Russian President Vladimir Putin (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin should be glad he didn't mess with Texas, according to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
Last week, Putin denied an accusation that he had stolen a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. On Tuesday, Cruz said a heist like that wouldn't have gone over so well had it happened to his beloved Dallas Cowboys.
During an interview on the Andrea Tantaros radio show, Cruz said he would "absolutely" have gotten a stolen Cowboys ring back from Putin by now?with a little help from some fellow Texans in high places.
"I have a feeling that if Vladimir Putin had stolen a Dallas Cowboys ring instead of a Patriots ring, you and Sen. [John] Cornyn, [Texas Gov.] Rick Perry and [Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones would've gotten that ring back by now," Tantaros told Cruz.
"That's absolutely right," Cruz replied.
The last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl was 1995.
SCUBA diving must be one of the activities most people in the world would want to place in their bucket list before parting this world. SCUBA diving from someone who is not familiar with this sport would look on it as an outdoor activity for the well off people aside from being a dangerous sport to venture into, which happened to be half true and half myth.
SCUBA diving in the form of recreation is almost ?zero impact water activity which is one better way to?appreciate nature's beauty and discover how life works under the sea. This water sport teaches also a lot of values to its recipient. Group diving is much better if you have a license or at least certification received from an accredited dive instructor giving ease and comfort to your SCUBA diving mates.
Crossing Out the Bucket list
Since the day I was brought to the world of environmental science during my college days, I have been dreaming of experiencing to learn the field of ?SCUBA to extend my nature wandering to the rich and diverse ?marine ecosystem in the Philippines.
I was so fortunate to be invited to try this sport by one of the pioneers and active member of Surigao Dive Club, Mr. Johann Jake Miranda, a well experienced and a multiple licensed diving instructor?accredited by Scuba Diving International (SDI) and currently based in Surigao City who operates the Punta Bilar Dive Center.
Breaking My Fears, Building My Walls!
Coming from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, I immediately hopped into a bus bound for Surigao City and immediately head for the dive shop. The dive site is located along the marine protected area in the still community of Punta Bilar, one of the few diving sites inNorthern Mindanao that offers lesson and certification for first time divers. Punta Bilar offers a 3km stretch of protected marine area with good to very good coral reefs condition that is under the protection with the combined initiative of the community and the dive site operator.? The long stretch of coral reefs is home to hundreds to thousands of coral species and other colorful marine organisms ranging from pelagic to sea crawler slugs to quirky sea lilies.
As many would think SCUBA diving is quite difficult for first timers, because you have to undergo a series of lectures about safety and other technical concepts to ponder and the most challenging part is to put the learning into action for you to get your open water diver certification.?
Even though I was purposely invited for this activity, I did not receive special consideration to skip one of the procedures. A written exam was also employed to determine the comprehension of the student about SCUBA diving during the entire lesson.??
?It took me a total of six (6) dives before I have fully digested all the tips given by my dive instructor Jake. At first, it took me a while to grasp on my buoyancy and to correct my breathing technique. As an environmental specialist, one of our required skill is to swim but having a set of SCUBA equipment strapped around my body makes me feel uncomfortable due to its added weight and I was ?getting a little confused on the hoses ?attached on the air tank.?
BLOOPER TIME!
And just like any other students , I make mistakes and instead ?frowning about it, I took it as a challenge to correct my errors. And sometimes looking back at those moments specially if caught on camera, will just put me to burst to laughter watching the video all over again. Here is my best blooper ever during the entire session of ?mySCUBA Diving lesson. I swear JR pushed me before the end of 1..2...splassshhhh!?
My ultimate epic failed giant stride water entry!?
Take it from the Expert
One great advice I received from my instructor was not to PANIC, and have the presence of mind to remember the techniques taught during the lecture ! Hmmmm, I was able to understand the ?meaning of word only on my second and third dive after I have swallowed a little salt water during a certain exercise. But in the process I was surprised to enjoy the beauty of the world underwater without being conscious that I was actually in a ?wet suit swimming with the other marine organisms and witnessing the colorful world of the ocean. As we go deeper, I got more relaxed and able to maneuver in perfect buoyancy where I barely move at all while gazing ?on vast ? precious giant sea fans and enormous hard corals, fishes and others scattered around.
It was a lucky day ?that I was accompanied by divers from Butuan City, where Jeff carried with him a specialized underwater camera. A total of 3 days and two nights in the dive center gave me a ?memorable fulfilling adventure, ticking out one item from my bucket list.
To fully understand and appreciate diving, I suggest for you to try it first. There is no harm in trying people. It is just a matter of courage and willingness to put one foot forward and make something different in your life. Get out and experience life. Put SCUBA diving in your bucket list and surely you will enjoy it once you got a taste of it. More post about diving coming soon.To learn more please contact:Operator, Punta Bilar Dive CenterMobile: +63 920 909 ?0999 Website: www.divesurigao.com
(My sincerest thanks to Jake Miranda and his family for this wonderful experience shared, and to my newly found friends Jeff, Tonton, Macky and Dive Master JR Pingkian. All underwater photos courtesy of Jeff Ong. See you soon guys)
HONG KONG/MOSCOW (Reuters) - An aircraft believed to be carrying Edward Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let fugitive former U.S. security contractor leave the territory, frustrating Washington's efforts to extradite him on espionage charges.
The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Snowden was heading for a "democratic nation" which it did not name, although a source at the Russian airline Aeroflot said he would fly on within 24 hours to Cuba and then planned to go to Venezuela.
Snowden's departure from Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to China in 1997, is likely to be highly embarrassing for the administration of President Barack Obama. U.S. authorities had said only on Saturday they were optimistic Hong Kong would cooperate over Snowden, who revealed extensive U.S. government surveillance in the United States and abroad.
Moscow airport officials said the flight from Hong Kong had landed but could not immediately confirm Snowden was on board. However, a source at Aeroflot said he had booked a seat on the service.
Snowden, who worked for the National Security Agency, had been hiding in Hong Kong since leaking details about the U.S. surveillance activities to news media.
In their statement announcing Snowden's departure, the Hong Kong authorities said they were seeking clarification from Washington about reports of U.S. spying on government computers in the territory.
The Obama administration has previously painted the United States as a victim of Chinese government computer hacking.
Earlier this month Obama called on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to acknowledge the threat posed by "cyber-enabled espionage" against the United States and to investigate the problem when they met in California. Obama also met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Northern Ireland last week.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong government said it had allowed the departure of Snowden - regarded by his supporters as a whistleblower and by his critics as a criminal and perhaps even a traitor - because the U.S. request to have him arrested did not comply with the law.
In Washington, a Justice Department official said it would seek cooperation with countries Snowden may try to go to.
"It's a shocker," said Simon Young, a law professor with Hong Kong University. "I thought he was going to stay and fight it out. The U.S. government will be irate."
OBAMA AGENDA SIDELINED
Obama has found his domestic and international policy agenda sidelined as he has scrambled to deflect accusations that the surveillance violates privacy protections and civil rights. The president has maintained it has been necessary to thwart attacks on the United States, and the U.S. government filed espionage charges against Snowden on Friday.
A source at Aeroflot said Snowden would fly from Moscow to Cuba on Monday and then planned to go on to Venezuela. Reporters at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport said there was no immediate sign of Snowden, but Russian media suggested he may have been whisked away by car to a foreign embassy in the capital.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said earlier his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland.
The WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said it helped Snowden find "political asylum in a democratic country".
The group said he was accompanied by diplomats and was travelling via a safe route for the purposes of seeking asylum. Sarah Harrison, a legal researcher working for the WikiLeaks, was "accompanying Mr. Snowden in his passage to safety".
"The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person," former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of WikiLeaks and lawyer for the group's founder Julian Assange, said in a statement.
"What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange - for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest - is an assault against the people."
Assange has taken sanctuary in the Ecuadorean embassy in London and said last week he would not leave even if Sweden stopped pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he feared arrest on the orders of the United States.
U.S. authorities have charged Snowden with theft of U.S. government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person, with the latter two charges falling under the U.S. Espionage Act.
The United States had asked Hong Kong, a special administrative region (SAR) of China, to send Snowden home.
"The U.S. government earlier on made a request to the HKSAR government for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr Snowden," the Hong Kong government said in a statement.
"Since the documents provided by the U.S. government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR government has requested the U.S. government to provide additional information ... As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."
It did not say what further information it needed.
The White House had no comment.
CHINA SAYS U.S. "BIGGEST VILLAIN"
Although Hong Kong has an independent legal system and its own extradition laws, China controls its foreign affairs. Some observers see Beijing's hand in Snowden's sudden departure.
Iceland refused on Friday to say whether it would grant asylum to Snowden, a former employee of contractor Booz Allen Hamilton who worked at an NSA facility in Hawaii.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said earlier this month that Russia would consider granting Snowden asylum if he were to ask for it and pro-Kremlin lawmakers supported the idea, but there has been no indication he has done so.
The South China Morning Post earlier quoted Snowden offering new details about the United States' spy activities, including accusations of U.S. hacking of Chinese mobile telephone companies and targeting China's Tsinghua University.
Documents previously leaked by Snowden revealed that the NSA has access to vast amounts of internet data such as emails, chat rooms and video from large companies, including Facebook and Google, under a government program known as Prism.
China's Xinhua news agency, referring to Snowden's accusations about the hacking of Chinese targets, said they were "clearly troubling signs".
It added: "They demonstrate that the United States, which has long been trying to play innocent as a victim of cyber attacks, has turned out to be the biggest villain in our age."
Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador are all members of the ALBA bloc, an alliance of leftist governments in Latin America who pride themselves on their "anti-imperialist" credentials.
(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Shanghai, Nishant Kumar in Hong Kong and Andrew Cawthorne in Caracas; Alexei Anishchuk and Steve Gutterman in Moscow, and Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Felsenthal in Washington; Writing by Nick Macfie and David Stamp; Editing by Anna Willard)
POOL - George Zimmerman, right, talks with defense attorney Don West in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank,Pool)
POOL - George Zimmerman, right, talks with defense attorney Don West in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank,Pool)
George Zimmerman, right, speaks with his attorney, Mark O'Mara, during his trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank, Pool)
Assistant State Attorney John Guy points out defendant George Zimmerman during the state's opening argument in front of the jury in the Zimmerman trial, in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank,Pool)
The parents of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, left, and Tracy Martin, center, are greeted by assistant state attorney John Guy during the George Zimmerman trial in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 24, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank,Pool)
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? Prosecutors in the George Zimmerman trial want to introduce recordings of non-emergency calls he made to law enforcement to prove the former neighborhood watch leader is guilty of second-degree murder in shooting Trayvon Martin last year.
Prosecutors planned to try to convince Judge Debra Nelson on Tuesday that a series of calls Zimmerman made to authorities about suspicious people in his central Florida neighborhood in the weeks and months before the fatal shooting are indicative of the state of mind he had that night.
State attorney John Guy said in his opening statement Monday that Zimmerman thought Martin was one of the "F------ punks" who "always get away" whom he'd observed previously in his neighborhood and called police about.
But late Monday, defense attorneys objected to the introduction of the previous calls during the questioning of a witness, saying they were being used to show prior bad acts by Zimmerman. The defense maintains this should not be admissible under the rules of evidence.
The judge said she would address the matter Tuesday and sent the jurors to the hotel where they are being sequestered for the duration of the trial, which could last several weeks.
The prosecution began opening statements in the long-awaited murder trial with shocking language, repeating obscenities Zimmerman uttered while talking to a police dispatcher moments before the deadly confrontation.
The defense opened with a knock-knock joke about the difficulty of picking a jury for a case that stirred nationwide debate over racial profiling, vigilantism and Florida's expansive laws on the use of deadly force.
"Knock. Knock," said defense attorney Don West.
"Who is there?"
"George Zimmerman."
"George Zimmerman who?"
"All right, good. You're on the jury."
Zimmerman, 29, could get life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder for gunning down Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, as the unarmed black teenager, wearing a hoodie on a dark, rainy night, walked from a convenience store through the gated townhouse community where he was staying.
When Zimmerman initially wasn't charged in the fatal shooting, Martin's family claimed Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin and police were dragging their feet in bringing charges. Zimmerman, whose mother is Hispanic and whose father is white, has denied the confrontation had anything to do with race.
Randy McClean, a criminal defense attorney in Florida with no connection to the case, called the prosecution's opening statement "brilliant" in that it described Zimmerman's state of mind. But he described the knock-knock joke as less than stellar.
"If you're defending your client for second-degree murder, you probably shouldn't start your opening with a joke," McClean said.
Guy's first words to the jury recounted the profane words Zimmerman told a dispatcher in a call shortly after spotting Martin: "F------ punks. These a-------. They always get away."
Zimmerman was profiling Martin as he followed him, Guy said. He said Zimmerman viewed the teen "as someone about to a commit a crime in his neighborhood."
"And he acted on it. That's why we're here," the prosecutor said.
Zimmerman didn't have to shoot Martin, Guy said. "He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to," he said.
The prosecutor portrayed the then-neighborhood watch captain as a vigilante, saying, "Zimmerman thought it was his right to rid his neighborhood of anyone who did not belong."
West told jurors a different story: Martin sucker-punched Zimmerman and then pounded his head against the concrete sidewalk, and that's when Zimmerman opened fire.
Showing the jury photos of a bloodied and bruised Zimmerman, the defense attorney said, "He had just taken tremendous blows to his face, tremendous blows to his head."
West said the idea that Martin was unarmed is untrue: "Trayvon Martin armed himself with a concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman's head."
The prosecutor, however, disputed elements of Zimmerman's story, including his claim that Martin put his hands over Zimmerman's mouth and reached for the man's gun. Guy said none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body, and none of the teenager's DNA was on the weapon or the holster.
But West said that doesn't prove anything, arguing that crime-scene technicians didn't properly protect Martin's hands from contamination.
Two police dispatch phone calls that could prove to be important evidence for both sides were played for the jury by the defense. Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, left the courtroom before the second recording, which has the sound of the gunshot that killed Martin.
The first was a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher, who told him he didn't need to be following Martin.
The second 911 call, from a witness, captures screams in the distant background from the struggle between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son, while Zimmerman's father contends they are his son's.
Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods used were unreliable.
Other witnesses who testified Monday included a convenience store clerk and the 911 dispatcher who took Zimmerman's call when he was following Martin, who had gone to the convenience store to buy Skittles and a can of iced tea.
The 911 dispatcher, Sean Noffke, testified that he had advised Zimmerman not to follow Martin.
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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
Vito Technology, award-winning education software developer is launching Solar Walk Educators Program, a collaboration project for educators and tech professionals aimed at exchange of experience and materials to enhance scientific classroom with new media. Famous for its stellar Star Walk Astronomy Guide and 3D Solar System model apps for iOS, Vito Technology is calling for educators all over the world to voice their opinions in exchange for free inApps.
As many parents and teachers had claimed before, Solar Walk is quite useful when it comes to explaining astronomy to children. A handy alternative to papier-mache balls, Solar Walk "gives your students a realistic look at the Solar System", says iPad Curriculum.
Solar Walk is an interactive 3D Solar System model with 10 planets (including a dwarf planet Pluto), 20 moons of the planets, 10 satellites orbiting the Earth, over 100 of the biggest stars, and hundreds of named places on the Moon, Mars, Earth and Venus. The Time Machine feature lets users speed up time backwards or forwards, moving planets and satellites according to their real trajectories.
Solar Walk Educators Program is an effort to collect and share accumulated materials, ideas and lesson plans that could help teachers complement their lessons with advances of modern technology.
Both Star Walk and Solar Walk have been honored with a 2012 Academics' Choice Smart Media Award, a prestigious seal of educational quality, reserved only for the best mind-building media. Both apps will be presented at the upcoming ISTE conference in San Antonio, TX.
June 19, 2013 ? Researchers with the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have revealed new information about the latest strain of type A influenza, known as H7N9, in a report in the journal PLOS Currents: Outbreaks.
Since June 7, 132 confirmed cases of human infection with H7N9 have been reported in China and 37 people have died, according to the World Health Organization. It is the first time human infection with the avian influenza H7N9 subtype has been detected, and researchers fear that this strain may have pandemic potential.
The possibility of an animal source of the infection is being investigated, as is the possibility of person-to-person transmission.
However, most people who contracted the disease reported having contact with live birds in a bird market prior to infection. Researchers at the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory found that younger women generally have the most contact with poultry, but it is older men who are experiencing the most infections.
The findings suggest that there is something unique about older men that makes them particularly susceptible to H7N9. Their greater risk of infection is not just because they tend to spend more time exposed to an avian source.
Researchers quickly compiled the data using a variety of available sources to discover risk factors, which could aid in containing the spread of H7N9.
"Normally we have to wait for epidemiologists to collect new data in the early days if an outbreak. We were able to combine data from existing sources in an innovative way to rapidly learn about H7N9 risk factors," said Caitlin Rivers of Plainfield, N.H., a graduate student majoring in genetics, bioinformatics, and computational biology and research assistant at the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory.
To contain the spread of this strain of influenza, some Chinese live bird markets have been closed. It may help, but still does not explain the high infection rate of older men. Further studies are required to understand what other factors may be involved in transmission to help contain H7N9's spread.
"In keeping with a commitment to open science, the raw data and calculations are available publicly. We invite others to use and expand upon this work," said Bryan Lewis, a public health policy analyst with the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.
This work has been partially supported by NIH MIDAS Grant 2U01GM070694-09 and NIH MIDAS Grant 3U01FM070694-09S1.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ? A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of hundreds of mourners attending a funeral in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 27 people. Among the dead was a newly elected lawmaker who may have been the target, authorities said.
The blast was the deadliest attack in the region since May 11 national and regional elections installed a new government in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The carnage poses a challenge for cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose party won the provincial election there on a platform of negotiating with the Pakistani Taliban to bring an end to the years of fighting and attacks there.
The bombing in the village of Sher Garh near the city of Mardan killed 27 people and wounded at least 57, said a senior police officer in Mardan, Tahir Ayub Khan.
Many of the wounded were taken to hospitals in the provincial capital of Peshawar, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) away.
Speaking as doctors examined him, Azeem Khan said a local cleric was leading the funeral prayers when Khan heard a deafening explosion and was knocked to the ground.
"People were running away for safety," he said. "Mourners at the funeral were crying for help after the blast."
A witness told Pakistan's Dunya television that 700 to 800 people were attending the funeral when the suicide bomber detonated the device.
The lawmaker, Imran Khan Mohmand, ran in Pakistan's May 11 elections as an independent candidate and later supported the party of Imran Khan, the ex-cricketer. He was the second provincial lawmaker affiliated with the party to be killed since the election. The other lawmaker, also an independent who later joined Khan's party, was shot dead earlier this month.
The Pakistani military has been fighting to root out Pakistani Taliban and affiliated militants from the tribal areas, a region that borders Afghanistan. The militants have vowed to overthrow the government and have carried out a campaign of bombings and shootings, mostly in the northwest, that have killed tens of thousands of civilians and security forces in recent years.
Khan campaigned on an anti-American platform in which he blamed the CIA's drone program and the war in Afghanistan for leading to much of the violence in Pakistan. He also favored negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban instead of military operations against them, and many of his aides and supporters said the party would not allow Pakistan to be used to ferry supplies to and from NATO troops in Afghanistan.
During the campaign, the Pakistani Taliban largely refrained from attacking members of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party as well as the Pakistan Muslim League-N, which won the election. The militant group focused most of its attacks on three other parties, including the Pakistan People's Party, then in power, which supported military operations against the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest.
As a result, PTI and PML-N were able to campaign relatively freely, holding large rallies across the country, including in the volatile northwest.
Khan's party came in third in the parliamentary elections but won enough seats to form the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, putting him and his party in charge of a crucial region in the struggle against militants.
Imran Khan insists that the only way to end the crisis in the northwest is through negotiations, though critics say the militants in the past have used talks as a way to consolidate their strength, and then they go back to fighting.
Even after the bombing Tuesday, a senior party leader said it would push ahead with its goal of peace talks.
"Our policy is clear, that we have been saying that we will hold a peace dialogue," Shaukat Yousufzai, the minister of information in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "As long we don't bring all the stakeholders to the negotiating table, we can't get rid of ... terrorism."
The violence is a major test for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was elected on a platform of ending crippling electricity blackouts and fixing the country's economy. He supports of talks with the Pakistani Taliban to end the violence.
The prime minister's office released a statement condemning the bombing at the funeral.
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Associated Press writer Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP) ? He really is more than a businessman.
Jay-Z's partnership with Samsung for his new album, "Magna Carta Holy Grail," is another sign of how musicians are finding new ways to push, sell and promote their music, and how the multiplatinum performer ? whose famously rapped "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man" ? continues to leverage his enduring popularity into a successful brand.
Jay-Z will give his new album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones on July 4, three days before the album's official release date. The 43-year-old broke the news about his twelfth album in a three-minute commercial during the NBA Finals.
Details about the Samsung-Jay-Z deal, announced Sunday, weren't disclosed and both parties did not grant interviews.
But Jay-Z's partnership is just another way artists are promoting their music at a time when album sales are low and the digital market has taken the lead in the music industry.
Jim Donio, the president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), said top level acts like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift have the power to launch new albums in spectacular ways with various partners.
"For an artist whose album release is an event in itself ... they carry with them a much wider profile in the marketplace that they speak to, so their audience and all the things that they do affords these unique opportunities," he said.
In 2011, Lady Gaga sold 440,000 copies of her "Born This Way" album on Amazon for just 99 cents when it was on sale for two days, helping the album sell 1.1 million in its debut week. Others have also used that trend to sell albums, though not in its debut week: Last year, Phil Collins' greatest hits jumped into the Top 10 at No. 6 ? its peak ? when it was sold for 99 cents for a day. And Bruno Mars's "Doo-Wop & Hooligans" and Demi Lovato's "Unbroken" both jumped about 100 spots on the Billboard chart when they were on sale for 99 cents months after they were released.
Taylor Swift, one of the top sellers in music, had her second platinum-debut week with "Red" last year. Her partnerships for the album included Target, Walgreens and Papa John's (you could order a pizza and a Swift album at the same time.)
"Even if you didn't purchase the CD, her face was still on the pizza box," Donio said.
And Prince released his "20Ten" album in 2010 via the Daily Mirror newspaper in United Kingdom.
Jay-Z's new partnership is one of his many business deals. His Roc Nation agency, which manages Rihanna, Shakira and other musicians, recently expanded into the sports world, and he now is helping the careers of New York Yankee Robinson Cano, New York Jets rookie Geno Smith and others. Jay-Z has launched fashion lines, has a string of 40/40 nightclubs, was also the president of Def Jam and owned part of 1 percent of the Brooklyn Nets.
He's also still a consistent hitmaker and a superstar who transcends music ? which is why Samsung likely partnered with him for his new album. Samsung has chipped away at Apple's share of the mobile market with its Galaxy phones, and companies are relying more on music to lure new customers (Apple last week announced it will debut iRadio, its streaming music service, in the fall).
One of the many questions about the Samsung deal still unanswered: Will the 1 million downloads count towards first week sales of the album, giving it elite status of debuting with platinum sales, an accomplishment few artists have achieved? Billboard, which tracks album sales and chart information for the industry, did not return emails seeking comment. Samsung reportedly purchased the albums though it's unclear what the price-point was.
Jay-Z made it clear Monday what he felt the trade publication should do.
"If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesn't report it, did it happen? Ha," Jay-Z, adding: "Platinum!!!"
Donio said he thinks more deals like Samsung-Jay-Z are on the horizon.
"The record labels that are putting out the music and partnering with a variety of types of commerce outlets are going to look at just anything and everything that may work with that particular artist and that particular album release," he said.
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Online:
http://www.magnacartaholygrail.com/
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Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter: twitter.com/MusicMesfin
Advertising giant WPP is taking another step into the world of startup investments, this time specifically in mobile and social media. WPP Ventures, a new investment arm of WPP Digital, today announced a stake in Muzy, a social media platform that presents its content arranged in a Pinterest-style grid layout. The site, in some regards, has flown under the radar, but it has some 20 million users and is adding 1 million each month. Terms of the investment were not disclosed but we are trying to find out. It is angel-backed by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and we've found out that the total size of this latest round is $4.4 million.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will meet the Taliban next week in talks in Doha aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan, where the United States has battled Taliban insurgents for 12 years, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, but warned that the process will likely be lengthy.
U.S. officials said the Taliban will issue a statement Tuesday opposing the use of Afghan soil for attacks on other countries and that they support an Afghan peace process.
The United States will insist the Taliban break ties with Al Qaeda, end violence, and accept the Afghan constitution, including protection for women and minorities, the officials told reporters in a conference call.
"This is but the first step in what will be a long road," one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; editing by Jackie Frank)
Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, producer and politician Wyclef Jean talks with Marc about his decision not to perform at the Republican National Convention.
MILAN (AP) ? Daniel Barenboim is conducting the first week-long presentation of Wagner's Ring cycle at La Scala since 1938.
"Der Ring des Nibelungen," which begins with "Das Rheingold" on Monday, is part of the opera house's yearlong celebration of the bicentennial of the births of composers Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner.
The operas feature Rene Pape, Michael Volle, Simon O'Neill, Waltraud Meier, Ian Storey, Marina Poplavskaya and Ekaterina Gubanova .
The cycle is a co-production of La Scala and the Berlin Staatsoper production with staging by Guy Cassiers. It was performed in its entirety in Berlin this spring, and will be reprised next week in Milan.
The last time the Ring was performed in a single week at La Scala was 1938 with conductor Clemens Krauss with the Munich State Opera.
The Facebook effect: Social media dramatically boosts organ donor registrationPublic release date: 18-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Stephanie Desmon sdesmon1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medicine
Johns Hopkins researchers see 21-fold increase in a single day
A social media push boosted the number of people who registered themselves as organ donors 21-fold in a single day, Johns Hopkins researchers found, suggesting social media might be an effective tool to address the stubborn organ shortage in the United States.
The gains were made in May 2012 when the social-networking giant Facebook created a way for users to share their organ donor status with friends and provided easy links to make their status official on state department of motor vehicle websites. The findings are being published in the American Journal of Transplantation.
"The short-term response was incredibly dramatic, unlike anything we had ever seen before in campaigns to increase the organ donation rate. And at the end of two weeks, the number of new organ donors was still climbing at twice the normal rate," says study leader Andrew M. Cameron, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If we can harness that excitement in the long term, then we can really start to move the needle on the big picture. The need for donor organs vastly outpaces the available supply and this could be a way to change that equation."
Over the last 20 years, despite many efforts, the number of donors has remained relatively static, while the number of people waiting for transplants has increased 10-fold. There are more than 118,000 people currently on waiting lists in the United States for kidneys, livers and other organs and thousands of these patients will die before they receive transplants. It's estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people die every year whose organs would be suitable for transplant, but because they had not consented to be donors, their organs go unused. In the United States, organs may not be removed from a deceased donor without permission from either the individual prior to death or the family at the time of a relative's death. It is believed that over time, roughly 100 million Americans have registered to donate.
By looking at data from Facebook and online motor vehicle registration websites, the researchers found that on May 1, 2012, the day the initiative began, 57,451 Facebook users updated their profiles to share their organ donor status. There were 13,012 new online donor registrations on the first day, representing a 21.2-fold increase over the average daily registration rate of 616 nationwide. Registrations varied by state, with the first-day effect in Michigan rising nearly seven-fold and with nearly 109 times as many online registrations in Georgia as on a typical day. Cameron says it was heartening to see that the states of New York and Texas, where organ donation rates are among the lowest, had some of the biggest bumps on that first day.
While the number of online registrations dropped over the following 12 days, Cameron says it was still twice the normal rate at the end of that study period. "The half-life of a movement online is often just hours," he says. "This had a very powerful, lasting effect. But we need to find a way to keep the conversation going."
While the number of declared organ donors increased, it could be decades before researchers determine whether those people ultimately donate their organs.
The Facebook organ donor project came about after Cameron, a transplant surgeon, and his Harvard University classmate and current Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg began talking about the organ shortage at their 20th college reunion in 2011. Through many conversations, the idea of having a place in the Facebook timeline for users to share organ donor status was born.
Going forward, Cameron says the key to continuing the push for more organ donors is figuring out a way to bring back some of the lost attention of those early days of the campaign and to find a way to get it to again go viral. Cameron says he has spoken to Facebook officials who are discussing relaunching it on its mobile platform, changing its prominence on the Web version or even offering incentives, such as coupons, for people who declare they are organ donors.
Cameron says that in recent years social media has shown it is not only a place for sharing what you ate for lunch or posting cute pictures of your kids. It can be an agent of social change, such as its use during the Arab Spring, after natural disasters such as the recent Oklahoma tornado, and in get-out-the-vote efforts before the recent election, he says.
"This was the first effort like this designed to mobilize people for a public health cause," he says. "Now we want to build on that. Studying the response to the organ donor effort is the next step in the process of using social media for social good."
###
Other Johns Hopkins researchers who contributed to this research include Allan B. Massie, Ph.D.; Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., D.Phil.; and Dorry L. Segev, M.D., Ph.D.
For more information:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/facebook_to_ask_users_to_share_organ_donor_status
Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $6.5 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's mission is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and more than 30 primary health care outpatient sites. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation from 1990 to 2011 by U.S. News & World Report.
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The Facebook effect: Social media dramatically boosts organ donor registrationPublic release date: 18-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Stephanie Desmon sdesmon1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medicine
Johns Hopkins researchers see 21-fold increase in a single day
A social media push boosted the number of people who registered themselves as organ donors 21-fold in a single day, Johns Hopkins researchers found, suggesting social media might be an effective tool to address the stubborn organ shortage in the United States.
The gains were made in May 2012 when the social-networking giant Facebook created a way for users to share their organ donor status with friends and provided easy links to make their status official on state department of motor vehicle websites. The findings are being published in the American Journal of Transplantation.
"The short-term response was incredibly dramatic, unlike anything we had ever seen before in campaigns to increase the organ donation rate. And at the end of two weeks, the number of new organ donors was still climbing at twice the normal rate," says study leader Andrew M. Cameron, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If we can harness that excitement in the long term, then we can really start to move the needle on the big picture. The need for donor organs vastly outpaces the available supply and this could be a way to change that equation."
Over the last 20 years, despite many efforts, the number of donors has remained relatively static, while the number of people waiting for transplants has increased 10-fold. There are more than 118,000 people currently on waiting lists in the United States for kidneys, livers and other organs and thousands of these patients will die before they receive transplants. It's estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people die every year whose organs would be suitable for transplant, but because they had not consented to be donors, their organs go unused. In the United States, organs may not be removed from a deceased donor without permission from either the individual prior to death or the family at the time of a relative's death. It is believed that over time, roughly 100 million Americans have registered to donate.
By looking at data from Facebook and online motor vehicle registration websites, the researchers found that on May 1, 2012, the day the initiative began, 57,451 Facebook users updated their profiles to share their organ donor status. There were 13,012 new online donor registrations on the first day, representing a 21.2-fold increase over the average daily registration rate of 616 nationwide. Registrations varied by state, with the first-day effect in Michigan rising nearly seven-fold and with nearly 109 times as many online registrations in Georgia as on a typical day. Cameron says it was heartening to see that the states of New York and Texas, where organ donation rates are among the lowest, had some of the biggest bumps on that first day.
While the number of online registrations dropped over the following 12 days, Cameron says it was still twice the normal rate at the end of that study period. "The half-life of a movement online is often just hours," he says. "This had a very powerful, lasting effect. But we need to find a way to keep the conversation going."
While the number of declared organ donors increased, it could be decades before researchers determine whether those people ultimately donate their organs.
The Facebook organ donor project came about after Cameron, a transplant surgeon, and his Harvard University classmate and current Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg began talking about the organ shortage at their 20th college reunion in 2011. Through many conversations, the idea of having a place in the Facebook timeline for users to share organ donor status was born.
Going forward, Cameron says the key to continuing the push for more organ donors is figuring out a way to bring back some of the lost attention of those early days of the campaign and to find a way to get it to again go viral. Cameron says he has spoken to Facebook officials who are discussing relaunching it on its mobile platform, changing its prominence on the Web version or even offering incentives, such as coupons, for people who declare they are organ donors.
Cameron says that in recent years social media has shown it is not only a place for sharing what you ate for lunch or posting cute pictures of your kids. It can be an agent of social change, such as its use during the Arab Spring, after natural disasters such as the recent Oklahoma tornado, and in get-out-the-vote efforts before the recent election, he says.
"This was the first effort like this designed to mobilize people for a public health cause," he says. "Now we want to build on that. Studying the response to the organ donor effort is the next step in the process of using social media for social good."
###
Other Johns Hopkins researchers who contributed to this research include Allan B. Massie, Ph.D.; Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., D.Phil.; and Dorry L. Segev, M.D., Ph.D.
For more information:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/facebook_to_ask_users_to_share_organ_donor_status
Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $6.5 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's mission is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and more than 30 primary health care outpatient sites. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation from 1990 to 2011 by U.S. News & World Report.
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The following students were named to Western Washington University?s Honor Roll.? From Oak Harbor: KaylaMarie Carsten, 4.0; Mary Elizabeth Gnozzio; Douglas Robert Hughs, 4.0; and Molly Squires Van Dam. From Coupeville: Michael Allan Waterman. From Greenbank: Scott Jeffrey Pahre, 4.0.
A perfect match -- new UK-India research partnerships unveiledPublic release date: 14-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: EPSRC Press Office pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk 01-793-444-404 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
The growing strength of joint UK-India research was highlighted today by the announcement of 12 new collaborations in the areas of Advanced Manufacturing and Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage.
The new projects will be supported by 8.3 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Manufacturing and RCUK Energy Programme themes, with matched resources from India's Department of Science and Technology (DST). There will be seven projects in Advanced Manufacturing and five in Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage.
Announcing the funding, during UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) India Business Day Conference at Edgbaston Cricket Ground,
Birmingham, David Willetts, the UK Minister for Universities and Science said:
"Since 2008 the value of co-funded research between the UK and India has rocketed from 1 million to over 100 million. These projects will build on this already strong relationship, boosting collaboration between researchers and industry in advanced manufacturing and energy infrastructure. These are priority areas for both our countries."
"We are on track to double our trade with India by 2015 and The India Business Day is a great showcase for UKTI's commitment to supporting and encouraging a range of companies, both large and small, to do business there in the future."
"As we move towards greater use of low carbon energy generation, there will be significant differences in supply and demand patterns and management. Smart energy grids and energy storage are areas of significant potential for providing ways of managing future energy needs."
UKTI has organised The India Business Day to demonstrate to Indian technology companies that the UK has world class R&D and innovation capabilities across all key technology sectors. A number of UK universities and technology companies are also taking part in the event.
Speaking from New Delhi, Dr T Ramasami, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology added:
"DST welcomes these additions to the growing portfolio of high quality research collaborations between the UK and India.
These projects include some of the best researchers from the UK and India working alongside industry partners. We look forward to continuing collaboration with the UK in key strategic priorities such as these."
The new research grants involve over 30 industry partners from the UK and India, contributing over 1 million to the research projects. Partners include: Rolls-Royce, Bharat Heavy Electricals, E.ON, National Grid and Mott Macdonald.
The work of RCUK is supported in India by RCUK India, which is based at the British High Commission, New Delhi. It plays a key role in the facilitation of UK-India research opportunities.
The UK-India Advanced Manufacturing projects are:
Improvements in Gas Turbine Performance via Novel Plasma Spray coatings offering Protection against ingested species led by Prof T Clyne, University of Cambridge and Dr S Joshi, ARCI
Engineering Driven Sustainability Supply Networks led by Prof Sir Mike Gregory, University of Cambridge and Prof Harpreet Singh, IIT Ropar and Prof Samir Srivastava, IIM Lucknow
Modelling of Advanced Materials for Simulation of Transformative Manufacturing Processes (MAST) led by Prof V Siberschmidt, Loughborough University and Dr Pulak Mohan Pandey and Dr Sunil Jha, IIT Delhi
Development of On-Line, High Temperature, Non-Destructive Measurement/Sensing Techniques During Manufacturing of Power Plant Components led by Prof Simon Dixon, University of Warwick and Prof Krishnan Balasubramanian, Dr Prabhu Rajagopal and Prof C.V. Krishnamurthy, IIT Madras
High Deposition Rate Additive Manufacture of Complex Metal Parts (HiDepAM) led by Prof S Williams, Cranfield University and Dr. K.P. Karunakaran, IIT Bombay
Creation of a Process Understanding of Chromatographic Performance Loss During Biotherapeutic Manufacture led by Dr Daniel Bracewell, UCL and Prof Anurag S. Rathore, IIT Delhi
High-Performance Spinning Disc Atomisation Process led by Prof Y Shikhmurzaev, University of Birmingham and Dr Pankaj Doshi, NCL
The UK-India Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage projects are:
Reconfigurable Distribution Networks led by Prof Tim Green and Dr Prabodh Bajpai, Prof Avinash Sinha and Prof Debaprasad Kastha, IIT Kharagpur
Advanced Communication and Control for the Prevention of Blackouts (ACCEPT) led by Prof Vladimir Terzija, University of Manchester and Dr Nilanjan Senroy, IIT Delhi
Reliable and Efficient Systems for Community Energy Solution (RESCUES) led by Dr B Pal, Imperial College and Dr Chandan Chakraborty, IIT Kharagpur
High Energy and Power Density (HEAPD) Solutions to Large Energy Deficits led by Prof F Li, University of Bath and Prof NP Padhy, IIT Rourkee
Intelligent Microgrids with Appropriate Storage for Energy (IMASE) led by Prof Gavin Walker, Nottingham and Dr Prakash C Ghosh, IIT Bombay
Sally Catmull at the BIS Press Office, Tel: +44 (0)20 7215 6577, email: sally.catmull@bis.gsi.gov.uk
Notes to Editors:
1. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk
2. India's Department of Science & Technology plays a pivotal role in promotion of science & technology in the country. The department has wide ranging activities including the promotion of high end basic research and development of cutting edge technologies.
3. The Research Councils UK Energy Programme led by EPSRC aims to position the UK to meet its energy and environmental targets and policy goals through world-class research and training. The Energy programme is investing more than 625 million in research and skills to pioneer a low carbon future. This builds on an investment of 839 million over the past eight years. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grants funding as part of the Research Councils' UK Energy Programme.
The Energy Programme brings together the work of EPSRC and that of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
4. Research Councils UK are represented in India by RCUK India, based at the British High Commission. This initiative was co-hosted by RCUK India. RCUK India was established in 2008 with an aim to facilitate research partnerships and enable the best researchers in the UK and India to develop high-quality, high impact collaborations.
5. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils who annually invest around 3 billion in research. We support excellent research, as judged by peer review that has an impact on the growth, prosperity and wellbeing of the UK. To maintain the UK's global research position we offer a diverse range of funding opportunities, foster international collaborations and provide access to the best facilities and infrastructure around the world. We also support the training and career development of researchers and work with them to inspire young people and engage the wider public with research. To maximise the impact of research on economic growth and societal wellbeing we work in partnership with other research funders including the Technology Strategy Board, the UK Higher Education Funding Councils, business, government, and charitable organisations.
The seven UK Research Councils are:
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
6. The Government's economic policy objective is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.' It set four ambitions in the 'Plan for Growth' (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
7. Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
8. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK's economy acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit http://www.ukti.gov.uk or visit the online newsroom at http://www.ukti.gov.uk/media.
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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.
A perfect match -- new UK-India research partnerships unveiledPublic release date: 14-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: EPSRC Press Office pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk 01-793-444-404 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
The growing strength of joint UK-India research was highlighted today by the announcement of 12 new collaborations in the areas of Advanced Manufacturing and Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage.
The new projects will be supported by 8.3 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Manufacturing and RCUK Energy Programme themes, with matched resources from India's Department of Science and Technology (DST). There will be seven projects in Advanced Manufacturing and five in Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage.
Announcing the funding, during UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) India Business Day Conference at Edgbaston Cricket Ground,
Birmingham, David Willetts, the UK Minister for Universities and Science said:
"Since 2008 the value of co-funded research between the UK and India has rocketed from 1 million to over 100 million. These projects will build on this already strong relationship, boosting collaboration between researchers and industry in advanced manufacturing and energy infrastructure. These are priority areas for both our countries."
"We are on track to double our trade with India by 2015 and The India Business Day is a great showcase for UKTI's commitment to supporting and encouraging a range of companies, both large and small, to do business there in the future."
"As we move towards greater use of low carbon energy generation, there will be significant differences in supply and demand patterns and management. Smart energy grids and energy storage are areas of significant potential for providing ways of managing future energy needs."
UKTI has organised The India Business Day to demonstrate to Indian technology companies that the UK has world class R&D and innovation capabilities across all key technology sectors. A number of UK universities and technology companies are also taking part in the event.
Speaking from New Delhi, Dr T Ramasami, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Science and Technology added:
"DST welcomes these additions to the growing portfolio of high quality research collaborations between the UK and India.
These projects include some of the best researchers from the UK and India working alongside industry partners. We look forward to continuing collaboration with the UK in key strategic priorities such as these."
The new research grants involve over 30 industry partners from the UK and India, contributing over 1 million to the research projects. Partners include: Rolls-Royce, Bharat Heavy Electricals, E.ON, National Grid and Mott Macdonald.
The work of RCUK is supported in India by RCUK India, which is based at the British High Commission, New Delhi. It plays a key role in the facilitation of UK-India research opportunities.
The UK-India Advanced Manufacturing projects are:
Improvements in Gas Turbine Performance via Novel Plasma Spray coatings offering Protection against ingested species led by Prof T Clyne, University of Cambridge and Dr S Joshi, ARCI
Engineering Driven Sustainability Supply Networks led by Prof Sir Mike Gregory, University of Cambridge and Prof Harpreet Singh, IIT Ropar and Prof Samir Srivastava, IIM Lucknow
Modelling of Advanced Materials for Simulation of Transformative Manufacturing Processes (MAST) led by Prof V Siberschmidt, Loughborough University and Dr Pulak Mohan Pandey and Dr Sunil Jha, IIT Delhi
Development of On-Line, High Temperature, Non-Destructive Measurement/Sensing Techniques During Manufacturing of Power Plant Components led by Prof Simon Dixon, University of Warwick and Prof Krishnan Balasubramanian, Dr Prabhu Rajagopal and Prof C.V. Krishnamurthy, IIT Madras
High Deposition Rate Additive Manufacture of Complex Metal Parts (HiDepAM) led by Prof S Williams, Cranfield University and Dr. K.P. Karunakaran, IIT Bombay
Creation of a Process Understanding of Chromatographic Performance Loss During Biotherapeutic Manufacture led by Dr Daniel Bracewell, UCL and Prof Anurag S. Rathore, IIT Delhi
High-Performance Spinning Disc Atomisation Process led by Prof Y Shikhmurzaev, University of Birmingham and Dr Pankaj Doshi, NCL
The UK-India Smart Energy Grids and Energy Storage projects are:
Reconfigurable Distribution Networks led by Prof Tim Green and Dr Prabodh Bajpai, Prof Avinash Sinha and Prof Debaprasad Kastha, IIT Kharagpur
Advanced Communication and Control for the Prevention of Blackouts (ACCEPT) led by Prof Vladimir Terzija, University of Manchester and Dr Nilanjan Senroy, IIT Delhi
Reliable and Efficient Systems for Community Energy Solution (RESCUES) led by Dr B Pal, Imperial College and Dr Chandan Chakraborty, IIT Kharagpur
High Energy and Power Density (HEAPD) Solutions to Large Energy Deficits led by Prof F Li, University of Bath and Prof NP Padhy, IIT Rourkee
Intelligent Microgrids with Appropriate Storage for Energy (IMASE) led by Prof Gavin Walker, Nottingham and Dr Prakash C Ghosh, IIT Bombay
Sally Catmull at the BIS Press Office, Tel: +44 (0)20 7215 6577, email: sally.catmull@bis.gsi.gov.uk
Notes to Editors:
1. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. http://www.epsrc.ac.uk
2. India's Department of Science & Technology plays a pivotal role in promotion of science & technology in the country. The department has wide ranging activities including the promotion of high end basic research and development of cutting edge technologies.
3. The Research Councils UK Energy Programme led by EPSRC aims to position the UK to meet its energy and environmental targets and policy goals through world-class research and training. The Energy programme is investing more than 625 million in research and skills to pioneer a low carbon future. This builds on an investment of 839 million over the past eight years. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grants funding as part of the Research Councils' UK Energy Programme.
The Energy Programme brings together the work of EPSRC and that of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
4. Research Councils UK are represented in India by RCUK India, based at the British High Commission. This initiative was co-hosted by RCUK India. RCUK India was established in 2008 with an aim to facilitate research partnerships and enable the best researchers in the UK and India to develop high-quality, high impact collaborations.
5. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils who annually invest around 3 billion in research. We support excellent research, as judged by peer review that has an impact on the growth, prosperity and wellbeing of the UK. To maintain the UK's global research position we offer a diverse range of funding opportunities, foster international collaborations and provide access to the best facilities and infrastructure around the world. We also support the training and career development of researchers and work with them to inspire young people and engage the wider public with research. To maximise the impact of research on economic growth and societal wellbeing we work in partnership with other research funders including the Technology Strategy Board, the UK Higher Education Funding Councils, business, government, and charitable organisations.
The seven UK Research Councils are:
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
6. The Government's economic policy objective is to achieve 'strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.' It set four ambitions in the 'Plan for Growth' (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
7. Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
8. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK's economy acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit http://www.ukti.gov.uk or visit the online newsroom at http://www.ukti.gov.uk/media.
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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.
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