Closing and prize-giving ceremony of First International Youth ...

Released on July 7th, 2012

The closing and prize-giving ceremony of the First International Youth Chinese Creative Writing Competition was held today (July 7). Eleven teams from various countries and regions, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, participated in the event.

Co-organised by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong and the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, the competition was also supported by the School of Chinese of the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Greater China Culture Global Association and the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture.

The competition, which took place from July 3 to 7, aimed at promoting Chinese creative writing amongst young Chinese writers all over the world. It provided a platform for gifted young writers who are interested in Chinese creative writing to learn, to share and to exchange their ideas and learning experiences. Outstanding performance by the writers was also encouraged and recognised.

The competition, with a theme entitled ?Racial Harmony?, was divided into three sections, namely a prose section, a short story section and a blog writing section.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Principal Education Officer (New Territories) of the Education Bureau, Mr Benjamin Yung, and the council member of the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, Professor Chan Shui-duen, congratulated the students on having such a valuable learning experience and encouraged them to keep striving for excellence by continuing in their study of Chinese culture and writing skills.

Professor Cheng Pei-kai of the City University of Hong Kong also shared his personal experience in creative writing and commented on the performance of the participants. His valuable comments would benefit the young writers in their studies and creative writing in the future.

During the five-day learning and cultural exchange programme, all teams took part in a talent contest to enhance cultural exchange and show their skills.

In order to enhance their creativity and writing ability, the participants attended a seminar on creative writing given by Associate Professor Wu Yin-ching of the Hong Kong Baptist University. They also visited the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong. To broaden the students? horizons and to enhance their understanding in Chinese history and culture, visits were conducted to the Ping Shan Heritage Trail, the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. The participants not only shared their passion and learned the skills for creative Chinese writing, but also treasured having such a valuable learning experience through different activities.

For more details of the writing competition, please visit the website at resources.edb.gov.hk/gifted/IYCCWC/en/index.htm .

Source: http://asiarelease.asia/closing-and-prize-giving-ceremony-of-first-international-youth-chinese-creative-writing-competition-held-today-with-photos/

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Car Hire To Corbett National Park, Nainital And Haridwar From Delhi.

By: travelvirtualcity

Cab from Delhi to Haridwar
Haridwar is one of the best holy cities in Uttar Pradesh which is approximately 214km from the National capital Delhi. Thousands of the pilgrims from Delhi book cabs or taxi or car rental to his holiest place. Haridwar is also called The Gateway of Gods. One can book a taxi online to this pilgrim place and it houses number of temples. Hire a cab from Delhi to Haridwar to visit the Chandi Devi temple, Manasa Devi temple located at Bilwa Parvat, Maya Devi Temple and Bharat Mata Temple which are the important place in Haridwar.
Taxi from Delhi to Rishikesh
There is lot of places to see in and around Haridwar. The most important place is Rishikesh which is at a distance of 28 km from Haridwar. The travelers can also book cab or taxi from Delhi to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is one of the pilgrimage sites speckled in North India. Rishikesh is surrounded by hills on three sides and attracts thousands of the pilgrims who come to seek for mental peace.
Delhi to dehradun car hire
Dehradun is situated in the Uttaranchal and is approximately 235km from Delhi and it is one of the oldest cities in India. There are many attracts in and around Dehradun. It is well known for its natural resources and is a home to National foundations such as Survey of India and Indian Institute of Petroleum. Delhi to Dehradun car hire is accessible from Delhi and the people from various places visit Dehradun.
Delhi to Mussoorie car rental
Mussoorie is one of the famous hill stations in India situated near to Delhi. It is popularly known as Queen of Hills. To visit this charming hill stations hire Delhi to Mussoorie car rental or book cabs online. During summer the Mussoorie has pleasant climate and attracts the many travelers and provides relief from work pressures. The best time to visit this beautiful hill station is throughout the year.
Delhi to nainital car rental
Nainital is a wonderful hill station and attracts thousands of the tourists from all over the India and also foreign tourists every year. Travelers from Delhi cab book a cab or taxi or Delhi to Nainital car rental service. It is a famous tourism place for honeymoon packages and is a popular weekend destination.
The oldest national park located in the Nainital district is Jim Corbett National park once called Hailey National park famous for wildlife reserve. Cab from Delhi to Corbett is more famous. Especially in weekends more number of travelers visits from Delhi.


About the Author:
For more information aboutDelhi to Mussoorie car rental andCab from Delhi to Corbett for best online services visit http://www.bookcab.in

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Car-Hire-To-Corbett-National-Park--Nainital-And-Haridwar-From-Delhi-/4020505

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Police 'attack' as Sudan protesters gather at mosques

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-attack-sudan-protesters-gather-mosques-205630627.html

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Paul leaves first US practice with thumb injury

USA men's national basketball team member LeBron James (51) laughs with teammate Chris Paul during practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

USA men's national basketball team member LeBron James (51) laughs with teammate Chris Paul during practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

U.S. men's national basketball team coach Mike Krzyzewski, center, watches his team practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean) LOCAL TV OUT LOCAL INTERNET OUT LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

U.S. men's national basketball team member LeBron James, left, laughs with Rudy Gay during practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean) LOCAL TV OUT LOCAL INTERNET OUT LAS VEGAS SUN OUT

USA men's basketball national team members Russell Westbrook, left, hangs out with teammate Kobe Bryant after practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

USA men's basketball national team member Kevin Durant shoots extra jump shots after practice at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jason Bean)

(AP) ? The U.S. men's basketball team held its first practice Friday, and there was a quick reminder of the rocky run-up to the London Games.

Chris Paul was forced to leave the opening day of training camp to get an X-ray after hurting his thumb. The Americans don't believe the injury is serious, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo calling it a tweak of a previous injury, and they hope Paul can practice Saturday.

That would be some rare good news for a team has been severely weakened by injuries. Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all were forced to pull out, leaving the Americans with 15 players vying for 12 spots. The roster will be announced Saturday night.

Colangelo said he would discuss the roster with the coaching staff on Friday night but would put off any judgments until after Saturday's practice.

"Tonight we'll have some deliberations about what took place today, but we're still not making the final decision until we practice tomorrow," he said. "We told the players we were going to do that and we're not going to change."

LeBron James, about two weeks removed from winning NBA Finals MVP honors after Miami's championship, didn't scrimmage Friday so he could get some extra rest. Deron Williams sat out as planned because he still can't sign his $98 million extension with the Nets, and top draft pick Anthony Davis remained sidelined because of a sprained ankle.

That allowed the Americans time for extra looks at some of the players on the bubble, such as Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon, James Harden and Andre Iguodala.

"You could build a case for each of the contenders if you will, depending on what you want," Colangelo said. "It's like a menu: Another shooter, it's Eric Gordon. You want a scoring guard, it's Harden. You want a defensive specialist, it's Iguodala. You want another guy with length who can shoot the ball and run the court, it's Rudy Gay."

What the Americans really want is another big body, having lost their 2008 center rotation with the absences of Howard and Bosh. James and Carmelo Anthony even could see time at center, which would create offensive mismatches for the Americans but would leave them undersized on defense.

The need for size has Colangelo intrigued by Davis, the shot-blocking college player of the year who led Kentucky to the national title. But he's not ready to go full speed yet after hurting himself less than a week ago while working out with the Hornets, leaving him frustrated but eager.

"Anxious to get on the court, be healthy again, show the coaches my full abilities," Davis said.

Colangelo said it would be a "reach" to pick Davis without really seeing him, but acknowledges the 6-foot-10 forward has qualities no other U.S. player has. So he could pick him Saturday and hope he's ready in a couple of weeks, with the Olympic opener not for another three weeks.

This being Vegas, is Colangelo a gambler?

"I've been known to be that, but I'm saying that, I'm one voice in the wilderness maybe," Colangelo said. "We'll find out tonight."

Gay played with the Americans on their gold medal-winning team in the 2010 world basketball championship and is versatile enough to play each frontcourt position. His chances of making the roster may have improved with all the other losses at the forward spots.

"Just basically going out there, showcasing what I can do," the Memphis forward said. "If they like it, they don't, I'll find other ways to get better and then compete next time."

Gordon was considered on the cut line in 2010 and ended up becoming a key contributor for the Americans, and believes he can do it again, even at a crowded guard spot.

It's easier for the guys with size, which is why Knicks center Tyson Chandler knows he'll be on the team. The Americans insist they are deep enough to overcome their losses, and he said just looking at the practice floor shows why.

"You look to your left and your right, and the names and level of athletic ability and skill is off the chart," he said.

The Americans will train on the campus of UNLV through next Wednesday before closing this portion of their camp with an exhibition game against the Dominican Republic on Thursday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-07-BKO-US%20Camp/id-23a269f2c1a84ed5b8204fd9a9d3a5a6

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Rio-Paris crash report faults pilots, sensors

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rio-paris-crash-report-faults-pilots-speed-sensors-125334874--sector.html

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Chinese investment into Serbia set for sea change

Clare Nuttall in Belgrade
July 5, 2012

Chinese private sector investments into Serbia have failed to keep pace with the large-scale infrastructure deals signed between the two countries. However, the commercial relationship between the pair is on the verge of a sea change, with the Balkan country increasingly seen as a potential manufacturing hub.

Despite excellent political relations, private sector links between China and Serbia have flagged in recent years as the crisis tightens its grip on the Serbian economy. However, the resultant high unemployment and low wages are likely to be the key to a future upturn in Chinese investment.

Aside from the government-led infrastructure deals, probably the largest investment into Serbia from the Asian emerging giant to date is the China Trade Centre Zmaj, a wholesale trading centre in Belgrade built with an investment of just $35m. Chinese telecoms companies ZTE and Huawai have also entered the Serbian market, but at a limited size.

However, the once healthy trade in Chinese consumer goods has actually declined since the onset of the crisis. Previously, shops selling cheap Chinese products had mushroomed across Belgrade. Selling a mixed bag of goods from clothes and kitchen equipment to paper lanterns and novelty ashtrays, they were fed from the massive Chinese wholesale market hosted in a warehouse in New Belgrade known as Block 70. Now, with a strong yuan and a weak dinar, Chinese goods are no longer so cheap, and many of the outlets have been forced to close down.

Workshop of the world

Within this dynamic, new opportunities are starting to emerge. Beijing's recent changes to labour laws and the strong yuan have increased costs, and companies based in China, once the low-cost manufacturing workshop of the world, are now looking for cheaper locations to manufacture abroad.

Factories are already opening in Asian locations such as Indonesia and Vietnam, but with salaries in southern Serbia now only slightly above those in China, the Balkan country can offer added benefits. Factories in Serbia would have the advantage of easy access to the EU, Southeast Europe, Turkey and the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, with which Serbia has a free trade agreement. With unemployment reaching 23% in 2011, and affecting both blue- and white-collar workers, there is no immediate prospect of an increase in salaries, and some predict an investment boom from Chinese manufacturers..

"I expect to see small-scale investment to fall, but large- and medium-sized investment to grow," forecasts Ivana Kopilovic of Belgrade-based law firm Kopilovic and Knezevic, who says that Chinese manufacturers have already started scoping out the Serbian market, a development confirmed by the Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA). "I expect medium-sized Chinese investors will start to come to Serbia, for example importing materials and manufacturing goods here for export to the EU and Russia. We have seen similar steps taken by European companies such as Fiat who want to take advantage of low labour costs in Serbia."

Tried and tested

To date, Chinese investment into Serbia has followed a tried-and-tested model for Europe, with the only large-scale investment taking place being government-level infrastructure deals. Back in 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Serbia?s recently-ousted president Boris Tadic signed a framework agreement under which China is expected to invest $1.25bn into the Serbian infrastructure sector over a 15-year period. The first project to go ahead was the construction of the 1.5km Zemum-Borca bridge connecting a pair of Belgrade suburbs across the Danube. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) started building the "Friendship Bridge" in July 2010.

China has also targeted the energy sector, starting with a $300m low-interest loan for the reconstruction of the Kostolac coal fired power station, with Chinese companies employed as sub-contractors. In the same sector, Environmental Energy Holdings and the Shenzhen Energy Group are in talks on developing the Nikola Tesla coal power plant, at an estimated cost of ?1.5bn.

These infrastructure investments are part of the clear trend in recent years for Chinese capital, usually in the form of long-term soft loans, moving into countries across Southeast Europe. While the Balkan countries are not well endowed with natural resources, they are in need of infrastructure investment. As the Eurozone crisis deepens, China has also become an increasingly attractive source of finance for southeast Europe.

For Beijing, the benefits are both financial and political. There is speculation that China is wooing Serbia not just as the largest Balkan economy, but as a country just a few years away from EU membership. Given the strong political relationship between Beijing and Belgrade, establishing an economic foothold would give China an even stronger bond with a sympathetic ally within the EU.

Building such strategic alliances has been a key part of China?s foreign policy. "China spends a lot of time on building relationships even with relatively small countries, because it sees the importance of such alliances in a world overwhelmed by US influence," says Kerry Brown, head of the Asia programme at Chatham House. "However, things are changing, as China has leapt from part of the developing world to a major world power, at the same time becoming more arrogant and status conscious."

Marta Szpala of the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) believes that the significance of the relationship between China and Serbia has been exaggerated on the economic side. "There have been a lot of meetings but nothing has happened. Europe remains the main source of FDI for Serbia," she says. "There is a theory that China is increasing engagement with Serbia and wants good ties with the political elite because Serbia is moving towards the EU, but Serbia is small; there are bigger countries already inside the EU that need Chinese money." Chinese government officials are also understood to have been frustrated by delays in making decisions within Belgrade, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the May 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections.

However, with several major projects in the pipeline, and China promising to invest ?10bn in the CEE region (including Serbia) in the near-term through soft-loans, most forecast Serbia can expect an upturn in investment from China. "Serbia is a perfect fit, as it sees foreign investment as the main driver of its economic development in the near future," argues Dragan Pavlicevic, a research associate at Nottingham University?s China Policy Institute. He points out that "now-departing Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic suggested recently that China may become the biggest foreign investor in Serbia 'within a year or two'."

Competition further west

The two countries already have an excellent political relationship, dating back to the cultural revolution, when Serbian films were the only foreign films permitted in China. Beijing has consistently backed the Serbian stance on Kosovo, while in 2010 the Belgrade was one of few European governments to join the boycott of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, which so outraged Beijing. This has given Serbia a higher profile among the older generation of Chinese investors than other economies of its size.

Despite this relationship however, Pavlicevic acknowledges that despite the advantages, the state of Serbia's infrastructure and its level of retail sector development remain challenges to realising the country's potential as a destination for Chinese manufacturing.

"In the current climate, where Chinese cash is seen as a potential saviour of Europe, and China is presented with many opportunities for investment in developed countries, it will be increasingly difficult for Serbia to offer attractive projects ... Serbia needs to fend-off competition from the likes of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary," says Pavlevic.

Indeed, as the Eurozone plunges further into crisis, China increasingly has the option to go directly to Western Europe. The Chinese government has already set up a fund for investment in Greek shipping companies, while Chinese firms have been snapping up Italian luxury brands.

Source: http://www.bne.eu/story3768

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Why cancer rate increases with age (it's not what you think ...

Changing tissue landscape and not necessarily accumulated oncogenic mutations drive cancer rates higher in the elderly.

Cancers are age-related, much more frequent in the old than in the young. A University of Colorado Cancer Center review published today in the journal Oncogene argues against the conventional wisdom that the accumulation of cancer-causing mutations leads to more cancer in older people, instead positing that it is the changing features of tissue in old age that promote higher cancer rates in the elderly.

"If you look at Mick Jagger in 1960 compared to Mick Jagger today, it's obvious that his tissue landscape has changed," says James DeGregori, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and professor of molecular biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "And it's this change, not the accumulation of cancer-causing mutations, that drives cancer rates higher as we grow older."

For evidence, DeGregori points first to the fact that by the time we stop growing in our late teens, we've already accumulated a large fraction of the mutations we will have in our lifetimes. "There's a mismatch between the mutation curve and the cancer curve," DeGregori says, meaning that if cancer were due to reaching a tipping point of, say, five or six mutations, we should see higher cancer rates in 20-year-olds, as this is when mutation rate is highest.

Second, DeGregori points out that even healthy tissues are full of oncogenic mutations. "These mutations are many times more common than the cancers associated with them," DeGregori says. Simply, more mutations doesn't equal more cancer - not across the aging population and not even in specific tissues.

DeGregori's final two points come from evolution. As we've evolved from one-celled, short-lived life forms into multicellular, long-lived humans, we've had to develop complicated machinery to maintain our tissues and avoid disease.

"But we're no better at preventing mutations than our yeast or bacteria cousins," DeGregori says. "You'd think if avoiding mutations was key to avoiding cancer, we'd be better at it than we are."

And finally, if these oncogenes were the evil super-villains they've been made out to be, capable of taking over surrounding tissue, then introducing oncogenes into mice stem cells should help rather than hurt these cells' survival. "Rather, stem cells harboring the oncogenes tend to get weeded out," says DeGregori.

Instead of gathering mutations until they give us cancer, DeGregori says that as we age, the mechanisms that younger adults use to fight cancer, deteriorate.

"It's like what happened to the dinosaurs 65 million years ago," DeGregori says. "Dinosaurs were great and they weren't changing that fast - they were well adapted to their landscape. Until that darn meteor. Suddenly what was fit was no longer fit. The species didn't have to change their mutation rate - it was the new landscape that drove speciation. Similarly, what primarily drives cancer rates higher as we age is the changed landscape."

Our healthy cells are optimized for the conditions of our healthy, younger tissue. Change this balance, as does an oncogenic mutation, and they're no longer a perfect fit for the surroundings - healthy cells in young bodies quickly outcompete cells with cancerous mutations.

But, "when tissue is old, healthy cells are no longer a perfect fit, and mutations might help a cancer cell adapt in ways a healthy cell can't," DeGregori says.

Blot out the sun with a meteor's cloud of dust and mammals will eventually outcompete thunder lizards; age tissue past the expiration date evolution's set and cancer cells can outcompete their normal but aged peers.

Source: http://machineslikeus.com/news/why-cancer-rate-increases-age-its-not-what-you-think

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Noel Irwin Hentschel: Career Seekers: Be Faithful, Success Will Follow

On Fourth of July, Americans celebrate Independence Day and the birth of an entrepreneurial, peace-loving nation with fireworks and family barbecues. This serves up an ideal opportunity for people of all political persuasions to discuss true American independence: jobs. This also serves up a time for gratitude with regard to virtuous dependence as inscribed in America's official motto, "In God we trust." As we "pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America" and to the "republic for which it stands," let us pause and reflect on these poignant words: "one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all." Every time we undertake the patriotic gesture of hand over heart calling out our pledge, it reminds us we are all called to be faithful first. Success will follow.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we debate how to achieve peace in a world of strife and we contemplate our deepest desire: inner peace. Career seekers believing in a higher power may want to consider sage advice from one of the world's most faithful CEOs: Mother Teresa. Her legacy is the influence she left in the hearts and souls she touched and continues to move spiritually as it transcends creed by faithful example. In fact, the organization she founded in 1950 called Missionaries of Charity grows daily, attracting thousands of vocations and co-workers "wholeheartedly serving the poorest of the poor" worldwide, including throughout America. Sustainable succession beyond our founders' lifespans, the true measure of success, emanates from faithful leadership and teamwork. This inspirational mentor offers good recipes for fruitful career paths. Her saintly tip: "God calls us to be faithful, not successful."

Many continue the struggle to find rewarding careers and purposeful lives. Yet as hospitality industry employers, our company AmericanTours International (ATI) is challenged to find the right talent for open positions. Why is there a shortage of recruits when so many people are earnestly seeking to work? Or are they? Have the youth, reportedly amongst the highest unemployed, given up? Are they staying in school, living at home and not wanting to face the real world? One possible explanation is that unemployed college graduates are unwilling to work at jobs they believe to be beneath them. Or they do not possess the skills to hit the ground running in the fields requiring labor.

Did their university promote degrees with unrealistic salary expectations, saddling students with burdensome loans? If so, one could attribute a moral obligation for alma mater institutions to help graduates actually find work. Job commitments from thriving alumni should be encouraged and facilitated. Perhaps there needs to be a partial money back guarantee from endowments. Honest discussion with students and solid advice for classes to take for acquiring marketable skills while instilling a practical mentality is a fiduciary duty. Vocational training is a better career path than college for some. Responsibility to prepare students to enter the work force and accomplish the mission of a career starts in high school. Teach students to interview, to compete and to humbly roll up their sleeves with a readiness to serve a greater cause than one's own glory. Less emphasis on "self-esteem" and "material status" and more focus on "selflessness" and "faithful service" may be the ingredient needed in our current culture for a positive outcome.

From sources within the hospitality industry I have found an interesting paradigm shift over these past years. The "faithful" mentality of "hard workers" with humble attitudes, strong work ethic and ingrained moral virtues are winning the jobs. The higher institutions of learning are not the place these workers are being found. They are coming from the churches, synagogues and mosques and they are practicing their faith from hard life lessons learned. According to recent finds by a growing number of employers, Pentecostals and other faith-based workers are best prepared when applying and working. They are not looking for "best pay to perform" but rather for "best way to serve" opportunities. Fast becoming the blessed recipients of "on the job training," they embrace greater responsibility and help generate growth, earning higher remuneration. As the company succeeds, the team succeeds. Some also choose to dedicate part of their work to charitable efforts at home or abroad. These efforts help those less fortunate to have the basics such as food, medicine, shelter and education. Faith, hope and charity foster peace.

Mother Teresa begins with the premise, "Holiness is not the luxury of the few, it is a simple duty for you and me. Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things." This entrepreneurial woman worked tirelessly until she drew her last breath on September 5, 1997 at the ripe age of 87. Her faithful work ethic continues to inspire thousands to try to emulate her success by being faithful to God and to one's mission in life. She answered her calling to serve God and humanity while strongly advocating the need to smile. All who desire to find work or want to work with less stress must smile she proclaimed. "Peace (inner and outer) begins with a smile," was her corporate mantra. Even her business card advanced the notion of faith before success; "the fruit of service is peace."

In New York Harbor, there is another enduring and selfless icon, Lady Liberty, with a message to believe for hope. This statue warmly welcomes visitors and each new American seeking a better life: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." America is the land of freedom and opportunity, if one is willing and ready to work with faith and humility. Sounding the call for career seekers desiring a higher calling, to serve a cause greater than oneself, namely to be a peacemaker.

You are invited to join the hospitality industry. Please contact nicole_hopkins@americantours.com. Tell her you desire to serve faithfully on the ATI Team, with a smile. Success will follow.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/noel-irwin-hentschel/career-seekers-be-faithfu_b_1649251.html

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Syrian army attacks rebels, Turkey scrambles F16s

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army pressed its offensive against rebels, bombarding the city of Douma near Damascus, and Turkey said it had scrambled warplanes after Syrian helicopters flew near its border.

Turkey's armed forces command said the fighters took off on Monday when Syrian transport helicopters were spotted flying near the frontier, without entering Turkish air space. It was the third day in a row that Turkey had scrambled its F-16s.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a Turkish daily he wished his forces had not shot down a Turkish jet last month and that he would not allow tensions with Turkey to lead to war.

"We learned it belonged to Turkey after shooting it down. I say 100 percent 'if only we had not shot it down'," Turkey's Cumhuriyet daily quoted Assad as saying.

A Syrian general and 84 soldiers were the latest to defect and flee to Turkey on Monday. But army and government defections have so far failed to shake Assad's 12-year grip on power.

Assad told Cumhuriyet he was not bent on staying in office come what may but gave no hint he was ready to quit.

"If my staying or going saved my people and country, why would I hold on? I wouldn't even stay one day," he said.

"If the opposite is true, that is, if the people don't want me, then there are in any case elections. If the people wanted, they would send me away," Assad was quoted as saying.

HEAVY SHELLING

The Syrian leader responded with force when peaceful protests erupted against him in March last year and has turned his troops and tanks on demonstrators and insurgents alike.

More violence erupted on Tuesday with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group which compiles reports from rebels, saying 56 people were killed across the country, including 34 civilians.

Opposition leaders say more than 15,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.

Neither Assad nor his enemies have shown much interest in compromise as Syria slides deeper into a civil war, fuelling animosity between majority Sunni Muslims and the president's minority Alawites who control the military and security forces.

"There was heavy shelling all morning," said Abu Rami, an activist in Homs, a main target of an army onslaught on rebel strongholds. "We are living with little food and little water."

The army on Tuesday shelled places near Douma to which the embattled city's residents had fled at the weekend, Omar Hamzeh, another activist, said, adding that at least six people had been killed.

Refugee activists along the Turkish-Syrian border said two people had also been killed when the army carried out artillery raids on the town of Saqlin, around six km (3.7 miles) from Turkey.

A police officer who defected from the northern city of Aleppo and crossed into Turkey on Tuesday said the army had been firing artillery rounds from areas around the city to rebellious areas to the north and east.

"I left Aleppo and the sound of artillery fire was shaking the ground in Hamdaniya," the officer said, referring to his eastern Aleppo suburb. He declined to be named.

Turkey's southern Hatay province along the Syrian border has become a safe haven for rebel fighters and defectors from the Syrian army. There are also more than 35,000 Syrian refugees now taking shelter in camps in southern Turkey.

Diplomacy has so far failed to curb the bloodshed. World powers agreed at the weekend to support talks on a transitional government. But they failed to narrow differences between the West and Russia over Western demands that Assad must go.

Turkey, which has long demanded the Syrian leader's removal, said Assad's role was over, but advised the Syrian opposition to accept envoy Kofi Annan's internationally endorsed proposal.

"Our task is not to pressure the opposition or to persuade them of something," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Sky News Arabia in Cairo, where opposition groups were meeting for a second day.

He said Annan's mediation role meant the opposition would not have to negotiate with Assad under the transition plan.

"Thus I believe that accepting the Geneva statement would be a positive thing from the opposition," he said.

His Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said Syrian opposition leaders would hold talks in Moscow next week. But it was not clear if they would include any from the mainstream Syrian National Council (SNC), backed by the West and Turkey.

"We will use this coming meeting with yet another Syrian opposition group to continue work to end violence and start Syrian dialogue between the government and all groups of the Syrian opposition as soon as possible," Lavrov said.

Russia says the Geneva agreement does not imply that Assad must be excluded from power. Western powers insist that it does.

ARMED OPPOSITION

Moscow is deeply suspicious of anti-Assad insurgents, echoing Damascus's line that they are all Islamist militants.

Washington too, has reservations about the wisdom of backing an armed opposition it regards as ill-organized and disparate, with some connections to al Qaeda-linked militants.

The rebel Free Syrian Army, an umbrella group of armed factions, boycotted the SNC gathering in Cairo, where the Arab League was urging Islamist and secular groups to end their quarrels and form a credible alternative authority to Assad.

Some Syrian dissidents argue that armed Islamist militants are indeed likely to come to the fore if the outside world leaves the country to the mercy of Assad's forces.

Iran, an ally of Assad, which, along with its regional rival Saudi Arabia, Assad's adversary, was excluded from the Geneva conference, said Damascus wanted reform but not foreign interference or "terrorist activities".

"Syria ... has been the main axis of resistance (against Israel). Therefore it is natural that Western governments and the American government try to take their revenge," said Saeed Jalili, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Syria's chief of staff, General Fahd Jassem al-Freij, said the nation was at war with conspirators seeking its destruction.

With diplomatic efforts failing to gain traction, the United States may come under pressure from Gulf Arab hawks, notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to do more to help the rebels when the "Friends of Syria" forum gathers in Paris on Friday.

Russia, which has criticized the "Friends" for favoring only one side in Syria's conflict, has turned down an invitation to the meeting, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

Syrian opposition leaders reject Russia's insistence on a dialogue with the government, saying Assad's removal has to be the first step because of what he has inflicted on his people.

New York-based Human Rights Watch issued a report on "an archipelago" of Syrian state torture centers, citing accounts of victims who said they were beaten, burned with acid, sexually assaulted or had their fingernails torn out.

In Cairo, some Syrian opposition activists described ruthless attacks by government forces on cities such as Homs.

"The city has been bombarded non-stop for months," said Khaled Abul Salah, an activist from Homs. "Anyone wounded dies as there is no way they can leave town or go to hospital."

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon in Beirut, Sami Aboudi in Dubai, and Jonathon Burch and Jon Hemming in Ankara, Daren Butler in Istanbul,; Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, John Irish in Paris and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; Writing by Douglas Hamilton and Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-army-attacks-rebels-turkey-scrambles-f16s-090435113.html

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