[OOC] Important NPC Board

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Blood on the Thames?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

This is a thread to add all of your pertinent NPCs for your gangs. Don't worry about adding throngs of "Red Shirts" that are just going to get slaughtered in any combat. Those are assumed. Here you add the NPCs that are important to your character, ones that you don't want to have killed off at a regular basis, unless you want to come in here constantly and rewrite your NPC post to take out the old and put in the new ones. *shrugs* That's on you, I guess...

BSDJoker

Member for 2 years

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This post is reserved for Gabriel's NPCs. You can all go ahead and reserve your posts as well for when you add NPCs, too.

BSDJoker

Member for 2 years

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Post a reply

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US stocks down on Europe worries

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Uncertainty about a deal between Greece and its creditors to ease its debt burden is weighing on investor sentiment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Uncertainty about a deal between Greece and its creditors to ease its debt burden is weighing on investor sentiment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specilaist David Pologruto, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Uncertainty about a deal between Greece and its creditors to ease its debt burden is weighing on investor sentiment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Andrew O'Connor, foreground left, and fellow traders work on the floor of the New York Exchange Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Uncertainty about a deal between Greece and its creditors to ease its debt burden is weighing on investor sentiment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Uncertainty about a deal between Greece and its creditors to ease its debt burden is weighing on investor sentiment. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks dropped and yields for ultra-safe U.S. government debt fell to their lowest level this year Monday while financial markets around the world waited for Greece to nail down a deal to reduce its crushing debt.

Greece and the investors who bought its national bonds were close to a deal over the weekend. The investors would swap their bonds for replacements with half the face value.

Greece needs the deal to secure a crucial installment of bailout loans and avoid missing an upcoming bond payment. But the deal has been in the works for weeks and could still fall apart.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 72 points to 12,588 as of just before 1 p.m. EST, a drop of 0.6 percent. Financial stocks were the worst performers in the broader market, with Bank of America down 3.3 percent.

Borrowing costs for European countries with the largest debt burdens shot higher. The two-year interest rate for Portugal's government debt jumped to 21 percent from 14 percent last week.

U.S. Treasury yields sank to their lowest level this year as traders parked cash in the safest assets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 1.83 percent. It was trading above 2 percent just last week.

The euro dropped 0.6 percent against the dollar, and European stocks sank. French and Spanish stocks closed down 1.6 percent, Italian stocks down 1.2 percent and German stocks down 1 percent.

The focus on Greece has shifted attention away from what's going well in the U.S., said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. Companies have reported stronger quarterly earnings, and hiring has picked up.

"Our collective breath has been held for so many months," Ablin said.

While the market is waiting on an agreement to cut Greece's debt and contain a wider European debt crisis, even a messy default could eventually lead to a stronger U.S. stock market, he said.

"If it finally happens and the world doesn't fall apart, maybe we'll have a reason to take risk again," he said. "Once you pull off the Band-Aid, it feels better."

An agreement between Greece and its creditors could serve as a blueprint for other European countries with heavy debt burdens. Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, pointed to Portugal's soaring bond yields in a note to clients.

"At this rate, Portugal is going to move from the back to front burner in very, very short order," he said.

European leaders are also gathering in Brussels, focusing on how to stimulate economic growth when huge government spending cuts threaten to push many countries back into recession.

The latest data showed Spain's economy shrank in the last three months of 2011.

In other trading in the United States, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell nine points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,307. The Nasdaq composite lost 12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,804.

The Commerce Department said Americans' income rose in December by the most in nine months. That's slightly better than what economists expected.

Among stocks making big moves Friday:

? The fast food chain Wendy's dropped 2 percent. The Wendy's Co. said Monday that a key measure of earnings dropped 30 percent in the fourth quarter. Charges for selling Arby's offset the effects of a jump in sales.

? PharMerica Corp. plunged 12 percent. The Federal Trade Commission said it was suing to block rival pharmacy company Omnicare Inc. from completing its $457 million takeover of PharMerica. The agency said a merger of the country's two largest long-term care pharmacies would raise the cost of Medicare prescription plans covering drugs for nursing home residents. Stock in Omnicare Inc. inched up less than 1 percent.

? Thomas & Betts Corp. soared 22 percent on news that Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd. agreed to buy the maker of power lines and other electrical products for $3.9 billion in cash.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-30-Wall%20Street/id-53addf8b1ed44a2cad5ec5bef8291f3a

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Bacteria provides clues to fight TB, says Rutgers-Camden researcher

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ed Moorhouse
ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6759
Rutgers University

CAMDEN -- A RutgersCamden professor is using his expertise in computer science to aid in the development of new methods to fight tuberculosis.

Desmond Lun, an associate professor of computer science, has received $36,589 from a Lockheed Martin contract administered by the National Institutes of Health for his work with GRANITE (Genetic Regulatory Analysis of Networks Investigational Tool Environment), a software platform designed to simulate the behavior of living cells.

The role of Lun's lab in the funded project is to use the GRANITE program to make predictions about the behavior of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis bacteria usually attack the lungs, but also can attack other parts of the body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, tuberculosis can be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

"There are drugs that fight tuberculosis, but as is often the case with bacterial diseases, it develops immunities to these drugs," Lun says. "There's quite a search going on for new drugs and researchers are now looking at an area of the organism known as central metabolism. We want to disrupt the process of how the organism takes the nutrients of its environment, breaks them down, and uses them to grow."

Lun is using the GRANITE program, developed by defense contractor Lockheed Martin under the auspices of the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at NIAID/NIH, to simulate disruption of the bacteria's metabolism.

"We're looking for things that may kill the organism," he says.

The computer simulation can give researchers answers and new insight into the process much faster than it would take to grow a tuberculosis bacteria culture and test various ways to disrupt its metabolism.

"Doing these experiments is very difficult and you want to test potential targets quickly, which isn't possible," Lun says. "Tuberculosis is a very slow-growing organism. It takes weeks to months to grow a culture, so if you want to test a genetic change, then that's the timeframe you're looking at. By using a computer simulation, you can pick out, say, the 10 most promising ways out of 100 to alter the organism. That saves a lot of time and money."

Lun, who has also researched how to alter the genetic makeup of E. coli to produce biodiesel fuel derived from fatty acids, says predicting how an organism behaves with a computer simulation can also be applied to other microbes.

The tuberculosis research is part of a much larger endeavor to capture the rules that govern how biological systems behave.

"This is only the first step," Lun says. "Who knows where it will go? It's a very exciting project to be a part of."

###

A Philadelphia resident, Lun teaches courses in computational and integrative biology at the Camden Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and computer engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia and earned his master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 30-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ed Moorhouse
ejmoor@camden.rutgers.edu
856-225-6759
Rutgers University

CAMDEN -- A RutgersCamden professor is using his expertise in computer science to aid in the development of new methods to fight tuberculosis.

Desmond Lun, an associate professor of computer science, has received $36,589 from a Lockheed Martin contract administered by the National Institutes of Health for his work with GRANITE (Genetic Regulatory Analysis of Networks Investigational Tool Environment), a software platform designed to simulate the behavior of living cells.

The role of Lun's lab in the funded project is to use the GRANITE program to make predictions about the behavior of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis bacteria usually attack the lungs, but also can attack other parts of the body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, tuberculosis can be fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

"There are drugs that fight tuberculosis, but as is often the case with bacterial diseases, it develops immunities to these drugs," Lun says. "There's quite a search going on for new drugs and researchers are now looking at an area of the organism known as central metabolism. We want to disrupt the process of how the organism takes the nutrients of its environment, breaks them down, and uses them to grow."

Lun is using the GRANITE program, developed by defense contractor Lockheed Martin under the auspices of the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at NIAID/NIH, to simulate disruption of the bacteria's metabolism.

"We're looking for things that may kill the organism," he says.

The computer simulation can give researchers answers and new insight into the process much faster than it would take to grow a tuberculosis bacteria culture and test various ways to disrupt its metabolism.

"Doing these experiments is very difficult and you want to test potential targets quickly, which isn't possible," Lun says. "Tuberculosis is a very slow-growing organism. It takes weeks to months to grow a culture, so if you want to test a genetic change, then that's the timeframe you're looking at. By using a computer simulation, you can pick out, say, the 10 most promising ways out of 100 to alter the organism. That saves a lot of time and money."

Lun, who has also researched how to alter the genetic makeup of E. coli to produce biodiesel fuel derived from fatty acids, says predicting how an organism behaves with a computer simulation can also be applied to other microbes.

The tuberculosis research is part of a much larger endeavor to capture the rules that govern how biological systems behave.

"This is only the first step," Lun says. "Who knows where it will go? It's a very exciting project to be a part of."

###

A Philadelphia resident, Lun teaches courses in computational and integrative biology at the Camden Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and computer engineering from the University of Melbourne, Australia and earned his master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/ru-bpc013012.php

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Cancer Screening ? United States, 2010 ? Full Text Reports?

Cancer Screening ? United States, 2010
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)

Each year, approximately 350,000 persons are diagnosed with breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer in the United States, and nearly 100,000 die from these diseases (1). The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening tests for each of these cancers to reduce morbidity and mortality (2). Healthy People 2020 sets national objectives for use of the recommended cancer screening tests and identifies the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as the means to measure progress. Data from the 2010 NHIS were analyzed to assess use of the recommended tests by age, race, ethnicity, education, length of U.S. residence, and source and financing of health care to identify groups not receiving the full benefits of screening and to target specific interventions to increase screening rates. Overall, the breast cancer screening rate was 72.4% (below the Healthy People 2020 target of 81.1%), cervical cancer screening was 83.0% (below the target of 93.0%), and colorectal cancer screening was 58.6% (below the target of 70.5%). Screening rates for all three cancer screening tests were significantly lower among Asians than among whites and blacks. Hispanics were less likely to be screened for cervical and colorectal cancer. Higher screening rates were positively associated with education, availability and use of health care, and length of U.S. residence. Continued monitoring of screening rates helps to assess progress toward meeting Healthy People 2020 targets and to develop strategies to reach those targets.

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Source: http://fulltextreports.com/2012/01/29/cancer-screening-united-states-2010/

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Buzzmakers: Demi Moore, Dean McDermott and More (omg!)

This week's top stories in the entertainment world include Demi Moore's first ET interview, Dean McDermott's shock over Tori Spelling's crash, details regarding Demi's 911 call, Seal's grieving over split with Heidi Klum and Demi's treatment for exhaustion.

ET has footage of a 19-year-old Demi Moore as she celebrated a birthday with her General Hospital co-stars in 1982. What's more is that in the footage, there was some wild, tipsy behavior from the star in the interview.

On an episode of Tori & Dean, Dean McDermott received troubling news as her learned that wife Tori Spelling got into a car accident, one that the star claimed was caused by her being chased by paparazzi.

ET obtained the 911 call from Demi Moore's home that occurred earlier this week. A female is heard in the recording saying, "She smoked something. It's not marijuana, but similar to incense and she seems to be having convulsions of some sort."

A day after news of Seal and Heidi Klum splitting, the singer expressed his shock in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres. "You go into these things with the greatest intentions when you say 'I do' and you say 'til death do us part,'" said Seal. "Those vows hold value."

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Demi Moore's address on Monday night following a 911 call. Her rep told ET, "Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health. She looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of her family and friends."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_buzzmakers_demi_moore_dean_mcdermott_more140000380/44337291/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/buzzmakers-demi-moore-dean-mcdermott-more-140000380.html

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Five dead in poll violence in India's Manipur state (Reuters)

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) ? Five people were killed in election related violence in India's isolated, northeastern state of Manipur, police said on Saturday.

Among those who died were a woman, a security guard and three election duty staff, when suspected tribal rebels attacked a polling booth in the state's Chandel district.

"The militants are suspected to be from the National Socialist Council of Nagaland faction," a police officer said.

No group, however, has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Strife-ridden Manipur, bordering Myanmar, is the first of five Indian states to go to polls in early 2012 to elect a state legislature.

The Congress party, which leads the federal coalition government, is expected to retain office.

CorCom, an alliance of seven separatist Manipuri groups who view India as a colonial power, blamed the Congress government for "degeneration of the Manipuri society ... to the present state of social, moral, economic and political bankruptcy."

"We are fighting against the Indian occupation of Manipur. So as a part of fighting Indian occupation we ban the Congress and their agents in Manipur," the alliance said in an e-mail received by Reuters late on Friday.

The group claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a Congress candidate's home last week.

(Additional reporting and writing by Arup Roychoudhury in NEW DELHI; Editing by Ed Lane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_india_election_manipur

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Readers Respond to "Toxins All Around Us" and Other Articles

October 2011 Image: Scientific American

CHEMISTRY COMMENTARY
In reading ?Toxins All around Us,? by Patricia Hunt [Forum], and the text pertaining to how the environment influences our genes in ?10 Unsolved Mysteries,? by Philip Ball, I wonder about the following: If toxins in the environment are affecting our bodies in a negative way, as Hunt in particular asserts, and if some genes that were heretofore inactive are now being reactivated in response to chemicals in the environment, as Ball refers to, might these newly activated genes allow us to evolve to cope with all these toxic exposures? Perhaps that?s what they are there for. Maybe our bodies of the future will be able to be healthy within this toxic mix.
John Maas Rua Ernesto do Oliveira
S?o Paulo, Brazil

Regarding the discussion of biofuels in ?10 Unsolved Mysteries,? you seem just as unwilling as other publications to discuss the economic law of diminishing returns. I don?t know exactly when this law became taboo, but technology-related reporting is especially notorious in this regard. Given the time and money spent researching biofuels, hybrid engines, hydrogen fuel-cell technology, and the like, it seems reasonable to suppose that, at some point, all this effort could be better spent investing in something like effective mass transit.
David R. Witzling
via e-mail

DARKNESS AND LIGHT
In ?The Dark Side of the Milky Way,? Leo Blitz states that what dark matter consists of ?remains as elusive as ever,? that the most conservative analysis is that it ?consists of an exotic particle not yet detected in particle accelerators? and that it ?reveals itself solely by its gravitational influence.?

A person familiar with the history of physics cannot help but think of the ?ether?: that equally mysterious ?substance? scientists of the 19th century supposed must exist, even though it could not be detected, to explain how light, then thought of exclusively as a wave, could propagate through space. The understanding of the dual nature of light made the ether?s existence unnecessary. We should thus not be surprised if a future, more complete theory of the nature of gravity, space and time will also render dark matter nothing more than a historic construct.
Harvey Smith
Carrollton, Tex.

Blitz replies: It remains possible that modifications to Einstein?s general theory of relativity could be responsible for the various phenomena that dark matter is invoked to explain. Nevertheless, despite the example of the ether, the history of astronomy is replete with dark objects that were later identified by other means. These include Neptune and the companion of Sirius, both of which, like dark matter, were first identified by their gravitational effects alone.

SCENT AND SENSIBILITY
While reading ?The Scent of Your Thoughts,? by Deborah Blum, I was somewhat startled to read a comment on University of Chicago researcher Martha McClintock?s ?friendly face and flyaway hair? and later a description of her clothes (?She wears a tweedy jacket over a bright, patterned shirt?). What has her appearance got to do with her considerable achievements as a scientist? I suspect that if she had been male, such comments would not have been written, and they are irrelevant, irrespective of gender. If I had read this in my local newspaper, I would have just rolled my eyes and sighed. Based on the usual standard of writing in Scientific American, such comments have no place in your journal.
Sam Vincent
Auckland, New Zealand

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=614376c553773897681f750f2f46bba6

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US Embassy: US citizen kidnapped in Nigeria freed (AP)

LAGOS, Nigeria ? A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press on Friday that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man's release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.

The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Georgia, by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.

Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.

"The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location," Patterson said by telephone.

She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.

It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.

The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation's Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.

Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.

Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.

In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.

In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.

A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.

___

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_bi_ge/af_nigeria_oil_unrest

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Sundance 2012: Documentaries dominate

Ethel Kennedy hates her first name. I would not have known this had I not seen the terrific documentary Ethel by her filmmaker daughter Rory Kennedy. A festival favorite, "Ethel" is one of several hundred features and shorts playing here at the annual snowbound Sundance festival centered in Park City, Utah, where journalists who spend their waking (and sometimes sleeping) hours in dark screening rooms are ringed by ? taunted by ? ski slopes reaching high into the sky.

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Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance remains the premier showplace ? and marketplace ? for independent filmmakers. It is more inexpensive than ever to make movies; shoestring budgets are stringier than ever. At least one film at this festival, the horror anthology V/H/S, was apparently shot entirely on a laptop. Distribution systems are more wide-ranging, too. Theatrical release is no longer the only game in town: Now there's VOD (video on demand), streaming, and who knows what else.

And yet the emphasis here at Sundance this year is still on the theatrical event. Nothing can replace watching a movie on a big screen with a big audience.

When there is a film as powerful as The Invisible War, that sense of communality is almost essential to the experience. This year I focused my filmgoing predominantly on documentaries, always the high point of Sundance. This one, by Kirby Dick, exposes a subject ? the high prevalence of rape in the military ? that, amazingly, has never before been addressed in a movie. A succession of servicewomen and one serviceman recount their horrific stories as the statistics pile up: About 500,000 women have been sexually assaulted in the US military (and about 80 percent of assaults go unreported).

An estimated 30 percent of female soldiers and at least 1 percent of male soldiers are sexually assaulted during their enlistment ? by their fellow soldiers. Only 2 percent of those accused of assault are convicted. The film calls for nothing less than an overhaul of the justice system so that victims feel safe in reporting these crimes and attackers are punished.

One of the interviewees, Kori Cioca, is unable to get disability relief for serious injuries sustained in her attack while serving in the US Coast Guard. She says she can't imagine a life without pain. After the film's public screening, the producer was approached by a local couple who said they would pay for all of the soldier's medical bills. When told of the gift, Cioca, and everyone within earshot, started sobbing.

Watching the Alison Klayman documentary Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, a lot of us felt like cheering. Ai is a world-class artist and architect who is also one of China's most outspoken dissidents. His mantra is, "If you don't act, the danger becomes stronger." The film humanizes him without detracting from the symbolic importance he holds for a new generation of Chinese, who avidly follow his rallying cry, "Don't retreat, retweet." Ai was detained for 81 days in 2011 by the Chinese government just as this film, which was shot over three years, was wrapping up, giving it a special poignancy. As the film makes clear, what happens to Ai is vitally important to understanding China's ? and by extension, the world's ? future.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/t4LJ9tQNuAo/Sundance-2012-Documentaries-dominate

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Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Want To Get Married?

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Want To Get Married?

Brad Pitt and his partner of seven years, actress Angelina Jolie, have had a change of heart about marriage. The Hollywood couple previously said they [...]

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Egyptian protesters plan sit-in until army leaves (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? Egyptian youths camped out on Thursday in Cairo's Tahrir Square and vowed to stay put until the army hands power to civilians, a day after a mass demonstration marked a year since an uprising which brought down Hosni Mubarak.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into the square and onto streets of other cities for the January 25 anniversary of the day the revolt began. Although good-natured, the demonstration exposed rifts in the Arab world's most populous nation.

The Tahrir crowds were broadly split between youths demanding the army cede control to civilians immediately and Islamists celebrating a political transformation that has handed them sweeping gains in parliament after decades of repression.

Sit-ins have in the past sparked violence when the police and army have sought to clear protesters out, but on Thursday the scene was peaceful.

Scores of youths occupied the square surrounded by dozens of tents pitched on traffic islands. Vendors sold hot drinks and some activists huddled round open fires to keep warm in the morning air.

"The military council commits the same abuses Mubarak committed. I don't feel any change. The military council is leading a counter-revolution. We will protest until the military council goes," said 23-year-old student Samer Qabil.

The army council took over when Mubarak was ousted and is led by his defense minister for two decades, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. It has insisted it will hand power to civilians after a presidential election in June.

But many activists say they fear it wants to hold onto power behind the scenes.

Although troops were cheered when they were ordered onto the streets in the uprising, they have since drawn the wrath of many for heavy-handed tactics against protests demanding they go back to barracks.

"There will be a sit-in until they leave," said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger and activist who was detained by the army after clashes outside state media offices killed 25 protesters in October.

In Alexandria, a Mediterranean port that is Egypt's second-biggest city, about 100 protesters had also set up tents late on Wednesday near police headquarters, demanding the army hand over power immediately.

Mubarak, 83, is on trial for his life and a new parliament was installed this week that is dominated by his Islamist adversaries. But many youthful activists who launched last year's revolt are weary of army rule and worry that Islamists may stifle their hopes of a deep purge of the old order.

The activists fear Islamists will make political concessions to the army as they seek to secure their new gains in mainstream politics.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which now has the biggest bloc in parliament after the first free election in decades, and other Islamists deny any deals with the military.

The once banned Brotherhood had warned against a sit-in but said some of its members stayed in the square to help it stay peaceful.

The army and police kept their distance from the square during Wednesday's demonstration in an apparent effort to ensure there was no cause for friction.

(Additional reporting by Marwa Awad in Cairo and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria, Writing by Lin Noueihed; Edited by Richard Meares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_egypt_protest

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Iran to continue nuke program despite new sanctions

The EU is imposing an immediate ban on imports of oil from Iran as a way to pressure the government to halt its nuclear activities. ITV's Ali Smith reports.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET: Hours after the European Union imposes an oil embargo and sanctions on Iran's central bank, France, Britain and Germany say they are willing to negotiate with Iran if it is ready to talk seriously about its nuclear program.

"We call on Iran's leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations," the European countries say in a joint statement. "Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime's ability to fund its nuclear program."

---

In response, the offices of Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issues the following statement, according to NBC News:

?

"We welcome today's decision by the European Union to ban imports of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, freeze the assets of the Iranian central bank, and take additional action against Iran's energy, financial, and transport sectors."

Updated at 12 p.m. ET: Iran says a European Union decision Monday to impose new sanctions over its nuclear program is "psychological warfare," Reuters reports.

"... Imposing economic sanctions is illogical and unfair but will not stop our nation from obtaining its rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast is quoted as saying by state television, referring to Iran's nuclear energy ambitions.

Updated at 11 a.m. ET: Russia's Foreign Ministry says the?European Union was wrong to impose an oil embargo on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, The Associated Press reports.

"It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at 'punishing' Iran for uncooperative behavior. This is a deeply mistaken policy, as we have told our European partners more than once. Under pressure of this sort, Iran will not make any concessions or any corrections to its policies," the ministry says.

Updated at 9:45 a.m. ET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised a European Union decision to place sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Reuters reports. "I think this is a step in the right direction," Netanyahu said at a meeting of his Likud faction in parliament. "For now, it is impossible to know what the result of these sanctions will be. Heavy and swift pressure is needed on Iran and the sanctions must be evaluated according to their results."

Netanyahu also said that despite world pressure so far "Iran is continuing undeterred to develop nuclear weapons," Reuters adds.

Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET: A member of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, says Tehran should respond to?an EU decision to impose sanctions on Iran -- some of which come into force in July --?by stopping oil sales to the bloc immediately. This would?deny the Europeans time to arrange alternative supplies and damaging their economies with higher oil prices.

"The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying, Reuters reports. He also reiterated that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of all oil tanker traffic passes to importers around the world.

Published at 7:45 a.m. ET: The European Union on Monday adopted an oil embargo against Iran over its nuclear program, a day after U.S., British and French warships sailed into the Persian Gulf.

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British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday called the measure part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions."?

"I think this shows the resolve of the European Union on this issue," he said.

Diplomats say the measures, adopted by the EU's 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products while existing ones are allowed to run until July.

Tehran denies claims that its nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, saying it is for peaceful purposes.

In a report that examined how Iran might respond to an EU oil embargo, Professor Paul Stevens, a visiting professor at University College London (Australia) and research fellow at U.K. think tank Chatham House, said it was "extremely unlikely" that Iran would not retaliate.

'Lockerbie-type response' feared
Stevens said that if Iran seriously threatened the transit of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world supplies,?this would "rapidly degenerate into a shooting war" between Iran and the U.S., supported by its allies.

He expressed doubts Iran would try to do this, saying it was a "very powerful card that Iran is unlikely to play early in the game."

However, Stevens said Iran had other retaliation options, warning that there "could even be a Lockerbie-type response prompted by elements from within Iran," referring to the bombing ofPan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which led to 270 deaths. That attack was blamed on Moammar Gadhafi's Libyan regime.

He also said Iran could try to push oil prices upward by creating further instability in Iraq, hitting that country's oil exports; make "serious trouble" for NATO in Afghanistan; and also put "huge pressure" on other Gulf oil exporters and "at worst" threaten oil facilities."

Stevens said the Abqaiq processing facility in Saudi Arabia was "well within Iranian missile range."

On Sunday, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite previous threats from Iran to attack the aircraft carrier Stennis if it returned to the Gulf.

Fmr. National Security Adviser to President Carter, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, and the Washington Post's David Ignatius join Morning Joe to discuss Iran. What will tough sanctions from the West on Iran mean? Is Iran sending the world signals they are willing to negotiate when it comes to nuclear proliferation? The Washington Post's Bob Woodward also joins the conversation.

U.S. military officials said the Lincoln saw no sign of Iranian speed boats that sometimes harass U.S. warships.

The U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper reported?that the nuclear-powered Lincoln was accompanied by a British navy ship and a French warship.

A U.K. defense ministry spokesman told the paper that HMS Argyll had joined the U.S. carrier group "to underline the unwavering international commitment to maintaining rights of passage (to the Strait of Hormuz)?under international law."

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

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10214818-iran-to-continue-nuke-program-despite-new-sanctions

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Hang Up and Listen: The Famous Last Words Edition

In this week?s episode of Slate?s sports podcast Hang Up and Listen, Stefan Fatsis, Josh Levin, and Mike Pesca discuss the heroes and scapegoats?kickers and non-kicker categories?of the Patriots? win over the Ravens and the Giants? win over the 49ers. They also talk to the Washington Post?s Sally Jenkins about conducting the last interview with Penn State coach Joe Paterno before his death at age 85. And David Ebner of the Globe and Mail joins the show to discuss the life and death of Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=d1dc4c075eaa976a2fe61d9bc252296f

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Yemen's leader allowed to come to US (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration will allow Yemen's outgoing president to come to the U.S. temporarily for medical treatment, a move aimed at easing the political transition in Yemen, a key counterterrorism partner.

A senior administration official said Ali Abdullah Saleh would travel to New York this week, and probably stay in the U.S. until no later than the end of February. U.S. officials believe Saleh's exit from Yemen could lower the risk of disruptions in the lead-up to presidential elections planned there on Feb. 21.

A presidential spokesman in Yemen said Saleh had left the capital of Sanaa earlier Sunday on a jet headed for the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman. An official close to Saleh, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the trip, said the president would undergo medical exams in Oman before heading to the U.S.

The U.S. official did not say whether Saleh planned to return to Yemen, Oman or elsewhere after finishing his treatment in the U.S. The official was not authorized to discuss details about Saleh and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Yemeni embassy in Washington said Saleh planned to return home in February to attend a swearing-in ceremony for the country's newly elected president.

The mercurial Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, agreed to transfer power to his vice president late last year in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He had faced months of protests calling for his ouster, to which the Yemeni government responded with a bloody crackdown, leaving hundreds of protesters dead and sparking wider violence in the capital with rival militia.

Even after agreeing to leave power, Saleh continued to wield his influence behind the scenes, and U.S. officials believed getting him out of Yemen was necessary in order to ensure the February elections took place. The U.S. also worried about instability in a nation grappling with growing extremism, including the dangerous al-Qaida branch known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Still, Saleh's request last month for a U.S. visa put the Obama administration in the awkward position of either having to bar a friendly president from U.S. soil or risking appearing to harbor an autocrat with blood on his hands.

As U.S. officials weighed Saleh's request, they sought assurances that he would not seek political asylum or any type of permanent relocation in the U.S.

"We wanted to make sure that there was an understanding that it would be for medical purposes and that's what it is for," John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, said Sunday.

Saleh was badly burned and wounded during a June rocket attack on his compound in Yemen. He sought medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia for three months. American officials had hoped he would remain there, but the Yemeni leader returned and violence worsened anew.

Protesters and human rights groups have criticized Saleh's immunity clause and insisted he stand trial for his alleged role in protester deaths.

Brennan said there was a divide in Yemen over Saleh's future, with some Yemenis supporting Saleh's decision to seek medical treatment in the U.S. In the short-term, he said, it was imperative to ensure that the February elections take place.

"We thought it was important, given where Yemen is right now as far as moving forward with its political transition, to do what we can to support the government and the elections that are scheduled for the 21st of February, and that seems to be on track," he said.

Yemeni Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is expected to be rubber-stamped as the country's new leader in the elections, in which he is expected to be the only candidate.

Brennan spoke with Hadi on Sunday, and told him the U.S. was encouraged by his leadership during a difficult period of transition. With fresh demonstrations likely in the weeks leading up to the elections, Brennan urged Hadi to ensure that Yemeni security forces exercise restraint.

The Obama administration's approval of Saleh's visa brought back memories from three decades ago, when President Jimmy Carter allowed the exiled shah of Iran into the U.S. for medical treatment. The decision contributed to rapidly worsening relations between Washington and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution in Tehran, with Iranian students occupying the U.S. Embassy in Iran a month later.

Fifty-two American hostages were held for 444 days in response to Carter's refusal to send the shah back to Iran for trial.

___

Associated Press writers Ahmed al-Haj and Ben Hubbard in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_yemen

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Gingrich's former company releases contract (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. ? Under pressure, Newt Gingrich arranged the release of a contract Monday night showing the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. paid his consulting firm a $25,000 monthly retainer fee in 2006, for a total of $300,000.

The agreement calls for "consulting and related services" but makes no mention of lobbying.

Gingrich has likened his work for the federally backed mortgage giant known as Freddie Mac to that of a historian, and later a strategic adviser. His top rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, says he was lobbying.

Monday's disclosure touched off fireworks between the two contenders during a prime-time debate.

"This contract proves you were not a historian. You were a consultant," Romney said. "And you were hired by the chief lobbyist of Freddie Mac."

Gingrich chafed at the suggestion he was "influence peddling" and turned the issue back on his opponent.

"Gov. Romney has done consulting work for years," the former House speaker said. "I've never suggested his consulting work was lobbying."

Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac was disclosed long ago, but controversy has flared in the 48 hours since he trounced Romney in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary. The contract with Gingrich's former firm listed Freddie Mac's director of public policy ? jargon for lobbyist ? as the project executive.

Throughout the early voting states, Gingrich has faced questions from voters concerned about his work for Freddie Mac at town halls. A pro-Romney attacked him on the issue in Iowa. Reporters began asking if he would release the contracts in New Hampshire.

The next primary is set for Jan. 31 in Florida, a state particularly hard hit by the housing crisis of 2008, and one where Gingrich's connections with Freddie Mac may carry a political stigma.

The material was released by the Center for Health Transformation, which Gingrich helped create, and has since sold. The Center for Health Transformation and the Gingrich campaign share a lawyer, Stefan Passantino. He did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Its disclosure came about two hours before a campaign debate in Tampa, and the timing suggested Gingrich was hoping to blunt any attack Romney might make at the event.

Romney has been ramping up criticism for not making the details public sooner. Gingrich said it wasn't only up to him because he no longer controls the firm named in the contract and confidentiality clauses were at play.

The disclosure came amid a volley between the Romney and Gingrich campaigns about who is hiding information voters may want. After facing pressure himself, Romney intends to release some tax records on Tuesday, about a week after Gingrich made his tax returns public.

Gingrich has said previously that firms he ran received about $1.6 million from Freddie Mac for consulting services over several years, and he personally pocketed $35,000 a year. Only the contract covering 2006 was released.

A person who worked closely with Freddie Mac during the years Gingrich was receiving money said Monday night that the former House speaker was employed by the company from 1999 to 2002 by the company's then-chief political executive to review policy proposals created in the hope they would make Freddie Mac more appealing to Republicans.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation, said that Gingrich was hired again in 2006 by the company's new chief political executive Hollis McLoughlin ? he still works there ? to speak and write on the benefits of Freddie Mac. He was paid $300,000 for 2006, and received some additional money in 2007.

In all, he was employed by the political arm of the company for approximately $1.7 million for the sole purpose of convincing fellow Republicans that Freddie Mac was a force for good in America. The person who provided the information on Gingrich's employment pointed to the open-ended nature of the 2006 contract that was released Monday.

Romney's campaign said it wasn't satisfied with only the contract. "He's got to come clean on Freddie Mac. He put out a contract today for a single year even though he's been providing services to Freddie Mac for multiple years," said senior Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom. "That contract raises more questions than it answers."

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said there are no plans for additional disclosures.

___

Associated Press writers Pete Yost in Washington and Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich_freddie_mac

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Heidi Klum and Seal Confirm Split: ?We?ve Grown Apart?

Heidi Klum and Seal Confirm Split: “We’ve Grown Apart”

Heidi Klum and Seal have confirmed the recent reports going around that they have called it quits. Seal and Heidi said they still love one [...]

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A look at key moments in the SC primary (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Some notable moments from Saturday's South Carolina presidential primary:

___

Fixing for a fight:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told supporters Saturday to get ready for a long battle ahead.

Romney took sharp aim at President Barack Obama, as well as his GOP rivals' criticism of his time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded.

"If Republican leaders want to join this president in demonizing success and disparaging conservative values, then they're not going to be fit to be our nominee," he said.

Romney finished No. 2 behind Gingrich, having placed first in the New Hampshire primary.

___

Haley's short coattails:

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is riding a wave of popularity. But that wasn't enough to help Romney, whom she endorsed in the primary.

Exit polls found two-thirds of Saturday's voters approved the way Haley is handling her job as governor, including nearly three-quarters of tea party supporters. But Romney won over only about 3 in 10 of those who approved of her job performance.

Gingrich, for his part, won support from about 4 in 10 Haley supporters.

__

`Occupy' Santorum:

Even the "Occupy Wall Street" movement had its moment Saturday.

During Rick Santorum's speech, the former Pennsylvania senator pledged to work to help Americans achieve their potential. But one Occupy protester interrupted him with a jeer: "Unless you're gay. Occupy!" Santorum has long been criticized by gay-rights groups for his opposition to same-sex marriage.

Other Occupy protesters tried to draw focus as Santorum shook hands with supporters after his speech. Santorum's aides and volunteers grabbed the protesters and hauled them from the ballroom at the Citadel.

__

Internet devilry:

Some of South Carolina's notorious 11th-hour shenanigans emerged in a race known at times for its nastiness.

On Saturday, fake email reports ? later denounced by Gingrich and his campaign ? spread on the Internet about Gingrich and his ex-wife Marianne.

State Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson ordered a preliminary review of the phony messages to see if any laws had been broken.

__

Late to the party:

Few things could stop Gingrich Saturday night ? except for a traffic accident.

Campaigning up to the very end, Gingrich ran through five campaign stops on primary day. That included his last at a burger restaurant in Laurens, about an hour northwest of Columbia, where his victory celebration was to take place.

But an accident on the highway delayed Gingrich's bus, making him late to greet supporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign_primary_takeaways

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Why is it so impossible to make a tasty chocolate confection? I swear, every other one I eat is either coconut creme, lemon asshole, or some other flavor that has no business in my mouth. These new modular chocolates however will taste exactly how I want them to—delicious. More »

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Murdoch to pay Jude Law, 36 others for hacking (AP)

LONDON ? Rupert Murdoch's media empire apologized and agreed to cash payouts Thursday to 37 people ? including a movie star, a soccer player, a top British politician and the son of a serial killer ? who were harassed and phone-hacked by his tabloid press.

The four ? Jude Law, Ashley Cole, John Prescott and Chris Shipman ? were among three dozen victims who received financial damages from Murdoch's British newspaper company for illegal eavesdropping and other intrusions, including email snooping.

Lawyers for the claimants said the settlements vindicated their accusation that senior Murdoch executives had long known about the scale of illegal phone hacking and had tried to cover it up.

Financial details of 15 of the payouts, totaling more than 640,000 pounds (about $1 million), were made public at a court hearing Thursday. The amounts generally ran into the tens of thousands of pounds ? although Law received 130,000 pounds (about $200,000), plus legal costs, to settle claims against the now-shuttered News of the World tabloid and its sister tabloid, The Sun.

Law was one of 60 people who have sued Murdoch's News Group Newspapers, claiming their mobile phone voicemails were hacked. Others whose settlements were announced Thursday at London's High Court included former government ministers Chris Bryant and Tessa Jowell, rugby player Gavin Henson, Princess Diana's former lover James Hewitt, singer Dannii Minogue and Sara Payne, the mother of a murdered girl.

It was the largest group of settlements announced yet in the long-running hacking scandal, which has shaken Murdoch's global empire, spurred the resignations of several of his top executives and reverberated through Britain's political, police and media elite.

Law, the star of "Sherlock Holmes" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley," said he was "truly appalled" at the scale of surveillance and privacy invasion that his case had exposed.

"No aspect of my private life was safe from intrusion by News Group Newspapers, including the lives of my children and the people who work for me," he said in a statement. "It was not just that my phone messages were listened to. News Group also paid people to watch me and my house for days at a time and to follow me and those close to me, both in this country and abroad."

News Group Newspapers admitted that 16 articles about Law published in the News of the World between 2003 and 2006 had been obtained by phone hacking, and that the actor had also been placed under "repeated and sustained physical surveillance." The company also admitted that articles in The Sun had misused Law's private information ? although it didn't go as far as to admit hacking by that paper.

Law said Murdoch's tabloids had been "prepared to do anything to sell their newspapers and to make money, irrespective of the impact it had on people's lives."

"I changed my phones, I had my house swept for bugs but still the information kept being published," Law said. "I started to become distrustful of people close to me."

The slew of settlements is one consequence of the revelations of phone-hacking and other illegal tactics at the News of the World, where journalists routinely intercepted voicemails of those in the public eye in a relentless search for scoops.

Murdoch closed the 168-year-old paper in July amid a wave of public revulsion over its hacking of the voicemails of missing 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who was later found murdered. More than a dozen ex-Murdoch employees have been arrested by police investigating phone hacking and bribery.

British politicians and police have also been ensnared in the scandal, which exposed the cozy relationship between senior officers, top lawmakers and Murdoch newspaper executives. A government-commissioned inquiry set up in the wake of the scandal is currently investigating the ethics of Britain's media and its links to police and politicians.

Law's ex-wife and actress Sadie Frost received 50,000 pounds (about $77,000) in damages for phone hacking and deceit by the News of the World. Bryant received 30,000 pounds (about $46,000), while Prescott ? a prominent member of the Labour Party who was Britain's former deputy prime minister ? accepted 40,000 pounds (about $62,000).

After each statement, News Group lawyer Michael Silverleaf stood to express the news company's "sincere apologies" for the damage and distress its illegal activity had caused.

Many of the statements ended with victims saying they felt vindicated after years in which Murdoch's company denied phone hacking had been widespread at the News of the World. The company had initially vowed to fight the claims in court.

"Today's court decision at long last brings clarity, apology and compensation for the years of hacking into my telephone messages by Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers," Prescott told his local newspaper, the Hull Daily Mail. "It follows years of aggressive denials and a cavalier approach to private information and the law."

In a statement, the claimants' lawyers said that "News Group has agreed to compensation being assessed on the basis that senior employees and directors ... knew about the wrongdoing and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence."

News Group did not admit this in court, and declined to comment on the statement.

The claimants described feeling mistrust, fear and paranoia as phone messages went missing, journalists knew their movements in advance or private information appeared in the media.

Frost said the paper's activity had caused her and Law to suspect one another. Henson said he accused the family of his then-wife, singer Charlotte Church, of leaking stories to the press.

Other claimants included Guy Pelly, a friend of Prince William who was awarded 40,000 pounds (about $62,000), and Tom Rowland, a journalist who wrote for one of Murdoch's own newspapers, the Sunday Times. He received 25,000 pounds ($39,000) after News Group admitted hacking his phone.

In a handful of cases the company admitted hacking into emails, as well as telephone voice mails. Christopher Shipman, whose father, Dr. Harold Shipman, was a notorious serial killer thought to have murdered more than 200 of his patients, had emails containing sensitive legal and medical information intercepted by the News of the Word. He was awarded "substantial" undisclosed damages.

The settlements announced Thursday amount to more than half of the phone-hacking lawsuits facing Murdoch's company, but the number of victims is estimated to be in the hundreds.

Mark Lewis, a lawyer for many victims, said in an email that the fight against Murdoch's media empire wasn't over.

"Fewer than 1 percent of the people who were hacked have settled their cases," he said. "There are many more cases in the pipeline. ... This is too early to celebrate, we're not even at the end of the beginning."

Many victims had earlier settled with the company, including actress Sienna Miller ? whose on-again, off-again romance with Law generated widespread press interest ? and the parents of murdered teenager Dowler, who were awarded 2 million pounds (about $3.1 million) in compensation.

Ten further cases are due to go to court next month, though lawyers said more settlements are likely.

___

Raphael Satter contributed to this report.

___

Jill Lawless can be reached at: http://twitter.com/JillLawless

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_en_ot/eu_britain_phone_hacking

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