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Messi's rise with Barcelona started on a napkin

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 12:31 a.m. ET Jan. 7, 2012

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -Lionel Messi's remarkable career with Barcelona began on a napkin.

It happened more than a decade ago, when the 13-year-old Messi, then just a scrawny little kid with plenty of talent, was hoping to earn a contract with Barcelona.

"It's a napkin that myself and many colleagues believe has changed the history of Barcelona," Horacio Gaggioli, who helped broker the deal, told The Associated Press. "If it didn't exist, Leo would have played for another team."

In September 2000, Messi had his first tryout with Barcelona. Undersized but dazzling as always with a football at his feet, the Argentine teen impressed Barcelona club official Carles Rexach.

So when the time came a few months later to make a firm decision, the club's technical secretary and past and future coach scribbled out an informal contract on the closest piece of paper he could find at Barcelona's Pompeia Tennis Club. In it, Rexach reiterates Barcelona's desire to meet the demands of Messi's father, Jorge.

The small napkin reads: "In Barcelona, on the 14th of December of 2000 and in the presence of Josep Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, F.C.B technical secretary, it commits under his responsibility and despite some views against it to sign the player Lionel Messi, as long we stick to the amounts agreed upon."

Messi's exploits since turning pro have been amazing.

Still only 24, Messi is on the verge of winning football's top individual prize, the Ballon d'Or, for the third consecutive time. He scored 53 goals last season and has 31 so far this seasons, leaving him only 25 goals short of Cesar Rodriguez's club record.

Nicknamed "The Flea," Messi has also won three Champions League titles, five Spanish leagues, a pair of Club World Cup and European Super Cups, five Spanish Super Cups and one Copa del Rey since his club debut in 2004 - leading to comparisons with Pele, Diego Maradona and Alfredo Di Stefano, the game's greatest players.

"They were different players and so was he. Players like him are very few, which is why we signed him so young - there was something different about him," Rexach said. "The family asked us for a paper to confirm the deal so they could be confident about his signing for Barcelona. I had nothing else to write on, so I used a napkin."

The process to bring Messi to Barcelona started even earlier, however.

Gaggioli had been asked by contacts from Messi's native Rosario to help broker a tryout with Barcelona because the family had decided to leave Newell's Old Boys for the football riches of Europe. Besides searching for a big European club, Jorge Messi was looking for a team that would also agree to pay for Messi's growth hormone treatment.

River Plate had the chance to sign Messi before Barcelona came into the picture, and Gaggioli said he will never forget the day he went to meet the Messis for the first time.

"I met them at the airport and when I saw Leo I thought, 'Where is this kid going to play?"' Gaggioli said. "He was so small and so skinny that the notion of him playing football seemed impossible."

Despite his slight appearance, Messi was mesmerizing on the field. He had been a standout player for Newell's youth teams - scoring handfuls of goals at a time - and wowed Rexach and youth team coach Quimet Rife in his single tryout against older boys.

Still, convincing incoming president Joan Gaspart to commit to signing a 13-year-old nobody when he needed to hire a coach and sign players for a league run was proving difficult. Especially considering Messi's weak physique, with the cost of treatment paramount to any deal after Newell's stopped funding it.

Not only would Barcelona have to pay the cost of Messi's growth hormone treatment, but signing him meant carrying the price of transporting his entire family to Barcelona, where the club would have to find his father work and cover the cost of his lodging.

"A new president doesn't usually have to worry about signing a player who will come good inside 10 years so much as think about signing one, or two or three, who can start playing in the league come September and help win the league," Minguella, who worked with Gaspart during his presidency, told the AP from his stately home in the western hills of Barcelona. "(Luis) Figo, who was the figure for Barca, had just left (to Real Madrid) and now here we appeared talking about a 13-year-old kid. It was a difficult time."

Barcelona, whose philosophy is based on Catalan values and institutions, had never signed such a young talent from abroad before. Those in-house worries were being felt by the Messis, who had returned to Argentina in October convinced a deal was done. But the documentation was not forthcoming.

"The directors couldn't understand why we are out there looking at a 13-year-old kid from Argentina," former Barcelona director general Joan Lacueva, who served under Gaspart's board for three years and worked behind the scenes to ensure Messi's signing, told the AP. "And after two return trips to Argentina and the poor treatment at the hands of the club, (Jorge) was getting anxious.

"But Rexach and Rife were clear about signing him, saying there was no other player in the world like him. There was no doubt, he was a pearl and you didn't need to know football to know that."

Lacueva held off a tense Jorge Messi and did not relent on Gaspart, who eventually caved into the demands of Rexach, whose long trajectory with the club has seen him serve as Johan Cruyff's assistant before taking over himself after the Dutchman's abrupt departure in 1996.

By December, Gaggioli made it clear the club better commit or risk losing the chance to sign Messi. And Rexach was quick to respond that December day at the tennis club.

"He looked all around, trying to find some scrap of something to write on, but there was nothing, so he pulled out one of the napkins," Minguella said.

Assured the deal had been done, Jorge Messi moved his family to the Mediterranean coast. Messi then officially signed with the club in March.

As for the napkin, that historic piece of wax paper remains in the hands of Gaggioli and Minguella. It has been laminated and placed in a safety deposit box inside one of the city's banks not in Barcelona's museum.

"(The museum) is the place it should be. But I've never received a phone call from the club about the napkin," said Gaggioli, who did not dismiss monetary compensation in exchange for the piece of club history. "I never earned a single euro from the club or from Messi. But I don't know if I would want a fee, they'd have to call first."

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Thierry Henry has rejoined Arsenal on a two-month loan from the New York Red Bulls after the Premier League club completed insurance agreements with Henry's Major League Soccer team.

Liverpool wins

Roundup: Steven Gerrard scored during his first start in?ovee?two months as Liverpool rallied to beat third-tier Oldham and reach fourth round of the FA Cup.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45908791/ns/sports-soccer/

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Eli Lilly 2012 profit forecast misses expectations

(AP) ? Financial analysts expected Eli Lilly's 2012 earnings to slip after the drugmaker lost patent protection for a key product, but they didn't envision a decline as steep as the one Lilly forecast Thursday.

The Indianapolis company said it will earn between $3.10 and $3.20 per share in its first full year after losing the U.S. patent that protects its antipsychotic Zyprexa from generic competition. Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $3.60 per share, according to FactSet.

Zyprexa rang up more than $5 billion in 2010 sales. Lilly's top-selling drug also brought in $3.87 billion through the first nine months of 2011 before the patent expired in October. But Lilly expects revenue from Zyprexa, which has lost patent protection in most markets outside Japan, to plunge by more than $3 billion in 2012.

Lilly executives said during a Thursday conference call that Wall Street projections came in higher than their forecast because analysts assumed a slower erosion of Zyprexa sales and a lower level of spending in the new year than the company does.

The company's 2012 earnings forecast equates to a drop of about 27 percent from its prediction for 2011 earnings of $4.30 to $4.35 per share.

Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said the forecast was disappointing. He expected that Lilly would cut costs beyond its $1 billion goal by 2011, which Lilly said Thursday that it had met.

Several big drugmakers are dealing with patent expirations on key products, but analysts say Eli Lilly and Co. faces one of the biggest hits. In addition to Zyprexa, the company will lose protection for its second-best seller, the antidepressant Cymbalta, in 2013.

By 2014, the drugmaker will have lost U.S. patents protecting five drugs that generated 64 percent of Lilly's U.S. product sales in 2010.

Lilly has spent years preparing for this. It plans to offset the revenue loss by reducing costs, improving productivity and growing its animal health business as well as sales in Japan and emerging markets like China. The company also is betting on its pipeline of drugs under development.

Lilly said Thursday it now has a dozen potential drugs in late-stage clinical testing, the last phase before a company seeks regulatory approval. That beat its goal of 10 by year-end.

"This is our future, and it is our first priority," Chief Financial Officer Derica Rice told analysts.

Rice said the company expects the completion of several clinical trials this year and U.S. regulatory decisions on new or expanded uses for several products. He also said the company can fund the research it needs to drive future growth while also continuing to pay a quarterly dividend at least at its current level, which is 49 cents per share.

The drugmaker expects annual earnings of at least $3 billion on revenue of at least $20 billion through 2014.

Lilly will report fourth-quarter and full-year 2011 results on Jan. 31. It expects to meet or beat its 2011 forecast for earnings of $4.30 to $4.35 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $4.34 per share.

Company shares fell 65 cents to $40.06 in afternoon trading while broader indexes also were down slightly.

Lilly shares spent most of 2011 trading below $40 before a rally that started in late November carried the stock to a closing price of $41.56 on Dec. 30, the last 2011 trading day. That represents a gain of more than 18 percent for the year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-05-Eli%20Lilly-2012%20Outlook/id-1ebc0b605d8c4263926812b6efd4def7

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Why Americans Are More Generous than We Think (Time.com)

chao

When the going gets tough, our country's charitable nature still shines through

Emily Rose Bennett / The Augusta Chronicle / Zuma

Emily Rose Bennett / The Augusta Chronicle / Zuma

Cashier Louise NeSmith, 87, left, of helps Julie Hendrich put money down to help pay a layaway balance for a stranger at Ruben's Department Store in downtown Augusta, Ga., on Dec. 21.

2012 is now upon us, and we know that in this year there will be more rancor (presidential election), stress (economy) and predictably unpredictable natural disasters (no reference to the Mayan calendar intended). There are many reasons to worry, the evening news is full of them. There are reasons for optimism, but you have to dig deeper these past few years to find them. Or you can Google ?layaway angels? and read one reason after another why we should have faith in our society?s future.

(PHOTOS: Stores That Are No More)

For those who missed the news reports in December, anonymous ?layaway angels? coast-to-coast paid off the balances on strangers? store layaway accounts ? often emphasizing gifts for children. Reportedly this holiday season phenomenon began with one midwestern woman going into a Kmart and asking to pay off the layaway account of someone, anyone, who was in the process of making installment payments to purchase toys. Perhaps the original layaway angel knew from experience, or simply deduced, that people resorting to the old-fashioned installment method of layaway may be struggling financially. Kudos to Kmart, Wal-Mart and others for facilitating these random acts of kindness ? which were contagious after word spread on the news and Internet. At Kmart alone, over one thousand angels contributed about $450,000 nationwide and more than $20,000 was collected at one store in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Because of these layaway angels, many children did not have to wonder why Santa skipped them in 2011. And their parents were spared some of the pain of not being able to provide, at least on Christmas day. These were truly wonderful gestures that cheered and inspired millions. And it was a nice break from the divisive drumbeat of the 99% vs. the 1% to hear about the 10%, 20% or 51% pitching in for the 49%, 30% or whatever the makeup was of the anonymous layaway angels and grateful recipients (some of whom reportedly subsequently became layaway angels.) It was extraordinarily uplifting, especially in these times.

But in fact, people helping people is quite ordinary in this country. The layaway angels add to the long legacy of Americans? generous nature. Last week, a worldwide study of charitable giving, by the U.K.-based Charities Aid Foundation, ranked Americans first in giving personal money, and time, to organizations and strangers. The ranking cannot be dismissed as simply to be expected of the richest nation. The Foundation?s survey report concluded that ?the countries whose populations are the most likely to give are not necessarily the world?s most affluent.? Of the top 20 nations in giving, only five are in the top 20 of economic wealth.

(MORE: Chao: Save the Economy. Turn Off the TV)

Never far from my thoughts are memories of being a little girl in Queens, N.Y., our family of five crowded in a small one-bedroom apartment, struggling to learn English and survive a new life in a new country, America. We humbly and gratefully still recall the kindnesses shown by strangers and neighbors who became new friends. Speaking from that experience, today?s layaway angels and the many other Americans who give of themselves in so many ways, all year around, will be remembered and will inspire for a long time to come.

Chao, is the former president and CEO of United Way of America and was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2001 to 2009. She is a Fox News contributor and a Distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. The views expressed are solely her own.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpideastimecom20120105americansaremoregenerousthanwethinkxidrssnationyahoo/44083825/SIG=132lk1o9a/*http%3A//ideas.time.com/2012/01/05/americans-are-more-generous-than-we-think/?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

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Libya's Belhaj won't join UK's torture inquiry (AP)

LONDON ? Lawyers for a prominent ex-Libyan rebel who is suing Britain over its alleged role in his 2004 rendition said Friday he has withdrawn his cooperation for a UK government commissioned inquiry into abuses during its pursuit of terrorism suspects.

Tripoli's military council commander Abdel-Hakim Belhaj had been scheduled to contribute to the investigation after British Prime Minister David Cameron promised it would consider whether ties between the British and Libyan security services became too cozy during Moammar Gadhafi's rule.

Belhaj, a former fighter in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group ? a militant organization that long opposed Gadhafi ? and among Libya's most prominent Islamist figures, claims both British and U.S. intelligence may have played a role in his 2004 detention in Bangkok and transfer to Tripoli.

Documents uncovered during the fall of Tripoli disclosed the close working ties between Gadhafi's spies and Western intelligence officials.

Lawyers Leigh Day & Co said Belhaj wouldn't cooperate with the U.K. inquiry as he now believed it had insufficient powers to "get to the truth of Britain's involvement" in abuses during the so-called "war on terror."

Several ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees ? including those paid millions of pounds (dollars) in settlements by Britain over allegations the U.K. was complicit in their harsh treatment ? have previously said similar concerns mean they won't take part.

In 2010, Cameron asked retired appeal court judge Peter Gibson to carry out a sweeping examination of Britain's conduct in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the inquiry is necessary to "clear the stain from our reputation as a country."

Hearings in Gibson's inquiry have been delayed until police conclude investigations opened in 2009 into allegations an officer with the country's MI6 overseas intelligence agency was complicit in the mistreatment of a non-British citizen.

Rights groups have repeatedly complained that the government ? not the inquiry ? will have the final say on what evidence is made public. The panel will hold some sessions in private to hear evidence from intelligence officials and review some secret documents the government may block from being publicly released.

In a joint letter to Cameron, several civil rights campaign groups ? including Amnesty International U.K., Liberty and Reprieve ? legal experts and two former United Nations special rapporteurs on torture urged Britain to review the panel's powers.

"There is growing concern that the powers currently given to the inquiry are seriously deficient and that it will be unable to properly fulfill the U.K.'s human rights obligations," said the letter, sent Friday.

"Without substantial changes, it will not get to the truth of Britain's involvement or ensure such abuses do not occur again."

Clare Algar, executive director of Reprieve, said campaigners hoped Cameron "sees sense and gives this inquiry the clout it needs to really make a difference."

"An inquiry as inadequate as the one currently established risks a whitewash that will do more harm than good ? not least in terms of restoring public trust and Britain's reputation around the world," she said.

In a statement, the inquiry insisted it would "deliver a robust" examination of the issues Cameron asked it to address.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120106/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_libya

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Could Daily Aspirin Harm Seniors' Eyes? (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Daily aspirin use among seniors may double their risk of developing a particularly advanced form of age-related macular degeneration, a debilitating eye disease, a large new European study suggests.

The possible link involves the so-called "wet" type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a significant cause of blindness in seniors.

Aspirin use was not, however, found to be associated with an increased risk for developing the more common, and usually less advanced, "dry" form of AMD, according to the report published in the January issue of Ophthalmology.

Although the study team stressed that further research is needed, the findings could cause concern for the millions of older people who routinely take over-the-counter aspirin for pain, inflammation and blood-clot management, and to reduce their risk of heart disease.

"People should be aware that aspirin, often just bought over the counter without prescription, may have adverse effects -- apart from major gastrointestinal and other bleeding -- also for AMD," said lead author Dr. Paulus de Jong.

De Jong is an emeritus professor of ophthalmic epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Academic Medical Center, both in Amsterdam.

Age-related macular degeneration affects the critical central vision required for reading, driving and general mobility. The damage occurs when the retinal core of the eye (the macula) becomes exposed to leaking or bleeding due to abnormal growth of blood vessels.

To examine whether aspirin use might trigger this process, the authors focused on nearly 4,700 men and women over age 65 living in Norway, Estonia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece and Spain.

In the study, conducted between 2000 and 2003, the researchers looked at blood samples, frequency of aspirin use (though not doses), smoking and drinking history, stroke and heart attack records, blood pressure levels and sociodemographic data.

The team also analyzed detailed images of each participant's eyes, looking for indications of age-related macular degeneration and severity.

Daily aspirin use was associated with the onset of late-stage "wet" age-related macular degeneration, and to a lesser degree, the onset of early "dry" AMD -- even after the researchers took into account age and a history of heart disease, which in itself is a risk factor for AMD.

For late-stage wet AMD only, the association was stronger the more frequently an individual took aspirin.

Early AMD was found in more than more than one-third of participants (36 percent), while late-stage AMD was found in roughly 3 percent, or 157 patients.

Of those with late AMD, more than two-thirds (108) had wet AMD, while about one-third (49) had dry AMD, the researchers found.

More than 17 percent of participants said they took aspirin daily, while 7 percent took it at least once a week and 41 percent did so at least once a month.

About one-third of those with wet AMD consumed aspirin on a daily basis, compared with 16 percent of those with no AMD.

The study authors cautioned that further research is needed on aspirin's possible effects on eye health. Meanwhile, they suggested that doctors generally should not alter their current advice for aspirin use among older patients coping with heart disease risk.

"[But] I would advise persons who [already] have early or late AMD not to take aspirin as a painkiller," de Jong said. "[And] I would advise people with AMD who take small amounts of aspirin for primary prevention -- this means having no past history of cardiac or vascular problems like stroke, and no elevated risk factors for these diseases -- to discuss with their doctor if it is wise to continue doing so. For secondary prevention -- this means after having these elevated risks or disorders -- the benefits of daily aspirin outweigh the risks."

While the study uncovered an association between aspirin use and AMD, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

This point was also made by Dr. Alfred Sommer, a professor of ophthalmology and dean emeritus at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He noted that while the study was "well executed," it should not be seen as definitive proof that aspirin use and AMD are linked.

An observational study of this type "merely calls attention to the fact that such an association may exist, and that it may be causal, but only randomized clinical trials can prove the matter one way or the other," he said.

"Hence, this might or might not be real," Sommer added, "and we will only know that when and if a randomized trial is done."

In the interim, he said the findings should not guide patient behavior.

"It is well known that aspirin [and other NSAIDs] can increase the risk of gastric distress and gastric ulcers," Sommer said. "Like any medicine, it should only be taken if needed. But those taking aspirin to prevent heart disease, particularly those at increased risk of heart disease, definitely do benefit and should not change what they do."

More information

For more on age-related macular degeneration, visit the U.S. National Eye Institute.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/seniors/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120106/hl_hsn/coulddailyaspirinharmseniorseyes

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China treads cautiously on Kayani visit amidst Pak political storm

A carefully modulated exercise is evident from the reports emanating from Beijing [ Images ] on the current visit of Pakistan's army [ Images ] chief Ashfaq Kayani, says B Raman

As the Pakistan Army confronts the United States on one hand and the civilian leadership headed by President Asif Ali Zardari [ Images ] on the other in a triangular re-assertion of its primacy in strategic matters, China's political and military leadership has carefully chosen to bolster the image of the army as the driving force of the all-weather strategic relationship between the two countries.

This carefully modulated exercise is evident from the reports emanating from Beijing on the six-day visit of Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani [ Images ] to China, which started on January 4.

General Kayani has already had some high-profile engagements in Beijing -- including a well-publicised 75-minute meeting with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, another meeting with China's Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie, and discussions with senior officers of the People's Liberation Army.

Attempts have been made by Chinese and Pakistani sources to underline the fact that this is General Kayani's third visit to China as the COAS in an apparent bid to discourage speculation connecting the visit with the Army's confrontation with the US on one hand and the elected Pakistani civilian leadership on the other.

Despite this, it is significant that the reported remarks of Wen in his discussions with Kayani as disseminated by the official Xinhua news agency highlighted the role of the Pakistan Army in strengthening the strategic relationship between the two countries.

The Xinhua despatches, as carried by the Party-run People's Daily and the PLA Daily, quoted Wen as having stated as follows: 'The premier said Pakistani armed forces have made important contributions toward maintaining bilateral relations and boosting the Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership. He pledged to support stronger military exchanges and cooperation between both countries.'

In the past, Zardari had made frequent visits to China ostensibly for studying the Chinese model of development. These visits and his interactions with Chinese leaders and officials had created an impression that the Chinese felt comfortable with his leadership in Pakistan and would not like it to be disturbed.

The reports emanating from Beijing so far on the visit of Kayani and his interactions with Chinese leaders and PLA officers clearly indicate an attempt by the Chinese, to the satisfaction of Kayani, to underline the continued importance attached by them to the role of the Pakistan Army in strategic matters.

While the Chinese have avoided saying anything that might be construed as marking a distance from Zardari, who is perceived by the Pakistan Army as being?'soft' to the US, it is clear that the Chinese feel that it would be in their interest if the Pakistan Army maintains its primacy in strategic and national security? matters.

The Xinhua despatches have also reported as follows: 'Kayani, who is currently on a six-day visit to China, expressed gratitude for China's efforts to aid Pakistan's economic growth and social stability, as well as China's support for Pakistan's efforts to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Developing the Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership is a cornerstone of the foreign strategies of both countries, Kayani said.'

There is a significant difference in the report on Kayani's talks with Wen as put out by the government-run Associated Press of Pakistan and Xinhua. The APP report said, 'Premier Wen said that China and Pakistan support safeguarding of each other's core interests and thanked Pakistan for its people's consistent stand on Taiwan, Tibet [ Images ] and Xinjiang.'

There is no reference in the Xinhua despatches put out so far about the Chinese support to Pakistan's core interests as claimed by the APP. While there have been no references to Pakistan's relations with India [ Images ] and the US in the reports on the visit emanating from Pakistan as well as China, it is to be noted that the burden of Kayani's remarks in Beijing as reported by the Pakistani media has been on Pakistan's interests in Afghanistan.

The APP has reported, 'Pakistan is pursuing a holistic concept of internal and external security. Pakistan's objective is to see a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. If Afghanistan is peaceful and stable, Pakistan will be the biggest beneficiary, Kayani said.'

The Xinhua despatches do not refer to Kayani's reported remarks on Afghanistan. From a study of the reports on the visit emanating so far, two conclusions emerge regarding the objectives of Kayani's visit: One, to seek a reiteration of Chinese support for the primacy of the Pakistani military leadership in strategic matters; and two, to seek a recognition of Afghanistan as a core interest of Pakistan as a quid pro quo to Pakistan's recognition of Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan as the core interests of China.

While going half-way to meet the expectations of the Pakistan Army, the Chinese have taken care to avoid any misperception of their taking sides in Pakistan's differences with the US and India and in the internal confrontation between the Pakistani Army and the civilian leadership, particularly Zardari.

Source: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/china-treads-cautiously-on-kayani-visit-amidst-pak-political-storm/20120106.htm

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Improving economy: More jobs, higher pump prices (AP)

NEW YORK ? As the U.S. economy recovers and adds more jobs, Americans are paying the price at the gas pump.

The government said Friday that the nation's unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent, the same day that gasoline prices hit an average of $3.35 a gallon, the highest ever for this time of year.

Gasoline prices are rising again after falling in the last months of 2011. Motorists are buying less gas than they did a year ago, but pump prices are rising with higher oil prices.

"It's difficult to raise prices when gasoline demand is so anemic," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. But if the cost of oil goes up, "you have to pass it along" to the consumer, he said.

Kloza expects pump prices will average between $3.75 and $4.25 a gallon this year. They could be around $4 a gallon by spring.

Oil prices started 2012 on the rise, continuing a trend from last year. The price of benchmark U.S. crude rose 19 percent in 2011 to an average of about $95 a barrel.

The price of benchmark crude rose 3 percent this week, though it was down slightly on Friday. The positive U.S. jobs numbers and weak economic data in Europe boosted the dollar against other major currencies, including the euro. Oil is priced in dollars, and it tends to fall as the dollar rises and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money.

Benchmark crude fell 25 cents to end the week at $101.56 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil varieties that are imported by U.S. refineries, rose 32 cents to finish at $113.06 per barrel in London.

Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel this week on growing tension in the Persian Gulf. Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, if the U.S. and other nations enforce more economic sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program. The strait provides the only way out of the Persian Gulf for oil tankers carrying one-sixth of the world's exports. Experts say it's unlikely that Iran could follow through with its threat, but fears of military action could slow shipments at a time when global demand is higher than ever.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose by 3 cents to finish at $3.07 per gallon and gasoline futures rose by 2 cents to end at $2.75 per gallon. Natural gas rose by 8 cents to finish at $3.06 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Chris Kahn can be reached at http://twitter.com/ChrisKahnAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120106/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

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NHL Notebook: League suspends Florida forward

The NHL suspended Florida Panthers forward Krys Barch for one game for an "inappropriate comment" directed toward Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban in a game Saturday between the two Eastern Conference foes.

Barch was given a match penalty at the end of the first period after a scrum between Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson and Montreal's Subban. The Miami Herald reported that an unnamed NHL official said that linesman Darren Gibbs threw him out for uttering a "racial slur" to Subban, who is black.

After a four-day delay, partly due to not wanting negative publicity to interfere with Monday's Winter Classic, the league conducted a telephone inquiry with Barch, his NHLPA representative and Panthers coach Kevin Dineen before practice at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink.

In mid-practice, Dineen came off the ice to take a phone call from the league offices in which he was informed of the decision rendered by Colin Campbell, executive president of hockey operations.

"There's no debate over what was said," Dineen said. "The context of the comments can and should be very debatable. I have a lot of respect for Krys Barch and the way he's handled himself the last five days, which have been extremely tough for him."

A source told the Sun Sentinel that the undisclosed comment was actually Barch teasing Subban for losing his balance during his tussle with Gubranson. "He said it looked like he was "slipping on a banana peel," the source said.

Gibbs' reaction might've stemmed from a racially charged incident during a preseason game in Ontario between the Flyers and Red Wings in which a fan threw a banana peel toward Wayne Simmonds, a black player for Philadelphia.

Barch said that Campbell told him if he had thought his comments were racially motivated he would've suspended him for "five to 10 games and this would've been done the day after."

"It may have been inappropriate, but it was nowhere along the lines of a racial slur or intent of," Barch said. "The things I said were pretty explicit and maybe not for kids' ears. That's why I can't repeat what I said. ... My grandmother wouldn't want to hear it."

Capitals

Washington center Nicklas Backstrom is practicing again, two days after taking an elbow to the head. Backstrom took part in the Capitals' full workout before departing with the team for a West Coast road trip.

Predators

Captain Shea Weber has been cleared to play in his return from a concussion that kept him out of four games, and he is expected to play for Nashville against Dallas. The defenseman was hurt Dec. 23 in a collision with Stars defenseman Mark Fistric and wound up missing four games.

Elsewhere

Police in Philadelphia are seeking the public's help identifying three men involved in a fight between Flyers and Rangers fans outside a cheesesteak shop following Monday's Winter Classic hockey game. The victim, Neal Auricchio Jr., an off duty Woodbridge, N.J. police officer who fought two tours in Iraq, returning to war even after a sniper blew apart one of his calf muscles, was sucker-punched and beaten unconscious by three Philadelphia fans.

Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

First published on January 6, 2012 at 12:00 am

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12006/1201674-61-0.stm?cmpid=sports.xml

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Source: http://boquete.ning.com/xn/detail/1434455%3AComment%3A191666?xg_source=activity

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