UAE slams new EU verdict on human rights

An EU report criticising the UAE over conditions for migrant workers, the status of women and the death penalty has been dismissed as "biased and prejudiced" by a senior UAE official.

Commenting on the new EU Parliament resolution, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said it threw "accusations haphazardly without substantiating facts on the ground".

He added that the EU resolution "purposely overlooks the milestones made by the UAE and endorsed by the relevant international organisations, particularly in the areas of foreign labour, comprehensive social care and women's empowerment".

Gargash said in comments published by news agency WAM that the UAE had not been summoned to the discussion, adding that it requested the EU Parliament to defer the debate.

The UAE said a deferral, which was not possible, would "allow for opportunity to express its points of view which would help give accuracy, balance and credibility to the resolution".

"As a result, the final resolution came prejudiced and unfair which impacted its credibility. The resolution adopted unsubstantiated accusations by groups and organisations that made it a top priority to tarnish UAE s reputation," he said.

"The UAE will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its security and stability, on the basis of its institutions, laws and regulations observed.

"There is no room for leniency when it comes to laws and constitutional foundations no matter what circumstances are."

The resolution expressed "severe concerns" for the well being of approximately 62 political detainees arrested this year.

It called on Emirati authorities to ensure "a fair trial and due process" for all detainees and urged UAE authorities to "respect the rule of law and ensure the fair trial of all arrested political activists".

The EU resolution also called on authorities to "guarantee that human rights defenders are able to carry out their work without fear of reprisal or retribution" and appealed for "an investigation into recent allegations of physical assault and torture of those under arrest".

In March, the UAE closed two international thinktanks promoting democracy overseas, Germany's Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the US-funded National Democratic Institute, without giving reasons.

The UAE says it has no political prisoners and says the detainees whose cases have been cited by international rights groups are Islamist militants who threaten the state.

Last week, Gargash sent a tweet criticising Britain's Guardian newspaper for an editorial in which it questioned the UAE's human rights record.

Gulf investors to seal Leeds Utd deal 'very soon'

Dubai-based GFH Capital is set to complete a deal to take over "very soon" after proving it has the necessary funds to finance the deal, officials have said in a new statement.

The unit of Bahrain's Gulf Finance House, which has already provided £2m to the club with further funds available, said it was close to closing the transaction.

In a joint statement published on the club's official website, Leeds United chairman Ken Bates said: "It's been a long road but we are in a good place. Both sides have been in talks over the last few days to finalise this deal.

"We are keeping focused and hope to complete very soon"

David Haigh, deputy CEO, GFH Capital added: "With the money in place, we are poised to make this deal happen pending agreements and arrangements which are in the interests of the future of Leeds United - we need to make sure all the finer detail is addressed before trading signatures.

"Despite what has been said recently in media, both sides continue to talk regularly and continue to work hard to get the job done."

The statement also quoted Salem Patel, chief investment officer, GFH Capital as saying: "We understand there is some concern related to how Leeds United would be run under our stewardship.

"It remains important to be clear that Shari'ah law will not hinder this transaction nor will it affect the future operations of the club.

"Our intention is to provide investment which will facilitate a successful and sustainable future for Leeds United on and off the pitch."

Protracted negotiations between Leeds and GFH Capital are in their fifth month and have sparked frustration from fans.

When completed, the Leeds United deal will be the latest Gulf-based takeover, following the likes of Manchester City, French club Paris Saint-Germain and Championship side Nottingham Forest.

Colin Powell endorses Obama; Sununu, McCain go nuts

Yesterday, Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president, explaining that he believes the incumbent has done a good job on the economy given the situation he was handed. As a former secretary of state and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell also took serious issue with the foreign policy stances of Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, saying that ” I’m not quite sure which Governor Romney we would be getting with respect to foreign policy”:

“One day he has a certain strong view about staying in Afghanistan, but then on Monday night he agrees with the withdrawal. Same thing in Iraq. On almost every issue that was discussed on Monday night, Governor Romney agreed with the President with some nuances. But this is quite a different set of foreign policy views than he had earlier in the campaign. And my concern, which I’ve expressed previously in a public way, is that sometimes I don’t sense that he has thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have, and he gets advice from his campaign staff that he then has to adjust to modify as he goes along.

INTERVIEWER: Are you concerned about the people that are advising Governor Romney?

POWELL: I think there’s some very, very strong neo-conservative views that are presented by the Governor that I have some trouble with. There are other issues as well, not just the economy and foreign policy. I’m more comfortable with President Obama and his administration when it comes to issues like what are we going to do about climate, what are we going to do about immigration? What are we going to do about education? Lots of things like that. I do not want to see the new Obamacare plan thrown off the table. It has issues, you have to fix some things in that plan. But what I see when I look at that plan is 30 million of our fellow citizens will now be covered by insurance. And I think that’s good. We’re one of the few nations in the world, with our size, population and wealth, that does not have universal health care.”

Dasara’s green waste adds to the stink in Bangalore

The city does not seem to be waking up to the stench left behind by the10-day Dasara festivities which ended on Wednesday.

Large heaps of garbage dotted the markets and street corners everywhere. The market in Frazer town looked more like a dump yard after the Ayudha puja.

“The roads were already smelling bad. Now the stench is more severe. Before the start of the festivals, city fathers must tell people through papers and other media on how to dispose of waste. The leftover food, puja flowers and leaves have added to the garbage in the city,” said Surya Narayana Rao of Cox Town.

According to Basavanapura’s ward corporator K Poornima, there was a lot of green waste.
Although people are segregating waste, garbage collectors are mixing them. “Right now, the contractor in charge of lifting the waste is shifting it to his agriculture land,” she said.

In some places, the leftover food is thrown on the streets attracting mosquitoes, dogs and pigs.

“Many have thrown them on the roadside in plastic covers,” said Balachander Naidu, a resident of Frazer town.

While people are complaining of garbage piled up in the streets, Kempegowda ward corporator YN Ashwath said that in his ward, cows had polished leftovers like banana stalk and leaves used for he puja . “As pourakarmikas (conservancy staff) were on a holiday for Ayudha puja, garbage got piled up on Tuesday. However from Wednesday, they have startedclearing the garbage. In two days, the streets will be cleaned up,” he said.

In Malleshwaram, the unsold plantain leaves werestrewn on the streets. Decaying flowers, fruits and vegetables piled up on the streets raised a stink.

“But the worst cases were of pumpkins and ash-gourds smashed on the road. It seems people have no regard for public space,” said Sumitra Ranganath, a resident ofMalleshwaram. RT Nagar and Rajajinagar had similar problems.

“Plastic covers and papers which get wet cannot be used for recycling or be disposed of. This has been a constant problem in the city,” said Ananda Kilijor, a software engineer living in Rajajinagar. M Muniraju, corporator ofYelahanka Satellite Town ward, said 60% of the garbage in his ward had been lifted.

“Green waste has been dumped at Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath’s agriculture land. The plastic waste was cleared by an NGO. Only the mixed waste is piled up in the area. It will be sent to Mandur landfill and nearby quarries,” he said.

Car bomb in Damascus shatters feeble Syria cease-fire

A handout picture released by the Syrian Revolution General Commission shows Syrians inspecting the site of a car bomb attack in the Daf Shawk district of Damascus on Oct. 26. At least five people were killed and 32 wounded in a car bomb attack in southern Damascus, Syrian state television said, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said children were among the wounded.

By Reuters

A powerful car bomb exploded in Damascus on Friday, inflicting many casualties and buffeting a shaky temporary truce in the Syrian conflict on the occasion of a Muslim religious holiday.

State television said the "terrorist car bomb" had killed five people and wounded 32, according to "preliminary figures."

Opposition activists said the bomb had gone off near a makeshift children's playground built for the Eid al-Adha holiday in the southern Daf al-Shok district of the capital.

Fighting erupted around Syria earlier as both sides violated the Eid al-Adha cease-fire arranged by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but violence was far less intense than usual.

The Syrian military said it had responded to attacks by insurgents on army positions, in line with its announcement  Thursday that would cease military activity during the four-day holiday but would react to rebel actions.

Brahimi's cease-fire appeal had won widespread international support, including from Russia, China and Iran, President Bashar al-Assad's main foreign allies.

61 killed in Syria as truce collapses in several areas: NGO

Beirut: 

At least 61 people were killed on Friday in Syria on the first day of a truce to mark the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The Britain-based watchdog which said the truce collapsed in several regions gave an early evening death toll of 61 dead -- 21 civilians, 27 soldiers and 13 rebels.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman reported casualties from fighting and car bombings in various parts of Syria, including in and around Damascus, in the second city Aleppo, in the central city of Homs and near the Wadi Deif military base in the northwest province of Idlib.

Ten soldiers and four rebels were killed at Wadi Deif, where fierce clashes have raged since insurgents overran the nearby strategic town of Maaret al-Numan on October 9, cutting off a key army supply route along the Aleppo-Damascus highway.

Fighters from the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, which categorically rejected any truce, have been participating in the fighting at Wadi Daif, according to the Observatory. Three soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in a car bomb attack in the southern city of Daraa, according to the watchdog, while Syrian state television said a car bombing in Damascus killed five people and wounded 32.

No casualties were reported from a third car bomb explosion in the southern Damascus district of Tadamun, where a car bombing had killed six people two days before.

Al-Nosra Front has claimed the majority of deadly car bombings and suicide attacks over the course of the conflict.

The Syrian government and main rebel Free Syrian Army had agreed to observe the truce brokered by UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but both sides had pledged to respond if attacked.

(www.ndtv.com)

Lena Dunham casts a virginal vote for President Obama

You’ve heard of “tainting” the vote and “corrupting” the vote. But “sexualizing the voting process”?

That’s what the spokeswoman for a conservative media watchdog accused President Obama of doing with a video ad that has a young Hollywood star talking about voting for the incumbent as if it were her first time having sex.

In the Internet ad, titled “Your First Time,” Lena Dunham speaks to the camera and says: "The first time shouldn't be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy. Someone who really cares about and understands women."

The creator and star of the HBO series “Girls” goes on to describe reasons that Obama is a special advocate for women.

The response could have been predicted. Liberals and Obama supporters called the ad charming and provocative. Opponents described it as “inappropriate” and stereotyping of young women.

The Media Research Center's Lauren Thompson said, "This ad is inappropriate because it is sexualizing the voting process. This isn't an ad the average family would want their daughters to see.”

The flirty ad, with clever wordplay about Obama’s policies, is not something a campaign would probably put in front of a broad television audience. Team Obama limited the spot’s exposure by posting it online, where it mainly will be viewed by young voters who ship it to each other via the Internet.

POP QUIZ: 'Daisy,' other famous campaign ads

It’s not raunchy or explicit, so critics have to make a real effort to find reasons to complain. But we're in the final days of a close election. Inflated outrage is the currency of the realm. Think of how some Obama supporters responded to one of Mitt Romney’s sons saying he wanted to "take a swing” at the president. They pretended like it was some mortal threat instead of silly bravado.

Dunham’s got a smart and sophisticated following, which includes many young women. They’re not going to be surprised or damaged by anything conveyed in these 60 seconds.

After her intro, Dunham, 26, quickly makes it clear it’s the president’s politics she is lusting after, nothing more.

She declares that a woman’s “first time” should be with "a guy who cares whether you get health insurance and specifically whether you get birth control."

And then: "You want to do it with a guy who brought the troops out of Iraq," and, "You don't want a guy who says, 'Oh hey, I'm at the library studying,' when really he's out not signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act." The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed by Obama, attempts to enforce fair pay for women.

Dunham tells the audience, which on YouTube had grown to about 300,000 a day after the ad’s Thursday release, that they don’t want to suffer the social embarrassment of telling friends they failed to vote.

"My first time voting was amazing,” the entertainer says. “It was this line in the sand. Before I was a girl, now I was a woman. I went to the polling station, I pulled back the curtain, I voted for Barack Obama."

After the initial buzz around the piece, Dunham sent a response via Twitter. “The video may be light,” she wrote, “but the message is serious: vote for women's rights.”

Tinseltown celebs wish Eid Mubarak!

Though the festival of Eid is still a day away, celebs have already started pouring their wishes on Twitter: @KimKardashian: Eid Mubarak to my friends across the world can't wait to see you at Millions of Milkshakes in Kuwait next month @sheerazhasan @DuttaLara: Eid Mubarak!

Wishing everyone a

joyous festival season!

@FarOutAkhtar: Eid Mubarak. Wish you all happiness and peace.

@VarunDhawan_FC: Eid Mubarak to all! Hope you guys have a blast today! ;)

@mbhandarkar268: Eid Mubarak! Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Eid.God Bless.

@rampalarjun: Eid Mubarak, peace and love.

@imarshadwarsi: Eid Mubarak ... Peace n happiness to all ...

@bipsluvurself: Eid Mubarak to all!Peace and happiness forever:)

@1Prachidesai: Eid Mubarak. Wish you all a lovely time.

@sonalchauhan7: Eid Mubarak to everyone. Have a fantastic 1 :-)

@TandonRaveena: Eid Mubarak to all!love and peace!am so blessed my bday either falls on diwali or eid! Will answer all messages,slowly but surely! Thank you

@akshaykumar: May the guidance and blessings of Allah be with you and your family, Eid Mubarak

@SherlynChopra: Eid Mubarak to ya'll............ pic.twitter.com/5GozS0XL

Krims treated accused child-killer nanny Yoselyn Ortega 'like family,' says slain tots' grandmother

Karen Krim, the mother of CNBC executive Kevin Krim, says family would even buy nanny tickets home when they took the kids out of town.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/krims-treated-yoselyn-ortega-accused-killer-nanny-family-grandmother-article-1.1193015#ixzz2AcTixKnz

A woman mourns outside the Krims' apartment, where flowers have been left at a memorial.

They treated their nanny like gold.

The grandmother of the two children allegedly slaughtered by their baby-sitter says the family “bent over backwards” for their caretaker — even paying for her trips back to her native Dominican Republic.

 

“They just bent over backwards being nice to this woman,” Karen Krim, the mother of CNBC executive Kevin Krim, told the Daily News Friday.

 

“They were always doing things that were just fabulous for her. I’m just astounded, and I have no idea why something like this would happen.”

 

RELATED: DERANGED NANNY ALLEGEDLY KILLS TWO CHILDREN OF CNBC MEDIA EXECUTIVE KEVIN KRIM IN UPPER WEST SIDE

 

MARCUS SANTOS FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Outside the Krims' apartment, people have begun to leave flowers. “We’re just having a really, really hard time here,” the dead children's grandmother Karen Krim says. “We’re all falling apart ... It’s the worst nightmare any parent could ever have.”

Karen Krim said the nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, had always been an angel — at least on the outside.

“They treated her like family,” she said.

 

“My daughter-in-law, if she thought there was anything wrong, she would have never left the two with her. This had to be something simmering inside this woman. Obviously, she went insane.”

 

Nanny Yoselyn Ortega, pictured with Lucia Krim (right) and surviving daughter Nessie, 3 (obscured).

“We’re just having a really, really hard time here,” Karen Krim added. “We’re all falling apart ... It’s the worst nightmare any parent could ever have.”

RELATED: HOW TO SCREEN A NANNY

 

WHAT TO ASK WHEN YOU INTERVIEW A NANNY

 

 

Police say Lucia Krim, 6, was killed by her nanny Thursday at her home on W. 75th St. in New York.

Karen Krim spoke a day after her 6-year-old granddaughter, Lucia, and 2-year-old grandson, Leo, were found brutally stabbed in the family’s posh upper West Side apartment.

The kids’ mother, Marina Krim, was returning home from 3-year-old Nessie’s swimming lesson when she walked into her darkened W. 75th St. apartment, flicked on the lights of her bathroom and found Lucia and Leo’s bloody bodies in the bathtub.

 

On the floor beside them was Ortega, bleeding from her neck and wrists, and the kitchen knife she used to massacre the children, police said. 

 

PETER GERBER  

Nanny Yoselyn Ortega is removed from the building on W. 75th St. after allegedly killing 2 of the children in her care.

Ortega was hospitalized in critical condition Friday. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Ortega’s relatives told police she had recently started seeing a psychologist.

A neighbor of the Krims at the La Rochelle building said she shared an elevator with the nanny and the kids 30 minutes before they were found dead.

 

RELATED: HOUSTON DAY CARE WORKER LEFT KIDS ALONE TWICE ON DAY OF FATAL FIRE

 

CBS

Kevin and Marina Krim with their daughter Lucia. 

CBS

Lucia Krim, 6, was discovered dead from multiple stab wounds in the family's bath tub along with her 2-year-old brother Leo.

 

Leo Krim, 2, was stabbed to death along with his big sister at home on Thursday.

“The kids looked normal. The nanny looked normal,” said neighbor Charlotte Friedman. “She had a poker face. There was no indication that something like this was going to happen.”

Friedman, who lives on the seventh floor, said she ran into the nanny a couple of times a week in the elevator and lobby. 

 

She said she always greeted the nanny and kids with a smile, but the nanny remained stone-faced.

 

"She wasn't warm,” Friedman said. “Usually when you smile at a nanny and the kids, the nanny smiles back. It's instinctive. But she had a poker face. I didn't get the sense she was evil, just cold.” 

 

"The kids were always sweet and quiet,” Friedman added. “But she was never friendly.”

 

 

Mother Marina Krim leaves the apartment building in the company of NYPD officers.

Karen Krim said her son and his wife lived for their kids.

“Our poor son. He was such a wonderful father,” said Karen Krim, speaking from California. 

 

“The thing I’m most proud of him for is he was such a fabulous father. More than going to Harvard, more than any other accomplishment, he was a fantastic father. Those kids and Marina are the loves of his life. We’re just devastated.”

 

Karen Krim said that the family hired Ortega about three years ago. Whenever they left town with the children, the Krims would buy Ortega a flight back to the Dominican Republic.

 

PETER GERBER

Ortega was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center with wounds to her neck and throat.

“They paid for her to be with her family,” Karen Krim said.

Also Friday, The News obtained a photograph of Ortega, showing her clutching little Lucia and her sister Nessie while the Krims were on a family trip to the Dominican Republic in February.

 

The girls, smiling wide, were captured in matching embroidered tan outfits and holding pink flowers.

 

PETER GERBER

Yoselyn Ortega, 50, is loaded into an ambulence after apparently trying tng to kill herself.

“I heard she loved those kids,” said Fernando Mercado, the super at Ortega’s Hamilton Heights building.

“We were all shocked.”

 

With Rocco Parascandola

MARCUS SANTOS FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Flowers lay at a memorial for the Krims' two children, killed Thursday by the family's nanny.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/krims-treated-yoselyn-ortega-accused-killer-nanny-family-grandmother-article-1.1193015#ixzz2AcU1AWkC

FICHE TECHNIQUE APPLE IPAD 4 RETINA 64 GO 3G

La fiche technique du iPad 4 Retina 64 Go 3G commercialisé par Apple liste ci-dessous l'ensemble des fonctions, services et caractéristiques du produit.

CARACTÉRISTIQUES TECHNIQUES

	Système	iOS 6
	Interface utilisateur	Non
Info	Processeur	Apple A6X
	Fréquence processeur	1,2 GHz
	Nombre de coeurs	2
	Mémoire vive (Mo)	1024 Mo
	Puce graphique	Intégrée
	Capacité de stockage (Mo)	57200
	Support cartes mémoire	Non
	Clavier physique	Non
	Magasin d'applications	App Store
	Accéléromètre	Oui

AFFICHAGE

	Taille (diagonale) (pouces)	9.70
	Taille (diagonale) (cm)	24.63
	Définition de l'écran	2048 x 1536
	Résolution de l'écran (ppp)	264
	Technologie d'affichage	IPS
	Tactile	Oui
	Technologie tactile	Capacitif
Info	Multipoints	Oui
	Détail du Multipoints	10 points

ENTRÉES SORTIES

	Sortie casque	1
	Format prise casque	Jack 3.5 mm
	Support du Wi-Fi	802.11b/g/n
	Support du Bluetooth	Oui
	Interface PC	USB 2.0
	Connecteur USB	1
	Type de connecteur USB	Propriétaire
	USB Host	Non
	Sortie HDMI	En option
	Type de sortie TV (numérique)	Propriétaire

GPS

	Puce GPS	Oui
	Logiciel de navigation intégré	En option

MULTIMÉDIA

	Appareil photo intégré	Oui
	Définition appareil photo intégré	5,1 Mpixels
	Enregistrement vidéo	Oui
	Définition enregistrement vidéo (en pixels)	1920 x 1080
	Lecture vidéo	Oui
	Lecture audio	Oui
	Radio FM	Non
	Webcam	Oui
	Définition caméra en façade (en vidéo)	1,3 Mpixels
	Définition caméra en façade (en photo)	1,3 Mpixels

COMMUNICATION

	Téléphonie	Oui
	Compatible réseaux GSM	850/900/1800/1900 MHz
	Compatible réseau GPRS	Oui
	Compatible réseau EDGE	Oui
	Compatible réseau 3G (UMTS)	Oui
Info	Compatible réseau 3G+ (HSDPA)	Oui
	Client e-mail pop/imap	Oui
	Client e-mail Exchange	Oui

ACCESSOIRES

	Dock-Clavier	Non
	Chargeur secteur	Oui
	Housse de transport	Non

ALIMENTATION

	Batterie amovible	Non
	Autonomie annoncée en surf Wi-Fi	10h

DIMENSIONS

	Poids (g)	662
	Largeur (cm)	24.12
	Hauteur (cm)	18.57
	Epaisseur (cm)	0.94