How often is it that we encounter views such as “cultural differences” or “culture-related health beliefs” as the reasons why immigrants encounter disparities when approaching healthcare institutions? Is culture really to blame for the inequalities that migrants face when accessing healthcare systems? Why is this even an important question to ask?

There is no doubt that migrants face a hearth of vulnerabilities when settling in a new country, such as lack of language knowledge, unfamiliarity with institutions and access to labor market opportunities. But how do migrants access healthcare systems when they first arrive? How do they communicate their illnesses and what are their expectations in how doctors may diagnose them or communicate their methods of treatment?

If you do your homework in the suffocating amount of immigrant health literature that looks at how immigrants access healthcare facilities (as well as the quality of those services provided in terms of accommodating migrants’ specific needs), you begin to notice the creeping re-appearance of culture as an explanatory ground on the inequalities that migrants face.

How different could the culture of the host country and the country of departure be when comparing people’s health attitudes? This question of course relies on which ethnic group of people you observe as well as the countries of settlement: Turks in Germany, Africans in Italy, Chinese in Australia, Albanians in Macedonia. The migratory pathways and patterns are enormous, complex and almost impossible to summarize.

The point is not to undermine culture as an aspect to analyze when looking at the ways in which migrants integrate into their host country, in particular approach healthcare services. In fact, analyzing different understandings of culture regarding health has lead to an array of interesting ethnographic accounts of how different ethnic groups of people communicate health differently.

The point is, on the contrary, to look beyond the cultural explanations when looking at how migrants perceive or interact with healthcare institutions. The culture of a particular group of “ethnic” immigrants is not homogeneous, static or stationary. Migrants are a diverse group of people, and differ in mountainous ways in terms of their age, gender, socio-economic status, class, recency of arrival, education, city of settlement and departure.

For example, imagine two Italians, a man from Naples and a woman from Milan moving to America. Would the pathways through which these two people incorporate into America be the same? Would the “culture” of these two people be the same? Here, gender would play an imperative role, as would ‘city of departure’, as the cultural traditions, behaviors and customs between Naples and Milan are vastly different. Migrants are therefore diverse; they come from different places, have different life trajectories and come from various cities. It is important to acknowledge this because scholars attend to migrants as if they share strong cultural bonds, identity and unity. What about the people that don’t identify with their cultural groups and do not rely on their ethnic background to access institutional services?

So why do scholars, scientists and academics continue to use the “cultural” model when exploring not only how migrants access health systems, but incorporate into the society in general? Perhaps looking at this through a political dimension could help answer the question. It is simply in the interest of nations and policymaking strategies to homogenize ethnic groups of migrants. If you endorse the pluralism and diversity of people, then you must also adopt and embrace multicultural policies. However, multicultural policies are not always in the interest of all countries.

Politics aside, the point is to give more attention to diversity and difference, rather than lumping people into a particular cultural or ethnic category. This clearly impacts the way we view each other, the stereotypes that are created and perpetuated. Stereotypes are useful for one thing only: funny films. But looking at the ways in which they impact institutions and policies is important, and affects a lot of people.

Step outside the cultural model, look at culture through a meticulous lens and try not to base assumptions on cultural unity.

Image credit: Doctors of the World UK via Flickr.com

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Valentine’s Day may bring a negative awareness to singles, but International Flirting Week deters those negative feelings to jump start an ongoing positive streak of flirting. Robin Gorman Newman, The Love Coach and creator of International Flirting Week, gives the ins and outs of successful flirting, to help you meet your mensch—a decent, responsible person—and improve your social life.

Newman’s definition of flirting is simply capturing someone’s eye by glancing and looking back at them. For those experiencing anxiety about flirting, it only takes three glances to get someone’s attention. Newman says flirting should be “fun and playful, and innocent,” not to mention that it raises your endorphins. “It’s a feel good experience to the person flirting and the recipient,” she says.

While some people are natural flirts, without intent, and do it to feel good, others do it to keep the excitement within a relationship, or to network. When you are in a relationship it is important to flirt with your significant other ”to remind them that you are still attracted to them and thinking of them romantically” she advises. While both have significance, Newman shares the difference between flirting with or without intent.

It all depends on your expectations, Newman says. Those who flirt naturally are not on a mission, unlike those who are flirting to get ahead at their job, or to network. Newman says that in this case, you want to do it for pure reasons. “If there’s a high level of expectations, that’s not a positive way to put flirting to the test,” she says. “It’s too premeditated.” A person should proceed with caution because you may not know, for example, your company’s policies on dating.

Newman informs that yes, flirting is meant to be playful and fun, but there is a fine line between flirting and sexual harassment. “There are people who don’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer,” she says. Some people may use flirting inappropriately, to get into someone else’s personal space, or the person may become too touchy-feely, which can become problematic. Approaches can be misinterpreted, so respect the other person she says. It’s also important to be astute when flirting and be akin to the other person’s body language. “Be aware if they don’t look like they want to be flirted with,” she says.

Another important aspect in flirting is location. The venue affects how you come across and whether or not the setting is appropriate. If you’re in a bar or a club, that is an appropriate setting for flirting, Newman enlightens. However, if you’re busy hanging out, but you just came for a girl’s night out, that may not be the appropriate situation, she adds. A group setting may come across as intimidating. “Be on the same page,” she said. “If it’s not the right place, the right attitude, or time, then it’s not going to work out and get that message.”

Newman wants potential flirters to keep in mind that some people won’t take “no” for an answer., Nevertheless, be prepared for rejection, in some instances, and move on. “If you pick up on signals and vibes that are not reciprocated, then move on,” she says.

As the old saying goes, “Practice makes perfect,” and surprisingly relevant in this case. The more you flirt, the better you become, Newman assures. Using props can potentially boost your flirting. “Props can be anything from walking a cute dog or if you’re at the gym, wearing a tee or a sweatshirt that captures their eye with your school logo on it or a vacation [spot],” Newman says. However, for a dressier event, wear a scarf, or for males, wear a tie, she adds.

Becoming involved in community events, can further help put flirts at more of an advantage. Joining an organization or volunteer work, gives you the chance to see people’s faces more than once. If you are not connecting the first time, then you have the opportunity the next time. “Flirting is easier if you put yourself in an environment where you are pursuing an activity with continuity.” You will already have a leg up on connecting with someone if your interests are the same. Newman adds that unlike for sports, you do not have to think of one-liners because you are talking about something you are both doing.

Since the electronic age, flirting has evolved and changed for the better, (or worse?). Newman says that it has provided singles the ability to connect via e-mail and text message. “People feel freer in writing,” she says. “Yet, it can be deceiving.” Because flirting over text message or e-mail lacks personal, face-to-face interaction, it can be difficult to know whether someone is flirting or not, and you can get a false sense that you’re involved with someone prematurely. Newman reassures us that less is more.

Just because the new digital age has made flirting easier, Newman prompts not to overdo it. You can meet on the Web, but it’s not for everyone. She says it depends on your comfort level, but always think safely and smartly. “Meet in a public place, drive yourself home and don’t give out personal information right away,” she warns. “Proceed with caution, trust your gut and take note of that.”

Robin Gorman Newman, The Love Coach, author, How to Marry a Mensch, is a popular figure on the singles scene. She has lectured extensively as a relationship expert, hosted singles theater nights, and appeared in films and on television and radio worldwide. She has been seen on CNN and The Today Show and has been featured in many newspapers and magazines. Robin is the founder of www.lovecoach.com. While following her own advice, she met and married her own mensch, and they have a 9-year-old son. She is also the creator of International Flirting Week, February 13 – 19, 2013. 

Image Courtesy : Chris Sgaraglino

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The year 2012 is already behind us, but for many, some events will leave lasting imprints – both in the positive and negative ways. So what happened in 2012?

The world is not ending at least for now and let the new 2013 be full of more happiness, joy, and good news.

Image Courtesy : KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

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The UN propped International Telecommunication Union (ITU) began its World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) on December 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, aptly named ‘wicket’. Notably, the panel of 193 national delegates was to include Internet giant Google, which decided to protest the regulation of the Word Wide Web in person. Seven days into the eleven day conference both Facebook and Google Internet services crashed. In the closing moments of the WCIT, the USA, UK, Canada and Australia walked out on proceedings that counted a show-of-hands as a binding constituent resolution.

The day after the Google/FB crash, the NYC Post announced Google’s new holding company in Bermuda, shielding the Online giant from some two billion dollars of global tax deficit. The following day, Google admitted to shutting down its Shopping service in China. Meanwhile, within the conference, voting blocks had formed: India, Japan, Germany, Italy lead Europe in a rally maintaining a deregulated Internet. Almost half of the 193 nations, including Russia, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia went on to ratify a treaty that boasts strong African, Arabian, Asian and Latin-American membership. Some fifty nations reserved the right to ratify at a later date while some nations simply abstained.

The conference was to mitigate the over one thousand three hundred proposals that critics attest will aid and abet government crack-downs on free speech. Censorship isn’t the only issue; some blocks believe in charging Internet providers for providing free content, while zeroing in and taxing international content to mitigate the specter of confusing multiculturalism in fragile societies.

American developers see these UN tariffs as nothing less than forced economic redistribution of good and services focused on empowering individuals to commune through communication: “Engineers, companies and people that build and use the Web have no vote. The billions of people around the globe that use the Internet, the experts that build and maintain it, should be included,” stated Google Online.

ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré readily admits to targeting the world’s mobile-phone population (90% of the world by his account) and converting two-thirds of the Earth – the offline population – to an Internet lifestyle. Obviously, he’s talking about leveraging the current market dominators to accelerate market penetration as a UN policy; the preamble of the WCIT treaty certainly states so much in legalese.

While the doctor claims to be fighting for the rights of the developing world, his agency’s using development to separate the bestowers of this technology from their clients by standing against a free and unregulated multicultural Web. The proposition floated by some Europeans to fund developing-market intrusion by taxing international services underlines this point. Information Society politicians seeking to mass the market of the majority of the Earth’s population as an international politic to promote appeal is a founding philosophy of the Internet to be sure. Now it stands for politicians’ grab to price-fix, promoting foreign lobbies in a vicious circle that rewards volume and seeks to grant the voluminous ingenuity over protestations of leading companies.

Despite a unanimous vote resolving USA Congress opposition to the WCIT philosophy of a government-controlled Web December 5 – two days after the start of the WCIT – the USA must admit that it is only due to government facilitation that its miracle machine is organized by the non-for-profit giant Internet Corporation for Assigned Names And Numbers (ICANN).

While Westerners decry governed regulation of the ultimate portal into multiculturalism, the arguments against subordination to stultifying bureaucrats and against UN regulation of App-oriented browsers have wilt before the principal accusation: cultural Fascism. But corporations must be most fearful of increased global competition and powerful ITU regulations that can standardize international telecommunication equipment, championing a myriad of local entrepreneurs to introduce the Americans to the margin-cutting global realities of that nation-state controlled thing: free-speech.

Americans touting to possess the ultimate machine in free speech stand the most to lose as a brand.

But no-one mentions what UN presence represents more than anything else to free-market governments: a biting hindsight that can sue even the intelligence community for human rights’ violations by promoting free-speech in violation of hate-crime legislation.

Surely, the USA could benefit from an international body of inquisitive souls who would like to know how in the GPS-age could the awkward master-mind of the Aurora massacre manage to kill an Airforce Sergeant among his victims in a Colorado movie-house.

UN restrictions against prosecuting neglect may melt in the face of over-sight reality: an out-manned capitalist economy that no-longer polices itself with integrity but only as some Nation-State that is neither Fascist nor Communist nor watching nor political – simply disturbed.

Perhaps this is why a group of WCIT experts showed up in Stanford a week before the Dubai meeting to take part in the discussion: ‘Sticky WCIT: Is This the End of the Internet?’

WCIT marks the setting of the World Wide Web behind the accessible Web and the State-controlled ubiquity of the Internet. Perhaps all three were once synonymous. Now, like a nation-state of three minds, like a Common Wealth of Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, each community answers for itself to the benefit of the engineered whole.

Perhaps this is why long after the WCIT vote should have been published at the top of engine searches Online, discrepancies rather than harmonies leapt to the fore. ITU spokesperson Sarah Parkes reportedly contended that Google did not attend WCIT as it chose not to participate as an IT member.

So it was a haughty observer?

Google is now listed as the top Congressional lobbyist to 118 Congress members on OpenSecrets.org. So on my Internet search at the end of ITU WCIT, rather than finding a published vote tally, all that was readily available were links to the thirty page agreement and consensus on English outrage. After hours of contradictory reporting, a WCITleaks.org site rose to the helm, linking leading voices of the 4th Estate: the NY Times and Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Vanity Fair.

Follow up news was immediately inconclusive: the English-speaking world had spoken; nothing happened.

The Intellectual Property now isn’t a language – isn’t a code – it’s coding which is only something from nothing according to latest wicket.

Image Courtesy : Itupictures

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London, England – It’s fantastic to be able to come into a little money just before Christmas when life seems to be getting that little bit more expensive and there are so many different places for people to direct their disposable income. That’s why the team at Oh My Bingo are keen to encourage new members to get into online bingo.

Online bingo is really popular and loads of people make a point of visiting and playing the more popular games like Diva Bingo in order to see if they can secure that all important jackpot. A substantial windfall just before Christmas is really perfect timing when it comes to replenishing the bank account.

Of course, a jackpot does represent the perfect Christmas present but players can use their money a little more sociably if they find themselves quids in. Funding a bit of Christmas shopping or the entire Christmas party season with some well-timed winnings is a great idea.

There are also prizes to be won directly by playing Diva Bingo Online, including cash and Amazon vouchers. Those interested in learning more about the great offers and promotions currently doing the rounds in the bingo community can do so by heading to http://www.ohmybingo.com.

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Many countries in the world have realized the positive impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on development, and India is not an exception.

The Indian government discusses the possibility of opening the multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment. If the decision to allow 51% foreign share in the retail sector is taken into effect, the country will likely attract $ 2.5 – 3 billion during the next 5 years. Union Cabinet Minister, Anand Sharma, who is in charge of commerce, industry and textiles in India, provided the list of benefits, and the positive impact of foreign direct investment on the country’s retail sector and fashion and design industry.

India has a low productivity of food grains and has an inefficient system of distribution. The impact of an FDI in organized retail will increase the productivity and efficiency of distribution.

Secondly, if to take into account the existing imperfections of Indian retail production and distribution systems, it is likely that the prices on retail products and food will keep on increasing. That will influence the level of wages and consumer expectations and therefore will turn into an inflationary process that is negative for Indian economy. For its part, the impact of FDI can be balancing and prevent the economy from inflation in order to maintain trust and to come up to expectations of various stakeholders “without putting undue disproportionate pressure on the growth momentum” said RBI deputy governor, Subir Gokar, during the Government discussion. Since FDI will lead to the improvement of production and distribution of goods that are more consumed in the country, the prices on them will stay low.

Moreover, the fashion and textile retail sector will be positively affected by the increase of FDI scale.

The world-known luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo that will be allowed to the Indian market can bring new opportunities to the luxury market. Consumers will have better shopping choice; moreover, plenty of opportunities can be opened for young Indian fashion and textiles designers. Indian design will get credibility in the world fashion society.

According to the officials, Swedish furniture producer, IKEA, plans to invest 1.5 billion euros in the Indian retail sector to set up 25 stores. The company has already launched a partnership with India’s Handicrafts Department to help to develop the design industry and to build capacity for Indian handicrafts-men and carpet weavers. There are plans to develop next generation training program for Indian exporters to guarantee that they follow the best worldwide practices related to labor legislation that forbids child and forced labor. Therefore, it is apparent that the positive impact of foreign direct investment  is in creation of opportunities for the development and invigoration of the Indian retail sector.

Image Courtesy : Paul prescott / Shutterstock.com

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London, UK – Research carried out by Virtual Internet has shown that the majority of IT professionals work long hours and their spare time is often disturbed by work-related IT problems. The Work/Life Balance survey was sent out to Virtual Internet’s current and prospective customer database of IT professionals in the UK on Tuesday, October 30, 2012.

Key findings

• 63% of IT professionals say work gets in the way of their personal life outside office hours
• 88% answer work emails outside of office hours
• 76% often or occasionally get disturbed during their spare time to fix IT issues
• 72% work more than 41 hours per week
• 64% are disturbed between one and five times each week in the evening or on the weekend; with 16% saying they are disturbed more than six times a week in their spare time.

Based on these findings Virtual Internet have launched a new online advertising campaign, Work / Life Balance to demonstrate how their managed hosting  solution can help to reduce the amount of overtime IT professionals will have to work, due to all support and administration being outsourced.

Managing Director, Patrick McCarthy explained “IT professionals are notoriously working long and unsocial hours so we carried out this research to assess to what extent.”

He continued “We’ve created a campaign that IT professionals can relate to…based our research we know that they are continuously interrupted in their spare time. Our creative focuses on various social elements such as weekends away, drinks with friends and family time over Christmas. It aims to demonstrate that they no longer need to be disturbed during these occasions as everything can be taken care of by us.”

“Customers no longer need to worry about the day to day running of their infrastructure as they can outsource all of it. A managed web infrastructure enables them to concentrate on business functions that can have a positive effect on their company’s profit margins rather than managing IT admin and maintenance, resulting in uninterrupted personal time over the holiday season and beyond.”

If you’d like to see more about Virtual Internet’s full report on the Work / Life Balance of an IT professional simply visit their website now where you can also download the full report.

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Vancouver, Canada — on October 30, The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) released a report on youth unemployment in Canada arguing that the situation is not as dire as commonly perceived. Despite the challenges experienced by unemployed youth (15 to 24 years) in Canada, hardship caused by joblessness during the most recent recession and recovery was more moderate compared to that of the recessions in the early 80s and 90s.

“Conventional thinking seems to be that the jobless situation for youth has never been so bad. It’s challenging, that’s for sure. But it has been worse,” says Anthony Ariganello, president and CEO of CGA-Canada. “The situation today is not dire and so we need to reinforce the message to youth to not despair.”

The highest level of youth unemployment during the recent recession was 15.2 percent – evidently below that experienced in the previous recessions. Youth unemployment swelled to 19.2 percent in 1983 and 17.2 percent in 1992.

And youth are finding a job quicker than any other age group. In 2011, nearly half (46.8 percent) of unemployed youth were able to find a job within 1 to 4 weeks and the average duration of unemployment experienced by youth did not exceed 11 weeks. Long-term unemployment was not common among youth either: only a small proportion (5.4 percent) of youth remained without a job for more than one year. Instead, youth is most often unemployed while transitioning from school to the labour market and only a fraction of them are jobless due to layoffs.

Despite the positive trends, the big issue is underemployment.

“Underemployment is a big issue not only for youth, but for people of all ages,” says Rock Lefebvre, co-author of the report and vice-president of Research & Standards at CGA-Canada. “And while we know how harmful underemployment is for individuals as well as to the economy, we know far less about what causes it.”

To improve the understanding of the causes of youth underemployment, CGA-Canada recommends launching a research initiative focused on the issue. Advancing the Canadian economy towards a greater reliance on higher-skilled, higher-wage jobs is also crucial.

For that, CGA-Canada encourages businesses to improve competitiveness by investing in machinery and equipment and resource and development (R&D), innovation, and aggressively expanding in foreign markets. Greater use of school-employer partnerships may help to improve the match between employers’ needs and workers’ skills as well as help youth make informed decisions about their field of study.

For more information on youth unemployment and the report, visit: www.cga.org/canada/employment.

Image Courtesy of workingcapitalteam / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

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Muslims have only two official religious feasts, Eid Al-Fitr, which comes after the  fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid-Al-Adha, which comes on 10 of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Hijri lunar calendar. This year, Eid Al-Adha occured on October 25. The Eid holiday usually lasts 5 days, starting from 9 Dhu Al-Hijjah to 13 Dhu Al-Hijjah.

The Hirji Lunar calendar is also called the Islamic calendar.  It consists of 12 months and 355 or 354 days and is used by Muslim people to determine the Islamic occasions as feasts, pilgrimage and fasting.

Eid Al-Adha means ‘Feast of the Sacrifice” because every family or household should sacrifice one lamb, goat, sheep or one seventh cow or camel. The cow or camel could be sacrificed by 7 families, according to the Islamic teachings.

The sacrificed animal is called Udhiyyah. The meat of the Udhiyyah should be divided into 3 parts. One third is for the family members while the other parts should be given to the relatives and neighbors; also, it would be better to be given to the most needy among them. Sacrificing must be done after the Eid prayer. It’s preferred to have the Eid day breakfast from Udhiyyah; usually, it is the liver and heart.

The Eid prayer can be done at any time after sun rise but before the noon time. All the prayer attendants should dress up in new clothes or the best clothes they have.

Traditionally, in some Islamic countries such as Palestine, Syria and Turkey, they visit the cemeteries during the Eid days. Also, in most of the countries, usually the parents and the elder relatives and neighbors give their children some extra money. This money is called Eidya.

According to the Islamic resources, on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah about four thousand years ago Allah (The God) instructed the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to give his son Ismael (Ishmael) as a sacrifice to test his faith. After that the prophet Ibrahim decided to follow the command and asked his son about it. The answer from Ismael was to agree for the command without any reservation or objection at all. After starting slaughtering Ismael, the Prophet Ibrahim found a ram replacing his son. So this day became celebrated annually by Muslims to sacrifice during the Eid Al-Adha.

Other Islamic events during Eid days would occur in Mecca, which is Hajj. The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is a must to all Muslims if they can do it.

On 9 Dhu Al-Hijjah the pilgrims go to Arfa mount, which is the main pillar of the Hajj. This day is called Day of Arafa. Arafa mount is located 22 km from the Grand mosque in Mecca. It’s recommended for non-pilgrim Muslims to fast this day, while the pilgrims are not allowed to fast.

On the 10 Dhu Al-Hijjah, the pilgrims must stone a wall, referred to as the devil, with seven pebbles as a part of Hajj performance in a place called ‘large Jamara’. Also, they have to sacrifice. In the previous years, they used to sacrifice a goats, sheeps , camels or cow by themselves, while right now they pay the cost of the sacrifice to the Saudi government, who will complete the sacrifice on their behalf for hygienic reasons. In the previous years, the streets used to be ful of blood and dirt after millions of pilgrims sacrificed their animal.

After that, the pilgrims go to cut their hair and to wear regular dresses rather than Ihram cloths. The Ihram clothes consist of 2 un-hemmed sheets. In the following 3 days the pilgrims must stone the devil in 3 different places called Jamarat, each one with 7 pebbles.

The greeting for your Muslims friends and colleagues should be Eid Mubarak or Happy Eid. Mubarak means blessed. And the greeting for pilgrims should be Hajj Mabrour. Mabrous means accepted.

Image Courtesy of  azaphoto / Shutterstock.com

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Washington, U.S.A. — U.S. News & World Report, providers of service news and information, released on October 23, the fifth annual edition of the World’s Best Universities rankings. For the past two years, the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge topped the list, but this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped from third to first. The 2012 World’s Best rankings, which include colleges and universities in the United States and across the globe, are available online at www.usnews.com/worldsbest.

The World’s Best Universities rankings, updated annually by U.S. News, are based on the 2012 QS World University Rankings, developed by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global career and education network. Using a different methodology and ranking data than the well-known U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, the World’s Best Universities rates schools on factors such as academic reputation, the proportion of international faculty, and the proportion of international students.

“As the job market becomes more competitive, there’s a growing interest among prospective students to attend institutions abroad,” said U.S. News & World Report Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly. “The World’s Best Universities rankings help students compare and select the best schools worldwide. In addition, the rankings enable our readers to understand more fully how well American institutions perform when compared with other institutions of higher learning around the world.”

The World’s Best Universities rankings are among the most comprehensive of their kind and include the following lists: Top 400 Universities Worldwide, Top 100 Asian Universities, and Top 100 Latin American Universities. In addition to the regional rankings, there are also global rankings in 25 different subject disciplines, such as electrical engineering, accounting and finance, biological sciences, and the newly added communication and media studies.

An in-depth methodology was used to determine the 2012 rankings. For the Top 400 Universities, six distinct indicators of excellence were evaluated: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international faculty, proportion of international students, and citations per faculty. The two regional rankings each have distinct methodologies from the global Top 400 to better reflect the uniqueness of those regions, using indicators such as the specific region’s academic and employer reputations, citations per paper, and proportion of staff with Ph.D’s.

For additional information on the 2012 ranking of the World’s Best Universities, please visit www.usnews.com/worldsbest.

World’s Best Universities Rankings 2012

* For the full list of rankings, visit www.usnews.com/worldsbest

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London, U.K. – Macmillan Digital Education has made its first significant play for e-tutoring in the UK with the acquisition of Maths Doctor - a British award-winning e-learning business that is run by qualified teachers. The deal bolsters Macmillan Digital Education’s portfolio of technology-driven educational service providers, serving parents, students and educators.

Maths Doctor provides live one-to-one home tutoring via the internet, plus worksheets and tutoring videos via its newly launched mobile phone app. Company founder, Simon Walsh will remain as Managing Director of Maths Doctor to scale the business. “I am very pleased to become part of the team at Digital Education for Macmillan and look forward to continuing to run the company as Managing Director. It is a pleasure to be joining a team who share my long-term vision and belief in the future of digital education.”

Walsh will report to Macmillan Digital Education’s Managing Director, Matthias Ick. “Maths Doctor is a highly complementary product that fits perfectly with our tutoring portfolio, including Tutoria and HeyTutor. Digital Education can provide the capital, resources and network to build on the great work already done by Simon to maximize student learning and engagement.”

Macmillan Digital Education invests into and builds consumer-focused educational services. It is the corporate venture capital arm of Macmillan Publishing, one of the leading global educational publishers. Together, Maths Doctor and Macmillan Digital Education share the aim of raising educational standards through a hybrid of online and offline learning channels.

Maths Doctor is based at Sussex University Innovation Centre and has a network of tutors across the UK who have delivered over 25,000 live online lessons. Together with Macmillan Digital Education it has just started a research project in partnership with all secondary schools in Brighton and Hove, Sussex. This scheme involves working with local school teachers to deliver revision lessons and live interactive teaching through a pupil’s mobile phone.

About Maths Doctor

Based in Brighton, Sussex, Maths Doctor was founded by Simon Walsh, a highly experienced and qualified mathematics teacher who has worked for both state and independent schools. Mr Walsh has a strong reputation for his innovative approach to teaching and an ability to relate well to young people and has been involved for many years in providing both traditional and alternative forms of education. For more information, please visit http://www.mathsdoctor.tv/.

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Sydney, Australia – Following its highly successful launch in Melbourne last year, this is the first time Australia has hosted a show on this scale for two consecutive years; and it’s likely to continue with the return to Melbourne next year. Exhibitions are enjoying a revival due to their ability to present new to market products, diminishing choice on the high street and the growth of own branding.

Using over 50 prestige Suites at the high end Sheraton on the Park Hotel, the format remains unchanged: emphasis being given to high quality Audio & AV products, each displayed and demonstrated in individual listening rooms. Opening to the public on Friday at 2.00pm - closing at 6.00pm, then Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm and Sunday 10.00am – 4.00pm.

Various ticket options are available from the Organisers website: http://www.chestergroup.org. Both Trade and Press passes are available to those directly engaged with the industry, so not only do shows of this type please the buying public, but also allow valuable networking for the industry.

This type of show has been long overdue for Australia, and has thus tapped into an incredibly receptive market; one of the most outstanding features from last year was the vast age range of those that visited – plus families and groups. The show proved so popular that on neither of the three days was it able to close on time.

With many new exhibitors from Australia and Overseas, the show promises to deliver great enjoyment once again. The Organisers are extremely pleased to confirm that the Australian Hi-fi Association are also associated with this year’s show. Also, the Organisers are Co -Sponsors of the Next Media’s Sound and Image Awards which also takes place at the Sheraton on the Park: Saturday the 20th October.

“We take all the events  we organise worldwide very seriously” says Group Chairman Roy Bird

“We do all we can to help the industry not only in the long term, but also so our shows reflect changes and move with the times”

Part of their success is the great local partnerships they have been able to forge together with Media Sponsorships, and they are greatly indebted to the huge support they have received from Jim & Di Preece and the NextMedia Magazine Group.

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Limassol, Cyprus – On October 8, MetaQuotes Software announced that their MetaTrader 5 trading platform now features built-in Trading Signals. Traders are given the opportunity to automatically copy trades of other traders.

Simplicity and promptness in using the service are the distinct advantages of the MetaTrader 5 Trading Signals. A successful trader can easily become a signals provider to earn extra profit, while any other trader can subscribe to his signals in just a few clicks. In addition, trading accounts of the signals provider and his subscriber can be with different brokers that use MetaTrader 5.

To launch this service, the developers have made some changes to the MetaTrader 5 architecture by adding a new component – a cloud Signal Server. It is designed to monitor the account of the signals provider and transmit the trading signals directly to trading terminals of the subscribers.

All that the signals provider needs to do to start using the service is to register on the MetaQuotes website and specify his trading account details. The MetaTrader 5 Signal Server closely coupled with this website will afterwards begin to monitor the account in real time and send its signals to the subscribers.

Traders willing to make use of the trading signals are also required to register on the website and deposit some money in their accounts. Having specified your account details in the MetaTrader 5 trading terminal, you can then immediately subscribe to trading signals of any provider. There is a standard functionality that allows you to automatically copy all provider’s trades in your account.

The only requirement for the automatic mirroring of trading operations is to ensure that the subscriber’s MetaTrader 5 trading terminal is on. The extended version of the trading signals that is already underway will however not even require this.

Due to the introduction of the trading signals, the trader’s workplace, the MetaTrader 5 trading terminal has undergone some changes, too. Thus, it now features trading signals display where any trader can find detailed information on the efficiency and earning power of any given provider. With just a couple more clicks, you can subscribe and start receiving trading signals from the signals provider.

Trading signals are available in the MetaTrader 5 trading terminal starting with build 702. The terminal is distributed free of charge.

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One of the most influential figures in the world IT-industry, Mark Zuckerberg, arrived in Moscow on September 30. This news captured the minds of Russians, especially of Russian students, for two days. The purpose of Zuckerberg’s arrival was the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. But Russian experts (for instance, the founder of IBS Group, Anatoly Karachinsky) say that “Zuckerberg visited Russia on a world tour of programming contests, World Hack, to identify and attract new talent.”

Exploring Moscow

The founder and CEO of Facebook managed to visit plenty of places on his first day in Moscow. Brand-new photographs of him visiting different places were uploaded to his Facebook page. Firstly, Mark decided to go sightseeing – he took a walk through the Red Square with Ekaterina Skorobogatova, a Facebook Development Manager. She held an excursion for Zuckerberg. Later on Zuckerberg went to try “Russian” McDonald’s, which is near to the Red Square. Surrounded by his bodyguards, other foreigners and Russian people, Mark looked very fresh and cheerful.

“It was interesting for Mark to see everything, he liked the Red Square very much. He smiled all the time,” the people who accompanied him said.

Attending Important Meetings

On October 1, Mark Zuckerberg had a meeting with Medvedev. It was a big surprise for followers who got used to seeing Mark wearing his favorite outfit to see that he ditched his trademark hoodie and jeans for a suit and tie for his meeting. The main themes of their discussion were the Russian IT-business and innovation projects on the “Skolkovo” base, IT-communications, which are mutually beneficial, and copyright law in the Internet. They have also discussed the possibility to open a Facebook Office in Russia. This question was kept in Mark’s mind, but it was not the main point of Facebook strategy. At the end of the meeting Dmitry Medvedev was given a T-shirt with his Facebook link on it as a present.

The same day, Zuckerberg attended a meeting with winners of the “Facebook World Hack” contest at the Digital October center. Winners are supposed to get an invitation to join the Facebook Team. Programmers can continue their career paths at the Facebook headquarter in California.

Sharing the Experience

The following day, Zuckerberg came to Moscow State University in order to hold a speech for the students. When he came out to the scene, he was greeted with applause. The speech was arranged as an interview with Mikhail Lyalin, the creator of the most popular game, “Cut The Rope,” on ITunes and Play Market.

Mark started his 40-minute speech with these words: “When I started using the Internet, I was very shocked knowing that the previous generation had no opportunity to use it. They could not find any information about people or things. While creating and establishing Facebook, I had one main goal. I wanted to create something incredible, something which will help people to communicate and to keep in touch with their friends.”

Mark has also faced the question about giving up Harvard. When he got the idea to create Facebook, he took half of the year to work and develop the idea. “If Harvard gave me only 2 options – to leave or not to leave- by all means, I would stay. But is not it great that you have an idea and you can work on it?” he said. He stressed the point that he wanted to give the world something which may be considered very important; that is why his company was not sold at its early stages, though the sale of it could bring a lot of money.

Speaking of competitors, Mark Zuckerberg noticed that users end up choosing a more comfortable social network. It means that users choose Facebook because the Facebook Team always improves and makes their site more and more comfortable for its users. The Team always creates and develops new applications. Zuckerberg noticed that Facebook reached an audience of almost a billion people, and it is an advantage if we compare the site to its competitors.

After the speech, the Facebook’s CEO answered some students’ questions. Surprisingly, he could not give a name of his favorite book, though he emphasized the fact that he reads a lot.

At the end of the meeting, the MSU Rector, Viktor Sadovnichy, presented Zuckerberg with a souvenir with the main building of the University on it. In return, Mark Zuckerberg presented the Rector a hoodie with the logo of the social network.

Unfortunately, Zuckerberg could answer only 3 questions. His assistant stepped in to say that Mark has to go to the airport. Mark promised to come back to continue the discussion with students and disappeared.  All fans can do is hope for him to come back very soon.

Image Courtesy of   jdlasica

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Toronto, Canada – On October 3, Rogers Communications announced that customers can score premium soccer on their TVs, computers and smartphones. For the first time in Canada, Rogers brings exclusive live access to non-televised or tape-delayed matches through Sportsnet World Plus and Rogers Anyplace TV.

“At Rogers we are passionate about world-class sports and along with millions of Canadians, we love to take in the action in real-time, wherever we are,” said Anthony Antonelli, senior director, sports and on demand services, Rogers Communications. “Soccer is one of the most thrilling sports to watch live, and now our customers can catch multiple international league matches live at one time, on the device of their choice.”

Ultimate soccer fans can catch every single UEFA Champions League match and hundreds of UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa League matches this season.  Here’s how:

On your TV- Rogers digital TV customers can tune into 12 channels for all the action from Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World. Sportsnet World subscribers have access to the new Sportsnet World Plus channels.

On your computer: Rogers digital television customers in Canada with an Internet connection who subscribe to Sportsnet World can live stream the matches on their computers via RogersAnyplaceTV.com.

On your smartphone: Rogers wireless customers can live stream the games on their smartphones with the Rogers Anyplace TV Live mobile app, available through the Apple App Store, Google Play and BlackBerry App World. For $5/month, the app provides 5 hours of viewing with overage charges of $1 per additional hour. Until April 30, 2013 overage charges are waived providing unlimited viewing.

The Rogers Anyplace TV Live app live streams Sportsnet channels and sporting events like Blue Jays games, basketball, hockey, tennis and music concerts, news such as CityNews, and kids programming like YTV and Treehouse. For more info on Rogers Anyplace TV and details on the live-stream, check out:www.RogersAnyplaceTV.com/sports.

About Rogers Communications

Rogers is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. We are a provider of wireless voice and data communications services and one of Canada’s leading providers of cable television, high speed internet and telephony services. Through Rogers Media we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, televised shopping, sports entertainment, magazines and trade publications, and digital media. For further information about the Rogers group of companies, please visit www.rogers.com.

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Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was accused of sexual abuse during his visit to Stockholm earlier this year. He spent a few months under home arrest; however, the Swedish government insisted that Assange’s case needs a substantial investigation and demanded his immediate extradition to Sweden.

On August 26, 2012, the 41-year-old Assange was given a political asylum by Ecuador and is currently staying in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Britain cannot take any legal actions against the former hacker-activist because the inrush in the consulate of the South American country and the arrest of Julian Assange will be regarded as violation of the international laws. Although the Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called the British intention to storm the five-storey building of the embassy a “monumental diplomatic mistake”, the UK government declared that it will not allow Julian Assange to flee the country.

According to Correa, Julian Assange “never refused to face justice in Sweden.” However, the founder of WikiLeaks and the leader of the South American country fear that there is a political reason behind the extradition of  Assange.

“I think there is a hidden plan to send Assange to a third country. What other conclusion could you reach?” declared Correa.

The US is said to be the secret force that pulls the wires of Assange’s case. In 2010, Assange’s non-profit organization WikiLeaks began the release of more than 250,000 classified cables, sent by embassies and consulates from all over the world to the U.S. State Department in the period from 1966 to 2010. Immediately after the documents were published, government organizations in the USA, China, Australia, UAE and Switzerland, as well as some financial institutions such as PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard, blocked their WikiLeak’s accounts. However, the protectors of Assange referred to him as defender of freedom of information and speech.

The release of the classified cables opened a wide wound between Ecuador and the States. As a result, the former US ambassador in Ecuador, Heather Hodges, was extradited from the South American country on accounts of accusing President Correa of “ignoring police corruption.” The US government struck back, and the Ecuadorian ambassador was also forced to resign his position.

Meanwhile, Washington denied the rumors that the US is involved in any political machinations against the Australian freedom seeker. However, a lot of questions about Assange’s case remain unanswered.

Who is Baltazar Garzon and why exactly does he represent Julian Assange in the court?

Baltazar Garzon is a former Spanist judge, famous for his uncompromising and aggressive attitude in the court, especially on cases concerning international human rights. He is responsible for the arrest of the former President of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet, in 1998 on account of torturing and causing the death of Spanish citizens in both Chile and Argentina. It was the first case in which a head of state was detained, although no serious measures were taken.

Recently, Garzon was accused of cooperating with the Falange, the Spanish political followers of the Fascist movement in Italy. That’s why some analytists assume that Assange’s case is mainly on a political basis.

Concerning the situation of the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, Garzon declared that Ecuador should address the International Court of Justice in the Hague to force the British government to allow Assange to leave the South American country.

What are Correa’s real intentions?

The Ecuadorean President is renowned for his tempestuous and rigid foreign and domestic politics. His decision to help Julian Assange was both condemned and appreciated by the international public.

“Correa has managed to antagonize the UK, Sweden, and the US at the same time. Once again he has stomped his way to central stage,” the John Hopkins University professor Riordan Roeff said in an interview.

However, specialists are inclined to believe that behind the plans of Correa to save the founder of WikiLeaks from his extradition to Sweden and and then probably to the US, stands a political rather than a humane reason.

Recently, it has been revealed that Correa and Assange “met” personally via Skype in May 2012, when the founder of WikiLeaks was still serving his home arrest. Right then, Correa wanted Assange to understand that for him he is not an international criminal, but an “emblem of ultimate freedom of expression.”

Andrés Mejía Acosta, an Ecuadorian political scientist, proposed another hypothesis about Correa’s reason to give a political asylum to Assange. In an interview, he revealed “the gesture to Assange may be a way for Correa to cleanse his reputation as a persecutor of the press.”

Years ago, an Ecuadorian newspaper called Correa a “dictator” and accused him of violation of human rights. The author of the article, Emilio Palacio, was arrested and the newspaper forced to pay a fine measuring $40,000,000 in charge of “criminal libel” against an authority.

Earlier this year, Palacio, who has been living in Miami since he was set free, was officially excused by the Ecuadorean President. That’s why many specialists assume that Correa is now trying to represent himself in a more favorable light.

On the other hand, the storm between Ecuador and the US will not subside soon. Whether Assange is the weapon of their mutual revenge – nobody is able to comment at this stage.

Indeed, the majority of the analysts asume that Correan’s decision to offer Assange a helping hand is his next step for broadening his leadership position on the international political firmament.

Will Assange receive the support of the rest of the South American world, and what will be the fate of the WikiLeak’s founder?

On August 19, 2012, Assange gave his first public speech from one of the balconies of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after the South American country granted him political asylum. Watched by hundreds of police officers, he thanked Rafael Correa for the rendered assistance and addressed the White House with the request to “renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks.”

Washington assured Assange that his fate is in the hands of Britain, Sweden and Ecuador.

Although in his speech Assange cogently declared that the countries from Central and South America support him, Brazil and Columbia issued that they did not agree with Correa’s decision to give a political asylum to the 41-year-old Assange.

The foreign ministers of South America’s 12 nation union gathered in Guayaquil, Ecuador last Sunday to discuss the case and to convince the White House to take a stance on the issue. However, no one can make an exact prognosis about what will be the next step in the case of Julian Assange and what’s more controversial - who will make it.

Image Courtesy of   acidpolly

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New York, U.S.A. — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is deeply disappointed with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s decision, announced on August 22, to attend the Non-Alignment Movement summit in Iran.

“Tehran is not the place for the UN Secretary General to visit, not at this time, not to meet with this Iranian regime,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “We are stunned that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would honor a regime that consistently ignores both him and the world body he heads in ways that threaten regional and global security.”

AJC, a leading a global advocacy organization, had appealed directly to the secretary general in recent days, urging him to not attend.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will host the NAM Summit, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei, have stepped up their threats to “annihilate” Israel. And, they continued to make those threatening statements after Secretary General Ban condemned Khamanei’s remarks as “offensive and inflammatory.”

In addition, Iran has consistently defied the UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency regarding its nuclear program; trampled on the protections enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; sponsored terrorism worldwide; denied the Holocaust which the UN commemorates every January 27; and contributed heavily to the ongoing barbarism in Syria.

Indeed, on the same day as Ban’s decision to visit Iran was announced, a member of his staff reported to the UN Security Council that Iran was definitely supplying weapons to the Syrian regime.

In the run-up to the NAM Summit in Tehran, Iranian media have been claiming that the expected large turnout will show that “The U.S. strategy for isolating Iran has failed.”

“Secretary General Ban tragically missed an opportunity to send a powerful message to the Iranian regime that its posture is totally unacceptable,” Harris added.

Image Courtesy of   fotostory / Shutterstock.com

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Stamford, U.S.A. – AmeriCares is rushing a delivery of emergency medical aid for families fleeing the violence in Syria. An air shipment containing antibiotics, wound care supplies, pain relievers and other critically needed medical aid is expected to arrive in Jordanthis week where it will be delivered to a partner organization providing medical care for 30,000 Syrian refugees who have fled for safety.

The shipment also contains medicines for refugees who have diabetes, respiratory problems and other chronic health conditions. Nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered in Jordan, although the actual refugee population is believed to be as high as 150,000. The refugee crisis has intensified in recent days with the mass exodus from Aleppo, a city that once housed a population of 2.5 million people, due to the escalation in fighting between the Syrian government and rebels.

“With tens of thousands of people flooding densely populated urban areas and tent camps in Jordan, the aid organizations on the ground are struggling to meet the demand for primary care services,” said AmeriCares Director of Emergency Response Garrett Ingoglia. “This emergency aid shipment is meeting an urgent request for the most basic medical supplies. Refugees are particularly susceptible to disease and face increased health risks because disease can spread rapidly in crowded living conditions.”

AmeriCares, through its Medical Outreach Program, also supplied medical aid to an Indiana physician who recently traveled to Turkey to aid Syrian refugees injured in the conflict. Dr. Ammar Ghanem, a Syrian-born intensive care unit doctor from Fort Wayne, spent three weeks working in Turkey in the spring and early summer providing medical care to Syrian refugees and patients with gunshot wounds and traumatic brain injuries crossing the borders. He used medications and supplies donated by AmeriCares to help stop bleeding in some patients, as well as to suture wounds and treat infections.

AmeriCares has been delivering critically needed medicines and relief supplies to the Middle East for more than 25 years in response to civil conflict as well as humanitarian crises.

Image Courtesy of  homeros / Shutterstock.com

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Ottawa, Canada — Nordion, a leading provider of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, has disclosed that it is conducting an internal inquiry and investigation of a foreign supplier and related parties focusing on compliance with the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Through the Company’s own internal review as part of its CFPOA compliance program, Nordion discovered potential compliance irregularities. As a result, the Company recently commenced an internal investigation of the possible compliance issues. These issues relate to potential improper payments and other related financial irregularities in connection with the supply of materials and services to the Company.

The investigation is being conducted by outside legal counsel and external forensic and accounting firms who are experts in such compliance. These external advisors are reporting regularly to a special Committee of the Board constituted to deal with this matter.

Nordion has voluntarily contacted the regulatory and enforcement authorities, including the Canadian and U.S. Department of Justice, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, to provide details of the matter and advise that an internal investigation is underway. The internal investigation is in its early stages and the Company’s external advisors have met with these authorities and will continue to provide reports to them as the investigation progresses.

Nordion is committed to the highest standards of integrity and diligence in its business dealings and to the ethical and legally compliant business conduct by its employees, representatives and suppliers. The Company reviews its compliance programs on a regular basis to assess and align them with emerging trends and business practices.

Corrupt or fraudulent business conduct is in direct conflict with the Company’s Global Business Practice Standards and corporate policies. The Company will continue to investigate this matter and cooperate with regulatory and enforcement authorities with a view to an expedient resolution.

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Brussels, Belgium – Two young Russians kicked-off their round-the-world quest on Monday to explore how the most challenging energy problems are being dealt with in different parts of the world.

Maria Khromova, a young Muscovite trained in the power industry, and Egor Goloshov, an aspiring economist from Zlatoust, began their journey in Berlin, Germany as the first stop on their tour, which will take them to different regions of the world over roughly three months.

Ms. Khromova, 24, and Mr. Goloshov, 21, were selected in May out of a competitive pool of 49,000 applicants from across Russia as part of the Energy of Adventure project launched by the non-profit partnership Global Energy based in Moscow.

The aim of the project is to highlight the world’s various energy challenges, from coping with limited energy resource supplies to mitigating climate change, in various countries and to showcase how these challenges are being confronted.

Ms. Khromova and Mr. Goloshov will meet with an array of energy experts over their journey, including scientists and academics, and visit a variety of companies and organizations, like the German Energy Agency. They are also scheduled to visit China, France, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, and South Korea in the first weeks of their trip.

“It is important that the world’s energy challenges are discussed by the younger generations. We need to encourage more participation of the young in the discussion about how the world will meet its growing energy demands while improving its efficient use thereby also mitigating the effects of climate change,” said Professor Klaus Riedle, Board Member of the Association of German Engineers and a Global Energy Prize Laureate.

“The energy world should back more of these types of projects that the Global Energy Prize has sponsored,” said Mr. Riedle.

The International Energy Agency in Paris forecasts global oil demand to increase substantially from around 89 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2011 to 99 mb/d in 2035, with much of the growth coming from the transport sector in emerging economies. The agency expects the number of passenger vehicles to double to almost 1.7 billion by 2035 from current levels.

Discussing how such demand will be met will be part of the various talking points that Ms. Khromova and Mr. Goloshov take up in their personal postings in social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. Ms. Khromova and Mr. Goloshov will report about their findings, discussions, and observations over the course of their tour in hopes of inspiring and triggering new thinking and ideas for addressing today’s interconnected energy challenges.

Ms. Khromova and Mr. Goloshov also plan to visit Australia, Brazil, Denmark, India, Japan, Spain, Tanzania, the UAE, and the US over the course of their tour before finishing the trip back in Moscow.

“This is a great opportunity for the younger entrants into the energy business world to see firsthand how actors across the energy supply chain and in different parts of the world are coping with their unique set of energy challenges and problems. I am very excited to be a part of this unique endeavor,” said Thorsteinn Ingi Sigfusson, Director of the Innovation Center in Iceland and a Global Energy Prize Laureate.

Ms. Khromova, who comes from a family of scientists, said she plans to take all her findings from this tour to help inform a scientific paper she will write.

“We are thrilled to be starting this trip after months of preparation and we look forward to sharing our discoveries and insights, particularly related to the power sector,” said Ms. Khromova.

Ms. Khromova has a geophysics degree from The Moscow State University and is currently pursuing a second university degree at the Moscow State Institute for Foreign Relations.

Mr. Goloshov has a special interest in renewable sources of energy such as tidal, wind and solar energy and is currently enrolled in the Moscow Higher School of Economics. “With question marks surrounding the longevity of the world’s traditional energy sources, it is important that we are adamantly exploring renewable sources of energy to see how we can scale up these technologies and increase their usage,” Mr. Goloshov said.

For further details about the tour being undertaken by Ms. Khromova and Mr. Goloshov or about the Energy of Adventure project, please contact Alena Georgobiani, Account Director at Fleishman-Hillard Vanguard.

You can follow Mr. Goloshov and Ms. Khromova’s journey on Twitter and Facebook.

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Seoul, South Korea — Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) announced that several foreign patients have recently experienced medical miracles in South Korea that have given them a second chance in life.

Doctor from Abu Dhabi received treatment in South Korea: A lady doctor from Abu Dhabi (Dr. Kaabi, 42) successfully received her thyroid operation at the Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital and has returned home. Dr. Kaabi visited the SNU Children’s Hospital while medical escorting an eight year old child from Abu Dhabi. During her visit to the institution, she discovered an abnormality in her thyroid. After receiving a successful operation on June 18, she was discharged from the hospital on June 21st looking healthy.

When she decided to receive treatment in a foreign country, her acquaintances advised her to go to the US. But having personally experienced the Korean medical services, she chose South Korea. Dr. Kaabi stated, “While receiving treatment in South Korea, I was impressed not only with the Korean medical facilities and services, but the meals and prayer rooms for Middle East patients.” She added, “If someone requires treatment, I will definitely recommend South Korea’s medical services.”

Dubai’s liver transplant patient like in a movie: Mr. Mohammed arrived in South Korea from Dubai under dire conditions. However, he received a successful liver transplant operation at the Samsung Medical Center on June 2 and is under recovery. He first considered receiving the operation either in Germany or Singapore, but made the final decision of coming to South Korea.

Mr. Mohammed was escorted using an emergency helicopter upon his arrival. He recovered his health after a major operation which lasted for 12 hours. Now he is gaining back his health as well as his smiles. He stated, “I will speak highly of the Korean medical services that have given me a new life once I return to Dubai.” He added, “I hope to help other patients to experience the excellent medical services in South Korea.”

South African bone cancer patient experience miracle in South Korea: Diagnosed with a terminal illness called Chondrosarcoma, a rare intractable form of bone cancer, Peter (57) was living down a year’s time left in his life. Peter visited South Korea to enjoy his remaining time. But with the recommendations from his acquaintance, he visited the Asan Medical Center and underwent a lengthy operation that lasted for 13 hours and 50 minutes.

The result was an astonishing success and Peter is now recovering his health. Having received a new life in South Korea when imminent death was ahead, Peter commented, “I believe South Korea has brought forth this miracle.”

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Washington, U.S.A.  – Celebrities from around the world called on their fans and followers to join the END7 campaign, a global effort to eliminate seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020.

END7 is a campaign of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. Music, entertainment and fashion stars, including Katy Perry, Slash, Ewan McGregor, Stella McCartney, Tom Felton, Alyssa Milano, Danny DeVito, Amos Lee, Norah Jones, MC Hammer, Aaron Neville, The Kooks, Rosanne Cash and many others reached out to their Twitter and Facebook fans to help END7 raise awareness about these devastating diseases of poverty that infect one in six people worldwide, including 500 million children.

“Join us in ending 7 diseases by 2020! Follow @END_7 today and find out how to make it all possible!” tweeted pop singer Katy Perry (@katyperry) to her 24 million followers.

“My fans mean the world to me. Today you meant the world to millions of kids suffering with NTDs,” tweeted British actor and a star of the “Harry Potter” movie franchise, Tom Felton (@tomfelton).

“Thousands of you have joined me to help # END7 preventable diseases today. You inspire me!” Felton also posted.

On July, 31 social media push reached more than 50 million people through Twitter and Facebook, and put the END7 campaign on the map for millions who had never heard about NTDs.

“This week marks a turning point for the END7 campaign, as millions of people are learning just how easy it can be to eliminate or control a group of diseases that plague the world’s poorest people,” said Dr. Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. “We are incredibly grateful for all of the new support we have seen over the past week and hope that it continues to inspire others to join our cause.”

It costs just 50 cents to treat and protect one person for an entire year against all seven of the most common NTDs. Pills to treat these diseases are donated by pharmaceutical companies and many programs use existing infrastructure, such as schools and community centers, to administer the treatments, making NTD treatment one of most cost-effective public health initiatives available today.

“See how you can help stop 7 different kinds of diseases with a donation as small as 50 cents,” posted Stella McCartney (@stellamccartney), fashion designer and daughter of Beatles member, Sir Paul McCartney.

NTDs cause blindness, massive swelling in appendages and limbs, severe malnutrition and anemia.  These diseases prevent children from growing and learning. They reduce adults’ economic productivity and ability to care for their families, keeping communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease.

The END7 campaign, launched earlier this year by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, aims to raise the public awareness and funding required to cover the cost of distributing medicine and setting up treatment programs for NTDs. It is the first global public awareness campaign dedicated to NTD treatment and elimination and relies heavily on compelling visual content disseminated through various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spread its message.

Image Courtesy of   s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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Amsterdam, The Netherlands — Leading events organiser UBM Live, have announced that more than 29,000 attendees visited CPhI China this year, eclipsing the global pharmaceutical event’s 2011 turnout by more than 2,000 people.

The event, held at the SNIEC in Shanghai, China from June 26th to 28th, took place alongside co-located shows, P-MEC China, for pharmaceutical machinery and equipment resources, ICSE China for contract and outsourced services, BioPh China for the biopharmaceutical sector, InnoPack China for innovative packaging services and solutions, and LABWorld China for laboratory and analytical equipment needs. Official audit results confirmed that the event grew 7% over 2011 figures and also saw a 16.5% increase in exhibitors.

“CPhI China and co-located events have continued to gain traction in the market. Our growth in 2011 was significant and we have continued that trend with equal momentum in 2012,” noted Haf Cennydd, CPhI Pharma Portfolio Brand Director. “These event results also closely mirror the trends in the local Chinese pharmaceutical market that is expected to reach $100B by 2015(1).”

The China-World Forum, Biopharmaceutical Engineering Forum, Drug Safety Workshop and the API Prequalification Seminar all recorded strong attendance during the event. The second edition of the CPhI Buyers Sourcing Event was also successful, with 106 meetings covering over 451 product categories.

UBM Live’s China Pharma events portfolio provides a unique platform for visitors to network with existing and new clients, compare products, and learn about newest market trends and opportunities. As a visitor, the events are a key meeting place for the pharmaceutical industry to do business in a format that has exceptional ROI on travel budgets and time. For exhibitors, the China events offer unrivalled potential to showcase their expertise, products and services, meet potential partners for future collaborations and generate new revenue streams.

The value of participating in the events was supported by feedback from attendees. Shinwari Muhammad Yousaf of Cirin Pharmaceutical PVT Ltd attested to the value of the event, saying that “CPhI China is the only event which provides so many opportunities to improve your existing business and gain knowledge about international trends.

The event also helps to develop and improve business relations with professionals in all fields of the industry.” Jose Lora of Safic Alcan ESPECIALIDADES echoed that sentiment, commenting: “From my point of view CPhI China was the best 2012 event in the world for the pharmaceutical market.”

CPhI is scheduled to return to the SNIEC in Shanghai from 25th to 27th June 2013 with an additional hall, the return of zoning within each exhibition to facilitate easier navigation of the event, and the re-location of ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh and LABWorld in Hall W2 to provide a one-stop platform for R&D and biopharmaceutical technologies.

Image Courtesy of  CPhI Worldwide

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Winnipeg, Canada — It is not uncommon during this time of year for Canadian Grain Commission inspectors at grain terminals to occasionally find some grain deliveries contaminated with treated seed. To prevent contamination, the Canadian Grain Commission asks producers to take precautions at seeding and harvest.

“When our inspectors find treated seed, they immediately follow a set process for managing it, including sending samples to our laboratory for analysis,” explains Randy Dennis, Chief Grain Inspector forCanada. “This shows that our quality assurance system is working. Grain producers can decrease the number of incidents we see and help maintain Canada’s reputation for providing grain that is safe and of a consistent quality by taking precautions on the farm.”

Health Canada has set maximum residue limits for chemicals in Canadian grain. Any grain exceeding these limits can be condemned. This means that the grain cannot enter the food or feed system and is destroyed.

Under the Canada Grain Act, a licensed grain handling facility cannot receive grain that is contaminated and may refuse to accept delivery of any grain that is believed to be contaminated. As well, the Canada Grain Act prohibits delivery of grain that is contaminated.

If treated seed is found in a shipment at the terminal elevator, the shipment will be held until the Canadian Grain Commission completes a chemical analysis. If the chemical in the shipment is below the maximum residue limit, the shipment may be released. However, each importing country has its own limits for chemical residues, which may result in the cargo not being accepted.

Any delays caused by treated seed can result in additional cost to grain handlers or producers. For example, if a producer car is contaminated, extra charges such as storage charges or costs related to potential contamination of other grain in the facility resulting in loss of the grain’s value, if traceable, could be passed on to the producer.

Prevention practices on the farm
Treated seed can enter the grain handling system through contaminated equipment or bins previously used to store treated seed. To prevent cross-contamination on the farm:

• When possible store treated seed in separate bins.
• Clean all equipment and bins after seeding and before harvest.
• Visually inspect equipment and bins for treated seed:

• Before harvest
• Before transferring grain between bins
• Before transferring grain to a truck or railcar for delivery

About the Canadian Grain Commission

The Canadian Grain Commission is the federal agency for establishing and maintaining Canada’s grain quality standards. Its programs result in shipments of grain that consistently meet contract specifications for quality, safety and quantity. The Canadian Grain Commission regulates the grain industry to protect producers’ rights and ensure the integrity of grain transactions.

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New York, U.S.A. – Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced on July 31, 2012 a live webcast with worldwide bestselling author J.K. Rowling on October 11, 2012 and the launch of the Harry Potter Reading Club, an online destination created to share the magical world of Harry Potter with a generation of new readers. The live webcast is presented by the new Harry Potter Reading Club from Scholastic at www.scholastic.com/hpreadingclub.

At 12:00 noon ET on Thursday, October 11, 2012, J.K. Rowling will participate in a live virtual author visit to classrooms across America to discuss the world of Harry Potter including Pottermore (www.pottermore.com), an exciting, free online experience that offers Harry Potter fans the chance to explore and discover exclusive new writing by J.K. Rowling as well as immerse themselves in other interactive content and community activities.

The October 11 webcast will be broadcast live from J.K. Rowling’s hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the first time she has had the opportunity to answer questions from kids live since 2007. Educators can sign up to join the webcast beginning July 31, 2012 at www.scholastic.com/hpreadingclub.

The new Harry Potter Reading Club website provides educators, librarians, after school program coordinators and parents who want to organize a book club with access to all the tools they need to host a Harry Potter Reading Club and celebrate the joy of reading. The first 10,000 registrants for the Club will receive a welcome kit including bookmarks, stickers and nametags. Printable versions of these items will also be available for download from the website.

“Scholastic has been in conversation with educators, librarians, and other book lovers about ideas for bringing the Harry Potter books to new readers in exciting and different ways,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade. “The Harry Potter Reading Club is a direct response to that feedback and provides an entry point through which the thrill of these books can be shared with new generations of Harry Potter fans both within and beyond the classroom.”

The Harry Potter Reading Club website includes a comprehensive discussion guide for each of the seven Harry Potter novels. The guides provide questions to help club members start an insightful conversation about the themes and events in the books and, in certain instances, how the books may relate to readers’ own lives and the world today. Each month Scholastic will add new themed activities to complement the Reading Club discussions that will often relate to experiences on the Pottermore website.

“I have run my own Harry Potter Reading Club with my students for two years and seen them grow into better readers while having a great shared reading experience,” said Donalyn Miller, sixth grade teacher, Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Kellor, TX.   ”I am delighted to be an advisor for Scholastic on the new Reading Club so that many more children will discover and become deeply engaged in the series in their own clubs all across the country.”

The Harry Potter Reading Club will also feature a live feed at Twitter #hpREADS providing a community for club leaders as well as “Teacher Tips” from educators already running Harry Potter Reading Clubs. The site will also include a series overview, a glossary of terms and a pronunciation guide as well as information about author J.K. Rowling and illustrator Mary GrandPre. Harry Potter Reading Club members can also expect invitations to additional special events and contests.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and related services and children’s media. Scholastic creates quality books, print and technology-based learning materials and programs, magazines, multi-media and other products that help children learn both at school and at home. The Company distributes its products and services worldwide through a variety of channels, including school-based book clubs and book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, on-air, and online at www.scholastic.com.

About Pottermore

Pottermore.com is a free-to-use website, partnered by Sony, that can be enjoyed alongside the Harry Potter books. It is the only place to read new Harry Potter content by J.K. Rowling, and is the exclusive retailer of the Harry Potter eBooks.

Image Courtesy of  bibicall

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London, England — Post-graduate students engaged in research on crop science, agriculture and related subjects are invited to take part in the CropWorld 2012 Poster Competition to showcase their work.

Entrants are required to should submit a 300 word abstract by 4th September 2012, and finalists will be notified by October 5, and will need to produce an A1 poster to be displayed at CropWorld by 2nd November.

The competition is being sponsored by the British Crop Production Council who will be awarding a top prize of GBP500, a second prize of GBP250 and a third prize of GBP100.

CropWorld Global 2012 is the leading international conference on crop science and is being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, from the 6th – 7th November.

Representatives of leading organisations in the science, agriculture and finance sectors will be appearing as speakers including senior executives from Monsanto, Unilever, Yara, the NFU, CABI, and the Brazilian agricultural research corporation Embrapa.

The first day of the conference will host plenary sessions discussing and debating the critical issues surrounding the delivery of sustainable agricultural intensification in the world’s key crop production areas and whether it can be achieved in practice.

It will also look at global commodity prices, harvest round up and planning forecast for 2013. On the second day CropWorld Global will delve into core political, commercial and technical topics ranging from the impact of regulatory changes to assessing modern plant breeding and soil management techniques.

The reason for the research should be clearly outlined, along with methodology used, any results, the significance of findings and future work required.

All finalists will be allocated free two-day passes to attend CropWorld Global 2012, and will present their poster to the panel of judges and the CropWorld audience.

CropWorld Director Clare King said there were a high number of quality entrants in the previous year’s competition, and she was hoping for a similar response this year.

The Poster Competition is an excellent opportunity for post-graduate students to showcase their research to leading figures in the industry. Finalists will also have the opportunity to network and listen to the wealth of talks and presentations that we have on offer at the event.

About CropWorld Global 2012

CropWorld Global 2012 is being organised by UBM in association with the British Crop Production Council (BCPC). UBM uses it experience in overseas markets to complement and build on the annual CropWorld conferences and exhibitions by running regional events in key crop producing regions of the world.

Image Courtesy of   CropWorld Global Congress

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Philadelphia, U.S.A. — The Intellectual Property & Science division of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has announced partnership with Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) to host the SciELO database on Web of Knowledge(SM), the world’s most powerful search and discovery platform.

This partnership will help bring greater visibility and improved access to research from emerging economies, particularly Latin America, the Caribbean, South Africa, and developed Latin-language areas including Spain and Portugal. The SciELO database will be integrated into Web of Knowledge, enabling researchers to review and analyze relevant regional content alongside top-tier international literature.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with SciELO. This will not only enhance the reach of the important research taking place in Spanish-speaking developing countries, but it will also bring new depth to our own data,” said Keith MacGregor, executive vice president at Thomson Reuters. “Researchers around the world will gain new insights into the impact of the works emanating from these regions.”

Currently, SciELO publishes about 40,000 new articles every year from over 900 open access journals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain andVenezuela. The addition of SciELO to Web of Knowledge will follow a similar model to that of the Chinese Science Citation Database, which has been hosted on Web of Knowledge since 2008. Both databases are part of the ongoing content expansion at Thomson Reuters, to spotlight regionally relevant scholarly literature and identify influential authors and research within rapidly developing research centers.

“Supported by the Brazilian fund agency Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) since its inception in 1998, SciELO is one of the earliest initiatives to provide open access to scientific literature. The agreement with Web of Knowledge opens new horizons in SciELO’s mission to enhance the visibility of the science done in Latin America, Spain and Portugal,” said Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director of FAPESP.

“It’s our mission to overcome the distribution and dissemination barriers that scientific journals from developing countries face by increasing the accessibility of locally generated scientific information,” saidAbel Packer, SciELO coordinator. “Giving research in Latin America and other developing areas increased prominence within Web of Knowledge means that the contributions of our researchers will be a more visible part of the global scientific discourse.”

Image Courtesy of  HolgerRings

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Moscow, Russia — Mayors of 86 global and regional cities around the world got a surprise gift for the International Chess Day on Friday, July 20 – a competition chess set, with a note from Vladimir Palikhata, President of the Moscow Chess Federation (MCF), extolling the virtues and benefits of chess – “a wise and ancient game,” which, according to the release, can “help reduce stress associated with managing a city” and “bring pleasure.”

Vladimir Palikhata decided to use this opportunity to reach out to the chief administrators of sister cities of Moscow, including London, Chicago, Vienna, Tokyo, and Santiago, to establish and reinforce relations with the chess-playing community in these cities.

“It gives me pleasure to congratulate Mayors of so many cities on our holiday,” said Palikhata. “I know that some are already very good players. Others may yet develop an interest in the game.”

First VP of the MCF Nikita Kim added that the gift chess sets were “one of several actions we are planning to strengthen MCF partnership relations overseas.” He emphasized that “Vladimir Palikhata sees developing MCF’s relations with international partners as very important.”

Russian capital has 85 sister cities; Paris is Moscow’s “partner city”.  Moscow Chess Federation, established in 1970, aims to develop and popularize chess in the Russian capital. It is headed by Vladimir Palikhata, successful Russian businessman and philanthropist. Under Palikhata’s watch, the Federation underwent rebranding, announced major chess tournaments and nurtured three new chess champions.

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Newcastle, England — Dedicated stock market betting site GoldenBoysBet.com has narrowly missed out on its first million pound winner after regular player Chris Glancey correctly matched seven numbers on the flagship Millionaires game, although the GBP10,000 second prize should help to cushion the blow.

Chris, who lives in Tyne and Wear, has only been playing Millionaires for six weeks, so he was very pleasantly surprised when his numbers came up on Friday evening. Millionaires players are required to guess the final figure of the Friday closing price of eight major stock markets around the world, with GBP1 Million on offer for anyone who gets them all right and Chris managed to match all of the first six, giving him 5 hours to wait before the US NASDAQ and Dow Jones closed.

“I couldn’t believe it when all of the numbers in Asia and Europe came up, so I stayed in to wait for the US markets closing, but in the end only the Dow Jones matched my prediction” said Chris, a Marketing Consultant. “I’ve always been interested in financial betting, but I don’t have the time to follow the markets as closely as I’d like, so Millionaires is the perfect way to play. I was gutted not to win the million, but 10 grand after six weeks is still a pretty good result.”

Players who match seven numbers win the GBP10,000 second prize and Chris is the first to manage it, although with hundreds of players joining GoldenBoys every week the odds of the jackpot being won are shortening all the time. He matched the closing figure correctly on every market except the NASDAQ, which also happened to be the last to close.

“For a few hours I was getting nervous that we’d be handing over the whole million, but it wasn’t to happen on this occasion, so I had a great big smile on my face when I wrote out Chris’s cheque for 10 grand,” said Martin Linham, CEO of GoldenBoysBet. “It’s great to have our first big winner but it seems the NASDAQ just isn’t his lucky market, which is a feeling many Facebook shareholders will be sharing at the moment.”

Building on the phenomenal success of Millionaires, GoldenBoys is planning a series of new game launches over the next few months, all offering quirky, innovative new ways to bet on the financial markets. Visit Goldenboysbet.com to find out more.

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Washington, U.S.A. – On Tuesday, July 24, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in cooperation with the Council on Foreign Relations and CNN, will present a symposium exploring the challenges of preventing genocide in the 21st Century. The symposium will be webcast live at act.ushmm.org/endgenocide.

“Sixty seven years after the Holocaust, after which the world vowed ‘Never Again,’ it is unacceptable that genocide persists,” said Museum Chairman Tom Bernstein. “We have learned much from the past about the causes of genocide, and now it is time to also look over the horizon at emerging trends that will impact how these atrocities unfold in years to come. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hopes this symposium and our ongoing efforts will make a substantial contribution to understanding and preventing genocide and other mass atrocities in the future.”

The symposium will feature a keynote address by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and remarks from Christopher Kojm,  chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which is conducting its first-ever estimate on risks of mass atrocities. Symposium participants will include senior leaders from government, think tanks, business, academia, philanthropy, and the genocide prevention field, as well as the next generation of young leaders.

Two panels moderated by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Washington Post Pulitzer Prize winner Dana Priest will focus on how economic, political, technological, demographic and other trends will affect the risk of mass killing, and on innovative strategies for preventing genocide. Panelists include futurist Peter Schwartz, Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder, military strategist Sarah Sewall, business entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, CNN Beirut correspondent Arwa Damon, and diplomat Richard Williamson.

“The Council on Foreign Relations is pleased to cooperate on this important initiative to assess recent efforts to prevent mass atrocities and consider new, innovative responses to preventing future threats of this kind,” said CFR President Richard N. Haass.

The Museum will also unveil the results of a large-scale public opinion poll that will provide new insight into Americans’ knowledge of and attitudes towards genocide and prevention, including their perspectives on whether and how the U.S. should engage in recent situations such as Syria and Sudan.

The symposium and poll have been made possible in part by a generous in-kind pro bono contribution from Burson-Marsteller, Penn Schoen Berland, and with support from Palantir Technologies.

Image Courtesy of  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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