of silence in the teenager's honor before their playoff game against the Indianapolis
Colts on Saturday night, local media reported.
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Kanye West sues in NY over 'Coinya West' bitcoins

NEW YORK (AP) — Kanye West has filed a New York lawsuit to stop production of "Coinye West" bitcoins that he says unjustly cash in on his fame.

The rapper's lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. It seeks to stop companies and individuals that have not yet been identified from exchanging the
digital currency. It also seeks unspecified damages for
hurting West's reputation.

The lawsuit says the creators of the digital coins "brazenly admit" that they used West's name and likeness to associate their new currency with West because he is a trendsetter.

The lawsuit says entrepreneurs boasted that the currency can't be stopped whether it "looks like a dollar, a dog or a cartoon picture of a rapper." The virtual currency's
creators are using a cartoon image of a coin featuring the rapper in large sunglasses.
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R&B singer Ciara pregnant with 1st child

NEW YORK (AP) — Ciara is pregnant with her first child.

The R&B singer showed her baby bump Tuesday on "The View." Ciara is engaged to rapper-singer-producer Future.

A representative for the singer confirmed the pregnancy.

The 28-year-old Ciara and 30-year-old Future have been dating for a year. A wedding date hasn't been set.

Ciara's hits include "Goodies," ''1, 2 Step" and "Body Party." The Grammy winner released her self-titled fifth
album last year. It features production work from Future,
who has also worked with Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber.
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Sheriff raids Justin Bieber's home after egg- throwing incident

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A search of teen pop star Justin Bieber's home was conducted on Tuesday on suspicion of felony vandalism after the "Boyfriend" singer was accused
of pelting his neighbor's home with eggs, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman said.

"We are in the process of executing a search warrant on Justin Bieber's home," spokesman Steve Whitmore said, adding that Bieber and others at his Calabasas, California, home, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles were detained during the search.

Bieber, 19, is also being questioned by sheriff's deputies about the January 9 incident in the upscale gated community, in which he is alleged to have thrown eggs
against his neighbor's home, Whitmore said.

The vandalism case is being treated as a felony because it caused "thousands and thousands of dollars of damage" to the house, Whitmore said.

It is not known what triggered the alleged incident between Bieber and his neighbor, but the Canada-born pop star has had several publicized run-ins with his neighbors.

Last year, Bieber was accused of speeding through the neighborhood in a Ferrari sports car and also spitting on his neighbor during a confrontation over parties at the singer's home.

Prosecutors did not bring charges against Bieber in either case.
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Should Babies Be Booted From Restaurants? Alinea Chef Grant Achatz Sounds Off

Chefs and restaurateurs have been spouting off about whether kids should be in their establishments for what seems like forever . But when chef Grant Achatz weighs in, ears perk up.

Achatz, who helms molecular gastronomy temples Alinea and Next in Chicago, tweeted his frustration about an underage diner on Saturday.

If there was any confusion about Achatzâs real feelings on the matter, a Monday morning tweet cleared that up.

So yeah, Chef Achatz probably doesnât want you to bring your kid to Alinea. Plenty of his Twitter followers
agreed with him, including food writer Carol Blymire.

Others disagreed, including former Washington City Paper restaurant critic Chris Shott.
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Pine Island Glacier's retreat 'irreversible'

BAS has just completed a traverse across PIG, gathering data to further characterise its behaviour Antarctica's mighty Pine Island Glacier (PIG) is now very probably in a headlong, self-sustaining retreat.
This is the conclusion of three teams that have modelled its behaviour.

Even if the region were to experience much colder conditions, the retreat would continue, the teamstell the
journal Nature Climate Change.

This means PIG is set to become an even more significant contributor to global sea level rise - on the order of
perhaps 3.5-10mm in the next 20 years.

"You can think of PIG like a ball. It's been kicked and it's just going to keep on rolling for the foreseeable future,"
said Dr Hilmar Gudmundsson from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

PIG is a colossal feature. Covering more than 160,000 sq km (two-thirds the size of the UK), it drains something like 20% of all the ice flowing off the west of the White
Continent.

Satellite and airborne measurements have recorded a marked thinning and a surge in velocity in recent decades.
Its grounding line - the zone where the glacier enters the sea and lifts up and floats - has reversed tens of km over the same period.

Much of this behaviour is driven not by higher air temperatures in the cold south but by warm ocean bottom-waters getting under and eroding the floating ice shelf at the head of the glacier.

Key to PIG's observed behaviour is that a large section of it sits below sea level, with the rock bed sloping back towards the continent.

This can produce what scientists refer to as a "marine ice sheet instability" - an inherently unstable architecture,
which, once knocked, can go into an irreversible decline.

Dr Gudmundsson's group, together with colleagues in the UK, France and
China, have used numerical models to describe PIG's current and future behaviour, and they argue that it has now entered just such a mode.

"Even if you were to reduce melt rates, you would not stop the
retreat," Dr Gudmundsson told BBC News.

"We did a number of model runs where we allowed PIG to retreat some distance back, and then we lowered the melt rates in our models. And despite doing that, the grounding
line continued to retreat.

"You can talk about external forcing factors, such climate and ocean effects, and then there are internal factors which are the flow dynamics. What we find is that the internal dynamics of flow are such that the retreat is now self-sustaining."

This has major implications for sea level rise.

The Amundsen Bay, the area of West Antarctica containing PIG and other large glaciers, is currently dumping more than 150 cu km of ice a year into the ocean.

If the forecasts of Dr Gudmundsson and colleagues are correct, PIG could now lead an accelerating trend.

The teams write in their journal paper: "The [PIG's] associated mass loss increases substantially over the
course of our simulations from the average value of 20 billion tonnes a year observed for the 1992-2011 period, up to and above 100 billion tonnes a year, equivalent to 3.5-10mm eustatic sea-level rise over the following 20 years." By way of comparison, the most recent
satellite data suggested West Antarctica as a whole was
contributing about one-third of one millimetre per year to sea level rise.

A recent study, from a different research group at BAS, indicated that year-to-year variability in the melting of the glacier was very sensitive to the amount of warm ocean-bottom water reaching the ice shelf's underside.

This group noted that a high ridge on the sea floor could at times block the action of the warm water, resulting in a slowdown in the rate of melting.

Dr Andy Shepherd from Leeds University is connected with
neither study but follows PIG's progress closely via satellite observations. He suspects the perspective taken in the new Nature Climate Change paper properly
describes the long-term outcome.

"Although there have been reports that PIG is sensitive to short-term changes in climate, this latest simulation of the glacier response to long-term forcing matches closely with satellite observations of continued retreat, and provides
compelling evidence that increased ice losses are inevitable in the future," he said.

Dr Gudmundsson cautions that computer models are simulations that carry uncertainties, and must be
constrained and improved by the further infusion of real-world data.

BAS is engaged in a big project, known as iStar, which is trying to do just this.

Expeditions are currently in the Antarctic taking measurements across the glacier's surface and in the
waters into which it flows.

PIG recently calved an iceberg more than 700 sq km in area.
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Egypt referendum: Vote under way amid tight security

Egyptians are voting amid tight security in a two-day referendum on a new constitution that could
pave the way for fresh elections.
The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army.

The military wants a strong Yes vote to endorse Mr Morsi's removal.

His Muslim Brotherhood, now designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote. Five people have died in clashes.

One person was killed during an anti-
referendum protest in Bani Suef, south of Cairo, the governor there told the BBC.

Three people were killed in clashes with security forces in the Upper Egypt city of Sohag while a further death was reported in Nahia, in the Giza district of Cairo.

Shortly before voting began, an explosion took place near a court building in Cairo's Imbaba district, although no casualties were reported.

A huge security operation is being mounted for the two days of voting. Some 160,000 soldiers and more than
200,000 policemen are being deployed nationwide.

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited one polling station in north Cairo, telling guards there: "Work hard.

We need the referendum to be completely secured."

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says this has been a distorted campaign, with endorsements for the new
constitution flooding state-run and private TV and radio.

However, spotting any posters from the No campaign is a lot harder and people have been arrested for putting them up, our correspondent says.

Democratic or not, she says, the referendum is seen by many as more than a ballot on a new constitution - it is widely viewed as a verdict on the removal of Mr Morsi.

State-run media were on Tuesday describing the vote as a "democratic ceremony" - a term widely used during the Hosni Mubarak era but not heard since he was ousted in
the revolution of January 2011.

'Every vote'

One voter in Cairo, Salah Mustafa, told the BBC: "Compared with the document that we had last year,
which was a really horrible constitution, there's a lot of
rights."

Army chief Gen Sisi visited one polling station in Cairo early on Tuesday vasoters show off ballot ink in Cairo Security forces were out in numbers in Alexandria But Mohammed Soudan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's political wing, said most people were boycotting the vote, adding: "This is a message that we are not recognising this kind of new power."

Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has called the referendum the "most critical moment" for Egypt.
Interim President Adly Mansour said after voting: "The people must prove to dark terrorism that they fear
nothing."

The new constitution was drafted by a 50-member committee that included only two representatives of
Islamist parties.

The authorities maintain that it is a crucial step towards stability.

Under the new constitution:
The president may serve two four-year terms and can be impeached by parliament Islam remains the state religion - but freedom of belief
is absolute, giving some protection to minorities The state guarantees "equality between men and
women" Parties may not be formed based on "religion, race, gender or geography" Military to appoint defence minister for next eight
years Critics say the new constitution favours the army at the expense of the people, and fails to deliver on the 2011 revolution.

A Yes vote could pave the way for fresh elections and it now seems certain that Gen Sisi, who backed Mr Morsi's removal following mass protests, will run for president.

Turnout 'key' The constitution is expected to attract a resounding Yes
vote, but the turnout is key, analysts say.

The last charter, passed just over a year ago, was approved by 63.8%, but only 32.9% of the population
voted.

Mohammed Morsi was Egypt's first democratically elected president but was deposed by the military last July.
He is being held in jail in Alexandria, facing several criminal charges relating to his time in office - which he says are politically motivated.

Many of the Muslim Brotherhood's senior leaders and the movement's supporters are also behind bars.

More than 1,000 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi's overthrow.
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Holland Faces Media

Key points

* President Hollande is holding a news briefing on moves to help France's struggling economy but was asked about his private life.

* A celebrity magazine has claimed that he has been having an affair with an actress

* Mr Hollande said this was a private matter and he would clarify later whether his partner Valerie
Trierweiler was still first lady

* Ms Trierweiler is in hospital after being admitted in a state of shock following the revelation

* All times in GMT.
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Be careful what you say about spinach

Hundreds of joke images are being shared on social media in Malaysia
Malaysia's prime minister is being widely lampooned on social media for a comment he made about the price of kangkung, or water spinach.

Food is a faux pas minefield for politicians, especially when it's perceived as being used in a get-down-with-the-people kind of way - think of British Prime Minister David
Cameron's pasty moment or Chancellor George Osborne's "posh burger" tweet. The almost inevitable
response seems to be ridicule. That's where the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak finds himself right now.

With the government under fire because of price hikes in basics like fuel and electricity, he choose to push back by highlighting a reduction in the cost of the leafy green vegetable kangkung.

Kangkung - also known as water spinach, morning glory and Chinese spinach - is widely eaten in Malaysia, and is cooked as a stir-fry with a little garlic or chilli paste. But it's cheap, grows wild alongside streams, paddy fields and drains, and is not considered a staple. Moments after a video of the prime minister was posted making the comments, the sarcasm and jokes began to trend on
social media in Malaysia. There have been hundreds of thousands of tweets, a Facebook page set up - with
10,000 followers already - a YouTube re-mix of his comments, the lyrics to popular and traditional folk songs have been re-worked, and "Keep calm and eat kangkung" T-shirts have been made and rushed to market.

"Kangkung-gate", as it's been dubbed by some, has hit a nerve because many people are struggling with the rising cost of living, and are resentful of what they regard as corruption, and lavish spending by the government.

Unsurprisingly many opposition politicians - including Anwar Ibrahim - have seized on the opportunity to join
in the collective fun-poking. The story has been so big on social media that many have complained of their timelines being clogged up. "This kangkung obsession is fast becoming a laughing stalk," tweeted comedian Kuah Jenhan. "Lettuce get to the root of the problem. We have mushroom for improvement."
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Francois Hollande's 'escapades' - a glossary

Followers of France's political love story may have been intrigued by some expressions used in the media, writes Hugh Schofield. What, for example, to make of a presidential spokesman's statement that Valerie Trierweiler has succumbed to the
blues?

Le blues means (as in English) sadness or melancholy. To have a coup de blues is to get an attack of the blues, to feel down all of a sudden. Used of Valerie Trierweiler, it
underplays the extent of her distress. You would not normally go to hospital with le blues.

Some have said that Trierweiler, President Francois Hollande and his alleged new girlfriend Julie Gayet are all from the gauche caviar - the caviar-eating left. This is the French equivalent of champagne Socialists.

But because left-wing thinking is very much part of the French establishment, the gauche caviar is an easily identifiable social class.

These people may abhor the pursuit of money, but find it normal to have a pied-a-terre in the Rue du Cirque - an exclusive street a stone's throw from the presidential residence, the Elysee Palace. This is where Julie Gayet was lent a flat by actress Emmanuelle Hauck, in order
(allegedly) to facilitate the affair. Incidentally, had it been Hollande's flat, it would have been not a pied-a-terre, but a garconniere (bachelor pad).

Meanwhile Hollande was indulging in escapades discretes (discreet
escapades) - the coy expression used a few weeks ago by L'Express
magazine to describe his romantic adventures.

L'Express knew what the president was doing, but wouldn't spell it out - it left that to the vulgarians of the presse people (celebrity press) .

The French have also learned of the existence of the Grille du Coq. This is
the ornate black metal gate surmounted by a large Gallic
cockerel, at the end of the Elysee gardens, through which, L'Express says, the president would sometimes s'exfiltrer - smuggle himself out.

Other times he went by motorbike - or to be precise by a scooter a trois roues - a powerful scooter with two
front wheels and one at the back: a kind of motor-trike. In traffic-clogged Paris, these are now the vehicles of choice for besuited middle-ranking executives on their way to business meetings.
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Violence erupts amid Egyptian vote

Violence marked the beginning of a two-day referendum as Egyptians went to the polls Tuesday for the second time in 13 months to reshape their country's future.

Six people died in clashes, according to a CNN count.

One person was killed, two were injured and 10 were arrested in clashes Tuesday afternoon outside a polling station in Nahya, Giza, the semiofficial Al-Ahram news agency said, citing the Interior Ministry.

The dead protester had been demonstrating in favor of Mohamed Morsy, the former Muslim Brotherhood leader who became the nation's first democratically elected
President in June 2012 but was ousted from the job a year later in a military coup.

Four other people were killed and
seven wounded in Upper Egypt's Sohag governate in a pro-Muslim Brotherhood march, the agency said, citing the Interior Ministry.

A two-hour drive south of Cairo, in the city of Beni Suef, a 25-year-old member of the Muslim Brotherhood was fatally shot in a clash with security forces, state-run media
reported. The MENA and EgyNews agencies said the man was trying to storm a polling station.

Earlier Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood said peaceful protesters in Beni Suef had been chanting "against the referendum of blood."

The violence began even before polls opened at 9 a.m., when a bomb exploded near a Cairo courthouse. No one was hurt, security officials said.
Despite the explosion, Egyptians waited in long lines to cast their ballots.

"This will not scare us," said Mohamed Moharram, a teacher
who lives near the court. "In half an hour, I will go to my poll station and cast my ballot."
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Profile of Kristen Stewart Hollywood star

Born: Apr 9, 1990 (age 23) · Los
Angeles, California

Height: 5' 5" (1.65 m)

Romance: Robert Pattinson · Michael Angarano

Upcoming movies: Snow White and the Huntsman 2

Awards: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss · Golden Raspberry

Award for Worst Actress · Golden
Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Co…
Parents: Jules Mann-Stewart · John Stewart

Kristen Jaymes Stewart is an American actress who is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga and for her prolific work in independent films.

She has also starred in films such as Panic Room, Speak, Zathura, The Messengers, Adventureland, The
Runaways, Snow White and the Huntsman, and On the Road. …

en.wikipedia.org
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Nest acquisition: Where next for 'new' Google?

In Pixar's Wall-E, mega-corporation Buy n Large is part of all human life and leisure.

In the adorable 2008 Pixar film Wall-E, much of the plot centres on the corporate behemoth that is Buy
n Large.

BnL, a "mega-corporation", runs everything. Everything.

The company is the "world leader" in - to pick just a few - aerospace, agriculture, the media, food, science,
infrastructure and transport.

But it didn't start out that way. At
first, BnL just sold yogurt.

And in 1998, Google just did search.
These days, it's the biggest player in internet advertising.

It's a company that sends balloons into near-space, and kits out entire cities with underground cables. It's a
company that runs most of the world's smartphones and tablets (logging customers' locations as it goes), and is taking on the wearable tech sector with its smart goggles,
Google Glass.

Monday's announcement that Google was to acquire smart-thermostat-maker Nest for $3.2bn (£2bn) came hot on the heels of a big shopping spree in robotics, with the notable acquisition of Boston Dynamics.

It meant Google, whose motto is famously "don't be evil", now counts a company set up to create military
equipment as part of its portfolio.

Oh, there are those self-driving cars, too.

"Machine-learning"

So what exactly is Google, now?
"I think it's been clear for a long time that Google is not a web search company," says Benedict Evans, a technology and telecommunications analyst.

"Google is vast machine-learning project that has been running for over a decade. The objective of Google is to get more data into that system."

How? Well, it's hard to predict the future, but there are some clues out there as to where Google sees its business going next.

Not just tech - Google's investment portfolio is certainly diverse Nest, for instance, was one of many companies that Google has backed via its Google Ventures project, an
initiative launched in 2009 with the intent of providing "seed, venture, and growth-stage funding to the best
companies".

A look at some of the other companies backed by Google Ventures demonstrates the full spectrum of where Google thinks the future lies.

At first glance, it looks just like your typical investment fund. There's
Kabam, a "hardcore social gaming" start-up; Fitstar, a firm looking to create "innovative fitness apps",
and Nextdoor, a local social networking platform.

Take a deeper look at some of Google's interests and you see some truly out-of-the-box thinking.

A Californian "organic coffee roastery", Buttercoin, a marketplace for virtual currency Bitcoin, and Wittlebee, a child's clothing specialist.

Google is, to put it lightly, hedging its bets. Mr Evans agrees.

"Google missed social," he says, "and so is clearly not going to miss drones, and is not going to miss robotics,
and is not going to miss home automation as major trends of technology."

In the health sector, more intrigue, with backings of companies that deal in cancer research, early autism
diagnosis and DNA analysis.

Most strikingly: 23AndMe, a biotechnology firm that offers rapid genetic testing, allowing customers to take a swab of their own DNA and have it checked, quickly, for genetic-
based diseases.

But if you think all of these investments - some financially
huge, others less so - are a nod to a lack of focus from Google, you may be wrong.

"All of these things are essentially the end points for cloud information services," adds Mr Evans.

"[Devices like Nest's thermostat] are not discreet little boxes on the wall, the whole point of them is that all of
them become software, and all of them become part of the internet.

"Google is about understanding the internet."

"Sense of unease"

In the fictional world of Wall-E, Buy n Large's expansion from yogurt seller to global superpower is credited in large amounts to the apparent apathy of the human race, which quite literally sleepwalks its way into having every facet of life controlled by the mega-corporation.

In real life, the public has not been quite so willing. News of Google's Nest acquisition prompted the usual
smattering of gags from people on social media, as well as half-joking quips from industry experts.

"I kind of think Google read Big Brother and took it as a career goal," remarked one, Rob Enderle, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Likewise, various authorities around the world have come hard at Google, keen to show they are not letting major disruptions in how our personal data is collected and kept happen without proper oversight.

Data gathered by Street View cars in more than 30 countries included passwords, emails and other data
It was reported at the weekend that members of Google's "X" team, a group working on top secret research
projects, were having meetings with officials from the US Food and Drug Administration to discuss their plans.
Mindful, you'd assume, that other ventures - such as 23andMe - had been put on hold by regulators worried about the effects of their plans.

In the public eye, a hurdle to what Google sees as cutting-edge innovation will be a growing sense of unease at the company's motives.

High profile privacy foul-ups - such as the discovery that Google Street View cars were unlawfully collecting data
from personal wi-fi networks as they drove the streets - have done little to convince Google's critics, and indeed
users, that everything is watertight.
"Part of Google's problem is they tend to think 'we know we're not going to do anything unpleasant with it, so you should just understand that'," remarks analyst Mr Evans.

"There is a gap between how Google sees itself and how its actions sometimes come across.

"From perfectly good motives - making products better - it tends to make people uncomfortable."

Google's ambitions, if realised, will place it at the very centre of everyday life - helping us find information, stay warm and get around.

But its biggest critic will remain its own users who, unlike the humans populating earth in Wall-E, may not be so open to a mega-corporation's embrace.
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Hollande ducks First Lady Valerie Trierweiler question

French President Francois Hollande has said he is experiencing a "difficult moment" in his private life, following claims of an affair with an actress.

But he refused to answer questions over the report, saying "private matters should be dealt with privately".

Mr Hollande was speaking at his first news conference since the allegations in the magazine Closer last week.
He said he would clarify whether Valerie Trierweiler was still first lady before a February trip to the US.

He plans to travel to Washington on 11 February.

The news conference was a long-planned event aimed at unveiling policies to help France's struggling economy.

In a speech lasting more than half an hour he addressed the main areas where business wants to see reform.
Facing hundreds of journalists at the presidential palace, Mr Hollande said it was "neither the time nor the place" to answer questions about his personal life.

He said he would not be drawn on the reports of the affairs with actress Julie Gayet "out of respect for those involved".

His partner Valerie Trierweiler is in hospital suffering from "shock" over the revelations, her aides say.

She was admitted on Friday and is expected to remain in hospital for a few days.

Asked by a reporter whether his personal security had ever been put at risk as suggested by some reports about his affair, Mr Hollande said: "When I travel officially and when I travel on a private basis, I have protection that is less suffocating. But I am protected everywhere.''

The president left open the possibility of suing Closer over its report.

"Economic pledges"

In his New Year's address, Mr Hollande outlined ideas to combat unemployment - a key pledge in his campaign.

The recurrent criticism of economic policy in France is that government is too big and the burdens of tax and
regulation - especially in the jobs market - are excessive.

He promised to slash 50bn euros (£41.5bn) in public spending over three years.

The president also gave more details on a proposed "responsibility pact" that would introduce tax cuts for
firms in return for a commitment to hire more workers.

Analysts say the impact will, however, depend on how effectively these, and other commitments, can be implemented.

France is struggling with weak economic growth and persistent high unemployment.

Figures from October showed that 3.27 million people were out of work - 10.3% of the workforce.

"Sliding popularity"

There is a public interest in the infidelity allegations by Closer where they relate to Ms Trierweiler's status as first lady.

Mr Hollande's "official" partner is Valerie Trierweiler (r), but he is alleged to have had an affair with Julie Gayet (l) She has an office in the Elysee Palace with six staff, which
is supported by public money.

The French media face strict privacy laws, but the tradition of secrecy over the private lives of public figures
has been steadily eroded in recent years.

On Friday, Closer printed a seven-page article about the alleged affair between Mr Hollande and Ms Gayet.
It was illustrated with photos showing a man said to be the president visiting a flat near the Elysee Palace at the same time as Ms Gayet.
Mr Hollande, who has never married, left his previous partner, fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, to be with Ms Trierweiler.

The scandal comes at a difficult time for Mr Hollande, with opinion polls already suggesting he is one of the most unpopular French presidents ever.
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Big-Bang Disruption: Why tech giants must innovate or die

Such is the dizzying pace of technological change that it's hard to comprehend how just a few years ago we all survived without smart phones and social media.

We are living in a golden age for consumers, says internet industry analyst Larry Downes, with better and cheaper gadgets and apps available every day.

But the technological revolution has also changed the rules of the game for the businesses that create and sell these products.

Downes, a co-author with Paul Nunes of the new book Big Bang Disruption, tells the BBC that now every company - even tech giants like Facebook, Apple and Google - must
constantly innovate or risk being made obsolete by the 'next big thing'.

Produced by the BBC's David Botti
Additional photos: Getty Images and Thinkstock Living Online is a series of video features published every Tuesday on the BBC News website which look at how technology converges with culture and all aspects of our daily lives.
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WW1 soldier diaries published online

Diaries from British soldiers describing life on the frontline during World War One are being published online by the National Archives.

About 1.5 million pages from soldiers who recorded their lives from the outbreak of war to their departure from Flanders and France will be made available.

The project is part of the government's World War One centenary programme.

Robert Hall reports.
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Hollywood script doctor sifts data to advise studios

Awards season is in full swing in the US, showcasing the best of American and international cinema.

Before a film can become a hit, of course, it has to get made. And that is why more studios are turning to so-
called script doctors like Vinnie Bruzzese.

His company Worldwide Motion Picture Group analyses data from a decade of audience research to determine if a script is marketable and how much money it is expected
to make.

Some screenwriters are worried Bruzzese's method detracts from the creative process, but he told the BBC he is helping producers make films that audiences want to see.

Produced by Regan Morris and Travis Peterson.

Living Online is a series of video features published every Tuesday on the BBC News website which look at
how technology converges with culture and all aspects of our daily lives.
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Cairo courthouse bombed as Egypt referendum begins

A small bomb has been detonated outside a courthouse in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as two days of voting in a referendum on a new constitution begins.

No casualties have been reported as a result of the explosion, which happened in the Imbaba district.

James Reynolds, reporting from Cairo, says it is thought the building was being used as a base to monitor the
referendum.
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Egypt votes on constitution

Egyptians are to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, which could pave the way for fresh elections.

The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army.

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Michelle Obama's dress 'makes history'

The Smithsonian Museum in Washington has decided to put Michelle Obama's second inaugural gown on display.

It is the first time that a dress worn by the first lady at a second inauguration will be displayed in the Smithsonian's museum of American History.

Lorna Blount reports.
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India Golden Temple: UK investigates 'SAS link' to attack

The storming of the Golden Temple, codenamed Operation Blue Star, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists
British PM David Cameron has ordered an investigation into an MP's claim that the Thatcher government "colluded" with India on the deadly
raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.

MP Tom Watson told BBC Asian Network that documents recently declassified after 30 years backed up
his claim.

The storming of the Golden Temple was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.

The controversial raid outraged Sikhs around the world, who accused troops of desecrating the faith's holiest
shrine.

The Indian government said about 400 people were killed in the raid - codenamed Operation Blue Star - including 87 soldiers. Sikh groups dispute this figure and say thousands
died, including a large number of pilgrims who were visiting the temple.

The Sikh separatists demanded an independent homeland - called Khalistan - in Punjab.

Mr Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, said he has seen "top secret papers from Mrs Thatcher authorising Special Air Services (SAS) to work with the Indian government".

A UK government spokesperson said these events "led to a tragic loss of life and we understand the very legitimate concerns that these papers will raise".

"The prime minister has asked the cabinet secretary to look into this case urgently and establish the facts," the statement said, adding that the prime minister and Foreign Secretary "were unaware of these papers prior to publication".

Mr Watson has cited two letters which have only just been released under the 30-year rule and published on the
blog Stop Deportations.

One, dated 6 February 1984 from the prime minister's office, talks about the "Indian request for advice on plans for the removal of dissident Sikhs from the Golden Temple". It states that the prime minister is "content that the foreign secretary should proceed as he proposes".

The other letter, dated 23 February 1984, said "the foreign secretary decided to respond favourably to the Indian request and, with the prime minister's agreement, an SAD officer has visited India and drawn up a plan which has been approved by Mrs Gandhi. The foreign secretary
believes that the Indian government may put the plan into operation shortly".

It appears that the writer committed a typographical error in mentioning SAS as SAD in the letter.

The attack on the temple took place in June 1984.

Mr Watson said the government appears to have "held back" some documents and must disclose more
information.

"I think British Sikhs and all those concerned about human rights will want to know exactly the extent of Britain's collusion with this period and this episode and will expect some answers from the Foreign Secretary," Mr Watson told BBC Asian Network.

"But trying to hide what we did, not coming clean, I think would be a very grave error and I very much hope that the Foreign Secretary will... reveal the documents that exist and give an explanation to the House of Commons and to the country about the role of Britain at that very difficult time for Sikhism and Sikhs," Mr Watson added.

Operation Blue Star led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her Sikh
bodyguards in revenge.
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Child shock guidelines 'are deadly'

Thousands of children could be dying each year because the World Health Organization has not updated guidelines for treating those going into shock, UK researchers warn.

They say the advice to give large quantities of fluid is deadly.

The updated guidelines in 2013 did not recommend a change, which the researchers described as "disappointing and puzzling".

The WHO said it had to be "very vigilant" when changing guidelines.

And that it aimed to publish a new set of interim guidelines by early 2015.

"Disagreement"

Critically ill patients can go into shock as a result of severe infections, such as malaria, or fluid loss. It changes the way blood flows around the body leaving patients looking pale.

The recommended treatment is "rapid fluid resuscitation" - a large injection of fluid via a drip.

This brings children out of shock, but a large study on children in Africa in 2011 suggested it was also
deadly.

Three more children out of every 100 treated would die with fluid resuscitation when compared with those slowly given small quantities of fluid, the study indicated.

In those with the most severe shock, 48% died with the resuscitation compared with 20% given the low fluid doses, it suggested.

Prof Kathryn Maitland, a paediatrician with the Medical Research Council and Imperial College London, criticised the WHO for not changing guidelines in its latest update.

She told the BBC: "We're very concerned that two and a half years later the guidelines have not changed."

"Thousands dying"

he said there was a lack of data on the precise number children being diagnosed with shock.

But she added: "We can be confident that if hospitals follow the guidelines, there will be excess mortality... it is
likely to run into thousands."

The WHO said the study came three-quarters of the way through the last update and that systematically assessing all the evidence on managing shock would have delayed
the other guidelines.

Dr Elizabeth Mason, the WHO's director of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, told the BBC: "It was a fairly difficult decision, but we don't make decisions based on one study alone, even if it is fairly
groundbreaking.

"As an organisation we have to be very vigilant in making recommendations, we need a systematic review of the evidence otherwise with every new study we could be changing WHO guidelines."

She said new interim guidelines were "anticipated by the end of the year or the beginning of next year".
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Atheist Afghan granted religious asylum in UK

The client, who was raised as a Muslim, requested to remain anonymous An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK for religious reasons - because he is an atheist.

The man fled to the UK from a conflict involving his family
in Afghanistan in 2007, aged 16, and was allowed to stay in the UK until 2013.

He was brought up a Muslim, but during his time in the UK became an atheist, his legal team said.

They said he would face persecution and possibly a death sentence if he was returned to Afghanistan.

The team was from the University of Kent's Law School which offers legal services through its Kent Law Clinic.
'Entitled to protection'They believe it is the first time a person has been granted asylum in the UK on the basis of their atheism.

Lawyers lodged a submission to the Home Office under the 1951 Refugee Convention which aims to protect
people from persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

They said the man's return to Afghanistan could result in a death sentence under Sharia law as an apostate - someone who has abandoned their religious faith - unless he remained discreet about his atheist beliefs.

But because every aspect of daily life and culture in Afghanistan is permeated by Islam living discreetly would be virtually impossible, they said.

The case was prepared by second-year law student Claire Splawn under the supervision of clinic solicitor Sheona York.

Ms Splawn said: "We argued that an atheist should be entitled to protection from persecution on the grounds of their belief in the same way as a religious person is
protected."

'Proud history'

Ms York added: "The decision represents an important recognition that a lack of religious belief is in itself a thoughtful and seriously-held philosophical position."

The British Humanist Association said the case may well have a claim to be a first in being based on non-religious
beliefs.

Chief executive Andrew Copson said:
"Freedom of belief for humanists, atheists and other non-religious people is as important as freedom of belief for the religious but it is too
often neglected by Western governments who focus too narrowly on the rights of Christians abroad, as we have seen recently.

"It is great to see Britain showing a lead in defending the human rights of the non-religious in the same way.

"Increasingly in the last two years our Foreign Office is speaking up for the rights of non-religious people abroad -
to now see the Home Office extending the UK's protection to non-religious refugees within our borders is something we can all be proud of."

The Home Office said: "The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need it and we consider
every application on a case-by-case basis."
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"Chris Christie investigated over use of Sandy funds"

Governor Chris Christie is under fire from two fronts The governor of the US state of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is being investigated over the use of
Superstorm Sandy relief funds.

Federal officials are looking into whether Mr Christie misused some of those funds to produce tourism adverts.

Advertising agency Sigma Group lost out to MWW for a campaign proclaiming the state was "stronger than the storm".

Mr Christie is also being sued over claims his office created gridlock on a bridge as part of a political
vendetta.

Mr Christie, who is seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate, is being audited by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine if Sandy funds were misappropriated to finance
an advertising campaign during an election year.

'Double the price'

Sigma Group's $2.5m bid lost out to a $4.7m bid by MWW for a campaign that featured Mr Christie and his family proclaiming the state is "stronger than the storm".

"We were left scratching our heads as to why they would give this bid to an agency at double the price," Shannon
Morris, president of Sigma Group, told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

Christie spokesman Colin Reed said the ad campaign had been a success that helped the state begin to recover
from the devastation caused by the October 2012 storm.

"We're confident that any review will show that the ads were a key part in helping New Jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history," Mr Reed said.

Lanes to the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to Manhattan, were closed last summer.
The traffic mayhem was allegedly instigated in revenge against a mayor who declined to endorse Mr Christie's re-election as governor.

Mr Christie fired a top aide after communications that apparently showed her engineering the lane closures were made public a day earlier.
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Florida man shot dead in cinema texting row

The men had been waiting to watch a film at Cobb Grove 16 cinema
A retired police officer shot dead a fellow cinemagoer in Florida in an argument over texting, police say.

Ex-officer Curtis Reeves, 71, opened fire after asking a man sitting directly in front of him to stop texting several
times, a Pasco County Sheriff spokesman said.

Chad Oulson, 43, died in hospital.
The two men, accompanied by their wives, had been watching the previews for a matinee screening in Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, on Monday.

The victim had explained that he was texting his three-year-old daughter, witness Charles Cummings told FOX
13 television.

Mr Reeves has been charged with second-degree murder.

"Confrontation"

The two couples had been waiting to watch the new war film Lone Survivor at the Cobb Grove 16 cinema in Wesley Chapel when the row broke out.

Mr Reeves apparently stormed out of the auditorium to get a manager, but returned without one.

"Three seconds, four seconds later, the argument starts again," Mr Cummings said.

"Their voices start going up; there seems to be almost a confrontation.

Somebody throws popcorn, I'm not sure who threw the popcorn, and, bang, he was shot."

Mr Oulson's wife, Nicole, was wounded as she had placed her hand over her husband just as he was shot, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.
A nurse in the audience tried performing emergency resuscitation on the victim while an off-duty sheriff's deputy detained the gunman, according to reports.

"The male victim is deceased. The female victim was injured with non-life-threatening injuries," Mr Tobin said.

Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Mr Reeves was a captain when he retired from the department in 1993, according to the Associated Press. After he retired,
he was on the board of a neighbouring county's Crime
Stoppers organisation.

The cinema, part of the Cobb Theatres chain, was reportedly evacuated and closed.

''It's crazy. I never thought something like this would happen at our theatre," ABC News quoted cinema
employee Leny Vega as saying.

Lone Survivor, based on a New York Times best-seller, stars Mark Wahlberg and tells the story of four navy Seals on an ill-fated covert mission against the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
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US journalist David Satter barred from Russia

A US journalist has been barred from entry to Russia, in what his employers say is a "fundamental violation of the right of free speech".

David Satter tried to get his Russian visa renewed while on a trip abroad, but said he was told the authorities in
Moscow found him "undesirable".
However, Russia said he had previously violated visa regulations.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says it is not clear whether he was barred for political or other reasons.

There is sensitivity in Russia ahead of the Winter Olympics, which begin in the city of Sochi in a few weeks.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a number of concessions ahead of the Games, including freeing some political opponents from prison and assuring
gay athletes of their safety despite a tightening of the laws around homosexuality.

'Bureaucratic trickery'

David Satter was previously a Financial Times correspondent in Moscow, now working as an adviser to the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Our correspondent says Satter has long been a critic of the Kremlin.

RFE/RL President Kevin Klose complained about a violation of free speech and said the US embassy in Moscow had lodged a diplomatic protest.

Satter, who has authored several books about Russia, including one whose title referred to the "Rise of the Russian Criminal State", said: "They know me very, very well."

"I have been writing about Russia, writing about the Soviet Union almost for four decades. To say that I'm not allowed on the territory of the Russian Federation at the request
of the security services - this I haven't seen applied to a journalist in my entire career of writing about Russia," he told the Associated Press.
A source in the Russian foreign ministry told the BBC the decision not to allow Satter back into the country had nothing to do with his criticism of the authorities - and was linked to a violation of visa regulations by the journalist.

In November, a Moscow court had fined him about £100 ($165) for being in Russia after a previous visa expired, and had ordered him to leave the country.

Satter has dismissed that explanation as "bureaucratic trickery".

He said he was assured his visa would be extended.
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"France's Hollande bids for relaunch amid Trierweiler scandal"

Ms Trierweiler has been Mr Hollande's partner since 2007 French President Francois Hollande is to hold a news conference outlining new plans for the economy, with media interest likely instead to be on recent allegations about his private life.

Last week, the magazine Closer alleged Mr Hollande was having an affair with film actress Julie Gayet.

Mr Hollande did not deny the report but protested at invasion of his privacy.

His partner Valerie Trierweiler remains in hospital after having been admitted on Friday.

Her aides told French media that she had suffered "shock" after seeing the revelations.

She had been expected to leave hospital on Monday, but her aides said doctors had told her she needed more rest.

Tuesday's press conference, scheduled for 16:30 (15:30 GMT), is a long-planned event aimed at unveiling new policies to help France's struggling economy.

Mr Hollande is expected to outline ideas to stimulate growth and combat record high unemployment.

More details will be given on a proposed "responsibility pact", which would introduce tax cuts for firms in return for a commitment to hire more workers.

There is a public aspect to the allegations by Closer insofar as they touch on whether or not Ms Trierweiler is still first lady.

She has an office in the Elysee Palace with six staff - popularly known as "Madame's domain" - which is
supported by public money.

However, Tuesday's news conference is likely to be highly stage-managed, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris reports.

While there may be one or two questions about the president's private life, Mr Hollande is likely to have a prepared response and the conference will quickly move
on to the economy, our correspondent says.

The foreign press will likely be much more interested in the affair than their domestic counterparts, he adds.
Closer alleges Mr Hollande was having a secret affair with actress Julie Gayet

'Recovering from shock'

He has not denied the report in Closer but has protested at the invasion of his privacy.

The president and Ms Trierweiler have been together since 2007.

She lives with the president in his official residence, the Elysee Palace.

Ms Trierweiler's aides said she went to hospital on Friday for "rest and some tests".

On Monday, an aide told Europe 1 broadcaster: "The doctors will determine when she can be dismissed from hospital. She needs to recover from the shock she has
suffered."The French media face strict privacy laws, but the tradition of secrecy over the private lives of public figures has been steadily eroded in recent years.

On Friday, Closer printed a seven-page article about the alleged affair between Mr Hollande and Ms Gayet.
It was illustrated with photos showing a man said to be the president visiting a flat near the Elysee Palace at the same time as Ms Gayet.

Mr Hollande, who has never married, left his previous partner, fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, to be with Ms Trierweiler.

The scandal comes at a difficult time for Mr Hollande, with opinion polls already suggesting he is one of the most unpopular French presidents ever.
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Lions 'facing extinction in West Africa'

This lion cub was photographed by researchers in Nigeria There has been a "catastrophic collapse" in the number of lions in West Africa, with only around 400 left in the region, a new survey suggests.

With fewer than 250 mature lions of breeding age, there are concerns the entire population could disappear.
The research by Panthera, a non-profit organisation, was carried out in 17 countries, from Senegal to Nigeria, and took more than six years.

West African lions are genetically distinct from others in Africa.
In 2005, West African lions were believed to live in 21 different protected areas. But the survey, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, suggests lions now exist in
just four of those sites.

The report says lions now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in West Africa. The majority of their habitat
has been converted for agricultural use, says Philipp Henschel, co-author of the report.

Panthera is calling for the lion to be listed as critically endangered in West Africa.

"Our results came as a complete shock; all but a few of the areas we surveyed were basically paper parks, having neither management budgets nor patrol staff, and had lost all their lions and other iconic large mammals," Mr Henschel told the BBC's Sivaramakrishnan Parameswaran.

The conservation of lions in West Africa have been largely neglected, whereas in eastern and southern Africa where millions of dollars a year are spent, he said.

"Bush meat problem"

The researchers discovered that West African lions now survive in only five countries; Senegal, Nigeria and a single trans-frontier population on the shared borders of Benin, Niger and Burkina-Faso.

Researchers found meat from poached antelope in Ivory Coast
These lions have unique genetic sequence not found in other lions including in zoos or captivity. If they are lost then a unique locally adapted population will become extinct, researchers say.

Large-scale plantations for cotton and food crops have contributed significantly to the decline of the lions in the last decade, the survey found.
Today, lions are largely restricted to protected areas, and the poaching of animals - usually preyed upon by lions - to supply local bushmeat markets is probably the main threat, said Mr Henschel.

"In some areas, we also witnessed the retaliatory killing of lions by herdsmen that entered protected areas illegally with their herds of cattle and goats," he said.

"Funding crisis"

A lack of funding for conservation coupled with an increasing human population and impoverished economies, means lions are increasingly vulnerable, researchers say.

"We are talking about some of the poorest counties in the world - many governments have bigger problems than protecting lions," Mr Henschel said.

Wildlife rangers are being trained in Nigeria West African Lions have special significance in the culture
of the region. They are a symbol of pride for the governments and people, and are represented on the
coats of arms of several countries.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
says concerted international help is urgently needed.

Benin and Senegal are working with the research team to establish a National Lion Action Plan to identify ways and measures to save the lions in their countries.

"Lions have undergone a catastrophic collapse in West Africa. The countries that have managed to retain them
are struggling with pervasive poverty and very little funding for conservation," says Panthera's President Luke Hunter.

To save the lion will require a massive commitment of resources from the international community."
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South Sudan Nile ferry sinks with more than 200 dead

Many South Sudanese have been fleeing the conflict by boats across the Nile More than 200 civilians in South Sudan have drowned in a Nile ferry accident while fleeing fighting in the town of Malakal, an army spokesman has said.

He said women and children were among the victims in Sunday's disaster.

More than 350,000 people have been displaced by the fighting between the South Sudanese government and
rebel forces, according to the UN.

Malakal is the gateway to the oilfields of the Upper Nile region. Rebels have advanced on the town in recent days.

"The reports we have are of between 200 to 300 people, including women and children. The boat was overloaded,"army spokesman Philip Aguer told the AFP news agency.

Some 19,000 people are now seeking shelter at a UN base in Malakal"They all drowned. They were fleeing the fighting that broke out again in Malakal," he added.

Malakal is located on the banks of the White Nile - just north of its confluence with the Sobat River.

Thousands of civilians have been trying to escape the fighting by crossing the river, but many say they simply cannot afford to pay for a boat, says the BBC's Andrew.

Harding in South Sudan.

One refugee, Akuch, told our correspondent that she had had to borrow as much as 150 Sudanese
pounds (£40;$66) to cross the river.

Some 9,000 civilians have recently arrived at a UN base in Malakal, almost doubling the number of people seeking shelter there, our correspondent says.

On Tuesday, heavy fighting was reported in and around the government-held town of Malakal, amid reports that rebels were closing in. Malakal has already changed hands several times since the conflict began last month.

In the south, government troops are believed to be advancing on Bor - the only major town held by the rebels.

Meanwhile, talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in South Sudan are currently taking place in the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa.

The negotiations are being overseen by the East African regional bloc, Igad.

The violence erupted on 15 December between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and soldiers backing Riek Machar, his former vice-president.

President Kiir is a member of South Sudan's largest ethnic group, the Dinka, while Mr Machar is from the Nuer community - the country's second largest.

The conflict has seen reports of mass killings along ethnic lines even though both men have prominent supporters
among their rival's community.

The UN estimates that more than 1,000 people have died since the conflict began on 15 December.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 after a long and bloody conflict, to become the world's newest state.
Fighting erupted in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in mid-December. It followed a political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his ex-deputy Riek Machar.

The squabble has taken on an ethnic dimension as politicians'political bases are often ethnic.

Sudan's arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture.
The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on oil revenue, which accounts for 98% of South Sudan's budget. They have fiercely disagreed over how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state - at one time production was shutdown for more than a year.

Some 75% of the oil lies in
the South but all the pipelines run north After gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan is the world's newest country - and one of its poorest. Figures from 2010 show some 69% of households now have access to clean water - up from 48% in 2006.

However, just 2% of households have water on the premises.

Just 29% of children attend primary
school in South Sudan - however this is also an improvement on the 16%
recorded in 2006. About 32% of primary-age boys attend, while just 25% of girls do. Overall, 64% of children who begin primary school reach the last grade.

Almost 28% of children under the age of five in South Sudan are moderately or severely underweight - this compares with the 33% recorded in 2006. Unity state has the highest proportion of children suffering
malnourishment (46%), while Central Equatoria has the lowest (17%).
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China doctor jailed for selling babies to traffickers

A Chinese obstetrician has been given a suspended death sentence for stealing newborn babies and selling them to child traffickers.

Zhang Shuxia was found guilty of
abducting and selling seven babies in Fuping, Shaanxi province, the sentencing court said.

She told parents their infants had serious diseases and convinced them to give up the babies, the court said.

Zhang has been sentenced to death, with a two year reprieve.

Suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment in China.

Zhang sold seven babies to child traffickers between November 2011 and July 2013, including a pair of twins, a judgement posted on the Weinan Intermediate People's
Court's verified microblog on Tuesday said.

Six of the babies were rescued, but one baby girl died.

'Fabricated reports'

Zhang worked in Shaanxi's Fuping Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital.

"Zhang used her position as medical personnel to fabricate reports about the infants, saying they suffered from birth defects or diseases that were hard to cure," the court said in its judgement.

Obstetrician Zhang Shuxia sold seven babies to traffickers, the court said
"She abducted and sold several new-born infants, violating professional and social ethics," the judgement added.

It is not yet clear whether Zhang will appeal, the court said.

Zhang and several other suspects were arrested after the most recent abduction case in July.

The parents reported the case to police after they suspected their baby had been trafficked.

The baby was found and returned to his parents in early August.

Police said they were still investigating 50 related cases, including 26 cases linked to Zhang, and several other suspects were in criminal detention, Xinhua news agency reported.

Four other officials from the hospital are on trial for suspected dereliction of duty and are awaiting sentencing,
Xinhua added.

'Unspeakable acts'

Under China's strict population control policies, most couples can only have one child, and there is a strong preference for healthy baby boys.

Earlier this month, China's top legislature formally adopted a resolution easing the country's one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children if either parent is an only
child.

On Chinese social media, netizens condemned Zhang's actions, with many calling for the death penalty.

"She obliterated her humanity, and conducted unspeakable acts under a cloak of legality - only executing her will level the people's anger!"microblog user China Luo Jian wrote.

However, user Wen Jin Rang wrote: "For such a criminal, sparing her life will serve a greater educational purpose than killing her."

Meanwhile, Sina Weibo user Doctor Fei Ge described Zhang as the "scum of the medical profession, who
damaged the reputation of doctors".
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Technology News: Winners Chapel Introduces Paying Of Tithes and Offering on the Go (Via Recharge Card) Method

A colleague of mine ( owner of Rockcitygist.com) saw this yesterday and he was so amazed to announce to us another development in the church of God. though its cool
according to him but i want to know your views.

He was at Living Faith Chapel Yesterday aka Winners Chapel Headquater Sango Ota,Ogun State.
He paid a courtesy Visit to Convenant University To See Some Of His Friends, But While having a walk down The Campus He saw the
picture above, Hmm he smiled and Said to himself 'i felt Papa Is Back
with a Cool Technology'.

Initially I fell In Love with The New Development,So I decided to Also blog this.

Winners On The Go.

Pay Your Tithes And Offering On The Go For Tithe Dial *389*77*Amount#
For Offering Dial *389*78*Amount#
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Egypt referendum: Vote starts amid tight security

Egyptians have begun voting amid tight security in a two-day referendum on a new constitution, which could pave the way for fresh elections.

The new charter aims to replace the constitution passed under Islamist President Mohammed Morsi months before he was ousted by the army.

The military wants a strong Yes vote to endorse Mr Morsi's removal.

His Muslim Brotherhood, now designated a terrorist group, is boycotting the vote and there are fears of violence.

Shortly before voting began, an explosion took place near a court building in Cairo's Imbaba district, although no casualties were reported.

A security source also told Reuters news agency that one man had been killed during an anti-referendum protest against in Bani Suef, south of Cairo.

A huge security operation is being mounted for the two days of voting. The interior ministry says 200,000 police officers, 150 central security units and 200 combat groups are being deployed around polling stations on both days.

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited one polling station in north Cairo, telling guards there: "Work hard.

We need the referendum to be completely secured."The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says this has been a
distorted campaign, with endorsements for the new constitution flooding state-run and private TV and radio.

However, spotting any posters from the No campaign is a lot harder and people have been arrested for putting them up, our correspondent says.

Democratic or not, she says, the referendum is seen by many as more than a ballot on a new constitution - it is widely viewed as a verdict on the removal of Mr Morsi.

Television pictures showed long lines of voters at some Cairo polling stations.

One voter, Salah Mustafa, told the BBC: "Compared to the document that we had last year, which was a really horrible constitution, there's a lot of rights, there a lot of rights, there's a lot of concepts that we wanted to see from day one."
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