Top Of The World! One Trade Center Crowned The Tallest In NYC

One World Trade is back and sitting on top of the world. Today it will be crowned the tallest building in the city and stand alone on NYC’s famous skyline.

Construction on One Trade Center, aka the Freedom Tower, began six years ago and it stands on the site of the original World Trade Center Twin Towers that were the tallest buildings in the city before they were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Workers will today erect the building's steel columns that will officially make it taller than New York's iconic Empire State Building, which currently rises 1,250 feet to the 102nd floor observation deck.

This is a crowning achievement for the city, but the building itself isn’t finished yet. Construction is slated to end in 2013 or 2014; it will stand at 1,776 feet and 104 floors, making it 408 feet taller than the Twin Towers it has replaced.

That height will make the tower arguably the largest building in the United States, surpassing Chicago's 1,451-foot Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), and the third-tallest building in the world.

But it's not clear whether the building will claim a height record because of the 408-foot-tall needle that will top it off.

Currently the world's tallest building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 2,717 feet.

The site where the $3.8 billion 1 WTC stands tall is also home to 4 World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial Plaza. The tower will contain commercial and office space. @globalgrind.com

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Angry Birds Space: 50 million downloads in 35 days

According to Rovio, the game's developer, Angry Birds Space is its "fastest-growing mobile game" ever released, beating records set by other Angry Birds titles.

Rovio's success with the Angry Birds franchise continues to impress.

The development firm announced today that Angry Birds Space, which is currently sitting atop Apple's App Store, has hit 50 million downloads in just 35 days of availability. According to Rovio, the feat has made the game the "fastest-growing mobile game" ever released, and has broken all sales records set by previous Angry Birds iterations. "We extend our deepest gratitude to all fans of Angry Birds everywhere," the company wrote in a blog post today. "While numbers like this certainly say something about the popularity of Angry Birds, for us the main goal is to keep creating fun new experiences that everybody can enjoy!"

Angry Birds Space, which launched last month, delivers the same slingshotting, pig-hating fun found in previous games in the franchise, but adds a space element that includes gravitational pull. The app launched with 60 levels, and Rovio recently added 10 new levels to the iOS and Android versions. The application is also available to PC and Mac owners.

@cnet.com

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Schoolchildren On Free School Meals More Likely To Abuse Alcohol Or Drugs

Although the short and long-term health risks of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use is well known, they still remain a public health concern in the UK amongst young people, with risks ranging from accidental injuries, to violence, sexual ill-health and elevated rates of chronic conditions as well as premature death.

Regardless of directing various policies at reducing substance use amongst children in the UK, the number of those who take substances is still considerable. For instance, in 2009 in the UK, 180,000 children between the ages of 11 to 15 years regularly smoked tobacco, whilst 540,000 had consumed alcohol in the previous week, and 250,000 had taken drugs in the previous month.

A new study in the Journal of Public Health reveals that receiving free school meals and a feeling of wellbeing is linked to substance use in children and young people. Youngsters who report being happy or are able to communicate with their family instead of their friends are less likely to use substances, whilst children of older age and those who receive free school meals are linked to a higher chance of substance use.

Siobhan Farmer and Dr. Barbara Hanratty from the University of Liverpool, examined the association between substance use, subjective wellbeing and socioeconomic status in schoolchildren aged from 10 to 15 years, who attended schools in two local authorities in the North West of England. The study was entitled 'The relationship between subjective wellbeing, low income and substance use among schoolchildren in the north west of England: a cross-sectional study'.

The researchers analyzed the Tellus4 dataset, which is a national, anonymous, school-based cross sectional survey for children in year 6, 8 and 10, i.e. children aged between 10 and 15 years, which included responses of 3,903 children from two local authorities, representing 1.2% of the national sample, with about equal distribution across all year groups.

One of the study's key findings was that age was the most important predictor of substance use, with children aged 12 and 13 years being between two and six times more likely to misuse substances compared with 10 to 11 year olds and 14 to 15 year olds being eleven and twenty-nine times more likely. They found that smoking was linked to using other substances. They also observed that the number of children who smoked more than one cigarette per week was much higher amongst those who regularly used drugs and alcohol, as compared with those who had no experience of either. Smoking more than one cigarette was, furthermore, negatively related to the children's level of happiness and being able to communicate with their parents. Children who reported feeling unhappy had a 18.4% higher chance of having tried cigarettes, 44.8% higher chance of having drunk alcohol and 6.4% more likely to have tried drugs, compared with those who felt happy.

Whilst three-quarters of happy students reported they communicated with their parents, only half of those who said they felt unhappy could do so. The researchers highlighted the fact that children who reported having a better relationship with their friends had a 40% higher risk of using substances compared with those who reported poor relationships.

About one in five children, or 18.2% were eligible for free school meals in the study. Those eligible had a higher likelihood of reporting they were unhappy, as compared with those who were not eligible. They also felt less able to talk to their friends or parents, and had a lower chance of stating to have one or more good friends. About 31.6% or one-third of children eligible for free school meals reported to smoke at least once, compared with one-fifth of non-eligible children. Slightly more than one in four or 25.9% who reported to consume alcohol admitted they were drunk once or more often within the last 4 weeks, compared to one in five or 19.5% who was not eligible for school meals. The findings furthermore revealed that children between the ages of 12 to 15 years who were eligible for free school meals tended to have a more than two-times higher likelihood of having tried drugs than those who did not.

The gender variation in substance use was 23.5% of girls who reporting trying a cigarette as compared with 20.5% of boys, with no considerable difference noted in those smoking more than one cigarette per week.

Considerably more boys than girls reported to have tried both alcohol and drugs, with 4% stating they had an alcoholic beverage and almost double the amount of boys stating they had experimented with drugs. This trend was observed to be consistent across all age groups with the exception of alcohol use in year 10, where girls were 3% more likely than boys to have tried alcohol. Girls also had a higher tendency of having been drunk in the previous four weeks, with almost twice as many girls in year 10, i.e. 19.5% compared to 11.5% having reported that they were drunk at least three times. 3% of girls felt less able to communicate with their parents and 7% stated they felt unhappy as compared with boys.

Siobhan Farmer concludes:

"Our findings show that a sense of wellbeing and the use of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are associated with each other. The connection between substance use and free school meals also suggests that policies need to address income inequality and environmental factors that affect children's use of drugs. Our research suggests that addressing income inequality and environmental factors may be an essential adjunct to intervention in children to reduce inequalities associated with substance use and enhance the health and wellbeing of young people in the UK."

///Grace Rattue - Medical News Today

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Push Button to Add Drama

For the launch of the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium a button was placed on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town near a sign with the text "Push to add drama" that invited people to use the button. Then they waited...

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Apple and Samsung to discuss putting an end to lawsuits

Tech giants' chief executives to talk about ending their bitter litigation over smartphones and tablets

Apple chief executive Tim Cook will meet his opposite number at Samsung, Gee-Sung Choi, to discuss ending their bitter litigation over smartphones and tablets, which has become a globe-spanning war taking in 50 lawsuits in 10 countries.

But the summit, on 21 May, is not the result of an olive branch held out by either side. Instead, it is part of court-ordered settlement talks in the US, to see if the two sides can iron out their differences without having to go to trial.

The top-level talks are believed to be the first time that Cook has met his opposite number at the South Korean conglomerate specifically to discuss an ending of their disputes in the US – although they are unlikely to stop others carrying on in nine other countries around the world. And they could still fail, which could eventually lead to a trial.

For both companies, the ongoing litigation is double-edged. Samsung, which makes everything from semiconductors to TVs, is one of Apple's biggest suppliers for chips and other components – while also being its biggest rival in the smartphone market – and is seeking to compete seriously in the tablet market that the iPad now dominates.

Some suspect that Cook, 51, is keen to settle after he said during Apple's quarterly results last week that he always hated litigation, and he continued to hate it. But he also said he would not tolerate copying of Apple's inventions.

"If we could get to some kind of arrangement where we could be assured that's the case and a fair settlement on the stuff that's occurred, I would highly prefer to settle versus battle," he said. "But the key thing is that it's very important that Apple not become the developer for the world. We need people to invent their own stuff."

Horace Dediu, who runs the Asymco consultancy, suggested that Apple should seek to end the litigation as a distraction from its work. "Litigation isn't a sustainable strategy," he said. "The courts take much longer to decide an issue than markets do."

Apple first sued Samsung in April 2011 in the US, with a 373-page lawsuit alleging infringement of patents and copying of "trade dress" – the appearance of products.

Cook will meet the Samsung chief in a San Francisco courthouse, following pressure from Judge Lucy Koh who has pressed the two sides to come to an amicable resolution of their dispute.

Apple and Samsung have ongoing legal disputes in 10 countries, according to patents consultant Florian Müller: the US, Germany, UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

The court actions have led to restraints in Australia on the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet, and in Europe to an investigation by the European Commission's antitrust group into Samsung after it asserted a number of patents related to 3G phone connectivity against Apple in one of them.

Though the lawsuits have so far been inconclusive, settlement talks could short-circuit the arduous process that has enveloped large parts of the smartphone industry in litigation following the explosive success of Google's Android mobile operating system.

Apple has sued a number of Android handset makers – including Samsung, HTC and Motorola – while Microsoft, which owns a wide range of patents, has sought and won payments from almost every Android handset maker.

Nokia, meanwhile, has successfully sued Apple over a number of mobile phone patents, which now generates a steady income stream every quarter. ///guardian.co.uk

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Selling Ceuta & Melilla

Selling Ceuta and Melilla, an article recently published in a spanish newspaper “Galicia confidencial” by the spanish journalist Horacio Vixandge in which he suggests to sell Ceuta and Melilla to Morocco claiming that Spain is in desperate need for money to overcome its social and economic problems and such a deal can be the way out.

Ceuta and Melilla came under Spanish control some 500 years ago, and even after Morocco’s independence they remained as Spanish enclaves and Madrid claims they are integral parts of Spain while Rabat continue to claim sovereignty and considers the Spanish presence anachronistic.

Vixandge says “what could be better as a business: selling something to someone which already belongs to him”. He also calls Morocco to accept the deal saying that if David Cameron offers to sell Gibraltar, the Spanish government will accept and pay all of its wealth: money, art galleries…

http://www.galiciaconfidencial.com/nova/10307.html


@ lailab.wordpress.com

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The baby who swam back to life: Extraordinary recovery of heart surgery toddler who's a natural in the pool

After Rosanna Ogden had open heart surgery at only six weeks old, her parents were told that physical activity could help her recovery. It was then they discovered they had a water baby on their hands. Only ten weeks after the operation, her mother Sanam took her to a swimming session for infants.

Rosanna proved to be such a natural that now, at the age of two, she can swim without armbands and has even passed her 15-metre test. Last month she became the youngest participant in a charity swim for the British Heart Foundation, raising more than £1,000 by covering 100 metres in stages. ‘I am so proud of her,’ said 27-year-old Mrs Ogden at the family home in Chorley, Lancashire. After suffering breathing difficulties, Rosanna was diagnosed with rhabdomyoma – a tumour attached to her heart. Although benign, it was blocking the flow of blood. Two days later the tumour was removed in an emergency eight-hour operation at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool.

Mrs Ogden said that as Rosanna began her recovery in the swimming pool, her love of the water was immediately obvious. ‘All the other babies at the first session were screaming but she had no problem at all.’ Rosanna recently joined the Chorley Mini Marlins swimming club, where the next-youngest member is aged six. Coach Mary Parkinson described her as ‘like a little fish’. She said: ‘To swim like she does at two years old is absolutely amazing.’

@dailymail.co.uk

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Morocco’s Islamist-led government raises taxes on alcohol, cigars

Although alcohol is forbidden (haram) in Islam, Morocco’s moderate Islamist government appears to have found a halal route that allows them to profit from its sale.

Caught between soaring prices, low economic growth forecasts, and a harsh drought, the Islamist-led government had decided to increase tax on liquor sales in a step to increase state revenue.

The liquor tax has been raised from 10,500 ($1,230) dirham per 100 liters (26.4 gallons) to 15,000 ($1,760) dirhams per 100 liters.
The tax on beer has been raised from 550 ($64) to 900 ($105) per 100 liter while the sales tax on cigars has been raised by 10 percent to 35 percent.

When it was in the opposition, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) often demanded an increase on the alcohol sales tax, which unlike the tax on food products, has remained the same in 33 years.

Moroccan economist Omar al-Kattani said the PJD’s move will help the government find solutions to some budgetary problems without significantly affecting producers and distributors of alcohol products who made major profits last year.

Kattani said the move is also likely to reduce the consumption of alcohol amongst low-income people.
Meanwhile, political analyst Abd el-Ali Majdoub said by this move the government had targeted the “alcohol lobbyists who have benefitted from decades-old privileges ... to make money at the expense of the people’s health.”

In 1967 King Hasan II, also known as the commander of the faithful, delegated his powers to an advisor in the royal court to sign a decree that authorizes the sale of alcohol to non-Muslims.
The king apparently did not want to be seen by his Muslims-majority people as the one who authorized the sale of something forbidden in Islam.

Although alcohol in Morocco is not supposed to be sold to Muslims, it is easily available in stores and supermarkets.

 @Alarabiya.net

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Miss Universe Pageant Allows Transgender Women to Compete

Transgender women have notched a key victory in a bid for equality, as the Miss Universe Organization announced today that they will be allowed to compete in its pageants.

The move follows a bitter controversy that erupted after transgender Miss Universe Canada hopeful Jenna Talackova was disqualified from competing in her country's pageant for not being a natural-born female.

@eonline.com

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Facebook buying Instagram for $1B

Facebook says it will spend $1 billion to buy the photo-sharing software company Instagram. The deal comes days after the service began offering a version for Android phones.

 The payment will be in cash and Facebook stock. Facebook is expected to complete its initial public offering of stock next month.

@AP

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