WTTC: Business Travel Research ? Views On Tourism

Business Travel ? a Catalyst of Economic performance

Business travel has accounted for one third of growth in global trade over the past decade, improved global corporate productivity tenfold and created millions of jobs worldwide, according to this special study undertaken by Oxford Economics on behalf of WTTC.

The research, launched in May 2011 showed that:
? Growth in business travel from 2000 ? 2007 helped create over 40 million jobs through increases in trade and productivity representing 20% of the growth in global employment over the same period.
? Global business travellers believe that 50% of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person meeting compared with 31% without such a meeting.
? If business travel were cut by 25% for two consecutive years, global GDP would be 5% lower than would otherwise be the case after a five-year period resulting in 30 million fewer jobs than forecast under baseline assumptions for the same period ? an average loss of 1% of global employment.
? Business travel improves corporate productivity yielding a return on investment of 10:1.
? Business travel is integral to international trade and it is estimated that one third of global trade over the past decade has been driven by international business travel.

A special focus on Asia was launched in October 2011. This showed that Business Travel is even more important in terms of driving economic growth in Asia than in other regions of the world.

Download WTTC reports on business tourism
Business Travel: A Catalyst for Economic Performance
Business Travel: Executive Summary
Why Business Travel in Asia Matters (18 October 2011).

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world?s leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world?s largest industries, supporting more than 258 million jobs and generating 9.1 per cent of world GDP.

This article is quoted from WTTC .
Follow the links to read the original article .
This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ?Views On Tourism?.

Posted in Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Market knowledge, Middle East, Oceania, Performance and management, Sale and marketing, Uncategorized.

By Majbritt Thomsen ? March 30, 2012

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Pens' Crosby struck by puck in face, leaves game

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Clinton tackles Syria, Iran concerns during Saudi visit

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Downsizing Homes ? An Option For Struggling Families

With home foreclosures occurring at alarming rates, it?s clear that many American homeowners got in over their heads with their home purchase. While it?s obvious that many made bad purchases or took out loans with bad terms, there are also many homeowners that simply bought more house than they needed. While that may not be a bad thing, it becomes a bad thing if you can?t afford the house. If you could have drawn up cottage house plans and been just fine, but instead opted for a 6-bedroom McMansion, there might be a reason that you?re going through the foreclosure process. For those that haven?t lost their home, however, there can still be options.

If you?re looking to pay less on your mortgage, down to something you can afford a little easier, downsizing might be the way to go. Of course, that means you?ll have to sell your current house, which may be a dicey proposition if you?re underwater on your mortgage or if you?re in an extremely tough real estate market.

But let?s say you?re able to sell your house that was built with French country house plans. What next? There are several ways to downsize while still giving you and your family a sturdy and comfortable home to live in. What you?ll likely have to do is make some concessions. You can downgrade all sorts of things, from lot size to the maturity of landscaping and trees. It all depends on what is important to you-and what isn?t.

The first thing you should do is make a list of what you love about your current home, and what you could easily live without. You might see some convergence in those two lists. For instance, you might love your workout room, but realize that having such a space is a luxury that you really don?t need. Or your theater room, which is so great to watch movies in, really only gets used once or twice a month. Is that really necessary to have another room added to the ranch style house plans just to have this type of room? For some people the answer may be yes, but for most of us, having a home we can afford is worth more than all the movies in the world. That?s why downsizing-at least smart downsizing-is becoming a more attractive option for some. As an added bonus, when you learn to live without the things you don?t really need, your life becomes less complex.

Whether you are downsizing or building your dream home, House Plans and More is the place for you to go. With a wide assortment of cottage house plans, French country house plans, and ranch style house plans, House Plans and More is the only name you need when you?re talking about house plans. Log on today and learn more about how you can find the perfect plan for your style!

Source: http://www.a1article.net/home-and-family/downsizing-homes-an-option-for-struggling-families-55854.html

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M5 Communicator Desktop Application - Unified Communications ...

By ChatRooms.NET - 2012-03-28

ShoreTel(R), the leading provider of brilliantly simple premise and cloud-based business phone system and communication solutions with fully integrated unified communications (UC), today announced the release of M5 Communicator, part of the M5 Unified Communications Suite in ShoreTel?s Cloud division and free to all existing M5 clients.

An extension of the Suite, M5 Communicator is an application accessible from the desktop of a user?s PC or Mac. In addition to offering instant messaging across the enterprise, peer-to-peer video chat, file transfer, and screen-sharing capabilities, Communicator?s ?Presence? feature enables users to see when their colleagues are on the telephone.

?ShoreTel understands the voice 2.0 value proposition ? it?s all about the applications and the experience ? not just cheaper, reliable connectivity,? said Jon Arnold, Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and marketing consultancy. ?High value applications, like M5 Communicator, give customers the easy to use Unified Communications tools they crave.? Communicator is part of the M5 Unified Communications Suite, a cloud-based communications service for employees that want to focus on their business instead of the business of running a communications platform. Based on the M5?s Call Conductor platform, the Suite integrates communications and business data, providing M5 clients with access to business intelligence that can be used to increase sales, gauge customer satisfaction, and implement operational efficiencies.

The Suite also includes:

• Hosted, managed voice-over-IP (VoIP)
• Conferencing and Collaboration: telephone-based audio conferencing, screen sharing, and file transfer.
• Unified Messaging: personal voicemail, shared voicemail, voicemail to e-mail, transcribed voicemail, and voicemail to customer-relationship management (CRM).
• Portal: administrative and end-user self-service.
• Recording: inbound and outbound call recording with full time and ad-hoc support and look-back.
• Contact Center: fully-feature prioritized skill routing, live dashboards, analytical reports, agent performance management, and more.
• Business Intelligence: reports and analysis with real business impact.

?We offer a complete bundle that doesn?t ignore the most important modality today: voice,? said Jeff Valentine, M5 Networks senior vice president of product marketing. ?While other competitors offer voice as an add-on, they don?t provide the full breadth of functionality, the professional installation, the proactive monitoring, the advanced features, the intelligence, or the end-user support, all in a powerful yet intuitive platform like M5?s.?

For more information about M5 Communicator, the M5 Unified Communications Suite, or other products, please visit http://www.m5.net.

ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOR) brings unmatched flexibility, choice and value to brilliantly simple business phone systems and unified communications (UC). With its award-winning premise-based IP phone system with integrated unified communications, contact center capabilities, and its proven hosted VoIP services, organizations of all sizes can select the best option for their needs. ShoreTel?s ongoing mission is to eliminate costly complexity and give customers the 24/7 freedom to leverage rich voice, video, data, and mobile unified communications capabilities they need. ShoreTel is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices in Austin, Texas; New York, New York; Maidenhead, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; and Singapore. For more information, visit http://www.shoretel.com

Link To "M5 Communicator Desktop Application - Unified Communications"

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Source: http://www.chatrooms.net/voip/shoretel.php

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Tooth Tattoo Diagnoses Illness and Alerts Doctors [Science]

Scientists at Princeton University have developed a sensor that could be tattooed onto your tooth, diagnose an infection, and transmit that information to medical professionals. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ypv_NTfKr5c/tooth-tattoo-diagnoses-illness-and-alerts-doctors

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GOP-run House easily rejects bipartisan budget

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House voted decisively late Wednesday to reject a bipartisan budget mixing tax increases with spending cuts to wring $4 trillion from federal deficits over the coming decade.

The 382-38 roll call paved the way for Republicans to muscle through their own, more stringent budget on Thursday, a measure that would blend deeper spending reductions in safety-net programs for the poor with a plan to dramatically overhaul Medicare. The vote also underscored the partisan polarization dominating Washington this election year, with leaders of both parties showing little inclination to compromise and let the other side claim a victory.

The bipartisan measure rejected Wednesday was patterned on a plan by President Barack Obama's 2010 deficit commission and was written by moderate Reps. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, and Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.

"This is the only bipartisan way to solve the nation's problems," Cooper said.

"When you know you have a good deal is when the left and right are pounding the snot out of you, and that's what's happening today," LaTourette.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was the only lawmaker to speak against the plan, saying it relied too heavily on tax increases and not enough on spending cuts.

The plan won praise from outside budget experts. But GOP leaders have been unwilling to stray from party principles on taxes while top Democrats have shown no give on cuts to social programs.

The bipartisan alternative was similar to a proposal crafted by former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, co-chairmen of Obama's deficit commission, whose package ended up being ignored by lawmakers.

The measure, like the Simpson-Bowles plan, called for a tax overhaul that would bring the top tax rate down from 35 percent to 29 percent or lower, financed by repealing various tax breaks, deductions and credits. Overall revenue would rise by $1.2 trillion since the money raised by eliminating dozens of tax breaks would exceed the revenue lost by lowering rates.

The vote came shortly after the Republican-run chamber unanimously rejected Obama's $3.6 trillion budget for next year in a roll call forced by GOP lawmakers to embarrass Democrats.

Republicans have opposed Obama's budget all year, criticizing its tax increases on the wealthy and saying it lacks sufficient spending cuts.

Democrats have defended Obama's budget priorities but voted "no" as a bloc Wednesday night as the House rejected the president's plan 414-0.

Republicans said Democrats were afraid to vote for Obama's proposed tax increases and extra spending for energy and welfare. Democrats indicated they were worried that voting for Obama's budget would let Republicans accuse them in re-election campaigns of endorsing every part of it, including details they might oppose.

The House also rejected a plan by the Congressional Black Caucus, 314-107, that was more generous than Republicans to many domestic programs.

At the center of Wednesday's debate, however, was a budget-slashing GOP plan by Ryan that would quickly bring the deficit to heel but only through unprecedented cuts to programs for the poor such as food stamps, Medicaid, college aid and housing subsidies. The Republican budget also reprises a Medicare plan that would switch the program ? for those under 55 today ? from the traditional framework in which the government pays doctor and hospital bills to a voucher-like approach in which the government subsidizes purchases of private health insurance.

The GOP plan was set to pass on Thursday, but swiftly die in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Under the arcane budget rules of Congress, the annual budget resolution is a far-reaching but nonbinding measure that sets the parameters for follow-up legislation.

The measure reopens last summer's hard-won budget and debt deal with Obama, imposing new cuts on domestic agencies while easing cost curbs on the Pentagon that gained bipartisan support just months ago. It would set in motion follow-up legislation that would substitute $261 billion in spending cuts spaced over a decade for $78 billion in automatic spending cuts that would cut the Pentagon budget by about 10 percent next year and cut numerous domestic programs as well.

The election-year GOP manifesto paints clear campaign differences with Obama, whose February budget submission offered tax increases on the wealthy but mostly left alone key benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. Obama and his Democratic allies instead promise to protect programs aimed at the elderly and the poor.

Ryan said the GOP plan steps in aggressively to prevent a European-style debt crisis that would swamp the economy and force draconian spending cuts and tax increases.

"Let's not wait until we have a crisis. Let's not wait until interest rates go up and we're in sort of a European meltdown mode," Ryan said. "Let's do it right and do it now, because then we can keep the promises that government has made to people who need it the most."

But Democrats said the Ryan plan makes spending cuts that are simply too extensive, knocking millions of people off of food stamps and forcing states to drop Medicaid nursing home coverage for many elderly people. At the same time, Democrats said the GOP budget promises a radical overhaul of the tax code that would deliver big tax cuts to upper-income people while taking away tax deductions and credits important to the middle class and the poor, like the child tax credit, and deductions for health insurance, mortgage interest and contributions to charity.

Democrats say the GOP Medicare proposal, similar to a plan that started a political firestorm last year, would cut costs steeply and provide the elderly with a steadily shrinking menu of options and higher out-of-pocket costs.

"It is not bold, not bold to provide tax breaks to millionaires while ending the Medicare guarantee for seniors and sticking them with the bill for rising health care costs," said Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the top Budget Committee Democrat. "It is certainly not brave to cut support for seniors in nursing homes, individuals with disabilities and poor kids. And it is not fair to raise taxes on middle-income Americans, financed by another round of tax breaks for the very wealthy."

Compared with Obama's budget, the GOP measure includes deficit cuts totaling $3.3 trillion ? spending cuts of $5.3 trillion tempered by $2 trillion in lower taxes ? over the coming decade. The deficit in 2015, for example, would drop to about $300 billion from $1.2 trillion for the current budget year. But the GOP measure ? despite assumptions of major cuts to transportation, education and food aid ? doesn't achieve balance for almost three decades, leading conservatives to offer an even tougher plan that would come to balance in five years.

The GOP measure is likely to pass almost exclusively with GOP votes, though some tea party lawmakers will oppose it for not going far enough.

___

Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-03-28-GOP%20Budget/id-3d494dedd19a4b08b948fbef9e2f0b74

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Fidel Castro, excommunicated in 1962, meets with Pope Benedict

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who once outlawed religion, met with Pope Benedict XVI today. Benedict's visit is part of a new Catholic strategy in a changing Cuba.

By Sara Miller Llana,?Staff writer, Girish Gupta,?Correspondent / March 28, 2012

When the late pope John Paul II met with Fidel Castro in Cuba in 1998, the church had high hopes it could help bring fast political change to the island, as his visit had to his native Poland.

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That never happened. Poland is a far more Catholic country than Cuba, which was once officially atheist. Only half of Cubans identify as Catholic today, according to Pew, and fewer than 10 percent actually practice.

Nearly 15 years later, as Pope Benedict XVI wraps up a three-day trip to the island, the church is ?wiser about the limits of its own ability to catalyze rapid change in Cuba,? says William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University.

Instead, he says, the trip ? including the visit with Fidel Castro ? simply reinforces the strategy the Cuban church has been pursuing: A careful relationship with the government that pushes for more openness and human rights without veering into overt opposition. And while the visit with Fidel Castro lends the former head of state, and his brother and successor Raul Castro, an air of legitimacy, it also underscores how much more of a voice the church has today.

?[The visit with Fidel Castro] is more of a courtesy than it is anything else,? Mr. LeoGrande says. ?Fidel really has been out of the decision making process in any formal way for almost six years now.? In that time, he says, "the church has [developed] much more of a political and social role."

In a public Mass today, the pope denounced religious intolerance in general and later specifically urged more public space for the Cuban Catholic Church. "It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly," he said. "Nonetheless this must continue forward" for the good of Cuban society.

The pope's visit, his first to Spanish-speaking Latin America, started in Mexico. He arrived in Cuba on Monday to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Cuba's patron saint, Our lady of Charity el Cobre.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Vui2Zoq0yn0/Fidel-Castro-excommunicated-in-1962-meets-with-Pope-Benedict

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Terror victims barred from al-Qaida member's funds (Providence Journal)

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'American Idol' Conundrum: Why Are Heejun And DeAndre Still In?

'DeAndre is a hot dude who appeals to the female demographic,' 'Idol' blogger explains, while Han is backed by Vote for the Worst website.
By Gil Kaufman

Heejun Han and DeAndre Brackensick
Photo: Getty Images

There's almost always a singer on each season of "American Idol" who makes it way deeper into the competition than expected. But season 11 of the show has seen two unlikely finalists — Heejun Han and DeAndre Brackensick — stumble into the top 9 and onto this summer's cast tour despite a string of, respectively, jokey and lackluster performances that have drawn assorted raspberries from the judges and outright derision at times from music-industry icon and show mentor Jimmy Iovine.

Their resilience got MTV News wondering if perhaps they have a special magic that some of the other eliminated finalists haven't discovered yet. We spoke to some of our favorite "Idol" experts to take a look at the dynamic duo's social-network presence to try to figure out how they've done it.

For Brackensick, it doesn't appear to be thanks to Twitter, where he had just 31,660 followers (dubbed "DreDreamers") as of Tuesday evening and spent most of his time thanking fans for their support or complaining about poor WiFi at the "Idol" mansion.

"DeAndre is a hot dude who appeals to the female demographic," said leading "Idol" blogger MJ Santilli of MJsbigblog about the strange allure of the singer with a sky-high voice and hair-commercial-ready curls. "He's sung well enough to give the impression that he's got potential. The 'Master Blaster' performance — which Jimmy and the judges loved — was enough to keep him going for a week or two more, but if he doesn't step it up, he's going out mid-pack, too."

Heejun's following on Twitter was a heftier 86,663 on Tuesday, putting him near the top of the social-networking heap among his fellow finalists. Not surprisingly for the yuk-loving singer, his interactions with fans are much sillier and more playful than most of the others, with a loose vibe that matches his onscreen persona, including lots of candid photos and suggestions that fans adopt the nickname "Hanimals."

He also has the dubious distinction of being the subject of this year's target on the Vote for the Worst website. "Finally, the man we were waiting for comes out to play," the site said in a banner promoting the vote. "Welcome to VFTW, Heejun. We love you. Here are lots of votes."

"Idol" expert Jim Cantiello said he gets Heejun's appeal. OK, he doesn't get it get it, but he can see how Han attracts attention by being a spectacle while everyone else is singing ballads — all the time. "His silliness supplies good .gifs for tumblr and easy fodder to tweet about," said the former MTV "Idol in 60 Seconds" host. "Trust me, just like Sanjaya, the first time he has a performance that provides zero water-cooler talk, he'll be dropped. Or as soon as it seems like powerhouse singers are in jeopardy, casual 'Idol' fans won't be as quick to call in a vote for the clown."

Cantiello suspects Han has another thing going for him as well, whether it was all part of his devious plan or not. "Heejun's got the whole bromance thing with Phil Phillips going on," Cantiello said of the buddy-comedy vibe between the joker and one of this year's leading male contenders. "So some of Phil's fans are automatically into Heejun, and they'll vote him through to keep seeing them be silly on TV together."

MJ agreed that Heejun is just good TV. Not only did he bring some unneeded extra drama to the Hollywood rounds by sparring with annoying Richie "Cowboy" Law, he's shown his vulnerable and sensitive side as well. "Up until now, viewers wanted him on their TVs and most definitely wanted him on the tour, where he is likely going to be super-entertaining," she said. "But now that he's beginning to knock off vocally gifted finalists like Erika [Van Pelt], watch the backlash begin. I don't think he's got more than a couple of weeks left in the competition."

How do the seven other finalists match up on the Twitter tote board? Pint-sized cute Hollie Cavanagh actually comes in below Brackensick with 30,792 "Holliepops," while faux-hawk flying singer Colton Dixon has one of the highest Twitter tallies at 92,458, putting him just ahead of foot-stomping Dave Matthews-alike Phillip Phillips, with 90,116 followers.

Solidly in the middle of the pack is leading female contender Jessica Sanchez with 69,825 followers, while country girl Skylar Laine rounds out the bottom with 33,122 "Skoutlaws," just ahead of gritty Elise Testone (23,969) and R&B crooner Joshua Ledet (23,618).

Why do you think Heejun and DeAndre have survived this long? Let us know in comments below!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681954/american-idol-heejun-deandre.jhtml

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World News - 400 women held in Afghanistan for 'moral crimes' such ...

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Female prisoners gather in the courtyard of a women's prison in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, on Oct. 22, 2010.

By Reuters

Updated at 6:18 a.m. ET: KABUL, Afghanistan -- For Afghan women, the act of fleeing domestic abuse or?forced prostitution may land them in jail while their abusers walk free, Human Rights Watch said in a report published Wednesday.

Running away is considered a "moral crime" for women in Afghanistan while some rape victims are also imprisoned, because sex outside marriage -- even when the woman is forced -- is considered adultery, another "moral crime."

---

"From the first time I came to this world my destiny was destroyed," 17-year-old Amina, who has spent months in jail after being forced into prostitution, told researchers from Human Rights Watch.

Despite progress in women's rights and freedom since the fall of the Taliban a decade ago, women throughout the country are at risk of abduction, rape, forced marriage and being traded as commodities.

PhotoBlog: Afghan graffiti artists depict violence and injustice of women's lives

It can be hard for women to escape violence at home because of huge social pressure and legal risks to stay in marriages.

"The treatment of women and girls accused of 'moral crimes' is a black eye on the face of the post-Taliban Afghan government and its international backers, all of whom promised that respect for women's rights would distinguish the new government from the Taliban," the New York-based group said.

"This situation has been further undermined by President (Hamid) Karzai's frequently changing position on women's rights. Unwilling or unable to take a consistent line against conservative forces within the country, he has often made compromises that have negatively impacted women's rights."

Teen boxer Sadaf Rahimi, who aims to compete at this summer's London Olympics, hopes her achievements will be an example to others in her war-ravaged country. NBC News' Kiko Itasaka reports.

The rights organization said that there were about 400 women and girls being held in Afghanistan for "moral crimes", and they rarely found support from authorities in a "dysfunctional criminal justice system". ?

'He will kill me'
The plight of a woman called Nilofar illustrates the problem. She was stabbed repeatedly with a screwdriver in the head, chest, and arms by her husband who accused her of adultery for inviting a man into the house, the rights group said.

But afterwards, she was arrested, he was not.

Afghan woman, imprisoned over rape, is free

"The way he beat her wasn't bad enough to keep him in jail. She wasn't near death, so he didn't need to be in prison," the prosecutor of the case told Human Rights Watch.

The dire treatment of women was the main reason Western countries gave for refusing to recognize the Taliban government as legitimate when it was in power.

As Afghan and Western leaders seek a negotiated end to more than 10 years of war, the future for women is uncertain.

The United States and NATO -- who are fighting an unpopular war as they prepare to pull out most combat troops by the end of 2014 -- have stressed that any settlement must ensure the constitution, which says the two sexes are equal, is upheld.

Jangir / AFP - Getty Images

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

A law, passed in August 2009, supports equality for women, including criminalizing child and forced marriage, selling and buying women for marriage or for settling disputes, as well as forced self-immolation, among other acts.

PhotoBlog: Life inside a women's prison in Afghanistan

But women, especially in rural areas, lack shelters to flee abuse while only one percent of police are female, according to the report based on interviews from October to November with 58 women and girls as well as prosecutors, judges, government officials and civil society.

Social stigma?
The ordeal for women does not stop with jail though.

Once leaving prison, women and girls face strong social stigma in the conservative country and may be killed in so-called "honor killings".

"I just want a divorce. I can't go back to my father because he will kill me. All my family has left me behind," 20-year-old Aisha, who was sentenced to three years for fleeing an abusive husband she was forced to marry, told researchers.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/28/10897062-400-women-held-in-afghanistan-for-moral-crimes-such-as-fleeing-domestic-abuse

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'Bully' Will Be Released Unrated

Weinstein Co. is releasing the documentary on bullying unrated in a protest against an R.
By Gil Kaufman

A Scene from "Bully"

Actors, singers, politicians, educators and high school kids have been protesting the R rating given to the anti-bullying documentary "Bully, but the ratings board would not budge. So, instead of folding, frequently outspoken Weinstein Co. co-founder Harvey Weinstein has decided to release the film unrated.

"The small amount of language in the film that's responsible for the R rating is there because it's real," director Lee Hirsch said of the multiple f-bombs that landed the film its restricted rating, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It's what the children who are victims of bullying face on most days. All of our supporters see that, and we're grateful for the support we've received across the board. I know the kids will come, so it's up to the theaters to let them in."

The film depicts the painful results of school bullying and follows several families who've been impacted by bullying. But because it was given an R rating, it cannot be screened in middle and high schools.

Weinstein began a public appeal of the rating last month, making the case that it would freeze out the very teens and others under 18 who most need to hear its powerful message.

The rating war inspired 17-year-old Katy Butler to start a viral petition to get the decision changed. Not only did her movement win her a GLAAD Media Awards
 over the weekend, but it also drew nearly 500,000 signatures and support from the likes of Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Johnny Depp and Ellen DeGeneres.

Though unrated films are often shut out of many theater chains out of respect for the ratings board, the CEO of the AMC chain, Gerry Lopez, said he will allow certain theaters in his circuit to screen the movie. "Bully" opens on March 30 in New York and Los Angeles. The movie has gotten another unlikely partner in the form of computing giant Microsoft. According to The Los Angeles Times, Microsoft has agreed to use its Bing search engine to promote "Bully" with a TV and social media ad campaign.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681835/bully-movie-unrated.jhtml

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Obama concedes strains between US, Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama smile during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama smile during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, left, speaks to U.S. President Barack Obama during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

U.S. President Barack Obama covers the microphone as he arrives at the plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit at the Coex Center in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. At left is Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Conceding strained ties, President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed Pakistan's review of its relationship with the United States, saying it was important for the two countries to get their partnership right.

Obama spoke alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani before the two men held private talks. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between their countries following a series of incidents that have marred trust.

"There have been times ? I think we should be frank ? in the last several months where those relations have experienced strains," Obama said of the dynamic between the U.S. and Pakistan.

The breakdown in the relationship followed the shooting death of two alleged Pakistani assailants by a CIA officer and the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May. The tipping point came in November, when U.S. forces returned fire they believed came from a Pakistani border post, killing 24 Pakistani troops.

Pakistan broke off ties with the U.S. following that incident and launched a debate about new terms of engagement with the U.S., including on the sensitive issue of CIA drone strikes on targets inside Pakistani borders.

Pakistan has rejected offers by U.S. officials to give its spy chief advanced notice of the CIA's drone campaign against al-Qaida in Pakistan and to apply new limits on the types of targets hit.

Obama said it was important for the U.S. and Pakistan to have candid and open talks. He said he expects Pakistan's review will result in a "balanced approach that respects Pakistan's sovereignty but also respects our concerns with respect to our national security and our needs to battle terrorists who have targeted us in the past."

Pakistan is a key U.S. counterterrorism partner and its cooperation is essential for drawing down the American-led war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Gilani, speaking at the start of his meeting with Obama, said he wanted stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan. And he said he appreciated Obama's statements of respect for Pakistan's sovereignty.

Obama and Gilani were meeting on the sidelines of an international nuclear security summit in the South Korean capital.

During remarks at the summit earlier Tuesday, Obama said the threat of nuclear weapons remains a potent challenge for the globe to confront, telling the more than 50 world leaders attending the meetings that "the security of the world depends on the actions that we take."

Obama said the international community had made progress in removing nuclear materials and improving security at nuclear facilities around the globe. But he warned "there are still too many bad actors in search of these dangerous materials and these dangerous materials are still vulnerable in too many places."

Action at the summit has been largely overshadowed by competing forces, including North Korea's plan for a long-range rocket launch and Obama's caught-on-tape remarks plotting strategy with Russia after the November elections.

Obama himself brought North Korea into the discussions in Seoul, using nearly all of his appearances during his three-day trip to warn Pyongyang that it would face further isolation if it proceeds with the launch.

The president also found himself trying to clean up a controversy created when an exchange with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that was meant to be private was picked up by a microphone. Obama was heard saying he would have more room to negotiate on missile defense after getting through the November election, presumably expecting to win and not have to face voters again.

Obama's Republican rivals back home pounced, accusing him of secretive plotting and dealing over American national security.

Obama tried to put the matter to rest on Tuesday, saying there was no way to expect progress on the contentious issue of missile defense during the politics of an election year in both the U.S. and Russia.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-03-27-Obama/id-1685ac714fe44689912b49333eabd99e

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Home Improvement Trends for Homeowners Looking to Spring ...

CHESTER, Pa., March 14, 2012

CHESTER, Pa., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ ?#xA0;Continuing uncertainty in the real estate market has homeowners asking a major question as the market warms this spring #x2014; is it smarter to move or to improve? Cost is the driving factor behind home improvement projects again this year, and its important to choose projects that will provide the biggest return on investment. Power Home Remodeling Group, the nations fourth largest home remodeling company, empowers homeowners to get the biggest bang for their home-improvement buck this spring, whether updating a home to increase its resale value or infusing the place with some personality to create your dream home.

Giving your home some added curb appeal with an exterior makeover will automatically boost the resale value of your property, said Jeff Kaliner, Powers Founding Partner. If you plan to stay put, focus on cost effective renovations that make your home more comfortable, functional and low maintenance for your family. Either way, enhancing your home this spring will help protect your greatest investment.

Power shares the following tips to stay on trend with home improvements this spring:

• Energize your exterior #x2013; Exterior home improvements are king when it comes to return on investment again this year. Projects like updating siding, window replacement and refreshing entry doors can have a dramatic effect on your homes curb appeal for a relatively low cost. In fact, seven of the top 10 home improvement projects for 2012 are exterior projects garnering anywhere from 69 to 78 percent return on investment #x2014; the highest of any other projects this year.

• Choose bold and bright finishes #x2013; Fiberglass entry and garage doors are a popular alternative to their pricey wooden counterparts in 2012. A fiberglass door is weather resistant, durable and, above all, maintenance free. This material allows you to achieve the stylish look of an elegant craftsman or rustic design with decorative glass at the fraction of the price. Bright, bold exterior colors are also popular this year. Make your curb appeal pop by choosing a shade of tangerine, yellow or deep purple for your entry door to give your home a cheery look heading into spring.

• Energy efficiency is still supreme #x2013; The top green home trend for 2012 is renovating to reduce your homes heating and cooling costs. Making the most of an empty attic space by adding a bedroom, or at least finishing it with insulation, is a great way to keep conditioned air from escaping through the roof. Updating the attic also happens to be this years third most cost effective home improvement, garnering a whopping 72 percent return on investment, and adding living space without increasing the homes footprint is an eco-friendly way to gain more square footage.

About Power Home Remodeling Group Family-owned since 1992, Power Home Remodeling Group is the nations fourth largest home remodeling company with more than 1,100 employees and $135 million in sales. Headquartered in Chester, Pa., Power provides energy-saving and environmentally friendly exterior remodeling solutions to residents on the East Coast, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. An Inc. 5000 company, Power has served more than 50,000 homeowners and is recognized as a home improvement leader by its Dealer of the Year award from Window and Door Magazine and the 2011 Top Workplace from The Philadelphia Inquirer. For more information please visit PowerHRG.com, or follow the company on Twitter @PowerHRG and Facebook at facebook.com/PowerHRG.

SOURCE Power Home Remodeling Group

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Classical Music Slows Mice Transplant Rejection

60-Second Science | More Science

Mice getting mismatched heart transplants and that were exposed to classical music had much slower rejection rates than did mice exposed to other music and sounds. Sophie Bushwick reports.

March 23, 2012?|

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Opera and classical music can relax you ? and maybe your immune system, if results with mice extend to us. Because mice that got heart transplants and who listened to opera and classical music had better outcomes than those exposed to other sounds. The work is in the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. [Masateru Uchiyama et al, Auditory stimulation of opera music induced prolongation of murine cardiac allograft survival and maintained generation of regulatory CD4+CD25+ cells]

A mismatched organ transplant typically gets rejected. After receiving mismatched heart transplants, mice spent a week hearing silence, a single-frequency tone, or one of three types of music: Verdi?s La Traviata, Mozart, or the New Age artist Enya.

The strong immune response in the control mice and those who listened to single frequencies caused rejection after a week, and the Enya group lasted only a few days more. But the hearts in the Mozart group beat for 20 days and the Traviata group survived 26 days.

Perhaps classical music calms the immune system, decreasing its responsiveness ? the Traviata mice had fewer white blood cells and immune-signaling molecules. Or maybe mice just prefer Verdi to Enya.

?Sophie Bushwick

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]

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E-commerce Global Economy And Its New Trend | Finance information

The use of the internet has grown and gone on to becoming the greatest way to communicate, operate a business, research things and a whole lot more. Along with the internet world wide fame and its usage, this trend in e-commerce business for global economy is now spreading more than a disease and does play a big role in the global economy. The e-commerce has helped change the way people are conducting their business. It has help small to large businesses as they can go online to open up and present their products and services to grow while being in the internet.

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There are other ways to trade or sell and that is with the use of televisions, telephones, fax and electronic payments. They also play a role in the boom of e-commerce is an integral part Which of the global economy. Now there is the WTO, multilateral trade Which is thus becoming frame work and want to find just what rules and regulations will apply to this as well.

Along with the emergence of the e-commerce business over the past decades , a large number of e-commerce business providers of solutions, have also grown just as much. The providers for the e-commerce services perform quite a lot of useful jobs for several kinds of businesses, like research of the market, gathering plenty of traffic for the storefront of your online sales of products or services.

There are reports that the e-commerce services are the biggest thing to ever be available on the internet. This is due to the fact that when doing your business online with the commerce services, it has a high success rate for the sales of many products and services.

These days there are many restaurants operating under the system of e-commerce. The provider of the e-commerce solution will perform several tasks for the restaurant as they advertise online. One good way to help boost business is by showing your products or services from a brochure online sites. This is another great way to present your business to the online users. With this e-commerce services that are available for any business, is changing the way people want to operate their businesses. Just about everything in the world today is being globalize, seeking as businesses. The global e-commerce businesses do have a new trend as it is a big role in the global economy today. Another thing is that the providers of these services can not be left forgotten as they are known to help businesses to become very fruitful and successful. id=?article-resource?> For more free customer related tips, tricks, reviews and hot insider information please visit our eCommerce Assistance website immediately.

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Worldwide Travel Insurance Evaluation Post

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Jewish school slayings suspect dead after raid

The alleged gunman in a series of deadly shootings in France, including one at a Jewish school near Toulouse, is dead after jumping from the apartment where he was hold up for 32 hours.  NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

By msnbc.com news services

Updated at 8:06 a.m. ET: TOULOUSE, France -- An Islamist extremist?who is believed to have killed seven people in France died Thursday after a shootout with police, officials said.?

Interior Minister Claude Gueant said that Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin who had allegedly confessed to killing three Jewish children and four adults,?was hiding in a bathroom?when special forces officers raided his apartment.

Merah leapt out a window with a weapon in his hand after "shooting madly" at?police who were attempting to end the 32-hour standoff, Gueant added.

Merah was found dead outside his home, Gueant said. Police union sources also confirmed Merah's death.

---

Gueant said that two officers were injured during the operation.

Merah told negotiators he?killed three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children and because of French army involvement in Afghanistan.

Authorities said Merah, who claimed to have received training from al-Qaida,?was believed to have?a weapons cache in the apartment including an Uzi and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Pascal Guyot / AFP - Getty Images

Police special forces officers prepare to raid Mohamed Merah's home in Toulouse, France, on Thursday.

Earlier, assault rifle and other gunfire rang out for around four minutes.?Explosions were also heard. An official told Reuters?that gas was also used during the operation to try and paralyze him.

A police source?told Reuters that the blasts -- which occurred around 5:35 a.m. ET -- were from flash grenades fired to check for signs of life in the ground-floor apartment. Sustained gunfire was heard in the area around 6:30 a.m. ET.

'No movement during the night'
Before the raid, Gueant told reporters that?there had?been no sign of life from his apartment for 10 hours.

French police are demanding the surrender of Mohamed Merah, the suspect who allegedly shot seven people and then bragged of bringing France to its knees. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

"There was no movement during the night. We hope he is still alive," Gueant?said on?RTL radio. He added that two shots had been heard during the night.

Merah boasted to police negotiators on Wednesday night that he had brought France to its knees and said his only regret was not having been able to carry out plans for more killings.

Merah filmed the shootings of the children and the rabbi on Monday using a camera strapped to him.

Email trail led cops to suspect in Jewish school slayings

President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose handling of the crisis may influence voters less than five weeks from an election in which he is running for a second term, promised on Wednesday that justice would be done and asked people not to take vengeance.

France's elite RAID commando unit detonated three explosions just before midnight on Wednesday, flattening the main door of the building and blowing a hole in the wall, after it became clear Merah did not mean to keep a promise to turn himself in.

An Interior Ministry official said that police blew up the shutters outside the apartment window to pressure him to surrender.

Sporadic blasts and bursts of gunfire rang out throughout the night.

In Israel, tears and defiance at French shooting victims' burial

"What we want is to capture him alive, so that we can bring him to justice, know his motivations and hopefully find out who were his accomplices, if there were any," Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told TF1 television before Thursday's raid.

Merah, who told police negotiators he had accepted a mission from al-Qaida after receiving training in the lawless border area of Pakistan, had identified another soldier and two police officers he wanted to kill, investigators said on Wednesday.

Schools throughout France held a moment of silence in memory of the four killed in the Toulouse school shooting. Meanwhile, French police have launched a massive manhunt for the killer. ITN's Martin Geissler reports.

"He has no regrets, except not having more time to kill more people and he boasts that he has brought France to its knees," Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins, part of the anti-terrorist unit leading the investigation, told a news conference .

The gunman negotiated with police all Wednesday, promising to give himself up and saying that he did not want to die.

"He's explained that he's not suicidal, he doesn't have the soul of a martyr and he prefers to kill but to stay alive himself," the prosecutor said.

Rejected by military
Merah's lawyer Christian Etelin, who has defended him in several minor crimes, said that his client had a tendency towards violence that had worsened after a stay in prison and trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"There was his religious engagement, an increasing hatred against the values of a democratic society and a desire to impose what he believes is truth," Etelin told France 2 television.

Speaking to news channel i-Tele before Merah's death, Etelin said his client "wants to show he is exceptional, omnipotent, and this approach can only end up as something tragic."

He?added that?Merah had tried to join?France's military but was rejected.

Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/22/10805444-jewish-school-slayings-suspect-dead-after-france-cops-storm-apartment-officials-say

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