Dolphins help clear Adriatic of minefields

Residual explosives in Montenegrin waters, a leftover from 20th century wars, were mapped out in a joint military mine detection effort.

By Nedjeljko Rudovic for Southeast European Times in Podgorica -- 31/10/12

US-trained dolphins detect underwater mines. [Montenegro government]

A recent joint exercise between Montenegro and the United States military made headway in boosting the ties between the two countries, as well as clearing the Bay of Boka of landmines.

The stars of the show, however, were new to the region. Several hundred people crowded the Tivat dock on Tuesday (October 24th) where dolphins, trained in detection of underwater

Women quota plan for EU corporations delayed

A proposal for the imposition of a 40 percent quota for women on the boards of publicly-listed companies in the EU by 2020 was put on hold.

By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times in Sofia -- 30/10/12

Under the proposal, companies could face fines if they don't set aside 40 percent of their board seats for women by 2020. [Reuters]

A proposal to introduce a mandatory 40 percent quota for women on boards of publicly-listed companies across the EU by 2020 was pushed back on October 23rd amid questions about its legality and opposition to the plan by a number of the bloc's members.

European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso decided against putting the proposal to the

Rising star B&M 'set to challenge Tesco'

UK discount retailer B&M is among a handful of retailers across Europe that could be challenging the likes of Tesco and Carrefour within 10 to 15 years.

Many Rising Stars, including B&M, are privately or family-owned

That is the conclusion of consultancy Kantar Retail, which has identified what it calls 15 Rising Stars of Retail across the continent.

Rising Stars, says Kantar, understand their strengths and how to exploit them successfully to attract today's more agile shopper.

The consultancy also says "it speaks volumes" that many Rising Stars have shunned multi-channel and operate purely through stores.

The up-and-coming challengers

Gombak rout Loyola to win bronze medal

Gombak United recorded a dominant 4-0 win over Loyola Meralco Sparks on Sunday to win the RHB Singapore Cup third-place playoff.

By Gabriel Tan at the Jalan Besar Stadium

The Bulls took the lead after just seven minutes when Iqbal Hussain pounced on a mistake by Chad Gould to fire home, before Mustaqim Manzur doubled their lead four minutes later with a fine individual effort.

Five minutes after the half-hour mark, Fairoz Hasan added a third with a blistering freekick after Sparks goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma had handled the ball outside the area, and the contest was all but ended in the 43rd minute when Julien Durand netted with a delicate finish.

The third-place finish was a fine achievement for Gombak coach K. Balagumaran in his first season in charge of a Great Eastern-YEO's S.League side, and the fact his starting XI consisted of three players under the age of 21 was a clear sign his focus on youth development is reaping rewards at the Jurong West Stadium.

On the other hand, Loyola entered Sunday's game looking to cap off a fine campaign by claiming the bronze medal, having already done Philippines proud by reaching the semi-finals of the competition in their first-ever appearance.

They certainly got off to the brighter start and threatened the opposition goal twice in the

Ecclestone foresees shift from Europe

Bernie Ecclestone has raised the spectre of "two or three more" European races being cut from the Formula One calendar over the coming decade.

Whereas nearly 70 per cent of the F1 schedule consisted of European rounds at the end of the 1990s, just 40 per cent of this year's record 20 events - eight - are held in what has been traditionally considered F1's heartland.

With Spain's second race in Valencia having already been cut from next season's schedule, only seven European events survive on the calendar into 2013 - the lowest overall total since the late 1960s when

Hundreds still drawing salaries from Pristina and Belgrade

Belgrade had warned people taking salaries from both governments to choose one employer, but hundreds are still getting double payments.

By Linda Karadaku and Ivana Jovanovic in Pristina and Belgrade -- 26/10/12

More than 1,300 people, including political party members, are receiving salaries from both governments, according to a media report. [Reuters]

Six months after Serbian officials ordered Kosovo Serbs drawing salaries from both Pristina and Belgrade to choose one source and stop double dipping, the Serbian government is investigating a report that more than 1,300 people in northern Kosovo are still on both payrolls.

The news is a sore point for people in the region, where Kosovo suffers through the highest unemployment rate in the region – more than 40 percent – and Serbia is facing steep economic problems.

Belgrade launched its new investigation after a report by B92 TV, which

War on drugs has failed and requires new radical reform, says LSE report

Time for a fresh look, outside the box, said President Santos in his foreword to the report

It explores the “overwhelming” empirical data showing that the current system has failed. It argues that the human cost of pursuing many international policies renders them unjustifiable – from mass incarceration in the US and Asia, to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia, and violence dominating Latin America.

The Global Drug Wars, published by LSE’s IDEAS centre for the study of international

Resorts Try To Lure Skiers Back After Last Year's Bust

There's a palpable anxiety in mountain resort towns this fall. After last season's abysmal skiing and snowboarding revenues, these towns are counting on heavy snow this year to make up for the loss. Now, analysts say without early snow, resorts may suffer a "hangover" from last year's disappointment. Luke Runyon reports for Aspen Public Radio.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Malala Isn't Alone: Another Pakistani Girl's Dream

Enlarge AFP/Getty Images

Pakistani security personnel stand guard in front of a burnt-out school following an attack by the Pakistani Taliban in the northwestern district of Upper Dir in June 2011. The Taliban have destroyed many schools in northwestern Pakistan.

AFP/Getty Images

Pakistani security personnel stand guard in front of a burnt-out school following an attack by the Pakistani Taliban in the northwestern district of Upper Dir in June 2011. The Taliban have destroyed many schools in northwestern Pakistan.

Stop someone in the street. Ask them about the case of Malala Yousafzai. They will likely know — after the worldwide publicity given to her story — that Malala is the Pakistani teenager who was shot for demanding the right of girls to go to school.

They will surely know, too, that the people who shot Malala in the head from close range were the Pakistani Taliban. They will probably view Malala as the heroine she clearly is. And the Taliban will be seen as the violent fanatics that they surely are.

That will likely be all that person in the street knows. For most of us, Malala's case neatly, nastily, encapsulates the threat posed by violent Islamist militancy to a multitude of girls in Pakistan in their quest for education. Missing from that narrative, though, are many other complex obstacles that also block their path to the classroom.

To understand those, it is worth sitting down for a conversation with a girl called Huma Khan.

Huma is no celebrity. In fact, she is just an ordinary bright-eyed kid, no different from many, many million others in this part of the world. Yet she has much in common with Malala: She is 15 years old, and an ethnic Pashtun.

Like Malala, her family originates from northwestern Pakistan, an area where tradition runs deep, and whose people — overwhelmingly Pashtuns — tend to practice a profoundly conservative form of Islam.

And, again like Malala, Huma is hugely enthusiastic about going to school: "I really want to get more education," she says, perching on the edge of her wooden chair. "I want to become something. I want to be self-reliant."

Yet "becoming something" for a Pakistani girl, trapped by poverty and strict religious codes, is a truly daunting challenge.

High Hopes, And Barriers

I meet Huma at her home, in the tiny front room with peeling paint. She is wearing a light blue shawl and a bright smile. She is small for her years, but confident and very articulate. A Pashtun teenage girl would usually never speak with an adult male stranger unsupervised, let alone a Westerner; Huma's father is in the room, listening to our conversation.

The Two-Way

Malala Stands For First Time Since Being Shot By Taliban, Doctors Say

Huma's eyes light up as she lists her favorite subjects: English, math, Islam, Urdu,

Rates revaluation deferral piles on the pain for retailers

The government has been slammed for its decision to defer the business rate revaluation for two years - a move that has left retailers and other interested parties reeling.

Five more years of rates pain "will be too much for retailers"

The British Independent Retailers Association said the postponement of the revaluation from 2015 to 2017 would "further extend the pain that retail is experiencing and that has left one in seven shops empty", while the British Property Federation described the move as a "shot in the foot for the retail industry".

Bira deputy chief executive Michael Weedon said: "Rents

Dad leaps from sofa to Sahara

Steve Brydon will compete in a desert marathon to raise money for autism. Picture: Tim Carrafa Source: Herald Sun

FROM couch potato to ultra marathon runner, St Kilda dad Steve Brydon will stop at nothing for his son.

The once 100kg sofa surfer is taking on the biggest challenge of his life, a 250km trek across the Sahara Desert to raise awareness for autism, which his son suffers from.

"It's a cause close to my heart as my son, James, was officially diagnosed with autism at the age of four," Steve said.

Brydon heads for Egypt on Tuesday to run in the 250km Sahara Race to raise vital funds for Autism Spectrum Australia.

In just over 12

Argentina and Colombia dispute place as second largest South American economy

Herman Lorenzino dismissed Juan Carlos Echeverry but again: how reliable are Argentine stats?

Lorenzino, in messages posted on Twitter on Friday said data from the IMF show that Argentina, with a smaller population, has a GDP more than 100 billion dollars larger than Colombia’s. The gap between the two countries’ nominal GDP is growing, and GDP per capita is also larger, he said.

Juan Carlos Echeverry, before stepping down last month as Colombia’s Finance minister, argued that his

In Banja Luka, traditional restaurants have new competition

Restaurant owners worry that the new McDonald's will take away their customers.

By Mladen Dragojlovic for Southeast European Times in Banja Luka -- 19/10/12

Banja Luka's traditional food restaurants may be up against tough competition with the opening of the new McDonald's nearby. [Mladen Dragojlovic/SETimes]

Some restaurant owners serving traditional favorites in Banja Luka – kebabs, grilled meat and pastries – are worried that competition from the world's most popular fast-food restaurant will cut into their profits and siphon away customers.

The first McDonald's restaurant in Banja Luka opened on Thursday (October 18th), just 200 metres from the city's best-known kebab restaurant, By Mujo. Its owner, Amir Smailagic, keeps up the family business founded by his grandfather Mujo.

"I am worried, but not afraid.

Dozens arrested in Kosovo privatisation protests

Vetvendosje says it will continue with actions against the privatisation of KEK Distribution, but Kosovo officials say the deal is important in moving to a free market economy.

By Muhamet Brajshori for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 18/10/12

Kosovo's interior minister ordered police to arrest protestors interfering with the privatisation deal. [Reuters]

At least 66 people were arrested Wednesday (October 17th) in Pristina after clashing with police at the entrance to a government building while protesting a deal with a Turkish company to privatise Kosovo's electricity distribution network.

The protests were led by MPs from the Vetvendosje movement. Vetvendosje said that they planned

Mexican president-elect and PM Cameron pledge to double bilateral trade by 2015

Peña Nieto and PM Cameron at 10 Downing Street during the very “positive” meeting

Following a very busy agenda, Peña Nieto made use of the third stopover on his first European tour after the July 1 elections to share his “vision” in a very “positive and favourable” meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and later businessmen from the City of London.

After previous visits to Berlin and Madrid, the elected-president continued making his

Reporter On Friendship With Malala Yousafzai

Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai is receiving treatment in the United Kingdom, after being shot last week by the Taliban. New York Times video and print correspondent Adam Ellick spent months documenting the teen's life. He tells host Michel Martin about the "small video star" that he knows.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

New EC regulations could kill off high-end graphics boards

Future graphics boards will be limited in their performance, if new rules from the European Commission come into force.

New regulations for the European Union, designed to enforce efficiency standards on electronic goods, could limit the performance of next-generation graphics cards according to details released on Friday.

An analysis of the European Commission's Eco-Design Requirements Lot 3 document, which deals with personal computers and their monitors, by NordicHardware has pointed to a worrying possibility: in the name of efficiency, cards sold in Europe will be limited in memory bandwidth compared to their international versions.

Responding

Claim That Links Economic Success and Genetic Diversity Draws Criticism

The United States has the right amount of genetic diversity to buoy its economy, claim economists. Image: D. ACKER/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY

The Best Science Writing Online 2012

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

Read More »

From Nature magazine

“The invalid assumption that correlation implies cause is probably among the two or three most serious and common errors of human reasoning.” Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould was referring to purported links between genetics and an individual’s intelligence when he made this familiar complaint in his 1981 book The Mismeasure of Man.

Fast-forward three decades, and leading geneticists and anthropologists are levelling a similar charge at economics researchers who claim that a country’s

Macedonia provides boost to student entrepreneurs

The government reduces cost for students to register their own companies.

By Goran Trajkov for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 13/10/12

Macedonia has reduced the fee for students who wish to register new businesses. [Reuters]

Macedonia has significantly reduced the fee for college students who start new businesses in an effort to encourage a new generation of entrepreneurship.

The cost to electronically file with the Central Registry, which administers registrations of new businesses, has been dropped from 19 euros to 4 euros for students.

According to the World Bank's 2012 Doing Business Project, which measures business regulations and enforcement around the globe, Macedonia ranks first

Albania candidacy hinges on reforms, elections

The European Commission recommended giving Albania EU candidate country status, but with the condition that the country achieve progress in several sectors.

By Erl Murati for Southeast European Times in Tirana -- 12/10/12

Albania needs to complete reforms before gaining EU accession. [Reuters]

Politicians and analysts lauded the European Commission's (EC) recommendation that Albania receive candidate country status, and said the country is able and willing to complete the reforms that stand in the way of EU accession.

According to the report, the status is subject to the completion of key measures in the areas of judicial and

Chinese Author Wins 2012 Nobel Prize In Literature

Mo Yan was one of three writers favored to win. He is perhaps best known in the West as the author of Red Sorghum, which was made into a film. He is only the second Chinese writer to win the Nobel — the other is poet Gao Xingjian, who won in 2000.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

What Does the Way You Walk Say About You?

How low can you go? Image: iStock / François Pilon

The Best Science Writing Online 2012

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

Read More »

First impressions are powerful and are formed in all sorts of social settings, from job interviews and first dates to court rooms and classrooms.  We regularly make snap judgments about others, deciding whether people are trustworthy, confident, extraverted, likable, and more. Although we have all heard the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its

Donation to put ‘fun back into learning’

LOCAL schools in Birmingham have benefited from a £1500 donation by Financial Planning & Wealth Management services provider, to sponsor 300 educational books, which aim to put ‘the fun back into learning’ for pupils.

Jobson James Financial Services (JJFS), the financial planning & wealth management business owned by Charles Stanley Group PLC has supported schools with Skips Crosswords; new and creative resources which are encouraging young learners to want to do their homework. JJFS made the donation through their Community Fund, which is administered by Birmingham and Black Country Community Foundation (BBCCF).

Skips Educational Ltd has produced CrossWords, a range of Primary English and Math’s books; these have been developed by Ash Sharma, father of two, who has transformed the curriculum into educational crosswords, making learning and revision fun for young learners. Ash invented

IPCC investigating Bradford hit and run

THE Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating a Bradford hit and run which claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy.

Youngster Bilal Raffey Khizar died after he was hit by a car on Rooley Lane, Bradford on Saturday.

Police revealed the car, a red coloured Seat Ibiza, sped away from police after it was stopped for a check. Moments later it collided with Bilal and sped away from the scene where it collided with two other vehicles.
The vehicle was later recovered on Westfield Lane, Wyke.

Two people are currently in police custody in relation to the hit and run.
A statement released by West Yorkshire Police said: “The vehicle had stopped in the lay-by on Rooley Lane. As

Scottish Dialect's Last Speaker Dies

In the tiny fishing village of Cromarty, on the tip of Scotland's Black Isle, the last speaker of the local dialect has died. Host Rachel Martin speaks with language expert Kelly McGill, about Bobby Hogg and his 600-year-old dialect.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

IMF cuts global growth estimates; calls for clear political leadership to restore confidence

Downward risks “depend whether decisive political steps are taken in the Euro zone and the US to stabilise confidence”

Global citizens cry out against the IMF

Citing excerpts from the IMF' World Economic Outlook to be released early next week, the Handelsblatt business daily said that the Washington-based body predicted world economic growth of 3.3% in 2012 and

Dalai Lama Appoints American To A Top Post

An American monk is now leading one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama appointed Nicholas Vreeland as the abbot of a southern Indian monastery to help bridge Buddhist tradition with the Western world. Vreeland talks with host Michel Martin about what it means to be an American holding such an important post.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Obama and Romney clash on taxes, deficit and health care

Romney came out more bullish and the President at times hesitant

Mr Obama said he would ensure Americans were “playing by the same rules”. His rival said re-electing Mr Obama would continue a “middle-class squeeze”.

The president has held a narrow lead in recent opinion polls. He went into the debate ahead in national polls and in many surveys in the swing states that will decide the election.

But he faced a confident opponent on the debate stage, with Mr Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, sounding bullish throughout. By contrast, the president at times appeared hesitant, occasionally asking moderator Jim Lehrer, of US

Cyprus celebrates independence with no solution in sight

Cyprus' president says conditions will worsen the longer the conflict remains unresolved, but an emerging energy supply may help thaw the frozen dispute.

By Constantine Callaghan for Southeast European Times in Nicosia -- 03/10/12

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias addresses the 67th UN General Assembly in New York on September 25th. [Reuters]

As Cyprus celebrates its 52nd year of independence from the UK, the nation's president warns continued partition of the island undermines peace and security.

"Conditions will worsen as time passes," President Demetris Christofias said.

Partition of the island has been "catastrophic," Christofias said.

His remarks came during Monday's (October 1st) independence celebration, and echoed his address to the UN General Assembly in New York last week.

"Irrespective of outside interventions and conspiracies, if we had acted with prudence and realism, if we had correctly assessed the conditions and balance of powers, it is

Analysts: Kosovo partition unrealistic

Serbia has no clear stance on Kosovo at the moment, since senior state officials keep sending different messages, one analyst said.

By Bojana Milovanovic and Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Belgrade and Pristina -- 02/10/12

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic's recent statements were criticised by Serbian and Kosovo analysts. [Reuters]

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic's recent statements brought the Serbian diplomacy's old idea of partitioning Kosovo, which would give Belgrade control over the Serb-populated north of the territory, back to life.

"I still think that a partition [of Kosovo] is the only possible realistic solution, and I'm sure the Albanians in Pristina would accept it," Dacic told Belgrade-based Pink TV on September 22nd.

"However, it raises the question of whether it could cause shockwaves in

Macedonia fosters regional military co-operation

Macedonia has committed to military co-operation in the region as part of its path towards Euro-Atlantic accession.

By Goran Trajkov for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 01/10/12

The Macedonian military has close co-operation within Southeast Europe. [Reuters]

In an effort to further regional trust and Euro-Atlantic integration, Macedonia has maintained efforts to boost military co-operation with other Southeast European countries.

"Macedonia has a broad and intensive co-operation with all countries in the region, both bilaterally and in the framework of regional initiatives. Bilateral defense co-operation with countries of the region includes fruitful co-operation … in all fields, from