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Imphal, January 28 2013: Chairmen of the six Autonomous District Councils today called on Chief Minister O Ibobi and discussed about devolving more power to ADCs.
After the meeting with ADC Chairmen, the Chief Minister another meeting with Ministers and heads of departments and discussed the demand of ADCs.
Mayim Bialik is hanging in there. Two months after filing for divorce from husband Michael Stone — with whom she has two sons, Miles, 7, and Frederick, 4 — the Big Bang Theory actress is still adjusting to life on her own. So far, though, she and her ex seem to be making good on their promise to co-parent peacefully.
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Us Weekly caught up with the former Blossom star at Entertainment Weekly‘s Screen Actors Guild Awards pre-party on Jan. 26 at L.A. hotspot Chateau Marmont, where she opened up about how she was coping with the end of her nine-year marriage. (Bialik and Stone married in August 2003 and announced their separation in November 2012.)
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“It’s going okay,” she told Us of her post-split life. “I mean, I have to say, I give both of us a lot of credit for putting our kids first. It’s not easy, but we’re doing okay, so thank God.”
Writing about the divorce on her Kveller blog last year, Bialik said the well-being of her sons was her top concern. “The main priority for us now is to make the transition to two loving homes as smooth and painless as possible,” she explained. “Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on.”
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Included in that commitment is the couple’s decision to raise their kids vegan. “I love to cook and I feel like there is so much interest in plant-based eating,” Bialik told Us at the EW bash. “I get a lot of non-vegans saying to me, ‘If more people cooked like you do, I would actually eat vegan more often.’”
To that end, the actress is working on a new vegan cookbook to show how family-friendly the lifestyle can be. One thing she’s decidedly not working on? Her love life. Asked whether dating is in her future, the star burst out laughing.
“In theory!” she said. “Maybe. But not now.”
London – Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, posted a 55-percent drop in quarterly profit on Monday and set a cautious tone for the year, citing weak demand and oversupply.
Executives at the company, which last year slashed production to reduce inventory, balanced their optimism on recent improvements in US housing starts with concern about China’s slowing growth, the US deficit and eurozone instability.
However, investors took heart in Caterpillar’s 2013 profit forecast of $ 7 to $ 9 per share, lifting the stock 1.8 percent in afternoon trading.
Of the 25 analysts in the United States, Canada, Britain and South Korea who cover Caterpillar’s stock, seven had cut 2013 profit estimates in the past month, with the lowest at $ 7.63 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
High inventory remains a short-term challenge for the Peoria, Illinois-based company. While Caterpillar cut its equipment inventory glut by $ 2-billion sequentially in the fourth quarter, levels remain $ 1-billion higher than a year ago.
Caterpillar still has an oversupply of products in China, and executives said they hope to sell some of it by June.
Quarterly results were hit by a charge of 87 cents per share after the company discovered accounting fraud at a Chinese coal mining supplier it bought last year.
In a sombre note on the global economy, Caterpillar said the “most significant favourable factor” for 2013 profit will be the absence of the ERA accounting fraud writedown, not increased demand for its machines.
“We’re encouraged by recent improvements in economic indicators, but remain cautious,” Caterpillar Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman said on Monday.
For the fourth quarter, Caterpillar posted net income of $ 697-million, or $ 1.04 per share, compared with $ 1.55-billion, or $ 2.32 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned $ 1.46 per share. Analysts had expected $ 1.69.
Caterpillar’s operating margin fell to 6.5 percent from an all-time high of 15.8 percent in the third quarter of 2012.
Revenue fell seven percent to $ 16.08 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $ 16.12-billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Caterpillar closed the purchase of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd and its subsidiary Siwei, China’s fourth-largest maker of hydraulic coal mine roof supports, last June for $ 653.4-million (HK$ 5.06-billion).
After the deal closed, Caterpillar found that physical inventory did not match accounting statements, a discovery that led to the charge. The case has opened questions about Caterpillar’s research into ERA before the deal, as well as the adequacy of its auditors.
Caterpillar does not expect the fraud to harm its 2013 profit, but it will hinder the company’s expansion into China, the world’s largest coal producer.
“I recognise the decision to acquire (ERA) happened on my watch and the buck stops at my desk,” Oberhelman said on a call with investors. “I am accountable for that acquisition.”
Oberhelman, CEO since 2010, said Caterpillar is “considering all options to recover our losses and hold those responsible accountable for their wrongdoing”.
Emory Williams, the chairperson of ERA when the Caterpillar deal closed, ended days of silence on Monday, saying in a statement issued before the Caterpillar earnings statement that he was “dismayed” by the accounting charge Caterpillar was taking.
Williams said nothing about the accusation of accounting misconduct in his statement.
Citigroup Inc and law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP served as financial and legal advisers to Caterpillar on the transaction. Blackstone and DLA Piper acted as ERA’s financial and legal advisers.
A source directly involved with the Caterpillar deal previously told Reuters that RSM Nelson Wheeler was ERA’s auditor, while Deloitte and Ernst & Young acted on Caterpillar’s side.
None of the auditors has commented. – Reuters
Associated Press
Mali’s Kalilou Traore (left) challenges Congo’s Dieumerci Mbokani during their African Cup of Nations Group B soccer match in Durban, South Africa, on Monday.
Durban – Mali sealed a quarter-final clash with hosts South Africa at the African Nations Cup.after recovering from conceding a penalty after 35 seconds to draw 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.
The draw ensured second place behind Ghana in Group B. Mali will stay in Durban to take on South Africa on Saturday.
Mali overcame the early scare to dominate the game and restrict the chances of a Congolese side, who had to win to usurp their opponents for a place in the last eight.
The penalty was conceded inside a minute when Momo Sissoko brought down Yves Diba, allowing Dieumerci Mbokani to score his second from the spot at the tournament.
The foul came after a shot from Lomana Lua Lua had bounced back off the post in a dramatic start to the match at a wet Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Sissoko almost redeemed himself in the fifth minute with a volleyed shot that was saved by Congo goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba.
It marked a quick change in the control of the game that saw Mali wrestle dominance in a strong display of midfield force.
A strong run from fullback Adama Tamboura set up the 14th minute equaliser as he pulled the ball back for Mahamadou Samassa to tap the ball home.
With Ghana already leading in the other group match, Mali were satisfied to hold onto the point needed to qualify and restrict the Congolese to limited chances, in a stop-start match punctuated by 51 fouls through the 90 minutes.
“It was emotionally difficult knowing what was happening in the other game and knowing we needed just a point. We need to keep up our intensity,” said Mali coach Patrice Calderon.
Samassa might have had second goal in the 69th minute when Kidiaba spilled his shot but the ball trickled away for a corner.
With eight minutes left Mali then twice hit the outside of the woodwork as they expertly kept the play in Congo’s half.
There was an attempt at a late surge for the Congolese but no clear chances for them to force the winner they needed, much to the disappointment of a large contingent of their supporters.
Mali finished with four points to three for Congo. Niger finished bottom of the group with one point. – Reuters
Twitter’s Vine, an app that allows you to create six-second videos, launched late last week to much excitement. Within hours, thousands of people on Twitter were tweeting short videos. Vinepeek, a new site that lets you watch streams of so-called Vines from around the world, even sprang up.
But some of those short videos began to include pornography.
Over the weekend technology websites, including Business Insider, The Verge and TechCrunch reported that a search for “#porn” in the new app brought up many videos with hardcore porn.
Vine says that users can report this content and the video will be covered with a warning message. “Users can report videos as inappropriate within the product if they believe the content to be sensitive or inappropriate (e.g. nudity, violence, or medical procedures),” Twitter said in a statement to ABC News. “Videos that have been reported as inappropriate have a warning message that a viewer must click through before viewing the video.”
Joanna Stern / ABC News
Vine, Twitter’s video-sharing app, includes… View Full Size
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Twitter and Vine said they will only remove the video if it violates its guidelines. “Uploaded videos that are reported and determined to violate our guidelines will be removed from the site, and the user account that posted the video may be terminated,” Twitter said. Vine’s Terms of Service does not explicitly say anything about pornography or nudity. A search by ABC News for #porn within the app brought up at least 10 pornographic clips, many of which were not covered up by the warning message.
To make matters worse, this morning a pornographic video containing images of oral sex was marked as an “Editor’s Choice” in the Vine app. Twitter apologized in a statement: “A human error resulted in a video with adult content becoming one of the videos in Editor’s Picks, and upon realizing this mistake we removed the video immediately. We apologize to our users for the error.”
Users noticed the misplaced and pornographic video. Many tweeted about the issue and one user complained in a review in Apple’s App Store: “If my kids got a hold of this I would be so mad. There is no way to block users or make sure unwanted videos stay off.”
The review brings up issues surrounding the app’s presence in Apple’s App Store. Apple has long limited apps with pornography. Just last week it pulled the 500px photo-sharing app because of complaints about nudity.
“The app was removed from the App Store for featuring pornographic images and material, a clear violation of our guidelines,” Apple’s Tom Neumayr said in a statement to ABC News last week. “We also received customer complaints about possible child pornography. We’ve asked the developer to put safeguards in place to prevent pornographic images and material in their app.”
Vine, however, has been one of the top apps in the App Store since it was released last week, receiving Apple’s Editor’s Choice award. It is rated 12+, for teenagers or older, with a warning of “infrequent/mild sexual content or nudity.” 500px was able to resubmit its app after putting stricter filtering settings in place and adjusting the rating of the app.
Apple declined to comment about Vine.
Oprah, Donahue, Sally Jessy, Maury . . . and Kris! As long rumored, Kris Jenner will helm her own hour-long talk show, entitled Kris, Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television announced on Monday Jan. 28. Debuting this summer on select Fox-owned stations in New York, L.A. and elsewhere, Kris “will bring a cool blast of fun and high energy to summer television,” a press release says.
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The Kardashian family matriarch, 57, will welcome celebrity guests and cover pop culture, fashion, beauty and “a mix of lifestyle topics,” the statement continues.
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Praising Jenner as “a dedicated mom and a successful business woman,” Fox executive Stephen Brown explains of the new host: “Whether offering real advice to her family or sharing personal moments with viewers, Kris is honest, compelling, entertaining, and unscripted — all excellent qualities for a daytime talk show host.”
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Adds Jenner herself: “This is something I have wanted to do all my life so it’s definitely a dream come true! I can’t wait for this new adventure to begin.”
Tell Us: Will you watch Kris?
GANGTOK, 22 Jan: Sikkim Democratic Front has expressed its deep condolence on the loss of lives in the tragic road mishap at Triveni in West Bengal on 18 January.
In a condolence message, the party has expressed its deep condolence to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls.
The party has also prayed for the early recovery of the injured persons.
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