Office demand slackens with slow job growth

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

New York, Jan 16 : New demand for US office space slipped in the fourth quarter from three months ago and a year earlier as job growth remained sluggish, according to a report.

Tenants took on 3.7 million square feet of additional office space in the fourth quarter, down from 4.8 million in both the third quarter and the year-earlier period, according to the report released by real estate research firm Reis Inc.

"Without a robust labor market recovery there will be no robust office market recovery," said Ryan Severino, senior economist for Reis.

Employers added a lackluster 155,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate held steady at 7.8 percent, the government said.

The office vacancy rate in the quarter was 17.1 percent, far higher than the 12.6 percent recorded at the end of 2007 right before tenants gave up space in the financial crisis.

The vacancy rate, however, edged lower by one-tenth of one percentage point in the quarter as developers added only 3.2 million square feet of space, less than renters took on. U.S. office inventory amounts to 4.09 billion square feet, according to Reis.

Weak demand for space gives developers little reason to build, Severino said. Lenders continue to impose more stringent requirements on developers before they will provide construction financing, he said.

The vacancy rate peaked at 17.6 percent in the financial crisis.

Average rental rates, adjusted for discounts and incentives offered by landlords, grew by a weak 0.8 percent in the quarter to $22.96 per square foot per year, Severino said.

The cities with the tightest markets continue to be those with stronger technology or energy sectors in their economies. Rents in San Francisco, for example, rose 3.6 percent, the most of any of 79 markets, to $34.69 per square foot. The vacancy rate in San Francisco was 13.8 percent.

Washington, D.C. has the tightest market of all at the moment, with a vacancy rate of 9.3 percent. But Severino expects New York to take that title soon as its increasingly important technology sector takes more space and as the government in Washington cuts employment.

The vacancy rate in New York was 9.9 percent in the quarter, two-tenths of a percentage point better than three months earlier. The average rental rate in New York was $48.55 per square foot, up 1.4 percent in the quarter.

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Property investors keen on US, Turkey; China stumbles: survey

New York, Jan 16 : The United States dominates the list of places that global commercial real estate investors would prefer to put their money this year, while China has lost some luster and Turkey has added sparkle, according to a survey of international investors.

For the first time since 2001, four of the top five cities that investors said they favor were in the United States, according to an annual survey that the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) released.

The survey reflected a sharply more optimistic view of the U.S. economy and property market for this year. Last year, 33 percent held a pessimistic view but 81 percent said they planned to increase their U.S. holdings this year.

In the ranking of global cities in which to invest, New York and London came in Nos. 1 and 2 respectively, as they did last year. But San Francisco rose to third from fifth and Houston, unranked last year, climbed to No. 5.

"Houston was a surprise to us," James Fetgatter, AFIRE chief executive, said. "San Francisco and Houston being in the top five global cities, it shows that this is where our people think the economy is going to revive. They believe these are where the drivers of the economy are going to be - in energy and tech."

Washington, D.C., while still a favorite, slipped to No. 4 from No. 3, reflecting investors' concerns about how federal budget reductions would affect employment, and therefore the demand for space, in that city.

The survey of the association's nearly 200 members was conducted in the fourth quarter 2012 by the James A Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business. AFIRE members have an estimated $2 trillion or more in real estate assets under management. Forty-two percent of the investors and 26 percent of the advisers are from the United States.

According to the AFIRE survey, the United States also held its spot as the country investors said provides the most stable and secure real estate investment. Canada, Germany, Australia and the UK followed in the same order as they did last year. Sweden, which was unranked in last year's survey, tied with the UK for fifth place.

The United States also held its spot as the country providing the best opportunity for real estate price appreciation, grabbing 55 percent of the vote. Second-ranked Brazil came in a distant second with 17 percent. The UK moved up to No. 3 from last year's No. 4. Turkey, which was ranked No. 9 last year, flew into fourth place.

China, which had been ranked No. 3 for price appreciation globally, was unranked this year, failing to receive one vote. Its cities also took a hit. Shanghai, ranked No. 5 last year, fell to 12th this year. Hong Kong, No. 8 last year, fell to 19th.

"Everybody is concerned about China's economy slowing, and there's a little uncertainty about the change in leadership," Fetgatter said.

Europe also did not fare well. About 80 percent of the respondents said they believed Europe would likely be in recession this year.

Within the United States, New York remained the No. 1 choice among investors. San Francisco displaced Washington, D.C., in No. 2 as the U.S. capital slipped to third, San Francisco's former spot. Houston was No. 4, up from seventh. Boston, last year's No. 4, was fifth.

Among emerging markets, Brazil once again was ranked No. 1. China repeated in No. 2. However, Turkey moved up to No. 3 from No. 7 last year. India, which had been third, slipped to No. 4 to tie with Mexico, which moved up from fifth.


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Google pact with FTC could affect other patent disputes

New York, Jan 16  : While the focus of last week's agreement between the Federal Trade Commission and Google Inc was search, the deal's restrictions on how Google uses its patents could have a broader impact on the technology industry.

Under the deal, which ended an antitrust investigation by the FTC and disappointed many critics, Google will make only minor changes to its search business.

But Google is also now limited in when it can seek injunctions against products from rival companies that use certain of its patents.

Throughout recent smartphone wars and other major patent litigation, holders of so-called standard essential patents have been accused of using them to bully competitors into paying high licensing rates or as leverage in patent disputes.

The FTC's deal with Google clarifies the uncertainty over how standard essential patents can be used, said Colleen Chien, a professor specializing in patent law at Santa Clara University School of Law in California.

The deal set out a process by which technology makers can avoid injunctions and patent holders know they are going to get compensated, Chien said. "The FTC has deflated the power of the injunction and also the incentives to not pay that have existed."

In its case against Google, the FTC claimed that Google and its subsidiary Motorola Mobility Inc had breached commitments to standard-setting bodies to license its patents on terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. As part of the deal, Google agreed to drop claims for injunctive relief against competitors in certain patent disputes around the world. It also agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of a court or arbitrator when disputes over payment rates arise.

Throughout the FTC's investigation, Google was represented by Susan Creighton of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and John Harkrider of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider. The FTC retained Beth Wilkinson of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

The FTC said that the threat of injunction by a holder of an essential patent hurts competition. The agreement with Google could be used as a "template" for other patent disputes, it said.

Unlike a court decision, the FTC's agreement with Google is not binding on other companies. But it could give leverage to defendants in disputes with essential patent holders that could be used in court.

"We know in today's world, defendants are getting more aggressive," said Matthew Woods, an antitrust and patent attorney at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. "Defendants will seize on this and tell courts that injunctions are something the court should not even countenance."

But the agreement with Google may not be all good news for patent users, according to Jay Jurata, an antitrust partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, who said that it could have unintended consequences.

The elaborate agreement allows Google to seek injunctions against companies that are unwilling to pay for a license on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. But the question of when a company is considered an unwilling licensee is one that the FTC may have unwittingly allowed holders of essential patents to manipulate, said Jurata.

"They provided a road map for other standard essential patent holders to engage in opportunistic behavior to paint otherwise willing licensees as unwilling licensees," he said.

Miller of Robins Kaplan also cautioned that the FTC's deal with Google may be unique because of the company's giant size and dominance, which can attract the attention of regulators.

"There are a lot litigants who aren't going to see this agreement as restraining them, because they don't have the same portfolio as Google," Miller said.


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22 yrs on, old city family awaits rehabilitation

Srinagar, Jan 16 : In a glaring instance of official apathy towards rehabilitation of families affected by the calamities, a family from old city area here is running from pillar to post for the past two decades to get promised rehabilitation.

The height of insensitivity towards the suffering family is that the officialdom of the State has even turned deaf ears to suggestion of the office of Vice -President of India for appropriate attention  in the case , not to talk of repeated recommendations from the offices of Chief Minister, Governor and Divisional Commissioner, held Kashmir for looking into the case.

Life took tragic turn for family of Mushtaq Ahmad Wafaie when their only source of livelihood- woodcarving showroom-was consumed by fire along with several houses and shops in Kawadara area of old city in 1990.  The property was allegedly torched by forces after a brief gunfight in the area.

According to official documents lying in possession of Greater Kashmir, the State Government sanctioned relief in favour of the families whose houses were gutted in the tragic incident vide Government order number 723-GR-(GAD) of 1990 dated 10-07- 1990.

Similarly, the families whose shops were consumed by the fire were rehabilitated by allotting them shops at Shaheed Gunj, the documents reveal.

But unfortunately, Mushtaq, who was expecting to get relief like other shopkeepers, was dejected when he found his name was missing from the list of beneficiaries.

 “One, Mushtaq Ahmad Wafaie, it appears did not figure in the list of sufferers prepared and as such he moved an application in your office and the Additional Commissioner referred the said application to this office for appropriate action under rules,” the communiqué from Deputy Commissioner Srinagar’s office  vide no.1121/R/91/4069-70 dated 19-12-1991to the Divisional Comissioner, Kashmir reads.

 “Thereafter, the case was subjected to various exercises for appropriate action and finally the report from Tehsildar came up that the applicant was a tenant of one Muhammad Ismail Najar and ex-gratia relief of damage to his (Ismail) house has already been released. The applicant Mushtaq Ahmad Wafaie is a tenant and has suffered a loss of merchandise to the extent of Rs 1.20 lakh. The tenant operated the business of woodcarving and also had a vast showroom there.”

The DC office, in the same communiqué, recommended the allotment of shop to Mushtaq like other seven sufferers.
 Like other beneficiaries, Divisional Commissioner’s office vide letter  No.Rehab-907 dated 22-4-1992 directed the Chief Engineer ,PWD (R&B)Srinagar to allot  a suitable shop at Shaheed Gunj for the affected family.

“My joy knew know bounds when I got order for allotment of the shop.  Then I approached   office of the Chief Engineer but the officials turned blind eyes towards the recommendation of  the State Government. I was shuttling for more than eight years between the offices of Divisional  Commissioner and Chief  Engineer  for getting promised rehabilitation, but neither any compensation was paid to me nor I was rehabilitated,” he said that  “The recommendation of the then advisor to Governor  Lt. Gen Sakalani  did no favour to me.”

 Eight years later, the Divisional Commissioner’s office repeated the direction of rehabilitating the family by allotting them a shop to Chief Engineer, R&B, “but it also met the same end”.

Despite facing tribulations at the hands of state administration, Mushtaq did not lose heart and continued his  struggle for promised rehabilitation . But deprivation of their lone source of livelihood made the economic condition of family miserable with every passing day.

Moved by Mushtaq’s plight, Additional Commissioner Kashmir virtually snubbed the CE,R& B while asking  him to allot a shop in  his favour “ to mitigate sufferings of the applicant”.

“Beneficiaries having similar circumstances have been allotted shops in 1990, while as this applicant has not got his due,” the communication of Additional Commissioner reads.

After failing to get rehabilitated despite repeated pleas to State Government, Mushtaq knocked the door of Vice- President of India to get “justice.”
The Vice- President’s office directed the Chief Secretary of the State to pay appropriate attention towards representation of the sufferer.

“The representation is being forwarded for your appropriate attention,” Under Secretary to Vice- President Mahitab Singh vide letter No. VPS –RS -10-12-2012/ US wrote to State’s Chief Secretary.

“Even after the intervention of Vice President, authorities are unmoved while my family continues to suffer,” he added.

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Death Certificate issued year before man dies

Srinagar, Jan 16 : Police in held Kashmir’s Budgam district had issued death certificate to a man year before his actual death.

The documents which are in procession of Greater Kashmir reveal that police station Khag issued death certificate of a 45 year old Abdul Rehman Sheikh son of Muhammad Abrahim Sheikh of Drang Khankah in 2008 where as he died in 2009.

“This is to certify that Abdul Rehman Sheikh Son of Muhammad Abrahim Sheikh died on 15-04-2008,” states the death certificate issued by the Police Station Khag on 25/08/2011 under registration number 40/15-B/Khag.

Again in 2009, a death certificate of the same man was issued by police station Khag under registration number 208/15/-B/Khag, the copy of which is in possession of Greater Kashmir.

When contacted SDPO Magam, Tahir Geelani, said: “I don’t know about the matter. Let them come to me, then I will say anything.”

However Police station Khag in its letter no 806/S.A/PSK dated 29-12/2012 sent to the SDPO Magam states that on the application of Nazir Ahmed Sheikh, the matter has been verified through HC 179/B2 who revealed that Abdul Rehman Sheikh son of Abrahim Sheikh resident of Drang Khankah has expired on 14-02-2009, “Report to this effect stands entered in register no 15-B of the P/S under S.No 208 dated 14-02-2009. 
Accordingly death certificate mentioned above stands issued in the favour of Muhammad Abdullah Sheikh. Besides the wife of the deceased namely Zona Begum has managed the death certificate of her husband on 15-04-2008 for reasons best known to then Munshi of this Police station. However, the deceased was alive during that period.”

 The letter from police station has requested SDPO Magam for his perusal which family members of Abdul Rehman Sheikh said he never did.

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Popular sleep medicine puts older adults at risk for falls, cognitive impairment

Islamabad, Jan 16 : Adults who take one of the world's most commonly prescribed sleep medications are significantly more at risk for nighttime falls and potential injury, according to a new study by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study, which involved 25 healthy adults, showed 58 percent of the older adults and 27 percent of the young adults who took a hypnotic, sleep-inducing drug called zolpidem showed a significant loss of balance when awakened two hours after sleep.

The findings are important because falls are the leading cause of injury in older adults, and 30 percent of adults 65 and older who fall require hospitalization each year, said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Kenneth Wright, lead study author.

To measure balance, the research team used a technique known as a "tandem walk" in which subjects place one foot in front of the other with a normal step length on a 16-foot-long, six-inch-wide beam on the floor. In 10 previous practice trials with no medication, none of the 25 participants stepped off the beam, indicating no loss of balance. All participants were provided with stabilizing assistance to prevent falls during the trials, he said.

"The balance impairments of older adults taking zolpidem were clinically significant and the cognitive impairments were more than twice as large compared to the same older adults taking placebos," said Wright, a faculty member in the integrative physiology department. "This suggests to us that sleep medication produces significant safety risks."

The new CU-Boulder study is the first to measure both the walking stability and cognition of subjects taking hypnotic sleep medicines or placebos. In addition to the balance problems caused by zolpidem, the study also showed that waking up after two hours of sleep after taking zolpidem enhances sleep inertia, or grogginess, a state that temporarily impairs working memory. The study participants were given computerized performance tests that involved adding randomly generated numbers.

A paper on the subject was published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. Co-authors included CU-Boulder's Daniel Frey, Justus Ortega, Courtney Wiseman and Claire Farley. The study was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health.

The effects of sleep inertia even without sleep medication has previously been shown to cause cognitive impairment, said Wright. But when the CU-Boulder study subjects took zolpidem rather than a placebo, the cognitive impairments essentially doubled.

One unexpected study finding was that young people taking placebos appear to be more cognitively impacted by sleep inertia than older adults taking placebos, he said.

A 2006 study led by Wright showed that study subjects who took no sleep medicine and were awakened after eight hours of sleep were more cognitively impaired, for a short period of time, than a totally sleep deprived person.

Several billion doses of zolpidem have been prescribed worldwide, said Wright, who also directs CU-Boulder's Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory. Zolpidem is a generic drug that is marketed under a number of different brand names, including Ambien, Zolpimist, Edluar, Hypogen, Somidem and Ivedal.

The CU-Boulder team also measured balance and cognition in older adults who took no sleep medication and were kept awake for two hours past their normal bedtime. They found that 25 percent of these older adults failed the tandem walking balance test, which is consistent with what is seen in people who have insomnia. "Just having insomnia itself increases your risk of falls, even without sleep medication," he said.

The finding that zolpidem affected older adults more than younger adults in balance tests may be explained in part by the fact that both groups were given five milligram doses on study nights. While the normal dose for older adults is five milligrams, the standard dosage for younger adults being treated for insomnia is 10 milligrams. "This is an area that needs more study," he said.

The study results showing that both hypnotic sleep medications and sleep inertia cause significant impairment have important public health implications, said Wright. In older adults, falls have caused millions of nonfatal injuries annually and more than 300,000 fatalities worldwide. "Falls can be very debilitating, especially when older people break their hips and require hospitalization, causing their quality of life to go down," said Wright.

In addition, the cognitive impairments caused by both zolpidem and sleep inertia may impact decision-making, including responding to situations like fire alarms and medical emergencies as well as caring for sick children or driving to a clinic or hospital, said Wright.

"One of the goals of this study was to understand the risk of this sleep medication and of sleep inertia on human safety and cognition and to educate adults and health care workers about potential problems," said Wright. "We are not suggesting that sleep medications should not be used, because they have their place in terms of the treatment of insomnia."

One possible solution to reducing falls of older people due to zolpidem, other sleep medications or sleep inertia would be to install bedside commodes for those who frequently wake up in the night to void themselves, said Wright. Additional research is needed on this important public health and safety topic, he said.

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820 posts of nurses vacant in IHK hospitals

Jammu, Jan 16: Contrary to the tall claims of health department of making great strides in healthcare facilities, there is acute dearth of nurses in majority of health institutions across occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources informed Greater Kashmir that there was shortage of around 820 staff nurses in various health institutions across the state. The shortage of paramedics, especially nurses, was adversely affecting the healthcare institutions.

 “The existing strength was unable to cope up with the increasing number of patients and leading to repeated scuffles in some of the health institutions”, a paramedic told Greater Kashmir.

If sources are to be believed the situation is similar in held Kashmir as well as in Jammu regions where majority of the institutions were facing shortage of staff nurses and other paramedical staff.

Sources said that SMGS Hospital Jammu was facing shortage of around 187 nurses. 
“Against the sanctioned strength of 320 staff nurses, the hospital has only 133 nurses managing all chores in various wards”, sources said adding, “Recently 30 nurses joined the hospital but they were also being shifted to Super-Specialty Hospital”.

 “Yes there is shortage of around 820 staff nurses in various health institutions across the state”, admitted Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma. Acknowledging the shortage, the minister said that the government was well aware about the problem and every possible effort was being made to overcome it.

He said the government is also contemplating to enhance the intake capacity of all Ancillary Medical Training (AMT) Schools across the state so that more people can get trained there.

“Presently we have 12 AMTs across state and we are mulling to enhance the intake capacity of each AMT by 20 students, which will help fill the posts of staff nurses in various health institutions,” the minister said.

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Early development of anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies

Islamabad, Jan 16 : New findings are bringing scientists closer to an effective HIV vaccine. Researchers from Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (Seattle BioMed), Vanderbilt University and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard report findings showing new evidence about broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies, which block HIV infection.

According to author Leo Stamatatos, Ph.D., director of the Viral Vaccines Program at Seattle BioMed and a major stumbling block in the development of an effective vaccine against HIV is the inability to elicit, by immunization, broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). These antibodies bind to the surface of HIV and prevent it from attaching itself to a cell and infecting it. However, a fraction of people infected with HIV develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) capable of preventing cell-infection by diverse HIV isolates, which are the type of antibodies researchers wish to elicit by vaccination.

"We've found that the people who develop broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies -- which are about 30% of those infected -- tend to have a healthier immune system that differs from others who don't develop those antibodies," Stamatatos explained, saying that these antibodies target only a few regions of HIV which is good from the standpoint of vaccine development. "It gives us less to target," he said.

In addition, the new findings show that these antibodies are generated much sooner than previously thought, in some cases as soon as a year after infection.

"These studies provide a strong rationale to begin teasing out the early immunological signals that allow some individuals, but not others, to mount broadly reactive neutralizing antibody responses," adds co-author Galit Alter, Ph.D.

"Now we know that these broadly-reactive neutralizing antibodies don't develop simply by chance and we can work to understand what makes this 30% of the HIV-infected population different," Stamatatos explained. By understanding that, we can hopefully use that information to design new immunogens and immunization protocols that can mimic the early events that lead to the development of such antibodies during natural infection."

This study was funded by NIH grants R01 AI081625 (LS), U01 A1078407 (SK), P01 AI78063 (SK). We would also like to acknowledge support by the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust and the J. B. Pendleton Charitable Trust.

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Taking more steps every day can help ward off diabetes

Islamabad, Jan 16 : Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on the British Medical Journal.

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance -- an early stage in the development of diabetes -- this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.

A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.

The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.

At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.

Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.

A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.

These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.

The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.

They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

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Afghan carpets selected for international carpet awards

Kabul, Jan 16 : Two Afghan carpets, woven in Bamiyan and Kabul, have been selected for the international Carpet Design Awards at the DOMOTEX Flooring Trade Fair 2013 in Germany, the Afghan Carpet Producers and Exporters Union said.

The Union has said that the selected carpets are unique and high-quality, woven with natural dyes.

The design of the carpet produced in Kabul is inspired by a Mamluk Sultan carpet woven around 500 years ago in Egypt, while the carpet produced in Bamyan reflects an abstract image.

"This carpet of ours is designed from a Mamluk Sultan carpet woven in Egypt in the 16th century. We are sure that this year again Afghan carpets will win first place," said Haji Nabi, a Union official.

A Bamiyan carpet won the award in 2008.

Held in Hannover, Germany, DOMOTEX is an international fair of flooring trade, with 1,400 exhibitors from more than 60 countries for 2013, among which a number compete for the Carpet Design Awards.

Union officials asked the government to offer greater support to the carpet industry, one of Afghanistan's main traditional crafts that offers jobs to a large number of people.

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Couple dead, boy among injured in Mass. condo fire

Chelmsford, an 16 : Fire tore through a northeastern Massachusetts condominium building, killing a couple in their late 60s or early 70s and injuring four of their relatives, including a 7-year-old boy who suffered serious burns, the state's fire marshal said.

The fire in Chelmsford began. State Fire Marshal Stephen said he believes the fire started accidentally in the couple's home on the top floor of the four-story building, one of several in the complex.

The victims' names haven't been released. Coan said the man who died used a wheelchair, which impeded efforts to get him out of the condo.

Fire officials said two adults and two children related to the couple were visiting them when the fire began. The boy was flown by helicopter to a Boston hospital to be treated for serious burns, while the others were taken to local hospitals. The boy's condition wasn't available.

Coan said firefighters rescued several other residents of the top floor from their balconies.

Michael Schwartz told The Lowell Sun that he and his wife were watching a movie in their bedroom when they heard a commotion, saw the fire trucks and smelled smoke.

"We couldn't get out because the whole hallway was filled with smoke," Schwartz said. "We had to be rescued over the balcony."

Coan said the cause of the fire was being investigated.

It was the third fatal fire in Massachusetts. Accidental fires killed a 70-year-old man in Winchendon and a 15-year-old girl in Holyoke, officials said.

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Is peace really in the air in Afghanistan?

Kabul, Jan 16 : There’s something wafting in the air in Afghanistan, and for once it’s not the smell of detritus, diesel or cordite.

People – rivals, even enemies -- are talking about peace. Not just talks about talks – those have been going on – and off – for a couple of years now. But serious, genuine moves toward reconciliation are – for the first time since I can remember – actually squeezing into an otherwise depressing narrative of stalemate and loss.

Take the Pakistani government’s December 31 release from prison of eight former Taliban members, including Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s right-hand man and former justice minister, Mullah Turabi. This move, Afghan analysts say, is part of a new strategy, formulated in a November meeting between Afghan and Pakistani officials in Islamabad. The release, they say, was more than a goodwill gesture between bitter rivals. The clear hope was that freed former Taliban officials with the stature of Turabi would serve as emissaries, clearing the way for peace talks between Hamid Karzai’s government and the current Taliban leadership – based in Pakistan – and with the Pakistan government’s blessing.

This was no isolated move. Eighteen other jailed Taliban were released earlier in December, among them men who used to command Taliban units in the field. Not surprisingly, official Afghan reaction has been quick and positive. Ismail Qasimyar, a ranking member of the High Peace Council, Karzai’s appointed group of diplomats seeking reconciliation, said the gesture "shows the Pakistani authorities have opened a new chapter for positive cooperation with Afghanistan." It’s the first time since the war began that I’ve seen Afghanistan and Pakistan treat each other as potential partners, not spoilers.

Pakistan’s military, believed by many to be supporting the Afghan Taliban as a means of leveraging its influence with its chaotic neighbor, is now jumping on the peace bandwagon as well. And it’s not just Pakistan’s Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani, the alleged driving force behind the new rapprochement, who is changing his tune.

Buried in the pre-holiday build-up, a semi-secret meeting took place outside Paris between 20 key Afghan players, under the auspices of a French think tank. Afghan government and opposition figures, and, for the first time, insurgent leaders, including the Taliban and its offshoot, Hezb-e-Islami, all sat down together. There were no breakthroughs, or even concessions, but the point was to get all the warring sides to do something they hadn’t done in some 30 years: talk directly to each other.

Officially, the Taliban stuck to its public positions. It called the Afghan constitution illegitimate and refused to negotiate with the "U.S. puppet" Karzai government, but a positive momentum does seem to be building. More "secret" talks are set to follow. The United Nations office in Kabul has invited the Taliban to a conference there. Meanwhile, an official Taliban bureau will soon open in Qatar for parallel talks with the United States.

Even the much-feared warlord and former Mujahedeen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was labeled a global terrorist by the U.S. and has been on the lam for the past dozen years, is now launching his own peace balloons. In an interview that appeared in the British "Daily Telegraph," the man who, as prime minister in the 1990s, oversaw the brutal flattening of much of Kabul, spells out a 10-point peace plan, calling on all Afghan brothers to unite, asking "all the stakeholders within Afghanistan to join hands for a workable solution for Afghanistan and resolve disputes.’’

Cynics – and there are many – aren’t buying any of it. Their arguments are well-known: They say civil war will break out as soon as the U.S. and its allies go home; that the moderate Taliban may want to put down their AKs and become a political force, but it’s the hard-core who rule, and who believe they’re winning the war; that all the peace feelers are just ways of buying time while the Afghan Taliban ratchets up its attacks on local security forces and the Pakistani Taliban doubles down on its side of the border, most recently killing a group of female NGO and aid workers.

All that rings true. But then I take a deep breath –- and smell that very different smell -– and ask: could this really be the turning point I’ve been writing about for so long?

Jim Maceda is an NBC News foreign correspondent based in London and currently on assignment in Kabul, who’s covered Afghanistan since the 1980s.

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Nixon hailed as foreign policy genius at centennial of birth

Los Angeles, Jan 16 : At a ceremony commemorating the late U.S. President Richard M. Nixon's 100th birthday, politicians, a military official and Nixon's eldest daughter remembered him as an underappreciated president and a foreign policy genius.

Nixon, the Cold War-era Republican stalwart who opened U.S. relations with communist China, was the only American president to resign from office, leaving the White House in disgrace over the Watergate scandal.

"He looked at (the world) as a world with 200 countries and 200 leaders, and he studied every one of those leaders, and he knew most of them," said Bruce Herschensohn, a friend and speech writer for Nixon who delivered the keynote address. "It's a talent that I have never seen equaled."

The 37th president died in 1994 at age 81.

During the ceremony, the Watergate scandal was not mentioned.

"To me, there's nothing to mention," Herschensohn said after the speech. "That doesn't make (the Watergate scandal) right, but that's the way Washington operated."

He said he wishes that people would people would view Nixon in the context of his entire legacy.

Along with Herschensohn, California Congressman Ed Royce, a Republican, and U.S. Marine Corps General Melvin Spiese spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the official Nixon library run by the Richard Nixon Foundation and the National Archives in Yorba Linda, California - his birthplace.

The three told stories about Nixon's achievements in China and his moves to end the Vietnam War.

A squadron of U.S. fighter jets flew over the ceremony to a roar of applause. Honors to the late president also included musical presentations by a U.S. Marine band and a 21-gun salute.

Afterward, Nixon's eldest daughter, Tricia Nixon Cox, laid a White House wreath from President Barack Obama during a brief and quiet ceremony.

She then spoke with reporters, including a camera crew from a Chinese news agency.

"I think in 100 years, people will remember he was a good man. A decent man," Nixon Cox said. She said she believes his true legacy, often obscured by the Watergate scandal, is one of promoting freedom and of reaching out to a nation that was once an enemy of the United States.

The Richard Nixon Foundation has planned more events throughout the year to observe the late president's complicated legacy.

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Semi full of bulls crashes on Fla. Highway, 3 flee

Gainesville, Jan 16: A semitrailer hauling 32 bulls slammed into a tree on I-75, snarling traffic on the highway and forcing Florida Highway Patrol officials to chase down and shoot one of three animals that escaped.

A veterinarian sedated another of the animals with a dart. The first was shot for being overly aggressive after the crash.

The Gainesville Sun reported that a crew of cowboys, veterinarians and state troopers set up chutes with portable metal fences to offload the bulls from the semi into trailers that would transport them to South Florida.

Bryan Martin said he and driver Travis Carr were hauling the bulls from Texas to Indiantown.

Carr was hospitalized with serious injuries. His condition was unknown. An entrance to the highway was blocked for several hours.

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Rand Paul's son arrested at NC airport

New York, Jan 16 : The 19-year-old son of Sen. Rand Paul and grandson of former presidential candidate Ron Paul was arrested for allegedly being intoxicated at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

William Hilton Paul arrived in Charlotte, N.C., on a U.S. Airways flight from Lexington, Ky., where his father is a U.S. senator.

According to Lt. Blake Hollar with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Paul was intoxicated when he arrived at the airport and said "he was possibly served alcohol on the flight."

The teenager was arrested by police and booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail, charged with three misdemeanors: underage consumption, disorderly conduct, and being intoxicated and disruptive.

While in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, reports say William Hilton Paul identified himself as the son of Sen. Rand Paul.

Rand Paul's Communications Director Moira Bagley released a statement to ABC News asking for "privacy and respect" regarding the incident.

"Sen. Paul is a national public figure and subject to scrutiny in the public arena, however, as many parents with teenagers would understand, his family should be afforded the privacy and respect they deserve in a situation such as this," the statement said.

The senator, who was recently appointed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was scheduled to travel to Israel for meetings with Israeli Officials.

William Hilton Paul posted the $750 bond and was released from Mecklenburg County Jail.

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Anglo close to naming AngloGold's Cutifani as CEO

London, Jan 16 : Global miner Anglo American (AAL.L) is close to appointing Australian Mark Cutifani, head of gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (JNB:ANG), as its new chief executive, two sources familiar with the situation said.

If the appointment is finalized, Cutifani will replace Cynthia Carroll in what analysts and investors see as one of the toughest jobs in the business, joining Anglo as it tackles restive unions in South Africa, restructures its platinum arm and tries to recover from delays that have driven up the cost of a flagship iron ore project in Brazil.

Carroll announced in October that she planned to step down after more than five years at the helm, under pressure from investors unhappy with Anglo's lagging share price and its dependence on strike-hit South Africa.

"There are other people still in the running, but (Cutifani) is further down the line," one of the sources said. "Everyone is hopeful, but with a CEO leaving his current job it is complicated."

An announcement is expected by mid-January but could come sooner, the source said.

The charismatic, straight-talking Cutifani - a prominent figure in South African mining who has defended the country as an investment destination - had been named as one of a handful of potential candidates from the start of Anglo's search process last year.

His relative lack of experience in some of Anglo's major commodities and geographies like Brazil - key for the recovery of the group's share price - had prompted some analysts to question the potential move. But his South African credentials - he is also head of the country's Chamber of Mines - appear to have outweighed other shortcomings.

"The South African experience was the most important factor. Very few people have that stakeholder and government relations experience," the source said.

South Africa accounts for more than half Anglo's forecast earnings, and the miner faces another critical year there, wrestling uncompromising unions and preparing to overhaul its South Africa-focused, strike-battered platinum arm, Amplats (AMSJ.J). The platinum plan is set to be unveiled this month.

Cutifani, 54, has run AngloGold, created from Anglo American's gold assets, since 2007, and investors have welcomed his focus on improving returns. His appointment to AngloGold's top job was a surprise, when he was plucked from Canadian mining group Inco, now part of Brazil's Vale.

Should he be hired, Cutifani would become only the second non-South African and only the second outsider to head the group after New Jersey-born Carroll.

His appointment would signal South Africa's continued importance to Anglo American, but potentially also the group's willingness to consider options including a carve-out of some operations. As head of AngloGold, Cutifani has never ruled out a potential spin-off of the gold miner's South African operations.

Other candidates named by industry sources and analysts for Anglo's top job have included Rene Medori, Anglo's finance director, and Peter Whitcutt, the firm's director of strategy.

Along with Cutifani, ex-BHP Billiton (BLT.L) chief financial officer Alex Vanselow and chief executive of Xstrata (XTA.L) Mike Davis were named as external candidates tipped for the job.

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Louisiana mall evacuated after flash mob gets ugly

New York, Jan 16: The Mall of Louisiana was evacuated after a flash mob turned into an ugly brawl.

Cellphone video captured the chaos as shoppers jammed escalators and ran for the nearest exits in Baton Rouge, the state capital. Employees at the mall were ordered to abandon their cash registers and evacuate immediately.

The fight broke out in the mall food court, where 200 teens had gathered for a flash mob.

“We think there was some sort of post on social media about a flash mob for tonight which drew such a large crowd of juveniles,” Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, said.

Hicks said deputies are investigating the events that led to the fight.

The panic was especially acute, weeks after a gunman opened fire at an Oregon mall, killing three people, including himself, and injuring one.

“Saw people running and screaming I turned around a girl told me someone has a gun I started running with them,” shopper Missy Melancon wrote on Facebook.

No injuries or weapons were reported, though nerves were rattled.

“Never been that scared in my life,” Juston D’Nea Millet wrote on Facebook.  “People were running everywhere.  It was like a movie, but you were in it.”
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Regulators ease key bank rule to spur credit

Basel, Jan 16 : Global regulators gave banks four more years and greater flexibility to build up cash buffers so they can use some of their reserves to help struggling economies grow.

The pull-back from a draconian earlier draft of new global bank liquidity rules, which aim to help prevent another financial crisis, went further than banks had expected by allowing them a broader range of eligible assets.

Banks had complained they could not meet the January 2015 deadline to comply with the new rule on minimum holdings of easily sellable assets, known as the liquidity coverage ratio and devised by the Basel Committee of banking supervisors, and at the same time supply credit to businesses and consumers.

The committee's oversight body agreed to phase in the rule from 2015 over four years, as reported, and widen the range of assets banks can put in the buffer to include shares and retail mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), as well as lower rated company bonds.

The new, less liquid assets can only be included at a hefty discount to their value, but the changes are a significant move from the draft version of the rule unveiled two years ago.

Bank shares in Asia edged higher, with the MSCI financial subindex for Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC Holdings Plc, which has high exposure to Europe where liquidity concerns are greater, rose 1.1 percent.

The Basel Committee, drawn from nearly 30 countries representing nearly all the world's markets, hopes the amendments will stop banks from shrinking loan books to comply with the rule.

"For the first time in regulatory history, we have a truly global minimum standard for bank liquidity," the oversight body's chairman Mervyn King told a news conference in Basel, Switzerland.

"Importantly, introducing a phased timetable for the introduction of the liquidity coverage ratio ... will ensure that the new liquidity standard will in no way hinder the ability of the global banking system to finance a recovery," said King, who is also Bank of England governor.

The amendments, endorsed unanimously, came after two years of haggling among Basel Committee members.

They surprised relieved bankers with their scope and will help kick-start the mortgage backed securities market, languishing after being tarnished by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis which set off the 2007-09 financial crisis.

"The inclusion of good quality RMBS in the liquidity buffer is a very welcome twelfth night present," said Simon Hills, executive director of the British Bankers' Association.

"It will make a real difference to issuance volumes by improving their marketability so that banks are better able to manage their balance sheets and provide funding to the real economy," Hills said.

The wider pool of assets will also make it easier to implement the rules for banks in Asia, where illiquid government and corporate bond markets or low credit ratings for emerging market debt had complicated the outlook for compliance.

"Talking to the regulators around the region, I expect they will begin to implement these regulations for their large domestic banks more quickly now that they've got a bit of a victory on the run-off rate and a bit of a victory on the definition of liquid assets," said Simon Topping, a former Hong Kong bank regulator who is now Asia-Pacific head of KPMG's Financial Services Regulatory Centre of Excellence.

However, there will be some concerns that the easing of the rules will let banks off too easily.

"A lot of the banks in Asia really do need to improve their liquidity risk management and my fear is this will give them an excuse to delay doing anything," Topping said.

The rule requires banks to hold enough liquid assets such as government and corporate bonds to cover net outflows for up to a month, to avoid taxpayers having to bail them out.

Basel Committee Chairman Stefan Ingves, who also heads Sweden's central bank, said the changes mean that the average buffer at the world's top 200 banks rises from 105 percent to 125 percent, putting it well above full compliance.

But many other banks are well below full compliance, especially in some euro zone countries, and they will have to find an estimated 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) of assets over coming years at a time when bank profitability is being hammered.

Furthermore, liquidity held by some banks is on loan from their central bank and will have to be returned at some point. A revived mortgage-backed securities market would help to wean lenders off central banks.

King said regulators want to be "crystal clear" that banks in areas undergoing stress such as the euro zone could draw down their buffers below minimum levels if the local supervisor agreed.

Jim Embersit, a former Federal Reserve official and Basel Committee member and now with Ernst & Young in Washington, said many banks would move to fully comply before 2019 given market pressures and the need to change business models.

"Firms will not be eager to jump to full 100 percent implementation quickly but would be expected to meet the required milestones on their own prior to the designated deadlines," Embersit said.

The Basel Committee also agreed to ease the "stress scenario" for calculating the amount of liquid assets banks must hold, meaning the buffer would be smaller.

Under the Basel regime, the rules would run alongside separate rules governing banks' capital, intended to ensure their longer-term stability.

Banks would start complying in 2015 when they are expected to hold at least 60 percent of the total buffer, building up to 100 percent by January 2019, when Basel's separate, tougher bank capital requirements also must be met in full.

The liquidity rule is meant to avoid a repeat of the scenario in which a short-term funding freeze brought down lenders like Britain's Northern Rock early on in the 2007-09 financial crisis.

It is part of the Basel III bank capital and liquidity accord agreed upon by world leaders in 2010 and being phased in over six years from this month, although there are delays in the United States and the European Union.

Ingves said the Basel Committee is still committed to enacting a third plank of Basel III, the net stable funding ratio to limit dependence on short-term funding, by the end of 2018.

The Basel Committee will study how the introduction of the liquidity rule affects the impact of central banks injecting liquidity into the economy in a bid to spur growth.

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Riches in niches: US cops, in-flight movies may be model for Panasonic survival

Tokyo, Jan 16: Panasonic Corp's answer to the brutal onslaught on its TV sales may be in a product the Japanese firm launched 17 years ago and which is a must-have for U.S. police cars.

Two thirds of the 420,000 patrol cars in the United States are equipped with the company's rugged Toughbook computers, and Panasonic chief Kazuhiro Tsuga sees the niche product as a model for how the sprawling conglomerate can make money beyond a gadget mass market increasingly dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.

"What we need are businesses that earn, and they don't necessarily have to have big sales," Tsuga told reporters after his appointment as company president was approved in June.

Tsuga also sees avionics - Panasonic is the world's leading maker of in-flight entertainment systems - automated production machinery, and lighting as profit earners as income from TVs and other consumer electronics dwindles.

Panasonic, Sony Corp and Sharp Corp have been hit hard by South Korean-made TVs, Blu-ray players and mobiles and Apple tablets that threaten to wipe out Japan as a global consumer electronics hub. The Toughbook, sold only to businesses and governments, was conceived as a response to the type of profit sapping competition that is now roiling TVs.

"At the time, we were losing in personal computers to Compaq and IBM," said Hide Harada, who heads the Toughbook unit from the group's headquarters in Osaka, western Japan. IBM later sold its laptop business to China's Lenovo Group and Compaq was absorbed by Hewlett Packard.

"It was a guerilla strategy," Harada said, recalling the Toughbook's launch in 1996. Panasonic's promotion campaign included driving jeeps over its computers, dropping them on the ground and dousing them with coffee on morning TV shows.

At rival Sony, too, signs of a niche strategy are emerging in a battle with Apple and South Korean brands that are making gains from a weaker won currency. Combining technologies from several divisions - from projectors to video cameras and headphones - Sony's 3D Viewer head-mounted visor gives users the feel they are sitting in the middle of a 500-seat movie theater.

The target audience, says product manager Hideki Mori, are those consumers looking to immerse themselves in computer graphics and high quality movies. "Demand has been greater than anticipated," he said, declining to give specific sales numbers.

The two Japanese firms will show off their wares at this week's annual CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, an event usually dominated by prototypes for next-generation TV technology. Tsuga is due to deliver the event's keynote speech.

In the past, the Japanese have showcased ultra high-definition 4K televisions, while Samsung and LG Electronics Inc have displayed their ultra-thin OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. But, at a price tag likely 10 times that of conventional LCD screens, consumers will take a while to make the generational leap.

Meanwhile, losses at Panasonic, Sony and Sharp mount up. Panasonic has predicted a net loss of $8.9 billion in the year to end-March, while Sharp, which has been bailed out by banks, expects an annual loss of $5.24 billion. Helped by asset sales, Sony should eke out a small profit.

Japan's share of the flat panel TV market has shrunk by around a quarter in the past two years, to around 31 percent, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. Amid a prolonged strong yen squeeze, the industry lobby expects Japan's share of the DVD and Blu-ray disc player market to have dropped to around half last year from nearly two-thirds in 2010. Just 8 of every 100 mobile phones sold globally are now Japanese. Manufacturers have shifted TV production overseas, with output in Japan now less than a tenth of what it was two years ago.

Tsuga, who acknowledges Panasonic is a "loser" in consumer electronics, has warned his business units they will be closed or sold if they fail to match Toughbook's success, giving each two years to deliver at least a 5 percent operating margin.

Any niche-winning strategy that takes his company away from mass market products means Tsuga will need fewer workers, investors say. Panasonic is Japan's biggest commercial employer with a workforce of more than 300,000. It plans to axe 10,000 jobs in the year to March on top of the 36,000 that were cut in the previous year. More big cuts in Japan, where major lay-offs are uncommon and severance packages expensive, won't be easy, said Yuuki Sakurai, CEO at Fukoku Capital Management in Tokyo, which manages assets worth $18.4 billion, but doesn't own Panasonic stock.

"It's like trying to chase the course of a battleship. If they want to become a light cruiser or destroyer, they'll have to lose employees," Sakurai said.

Workers Panasonic will likely keep are those in Kobe in western Japan who build the Toughbook PCs - a category defined by a U.S. military quality benchmark that serves as a de facto global standard. Its market share is on a par with Apple's in tablets, with most U.S. police departments willing to pay as much as $3,000 for the rugged laptops which can withstand bumpy high-speed chases and other rigors of street policing.

"They have been near bullet-proof. We had a patrol car catch fire and after all the heat, smoke and water dissipated the computer continued to function," said Bill Richards, logistics commander for the Tucson police in Arizona, whose force owns close to 650 Toughbooks that connect patrol cars with dispatchers, license records and other police databases.

Other customers include the New York Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Brazilian Military Police and British and U.S. military, which use them on unmanned aerial drones.

"Panasonic is the bellwether, the most recognized brand. The Toughbook is almost synonymous with rugged notebooks," said David Krebs, a vice president at VDC Research.

While margins in the global PC market are getting slimmer - research firm IHS iSuppli sees annual sales growth of around 7 percent over the next four years from about 216 million PCs last year - the premium-price, fatter margin, rugged PC niche is seen growing by around 10 percent a year to nearly 1.2 million computers by 2016, according to VDC Research.

At the Kobe factory, Toughbooks are put through their paces: hosed down to test water resistance, baked to 50 degrees Celsius, chilled to minus 20 degrees and dropped on their tops, bottoms, sides and corners.

Harada describes it as an analog edge in digital products.

"Whoever makes them, the insides of a computer are pretty much the same. It's the mechanical side that makes us different," he explained.

The creators of Sony's 3D Viewer, too, are looking for mechanical appeal as much as electronic prowess. A second, redesigned model, which is now on sale in Japan, is 25 percent lighter at 330 grams, has a better grip and gives users the option of headphones or earplugs, said Mori. "We want to make it lighter," he added, noting engineers are looking to slim down the heaviest component, the lenses.

While Sony keeps chasing consumers, Panasonic is pursuing a business-to-business niche market model that Tsuga has put at the heart of his revival plan. High on Harada's target list for the Toughbook are Japanese police forces, which don't yet buy the computers.

There are no plans, he said, to make cheaper mass market models - which could protect some jobs in the group.

"We aren't going to put it in Best Buy or Walmart. I don't think it would turn out well."

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