Israel cabinet approves Palestinian prisoner release

JERUSALEM: The government Sunday approved the contentious release of long-serving Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners, reportedly including some with Israeli blood on their hands, to coincide with renewed peace talks, public radio said.

It said the 22-member cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to free prisoners by a vote of 13 in favour, seven against and two abstentions.

In an open letter published on his official Facebook site Saturday, Netanyahu said he had agreed "to free 104 Palestinians in stages, after the start of negotiations and according to progress" and that he would seek cabinet endorsement.

His office said in a statement on Sunday that the cabinet also approved peace talks with the Palestinians brokered by the United States but without elaborating where or when.

The statement, however, did not announce that a prisoner release had been approved, only mentioning the formation of a committee on the issue.

"The government approved the opening of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians... and mandated a ministerial committee for the release of prisoners during the course of the talks," it said.

A Palestinian official told AFP on Saturday that peace talks, stalled since September 2010, would open in Washington on Tuesday.

The chief Palestinian negotiator lauded the Israeli vote on prisoners.

"We welcome the Israeli government's decision to release the prisoners," Saeb Erakat told AFP. "We consider this an important step and hope to be able to seize the opportunity provided by the American administration's efforts."

The start of Sunday's cabinet meeting was delayed for over an hour, as Israeli media said Netanyahu sought to win over opponents within his own rightwing Likud party.

While the names of the prisoners have yet to be officially published, or even revealed to ministers, they reportedly include militants convicted of killing Israeli women and children or of killing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel.

"This moment is not easy is for me, not easy for the ministers, and especially not easy for the bereaved families," Netanyahu's office quoted him as telling ministers at the start of the meeting.

The planned releases have stirred protests from Israeli victims' families, settlers and Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners.

"Releasing terrorists for peace is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. It is dangerous, immoral and irresponsible," settler leader Dani Dayan said in a statement.

Likud deputy defence minister Danny Danon urged the party's ministers to vote "no".

"I say that this is a diplomatic mistake, a moral mistake,' he told public radio.

French Foreign Minister Fabius hailed the planned resumption of talks.

"I welcome this potentially major step forward which comes after a three-year hiatus and I wish that these negotiations manage to result in an agreement," Fabius said on Sunday.

Ahead of the talks, the Israeli cabinet has also approved an "urgent and important" bill which would require a referendum for a peace treaty in some circumstances.

A cabinet briefing paper said the government would ask parliament to fast-track its passage into law.

If adopted, the bill would oblige a referendum in cases where territory over which Israel claims sovereignty is ceded in a peace agreement or by a cabinet decision.

While a plebiscite would not be a requirement in the case of Israeli withdrawal from the rest of the West Bank, it would apply to changes in any part of mainly-Arab east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem for the capital of their own promised state. Israel rules out ceding sovereignty over any part of what it calls its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club which tracks the treatment of Palestinians in Israeli jails, warned on Sunday there would be no peace talks unless all 104 prisoners returned to their homes.

"If they don't free all of them, there will be no negotiations," he told public radio.

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/israel-cabinet-approves/759160.html

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Summer Astrobiology Roundup #3: The Ripening Of The Planets

Although NASA?s planet hunting mission Kepler seems unlikely to return to a fully functioning state, after another reaction wheel failure, it has already yielded an extraordinary crop of new worlds.

In fact, as well as finding many remarkable individual systems (from those orbiting binary stars to those laden down with planets), Kepler has provided a cornerstone for understanding planetary populations. In recent weeks I?ve been writing in a number of places about some of the broader implications of these and other exoplanetary discoveries. The particular thesis that I?ve been peddling?err, putting out for air, is that the sheer abundance of planets is in itself incredibly important.

It?s not ? as I discuss in some detail in ?Are we alone? at Aeon magazine ? because this wealth of planets is actually telling us that life is likely elsewhere. It doesn?t tell us that, but it does tell us something very, very intriguing (you?ll have to read the article).

However, it naturally raises one?s hopes about there being other life in the universe, something I emphasize in an Op-Ed ?A Universe Full of Planets? over at the International Herald Tribune & New York Times, and that is a good thing for all manner of reasons ? Copernican and otherwise.

Personally I think that these ideas are tremendously important to bear in mind, because astronomers and astrobiologists are reaching a point where we have to do a little better than just expressing our excitement over the detection of yet another possibly ?habitable? world. We need to be ready to articulate a deeper message, to explain why we should all be paying attention to this science, and why it belongs on the same stage as something like the Large Hadron Collider, or a mission to Mars.

The field is ripening, and so our scientific reasoning should as well.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/-RUSJQ_mI-4/post.cfm

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Apple hit by new Chinese workforce allegations

Advocacy group China Labour Watch has laid a fresh set of allegations at the feet of Apple regarding the conditions placed upon its Chinese workforce.

Bloomberg reports that the organisation has accused Apple?s Taiwanese supplier Pegatron Corp of ?using underage workers, paying insufficient wages and forcing employees to work overtime?.

86 labour rights violations have been identified in total for a period between March and July of this year. 36 of these are legal breaches and 50 are ethical breaches.

The average worker?s weekly working hours are said to have hit between 66 and 69 hours, far in excess of China?s 49-hour limit.

Apple has vowed to launch a probe into the allegations, saying: ?We will investigate these new claims thoroughly, ensure that corrective actions are taken where needed and report any violations of our code of conduct. We will not tolerate deviations from our code.?

It is understood that Apple has already conducted 15 audits at Pegatron facilities since 2007

Last year Apple was embroiled in controversy over the conditions that workers at infamous Chinese manufacturer Foxconn were forced to tolerate. It later vowed ?to cut ties with Chinese suppliers who are found to employ underage workers?.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mcvuk/stream/~3/Im7ufDN6OQc/0119305

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Software (QA) Tester - Galleria Area, Houston, TX, USA,Texas,Houston

Location
USA,Texas,Houston United States

Category
IT

Employment Type
Contract

Full Description
Progressive Global Energy has been tasked with sourcing experienced Software Testers for a new project with a large international service company. The role will be based in Houston, TX. It will be a contract-to-hire role; with a 6-12 month initial contract.

• 3 year+ experience as Quality Assurance engineer for commercial software products
• Able to work closely with business stakeholders and project team to analyze, create, maintain test plan and test cases
• Highly skilled in all testing methods, e.g. sanity testing, regression testing, acceptance testing, functional/non-functional testing, performance testing?etc
• Familiar with common test automation methodologies including both code and GUI driven automation frameworks
• Familiar with test management system such as HP Quality Center as a plus
• Willing and able to work closely with field users as frontline software support
• Enthusiastic to learn the domain knowledge of the software; knowledge in Completion engineering as a plus

Interviews for this role will begin in the second or third week of August. Candidates must be eligible to work in the US as this role will initially be a contract role. Please apply immediately to be considered for this position.

Visit the Progressive Global Energy & Natural Resources website to find out more.

Job ref: PR-12375192_1375107525

Salary
Not specified

Experience
No experience needed

Education
Degree / Undergraduate / 2 year

Expertise
Quality Assurance Engineer, Software Testing, WellBuilder

Source: http://feeds.oilvoice.com/~r/JobMarketplace/~3/wjYfSiN-Nrg/3608bc73.aspx

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Egypt: PM has right to give military arrest powers

CAIRO ? Deadly clashes broke out during funerals of slain supporters Egypt's ousted Islamist president Sunday, as the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood urged his supporters to stand fast after more than 70 of them were killed in weekend violence.

Setting the stage for more confrontation, the military-installed interim president gave the prime minister the power to grant the military the right to arrest civilians in what government officials said could be a prelude to a major crackdown on Mohammed Morsi's supporters or Islamic militants who have stepped up attacks against security forces in the Sinai Peninsula.

The extent of the bloodshed has dashed hopes of reconciliation between the country's two camps, sharply divided over the July 3 military coup that removed Egypt's first freely elected president following protests by millions of Egyptians demanding he step down.

Islamists staunchly reject the new leadership and insist the only possible solution to the crisis is to reinstate Morsi. Meanwhile, the interim leadership is pushing ahead with a fast-track transition plan to return to a democratically elected government by early next year.

Egypt's interior minister, who in charge of the police, also pledged to deal decisively with any attempts to destabilize the country, a thinly veiled warning to Morsi supporters occupying two squares in Cairo in a monthlong stand-off with security forces.

The international community, meanwhile, urged restraint.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday, saying he told Egyptian authorities it is "essential" they respect the right to peaceful protest. He called on all sides to enter a "meaningful political dialogue" to "help their country take a step back from the brink."

The worst bout of violence since Morsi's ouster took place before dawn on Saturday when police and armed men in civilian clothes opened fire on his supporters as they sought to expand their sit-in camp by moving onto a nearby main boulevard.

Authorities conceded that the vast majority in Cairo of the 72 killed were demonstrators, but the Interior Ministry said some policemen also were wounded as the military-backed administration sought to defend the bloodshed.

Officials from Morsi's Brotherhood and their allies decried what they called a new "massacre" against their side, which occurred only weeks after July 8 clashes with army troops in Cairo that left more than 50 Morsi supporters dead.

Civilians, sometimes with weapons, frequently join police in Cairo demonstrations. In some cases, they appear to be plainclothes police; in others residents who back the security forces.

A video posted Sunday on social networking sites show policemen and men in civilian clothes pointing their rifles at the protesters wearing industrial helmets and homemade body armor and standing behind makeshift barricades.

Another video, posted by the Interior Ministry, shows protesters hurling stones and firebombs at the security forces from behind their barricades. One masked man was shown shooting at the police with what appeared to be a large silver-plated pistol.

The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified, but they generally conformed with Associated Press reporting.

No army troops were on the scene, but the international community and human rights groups expressed concern that the military had allowed the carnage to occur.

Human Rights Watch said many of those killed over the weekend were shot in the head or chest and the killings took place over several hours. The New York-based group said it spoke to witnesses and reviewed extensive video footage of the events. Medical staff, it said, judged some of the deaths to be targeted killings because the position of the shots would likely result in death.

The clashes broke out hours after millions responded to a call by military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to take to the streets in a show of support to provide a mandate for him and the police to tackle violence and "potential terrorism."

Two other men were killed and scores injured in violence that followed the funerals of two Morsi supporters Sunday in two cities north of Cairo, Kafr el-Zayat and Port Said.

Mohammed Badie, the supreme leader of the Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, launched a stinging attack on el-Sissi over the latest violence, saying the military chief was leading a "bloody regime" and urging his followers to stand fast.

"Don't be sad and don't despair," he said in a message to followers posted on his website.

The Brotherhood rejects the July 3 coup, saying it has overturned a democratically elected administration and refuses to join the post-Morsi political process sponsored by the military. It says security forces were not provoked when they opened fire on its supporters early on Saturday.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is the only member of Morsi's former Cabinet to keep his post, accused the pro-Morsi side of provoking bloodshed to win sympathy and suggested that authorities could move against the two main pro-Morsi protest camps: one outside the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo and another in Nahda Square near the main campus of Cairo University.

"I assure the glorious people of Egypt that the police are determined and capable to maintain security and safety to their nation with the support of the sincere sons of the country," Ibrahim said Sunday during a graduation ceremony at the national police academy. "We will very strongly and decisively deal with anyone who attempts to undermine stability."

He depicted the two encampments as a danger to the public, pointing to a string of nine bodies police have said were found nearby in recent days. Some had been tortured to death, police have said, apparently by members of the sit-ins who believed they were spies.

"Soon we will deal with both sit-ins," Ibrahim said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also asked security forces to "act with full respect for human rights" and demonstrators to "exercise restraint."

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, was due in Egypt later on Sunday and will meet Egyptian leaders on Monday, according to an official statement issued in Cairo. It will be her second visit to Egypt this month, a sign of the alarm felt in the West over the continuing bloodshed in the country.

The U.N.'s human rights chief Navi Pillay issued also condemned the violence and called for a "credible, independent investigation" into the killings.

"Despite all the warnings, all the calls for restraint, more than 150 Egyptians have died during protests over the past month, not just in Cairo but in other cities as well," she said. "I fear for the future of Egypt if the military and other security forces, as well as some demonstrators, continue to take such a confrontational and aggressive approach. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have the right to protest peacefully like anyone else."

Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Cairo and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/28/2910708/egypt-death-toll-in-cairo-clashes.html

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Social Video Offers New Avenue for Students, Colleges to Connect

Prospective college students can spend hours on a road trip or combing different websites to learn about schools, but a newer, faster option has emerged.

Colleges and prospective students are hopping on the social video bandwagon to catch each other's attention. Students can get a glimpse of an Oregon State University fashion show, a business school reunion at Stanford University or statues at Xavier University through Vine.

Since Vine launched in January, at least 36 colleges have started using it, according to a June article from EdTech Magazine.

"We thought it's something we should jump on," says Colin Huber, a writer and social media coordinator for Oregon State University. The school posted its first Vine video in February.

"When new platforms come out with social media, if it's something that you think could be of use, it's important to be one of the first ones on there," Huber says.

[Strategize for a smooth college admissions process.]

Vine was created by Twitter, the text-based social media heavyweight, and allows users to create six-second videos. Common edits include showing several different scenes or a panoramic view of a single destination.

Months after Vine launched, it got some competition from Instagram. Popular for letting users add filters to and share images, Instagram began to let users upload 15-second videos in June. Colleges use these apps - as well as other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - as marketing tools to draw in new students and engage current ones.

"I see social media as a way to kind of showcase the university," says Joe Kuffner, assistant director of media relations at the University of Portland. He also manages the school's Vine and Instagram accounts. "Just kind of telling our story, showcasing our people, highlighting the great work our students are doing," he says.

New platforms for short videos may also create new opportunities for prospective students who want to get a school's attention.

"They give more facets to the student," says Clinton Lanier, author of "Recruiting With Social Media: Using Social Networks to Drive College Admissions." Lanier, who consults with several universities on how they can use social media effectively, says the videos can make an admissions officer look at students a little more.

[Leverage social media in your scholarship search.]

When prospective students engage with a school on social media, university officials managing the account will sometimes forward a student's message or question to the admissions staff. If a student wants to make a good impression or enhance their application with a video message, they have a number of options, says Lanier.

Athletes may show themselves swimming, diving or running. Other students can use their high school network to speak for them.

"Endorsements from their teachers and professors would be a lot of fun," says Lanier. He suggests students ask different teachers to say one word that describes them, having the video play as a more digitally savvy version of the typical recommendation letter.

Showing school spirit may also catch the eye of a university official. If a student wore Beaver gear, as a nod to Oregon State's mascot, "we would absolutely reach out to them," Huber says.

Because Vine and Instagram don't allow users to make long videos, Lanier suggests enhancing these short films by including multiple scenes.

"It makes it more exciting that way," he says.

[Prepare for successful summer college tours.]

A dull video, in contrast, can be one that features students simply stating their name and talking about themselves.

That kind of video won't be taken seriously, Lanier says.

Prospective students may also diminish their chances of attracting a school's attention in a positive way if they create a video showing them doing drugs, spewing hate speech or participating in other activities that would typically lead to trouble.

Even if they make a great video that a university's staff likes, there could be other content on their account that doesn't speak well for them.

Kuffner says he has come across a prospective student on social media who seems interesting, but once he clicks on the student's profile other unflattering content puts the student in a bad light.

It's a matter of realizing that once students interact with a school, the school may then see their profiles and all of the good and bad that may come with it.

To figure out how to capture a school's attention, Lanier suggests searching for hashtags that the school and its students use and viewing the video content attached to these tags.

"There are people out there really monitoring social media," he says. Students should be optimistic that reaching out to a university with a quick video will likely grab a school's attention. "It'll get noticed."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/social-video-offers-avenue-students-colleges-connect-142945216.html

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Mophie Juice Pack Reserve for iPhone 4/4S review

While many tech buffs will spend more time researching a future purchase than they do using the gadget they eventually buy, sometimes the best pick-ups are the last minute ones.

These last minute grabs are often made to solve an immediate problem, and a common problem for smartphone users is running out of juice in the middle of the day.

If you're an iPhone deployer who leans towards bouts of heavy usage, you may well be familiar with the depleting battery scenario. Thankfully, Mophie's extensive line of on-the-go charging solutions includes cases with integrated backup batteries - Juice Packs, in the manufacturer's parlance. The Juice Pack Plus is well regarded in iPhone circles, despite adding considerable bulk and pushing the weight of an iPhone 4S close to 200g.

The pocket-sized Mophie Juice Pack Reserve is another, more compact option to ensure you don't run out of power at the wrong time. It offers a modest 700mAh battery, far smaller than its stablemate, the Juice Pack Plus, which features a 2,000mAh battery.

However, the Juice Pack Reserve's real strength is its portability - it measures just 80.2 x 40.8 x 16.2mm and weighs only 40g. Those of us who misspent our youth fag in hand will immediately spot how the Reserve resembles a Zippo lighter, complete with flip-off top that reveals a 30-pin connector. In addition to being eminently pocketable, it's also a stylish toy ? the rubberised grip feels great in the hand, and the do-gooding RED model looks especially slick.

So where you wouldn't necessarily sport the bulky Juice Pack Plus on a night out, the Reserve effortlessly slides into your pocket - a quick-fix charging solution that will replenish roughly half your battery life, based on our testing. You'll be able to phone in that crucial goodnight call, text the mates you lost earlier on, and then Hailo a cab home - all of which are just as important as picking up emails from your boss.

That said, the Mophie Juice Pack Reserve is not without its downsides. While the USB connector tucks away cleverly into the main frame of the device ? la Swiss Army knife, this design can prove fiddly when it comes to charging and lacks the versatility of an extension cord.

Elsewhere, the battery status indicator ? activated via a button on the bottom left of the Reserve's body - isn't hugely informative. Where the Mophie Juice Pack Plus features multiple LED lights to indicate various levels of charge, the Reserve offers a single LED that's either green (full), red (less than full), or blank (empty).

We also found the 30-pin iPhone connector to be a bit wiggly when actually plugged into an iPhone. The key ring attachment, which makes the Reserve more convenient for some, snapped off in a worryingly short time. Finally, unlike similar pocket-sized mobile charging solutions, the Reserve can't sync your iDevice while it charges, nor can you flirt with pass-through charging.

All of which makes it amazing that we've fallen in love with the Juice Pack Reserve. Despite an acute recognition of its faults, we found it a genuinely useful iPhone companion for daily use.

The best bit is that, compared to other Mophie gadgets, it's eminently affordable - a mere ?30 compared to the ?80+ you'd be looking at for a Juice Pack Plus. For professional situations, the Juice Pack Plus is still the only way to go, but the Reserve is a better-than-average sidekick, especially outside of the office. In fact, some pros may even find it a more attractive all round option that its big brother.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/itproportal/rss/~3/SFnjawanV7M/

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