HIM Quick Poll: After Strong January, Advisors Turn Decidedly Optimistic For 2012

Heritage Investment Management predict a brighter 2012, after a company poll of financial advisor's.

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar 18, 2012 -
Heritage Investment Management (HIM) Hong Kong based firm specializing in finance, taxation and investment management to the global market has announced that after a strong start for the stock market in January, financial advisors have turned decidedly more optimistic on the market’s performance for 2012, according to an HIM Quick Poll released today. Nearly all advisors surveyed (89 percent) in early February said they expect a positive return on the markets 2012; an 19 percent increase compared to a similar survey conducted in mid-January. Even more dramatic was a 51 percent increase among those who predict gains of greater than five percent. The February survey was completed by more than 100 advisors, the majority of whom manage more than $15 million in assets.
HIM’s CEO Ms. Vera Lim stated “Investors and advisors, alike, have been waiting for an excuse to become more positive,” “Whether it’s the trend in unemployment numbers, positive corporate profits, or lack of bad news, the investing sentiment has shifted to a more optimistic attitude. While we aren’t out of the woods yet, it’s important for advisors, and investors, to recognize we are in the early stages of a changeover and position their portfolios accordingly. With that said, there are still global risks including Greece, Syria, Iran, and Europe, that could tilt sentiment negative again.”
Heritage Investment Management also stated that In addition to positive projections for the S&P 500, the survey found other points of growing optimism among advisors. More than one-quarter of advisors predict that the ‘Pessimism Bubble’ hovering over the economy will burst in 2012. Additionally, nearly one-third of advisors say investor sentiment can best be described by the phrase, “the tide is turning.” Lastly, a majority of advisors said that investing adages, “Bull markets climb walls of worry,” and “A rising tide lifts all boats,” are the two most accurate phrases for today. Most advisors (87 percent) say that the likelihood of the payroll tax cuts being extended beyond February have a 50/50 chance, or better.

About Heritage Investment Management (HIM):

http://www.heritageinvestmentmanagement.com

Heritage Investment Management was founded in 1989 by a highly experienced team of specialists in finance, taxation and investment management. From our offices in Hong Kong, we combine expertise in investment banking, institutional trading, tax minimization, estate planning, and wealth management for clients in 26 countries around the globe.
Heritage Investment Management was founded with the aim of delivering exceptional results in every aspect of our work. Our team is continually striving to exceed expectations, outperform our competitors and excel at what we do. At Heritage Investment Management, we understand that originality is our primary strategic advantage, and we are engaged in the continual process of formulating and executing pioneering solutions to our clients’ diverse requirements.
At Heritage Investment Management, we consider integrity to be the foundation upon which our strong and durable relationships with clients are assembled. This belief extends into every communication we have our clients, the companies we invest in, industry partners, and other actors in the market.
Heritage Investment Management works as a single, cohesive team, working in partnership to determine and realize the optimum outcome for our institutional and private clients worldwide. Our team knows the meaning of collective responsibility and corporate accountability, which leads us to continually identify and pursue solutions which will maximize the benefit to our clients by generating the exceptional growth in a low risk and tax efficient manner.

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VIDEO: What comes after HD for TV viewers?

The world of TV is fast moving and technology firms are always looking forward to the next big thing.

Dan Simmons looks into the future to find green technologies, super high definition and screens that you can see right through.

MORE FROM IFA 2011

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China factory shut after protests

19 September 2011 Last updated at 10:14 GMT Riot police were brought in to remove protesters from outside the solar panel factory in Haining City A solar panel factory in eastern China has been shut down after protests by local residents over pollution fears.

Some 500 villagers staged a three-day protest following the death of large numbers of fish in a local river.

Some demonstrators broke into the plant in Zhejiang province, destroying offices and overturning company cars before being dispersed by riot police.

Tests on water samples showed high levels of fluoride, which can be toxic in high doses, officials said.

The BBC's Juliana Liu in Shanghai says the Chinese villagers see the plant's closure as a victory.

They accuse Jinko Solar, a Chinese company making solar panels for sale overseas, of dumping hazardous chemicals into the water supply, our correspondent says.

"We feel that it is socially responsible to close the factory first and to take corrective measures," company spokesman Thomas Jing told the BBC.

He said there had been accidental discharge into the surrounding area during a rainstorm at the end of August.

He said chemicals used at the factory had been stored in an open area rather than a warehouse, and that the covering had been ripped off during the unexpectedly harsh weather.

Mr Jing said the firm was investigating whether the fluoride was responsible for the death of the fish. A clean-up was also under way, he said.

The firm in Haining city is a subsidiary of a New York Exchange-listed Chinese solar company, JinkoSolar Holding Company.

Meanwhile, local government officials said there would be an overhaul of the production procedures at the plant involving the emission of waste gas and waste water.

"[We will] go all out to maintain stability and seriously deal with those who are suspected of violating laws in the incident in accordance with the law," Haining's city government said in a statement.

It also reported police had arrested a man for spreading "rumours" on the internet about cases of leukaemia and other cancers in local residents.

Chen Hongming, a deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau, was quoted by Chinese media as saying that the factory's waste disposal had failed pollution tests since April.

The environmental watchdog has warned the factory, but it had not effectively controlled the pollution, he added.

Government officials have been sent to the area to hear local residents' grievances, the China Daily reported.

This is the latest example of Chinese citizens being spurred to action over environmental worries. Last week, Shanghai halted production at two factories over worries about lead poisoning.

Last month, a chemical factory in the north-eastern city of Dalian was ordered to move after 12,000 residents took to the streets over pollution fears.

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Taiwan 'grounds jets' after crash

14 September 2011 Last updated at 11:09 GMT Taiwan wants the US to sell it fighters so it can upgrade its ageing F-5 air fleet Taiwan's air force is reported to have grounded its ageing F-5 fighters after two of them crashed during a training flight on Tuesday.

The jets disappeared off radar shortly after taking off from an air base in Hualien, eastern Taiwan.

The remains of three pilots have been recovered from the mountain crash site.

The military said it was investigating the accident but one official said it underlined Taiwan's need to purchase a more modern air fleet.

The aircraft - one RF-5 surveillance plane and a two-seater F-5F trainer - took off at 19:39 (11:39 GMT) and disappeared from radar 13 minutes later, the defence ministry said.

"We were fishing at the seaside when suddenly airplanes flew over our heads, and a moment later we heard a loud bang and the whole mountain was set on fire," one witness told the Taipei Times. "The explosion was very loud."

Wreckage from the planes was later found in the mountains and on a highway.

US deal sought

Huang Jong-Chyi, of the air force's Maintenance Command, told Taiwan's CNA news agency that the F-5 fleet had been grounded pending the results of the investigation.

The F-5 fleet is more than 35 years old and Taiwan is currently seeking to buy new aircraft to upgrade its air force.

It wants the US to sell it 66 F-16 C/D fighter jets, but China - which says Taiwan is part of its territory - has warned Washington not to proceed with the deal.

The US is due to make a decision by October, but some media reports suggest it will reject Taiwan's request. Both sides say no decision has been made.

Defence ministry spokesman David Lo told AFP news agency he hoped the sale would go ahead as soon as possible.

"This type of jet has served the air force for more than 35 years. We really don't want our pilots to fly them risking their lives," he said.

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Baby dies after father found dead

14 September 2011 Last updated at 23:58 GMT Police have begun a murder inquiry, but are not looking for any other suspects A baby boy has died after being found with the body of his father at a house in Lancashire.

Taxi driver Paul McBride, 39, was discovered dead at his mother's house at Marl Hill Crescent in the Ribbleton area of Preston at about 18:15 BST.

His six-month-old son was taken to hospital in a "very poorly condition", but later died.

Lancashire Police said they had been made aware of concerns for Mr McBride's welfare.

Officers and family members had been searching for Mr McBride, and it is believed a female family member found his body.

'Incredibly tragic'

A police spokeswoman said: "On arrival at the house, a man was found dead and a six-month-old boy was in a very poorly condition.

"He was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital where he sadly died."

Detective Superintendent Neil Esseen, who is leading the investigation, described it as an "incredibly tragic" case.

He said: "It is being treated as a murder inquiry, although we are not looking for anybody else in connection with this incident.

"We are still in the very early stages of this investigation, but we are conducting a number of inquiries in order to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths."

One resident of Marl Hill Crescent said a woman ran from the house "screaming incoherently".

The neighbour added: "She wouldn't go back into the house.

"There were so many ambulance and police around we knew it had to be something terrible.

"Then the baby was taken away in an ambulance."

Another neighbour said: "I knew Paul. He was a happy, jolly type. He was always jokey and loved football.

"He had moved away, so we didn't see much of him any more. His mother is on holiday so I don't even know why he was at the house."

Forensic searches of the property have been made and post-mortem examinations are due to take place on Thursday.

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Knox 'hopeful' after blow to prosecution

PERUGIA, Italy — An American student jailed for the murder of her English housemate hopes to win an appeal against her conviction after an Italian judge rejected prosecution calls for a second review of crucial evidence that two experts have undermined, her family said on Wednesday.

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Amanda Knox, 24, is appealing against her conviction for the 2007 killing of language student Meredith Kercher at their rented house in the Italian town of Perugia, central Italy.

Appeal court judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann turned down a prosecution request to review forensic evidence used to convict Knox after an independent report found it to be unreliable.

"They have no case, there is no case left and I am very hopeful that by the end of the month we will get to bring Amanda home," her father Curt Knox told CNN outside court.

'Happy and hopeful'
His daughter is "happy and hopeful" that she will be released from prison soon, he said in comments reported by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

One of the two prosecutors opposing Knox's bid to overturn her conviction was quoted by the Daily Mail newspaper as saying that there was an "ill wind blowing in this case."

Prosecutor Manuela Comodi said she could envisage Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, also convicted of Kercher's murder, being cleared by the appeal court.

"The judge and his assistant are clearly against us. I can see both Knox and Sollecito being freed which will be a shame as they are both involved," Comodi was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail.

Knox and Sollecito and Ivorian Rudy Guede were jailed in 2009 after what judges concluded was a frenzied sex game that spiraled out of control.

Both deny wrongdoing and are appealing the lower court verdict.

The decision to deny more DNA testing was a blow to the prosecution, which had sought to counter the results of a court-ordered independent review that harshly criticized how DNA evidence was used in the case.

Without a clear motive or convincing witnesses, the DNA evidence is crucial, and much of the appeals outcome hinges on it.

The court presided over by Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann said closing arguments to begin on Sept. 23, with the prosecution going first, followed by civil plaintiffs and the defense.

Story: Alleged DNA contamination at heart of Amanda Knox appeal trial

In the first trial, prosecutors maintained that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon, and that Kercher's DNA was found on the blade.

They said Sollecito's DNA was on the clasp of Kercher's bra as part of a mixed trace that also included the victim's genetic profile.

Unreliable
The appeals court ordered an independent review, which found that much of that evidence was unreliable and possibly contaminated.

The review was at the center of several fiercely debated hearings in the Perugia courtroom, with police defending their investigation.

The TODAY show reported Wednesday that the court was shown pictures of the refrigerator, filled with food, in the house where Kercher died, taken weeks after the murder.

The court was told that police stored biological evidence in the refrigerator and there was a question about whether the food — a possible source of DNA contamination — had been removed first.

"This is a strange way of [collecting] evidence," defense forensic expert Adriano Tagliabracci told TODAY.

Story: Italian police defend their Knox murder probe

Pratillo Hellmann said the discussion about the DNA evidence had been thorough enough for the court to form an opinion.

New testing would be "superfluous," he said, rejecting the request made earlier in the day by Prosecutor Manuela Comodi.

The court also rejected another prosecution request to put back on the stand a witness who had previously testified that his brother, a fugitive, had killed Kercher during a botched burglary.

The witness, a jailed Naples mobster called Luciano Aviello, announced he wanted to retract and was questioned by Comodi in prison in July.

The court ruled that transcriptions of that questioning would suffice.

The Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report.

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Yemen PM returns from Riyadh after attack on Saleh (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen's prime minister became the first senior politician injured in a June assassination attempt on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to return home from Saudi Arabia, a government official said on Tuesday.

The official told Reuters Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Megawar arrived in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday evening and was greeted at the airport by hundreds of government officials and supporters.

Megawar had been receiving medical treatment in Riyadh, along with a number of other presidential aides and Saleh himself, who has repeatedly said he will return to the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.

Yemen has been paralyzed by months of protests against Saleh's 33-year authoritarian rule.

As violence persisted, the death toll has risen in the south with Islamist militants regularly launching attacks on soldiers, security officials and tribesmen fighting alongside the army.

Four soldiers were killed and some 40 wounded on Tuesday when militants attacked troops stationed south of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, where militants, emboldened by months of upheaval, have taken control of three towns since March.

A security official said two militants were also killed in clashes that broke out on Tuesday and continued into the evening.

Separately, two tribesmen were killed by militants in the coastal town of Shaqra, which they seized last week.

Some tribesmen have sided with the Yemeni army to try to flush militants out of Abyan, setting up checkpoints along roads and last month launching an offensive that has so far failed to recapture much lost ground.

Yemeni warplanes on Monday night killed 5 militants in an airstrike on a checkpoint they had occupied in the al-Arqub area of Abyan, a security official said.

Tribesmen said they saw militants load dead bodies into a car and speed off toward Shaqra.

Residents of Lawdar, another Abyan town, said a suspected suicide bomber driving a motorcycle laden with explosives blew himself up by accident at dawn on Tuesday on the outskirts of the city before reaching his target.

The United States and Saudi Arabia fear that upheaval in Yemen is giving militants, who the government says belong to al Qaeda, more room to launch attacks on the region and beyond.

Opponents of Saleh accuse him of exaggerating the threat of al Qaeda and even encouraging militants in order to illustrate the dangers of Yemen without him and pressure Riyadh and Washington into backing him.

(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Isabel Coles and Jason Benham; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

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Lil Wayne Accident – Rapper is Recovering after Skateboard Mishap

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., popularly known as Lil Wayne, is recovering after gashing his head at a St. Louis-area park on Monday, KTVI-TV reported.

The 28-year-old rapper was in suburban St. Louis Sunday for a performance at the outdoor Verizon Amphitheatre when the accident happened. Accompanied by a large entourage, Wayne was rushed at DePaul Health Center’s emergency room.

The hospital won’t confirm about the injuries that Lil Wayne got following the accident, citing privacy rules. However, the rapper wrote about it on his official Twitter account (@LilTunechi) saying he got 9 stitches:

The Lou was good but I busted my fuggin head at the sk8park! 9stitches! Gnarly gash over my left eye! Luv the people

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Bank shares fall after euro talks

17 August 2011 Last updated at 17:02 GMT Investors were hoping for more detailed proposals on how to solve the eurozone debt crisis European bank shares have fallen after Franco-German plans to tackle the euro debt crisis underwhelmed investors.

Barclays fell 4.2%, RBS 3.8%, Deutsche Bank 2.8% and Societe Generale 2.5%.

A tax on financial transactions, promoted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, also hit the shares of the operators of leading exchanges.

NYSE Euronext, owner of several continental bourses, was 4.7% lower at the close of trading.

Shares in Deutsche Boerse fell 4.4% and the London Stock Exchange was down 2.8%.

'Gift'

The tax could be used to raise money to help bolster any future bailout funds, but the proposal has already met with opposition from one member state.

"We can't have a situation where there is a transaction tax in Dublin and there is no transaction tax in London," said the Irish Republic's Finance Minister, Michael Noonan.

Deutsche Boerse also questioned the effectiveness of a tax on financial institutions.

"Such a tax generates incentives to switch even more to niches that are not covered by this tax and would be a gift for the unregulated financial centers and financial products in this world," the exchange said.

Continue reading the main story

The Paris summit was intended to send a signal that these two leaders recognise that if the single currency is to work, it will require closer economic integration.”

End Quote Gavin Hewitt BBC Europe editor Markets overall remained steady, but have yet to recoup much of the sharp losses seen last week.

Frankfurt's Dax index ended Wednesday down 0.8% and London's FTSE 100 0.5%, but the Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.7%.

The gold price hit a new a record high, reflecting continued uncertainty over the debt situation in the eurozone and the US.

After falling back towards the end of last week, it hit $1,795 an ounce in early trading before slipping slightly.

The Swiss franc - another haven for investors - also rose again, despite efforts by the Swiss authorities to dampen its value.

Eurobonds

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Tuesday night for "true economic governance" for the eurozone in response to the debt crisis.

The leaders called for much closer economic policy in the eurozone, but said that this could only be achieved by a "step-by-step" process.

Mrs Merkel also stressed that issuing so-called eurobonds - IOUs issued to investors backed by the eurozone as a whole rather than individual countries - would not be on the agenda until closer economic union had been achieved.

Some policymakers and investors have argued that issuing these bonds would go a long way to calming volatile stock markets and resolving the debt crisis.

Continue reading the main story Last Updated at 04:44 GMT

Market indexCurrent valueTrendVariation% variationBoth the Italian Finance Minister, Giulio Tremonti, and billionaire investor George Soros have backed the idea.

Harmonising tax

To tackle concerns about high levels of debt among eurozone governments in general, Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy proposed that a requirement for member states to balance their budgets should be enshrined in each of their constitutions by the summer of 2012.

In another initiative to increase tax revenues, the leaders advocated harmonising corporate tax rates across the single currency.

The two leaders also said they wanted bi-annual meetings of the 17 heads of the eurozone governments, chaired by Herman van Rompuy, the current president of the European Council.

As well as proposals for the eurozone as a whole, the meeting also came up with some bilateral plans between Germany and France.

These included plans for a joint proposal on a financial transactions tax and meetings to exchange views about economic and budgetary policies.

In addition, French and German finance ministers are to come up with ideas to increase the convergence and competitiveness of the two economies, in particular a proposal for a joint business tax.

Patrice Perois at Kepler Capital Markets said: "There weren't any scoops as the proposals had been mentioned over the past few days. Overall, the outcome of the meeting wasn't convincing, with no eurobond project."

Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy were meeting in Paris in the wake of recent turmoil on the financial markets, which came amid fears of a renewed global recession and concerns that Spain and Italy may be dragged into the debt crisis.

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Gunman killed after assaulting Estonian ministry

TALLINN, Estonia — A man fired shots and set off a smoke bomb at the Defense Ministry in Estonia's capital Tallinn and then was killed as police moved in, officials said on Thursday.

The motive of the man who carried out the attack, a rare incidence of such violence in the small Baltic state of 1.3 million people, was not clear, the authorities said.

They named the man as Karen Drambjan and said he was born in 1954, without giving a precise birth date.

The prosecutor's office said in a statement Drambjan broke into the Defense Ministry building in the center of Tallinn and threw a smoke bomb.

It had initially said the man took two hostages, but in a later statement it said the people were caught in the building when it was evacuated and were later freed.

"The unknown man who entered the Ministry of Defense building slightly after three in the afternoon today was killed in the course of the joint operation carried out by the police and the Security Police," the statement said. "Nobody else suffered any injuries."

It said the man was armed with a pistol and with packets of explosives. It denied the man committed suicide, as had been said by some officials earlier. The prosecutor's office said the man had no link with the armed forces.

"The motive of his action has remained unclear," Prime Minister Andrus Ansip was quoted by news portal Delfi as saying.

"This is depressing. It looks like someone has been inspired by the events in Norway," he said, referring to the July 22 rampage and bombing that left 77 dead and suspected gunman Anders Breivik in custody.

A report on the website of Russian-language newspaper Dyen za Dnyom said Drambyan's apartment had been sold by court bailiffs on the eve of the attack.

Defense Minister Mart Laar was quoted by Delfi as saying that the man had hundreds of bullets, a bag of explosives and a gas mask. Laar was not in the building when it was attacked.

Estonian media said Drambjan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, held a university degree in law and owned a small law firm. He had joined a small left-wing political party.

Such incidents are extremely rare in Estonia, a former Soviet state which regained its independence in 1991 and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.

The most recent unrest was in 2007 when Russian-speaking youths rioted and looted the city center for two days after authorities put a statue of a Red Army soldier, that had been in the center, in a cemetery.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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British cities clear up after looting

LONDON — British cities began on Wednesday to clean up shopping streets littered with debris from a night of looting by gangs of hooded youths copying the tactics of young Londoners who had rampaged through districts of the capital for three nights.

With a show of force and prayer, London fights back Riots reveal London’s two disparate worlds Updated 102 minutes ago 8/10/2011 5:50:05 AM +00:00 Democrats fall short in Wisconsin recall elections Northern lights captured on video Economic uncertainty feels like normal now Fetal genetic testing  may reshape abortion debate An emotional end to a dream

London itself was largely quiet on Tuesday night, with some 16,000 police -- 10,000 more than on Monday -- sent onto the streets in a show of force in districts where gangs had looted shops and burned cars and buildings virtually unchecked on the previous three nights.

But unrest spread across central and northern England on a fourth night of violence driven by poor, diverse and brazen crowds of young people.

Scenes of ransacked stores, torched cars and blackened buildings frightened and outraged Britons just a year before their country is to host the summer Olympic Games, bringing demands for a tougher response from law enforcement. Police across the country have made more than 1,100 arrests since the violence broke out over the weekend.

London's Metropolitan Police department said a large presence would remain in the city through the next 24 hours at least.

Though London saw no new unrest late Tuesday, the chaos spread to other cities. A police station in the central England city of Nottingham was firebombed by a 40-strong mob, and hundreds of youths battled police in the northwestern city of Manchester.

Get the latest updates on this story from breakingnews.com

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday police will crack down hard to quell the violence, as a watchdog group investigated the violence which first ignited the riots.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the fatal shooting of a man by police, which sparked three days of rioting and looting across London and other British cities. The IPCC said on Tuesday there was no evidence a handgun retrieved at the scene had been fired.

Citizen cameras capture more London looters than cops

Reports initially suggested 29-year-old Mark Duggan had shot at police. His death sparked a riot in a north London borough on Saturday night when a peaceful demonstration over the shooting turned violent. This violence then spread throughout the U.K., prompting Cameron to speak out.

Citing "sickening scenes," Cameron announced that 16,000 police officers would be deployed on London's streets on Tuesday — up from 6,000 on Monday night.

Cameron, who cut short his summer vacation in Italy and recalled Parliament from its summer recess to deal with the crisis, also promised "even more robust police action."

"This is criminality pure and simple and it needs to be confronted," he added. "Justice will be done and these people will see the consequences of their actions. If you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment."

As calls mounted for stronger measures, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said police would consider using baton rounds — rubber or plastic bullets.  These have been used in Northern Ireland and while they are seen as a non-lethal alternative, they have caused deaths in the past.

With a show of force and prayer, London fights back

The wave of violence and looting raged across London spread to three other major British cities on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s.

In London, groups of young people set buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looted stores and pelted police officers with bottles and fireworks. The spreading disorder was an unwelcome warning of the possibility of violence for leaders organizing the 2012 Summer Olympics in less than a year.

Sad truth behind the London riot

The International Olympic Committee insisted it had confidence in British authorities. "Security at the Olympic Games is a top priority for the IOC," spokesman Mark Adams said.

The Football Association, meanwhile, called off England's friendly against Netherlands at Wembley on Wednesday because of the widespread rioting and looting in the capital.

England's players also issued a statement on Tuesday, saying: "We have all seen the terrible pictures on television and the most important thing at this time is the safety of the fans and the general public.

"At this time the whole squad would like to appeal for calm and an end to this disorder."

West Ham, a football team in east London, confirmed it had canceled a match planned for Tuesday as a precaution.

Neighborhoods across the capital faced a massive clean-up of smashed glass, bricks, bottles and gutted buildings as police reinforcements reclaimed the streets from the youths.

Riots reveal London’s two disparate worlds

On Monday, police made a rare decision to deploy armored vehicles in some of the worst-hit districts. However, authorities still struggled to keep pace with the chaos unfolding at flashpoints across London, in the central city of Birmingham — where a police station was set ablaze — the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of Liverpool.

Authorities acknowledged that major new bouts of violence had badly stretched their resources.

"The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable," police Commander Christine Jones said. "Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery."

'Come join the fun'
The riots appeared to have little unifying cause — though some involved claimed to oppose sharp government spending cuts, which will slash welfare payments and cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs through 2015.

Others appeared attracted simply by the opportunity for violence. "Come join the fun," shouted one youth, racing along a street in the east London suburb of Hackney, where shops were attacked and cars torched.

Rioters were left virtually unchallenged in several neighborhoods and able to plunder from stores at will or attempt to invade homes. Restaurants and stores fearful of looting closed early across London.

Story: MP calls for BlackBerry Messenger suspension over UK riots

Witnesses were told of numerous cases of car theft by groups of looters.

Disorder flared throughout the night, from gritty suburbs along the capital's fringes to central London's famously ritzy Notting Hill neighborhood. London's Ambulance Service said it had treated 16 patients, of whom 15 were hospitalized.

Police said 525 people had been arrested and more than 100 people charged with offenses. Sky News reported that London's jail cells were full so suspects were being taken to police stations outside of the capital.

At one point, the London fire brigade said it was running out of vehicles to tackle fires started by the rioters.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer left hospitalized after he was struck by a car in north London early Tuesday.

A 26-year-old man who was shot in his car during disturbances overnight in Croydon, south of London, died in a hospital early Tuesday, becoming the first fatality of the riots sweeping Britain, the BBC reported.

After dawn, police said, the unrest appeared to calm, either quelled by police or after rioters drifted away.

The beginning of the violence
Violence first broke out late Saturday in the low-income, multiethnic district of Tottenham in north London, where outraged protesters demonstrated against the fatal police shooting of  Duggan, a father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday.

IPCC said in a statement that ballistic test results showed "at this stage there is no evidence that the handgun found at the scene was fired during the incident."

Duggan's death came after two shots were fired by a special firearms officer, the IPCC said.

The initial results also confirmed reports that a bullet found lodged in a police radio at the scene was police issue.

Forensic officers told the IPCC that it may not be possible to "say for certain" whether the handgun found close to Duggan had been fired.

Duggan's partner, Semone Wilson, insisted Monday that her fiance was not connected to gang violence and urged police to offer more information about his death. But she rejected suggestions that the escalating riots were linked to protests over his death. "It got out of hand. It's not connected to this anymore. This is out of control," she said.

Duggan's death stirred old animosities and racial tensions similar to those that prompted massive riots in the 1980s, despite efforts by London police to build better relations with the city's ethnic communities after high-profile cases of racism in recent decades.

But, as the unrest spread, some pointed to rising social tensions in Britain as the government slashes 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending by 2015 to reduce the huge deficit, swollen after the country spent billions bailing out its foundering banks.

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

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Will Afghanistan return to an era of warlord rule after NATO leaves? (The Christian Science Monitor)

By Tom A. Peter Tom A. Peter – Mon Aug 8, 10:19 am ET

Kandahar City, Afghanistan – In his sprawling office in Kandahar’s gubernatorial palace, Tooryali Wesa spends much of his day behind an imposing hand-carved wooden desk. Stately chairs and couches line the wood-paneled walls, topped with the type of high-vaulted ceiling found in a cathedral or classically designed mosque. The room is a virtual shrine to governance and an apparent testament to the power of the political office.

But in Afghanistan, things are rarely what they seem.

For years, Kandaharis have made it no secret that, while they respect Mr. Wesa, his position is largely symbolic. To get things done, they turn to the region’s power brokers and warlords.

“The biggest challenge has been power brokers,” says Wesa, reflecting on his time as governor. “They had only guns before, but recently in addition to guns they have money. They run most of the businesses, they are awarded contracts from [various international sources], and they are feeding the insurgency.”

The possibility that power brokers and warlords in Afghanistan might be what keeps the country from unraveling has had analysts concerned, but the recent assassination of Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful strongmen in Afghanistan, and the ensuing struggle in Kandahar for power, has brought the issue into sharp focus as the US begins to draw down forces.

RELATED For many Afghans, US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

The struggle to replace Ahmad Wali, President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, highlights a key question at the heart of Afghanistan’s future: After 10 years of the US-led war, who can realistically control the country, warlords and strongmen or the government?

Though much of the international effort here has focused on strengthening democratic institutions, foreign forces have often had to lean on strongmen. As a result, a new generation of warlords has risen to power, fueled by US money.

Many warlords in Afghanistan occupy government posts, but their reach extends well beyond their appointed role. Ahmad Wali, for example, was officially head of the Kandahar Provincial Council. Power brokers, like him, run parallel governments that often undercut the role of government. And most of the men powerful enough to claim these roles come with a litany of criminal allegations against them.

“The whole mission of the international community has always been to invest in individuals and not in a structure or in a system,” says Rangina Hamidi, a political activist in Kandahar. “When you depend on individuals, things will go on well as long as they’re alive. And once they’re gone ... then the whole structure falls.”

In Kandahar, there has been increasing talk that Kabul will appoint a new personality to replace Wesa who will likely set the tone for which direction the government is headed.

Until recently, two of the most likely contenders represented warlord-government divide. On one side, Gul Agha Sherzai is the classic old school mujahideen fighter-turned-power broker. On the other, there was Ghulam Haider Hamidi, an accountant who had lived in Virginia for nearly two decades and was widely seen as one of the nation’s most honest brokers until he was killed by a suicide bomber on July 27.

A close ally to the president, Mr. Sherzai currently serves as the governor of Nangarhar Province in the east. He is a rotund man who fits the stereotypical warlord mold. Sherzai was the governor of Kandahar after the fall of the Taliban in 2003 but was accused of making hundreds of millions of dollars from the drug trade and operating a band of thugs notorious for extortion, murder, and rape. A number of international and Afghan officials have ascribed the resurgence of the Taliban in the south partly to his heavy-handed tactics.

As governor of Nangarhar, Sherzai’s reputation has improved. Internationals have credited him with playing a major role in eradicating poppy production throughout much of the province.

However, in his current position Sherzai is also accused of skimming money from international development projects and paying off officials and journalists to say positive things about him.

“In the media they say he’s a hero for Nangarhar, but it’s not true,” says Abdul Gafar, a member of parliament from Nangarhar. “These were the efforts of the people of Nangarhar who wanted peace. The credit does not go to Sherzai; it goes to the people.”

Sherzai waves off the accusations.

And many residents of Kandahar say that the circumstances have changed since Sherzai’s last term as governor and he would be unlikely to engage in controversial activities as he reportedly did before.

However, his appointment may risk further undercutting many Afghans’ faith in the international community and the government. Aside from political concerns, many Afghans are also worried that the Taliban may be gaining momentum, especially in the east where they shot down a US helicopter on Saturday, killing dozens. Even after a decade of international military involvement, it appears to many Afghans that stability is still far off.

RELATED For many Afghans,US helicopter crash confirms Taliban momentum

“The people of Afghanistan have lost their trust in the international community because in the beginning, after the Taliban, when the warlords and criminals were hired as government officials, the people were expecting that they [would] be taken to court or removed from government positions after some time. But now that [practice] has continued, and they have become more powerful,” says Ahmad Shah Spar, a human rights activist.

Meanwhile, until his assassination, Mr. Hamidi represented the opposite of politicians like Sherzai. The mayor of Kandahar city for the past four years, he was a man of slight build, who spoke fondly of his time in Virginia and his love of his native Kandahar. Hamidi was perhaps as close to a Western politician as any government official in Afghanistan.

Although he was not completely removed from corruption scandals, he was regarded as a politician committed to making decisions based on the law rather than personal interests.

In a conversation with the Monitor the day before his death, he expressed optimism that the country had evolved politically and would not call on warlords to replace Ahmad Wali.

“Those power brokers, warlords, and drug dealers are losing their power, and we are going the way the development of Kandahar needs,” said Hamidi. “They will never get anything and we are proud of that, and the government is doing things in the correct way.”

But with the death of Hamidi at the hands of a suicide bomber, residents may now be more willing to turn to a strongman like Sherzai whom they see as capable of dealing with the region’s turbulence.

“For the current situation in Kandahar we need a former jihadi,” says Haji Faisal Mohammed, a prominent tribal elder in Kandahar. He says he backs Sherzai despite his questionable past, which includes allegedly murdering a respected elder close to Mr. Mohammed.

He also hopes that the death of Ahmad Wali will present an opportunity to form a tribal council that acts as a check on leaders like Sherzai and creates more equality among the tribes.

“We don’t have any person like Ahmad Wali, so I have no doubt that there will be many people who share the power. There is not a single person to depend on. There will be three or four people from different tribes,” says Waheed Mujada, an independent analyst in Kabul.

IN PICTURES: Battling the Afghan insurgency

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Somali refugees pack capital after rebels quit (Reuters)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Thousands of Somali refugees, fleeing famine and years of violence, streamed into Mogadishu on Monday searching for food after Islamist rebels withdrew from the capital.

The al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab insurgents began pulling their fighters out of Mogadishu over the weekend, raising hopes that humanitarian groups would be able to step up aid deliveries after years of blockages by the militant group.

Locals told Reuters long lines of refugees were now heading to the battle-scarred city to escape the region's worst drought in decades, and existing supplies were already running low.

The United Nations says about 3.6 million people are at risk of starvation in Somalia and about 12 million people across the Horn of Africa region, including in Ethiopia and Kenya.

"Now thousands ... are on the way from Bakool and Bay (regions) to Mogadishu," Sherif Isak, 58, a refugee in Badbaado camp on the outskirts of the capital, told Reuters.

"I cannot say it will rain but I am sure life will improve if al Shabaab melts away. More agencies will come and people will get food and jobs," he said.

Al Shabaab withdrew four years into their battle to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government, an insurgency that has driven the chaotic country deeper into anarchy.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre 20 years ago, and peace is a distinct prospect.

The militants, hostile to any Western intervention, have blocked humanitarian deliveries in the past, saying aid creates dependency. Aid agencies say they have been unable to reach more than 2 million Somalis facing starvation in rebel-held territories.

Days after al Shabaab's departure, the first of three flights from the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR landed in Mogadishu Monday, carrying more than 31 tons of shelter material, including blankets and jerricans for water.

Local officials said they were cautiously hopeful.

"If ongoing aid flights keep coming to Mogadishu, we are optimistic that people will survive," Fartun Abdisalan Adam, a local rights group official told Reuters in Mogadishu.

But existing supplies were running low. "The refugees are still storming the capital in search of food and there is not enough food for them to survive in the capital," she added.

Somalia's struggling government hailed the rebels' exit as a major victory but al Shabaab said their withdrawal was just tactical and promised to return, and analysts said the exit could herald a wave of al Qaeda-style suicide attacks.

CAR BLAST

Monday afternoon, a suicide car bomb detonated prematurely 13 km (8 miles) south of Mogadishu, officials said.

"We understand a car full of explosives detonated unexpectedly. Only the driver died, but two civilians were also injured," said Captain Ndayiragije Come, a spokesman for the African Union (AU) peace keeping force, AMISOM.

"The suicide car bomb was heading to Mogadishu. Al Shabaab has not given up war. They are masterminding more blasts but we are very alert."

Mogadishu residents said they still felt far from secure. Many feared fresh fighting between government troops and remnants of the rebel force hiding out in the capital.

Militants have threatened to behead anyone who betrayed their fighters to the police.

"I think this is one of the riskiest operating environments of any humanitarian operation in the world right now so I think sure, there's risk of an uptick in the fighting, there are all sorts of risks," a senior U.S. official traveling with the delegation of Jill Biden, the wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden was visiting Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp just over Somalia's border in neighboring Kenya. Dadaab, declared full in 2008, has seen an influx of about 1,500 Somali refugees a day since late July.

"There's such a great influx every single day ... coming in here that I think it's just getting overwhelming for them to handle it all. We need to stay ahead of it," Biden told reporters.

(Additional reporting and writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by James Macharia)

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Libya rebels dissolve cabinet after chief's death

BENGHAZI, Libya — Libyan rebels on Monday dissolved their executive committee, or cabinet, after procedural errors in the handling of the unexplained shooting dead 12 days ago of their military chief.

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The 14-member executive committee, including officials responsible for defense and interior affairs, was sacked and a new one will be nominated by Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, National Transitional Council (NTC) media director Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said.

Rebel commander Abdel Fattah Younes was killed on July 28 after being taken into custody by his own side for questioning, throwing into question the unity of the NTC, just as it was winning broader international recognition.

NBC fixer killed by a rocket in Libya

Opposition leaders have linked his killing to elements loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"They've all been dismissed," Abdulmolah told Reuters. "There were administrative errors that they were held responsible for."

The killing of Younes, a former interior mister under Gadhafi who defected to the rebels soon after Libya's uprising began in February, rocked the rebel movement and raised fears of fighting among opposition factions.

Supporters of Younes, including leaders of his large tribe, have demanded a full and transparent investigation, amid talk that rivals in the opposition camp may have been responsible.

The NTC, under the leadership of Mustafa Abdel Jalil and recognized by about 30 countries, is not affected by the dismissal of the executive and some of its members could be brought back when a new committee is formed, Abdulmolah said.

"It's part of the maturing of the revolution, holding people responsible," he added. "It's healthy. The NTC is still the highest authority."

The killing of Younes deepened concern among the rebels' Western backers, including the United States, who are keen to see them prevail in a nearly six month old civil war but are frustrated by their lack of unity and nervous about the influence of Islamists.

"Given the shortcomings in the performance of some members of the executive committee with regard to this crisis and this incident, the Council has decided to form a new committee," rebel spokesman Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga told Al Jazeera television.

Younes was part of the group involved in the 1969 coup that brought Gadhafi to power. He occupied senior positions at Gadhafi's side, and was interior minister before he defected.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Worker dies after being sucked into plane engine

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An engineer working at an airplane testing facility has been sucked into an engine and killed.

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Domestic carrier Air New Zealand confirmed the man was performing routine maintenance on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules airplane engine just after 8 a.m. Monday (4 p.m. ET Sunday) at the Woodbourne air field in Blenheim when he the incident occurred.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the engine was sitting on a stand without propellers attached and was not affixed to a plane at the time of the accident.

TVNZ identified the engineer as Miles Hunter, 51.

'Very routine procedure'
Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand, told ONE News that officials were at a "complete loss" as how the incident occurred.

"It was a very routine procedure with very experienced people involved," he added.

Tasman Police communications manager Barbara Dunn said emergency services personnel performed CPR on Hunter but couldn't revive him.

Hunter worked for a Safe Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand.

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

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Nintendo shares slump after loss

29 July 2011 Last updated at 07:17 GMT Nintendo's latest gadget the 3DS has not made a big impact on the market Shares in Nintendo have tumbled on the Tokyo stock exchange a day after the company announced a loss in the first quarter.

The shares closed down 13%, having fallen as much as 20%, on news of the worse-than-expected profits figures.

On Thursday, Nintendo reported a net loss of 25.5bn yen ($324m, £201m) for the April-to-June quarter, its first-ever quarterly loss.

The company also cut its full-year profit forecast.

Nintendo said it now expects a net profit of 20bn yen for the year to March 2012, down 82% from its previous projection.

'Underweight' Nintendo earnings were hit by weak sales of its new gadget, the handlheld 3DS console.

In an attempt to boost sales the company has announced huge price cuts.

The price in Japan will be about 40% less - retailing at 15,000 yen. In the US, the price will drop next month to $169.99 from $249.99.

However, analysts said the price cut may hurt the company's earnings even further.

"The timing of the 3DS hardware price cut is surprising, given the major in-house software releases," said Hiroshi Kamide of JP Morgan.

"We believe the 3DS will be a heavy weight on earnings over the medium term," he added.

JP Morgan also cut its rating on Nintendo from "overweight" to "underweight," saying the current situation was worse than feared and the outlook uncertain.

Tired customers?

To make matters worse for the gaming giant, industry watchers say sales of the 3DS are unlikely to turn around anytime soon.

"Software is a big problem. Right now there are not many games available for the 3DS," said David Abrams, of CAGCast Video Game.

Mr Abrams added that while the 3DS has had a lukewarm response, smartphones continue to capture an increasing share of the gaming market.

He said easy availability of games and their low cost meant more and more people were preferring smartphones over specialised gadgets.

"The question is, are people willing to spend a premium to play the next Mario game or would they spend that amount to buy close to 40 games on their smartphones," he said

Mr Abrams added that despite the launch of its latest version, the DS gadget has been losing its charm.

"The reality is that people may be tired of the whole DS concept. It has been around for almost seven years," he said.

"May be its not that exciting to people anymore," he added.

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Norway PM: After attacks, make country more open (AP)

By KARL RITTER and JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Karl Ritter And Jim Heintz, Associated Press – 1 hr 5 mins ago

OSLO, Norway – Five days after an attacker incensed by Norway's culture of tolerance horrified the world, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday issued a quiet call of defiance to his countrymen: Make Norway even more open and accepting.

"The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater political participation," Stoltenberg insisted at a news conference.

His promise in the face of twin attacks that killed 76 people signaled a contrast to the U.S. response after the 9/11 attacks, when Washington gave more leeway to perform wiretaps and to search records.

It reflects the difference between the two countries' approaches to terrorism: The U.S. has been frustrated by what it considers Scandinavia's lack of aggressive investigation and arrests.

"I think what we have seen is that there is going to be one Norway before and one Norway after July 22," the day an anti-immigration extremist bombed Oslo's government quarter and slaughtered dozens at the left-leaning Labor Party's youth camp, Stoltenberg said.

"But I hope and also believe that the Norway we will see after will be more open, a more tolerant society than what we had before."

Stoltenberg strongly defended the right to speak freely — even if it includes extremist views such as those held by Anders Behring Breivik, the 32-year-old Norwegian who has confessed to the attacks and claimed they were necessary to fight what he called Muslim colonization and multiculturalism.

"We have to be very clear to distinguish between extreme views, opinions — that's completely legal, legitimate to have. What is not legitimate is to try to implement those extreme views by using violence," he said in English.

Since the attacks, Stoltenberg and Norwegian family members have underlined the country's openness by making public appearances with little visible security guarding them.

The prime minister, perhaps mindful of many Norwegians' reserved ways, urged the country to fully grieve: "I have cried, and I have told many people that they should not hesitate to cry."

The national sense of heartbreak is being renewed daily as police slowly release names of the dead; the identities of only 17 of the 68 known to have been killed have been officially confirmed.

One those named Wednesday was the youngest-known victim so far — camper Sharidyn Svebakk-Boehn, who turned 14 five days before the rampage.

An employee of Stoltenberg's office, 51-year-old Anne Lise Holter, was confirmed Wednesday as one of the eight dead in the bomb blast. A stepbrother of Crown Princess Mette-Matrit, police officer Trond Berntsen, was confirmed as one of those killed on the island, where the 51-year-old was providing security.

Stoltenberg said an independent commission will be formed to investigate the attacks and determine what lessons can be learned from the response. The commission also is to help survivors and relatives cope with the aftermath. Parliament said it is willing to help pay for funerals, and there will be a monument built to commemorate the victims.

Police earlier gave an eerie account of the end of the siege, where the man who had committed slaughter for more than an hour obediently gave up the moment police approached him, holding his hands over his head.

"It was a completely normal arrest," said officer Haavard Gaasbakk.

Earlier, the leader of Norway's Delta Force anti-terror police unit defended the special operations team, saying the breakdown of a boat didn't cause a significant delay in efforts to reach the island.

Police have come under close scrutiny over how long it took them to reach the island after first reports of shots being fired at the island youth camp Friday. Although the island is only about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Norwegian capital, police needed 90 minutes to get to the scene.

Police were already grappling with the wide damage inflicted in the downtown government quarter. When word of the shooting came, police drove rather than take a helicopter because the crew of the sole chopper available to them was on vacation. Then the first boat they tried to take to the lake island broke down. The team jumped into other boats and got to Utoya without much delay, police officials said.

Norwegian media are suggesting that police knew Breivik's identity even before they reached the island, tracing him through a rental car company from which he rented the panel van in which the bomb was planted.

Dag Andre Johansen, Scandinavian CEO of Avis car rental company, told the AP that Breivik had rented two vehicles, including a Volkswagen Crafter van. He said police contacted the company after the bombing and got Breivik's identity confirmed. But he declined to say whether that contact came before Breivik was arrested on the island.

Many in Oslo felt a new twinge of worry on Wednesday morning when parts of the capital's rail and bus complex was evacuated because of a suspicious abandoned suitcase. Police later said no explosives were found and that the evacuation order had been lifted. The Norwegian news agency NTB said a bus driver turned in the alarm after seeing a passenger leave the suitcase and walk into the station at a fast clip.

____

Heintz reported from Stockholm. Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm and Bjoern H. Amland in Oslo contributed to this report.

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Vatican recalls Ireland envoy after abuse rebuke

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has recalled its ambassador in Ireland following severe criticism by the Irish parliament of the church's role in covering up child sex abuse, a spokesman said on Monday.

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The move follows last week's unprecedented rebuke of the Holy See by the Irish parliament in the wake of a report which accused church authorities of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009.

Deputy Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, the Apostolic Nuncio of Ireland, had been recalled from Dublin for consultations.

The highly unusual step by the Vatican reflects the heightened tensions over the issue following a wave of criticism in Ireland over its role in the child abuse scandal.

Ireland said it was not surprised by the move and was awaiting a Vatican response to accusations the church played a role in covering up child abuse.

The recall "is a matter for the Holy See," Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said in a statement. "It is to be expected that the Vatican would wish to consult in depth with the Nuncio on its response."

Last week the Irish parliament passed a motion deploring the Vatican's role in "undermining child protection frameworks" following publication of a damning report on the diocese of Cloyne in county Cork.

The Cloyne report said Irish clerics concealed from the authorities the sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009 after the Vatican appeared to disparage Irish child protection guidelines in a letter to Irish Bishops.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny made a speech condemning the Holy See in which he said that the "rape and torture of children were downplayed or managed, to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation."

A series of revelations of rape and beatings by members of religious orders and the priesthood in the past have shattered the dominant role of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Anger shifted from local bishops to Rome after it emerged that a letter from the Vatican to the Irish Bishops in 1997 appeared to play down the Irish guidelines on reporting sex abuse by referring to them as "study guidelines".

The Vatican has denied that the letter was an invitation to disregard Irish laws.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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