News Headlines (191) 23 March 2013

ONLINE TODAY

► Stuff 21/03/2012 : Harassed women work harder, study finds  ||  Edith Cowan University 20 March 2013 : Women put up with more bad behaviour at work, respond by working harder: study
► E! ONLINE  Mar. 20, 2013 : Ryan Gosling Taking a Break From Acting: "I've Been Doing It Too Much"

► ETonline March 21, 2013 : Yoko Ono Tweets Pic of Bloodied Lennon Glasses

► MASHABLE 21 march 2013  : Tiny Implant Chip Could Detect Heart Attacks Before They Happen



► MONDOWEISS : The Palestine National Orchestra: a view from the violin section - by Tom Suarez on March 31, 2012  ||  ►"Today an orchestra, tomorrow a Palestinian state" -By appearing in Israel, the Palestine National Orchestra declared that boundaries had been erased. By Noam Ben Zeev Jan.05, 2011

► LATIMES July 20, 2003 : Blind Imperial Arrogance - Vile stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. ensures years of turmoil -  by Edward Wadie Said, a professor at Columbia University and the author of "The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After"  (Pantheon, 2000)

► RADIO FREE ASIA 2013-03-21: Meikhtila — A Tinderbox Waiting for a Match

► TODAY in HISTORY

■ Mar 23, 1919:  Mussolini founds the Fascist party  ||  ■ HISTORY TODAY Futurism and Fascism
■ March 23, 1903 : Wright brothers apply for their first patent for a flying machine

► CNN March 22, 2013 Chinua Achebe, literary icon and author of 'Things Fall Apart,' dies at 82 - By Laura Smith - Spark and Faith Karimi, CNN

► Star Trek Into Darkness - International Trailer (HD). Published on Mar 20, 2013 by  joblomovienetwork 

► PUNCHING KIDS. Published on Mar 19, 2013 by RayWilliamJohnson

► ORCHESTRA Today

(Guess! What was done by my fiance when I was listening to the music of this kind? Very True! You're smart. He's sleeping. zzz .....And for me it's the most artistic visual when we listen to or watch the orchestra.
Classical music and my Sleeping Fiance: I like them both. )

■ Nino Machaidze - "Non si da follia maggiore" - Il Turco in Italia - G.Rossini
■ W. A. Mozart - Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" in C major (Harnoncourt)
■ Kinan Azmeh's CityBand performing "Wedding"
■ Wissam Boustany and Samuel Ramey in "Il Viaggio a Rheims"
■ W.A. Mozart "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" Act ll "Martern aller Arten"
■ Beethoven, Symphony 7, Allegretto
■ Kinan Azmeh & Palestine National Orchestra

► Orientalism as a Tool of Colonialism P 1/4 ||  P2/4 || P3/4 || P4/4

► In Search of Palestine - Edward Said's Return Home (BBC). Uploaded on Nov 17, 2011

► Edward Said: Imperial Continuity - Palestine, Iraq, and U.S. Policy. A lecture by Dr. Edward W. Said: "Imperial Continuity: Palestine, Iraq, and U.S. Policy."  University of Washington, The Walker-Ames Lecture Series -- 8 May 2003.  Edward Said, acclaimed for his literary and cultural criticism, is a sought-after commentator on Middle Eastern politics and America's foremost spokesman for the Palestinian cause. His influential book, "Orientalism," (1978), is an examination of Western perceptions of the Islamic world. His criticism extends to the United States, which he calls a dishonest broker in the peace process due to its long-standing support for apartheid Israel.  Uploaded on Feb 28, 2011

► Kim Dae-jung - For the people and for history. The video highlights Kim Dae-jung's concerns about the use of the death penalty in South Korea and across Asia. Featuring archive footage and photographs of his time in prison as well as video shot on location in South Korea. Uploaded on Dec 2, 2009 by  AmnestyInternational 

► The Wright Brothers In Flight. Uploaded on Jun 9, 2009 by EngineersClubDayton

► Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: The Trajectory of the Subaltern in My Work. Columbia University Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, is one of the leading literary theorists and cultural critics of our times. She takes issue with Western intellectuals' account of their inability to mediate the historical experience of the working classes and the underprivileged of society. Series: "Voices" . Uploaded on Feb 7, 2008 by
UCtelevision ||  ► Gayatri Spivak on An Aesthetic Education in the Era of Globalization. During the past twenty years, the world's most renowned critical theorist—the scholar who defined the field of postcolonial studies—has experienced a radical reorientation in her thinking. Finding the neat polarities of tradition and modernity, colonial and postcolonial, no longer sufficient for interpreting the globalized present, she turns elsewhere to make her central argument: that aesthetic education is the last available instrument for implementing global justice and democracy.  In essays on theory, translation, Marxism, gender, and world literature, and on writers such as Assia Djebar, J.M. Coetzee, and Rabindranath Tagore, Spivak argues for the social urgency of the humanities and renews the case for literary studies, imprisoned in the corporate university. "Perhaps," she writes, "the literary can still do something." Uploaded on Jan 20, 2012 by harvardupress

► Terry Eagleton: "The Death of Criticism?" One of Britains most influential literary critics, Terry Eagleton  is Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster, and Visiting Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. In addition to his widely known "Literary Theory: An Introduction", Professor Eagleton is the author of over forty books, including "The Ideology of the Aesthetic", and "The Illusions of Postmodernism". Part of the Townsend Center for the Humanities' Forum on the Humanities and the Public World. Uploaded on Apr 9, 2010  by UCBerkeleyEvents

► Richard Wolff :: Capitalism Hits the Fan.  Economist, author, Professor emeritus UMass, Amherst, Richard Wolff, speaks about the current economic crises, its' roots and what we can do about it. Filmed by Paul Hubbard at Brown University, Providence RI on 12-2-09. Uploaded on Dec 9, 2009 :

► Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak - An Aesthetic Education in the Age of Globalization

► Once There Was a King



► The Big Red Tractor
► The Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus
► Undone
► The Black Death - Professor Sir Richard J. Evans FBA
► Amyloidosis Awareness

► Myanmar riots stoke fears of widening sectarian violence

► Xi bolsters ties with Russia on first foreign trip

* Dealer cheating causes havoc at Volvo's China unit

► VIDEO

■ China's Xi meets Russia's Putin in Moscow
■ Pope's surgery no longer standard procedure for lung disease

► Universe is older than previously thought, new study shows 

► Tattoo artists gather in Paris   ||  ► Tattoo artists assemble for international ink fair
► Google chief says Internet freedom key for Myanmar
► US "sequester" budget cuts
► Sarkozy ally calls court decision 'irresponsible'
► W a t e r 
► Suspense in Italy ahead of government announcement
► Musharraf confirms return to Pakistan despite 'peril'
► 3D film brings WWII Nazi-ravaged Warsaw back to life
► Nigerians mourn revered novelist Chinua Achebe
► US gay marriage debate heads to Supreme Court

► Raw: Obama Tours Israel Holocaust Museum  ||  ► Obama Wraps Up Israel Visit With Symbolic Stops
► 3 Dead After Marine Base Shooting
► Mini Horse Is Service Animal for Alaska Boy

► WEATHER - NASA Video Captures Comet, Sun Storm and Earth Together
► NASA: Flash in East Coast sky likely a meteor
► GAMES - Made in the USA: Which All-American toys are still All-American? 
► With US-Russia relationship toxic, Moscow looks to strengthen ties with China
► China punishes North Korea as US asks for more
► Obama, in Middle East, plays relationship counselor
► Lebanon's Hezbollah condemns Obama
► Politics over principle? Democrats seem more likely to support Obama's Iraq war than Bush's
► Obama: Assault Weapons Ban Deserves a Vote 
► Why I am no longer a Republican 
► GOOD MORNING AMERICA - Comic Sheds Light on Secret Army Spy Unit

► PHOTOS : Celebrated-Nigerian-Author-Chinua-Achebe-Dies

► An Evening with Chinua Achebe. Through his fiction and non-fiction works, Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has sought to repair the damage done to the continent of Africa and its people as a result of European colonization. This is best exemplified in his most famous novel "Things Fall Apart," one of the first African novels written in English to achieve national acclaim. Set in the 1890s, the novel deals with the impact of British colonialism on the traditional Igbo society in Nigeria. Published in 1958 -- just two years before the end of a century of British rule in Nigeria -- the novel celebrated its 50th anniversary of publication in 2008. "An Evening with Chinua Achebe" featured the author reading from his celebrated work. Uploaded on May 11, 2009 by LibraryOfCongress

► Pope Francis to meet predecessor

Newly elected Pope Francis is set to have lunch with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict, at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
* Pope to wash Rome prisoners' feet
* What does a pope do?    ||  NBC News 3/14/2013 What Does the Pope Do, Anyway?

► Pope Francis calls newspaper kiosk to cancel order
► Scenes of devastation in Burmese town of Meiktila
► Pete Peterson: The ex-POW teaching Vietnam to swim
► Will Obama visit prompt new round of peace talks?
► Iraq 10 years on: Good times in Kurdish Irbil
► Is Indian storytelling a dying art?
► Is the return of marines an Indian diplomatic win?
► What if Africa were to become the hub for global science?
► 10 things  we didn't know last week
► Dinosaur-killing space rock 'was a comet'
► Dear Stranger - Can love letters to strangers be good for your mental health? Love letters and kindness may improve mental health
► Will we ever detect gravitational waves directly?
► Best science and technology pictures of the week
  ► Driving Norway's Golden Route



► AUTOS  - Week in Review: 22 March 2013  || ► Porsche 911, through the years and gears

,

► Cherry blossoms around the world

(Alors voilà,.... mmm....)
► Today's African Proverb : "Beware of the naked man who offers you clothe" - Sent by Janssen Moyo, Birmingham, UK

► Cypriot parliament approves part of 'plan B' for bailout as deadline looms      
► Flying Blind: Sequester forces closure of 149 air traffic control towers 
► Guccifer releases second trove of Clinton emails
► Not even close: Pentagon requests $49 million to build new Gitmo prison
► CIA trains and spies for Syrian rebels – report
► Israeli PM apologizes to Turkey over Gaza flotilla deaths, agrees to compensation
► Moscow to create database of Russian children with foreign families – Lavrov
► Russia welcomes US readiness for missile defense dialogue
► Bloomberg on drones over New York: 'Can't keep tides from coming in'
► Guantanamo 'the stuff of fiction, but fact in 2013 America' – British MP
► Jeff Monson: US a police state, George Orwell's 1984 happening before us 
► Palestine fury: Gaza protests Obama's visit (PHOTOS)

► VIDEOS

■ The Truthseeker: 3 War Tricks
■ O-blah-blah-ma: 'US offers endless talks' to kill clock for Israel against Palestine?
■ Default Rolls In? Cyprus gets no Russian cash, 'EU no help'
■ CrossTalk: Iraqi Tragedy 

■ Bear & Dragon: China's new top man picks Moscow for his first foreign trip. 'Catching the Chinese wind in Russia's economic sails'. That is what Russia's President Vladimir Putin says he is aiming to do. He is currently signing cooperation agreements with the new Chinese leader, after landmark talks in Moscow. Shee Jinping picked Russia for his first trip abroad, since taking office earlier this month. Raffaello Pantucci, co-founder of the Young China Watchers professional network, talks to RT about the growing partnership between Russia and China.

► Deadly riots continue in central Myanmar



► Pakistan parkour brings communities closer together 

► 101 East - Murder in God's name. As Pakistan gears up for elections later this year, 101 East looks at the devastating impact of blasphemy allegations on the accused, what the use of the laws reveals about growing extremism and what hope there is for reform.

► Inside Story Americas - Can gun control reduce crime in the US?



► Inside Story - Turkey and the PKK: A chance for peace?
► Russia to bring deceased Sergei Magnitsky to trial
► China's Xi bolsters Russia ties on first foreign trip
► US military wants to renovate Guantanamo
► US Budget cuts claim air traffic control towers
► South2North - Nowhere to go: The plight of refugees
► Counting the Cost - Cyprus: Is there a Russian solution?
► Listening Post - Regulating a free press
► Inside Story - Russia and China: Cementing ties. As China's Xi Jinping chooses Moscow for his inaugural state visit, we look at the ties that bind the two countries. Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with guests: Victor Gao, the director of China National Association of International Studies. He was former China policy advisor; Dimitry Babich, a political analyst at Russia Profile magazine; and Roderic Wye, a China analyst at Chatham House and senior fellow with the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University.



► Talk to Al Jazeera - Nabil el-Araby: Arming the Syrian opposition 

► Can The U.S. Dollar Become Almighty Once Again?

By Michael Sivy
* The Threat of Currency Wars: TIME Explains (VIDEO) 
* Cyprus Banking Crisis: The Endgame Begins
* Continental Commitment Issues

► Senate Gives Pre-Dawn OK to Democratic Budget

► Ten Years After SARS: Are We Better Prepared?

* Q&A on the Origins of Ebola

► Viewpoint: Does Pope Francis' Outreach to Non-Catholics Signal Deeper Reform?
► Saudi Arabia to Tourists: We Are Just Not That Into You
► How To Cure Cancer

* Cancer Dream Teams: Road to a Cure?

► Cosmic Kerfuffle: Where Does the Solar System End?
► World: A New Lease on Life for the Mysterious Bank Accounts of Switzerland
► Italy's Bersani Tapped To Form New Gov't
► Cartoons of the Week: March 16–22
► What Our Memories Tell Us About Ourselves
► Sugary Beverages Linked to 180,000 Deaths Worldwide
► Obesity in 1950s America: Early Days of a National Plague
► Pictures of the Week: March 15 – March 22 

► Obama facilitates reconciliation between Israel and Turkey
Israel's prime minister apologizes for the 2010 killing of nine Turkish activists aboard a ship headed for the Gaza Strip.

* Lebanon's Mikati resigns as prime minister

Neighboring? Just one suggestion: be a good neighbor to all your neighbors without favoritism. You gossip about your other neighbors to the other neighbors? ehehehe ...Never mind, but please do not be too often! I know it!

► ECONOMY

■ Opinion: The 1% are just different
■ In 'Down the Up Escalator,' the 99% make do
■ Opinion: The bias against working women
■ L.A. County jobless rate rises slightly to 10.4% in January 

► Romney, pondering future, plans session with Christie and Ryan
► Obama court pick withdraws, thwarted by Republicans in Senate 
► Let the Senate vote-a-rama begin
► Paying for a place in line to hear Prop. 8 arguments

► FRAMEWORK -  The Week in Pictures | March 11 – March 17, 2013.  Posted On 15, 2013 By: Marc Martin



London, England — An archaeologist works to uncover skeletons from what is understood to be a mass grave for victims of the Black Death, discovered when excavations were made to create a Crossrail tunnel shaft under Charterhouse Square in central London. PHOTOGRAPH BY: HO / AFP / Getty Images. Posted by :  Marc Martin 

► Coroner's Report : Plague In the 14th century, a devastating plague known as the Black Death claimed an estimated 75 million lives. How did the people who contracted it know their luck had run out? || ► Life After People : Could a microbe really cause the extinction of the human race? This Life After People video clip explores the possibility that SARs or a superflu could wreak havoc on human life on Earth in a fashion similar to the Black Plague.

2 PICTURES TODAY



A Green Sea turtle swims over a reef near the surf break known as 'Pipeline' on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii on March 20, 2013. (REUTERS/Hugh Gentry)


Four-year-old bengal tiger "Mulan Jamila" plays with keeper Soleh at Al Khaffah Islamic school in Malang, Indonesia's East Java province on March 19, 2013. The tiger, a gift from a friend, is kept as a pet at the school under a government permit, according to the school. Soleh has fed the tiger 5 kg (11 lbs) of meat per day since the animal was three months old. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)

News Headlines (129) 18 January 2013

ONLINE TODAY

► Healthy Diet for Rainy Season

► 15 Tips for Talking to Women And Attract Them Like Crazy

► Netherlands learns to go with the flow  - Monday, 16 March 2009

► Valuable warning of  Mississippi floods



► Obama extends presidential power in bypassing Congress on gun control

►
The Black Death Documentary. Uploaded on Dec 10, 2011 :: The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have started in China, it travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1346. From there, probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30--60 percent of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century. The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The plague returned at various times, killing more people, until it left Europe in the 19th century.



►
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World by Niall Ferguson Epsd. 1-5 (Full Documentary). Uploaded on Nov 7, 2011



►
World War 2/II in Colour / The Second World War in Colour [FULL FILM DOCUMENTARY]



►
Declassified: Joseph Stalin. Uploaded on Feb 13, 2012



►
The Truth About Communism. Uploaded on Apr 23, 2011



►
BIG BIGGER BIGGEST ::  submarine. Published on Aug 2, 2012



►
The Four Horsemen - Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. Published on Jan 9, 2013 by TheInformedAtheist




by VICE

►
Africa's Moonshine Epidemic. Published on Nov 9, 2012 :: Ugandans are the hardest drinking Africans in the motherland, both in terms of per capita consumption and the hooch they choose to chug. Waregi, or "war gin," is what they call the local moonshine, and it makes the harshest Appalachian rotgut taste like freaking Bailey's. || ► Africa's Moonshine Epidemic: Preparing the Goat. Uploaded on Nov 9, 2012


►
Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic (Part 1/3).  Published on Sep 6, 2012 ::Vice sails to the North Pacific Gyre, collecting point for all of the ocean's flotsam and home of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: a mythical, Texas-sized island made entirely of our trash. Come aboard as we take a cruise to the Northern Gyre in the Pacific Ocean, a spot where currents spin and cycle, churning up tons of plastic into a giant pool of chemical soup, flecked with bits and whole chunks of refuse that cannot biodegrade. Hosted by Thomas Morton . Originally aired in 2008 || ► Part 2/3 || Part 3/3



►
Selling Weed Legally.  Published on Oct 11, 2012 :: We went to Otherside farms, one of California's premier medical marijuana shops. They showed us how they use pot to help patients cope with serious illnesses the natural way, all while dodging the feds.



► 40 Years of Complete Isolation. Published on Aug 15, 2012 :: Since 1965, Faustino Barrientos has lived alone on the shores lake O'Higgins' in a house built from the remains of a shipwrecked fishing vessel. He's a pastoralist, living mostly off the land and his livestock, with few modern amenities. His nearest neighbors are in Villa O'Higgins, a small community of several hundred people, 25 miles away, accessible only by a two-day horseback ride through rugged mountain animal paths. Every few years, Faustino makes this ride to sell his cattle in town.

Currently 81 years old, Faustino is reaching the end of his life, and his self-imposed isolation is being encroached upon by the forces of government, economy, and tourism. In December 2011, VICE went to document his lifestyle and speak with him about the changing face of Patagonia and the gaucho lifestyle. Originally released in 2011

■ (Part 1/4)

 ■ (Part 2/4) 

■ (Part 3/4)

■ (Part 4/4)

 ►
The Revelation of the Pyramids. Published on Apr 7, 2012 by DocumentaryPlus :: 2011 - The Revelation Of The Pyramids takes an in depth look into one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Mystery has surrounded these epic structures for centuries with theories varying from the scientific to the bizarre. However with over thirty-seven years of in depth research taking in sites from China, Peru, Mexico and Egypt, one scientist has as at last managed first to understand and then to reveal what lies behind this greatest of archaeological mysteries: a message of paramount importance for all mankind, through time and space.



►
National Geographic Megafactories Learjet. Published on Aug 17, 2012 :: Hand built at Learjet's massive factory in Kansas, the top of the range 60XR offers passengers fighter-jet performance combined with the latest in yacht style luxury.



►
XM607 - Falklands' Most Daring Raid. Published on Mar 20, 2012 :: On 30 April 1982, the RAF launched a secret mission: to fly a Vulcan bomber to the Falkland Islands and bomb Port Stanley's runway, putting it out of action for Argentine fighter jets. The safety of the British Task Force depended on its success.

However, the RAF could only get a single plane - a crumbling, Cold War-era Vulcan - 8000 miles south to the Falklands, because just one bomber needed an aerial fleet of 13 Victor tanker planes to refuel it throughout the 16-hour round-trip. At the time it was the longest-range bombing mission in history.

From start to finish, the seemingly impossible mission was a comedy of errors, held together by pluck and ingenuity.

On the brink of being scrapped, only three of the ageing nuclear bombers could be fitted out for war, one to fly the mission and two in reserve. Crucial spare parts were scavenged from museums and scrap yards - one vital component had been serving as an ashtray in the Officers' Mess.

In just three weeks, the Vulcan crews had to learn air-to-air refuelling, which they hadn't done for 20 years, and conventional bombing, which they hadn't done for 10 years either.

The RAF scoured the country for Second World War iron bombs, and complex refuelling calculations were done the night before on a £5 pocket calculator.

With a plan stretched to the limit and the RAF's hopes riding on just one Vulcan, the mission was flown on a knife-edge: fraught with mechanical failures, unreliable navigation, electrical storms and lack of fuel.

Of the 21 bombs the Vulcan dropped, only one found its target. But it was enough to change the outcome of the war.

Astonishingly, this great feat has been downplayed into near obscurity by history, but this documentary brings it back to life, providing a thrilling and uncharacteristically upbeat account from the Falklands War: the Dambusters for the 1980s generation.






►
Obama Unveils Sweeping Gun Plan. Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: President Obama has unveiled details of a sweeping new effort to curb gun violence, saying he owes it to victims of the Newtown school shooting massacre to stop the carnage. (Jan. 16) || ► Private Gun Sellers Concerned With New Checks. Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: Some gun owners are concerned about President Obama's new proposal to expand background checks to private sales, but others say there are some checks that are easy to implement. (Jan.17)



►
Armstrong Admits Doping to Oprah. Published on Jan 17, 2013 ::Lance Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, reversing more than a decade of denial. (Jan. 17) || ► Looking Back at Lance Armstrong's Many Denials. Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: Years of speculation is about to end as the first part of Lance Armstrong's television interview with Oprah Winfrey is aired on Thursday night. Any admission of drug use by Armstrong will end more than a decade of denials. (Jan. 17)

Lance, you deserve to be forgiven. You are not a war criminal, corrupt or a murderer. For me, the most valuable thing of you is your honesty. When you stumble to a case stating you are guilty and in the end you realize that you are guilty, and you apologize and regret your actions, then your remorse is the most effective punishment than material compensation.

This story analogy inspires me on a love story, for example, ...in a love story, if my husband admitted that he had an affair with another woman, having a baby with another woman, and he apologized to me with all his heart and confessed all his cheating as a mistake, then according to you, what would I do? (Hmm ...... if you still love him, then you certainly can not leave him. But it seems like I see a tremendous opportunity for you will be looking for another man, Cisca! ehhehehe...)

► 44 Hopes for Obama's Second Inaugural Address - By Tracy Stientjes | Yahoo! Contributor Network 

► House Republican retreat gives GOP a chance at a fresh start 

► Opinions vary as Colorado movie theater reopens. Stark differences among Colorado shooting families as Aurora movie theater reopens - By p. Solomon Banda, Associated Press

► Venezuela's Chavez reportedly convalescing in secrecy at Cuba hospital famed for security - By Andrea Rodriguez, The Associated Press  

► Factbox: Military forces in Mali

►
French troops head to northern Mali- Jan. 17. Columns of French tanks left Bamako for the rebel held north to help Malian soldiers battle Islamist fighters. Deborah Gembara reports. French troops are on the move to Segou. They left the capital in an armored column for the north where Malian forces are battling al Qaeda linked rebels, after a week of air strikes. Abdourahaman Bary, a resident of Konobougou, some 136 miles from Bamako. SOUNDBITE: Abdourahaman Bary, a villager from Konobougou saying: "It's thanks to the good God that we are still here. We are secure now. We see France here with a strong hand. We like that, it's God's hand." The French push northward into rebel controlled areas comes as West African forces arrived in Mali. About 100 troops from Togo arrived in Bamako, and were joining up with forces from Nigeria to reinforce French and Malian forces. || International workers taken hostage in Algeria.  Jan 16 - Islamist militants stormed a gas field in Algeria and claim to have taken more than 40 workers hostage --- in retaliation for French military action in Mali. Deborah Gembara reports.

Heavily armed gunmen stormed a gas field in Algeria and claimed to take a group of 41 international workers hostage. In Norway, Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Statoil. SOUNDBITEL Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Statoil saying (Norwegian "The intruders took control over the area after a relatively short time. This is big gas facility in the desert near the Libyan border and is jointly operated by Sonatrach, which is the Algerian state oil company, BP and Statoil," This man Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Islamist militant affiliated with al Qaeda is believed to have led the raid. Three people were reportedly killed. The kidnapped include Japanese, British, Norweigian and French nationals as well as seven Americans. The reaction from Washington. SOUNDBITE: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKEWOMAN SAYING: "We condemn in strongest terms the algerian attack, closely monitoring the situation. The best info we have is that US citizens are among the hostages, not going to get into names, etc. The group responsible for the raid say it is in response to France's miliary involvement against Islamist militants in Mali. In Paris, President Francois Hollande. SOUNDBITE: French President Francois Hollande saying (French): "I am in constant contact with the Algerian authorities who are doing and will do what is needed. We are also in contact with heads of state and government of the countries concerned. All this is not without a connection -- as everyone will have understood -- to the operation that we are undertaking, France, but also the African countries and all those who are participating in what we call the 'MISMA' (International Mission to Support Mali), whose aim is for Mali to regain its territorial integrity as soon as possible." The attack in southern Algeria is raising fears that French military action in Mali could prompt further Islamist revenge attacks on Western targets.

► The U.S. Firearms Industry: Inside the Numbers - By Lauren Lyster
► Germany to bring home gold stored in US, France


  ► EPISODE 114: Billiards Techniques. Are you tired of just whacking pool balls around at random, and looking to step up your game a little? Billiards champion Tony Robles shows host Roger Hailes some Mansome tips on proper technique, as well as demonstrating a few wildly impressive trick shots.

► Are People Still Wearing Livestrong Bracelets?

► Our General Tso's Chicken is Tastier (and More Healthy) Than Any Takeout

► Wrangler Releases 'spa' Jeans that Claim to Moisturize and Reduce Cellulite 


► Child Rules Book Returned to Young Authors - By Katie Kindelan | ABC News Blogs



► Ian Fleming biopic to include Bond girls' real-life inspiration - By Meriah Doty | Movie Talk

► Hostages missing in Algeria raid 

A number of Islamist militants and their captives are missing in Algeria, following an army operation to free hostages at a gas facility.
* As it happened: Algeria siege
* Cameron: 'Prepare for bad news'  - VIDEO 
* Q&A: Hostage crisis
* Family 'elated' at hostage release - VIDEO
* Profile: Mokhtar Belmokhtar (Mr. Marlboro)

► Mali 'collateral damage' from Libya conflict, says Kofi Annan. 18 January 2013  - UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that Britain needs to prepare for the possibility of further bad news about the hostage crisis in Algeria. Islamist militants kidnapped dozens of Westerners, including Britons, at a gas plant in the Sahara on Wednesday. The al-Qaeda-linked militants had said they were holding 41 foreign nationals, believed to include British, Japanese, US and Norwegian nationals, in retaliation for French military intervention in neighbouring Mali. The Algerian military launched a raid to free the hostages, a number of whom escaped but one British hostage has been killed and further casualties. 

► 17 January 2013 - Syria: Islamist Nusra Front gives BBC exclusive interview

► US gun owners determined to defend their rights. 17 January 2013  - There are four times as many gun shops as there are McDonald's restaurants in the US. On Wednesday, US President Obama fired the first political shot in what is bound to be a tough battle with the powerful gun lobby. He must also deal with the fact that for some Americans, gun ownership is seen as a fundamental right. The BBC's Allan Little has been getting the view from Texas. (VIDEO)

► Armstrong says sorry for doping
Lance Armstrong admits using performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins. BBC Sport

* Lance Armstrong with Oprah

► Helen Hunt sex film The Sessions is 'far from porn'. 17 January 2013  -  Helen Hunt is nominated for an Oscar for her role as a sex surrogate in The Sessions.  She told the BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour about the the sex scenes in the film. (VIDEO) || FULL INTERVIEW

► Adoptive mothers: 'We just want to be united as a family'. 17 January 2013  - Two US women who recently adopted Russian orphans have spoken to the BBC of their heartache over changes to Russian law which have prevented them from taking the children out of the country. Rebecca Preece and Jeana Bonner are both mothers of children with Down's syndrome and have recently adopted Russian children who also have the condition. However changes to Russian adoption law that came into place in December 2012 have meant that parents who have already legally become parents to Russian orphans cannot get the documents required to take the children out of the country. Speaking on Thursday, Children's Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov looked to re-assure foreign adoptive parents saying that "all children who have received approval by the court will leave Russia for America" but Rebecca and Jeana still face a period of uncertainty. Interview by BBC Russian's Oleg Boldyrev (VIDEO) || NEWS - 11 January 2013 US adoptions of Russian children: Some to go ahead

► 18 January 2013 - Why Swiss cheese plants are full of holes | By Ella Davies Reporter, BBC Nature  

► 17 January 2013  - Australian amateur prospector finds massive gold nugget

► 18 January 2013  - The Nazis prisoners bugged by Germans | By Mario Cacciottolo BBC News 

► Zap! Pow! - The battle against sexism on sci-fi and fantasy book covers

► Apophis asteroid: Doomsday delayed… again 

► Nature's hidden patterns - why we can see the wood for the trees

► Riding Sri Lanka's new wave 

► New Mexico's alien nation 

► 2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6

► Exporting yoga - The man who brought Eastern philosophy to the West :: Swami Vivekananda, the yoga missionary By Emily Buchanan BBC world affairs correspondent

► US will provide France airlift help, 'training' for Mali operation - reports

► Algerian siege: Hostage situation ends with scores of hostages and militants dead - reports

► Obama-Netanyahu row strains ties ahead of Israeli elections

► No Arab school on my watch – Israeli mayor

► Russia-US spar over "seized" Jewish documents 

► Russia-led military bloc offers cooperation with NATO

► Prosecutors defend charges against Aaron Swartz

► Rand Paul declares war on Obama's executive actions on gun control

► Cleric Qadri to RT: 'I’m here to empower the people of Pakistan'

► 'Mali a potential long-term, Afghanistan-like conflict for France'

► Crumbling levees threaten US with new Katrina

►
Witness - Dr Sarmast's Music School. Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: In 2001, when the Taliban was toppled from power, Afghanistan's musical legacy was left in ruins. Music gradually came back onto the streets and into people's lives, but by 2009 there was still no orchestra capable of playing the Afghan national anthem. In that year, renowned musicologist Dr Ahmad Sarmast returned from exile in Australia, and the Ministry of Education charged him with establishing the first National Institute of Music (ANIM). 



►
People &Power - My Enemy's Enemy. Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: In just a few weeks locals in the Andar district of Ghazni province kicked out the Taliban for their backyard, something NATO and the Afghan army had failed to do. If repeated across the country, this potent localism could shape Afghanistan's future.



►
Inside Story Americas: Do Obama's gun law proposals go far enough? Published on Jan 17, 2013 :: December's mass shooting at a school in Newtown, Connecticut left 20 children and six teachers dead. It also ingnited a national debate about the country's relationship with guns. On Wednesday, President Obama unveiled a series of proposals including a ban on assault weapons, high capacity magazines and the introduction of more background checks on gun buyers. 



► Inside Story - What is fuelling Kenya's ethnic violence? Published on Jan 17, 2013 ::As more people are killed in ethnic violence in southeast Kenya, fears are being raised of further conflict in the run up to the March presidential election. Are politicians stirring up tribal rivalries for political gain? What is really fueling these clashes? Should politicians do more to stem the violence? And will there be more post-election violence? Inside Story, with presenter Shiulie Gosh, discusses with guests: Salim Lone, an advisor to Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and author on Kenyan affairs; Kipchumba Murkomen of the United Republican Party; and Michael Amoah, an Africa affairs analyst. (VIDEO) 

Latest Headlines

■ Syrian Pro-Regime Gunmen Kill More than 100
■ US Navy Ship Stuck on Coral Reef in Philippines
■ Greek Parliament Votes to Investigate Ex-minister
■ Accumulating Snow Starts to Fall Across Southeast
■ 'Dear Abby' Advice Columnist Dies at Age 94   'Dear Abby' Advice Columnist Dies at Age 94
■ Iran, IAEA End Talks, Agree to Meet Feb. 12
■ Maurice Sendak Collection Going to NYC Auction
■ Some Victims to Attend Ceremony at Colo. Theater
■ Obama to Nominate Acting ATF Head Jones to Lead Agency
■ Pakistani Government, Cleric Appear to Strike Deal 
■ Floods Paralyze Indonesian Capital; At Least 4 Die
■ U.S. Jobless Aid Applications Fall to 5-Year Low 
■ Bombs in Iraq Kill 22, Mostly Pilgrims
■ SI: Manti Te'o Interview Transcript 
■ CNN: Regulators Okay Insect-Based Flu Vaccine

► Lance Armstrong Admits Doping to Oprah: 'I'm a Flawed Character'

By AP / Jim Litke
* Why Lance Armstrong Is Finally Coming Clean
* Viewpoint: America Won't Forgive Lance Armstrong (for Now)
* Who Cares if Armstrong Is Sorry?

► Manti Te'o: 6 Questions About the 'Fake' Girlfriend That Has Football Reeling

* As Hawaii Frets Over Manti Te'o, Locals Remember a Devoted Father-Son Team
* Timeline: Four Years in the Life of Manti Te'o's 'Fake' Relationship

► Algeria: Army Rescues Hostages, Toll Unclear

► Ahead of Elections, Islamabad Struggles to Put Out Fires 

► Is the Dreamliner a Financial Nightmare for Boeing? 

* Obama Pushes for More Studies of Violent Video Games
* Pollution and Housing Top Agenda for Hong Kong's Embattled Leader

Featured

■ 5 Worst New Food Trends
■ How to Reinvent the Pawn Shop
■ Army Snubs Same-Sex Spouses
■ Young Adults to Stay Mired in Debt

► Exclusive: Magnum Emergency Fund Announces 2013 Grantees

► Picturing Misery: David Seymour's 'Children of Europe,' 1948

► Seeking to harness Obama's campaign resources for a second term

► Obama begins second term with job approval up

► Biden delivers preview of White House pitch on gun policies

► Background check system for guns deeply flawed 

► Ryan says House open to short-term debt increase

► Whole Foods CEO regrets comparing 'Obamacare' to fascism

► Virgin America to begin daily L.A.-Las Vegas flights in April

► Lance Armstrong admits drug use, bullying tactics

► Lance Armstrong's legacy

► Pictures in the News | Jan. 17, 2013

► Pictures in the News | January 16, 2013 -  Posted By: Marc Martin 

Wengen, Switzerland — The sun sparkles in a clear blue sky as branches droop under the weight of ice and snow at the popular ski resort of Wengen.

2 PICTURES TODAY

Activists of German animal protection organization 'Deutsches Tierschutzbuero' (German office for animal protection) hold a banner in front of the catwalk hall of the Berlin Fashion week, on January 16, 2013. The activists protests against the presentation of real fur during the Berlin Fashion Week that takes place from January 15 to 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL

People look at the artwork "Cerf/Frec" by the artist Luc Dubosc on the Old Harbour on January 17, 2012 in Marseille during the Event "FunnyZoo" Marseille-Provence 2013 European Capital of Culture. The event marks the start of a year, leading to a cultural renaissance in France's second-largest metropolitan area. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT


2 SONGS TODAY