Sunday 15 January 2017
Friday 18 November 2016
Obama urges European leaders to work with US President-elect Trump
Outgoing US President Barack Obama and European leaders including Theresa May have stressed the continuedimportanceof Nato amid concerns about Donald Trump's commitment to the alliance.
The Prime Minister was in Berlin for talks with Mr Obama hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which also covered the fight against Islamic State (IS) and Russia's actions in the Ukraine and Syria.
The White House said Mr Obama urged the European leaders at the meeting - Mrs May, Mrs Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy - to work with Mr Trump when he takes office in January.
There has been nervousness in Europe over Mr Trump's victory, particularly his criticism of Nato and his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A White House statement said: "The leaders agreed on the necessity of working collectively to move the transatlantic agenda forward, particularly on bringing stabilisation to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as securing diplomatic resolution to the conflicts in Syria and eastern Ukraine.
"The leaders also affirmed theimportance of continued co-operation through multilateral institutions, including Nato."
On his farewell visit to the continent, Mr Obama "urged his European counterparts to continue seeking solutions to common challenges with the incoming US administration on the basis of the core values that define the United States and Europe as open democracies", the White House said.
Reflecting on the crisis in Syria and the bombardment of rebel-held areas of Aleppo by Bashar Assad's forces, supported by Moscow, the leaders "expressed grave concern about the humanitarian situation".
They "agreed that increased attacks against the city by the Syrian regime and its supporters, including Russia and Iran, should be immediately halted, and called for humanitarian access to the city to be restored.
The leaders also agreed on the need for sanctions against Russian figures over the Ukraine intervention to remain in place until Moscow meets its commitments under the Minsk peace deal.
Mrs May had a brief "brush-by" conversation with Mr Obama before the main talks began at the Chancellery in the German capital.
British sources said their short discussion was about the ongoing relationship between the UK and Washington "rather than the US election result".
Although Brexit was not on the agenda, Mrs May was expected to discuss the situation with her European counterparts in the margins of the summit, including a one-to-one meeting with Mrs Merkel.
The meeting follows a fresh warning from Berlin about the difficulties Mrs May will face as she attempts to secure a Brexit deal.
Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, said the UK faces paying into the European Union for more than a decade after it quits the bloc.
He added that there will be no special deal to curb freedom of movement if the UK wants to remain part of the common market.
Responding to Mr Schauble's remarks, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We have always set out that, as long as we remain members of the EU, we will fulfil the commitments and obligations to the EU. What happens once we have left the EU is a matter for the negotiation process."
Wednesday 22 June 2016
Trump Backers At Tampa Rally Sing "Happy Birthday To Trump!"
TAMPA, Florida — Donald Trump supporters broke into a chorus of "Happy Birthday" at his rally in Tampa, Florida, Saturday.
Donald Trump turns 70-years old on June 14.
As his supporters began singing, Trump laughed and said "I don't want to hear about it."
Assuming a sheepish tone he continued that he is "very torn" about the birthday, but added: "I feel like I'm 35. That's the good news." The crowd cheered loudly!
Exciting rally in Tampa!
A few protesters outside were cordoned off by the police who maintained a safe and secure path for the attendees of the Trump rally to exit.
Tuesday 31 May 2016
Star Trek-style visor that could help the blind see begins trials in European patients
- It is being developed by Pixium Vision with trials scheduled for 2016
- A surgeon implants a small silicon chip with 150 electrodes on the retina
- An integrated camera on goggles sends images to a portable computer
- A 'pocket processor' converts that recording into an infrared image, which the goggles then beam into the eye
- A Star Trek-style vision system is to be tested on patients in Europe who have lost their sight. The technology is based on a technique known as 'neuromodulation' in which electricity from a chip stimulates the nervous system to restore sight.The revolutionary system, called Iris II, is being commercialised by French company Pixium Vision.Today, it was announced that regulators have been granted permission for the trial to go ahead on 10 patients at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.Other trials of the system are taking place in France, Germany and Austria.The British study will include patients suffering from the conditions retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Usher syndrome, cone-rod dystrophy, and choroideremia, all of which can lead to blindness.
The technology is based on a technique known as 'neuromodulation' in which electricity from a chip stimulates the nervous system to restore sight
Goggles that could help the blind see have come a step closer to reality. The technology is based on a technique known as 'neuromodulation' in which electricity stimulates the nervous system to restore sight.
Consultant ophthalmologist Dr Mahi Muqit, who is leading the Moorfields trial, said: 'We are excited to participate in the clinical trial of Iris II and be the first site in the UK.
'Patients with RP can now benefit from a new choice of retinal implant that may potentially further improve visual outcomes.
A number of competing retinal implant systems are being developed by private companies and institutions around the world.
At the heart of Iris II is a small silicon chip with 150 electrodes that is implanted on to the retina.
A video camera integrated into goggles sends images to a smartphone-sized portable computer, which converts them to electrical signals.
These are transmitted wirelessly to the implant which in turn stimulates the optic nerve.
After surgery, patients have to learn to use the system, but with practice are able to “see” black, white and grey shapes.
No starting date has yet been set for the trial, which has been approved by UK medical device regulators the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Retinal implants that restore some sight when in the blind are already available, but their quality isn't good enough to work in many real-world conditions.
Pixium Vision's solution, however, claims it has been able to restore the sight of rats to a level equivalent to 20/250.
This would allow the wearer to see the largest line of letters in an opticians test.
The company claims it may be able to get its final product to restore vision to 20/120, which would be a huge leap forward in vision quality.
Second Sight, the company that got FDA approval for the first visual prosthesis two years ago, currently offers patients about 20/1300 vision.
To use the gadget a surgeon must first implant a small silicon chip with 150 electrodes on the retina.
When the patient puts on the system's dark glasses, an integrated video camera sends images to a portable computer.
A connected 'pocket processor' converts that recording into an infrared image, which the goggles will then beam into the eye.
Pulses activate the electrodes in the implant, and the optic nerve carries the images back to the brain.
Following surgery, patients have to train their brains to interpret the new images, which are seen in variations of back, white and grey.
A small pilot program to test the system is already underway, with promising results.
Monday 30 May 2016
Business Writing: An Introduction
Almost all business activities are envisioned, planned, implemented and analyzed in some form of the written word. These forms include reports, and reportsummaries, letters, memos, and email, any document, in fact, that communicates something about business. Collectively, they are the hard-copy paper trails recording the proposals, activities and results of countless business transactions.
Public and private entities rely upon these documents to communicate vital information, both internally and externally, regarding the condition and conduct of their business. It is fundamentally important that they be written in a clear and concise manner. When they are, the risk of miscommunication is greatly reduced.
Poorly written business documents can produce unintended results and potentially disastrous consequences. Strong writing competencies can help reduce or avoid this all together. Well chosen words, well organized and well written, increase the likelihood of effective business communication.
That said, business writing is as simple as eating an elephant. Do it one bite at a time. Think strategically, divide and conquer. Writing is a process consisting of several interrelated steps:
Public and private entities rely upon these documents to communicate vital information, both internally and externally, regarding the condition and conduct of their business. It is fundamentally important that they be written in a clear and concise manner. When they are, the risk of miscommunication is greatly reduced.
Poorly written business documents can produce unintended results and potentially disastrous consequences. Strong writing competencies can help reduce or avoid this all together. Well chosen words, well organized and well written, increase the likelihood of effective business communication.
That said, business writing is as simple as eating an elephant. Do it one bite at a time. Think strategically, divide and conquer. Writing is a process consisting of several interrelated steps:
These steps break the larger writing task into smaller ones. Proceeding through them one at a time will help you write successful business documents. Depending on the complexity of the writing task, they will be either more or less demanding. An annual report requires far more, for instance, than a memo.
Preparation
Preparing to write is as important as the act itself. There are three preliminary considerations that are fundamental to the task. You must establish a document's objective, identify its readers and determine its scope. All other steps in the writing process follow and develop from these determinations.
Objective
Establishing an objective will answer one critical question about your writing task. What do you want the reader to know or do, or be able to do after reading your document? The answer needs to be specific and detailed. If the objective is too general it will be difficult, if not impossible, to present a credible argument or a compelling reason to read the document. For Example:
Objective
Establishing an objective will answer one critical question about your writing task. What do you want the reader to know or do, or be able to do after reading your document? The answer needs to be specific and detailed. If the objective is too general it will be difficult, if not impossible, to present a credible argument or a compelling reason to read the document. For Example:
Not So Good: To explain the proposed cafeteria at Better Widget Makers, Inc.
Good: To explain how the newly proposed cafeteria at Better Widget Makers, Inc. will benefit the employees, the company and the Silver City community.
A specific objective, simply stated, can be viewed as a thesis statement for your writing project. Notice how the above example includes three main topic areas and how easy it will be to convert them into main headings below the thesis statement in an outline.
Readers
Identifying your readers will answer another critical question about the writing task. How can you help them understand your objective? Knowing who your readers are and what they need from you is crucial to satisfying your objective. It will also determine the scope of your writing task. Successful business writers know that the answers to who and what will lead to how. So target your audience and get to know a few things about them.
Ask yourself some key questions. Who is going to read your document? Will it be one person or many? Are you writing a letter to a new client or a quarterly summary for the Chief Financial Officer? Are you writing a departmental memo or the shareholders annual report? What information will they need?
Notice the hierarchical status of different readers. Understand that this status defines the reader's relationship to a subject or topic. It indicates something about what their perspective or personal interest might be and something about how much they might already know, or how much they might need to know about the material.
Once you have a clear understanding of your audience you are prepared to determine the scope of your document, write effectively, both of which will help your readers understand your objective.
Scope
Determining the scope of your writing task will answer a final question? What kind of information is needed, and how much of it will be enough for the reader to understand your objective? In light of both the objective and the audience, this will either be elementary, intermediate or advanced?
What and how much to include is a decision based on who the reader is, why they were targeted and what relationship they have to your document's topic. Successful business writers keep all of this in mind as they gather information in the research step of the writing process.
Readers
Identifying your readers will answer another critical question about the writing task. How can you help them understand your objective? Knowing who your readers are and what they need from you is crucial to satisfying your objective. It will also determine the scope of your writing task. Successful business writers know that the answers to who and what will lead to how. So target your audience and get to know a few things about them.
Ask yourself some key questions. Who is going to read your document? Will it be one person or many? Are you writing a letter to a new client or a quarterly summary for the Chief Financial Officer? Are you writing a departmental memo or the shareholders annual report? What information will they need?
Notice the hierarchical status of different readers. Understand that this status defines the reader's relationship to a subject or topic. It indicates something about what their perspective or personal interest might be and something about how much they might already know, or how much they might need to know about the material.
Once you have a clear understanding of your audience you are prepared to determine the scope of your document, write effectively, both of which will help your readers understand your objective.
Scope
Determining the scope of your writing task will answer a final question? What kind of information is needed, and how much of it will be enough for the reader to understand your objective? In light of both the objective and the audience, this will either be elementary, intermediate or advanced?
What and how much to include is a decision based on who the reader is, why they were targeted and what relationship they have to your document's topic. Successful business writers keep all of this in mind as they gather information in the research step of the writing process.
Thursday 26 May 2016
Hero of Canada parliament attack tackles protester in Dublin
DUBLIN (AP) — A Canadian diplomat who became a national hero when he shot an Islamic gunman inside the Ottawa parliament has tussled with a protester at a military ceremony in Dublin.
Kevin Vickers, Canada's ambassador to Ireland, grabbed a man who was shouting "This is an insult!" near a memorial service for British soldiers killed during a 1916 rebellion against British rule. Vickers grabbed the man and held him before police moved in to arrest the protester.
Vickers was sergeant-at-arms of the Canadian parliament when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau burst into the building on Oct. 22, 2014 after killing a soldier outside. Vickers, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, and a policeman killed the attacker in a gunfight.
Canadian Ambassador to Ireland Kevin Vickers, right, wrestles with a protester during a State ceremony to remember the British soldiers who died during the Easter Rising at Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin Thursday May 26, 2016. Vickers helped subdue a demonstrator who began chanting ¿insult¿ at the service commemorating more than 100 British soldiers killed trying to suppress the Easter Rising a century ago. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
US forces on ground in Syria aiding key anti-IS fight
US forces on the ground in northern Syria are helping a major offensive against the Islamic State group in its stronghold of Raqa province, Kurdish-Arab fighters battling the jihadists say.
Near the frontline north of the IS bastion of Raqa city, an AFP photographer saw US soldiers climbing onto a low rooftop carrying US-made anti-tank missiles.
"These are US special operations forces and this is why you cannot follow them or take many pictures," said a fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which announced on Tuesday an assault on the jihadists north of Raqa.
Armed men identified by Syrian Democratic forces as US special operations forces ride in the back of a pickup truck in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016 ©Delil Souleiman (AFP)
Leaning on a partially destroyed home in the village of Fatisah which was recently seized from IS, SDF field commander Hawkar Kobane told AFP that "US forces are taking part in this operation" alongside his own troops.
"On the rooftop of this house, there are US forces using (anti-tank) TOW missiles to fire on the explosives-rigged cars that Daesh is using to attack the SDF," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
The SDF has also received air support from the US-led air coalition bombing the jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
And this week, the first of 250 members of the US special operations forces were to arrive in northeast Syria to support the fight, joining dozens of advisers already on the ground.
Special operations forces are known to lend support to and train foreign armies.
Washington has insisted the soldiers sent into Syria are not combat troops.
Asked about the men seen in Fatisah, US defence officials did not dispute that they were American special operations forces.
The troops appeared to be equipped with US-issued sidearms and uniforms, and at least one could be seen with a badge of the US flag on his chest.
The United States has publicly disclosed that about 300 of its elite commandos and support personnel are on the ground in northern Syria, where they are working with the Kurdish and other anti-IS partners.
"They are continuing to advise and assist local forces in the ongoing fight against ISIL," Pentagon spokesman Matthew Allen said, using another name for IS.
- 'A lot of experience' -
The AFP photographer saw as many as 20 US soldiers in Fatisah on Wednesday and heard them communicating in English with each other.
They refused to speak to journalists but generally appeared less wary than usual about the media presence.
The US soldiers could be seen climbing onto pickup trucks fitted with heavy machineguns and driving across the swathes of agricultural plains that make up northern Raqa province.
Other US soldiers surveyed territory alongside SDF forces identified by the yellow patches on their arms.
"The American forces present here have a lot of experience," Kobane said.
"We will take advantage of their experience to fight terrorism and capture the other villages as quickly as possible with as few casualties as possible."
Another SDF field commander, Baraa al-Ghanem, said US fighters were "present at all positions along the front... They are taking part on the ground and in the air".
"We have a joint operations room with the coalition. We also have special weapons, both heavy and light, and we are facing the problem of mines," he added.
The US forces on Wednesday could be seen accompanying a special unit within the SDF known as the "counter-terrorism forces".
The two forces entered a building on the edge of Fatisah used as the town's school, reportedly to carry out a training session on using US weaponry.
Kurds play a dominant role in the US-backed SDF, providing the core of the forces that have pushed back IS in the country's northeast.
The SDF has a total of about 25,000 Kurdish fighters and around 5,000 Arab fighters.
Washington is pushing to bring more Arab forces into the group.
The Syrian war erupted in early 2011 after Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, and has since claimed more than 270,000 lives.
Syria and Iraq: zones of control ©Thomas Saint-Circq, Simon Malfatto, Jean Michel Cornu, Sabrina Blanchard (AFP)
Syrian Democratic forces and an armed man identified by them as US special operations (R) are seen in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016 ©Delil Souleiman (AFP)
Armed men (R) identified by Syrian Democratic forces as US special operations forces walk in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016 ©Delil Soulieman (AFP)
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