Bake one pie crust. Roll out the second pie crust and cut out a dozen small (1-1/2- to 2-inch) stars. Chill 30 minutes or longer if possible. Place them on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Reserve. (This can be done while you are prebaking the pie crust.)
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, apples, and cranberries and gently stir to mix well and let the sugar dissolve. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped and the fruit is tender but the apples still have some body.
Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and reserve. Bring the juices to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until they reduce and become thick and jammy, about 8 minutes. Stir the fruit into the thickened juice. Taste to be sure it is sweet enough, adding more sugar if necessary. If it is runny, boil down until the juices are reduced and thickened. The filling may be made ahead to this point several days or frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to use, reheat. Spoon the filling into the prebaked shell. Decorate the top with the stars. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Yield
Serves 8 to 12
Cook Time
Prep Time: 15 mins. Cook Time: 10 mins.
Nutrition information is provided as a resource. Values will vary depending on specific ingredients used.
Serving Size: 1
Number of Servings: Serves 8 to 12
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 432 Calories from Fat: 171
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g
29%
Carbohydrates 87g
29%
Dietary Fiber 9g
36%
Saturated Fat 15g
75%
Calories 432kcal
21%
Cholesterol 38mg
12%
Protein 10g
16%
Sodium 51mg
2%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Myanmar awards cell phone contracts to Norwegian Telenor and Qatari Ooredoo.
By Katherine Jacobsen,?Contributor / June 28, 2013
President Barack Obama listens as Myanmar's President Thein Sein speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in May 2013. Thein Sein is the first Myanmar president to be welcomed to the White House in almost 47 years.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Enlarge
Myanmar, also known as Burma, announced the two winners of a bidding contents for its nationwide cellphone contracts. The move will give Norwegian Telenor and Qatari Ooredoo access to one of Asia?s last untapped cellular markets.
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The Myanmar?government?s Thursday announcement is part of its effort to raise the country?s cellphone penetration rate to 50 percent by 2016. Currently, an estimated 9 percent of Myanmar's?nearly 60 million people have access to mobile devices.
The 15-year wireless license begins in September.
According to a report by consulting firm?McKinsey & Company, making technology readily available in Myanmar?is the first step toward building an environment that can attract strong international investment.?
The rapid introduction of consumer cellphones that the government has planned will signal a great change for Myanmar. Filmmaker Robert Lieberman remembers the difficulties of getting a cellphone in Burma five years ago, when he began working on his documentary, ?They Call It Myanmar.?
?I would call somebody and hang up, and then they would call me back,? he says. As a foreigner in 2008, Mr. Lieberman could spend $20 to buy a SIM card (the chip that allows most cellphones to connect to a company's cellular network), but then the number stopped working after the $20 ran out. Texting wasn?t even an option, he says. Back then, it was about $1,500 to get a cellphone if you were Burmese.
By 2012, the price had dropped to $250, and as of April, government issued SIM cards are sold for $1.60. But the cards can only be obtained through a lottery system, and the average daily wage is about $2, he says, meaning that SIM cards are still a rare luxury item.?
?The country is so poor, people can barely feed their families,? Lieberman says. The idea that more than 50 percent of the population would have a cellphone by 2016, as the government has promised, strikes Lieberman as ?unrealistic unless the economy changes.?
The introduction of foreign cellphone companies to Myanmar??reflects the commercial opening of Burma to outside investors,? says Bob Dietz, the Asia Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
?More technology could mean more openness and freedom in Burma, but it doesn?t have to,? Mr. Dietz says.
China's state-run media today blamed around 100 people it branded as "terrorists" for sparking 'riots' in the ethnically-divided region of Xinjiang, where clashes killed 35 days earlier.
The riot took place in the prefecture of Hotan yesterday, where the group "(attacked) a number of people with weapons after gathering at local religious venues," the state-run Global Times said today.
The latest incident followed clashes on Wednesday that were the deadliest to hit the western desert region -- home to around 10 million members of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority -- since 2009, when riots killed around 200 people.
It also quoted a source as saying police opened fire on Uighurs as they left a local mosque.
"Young Uighurs on motorcycles were leaving the mosque, they were shouting religious slogans...The police were frightened and started shooting at them ... At least two died and one was injured," the report said.
A state-run news website, Tianshan Web, said that no members of the public had been killed or injured, without stating whether police or government staff had died.
China's President Xi Jinping said following the attacks that "(the incidents) must be handled quickly to guarantee the general stability of the society," Tianshan Web reported today.
China often labels outbreaks of sporadic unrest in the region as terrorism -- claims denied by Uighur rights groups who blame unrest on economic inequality and religious repression.
It was not possible to verify details of Wednesday's clash independently as reporters were barred from entering the town detained and later followed by local police. The Uyghur American Association, run by exiled members of the minority, said a "blackout of news" on attacks in the region cast doubt on Chinese government claims in a statement released today.
"The state then uses its propaganda apparatus to label the incident 'terrorism' without presenting any evidence that can be independently proved," the group said. The recent unrest occurred shortly before the anniversary of the 2009 riots, and ahead of celebrations for the Muslim Ramadan festival -- which Uighurs have said are repressed by local authorities.
On October 7, 2005, Google engineer Chris Wetherell launched Google Reader and changed the way we consume news. A stripped-down, simple design with infinite news customizability quickly made Reader the king of the RSS world.
For years, though, the company has shown signs of forsaking its RSS application. In 2008, Google's new web browser, Chrome, didn't render RSS feeds, and in 2011 the company removed Reader's social functions entirely in an attempt to lure users to Google Plus. After the March 13 announcement of Reader's demise, Google offered a three-month sunset period for users?a tidy RSS severance package. That grace period just ended.
Google Reader officially expires on Monday, July 1. But where one reader dies, many thrive?and tech companies have rushed to fill the void. RSS newsreaders, such as Reeder, Press, and Newsify, have stuck deals to integrate with other aggregators' API. Facebook even announced its own reader earlier this week, though it looks to reimagine the experience rather than replicate it.
Here are a few alternatives that will continue to help give order to web chaos.
Feedly
After Google's announcement, Feedly emerged as one of the early frontrunners to replace Reader and grabbed 3 million new users in just a couple of weeks. With more than 12 million users, Feedly announced last week that its back end infrastructure is open to many newsreaders with its cloud API.
Importing Google feeds into Feedly is simple. It takes just one touch of a button. Also, if you're using a third-party reader that's supported by Feedly, transition from Reader to Feedly should be relatively pain-free.
The application's customizable interface allows users to ape the Reader experience and create a magazine-style front page or other image-heavy designs. Feedly cofounder Cyril Moutran also mentioned that the company is exploring a premium option that will be available for power users.
Although Feedly offers an update to the traditional reader experience, there are a few annoyances?most notably, clicking photos forces Pinterest integration instead of linking to the original source. But even this is easily fixed after a quick trip to the aggregator's preferences.
Digg Reader
The developers at Digg turned around a competitive aggregator in just 90 days. A week before the July 1 Google Reader shutdown, Digg gave access to its beta reader so users could import their feeds. For the most part, Digg's "all feed" interface mimics the structure of Google Reader and includes a similar collection of keyboard shortcuts. The application also allows seamless transition between list and expanded views to appease any kind of newsreader.
One advantage Digg Reader has is the tech powerhouse behind it. Digg's current owner, Betaworks, is home to a suite of applications such as Tapestry, Instapaper, and Bit.ly. However, President Andrew McLaughlin has stated that Digg has no interest in favoritism and will also offer the same service to other outside apps within its reader.
Digg Reader allows you to sign in with Facebook, Twitter, and Google. One standalone feature is the Digg.com integration that helps curate trending stories for the user. Whatever you digg becomes its own feed, which you can make public or private.
Digg Reader is still in beta and rolling out users slowly. It's still missing some key functionality?search function, tagging, other service integration?but for something that's only 90 days old, it's hard to argue with the results.
The Other Challengers
AOL's bid into the RSS race is an elegant, straightforward solution to any aggregation woes. A muted blue and gray display and a similar interface as Google Reader might be a good option for anyone who likes their reader stripped down and simple. Of course, it similarly lacks a search function, which will hopefully be fixed in the days to come. http://techland.time.com/2013/06/24/aol-reader-is-a-slightly-better-slightly-worse-version-of-google-reader/
The Old Reader was designed in reaction to Google as well, specifically when Google Reader dropped its sharing features in 2011. It also has a user-friendly interface, and it's simple to transfer subscription from Google Reader through exporting an XML document using Google Takeout. The Old Reader isn't quite as fast as some other feed options when navigating among feeds, so speed readers might be subject to mild frustration.
NewsBlur's interface is a little busier than other RSS readers, but it has an impressive folder system that makes navigation simple. However, Newsblur is a freemium application, and only its paid service ($24 a month) offers unlimited number of sites and more frequent updates. If you stick with the free service, you'll have to wait in line.
Still haven't found the perfect match? Try InoReader, Netvibes, or, for a completely different experience, Flipboard.
In this June 25, 2013 photo provided by the United Nations, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks to reporters at her final news conference at the U.N. headquarters. Rice, who will start her new job as U.S. national security adviser on July 1, said the U.N. Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict in Syria is "a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly." (AP Photo/United Nations Photo, Devra Berkowitz)
In this June 25, 2013 photo provided by the United Nations, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice speaks to reporters at her final news conference at the U.N. headquarters. Rice, who will start her new job as U.S. national security adviser on July 1, said the U.N. Security Council's failure to take action to stop the conflict in Syria is "a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly." (AP Photo/United Nations Photo, Devra Berkowitz)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice dismissed claims that Edward Snowden's highly classified leaks have weakened the Obama presidency and damaged U.S. foreign policy, insisting that the United States will remain "the most influential, powerful and important country in the world."
Rice's remarks were her only public ones on Snowden and came in an interview with The Associated Press as she prepared to leave the U.N. post and start her new job Monday as President Barack Obama's national security adviser.
She said it's too soon to judge whether there will be any long-term serious repercussions from the intelligence leaks by the former National Security Agency contractor who fled to Hong Kong and then Russia after seizing documents disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs in the U.S. and overseas, which he has shared with The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
"I don't think the diplomatic consequences, at least as they are foreseeable now, are that significant," she said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have called Snowden's leaks a serious breach that damaged national security. Hagel said Thursday an assessment of the damage is being done now.
"There will always be difficult issues of the day," Rice said, "and frankly this period is not particularly unique."
"I think the Snowden thing is obviously something that we will get through, as we've gotten through all the issues like this in the past," she said in the interview Thursday before heading to a lunch in her honor hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The United States has charged Snowden with espionage and demanded his extradition, but China and Hong Kong let him fly to Moscow and the Russians have so far refused. The Snowden case has not only raised tensions with Moscow and Beijing but with many Americans concerned about the NSA collecting their Internet and phone data.
Rice dismissed commentators who say Snowden's disclosures have made Obama a lame duck, damaged his political base, and hurt U.S. foreign policy, saying: "I think that's bunk."
"I think the United States of America is and will remain the most influential, powerful and important country in the world, the largest economy, and the largest military, (with) a network of alliances, values that are universally respected," she said.
Rice said Obama has "significant ambitions and a real agenda" for his second term, pointing to major speeches last week on disarmament and nonproliferation and this week on the impact of climate change.
As for Snowden, she said, "It's often, if not always something, and U.S. leadership will continue to be unrivaled, demanded, expected ? and reviled and appreciated around the world."
Rice, 48, is expected to bring her outspoken and aggressive negotiating style to her new, higher-profile job.
At the United Nations, she has been a bold and blunt ambassador, successfully pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran and North Korea and international intervention in Libya. But Libya ultimately caused her greatest professional disappointment when she became the face of the administration's bungled account of the terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
The furor scuttled Rice's long-held hopes of becoming secretary of state when it became clear she would not gain Senate confirmation to that post, which went to John Kerry.
Rice has called her 4 1/2 years at the U.N. "the best job I ever had," and told The AP she would be "hard-pressed" to think of any better place to prepare for her new post.
"You get to deal with ... literally every country under the sun, and I think you get a unique feel for the orientations, interests, styles, of a wide, wide range of countries," she said.
To succeed at the U.N., Rice said, it's crucial to form alliances and coalitions, which change depending on the issue, so a friend one day can be an opponent the next day.
Rice has sparred repeatedly with Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who can be equally blunt. But despite being on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, which has paralyzed council action to end the fighting, Rice said they agree perhaps 85 percent of the time.
"I like and respect him," she said. "I think he likes and respects me, and it's been a good relationship. That's why I asked him to speak at my farewell. I asked people who were important to me. He's a very smart and a very funny guy and he can be a pain in the butt, too ? and I tell him that to his face!"
At the farewell, Churkin delivered an off-the-record roast of Rice, without notes, that had some 300 diplomats, U.N. officials and journalists doubled-over in laughter.
The Syrian conflict will be near the top of Rice's agenda in Washington as will the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Rice said the result of Iran's presidential election earlier this month, a victory for Hasan Rouhani, a moderate who supports direct talks with Washington, "was a dramatic demonstration of the Iranian peoples' dissatisfaction with the status quo."
"To the extent that the leadership feels obliged to heed popular opinion ? obviously we would hope they would ? it may perhaps signal a readiness to move in a different direction, and if so, we would welcome it," she said.
Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey star in "House of Cards," a favorite for binge-watching since all the episodes were put up on Netflix on the same day.
Ever sat down with a stack of DVDs or a queue of online TV episodes and watched till your eyes glazed over? If so, you've indulged in "binge-watching," a mostly harmless, and definitely enjoyable, addiction.
"Experts say TV binging is a lot like other pleasure activities like eating or drinking or sex," NBC's Kate Snow said on TODAY. "As you devour the next episode of your favorite show, your mind releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter that causes the feeling of pleasure ... while the forebrain provides checks and balances to guard against overindulgence."
Nearly 80 percent of U.S. adults with Internet access watch TV through subscription services like Netflix or Hulu or other on-demand sources, and 62 percent watch multiple episodes back-to-back.
"Content providers like Netflix are building business models around it, offering original series like 'House of Cards' only available on their service all at once," Snow notes.
Like anything, binge-watching can be abused. "Anything that causes pleasure is potentially abusable when matched up against the ability of your forebrain to regulate it," said Dr. Richard Rosenthal of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York. But unlike truly addictive substances, binge-watching doesn't carry with it the negative consequences of other habits.
And if you invest in the right companies, it can be profitable as well. Stock for both Netflix and Dreamworks recently jumped following the announcement of a new partnership between the two for 300 hours of original programming, which guarantees to be ripe for binge watching, Snow said.
Apple, eager to find a manufacturing partner who isn't also their chief rival, Samsung, has apparently finally come to a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to start taking over at least some of their chipset production. Jessica E. Lessin, Lorraine Luk and Juro Osawa, writing for the Wall Street Journal report:
Apple is finding that breaking up with Samsung is hard to do. For evidence, look no further than Apple Inc.'s effort to find a company other than ferocious rival Samsung Electronics Co. to make the sophisticated chip brains used in Apple's iPads and iPhones. This month, after years of technical delays, Apple finally signed a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.. to make some of the chips starting in 2014, according to a TSMC executive. The process had been beset by glitches preventing the chips from meeting Apple's speed and power standards, TSMC officials said.
Much like Google, who partnered with Apple on the iPhone only to learn their approach and ultimately compete against them with Android, Samsung built parts of Apple's mobile business only to learn how to make their own, Galaxy-branded devices. Having partners less likely to enter into competition with them is likely high on Apple's must-do list these days, and while it doesn't sound like TSMC will be doing the heavy chipset lifting, at least for a while still, that they're beginning is in and of itself interesting.
Smart move or foolish move? Should Apple get the best parts from the best providers, or is doing business with a competitor simply untenable?
With new gTLDs due to start appearing on the web, it?s time again for brand owners to stop and think about their domain strategy.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the body?responsible for managing and coordinating the Internet?s Domain Name System, last week made a surprise announcement that the first new gTLD could go live in the internet as early as August 28?2013 and we may see the first registrations from?September 28.
The new generic top-level domain?program will enable the introduction of new gTLDs into the domain name space.?
Within the next two years the internet will grow from having its existing 22 TLDs; .com, .net, .org ?etc. to over 1,000 extensions including .nyc, .bank, .secure, .app, .book.? This equates to potentially 10 new domain extensions every week being introduced to the Internet.
According to ICANN, the increase in number of TLDs is not expected to negatively effect the stability and security of the internet.?However many search engine optimisation (SEO) experts suspect it could have a significant impact on the way searchers use the internet and consequently have big implications for online businesses.
At present, the true nature of how search engines will handle these new gTLDs still remains uncertain, meaning brands, online businesses and consumers are left in the dark thinking about how Internet search may evolve.?
However, there are some clues and forward thinking strategies starting to emerge.
Changes happening to existing ccTLDs
With so many small and large algorithm updates happening daily, it?s hard for internet experts to isolate which ones are going to stay and which adjustments are tests or temporary.
At this point, Google appears to have updated its algorithm to start treating some Country-Level Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) as generic and thus equally to domains like .com.
Previously those with popular TLDs such as .com appeared to have been given more weight in international search. Google has now added the likes of .co, .dj, .fm, .la, .me and .tv. to the same category as TLDs ?such as .com. ?
This means if you?re using a ccTLD that has now been classified as generic by Google, such as .la (Laos) you will start to see more traffic from outside of your country code.
However, if you're using an extension that is still classified by Google as a country code you should not expect to see much traffic from outside of your host country.?
Some search experts believe that this change signals to us that Google may be intending to give more weight to the new gTLDs in the future.?
How could this change affect businesses?
The likes of .com have long been expensive for some smaller firms to acquire on the secondary market if the domain had already been registered and many have therefore gone with more regionally focused domains.?
So this search change will be a welcome boost to brands that want international traffic, but decided to go for a ccTLD rather than invest in a top level domains bought on the secondary market.?
How could these gTLDs change searchers' experience of the internet?
How these changes affect consumers really depends on exclusivity. Whether the successful applicant for these new extensions has to offer registrations outside of their own organisation is still to be determined by ICANN.
As consumers get to grips with how to use new gTLDS we could see the rise of a whole range of niche gTLD led search engines where consumers search for content relevant to that gTLD, or the geographic region.
So if someone is looking for information specific to a region like Tokyo they could limit their search purely to .Tokyo sites or if they are looking for movie related content they may well chose to search only .movie sites.
Now this not only presents the opportunity for consumers to find the content they are looking for quicker, but also location-based extensions like .tokyo could develop into location tags, helping to push local SEO that bit further by providing websites with another way to geographically target audiences.?
This would provide an advantage to businesses who seek out regional customers.?
What should businesses be thinking about ahead of these new gTLD?s going live?
The roll-out of new commercial gTLDs will be rapid and brand owners need to be ready. They need to start planning and structuring their online presence in this new internet.?
If the new gTLDs are adopted, used and accepted among businesses and consumers, they?ll open up new premium names at targeted domain extensions, potentially creating an opportunity for businesses to get in on names they may have had to pay large amounts for in the past.?
Cybersquatting concerns with new gTLDs
The potential for cybersquatting is somewhat mitigated by the introduction of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) mechanism put in place. TMCH is crucial to protect the rights of brands in the new gTLD program.
All new gTLDs will have to implement agreed rights protection mechanisms, supported by the Trademark Clearinghouse. It was developed to allow brand owners to submit their trademark data into one centralized database, prior to and during the launch of new gTLDs.
TMCH will help owners of registered trademarks to participate in the Sunrise (pre-launch) periods for any of the new gTLDs in which they meet the registration requirements.
TMCH will also allow Trademark holders the option of being notified when someone registers a domain name that matches their record in the Clearinghouse during Sunrise and, as a minimum, the first 60 days of general availability.
No need to panic yet
Despite the trademark mechanism, it would be prudent to anticipate a lot of cybersquatting and a lucrative aftermarket buying and selling domain names. ?
Every brand owner needs to be clear about which trademarks they will lodge in the TMCH, and which terms and suffixes they will or will not register. In order to do so, every brand owner and business alike needs to take a look at their corporate IP assets together with its business direction going forward.
ICANN has been plagued by delays and obstacles since the inception of the new gTLDs program. With so much uncertainty and questions surrounding when these new extensions will actually be available, it appears to be a desperate measure by ICANN to try and bring the program back on track.
I'm sceptical that things will go according to plan but if it does go ahead smoothly the first gTLD, although at an advantage for being the first mover, will also be under serious pressure as they will be in the spotlight and a guinea pig in many ways. Whatever happens, the program is still moving forward so it?s just a waiting game now.
These new gTLDs have the potential to change search as we know it, and if done right, could even make quality content easier to find, but until search engines become more vocal about how they intend to handle them and until ICANN determines which ones are to be exclusive to the owners, the future of internet search remains uncertain.
Study sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience
A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows, that our imagination may affect how we experience the world more than we perhaps think. What we imagine hearing or seeing "in our head" can change our actual perception. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Current Biology, sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience about how our brains combine information from the different senses.
"We often think about the things we imagine and the things we perceive as being clearly dissociable," says Christopher Berger, doctoral student at the Department of Neuroscience and lead author of the study. "However, what this study shows is that our imagination of a sound or a shape changes how we perceive the world around us in the same way actually hearing that sound or seeing that shape does. Specifically, we found that what we imagine hearing can change what we actually see, and what we imagine seeing can change what we actually hear."
The study consists of a series of experiments that make use of illusions in which sensory information from one sense changes or distorts one's perception of another sense. Ninety-six healthy volunteers participated in total.
In the first experiment, participants experienced the illusion that two passing objects collided rather than passed by one-another when they imagined a sound at the moment the two objects met. In a second experiment, the participants' spatial perception of a sound was biased towards a location where they imagined seeing the brief appearance of a white circle. In the third experiment, the participants' perception of what a person was saying was changed by their imagination of a particular sound.
According to the scientists, the results of the current study may be useful in understanding the mechanisms by which the brain fails to distinguish between thought and reality in certain psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Another area of use could be research on brain computer interfaces, where paralyzed individuals' imagination is used to control virtual and artificial devices.
"This is the first set of experiments to definitively establish that the sensory signals generated by one's imagination are strong enough to change one's real-world perception of a different sensory modality" says Professor Henrik Ehrsson, the principle investigator behind the study.
###
This study was funded by the European Research Council, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, and the Sderberg Foundation.
Publication: 'Mental imagery changes multisensory perception', Christopher C. Berger & H. Henrik Ehrsson, Current Biology, online 27 June 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.012. Embargoed until Thursday 27 June 2013 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) US Eastern Time / 18:00 CET / 17:00 UK Time.
More about Henrik Ehrsson's research: http://www.ehrssonlab.se
Contact the Press Office and download images: ki.se/pressroom
Karolinska Institutet a medical university: ki.se/english
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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.
Imagination can change what we hear and seePublic release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Study sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience
A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows, that our imagination may affect how we experience the world more than we perhaps think. What we imagine hearing or seeing "in our head" can change our actual perception. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Current Biology, sheds new light on a classic question in psychology and neuroscience about how our brains combine information from the different senses.
"We often think about the things we imagine and the things we perceive as being clearly dissociable," says Christopher Berger, doctoral student at the Department of Neuroscience and lead author of the study. "However, what this study shows is that our imagination of a sound or a shape changes how we perceive the world around us in the same way actually hearing that sound or seeing that shape does. Specifically, we found that what we imagine hearing can change what we actually see, and what we imagine seeing can change what we actually hear."
The study consists of a series of experiments that make use of illusions in which sensory information from one sense changes or distorts one's perception of another sense. Ninety-six healthy volunteers participated in total.
In the first experiment, participants experienced the illusion that two passing objects collided rather than passed by one-another when they imagined a sound at the moment the two objects met. In a second experiment, the participants' spatial perception of a sound was biased towards a location where they imagined seeing the brief appearance of a white circle. In the third experiment, the participants' perception of what a person was saying was changed by their imagination of a particular sound.
According to the scientists, the results of the current study may be useful in understanding the mechanisms by which the brain fails to distinguish between thought and reality in certain psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Another area of use could be research on brain computer interfaces, where paralyzed individuals' imagination is used to control virtual and artificial devices.
"This is the first set of experiments to definitively establish that the sensory signals generated by one's imagination are strong enough to change one's real-world perception of a different sensory modality" says Professor Henrik Ehrsson, the principle investigator behind the study.
###
This study was funded by the European Research Council, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, and the Sderberg Foundation.
Publication: 'Mental imagery changes multisensory perception', Christopher C. Berger & H. Henrik Ehrsson, Current Biology, online 27 June 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.012. Embargoed until Thursday 27 June 2013 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) US Eastern Time / 18:00 CET / 17:00 UK Time.
More about Henrik Ehrsson's research: http://www.ehrssonlab.se
Contact the Press Office and download images: ki.se/pressroom
Karolinska Institutet a medical university: ki.se/english
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Jos?Vice President, Namadi Sambo, yesterday, declared that democracy cannot survive without strong political parties.
He stated this at the commissioning of the Political Party Leadership and Development Centre of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPPS, Kuru, Plateau State.
Represented by the Special Adviser, Political Matters in his office, Senator Isaiah Balat, Sambo said, although the tendency has been to pay more attention to governmental bodies and civic institutions, political parties actually oil the democratic wheel.
Sambo said: ?More concern is often shown to the establishment of governmental bodies and civic organisation, while little attention is paid to the development of strong political parties. Although both of the civil societies and other government bodies are important in every nation but without strong and dynamic political parties democracy cannot survive in the long run.?
?Political parties may decline overtime if they do not make conscious efforts to strengthen themselves. Leaders of the parties owe themselves the obligation to take advantage of opportunities offered by this centre for self-improvement.
?Leadership is developed through a never ending process of self study, education, training and experience to inspire us. As tomorrow?s leaders there are certain things we must be, know and do. These do not come naturally but are rather acquired through continuous work and training.?
He said, although politics, politicians and political parties are negatively viewed by the public, politics still remain a noble pursuit as it is about serving the public and improving the lives of citizens.
He restated the commitment of the Jonathan?s administration to the cause of free, fair and credible elections, adding that the establishment of the centre is an opportunity to raise the capacity of political parties to play their own role in achieving and sustaining the objective.
Look, you said you wanted pure Android. You said custom skins were always second best. Well, today's the day to show Samsung and HTC that you're not just all talk. The two best Google-powered phones on the market, Samsung's Galaxy S 4 and HTC's One, are now available directly from the Play Store running an unadulterated version of the OS. The One will set you back $599 and it comes with 32GB of non-expandable storage. Samsung's GS 4 is a bit more expensive at $649, and you get only 16GB of space, but you'll be able to augment that with a microSD card. Both devices support AT&T's and T-Mobile's respective 4G LTE networks and are fully unlocked. Unfortunately, you can't buy either of these if you live outside the US, at least not yet. We have a hands-on with these two mythicalcreatures up now.
June 24, 2013 ? How is it that a complex organism evolves from a pile of dead matter? How can lifeless materials become organic molecules that are the bricks of animals and plants? Scientists have been trying to answer these questions for ages. Researchers at the Max Planck Institut f?r Kohlenforschung have now disclosed the secret of a reaction that has to do with the synthesis of complex organic matter before the origin of life.
Since the 1960's it has been well known that when concentrated hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is irradiated by UV light, it forms an imidazole intermediate that is a key substance for synthesis of nucleobases and nucleotides in abiotic environment. The way how UV radiation acts in this reaction to produce complex organic matter was, however, never clarified. Dr. Mario Barbatti and his colleagues in Germany, India and Czech Republic have now shown how this process occurs via computer simulations.
Using diverse computational-chemistry methods, the team has arrived at astonishing conclusions: For example that the reaction does not take place in the hot spot created by the solar radiation. "This has nothing to do with heat, but with electrons," says Mario Barbatti.
The reaction proceeds through a series of electronically excited intermediates. The molecules get into the "electronic excited state" because of the UV radiation, which means that their electrons are distributed in a much different way than the usual. That changes the molecule's attitudes. "But this takes some time," says Mario Barbatti. They showed that the radiation energy is dissipated too fast, and because of that each reactant molecule absorbs hundreds of UV photons before it finally gets converted into the imidazole intermediate.
"This is very inefficient -- and quite extraordinary," says Mario Barbatti. That is why it was quite challenging to comprehend the reaction, explains the physicist from Brazil. He and his colleagues have calculated a lot of possible intermediates, tried -- and discarded most of them. Finally they found out that there is only one single pathway that is consistent with the fast energy dissipation and previous experimental observations.
But why did they work on the computer? Isn't it the case that chemical reactions are worked on in laboratories? "Some intermediates are too elusive to analyze them in the laboratory -- they disappear before we may see them," Barbatti explains. Computational Chemistry allows the scientists to comprehend the reactions in a theoretical way.
"As I said before, this reaction has nothing to do with heat," says Barbatti. The transformation works in a cold environment, as in comets and in terrestrial ices, where spontaneous HCN polymerization is most expected to occur.
The team has published their results, which help to understand the role of solar radiation on the origin of life, in the recent issue of Angewandte Chemie.
THINK AGAIN: Investors should take another look at finance companies, says UDC chief executive Tessa Price.
The reputation?of debenture shares as investment security took a body blow in the wake of the global financial crisis and New Zealand's finance company failures, but UDC chief executive Tessa Price says it's time for investors to think again.
Price said the finance companies that failed were not well managed and in some cases there was fraudulent activity, but that shouldn't stop people from investing in them now, particularly as a new regulatory regime now governs the sector.
Since 2008, the Non Bank Deposit Takers regime has been administered by the Reserve Bank, which has limited related party dealings in finance companies, and imposed capital requirements and risk management practices.
UDC, owned by ANZ, is largely debenture financed by a $1.5 billion investment book, she said. This is backed by a line of credit to ANZ.
And business is good and getting better.
UDC specialises in vehicle and asset finance for farmers, small businesses and the construction industry.
Price said such asset finance is often a leading indicator of how the economy is performing.
If that's the case, things are on the improve.
At the annual Fieldays expo near Hamilton this month, UDC signed 36 commercial deals, compared with just seven last year. Vehicle deals increased 78 per cent.
Not everyone signs up on the spot, though. There are $3.6 million of commercial deals in the pipeline and a further $10m expected in the next couple of weeks.
"Last year wasn't as strong as we'd like," Price said. "This year the sentiment was totally changed."
UDC worked hard to ensure its Fieldays outing was a success, processing pre-approval vouchers for farmers and others intent on going there to buy.
The event also produced good quality leads in agriculture and construction, and new dealer and distributor connections, she said.
"If agricultural dealers are saying they are cautiously optimistic it means the world's on fire - they are very humble and thoughtful."
Tractor and machinery distribution group C B Norwood Distributors is also reporting positive results. General manager Tim Myers said it was an excellent show for Norwood. While he felt overall attendee numbers were down on last year, the number of qualified leads generated was up 20 per cent.
"They were proper leads, not tyre-kickers," he said. "The people that were there were interested in doing business."
Fieldays also saw UDC fielding inquiries from investors wanting to place money in UDC's investment book, mostly over $100,000 and in one case $500,000.
"Last year we didn't see that," Price said.
Price said new lending in the first half of 2013 is ahead of target and 5.4 per cent up on the same period in 2012. Meanwhile, non-performing loans have decreased by 29 per cent year-on-year.
UDC's accounts for that period show interest income was flat at $88.7m but profit after tax increased to $23.8m from $18.7m, largely due to lower interest expense, which fell from $45.4m to $41.9m.
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? State police officers and dogs searched the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez again Saturday as they continue to investigate the killing of a semi-pro football player whose body was found about a mile away.
The search of Hernandez's sprawling home and vehicle in North Attleboro began in the afternoon and lasted for more than three hours. Locksmiths and several officers were involved, including one with a crowbar.
Detectives and uniformed officers who searched the home, its backyard and playhouse did not comment to reporters on what they were looking for or what caused them to return to the house located not far from where the Patriots practice and about a mile from where a jogger found the body of Odin Lloyd on Monday.
Lloyd family members said Friday that he had been dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee for about two years. They said the two men were friends who were together the night Lloyd died.
Authorities have ruled Lloyd's death a homicide.
A spokeswoman for the Bristol District Attorney's office declined to comment on the investigation Saturday. A state police spokesman referred questions to the district attorney's office.
An attorney for Hernandez has said he would not comment on the searches.
Three search warrants were issued in the investigation earlier last week but have not been returned, meaning they're not public. No arrest warrants were filed in state courts by the time court closed Friday, Attleboro District Court clerk magistrate Mark E. Sturdy said. Courts were closed Saturday.
Police previously searched in and around the home as they try to figure out who killed Lloyd.
Police in nearby Providence, R.I., said they had assisted Massachusetts state police and North Attleborough police with activity related to the Hernandez investigation at a strip club named Club Desire. It was unclear if they believed Lloyd and Hernandez might have been at the club in the days before Lloyd died.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James has said the team does not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was waiting for the legal process to take its course.
The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April but is expected to be ready for training camp. Last summer, the Patriots gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.
A protester trying to open a barrier, left, is kicked by another protester asking for peace near a police line as they protest outside Minerao stadium where a Confederations Cup soccer match takes place between Japan and Mexico in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets of Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A protester trying to open a barrier, left, is kicked by another protester asking for peace near a police line as they protest outside Minerao stadium where a Confederations Cup soccer match takes place between Japan and Mexico in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets of Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A man holds a brazilian flag near a burning barricade during a protest outside the Minerao stadium during a soccer Confederations Cup match between Japan and Mexico in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday after the president broke a long silence to promise reforms, but the early protests were smaller than those of recent days and with only scattered reports of violence.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
People shout anti-government slogans during a protest in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Demonstrators once again took to the streets of Brazil on Saturday, continuing a wave of protests that have shaken the nation and pushed the government to promise a crackdown on corruption and greater spending on social services. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A sound grenade explodes next to a man who was already laying on the ground injured during a protest outside the Minerao stadium during a match between Japan and Mexico in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday after the president broke a long silence to promise reforms.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A man hit with a projectile fired by police during a protest is taken away by a military policeman and fellow demonstrators outside the Minerao stadium during a soccer Confederations Cup match between Japan and Mexico in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday after the president broke a long silence to promise reforms.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
SAO PAULO (AP) ? A quarter-million Brazilians took to the streets in the latest a wave of sometimes-violent protests that are increasingly focusing on corruption and reforming a government system in which people have lost faith. A new poll shows that 75 percent of citizens support the demonstrations.
The turnout in Saturday's protests was lower than the 1 million participants seen on Thursday and there was less violence. But in the city of Belo Horizonte police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to pass through a barrier and hurled rocks at a car dealership. The city of Salvador also saw demonstrations turn violent.
The protests have become the largest public demonstrations Latin America's biggest nation has seen in two decades. They began as opposition to transportation fare hikes, then became a laundry list of causes including anger at high taxes, poor services and World Cup spending, before coalescing around the issue of rampant government corruption.
Many protesters were not appeased by a prime-time television address Friday night by President Dilma Rousseff, who said that peaceful protests were welcome and emphasized that she would not condone corruption. She also said she would meet with movement leaders and create a plan to improve urban transportation and use oil royalties for investments in education.
"Dilma is underestimating the resolve of the people on the corruption issue," said Mayara Fernandes, a medical student who took part in a march in Sao Paulo. "She talked and talked and said nothing. Nobody can take the corruption of this country anymore."
A new poll published Saturday in the weekly magazine Epoca showed that three-quarters of Brazilians support the protests. The poll was carried out by the respected Ibope institute. It interviewed 1,008 people across Brazil June 16-20 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
On Saturday, protesters denounced congressional legislation, known as PEC 37, that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes - which many fear would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians.
Federal prosecutors were behind the investigation into the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history, the so-called "mensalao" cash-for-votes scheme that came to light in 2005 and involved top aides of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva buying off members of congress to vote for their legislation.
Last year, the supreme court condemned two dozen people in connection to the case, which was hailed as a watershed moment in Brazil's fight against corruption. However, those condemned have yet to be jailed because of appeals, a delay that has enraged Brazilians.
"It was good Dilma spoke, but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say," said Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university student in the Sao Paulo protest. "All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."
Across Brazil, police estimated that about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in Belo Horizonte, 30,000 shut down a main business avenue in Sao Paulo, and another 30,000 gathered in the city in southern Brazil where a nightclub fire killed over 240 mostly university students, deaths many argued could have been avoided with better government oversight of fire laws.
Tens of thousands more protested in more than 100 Brazilian cities, bringing the nationwide total on Saturday to 250,000, according to a police count published on the website of the Globo TV network, Brazil's largest.
In the northeastern city of Salvador, where Brazil's national football team played Italy and won 4-2 in a Confederations Cup match, some 5,000 protesters gathered about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the stadium, shouting demands for better schools and transportation and denouncing heavy spending on next year's World Cup.
They blocked a main road and clashed with riot police who moved in to clear the street. Protesters said police used rubber bullets and even tossed tear gas canisters from a helicopter hovering overhead. The protesters scattered and fled to a nearby shopping mall, where they tried to take shelter in an underground parking garage.
"We sat down and the police came and asked us to free up one lane for traffic. As we were organizing our group to do just that, the police lost their patience and began to shoot at us and throw (tear gas) canisters," said protester Rodrigo Dorado.
That was exactly the type of conflict Rousseff said needed to end, not just so Brazilians could begin a peaceful national discussion but because much of the violence is taking place in cities hosting foreign tourists attending the Confederations Cup.
Brazil's news media, which had blasted Rousseff in recent days for her lack of response to the protests, seemed largely unimpressed with her careful speech, but noted the difficult situation facing a government trying to understand a mass movement with no central leaders and a flood of demands.
With "no objective information about the nature of the organization of the protests," wrote Igor Gielow in a column for Brazil's biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, "Dilma resorted to an innocuous speech to cool down spirits."
Outside the stadium in Belo Horizonte where Mexico and Japan met in a Confederations Cup game, Dadiana Gamaleliel, a 32-year-old physiotherapist, held up a banner that read: "Not against the games, in favor of the nation."
"I am protesting on behalf of the whole nation because this must be a nation where people have a voice ... we don't have a voice anymore," she said.
She said Rousseff's speech wouldn't "change anything."
"She spoke in a general way and didn't say what she would do," she said. "We will continue this until we are heard."
___
Associated press writers Tales Azzoni and Ricardo Zuniga in Salvador, Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo and Rob Harris in Belo Horizonte contributed to this report
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? A plane carrying a wing walker crashed Saturday at an air show and exploded into flames, killing the pilot and stunt walker instantly, authorities said.
Dayton International Airport spokeswoman Linda Hughes and Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston confirmed the deaths to The Associated Press.
The crash happened at around 12:45 p.m. at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton. No spectators were injured.
The show has been canceled for the remainder of the day. The names of those killed weren't immediately released, but a video posted on WHIO-TV showing the flight and crash identified the performer as wing walker Jane Wicker. A schedule posted on the event's website also had Wicker scheduled to perform.
The video shows the plane turn upside-down as Wicker sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, exploding into flames as spectators scream.
"All of a sudden I heard screaming and looked up and there was a fireball," spectator Stan Thayer of Wilmington, Ohio, told WHIO.
Another spectator, Shawn Warwick of New Knoxville, told the Dayton Daily News that he was watching the flight through binoculars.
"I noticed it was upside-down really close to the ground. She was sitting on the bottom of the plane," he said. "I saw it just go right into the ground and explode."
Wicker's website says she responded to a classified ad from the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Va., in 1990, for a wing-walking position, thinking it would be fun. Her full-time job was as a budget analyst for the Federal Aviation Administration, according to her website.
She told WDTN-TV in an interview this week that her signature move was hanging underneath the plane's wing by her feet and sitting on the bottom of the airplane while it's upside-down.
"I'm never nervous or scared because I know if I do everything as I usually do, everything's going to be just fine," she told the station.
Wicker wrote on her website that she had never had any close calls.
"What you see us do out there is after an enormous amount of practice and fine tuning, not to mention the airplane goes through microscopic care. It is a managed risk and that is what keeps us alive," she wrote.
In 2007, veteran stunt pilot Jim LeRoy was killed at the Dayton show when his biplane crashed and burned.
Organizers were presenting a trimmed-down show and expected smaller crowds at Dayton after the Air Force Thunderbirds and other military participants pulled out this year because of federal budget cuts.
The air show, one of the country's oldest, usually draws around 70,000 people and has a $3.2 million impact on the local economy. Without military aircraft and support, the show expected attendance to be off 30 percent or more.
Abu Dhabi?s 142 hotels and hotel apartments had their best April on record earlier this year with increases in most key performance indicators, according to figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).
The UK remains the emirate?s largest overseas source market for hotel guests with 54,050 Britons staying in Abu Dhabi?s hotels in the first four months of 2013, a 10% rise on the same period in 2012. They stayed on average, 4.71 nights, up 11% on the corresponding period ? and accounted for 254,768 guest nights, up 22%.
During April 2013 some 236,704 guests checked into Abu Dhabi accommodation - a 20% rise against the same period in 2012 ? with guest nights jumping by almost a third to 738,797.
The average-length-of-stay of hotel guests during April 2013 was 3.12 nights, a growth of 8% on the same month last year.
Abu Dhabi has emerged as a powerhouse of Middle East tourism
TCA Abu Dhabi, which was named Middle East?s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination and Middle East?s Leading Tourist Board by the World Travel Awards in 2013, and World?s Leading Tourist Board in 2012 also reported a growth in guest numbers, guest nights, average length of stay and revenues for the first quarter of 2013.
Some 631,417 guests checked into accommodation throughout the emirate during this period ? a 6% rise on Q1 2012. Guest nights rose 23% to 2,119,016, the average length of stay was up 16% to 3.36 nights and total revenues climbed 15% on 2012.
The UK maintained its position as the emirate?s leading overseas guest source market delivering in Q1 some 39,841 arrivals, up 7% on Q1 2012, a total of 186,882 guest nights, an increase of 17% and an average length of stay of 4.69 nights, up 9% on the comparative period.
Recent hotel openings in Abu Dhabi
As hotel occupancy climbs, Abu Dhabi has been booming with new developments to cater to these guests. Hotel openings in 2012 included Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara, while this year saw the opening of the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal and the Rosewood Abu Dhabi.
The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal is a stunning property and despite being open for barely a year, has already been recognised as Middle East?s Leading New Hotel and UAE?s Leading New Hotel by the World Travel Awards.
Rosewood Abu Dhabi, the ultra-luxury five-star hotel ideally located on the waterfront of Sowwah Square in the heart of Abu Dhabi on Al Maryah Island opened its doors on 1 May 2013, marking the first presence of the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts brand in the UAE.
The hotel offers a comforting retreat from the day, but also a vibrant energy and variety of amenities.? Rosewood Abu Dhabi provides a luxury lifestyle experience currently unmatched in the capital.
The 189-room hotel is located at the core of the new Central Business District (CBD) between the prestigious Sowwah Square development and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.? The Galleria, a new retail and dining destination with direct access to the hotel is set to open on the Island in August. Downtown Abu Dhabi, leisure facilities and the airport are also easily accessible from Al Maryah Island.
Rosewood Abu Dhabi features nine signature restaurants and lounges; eight fully equipped conference and event spaces including a ballroom which will accommodate up to 1,000 guests; pool and gym facilities and Sense, A Rosewood Spa.
Rosewood Abu Dhabi is a stunning hotel located in Abu Dhabi?s business district
The interiors have an air of understated elegance, with exquisite materials such as Italian marble, a bespoke four-meter American walnut table and custom and hand-blown chandeliers from the Czech Republic featured throughout the hotel.
Under the helm of Executive Chef Wolfgang Eberle, Rosewood Abu Dhabi caters to every palate in the hotel?s nine restaurants and lounges, including Catalan, a sophisticated restaurant offering cuisine from the authentic Barcelona and north-eastern region of Spain; Sambusek, a delightfully modern Lebanese restaurant; Smoke, a vibrant shisha terrace, Aqua, which will offer Italian and Mediterranean delicious dishes in a refined yet informal setting; Spice Mela, a contemporary restaurant serving Pan-Indian cuisine; La Cava, a grape cellar with a walk-in cigar room; Glo, the glamorous bar lounge, the intimate Hidden Bar; and the Majlis lobby lounge.
Hotels coming online in 2014
As visitors continue to flock to Abu Dhabi, looking to experience its luxurious hospitality, unique attractions, world class events and sunny climate, international hotel operators continue to announce plans to tap into the destination?s potential.
Marriott has revealed plans to open two properties in Abu Dhabi which will be operated by Real Estate Group ? a subsidiary of Bloom Properties. This involves a 315-room Marriott hotel and a 64-unit Marriott executive apartment property which are both to open in the mixed-use Bloom Central development
Marina Mall Arjaan by Rotana has also been confirmed for the destination, meanwhile the Grand Ayla, is expected to open in the third quarter, opposite Al Ain Mall with 222 rooms New developments for 2013
Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi - the largest waterpark in the UAE opened recently on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. This futuristic waterpark spans an area of around 15 football pitches, with 43 rides, slides and attractions ? five of which are one-of-a-kind.
Yas Waterworld is the UAE?s largest waterpark
Yas Waterworld visitors can try the 238-metre long, world?s first and largest hydromagnetic-powered, six-person tornado waterslide. For adrenaline seekers there are three-metre high waves on Bubble?s Barrel, which has the world?s largest surfable sheet wave for flowboards and bodyboards. The Bandit Bomber, a 550?metre coaster, is the first with onboard water and laser effects. Riders can shoot jets of water at targets, drop water bombs and trigger special effects, while people below can spray them with water as they pass.
Sitting atop Jebel Dana, the towering core of the park?s altitude-defying summit and measuring eight metres in diameter, the park?s gigantic pearl is Yas Island?s newest landmark. The park draws on Abu Dhabi?s heritage and has ?The Lost Pearl? as its theme. Visitors follow the story of a young Emirati girl on a quest to find a legendary pearl as they make their way around the attractions, which include a souk and pearl-diving exhibits.
Yas Island
Yas Island is home to some of the UAE?s most exciting attractions, including Ferrari World ? home of the world?s largest roller coast ? events, as well as concerts and much much more.
A style icon - Yas Viceroy Hotel
The flagship project of the $36 billion Yas Island development, the Yas Viceroy Hotel is a breath-taking fusion of architecture, design and technology, set half on land and half on water. It is also the first hotel in the world built directly over a Formula One race track and in 2010 was voted ?World?s Leading New Hotel? by World Travel Awards.
World-class aviation
Attracting the luxury traveller forms an integral part of Abu Dhabi?s growth strategy. Royal Jet, the private jet charter company, has just come off its most success year yet in its eight-year history.
Royal Jet offers unrivalled luxury service
The company, voted World?s Leading Private Jet Charter by the World Travel Awards, reported a 226 per cent increase in net profits year-on-year.
Home of the world?s leading airline
The UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways also continues to blaze a trail in aviation. Established just eight years old, the Abu Dhabi based airline has grown into a global superbrand.
Its growth has never fallen below 40 percent a year in that time. Last year it reached the milestone stage of moving into profit. This year it was voted Middle East?s Leading Airline, Middle East?s Leading Airline First Class and Middle East?s Leading Cabin Crew by the World Travel Awards.
A total of 8.3 million passengers flew with the flag carrier in 2011, up 17 per cent on 2010.
Willie Walsh and James Hogan discuss business at the WTTC forum in 2012
James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad Airways, said: ?Despite the global financial crisis, continued high oil prices, regional instability and natural disasters, we have delivered.?
Superb cruise facilities
A new terminal, designed to accommodate 1,300 passengers has been built at Mina Zayed as Abu Dhabi continues to develop as a cruise destination.
A joint project from Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Abu Dhabi Terminals, the facility has been designed to cater for the 2012/2013 cruise seasons.
MSC Lirica became the first vessel to homeport in the emirate following the opening of the terminal in late 2011.
Abu Dhabi International Airport has ambitious plans for the future. In the coming five years, the airport will be focusing on achieving new competitive milestones with the completion of the new Midfield Terminal Building, scheduled to open in 2017.
Abu Dhabi International Airport celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2011
The 700,000 square meter building is a landmark project being undertaken in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and will be able able to handle 27-30 million passengers per year when it opens.
Reasons to Celebrate
One of the highlights of the coming year is sure to be the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, scheduled to take place at the spectacular Yas Marina circuit on November 1st-3rd 2013.
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is now an integral part of the F1 calendar With United Arab Emirates flag-carrier Etihad Airways recently signing a deal with the Formula 1 group to extend its title sponsorship of the Grand Prix for a further four years, the event look sets to grow yet further.
The deal will see the airline sponsor the event through to the 2015 with two F1-liveried aircraft flying to destinations across its network.
Saadiyat Island?s cultural district is where the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open in 2015, followed by the Zayed National Museum a year later and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017.
With so many small and large algorithm updates happening daily, it?s hard for internet experts to isolate which ones are going to stay and which adjustments are tests or temporary.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Jun-2013
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