Explainer: Why was pregnant duchess hospitalized?

LONDON (AP) ? While morning sickness in pregnant women is common, the problem the Duchess of Cambridge has been hospitalized with is not.

In a statement Monday, palace officials said she was hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum, a potentially dangerous type of morning sickness where vomiting is so severe no food or liquid can be kept down. Palace officials said the duchess was expected to remain hospitalized for several days and would require a period of rest afterwards.

"It's not unusual for pregnant women to get morning sickness, but when it gets to the point where you're dehydrated, losing weight or vomiting so much you begin to build up (toxic) products in your blood, that's a concern," said Dr. Kecia Gaither, director of maternal fetal medicine at Brookdale University and Medical Center in New York.

The condition is thought to affect about one in 50 pregnant women and tends to be more common in young women, women who are pregnant for the first time, those expecting multiple babies and in non-smokers. Gaither said that fewer than one percent of women with the condition need to be hospitalized.

Doctors aren't sure what causes it but suspect it could be linked to hormonal changes or nutritional problems.

Women admitted to the hospital with hyperemesis gravidarum are usually treated with nutritional supplements and given fluids intravenously to treat dehydration. Dr. Dagni Rajasingam, a spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said most women hospitalized with the condition are discharged within several days.

"It depends on how well the woman is keeping fluids down," she said.

If the problem is recognized and treated early, doctors say there are no long-term effects for either the mother or the child. Left untreated, the mother could be at risk of developing neurological problems ? including seizures ? or risk delivering the baby early.

Gaither said the condition usually subsides by the second trimester.

"The rest of the pregnancy could be entirely uneventful," she said, adding that pregnant women treated for the condition are usually advised to avoid fatty foods that could aggravate the problem.

Gaither said the duchess would probably be able to meet her usual royal obligations by her second trimester.

"She should be able to meet all her public obligations soon," she said, advising her to take her vitamins and ensure there are no other underlying health problems. "She should just be looking forward to having a healthy little plump person."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/explainer-why-pregnant-duchess-hospitalized-172733420.html

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Birds may spread, not halt, fever-bearing ticks

Monday, December 3, 2012

Turkey raises and releases thousands of non-native guineafowl to eat ticks that carry the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Yet research suggests guineafowl eat few ticks, but carry the parasites on their feathers, possibly spreading the disease they were meant to stop, says a Turkish biologist working at the University of Utah.

"They are introducing a species that is not eating many ticks, based on studies of stomach content, and is carrying the ticks, which are the best conduit for spreading Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever," says ?a?an ?ekercio?lu (pronounced Cha-awn Shay-care-gee-oh-loo), an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah.

"They should stop these introductions immediately because there is a risk they may be doing the opposite of what they intended," says ?ekercio?lu, an ornithologist or bird expert and founder of the Turkish environmental group KuzeyDo?a Society. "They want to stop this disease, but they may be helping spread it."

In a paper, set for publication soon in the journal Trends in Parasitology, ?ekercio?lu reviewed existing scientific literature. He concluded that the idea guineafowl eat ticks and thus control disease is based on unconvincing evidence even though it achieved "cult status" after a 1992 study suggesting the birds could control ticks that carry Lyme disease bacteria in the U.S. Northeast, at least on lawns.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was identified as an emerging disease in Turkey in 2002. Between then and last May, the tick-borne virus infected 6,392 people in Turkey and killed 322 of them, according to statistics cited by ?ekercio?lu.

It was first identified in Crimea in 1944 and then in the Congo in 1969, and now it is found in Eastern and Southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, northwest China, central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cases of the disease did drop in 2011, leading some officials to call the guineafowl program a success. But ?ekercio?lu says, "There is no published study in Turkey showing guineafowl are effective." He cites news reports in which doctors attributed the decline to increased public awareness that prompts patients to get to a hospital faster and obtain better diagnosis and treatment.

Guineafowl Released to Fight Viral Disease Outbreak in Turkey

Some 300,000 birds, mostly native pheasants and chukars, have been released for a decade in Turkey, potentially to eat the ticks. In 2011 the government started raising thousands of guinea fowl for the same purpose, especially in north-central Turkey, although ?ekercio?lu says there is no convincing evidence that any of the birds help control the tick-borne virus.

What little evidence exists came from a 1992 study in New England suggesting guineafowl eat ticks in that region and thus reduce the risk of tick-borne bacteria that cause Lyme disease, he says. That prompted people to start selling guineafowl for tick control, but a 2006 study concluded the 1992 study was unconvincing, ?ekercio?lu says.

Nevertheless, ?ekercio?lu was told by Turkish officials more than a year ago that they learned about the use of guineafowl to control ticks and started the program to raise and release the birds in Turkey.

?ekercio?lu expressed his doubts, even though at the time he was unaware that guineafowl carried ticks on their feathers.

"I told them I had not seen convincing evidence for this, and that introducing an exotic species in such large quantities without a detailed, controlled study would be dangerous and could have unexpected consequences," he says.

?ekercio?lu cites a 1993 study that examined 525 guineafowl, yet found only one tick each in the stomachs of four of the birds, and a study in 2006 from South Africa that found that a single guineafowl could carry more than 300 ticks on its feathers, he says.

?ekercio?lu wants the Turkish government to stop introducing guineafowl and also to "conduct a very detailed controlled experiment with a large sample size of guinea fowl's effect on ticks, comparing them with pheasants and chukars. If pheasants and chukars are as effective as or more effective than guineafowl, then why introduce a species that does not belong to that ecosystem?"

Background on Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Turkey has been attributed to several possible causes, including changes in land use and hunting practices, movement of livestock, climate change, migratory birds and fragmentation of habitat caused by a decline in agriculture and resulting increase in forest, creating habitats for both domestic and wild animals that carry ticks, ?ekercio?lu says.

The disease, caused by Nairovirus, is transmitted to humans by animal blood or ticks, or from an infected human to another human via contact with blood or body fluids, sometimes by contaminated medical equipment.

According to the CDC, initial symptoms include high fever, headache, back pain, joint pain, stomach pain and vomiting. Common symptoms include red eyes, a flushed face, a red throat and red spots on the palate. More severe symptoms include jaundice and mood and sensory perception changes. From about day four and for two weeks, patients have large bruised areas and serious nosebleeds. Recovery is slow; the existence of long-term complications is uncertain. Outbreaks of the viral disease have led to death rates ranging from 9 percent to 50 percent among hospitalized patients.

###

University of Utah: http://www.unews.utah.edu/

Thanks to University of Utah for this article.

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Brazil-Canada 3.0 Conference to Address Brazil's Digital Economy ...

By CDMN on Dec 3, 2012 / Categories: CDMN News, Government, Press Releases

Waterloo Region, ON ? December 3, 2012 ? When the first Brazil-Canada 3.0 Conference opens today in the Brazilian northeastern city of Jo?o Pessoa, it will be the culmination of a dream shared by two world leaders from two continents. In August 2011, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, pledged their commitment to increased collaboration and enhanced business opportunities between their two countries. Now, inspired by the format of the CDMN Canada 3.0 digital media forum which Brazilian representatives attended last spring, Brazil-Canada 3.0 is under way today and tomorrow in Jo?o Pessoa, Para?ba, Brazil to move that commitment forward.

?Deepening?our?trade, investment and educational ties with Brazil is a key part of Canada?s Economic Action Plan to create jobs, growth and prosperity in every region of our country,? said Ed Fast, Canada?s Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. ?That is why we are delighted to see that following the Brazilian delegation to the CDMN Canada 3.0 digital media forum in Stratford, Ontario last spring, Canadian thought leaders are now invited to participate in an equivalent forum in South America. We look forward to continuing to work with our Brazilian partners to build a mutually beneficial?relationship?that generates benefits for people in both countries.?

The Brazil-Canada 3.0 Conference will bring together representatives of government, academia and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the digital economy in Brazil. Collaboration between the two countries was undertaken as part of joint initiatives under the bilateral Science, Technology and Innovation Agreement adopted in 2011.

?It is the ultimate compliment that the Brazil conference was inspired by the CDMN Canada 3.0 event to advance digital media in Brazil,? said Kevin Tuer, Managing Director of the CDMN. ?Going forward, we would like to explore how the Canada 3.0 conference model could be used in a similar fashion around the world to enhance the global digital media economy.?

Numerous presenters from across Canada are included in the Brazil-Canada 3.0 program. Tom Jenkins, Chair of the CDMN Advisory Board, who played a vital role in launching the Canadian forum, will address cooperation between the two countries in digital media.

?This is a phenomenal opportunity for the leaders of government, the ICT industry, and representatives of culture and the arts in Brazil to consider opportunities for digital media expansion in Brazil, and for Canada and Brazil to further collaborate on joint initiatives,? said Jenkins. ?It is indeed exciting to see the forum take root in another part of the world, and we wish Brazil much success as a result of this conference.?

The event includes conference streams on connectivity/internet governance; digital content; development of talent; and digital entrepreneurship. It also includes a startup company pitchoff competition, and the reward for the top startup will be a week of coaching at CDMN?s headquarters location at The Communitech Hub in Waterloo Region.

?Events like these are of great importance, as they offer opportunities to address, in a bilateral fashion, the vision, fully endorsed by Brazil, that ICTs can be a powerful tool for development. Likewise, being held in the northeastern region of our vast country, it may help balance the country?s digital inclusion scenery, traditionally more notable in the southeastern states,? notes Franklin Silva Netto, General-Coordinator of the Conference.

Organizers of the Brazilian Conference (Federal Government, State Government, Academia, Private Sector) have identified gaps in Brazil?s digital economy, with disparities in access to the Internet, with some areas of the country having higher access rates, and rural populations having less access to the Internet than urban dwellers. Canadians have addressed similar issues at previous Canada 3.0 forums and are striving ? through the CDMN Canada 3.0 digital media conference ? to enable all Canadians to do anything on-line by the target timing of 2017, Canada?s 150th birthday. The 5th Canadian forum, slated for May 14 & 15, 2013 will be held for the first time in downtown Toronto.? Registration is now open and further details are available at: www.cdmn.ca/canada30.

Brazil-Canada 3.0 website

Source: http://www.cdmn.ca/brazil-canada-3-0-conference-to-address-brazils-digital-economy-and-enhance-digital-media-collaboration-between-canada-and-brazil/

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Parents Can Pursue a Business Career at Reeves College

Starting a family can create an abrupt shift in a person's professional life. Parents who envisioned themselves leading conference meetings at work may have to trade in those dreams when they have children. However, parents can always return to college once their children are reach school-age in order to pursue the business administration program that they had once set their eyes upon.

Those who took some college courses before starting their family lives can use their previous knowledge and skills to excel in their current courses. This factor can particularly help adult students with a spouse and children, because it places them on a faster track to graduation.

Going back to school for business is crucial for adults who wish to pursue a career in that field. Financial and economic trends change nearly as fast as the hands on a clock, so it is essential that students stay on top of the patterns in the industry. With a practicum integrated into the requirements of the business program, adults can gain real-world experience before applying to their first jobs after graduation. The more relevant knowledge they can gain in the field, the better they can follow their careers and ultimately provide for their families.

Those who wish to return to school can enroll in the Business Administration program at Reeves College and get their careers back on track. For more information, fill out the form on the right.


Source: http://www.reevescollege.ca/all-news/business-administration/parents-can-pursue-a-business-career-at-reeves-college/

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Union calls for teacher certification exam

(AP) ? Schoolteachers should have to pass a stringent exam ? much like the bar exam for lawyers ? before being allowed to enter the profession, one of the nation's largest teachers unions said Monday.

The American Federation of Teachers called for a tough new written test to be complimented by stricter entrance requirements for teacher training programs, such as a minimum grade point average.

"It's time to do away with a common rite of passage into the teaching profession, whereby newly minted teachers are tossed the keys to their classrooms, expected to figure things out, and left to see if they and their students sink or swim," said AFT President Randi Weingarten, calling that system unfair to students and teachers alike.

The proposal, released Monday as part of a broader report on elevating the teaching profession, calls for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to take the lead in developing a new test. The nonprofit group currently administers the National Board Certification program, an advanced, voluntary teaching credential that goes beyond state standards.

There is no single, national standard for teacher certification, although the federal government does ask states to meet certain criteria to be eligible for federal funding.

The proposal by a major teachers union to impose tougher requirements on its own members may signal a shift in tone for a profession facing heightened scrutiny. In recent years, unions such as AFT have resisted calls to end tenure and to tie teachers' evaluations to their students' test scores.

But by embracing more rigorous certification standards, the union hopes to raise the status of the teaching profession, which could reap future rewards when it comes to compensation and other benefits. In its report, AFT drew comparisons between teaching and other professions that require advanced professional training, such as medicine and law.

The proposal also calls for making entrance into teacher education programs more competitive. Candidates should be required to have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average, the AFT said, in addition to formal interviews and 10 hours of field experience.

"If you impose that kind of restriction, that means you're signaling to society at large that not everybody can be a teacher. You're saying it's hard to get in. It's hard to be good," said Arthur McKee of the National Council on Teacher Quality, which supports the proposal.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, too, commended the proposal, describing it as part of a broader push to raise the bar for teachers and enable schools to predict a teacher's potential for success in the classroom.

"Too many new teachers enter our schools feeling unprepared. We shouldn't tolerate that in a profession so important to our country's future," he said in a statement.

The union's executive council will consider whether to approve the report at a February meeting. Other teachers unions including the National Education Association have yet to weigh in on the proposal.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-03-Teachers%20Exam/id-b9a2675bdf5f445087c9e9161dab6cf2

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Boeing separates airplane production, design

(Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Monday it is creating a new division to oversee airplane development, hiving off that function from production as it seeks to ramp up factory output.

The company named Scott Fancher, who heads Boeing's 777 jet program, to lead the new division, "airplane development," which will handle design and flight certification of planes that are currently on the drawing board. These include the 737 MAX, the 767 Tanker and 787-9, and the 777-X and 787-10X programs that have not yet formally started.

The move comes as Boeing plans to lift factory output by 25 percent over the next 18 months, and tries to develop five derivative jets to meet customer demand for longer-range and more fuel-efficient planes to better compete with Europe's Airbus .

"Successfully balancing our production and development priorities is critical to our future viability and success with customers," Ray Conner, chief of Boeing's commercial airplane business, said in a message to Boeing employees on Monday.

The changes, effective immediately, "will help clarify responsibility, streamline decision-making and accelerate our progress on these priorities," Conner said.

The new structure creates an "airlines programs" unit headed by Pat Shanahan, a senior vice president currently in charge of production. The division will be responsible for the profit and loss of the jet programs in production, and integrating development of new jets into production.

The division of labor "puts a specific leader in charge of future development," said Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel, and allows Shanahan to focus on production.

Boeing's commercial aviation services unit, which provides support for jets in service, will continue to be led by Lou Mancini, a senior vice president.

Boeing shares were down 0.4 percent at $74.00 on Monday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange.

(This story has been corrected to fix misspelling of the names Fancher, Shanahan, Birtel and Mancini.)

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott in New York; editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Matthew Lewis and Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-separates-airplane-production-design-175202974--finance.html

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Reconnecting With Customers: Building Brands & Profits in The ...

Posted on November 29, 2012 by admin

Reconnecting With Customers: Building Brands & Profits in The Relationship Age by Jack Myers
Spurge Ink!; First Edition edition (October 27, 1998) | ISBN: 188823248X | 250 pages | PDF | 11.28 MB

As the Information Age evolves, welcome to The Relationship Age, where relationships come first, the deal second. In today?s global marketplace, the irrevocable trend is away from commoditization, and towards marketing and brand-based relationships. Integration is an imperative. Success demands we apply the new Three R?s: Reconnecting, Relevance and Results. Myers explains how.
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NKorea says it will launch long-range rocket soon

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea announced Saturday that it would attempt to launch a long-range rocket in mid-December, a defiant move just eight months after a failed April bid was widely condemned as a violation of a U.N. ban against developing its nuclear and missile programs.

The launch, set for Dec. 10 to 22, is likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and Seoul as the United States prepares for Barack Obama's second term as U.S. president and South Korea holds its own presidential election on Dec. 19.

This would be North Korea's second launch attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power following his father Kim Jong Il's death nearly a year ago. The announcement by North Korea's space agency followed speculation overseas about stepped-up activity at North Korea's west coast launch pad captured in satellite imagery.

A spokesman for North Korea's Korean Committee for Space Technology said scientists have "analyzed the mistakes" made in the failed April launch and improved the precision of its Unha rocket and Kwangmyongsong satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

KCNA said the launch was a request of late leader Kim Jong Il, whose Dec. 17, 2011, death North Koreans are expected to mark with some fanfare. The space agency said the rocket would be mounted with a polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite, and maintained its right to develop a peaceful space program.

Washington considers North Korea's rocket launches to be veiled covers for tests of technology for long-range missiles designed to strike the United States, and such tests are banned by the United Nations.

North Korea has capable short- and medium-range missiles, but long-range launches in 1998, 2006, 2009 and in April of this year ended in failure. North Korea is not known to have succeeded in mounting an atomic bomb on a missile but is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen bombs, according to U.S. experts, and in 2010 revealed a uranium enrichment program that could provide a second source of material for nuclear weapons.

Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.

In Seoul, South Korean officials have accused North Korea of trying to influence its presidential election with what they consider provocations meant to put pressure on voters and on the United States as the North seeks concessions. Conservative Park Geun-hye, the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, is facing liberal Moon Jae-in in the South Korean presidential vote. Polls show the candidates in a close race.

Some analysts, however, question whether North Korean scientists have corrected whatever caused the misfire of its last rocket.

"Preparing for a launch less than a year after a failure calls into question whether the North could have analyzed and fixed whatever went wrong," David Wright, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote on the organization's website this week.

The United States has criticized North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles as a threat to Asian and world security. In 2009, North Korea conducted rocket and nuclear tests within months of Obama taking office.

North Korea under its young leader has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what the North calls a "hostile" policy. North Korea maintains that it is building bombs to defend itself against what it sees as a U.S. nuclear threat in the region.

This year is the centennial of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un. According to North Korean propaganda, 2012 is meant to put the North on a path toward a "strong, prosperous and great nation."

"North Korea appears to be under pressure to redeem its April launch failure before the year of the 'strong, prosperous and great nation' ends," said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul.

He added that a successful rocket launch would raise North Korea's bargaining power with South Korea and the United States "because it means the country is closer to developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads."

Before its last two rocket launches, North Korea notified the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization about its intentions to launch. IMO spokeswoman Natasha Brown said that as of Friday the organization had not been notified by North Korea.

The North's announcement comes two days after South Korea canceled what would have been the launch of its first satellite from its own territory. Scientists in Seoul cited technical difficulties. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the North's planned launch is "a grave provocation and a head-on challenge to the international community."

North Korea's missile and nuclear programs will be a challenge for Obama in his second term and for the incoming South Korean leader. Washington's most recent attempt to negotiate a freeze of the North's nuclear program and a test moratorium in exchange for food aid collapsed with the April launch.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Washington stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea as a buttress against any North Korean aggression. Tens of thousands more are in nearby Japan.

___

Associated Press writers Jean H. Lee and Sam Kim contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-says-launch-long-range-rocket-soon-103821077.html

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Analysis: Myanmar's Suu Kyi shows pragmatism

BANGKOK (AP) ? For Aung San Suu Kyi the democracy activist, the 25-year struggle against Myanmar's former army rulers was a largely black-and-white affair ? a clear fight for freedom against one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

But Suu Kyi the elected lawmaker is finding it a lot more difficult to pick her battles, and she's a lot more pragmatic when she does.

With the long-ruling junta gone and a reformist government in place, the political prisoner-turned-parliamentarian is now part of a nascent government dealing with a complex transition to democracy ? even as she maintains her role as opposition leader.

This week, Suu Kyi moved to settle a dispute that has festered in the northwest for years: controversy over a military-backed copper mine in Letpadaung that has raised environmental concern and forced villagers from their land with little compensation.

Suu Kyi made a two-day trip to the region to hear people's grievances and try to help mediate a resolution. Hours before she arrived Thursday, security forces launched a brutal crackdown on protesters that was the biggest of its kind since President Thein Sein took office last year.

Police used water cannons, tear gas and smoke bombs to break up an 11-day occupation of the mine project. Protesters saw their makeshift shelters ablaze. A nurse at a Monywa hospital said 27 monks and one other person were admitted there to be treated for burns.

Addressing a crowd of more than 10,000 people in the nearby town of Monywa on Friday, Suu Kyi criticized security forces but said protesters may have to accept a compromise for the sake of national honor.

Myanmar's former army junta made past deals without taking into account the wishes of the people, she said, but such commitments must be honored "so that the country's image will not be hurt."

A Chinese company is part-owner of the mine, and Beijing previously complained when Myanmar pulled back on a dam project in which China had an interest.

In other comments during her trip to Monywa, Suu Kyi said she would work for the country's benefit but called on people to be "open-minded."

"To walk the democratic system is a tough path," she said. "It's not straight."

Though mine protesters may not be satisfied by those words, they at least know that they have Suu Kyi's attention. The Nobel Peace laureate has gotten less involved in other conflicts.

Since taking her seat in the legislature in April, Suu Kyi has not set foot in northern Kachin state, where a war is raging between rebels and the army that has forced than 75,000 people to flee. She also has yet to visit the western state of Rakhine, where two waves of sectarian violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has killed nearly 200 people and driven 110,000 people from their homes since June.

Suu Kyi has urged calm in both crises, but she not attempted to mediate, either.

"When entire communities of Rohingya and Muslims were wiped out in the state-backed ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state .... she didn't even bother to tour the violence-struck" region, said Maung Zarni, a Myanmar expert and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. "Why not?"

The answer, it seems, is that Suu Kyi has evolved into a pragmatic politician, one who must pursue personal and party goals without upsetting her new relationship with Myanmar's new power brokers, including Thein Sein. The army still wields enormous power in this Southeast Asian nation, and Suu Kyi has argued she must work with them on the path to national reconciliation.

One of the most prominent signs of Suu Kyi's pragmatism has been her failure to speak out strongly against what rights groups say is the widespread repression of the Rohingya minority.

Although she has condemned the recent unrest, she has pointedly refused to take sides, saying violence has been committed by both Buddhists and Muslims.

The Rohingya, though, are among the most persecuted people in the world, largely denied citizenship by Myanmar and rejected by Bangladesh. They have borne the brunt of the recent violence, which Zarni and others argue is part of an effort by ethnic Rakhine to drive Muslims out of the state. The vast majority of the 110,000 displaced are Rohingya, many of whom lost homes in arson attacks.

But Suu Kyi is well aware of her movement's desire to sweep national elections in 2015. The Rohingya are a deeply unpopular cause, and standing up for them is politically risky in a predominantly Buddhist nation where they are widely denigrated as foreigners from Bangladesh, even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

In April, Suu Kyi got a taste of the new political world she was entering shortly after her National League for Democracy party won almost all of the several dozen seats up for grabs in the country's historic by-election.

Before taking their seats in the legislature, Suu Kyi's party got embroiled in a major dispute over what they called the undemocratic wording of the oath of office. The party defiantly declared it would not take its seats until the phrasing was changed.

After a weeklong stalemate, Suu Kyi announced they would take the oath anyway and take their seats in a legislature where a quarter of seats are controlled by the army and most of the rest are occupied by retired military officers.

"Politics is an issue of give and take," Suu Kyi said. "We are not giving up. We are just yielding to the aspirations of the people."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-myanmars-suu-kyi-shows-pragmatism-071215664.html

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North Korea gears up to launch long-range rocket

FILE - In this April 8, 2012 file photo, a North Korean soldier stands in front of the country's Unha-3 rocket, slated for liftoff between April 12-16, at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. Rocket sections are apparently being trucked into North Korea's northwest launch site, but some analysts are asking whether it's just a calculated bluff meant to jangle the Obama administration and influence South Korean voters ahead of Dec. 19 presidential elections in three weeks. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE - In this April 8, 2012 file photo, a North Korean soldier stands in front of the country's Unha-3 rocket, slated for liftoff between April 12-16, at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. Rocket sections are apparently being trucked into North Korea's northwest launch site, but some analysts are asking whether it's just a calculated bluff meant to jangle the Obama administration and influence South Korean voters ahead of Dec. 19 presidential elections in three weeks. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE - In this April 8, 2012 file photo, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket stands at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea said Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The launch will heighten already strained tensions with South Korean ahead of its presidential election on Dec. 19. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 8, 2012 file photo, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, slated for liftoff between April 12-16, stands at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. North Korea said Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The launch will heighten already strained tensions with South Korean ahead of its presidential election on Dec. 19. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

FILE - This Monday Nov. 26, 2012 file satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and annotated by 38 North, the website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Station in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. North Korea said Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22, a move likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and Seoul ahead of South Korean presidential elections Dec. 19. (AP Photo/DigitalGlobe via 38 North, File)

FILE - In this April 8, 2012 file photo, a group of journalists walk down a road in front of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket at Sohae Satellite Station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. April 8, 2012. North Korea said Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22. The launch will heighten already strained tensions with South Korean ahead of its presidential election on Dec. 19. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)

(AP) ? North Korea is gearing up to fire a long-range rocket this month in a defiant move expected to raise the stakes of a global standoff over its missile and nuclear programs.

The North's announcement Saturday that it would launch the rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22 came as President Barack Obama prepares for his second term and as South Korea holds presidential elections Dec. 19.

It would be North Korea's second launch attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power following his father Kim Jong Il's death nearly a year ago. Some analysts have expressed skepticism that North Korea has corrected whatever caused the embarrassing misfire of its last rocket eight months ago. That launch earned the country widespread international condemnation.

A spokesman for North Korea's Korean Committee for Space Technology, however, said scientists have "analyzed the mistakes" made in the failed April launch and improved the precision of its Unha rocket and Kwangmyongsong satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The statement said the launch was a request of late leader Kim Jong Il. He died on Dec. 17, 2011, and North Koreans are expected to mark that date this year with some fanfare. The space agency said the rocket would be mounted with a polar-orbiting Earth observation satellite, and maintained its right to develop a peaceful space program.

Washington considers North Korea's rocket launches to be veiled covers for tests of technology for long-range missiles designed to strike the United States, and such tests are banned by the United Nations.

"A North Korean 'satellite' launch would be a highly provocative act," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in Washington, D.C. "Any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology is in direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions."

In 2009, North Korea conducted rocket and nuclear tests within months of Obama taking office.

North Korea has capable short- and medium-range missiles, but long-range launches in 1998, 2006, 2009 and in April of this year ended in failure. North Korea is not known to have succeeded in mounting an atomic bomb on a missile but is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen bombs, according to U.S. experts. In 2010 it revealed a uranium enrichment program that could provide a second source of material for nuclear weapons.

Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.

There has been some skepticism about whether North Korea will succeed.

"Preparing for a launch less than a year after a failure calls into question whether the North could have analyzed and fixed whatever went wrong," David Wright, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote on the organization's website this week.

In Seoul, South Korean officials have accused North Korea of trying to influence its presidential election with what they consider provocations meant to put pressure on voters and on the United States as the North seeks concessions. Conservative Park Geun-hye, the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, is facing liberal Moon Jae-in in the South Korean presidential vote. Polls show the candidates in a close race.

North Korea is "working hard to influence the upcoming election. They may have a preferred candidate," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in an interview with a small group of foreign reporters in the presidential Blue House. "Even if they test fire a missile, it will not have a big impact on the election," Lee said, speaking through an interpreter.

Lee gave the interview Thursday but his office embargoed the publication of his comments until Sunday.

North Korea under its young leader has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what the North calls a "hostile" policy. North Korea maintains that it is building bombs to defend itself against what it sees as a U.S. nuclear threat in the region.

This year is the centennial of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un. According to North Korean propaganda, 2012 is meant to put the North on a path toward a "strong, prosperous and great nation."

"North Korea appears to be under pressure to redeem its April launch failure before the year of the 'strong, prosperous and great nation' ends," said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul.

He added that a successful rocket launch would raise North Korea's bargaining power with South Korea and the United States "because it means the country is closer to developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads."

Before its last two rocket launches, North Korea notified the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization about its intentions to launch. IMO spokeswoman Natasha Brown said that as of Friday the organization had not been notified by North Korea.

The North's announcement on Saturday comes two days after South Korea canceled what would have been the launch of its first satellite from its own territory. Scientists in Seoul cited technical difficulties. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the North's planned launch is "a grave provocation and a head-on challenge to the international community."

North Korea's missile and nuclear programs will be a challenge for Obama in his second term and for the incoming South Korean leader. Washington's most recent attempt to negotiate a freeze of the North's nuclear program and a test moratorium in exchange for food aid collapsed with the April launch.

In Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he would coordinate with the U.S., South Korea, China and Russia in strongly urging the North to refrain from the rocket launch.

Japan's defense minister has also ordered missile units to intercept the North Korean rocket if it or its fragments threaten to hit Japan.

Kyodo News agency said Japan also postponed high-level talks with North Korea scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned North Korea's launch plan, saying a failure by North Korea to cancel the firing will lead to a further response by the international community.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Washington stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea as a buttress against any North Korean aggression. Tens of thousands more are in nearby Japan.

___

Associated Press writers Jean H. Lee, Hyung-jin Kim and Sam Kim in Seoul, Jill Lawless in London, Thomas Strong in Washington, D.C., and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-01-NKorea-Rocket%20Launch/id-3251b4c3876a4e66b085c24259c1492f

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