Goma ready for assault by DR Congo rebels: military

A local military commander in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday he was ready for an expected assault on the eastern city of Goma by insurgents.

"We have three regiments, or around 3,000 men on site, we put in place artillery posts, mortars, tanks, two multiple rocket launchers," General Lucien Bahuma Ambamba told AFP after a visit with United Nations officials in Goma.

His comments come as UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos prepares to visit the region Tuesday to discuss ways to beef up relief efforts.

The UN mission in DR Congo, known as MONUSCO, has some 17,000 troops, deployed mainly in the east, to protect local residents.

The east of the country has been at the centre of heavy fighting between government forces and the M23 rebels, who broke away from the Congolese army in April to launch an uprising.

The rebels led by Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, are now closing in on Goma, capital of Nord Kivu province bordering Uganda and Rwanda.

"We have a comprehensive plan drawn up with MONUSCO," Ambamba said, adding that he was not worried about the assault.

He admitted the DR Congo's FARDC army troops had retreated during combat two weeks ago, saying it was because they had not eaten for three days but that the issue had been dealt with.

The troops on the ground now had "good morale," he said. "They have been paid and fed."

He also denied rumours that officer's families had left Goma ahead of the expected assault, claiming it was information circulated by the M23 as part of a "psychological warfare."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/goma-ready-assault-dr-congo-rebels-military-164215631.html

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Shops and factories struggle in biting recession

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy is stuck in its bid to beat recession, with data on Tuesday showing retail sales growth slowed in July and manufacturing tumbling in June -- presaging another cut to the central bank's growth forecast.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King looks set to give one of his notoriously gloomy outlooks for Britain, which is in recession as the euro zone debt crisis, government spending cuts, bad weather and one-off factors are hurting the economy.

Manufacturing output shrank by 2.9 percent in June, sapped by extra public holidays to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne, though the drop was smaller than first estimated.

And retail sales growth slowed in July as record-breaking rain depressed sales of summer clothes and other seasonal products.

Britain's athletes may be having a golden Olympics, but exactly how the greatest show on earth will influence the country's economy is yet to emerge.

"The big picture is that the UK is in a severe double-dip recession and, with inflation also falling faster than expected, Governor Mervyn King will almost certainly paint a very cautious picture tomorrow," UBS economist Amit Kara said.

The central bank is expected to pave the way for more stimulus with a set of downbeat forecasts in its quarterly inflation report on Wednesday, after it started pumping an additional 50 billion pounds into the economy in July.

The Office for National Statistics said the wider reading of industrial output, which includes energy production and mining, dropped 2.5 percent in June, after a 1.0 percent rise in May.

The quarterly fall in industrial output in the second quarter was revised to 0.9 percent from the originally estimated 1.3 percent drop, indicating that the decline in GDP was a notch smaller than reported two weeks ago.

But the 0.7 percent contraction of the economy between April and June had been much sharper than expected, as a steep slump in construction compounded the weakness in other sectors.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as a growing number of City economists are now predicting that the economy will shrink in the full year.

THRIFTY SHOPPERS

Britain fell back into a second recession around the turn of the year, and weakening business surveys show that a vigorous return to growth over the summer looks unlikely.

Consumers are still reluctant to spend more after rising prices and higher taxes have squeezed their budgets, and firms are holding back investment as the euro zone debt crisis is weighing on export prospects and confidence.

Wary consumers did not make for profligate shoppers last month, with the British Retail Consortium saying that like-for-like retail sales -- at stores open for at least a year -- rose by just 0.1 percent compared with July 2011.

The value of total retail sales, a measure favoured by economists and closer to that found in official statistics, was 2.0 percent up on the year, after a 3.5 percent climb in June.

"July was clearly not a golden month for retail," said BRC Director General Stephen Robertson. "After the June wash-out, more wet weather in July continued to stifle demand for outdoor gear," he added.

The weak economy is keeping the pressure on the government to loosen its tough austerity programme, aimed at erasing a huge budget deficit within five years, in order to boost growth.

However, it has stuck to its guns on deficit-reduction, leaving the task of supporting growth to the Bank.

(Additional reporting by David Milliken; editing by Ron Askew)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shops-factories-struggle-biting-recession-123333438--business.html

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Annual Strategic Planning Process (Part II) - blog*spot

Applicability of the recommendations

Recommendations made by the authors are practically applicable in today?s world. Key important issues of the business can be identified by analyzing the company?s strength, weakness, upcoming opportunities and potential threats.? Senior management can ask the leaders of each business unit to identify these issues by analyzing the external and internal environment of the organization. A list of strategic issues according to the priority of future business perspectives could be made and assigned to different business unit managers. The ?right? people could be assigned to take care of the major issues by involving business unit leaders, strategy makers and expertise. Again the planning cycle of the business units could be left with them by not forcing them to conduct the process every year just to maintain the company rule. The process of recruiting in terms of total manpower intake, pace at which various alliances are made and the level of the expansion work should be taken into consideration in order to measure the implementation of strategic planning. Human resources could be integrated practically with the process if proper evaluation of their performances and appropriate compensation is made.

Possible obstacles

Obstacles to the application of the stated recommendations arise when senior management might not show interest in issues based on strategic approach. Even if it (strategic approach) is accepted, it has to be properly communicated to the senior management. Even though the senior management might not be in favor of re-conducting the planning process every year, they might be forced to do so due to some external business factors. Most importantly employee motivation is the key because without a motivated staff it would be difficult to implement and find out problems in strategy initiatives.

People issues

Human resource is the key for the successful application of the strategic planning approach. Motivation of executives is major factor and is closely linked with appropriate compensation. The entire strategic planning process and the results of the same should be properly communicated to middle level management so that there is no confusion regarding the objectives and desired outcome of it. Top management has to be very supportive to the unit leaders in order to make this communication more effective. Executives must be satisfied with the strategic planning process regardless of the? decision maker (Improving strategic planning, n.d.)

Source: http://mbatermpapers.com/annual-strategic-planning-process-part-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=annual-strategic-planning-process-part-ii

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Source: http://iapetus-lounger.blogspot.com/2012/08/annual-strategic-planning-process-part.html

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Tornado warning issued; no funnel clouds spotted near City

MICHIGAN CITY ? A tornado warning was in effect for much of Northwest Indiana, including Michigan City, for more than an hour Saturday evening.

According to Shawn Brown, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the warning was in effect from 5 to 6:30 p.m. central time Saturday, but no funnel clouds were spotted in Michigan City.

?A funnel cloud was spotted near Portage, but nothing in Michigan City except for very strong wind gusts,? Brown said.

All warnings were canceled by 6:30 p.m., but strong thunderstorms still existed past that time in areas to the south and east of La Porte County. Brown said the strong winds were responsible for the destruction of a number of ?pop-up campers? and that numerous trees were down in La Porte County, especially toward New Carlisle.

According to NIPSCO?s public service website, the power utility company suffered ?significant outages? throughout their service area.

Between 5 and 7 p.m., 16 outages were reported in Michigan City, affecting approximately 337 customers.

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Source: http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/08/05/news/local/doc501eb629ed9d3456670408.txt

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Michelle Obama heads back to Leno's stage

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2012 file image originally released by NBC shows first lady Michelle Obama speaking with host Jay Leno during an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," in Burbank, Calif. NBC announced Monday, Aug. 6, that the first lady will make her third appearance on "The Tonight Show" on Aug. 13 to talk about the London Olympics and life with President Barack Obama and their children at the White House. On her last stopover in January, the first lady promoted her "Let's Move!" campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits. (AP Photo/NBC, Stacie McChesney, file)

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2012 file image originally released by NBC shows first lady Michelle Obama speaking with host Jay Leno during an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," in Burbank, Calif. NBC announced Monday, Aug. 6, that the first lady will make her third appearance on "The Tonight Show" on Aug. 13 to talk about the London Olympics and life with President Barack Obama and their children at the White House. On her last stopover in January, the first lady promoted her "Let's Move!" campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits. (AP Photo/NBC, Stacie McChesney, file)

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) ? Michelle Obama is headed back to Jay Leno's stage.

NBC announced Monday that the first lady will make her third appearance on "The Tonight Show" on Aug. 13 to talk about the London Olympics and life with President Barack Obama and their children at the White House.

On her last stopover in January, the first lady promoted her "Let's Move!" campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits.

She managed to convince vegetable-hating Leno to nibble on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini.

In London, she played a little tennis with kids, handed out some hugs and posed for photos with strapping athletes as she formally began her stint leading the U.S. Olympics delegation.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-08-06-Michelle%20Obama-Leno/id-b47671e4a54d427fb05c5119ad0d572b

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Swedish minister: Put Wallenberg day on calendar

Scanpix Sweden / Reuters

People attend the centennial commemoration of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg in Sigtuna, Sweden, on Saturday.

By NBC News

The 100^th anniversary of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg?s birthday was celebrated Saturday with a call for a day on the Swedish calendar to honor the man who saved thousands of Jews during World War II but whose own fate remains a mystery.

?Wallenberg is an excellent symbol for a Sweden and Europe with solidarity, openness and tolerance,? ?Democracy Minister Birgitta Ohlsson wrote in an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter.

Wallenberg, born Aug. 4, 1912, has been remembered throughout the year thanks to efforts of a Swedish national committee established to draw attention to his life and deeds, Ohlsson wrote. However, she argued, his work ?deserves an annual Swedish remembrance.?

---

Attila Kisbenedek / AFP - Getty Images file

A Hungarian woman touches the memorial stone of late Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg in St. Istvan park of Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday.

?Several memorial celebrations were planned in Stockholm on Saturday, with guests including Crown Princess Victoria attending a memorial for Wallenberg.

In May, Sweden issued a postage stamp honoring Wallenberg.

But Ohlsson wrote that?she is?worried the memory of Wallenberg could fade.

?In a country where anti-immigrant parties are gaining ground, right-wing movements are formed and populist groups become more visible, it is increasingly important that each nation talks about the individuals who make a difference for humanity,? she wrote.

International memorials
Wallenberg was remembered internationally.

President Obama recently signed into law a bill bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal upon Raoul Wallenberg.

President Barack Obama on July 27 signed the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act, passed by Congress to honor the diplomat with the Congressional Gold Medal. The U.S. mint is now authorized to design and print the medal, which will be presented in the Congress, according to a White House statement.

Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com

On Friday in Moscow, about 50 people -- including members of the Jewish community, historians, and rights workers -- gathered for a somber commemorative ceremony in Moscow's Memorial Synagogue at the Holocaust and Jewish Heritage Museum, according to Radio Free Europe. Diplomats from Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany and Israel were among those who spoke. A new documentary film on the secret services was shown.

Other events were held in Israel and Hungary.

Fate unclear
As Sweden's envoy to Hungary during the war, Wallenberg, then age 32, prevented the deportation of 20,000 to as many as 100,000 Jews to Nazi concentration camps by issuing them protective Swedish government passports.

Wallenberg also talked occupying German officers out of a plan to obliterate Budapest's Jewish ghetto.

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Wallenberg was last seen on Jan. 17, 1945, in Budapest, when he drove off to meet Soviet authorities to discuss protection for Jews once the Red Army drove out the Nazis. Soviet intelligence agents abducted the Swedish diplomat.

Reports of his death are inconsistent.

The Soviet Union claimed that Wallenberg, incarcerated at Moscow's Lefortovo prison, died on July 17, 1947, of a heart attack, the New York Times wrote in 2000. However, he reportedly was interrogated six days after the date Russia claims Wallenberg died, according to others studying his case.?A special commission investigating victims of Russian leader Joseph Stalin's political terror said he was executed at Lubyanka prison at KGB headquarters.

"The family wants now to get the truth," says Cecilia Ahlberg, Wallenberg's great-niece, said Friday in a?BBC interview?in which?Wallenberg's half-sister, Nin Lagergren, 91, agreed.

"We want all the facts about his whereabouts in the Soviet Union, what happened and when it happened," Ahlberg said.

This article includes reporting by NBC News' Jim Gold.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/04/13121196-swedish-minister-put-annual-raoul-wallenberg-day-on-calendar?lite

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Visualized: LG's Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album

A few weeks ago we had the chance to line up some of LG's current handsets -- the Optimus L7, Optimus 4X HD, Optimus Vu and Optimus 3D Max -- for a little photo shoot. While we only had access the the 3D Max for a short time, we ended up reviewing the other three. There's a bit a of something for everyone here -- some Ice Cream Sandwich and some Gingerbread, some mid-range hardware and some hi-end style, some phablet and some 3D. Check out the pr0n family album in the gallery below.

Gallery: LG Optimus family

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Visualized: LG's Optimus L7, 4X HD, Vu and 3D Max pose for family album originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/rRNUoARlJzU/

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