Uganda's electoral commission on Sunday declared that President Yoweri Museveni had won another term, an election that an opposition leader blasted as a "sham" and an international observer claimed was marred by bribes and various "failures." Museveni captured 68% of the vote, easily topping his nearest foe Kizza Besigye, according to official results released on Sunday. He has been president since 1986, when a rebel group he led seized power. Yet the opposition signalled Sunday that it had no plans to accept the outcome. Besigye, who had once been Museveni's doctor, told reporters that he and his supporters "categorically reject" the result as well as the continued rule of Museveni and "any person or persons he may (decide) to appoint." He and other leaders in recent days have claimed the ruling party gave out "huge amounts of money" to polling agents and candidates to pay off electoral officials, among other accusations. "An election under such an environment cannot reflect the will of the people, and clearly the institutions of state charged with the management of the elections have failed our country," said Besigye, who heads the Inter-Party Cooperation. The government has dismissed the claims and said the opposition is trying to undermine the election. Edward Sciculuna, the European Union's chief observer of the election, told reporters about problems that raised questions about the validity of the final results. Among other issues,longchamp outlet Sciculuna said that EU observers widely reported "the distribution of money and gifts by candidates, especially from (Museveni's) ruling party" -- a practice that he called "inconsistent with democratic principles." The EU official added, "The electoral process was marred by avoidable -- and we underline the word avoidable -- administrative and logistical failures." Museveni was once hailed for stabilizing Uganda and helping combat the AIDS epidemic. But he has faced mounting criticism over corruption and lack of political transition in the central African country. The outcome of the February 18 vote -- for which 14 million people registered to participate -- would assure Musveni another five-year term. Parliament removed presidential term limits in Uganda five years ago, essentially allowing the incumbent to run for office indefinitely. The electoral commission's decision Sunday follows another much-disputed 2006 victory over Besigye, who also failed in his 2001 bid to unseat his former patient. Margaret Wokuri, a spokeswoman for Besigye's Inter-Party Cooperation, said the opposition had expected vote-rigging this year. Earlier, that party announced plans to conduct its own vote tally, though the current status of such a count remained in question. Members of Museveni's National Resistance Movement took to the streets of Kampala this weekend, singing and marching in a parade celebrating their candidate's apparent re-election. The opposition's next step remained unclear. Museveni has already vowed to quash any Tunisia or Egypt-like uprisings aimed at toppling his government. For now, Beseigye said simply that his party would not be compliant or sit still. "This sham election cannot produce a legitimate (winner)," he said. "We have given every opportunity to the country to see that. And now, it's up to the country to rectify that."

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been transferred from a neurotrauma ICU to an inpatient Coach Outlet rehabilitation facility, two-and-a-half weeks after getting shot through the head at a public meeting. Giffords was discharged from University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, and was flown to Houston to begin rehabilitation at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) in the Memorial Hermann healthcare system. However, posttraumatic hydrocephalus requiring placement of a temporary drain -- inserted while Giffords was still in Tucson -- prevented the move to the rehab facility and kept the congresswomanCheap Nike Shoes in intensive care at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Doctors removed the drain on Monday night and upgraded Giffords' condition from serious to good last night, clearing the way for today's transition to TIRR Memorial Hermann. At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gerard Francisco, MD, chief medical officer of the rehabilitation facility, said Giffords was already undergoing physical therapy and would undergo both occupational and speech therapy later in the day. Francisco said the therapists are focusing on conditioning, strength, range of motion, and balance, as well as measures to prevent the complications of being confined to a bed for long periods of time. The time spent actively doing rehabilitation has already been increased because of the progress Giffords has made, he said. Although Giffords still has the tracheostomy tube in place, the process to reduce the size of the tube and eventually remove it has begun.Coach Sale She is breathing on her own with no additional support. Another member of the medical team, neurosurgeon Dong Kim, MD, said the congresswoman is alert and aware of her surroundings and is making progress every day. "In terms of recovery for brain issues, this is really at lightning speed," Kim said.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft Senior Project Manager Greg Sullivan said that more than two million devices have now sold into the channel. cheap jordans The company remains silent on the number actually in users' hands. In another interview, with CNET, the news was more encouraging. Those people who have bought Windows Phone 7 handsets are apparently happy with them: 93 percent of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with the platform, and 90 percent would recommend it to others. This satisfaction is certainly consistent with our experience. Awareness of the brand has also risen, up 22 percent to 66 percent, showing that Coach Handbags the company's expensive advertising campaign is starting to make people notice the platform. A month ago the number sold into the channel was around 1.5 million. Even if the actual figure is around 2.2 or 2.3 million—a bit over "more than two million"—that means that growth of the new platform has flattened. If the number is just a little more than 2 million, it means that Microsoft is shipping WP7 licenses to manufacturers at a lower rate now than it was in the first two months. Either way, the number is unlikely to be encouraging for the company. Marketplace, Microsoft's applicationGucci Outlet store for the platform, continues to perform strongly, however. There are now more than 6,500 applications on the store, and 24,000 registered developers. Whether the company can retain this momentum in the face of bleak sales figures remains to be seen: developers are already increasingly concerned about the platform's growth and Microsoft's promotion of it.

Smoking and, to a smaller degree, obesity explain why Americans do not live as long as the French or Japanese, U.S. experts reported on Tuesday. Even though just 20 percent of Americans smoke now, more than 40 percent of U.S. adults smoked in 1960 and the population is still paying the price, longchamp bags online the report from the National Research Council found. "Other factors, such as obesity, diet, exercise, and economic inequality, also have likely played a role in the current gap and divergence between the United States and other countries," the panel of experts appointed by the council wrote. Many experts have tried to explain why the United States, which spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country and which has a relatively wealthy and well-nourished population, should rank so poorly against other countries in terms of lifespan. Gerontologist Eileen Crimmins of the University of Southern California and colleagues looked at cause-of-death statistics for an explanation. Smoking -- which kills directly and indirectly through secondhand smoke effects -- seemed to be a major factor, they found. "Smoking appears to be responsible for a good deal of the divergence in female life expectancy," they wrote. "Fifty years ago, smoking was much more widespread in the United States than in Europe or Japan: a greater proportion of Americans smoked and smoked more longchamp bags sale intensively than was the case in other countries," they added. "The health consequences of this behavior are still playing out in today's mortality rates." Japan ranks No. 1 in terms of life expectancy, with a child born today likely to live to be nearly 83 on average, according to the United Nations. The United States ranks 36th, with a life expectancy of 78.3 -- below most of Europe, South Korea, Chile and right below Cuba. "Smoking also has caused significant reductions in life expectancy in the Netherlands and Denmark, which ... are two other countries with relatively poor life expectancy trends," the report adds. BETTER TIMES COMING But because smoking rates are improving in the United States, lifespans should improve, the report predicts. Other experts have found just the opposite -- that smoking and obesity do not fully explain the U.S. lag. Last October, a team at Columbia University in New York determined that the lack of a coherent healthcare system in the United States was to blame. But the National Research Council experts rejected this possibility."The health care system in the United States differs from those in other high-income countries in a number of ways that conceivably could lead to differences in life expectancy," they wrote. "However, this is a smaller factor above age 65 than at younger ages because of Medicare entitlements. For the main causes of death at older ages -- cancer and cardiovascular disease -- available indicators do not suggest that the U.S. health care system is failing to prevent deaths that would elsewhere be averted," they added. "In fact, cancer detection and survival appear to be better in the United States than in most longchamp handbags sale other high-income countries. Survival rates following a heart attack also are favorable in the United States." The National Research Council, one of the National Academies of Sciences, is an independent organization that advises the federal government and other institutions on scientific matters.

Verizon Wireless has finally confirmed that it will offer iPhone 4 with a $20 "personal hotspot" WiFi tethering plan similar to what it currently offers its cheap jordans existing smartphone subscribers. A report by MacWorld confirmed the mobile hotspot details with Verizon's executive director of corporate communications, Brenda Raney. Verizon's mobile hotspot plan allows users, for an extra $20 option on top of their data plan, to share their mobile 3G service with up to five WiFi devices (such as an iPad, iPod touch, MacBook, or any other WiFi device). The iPhone 4 tethering plan has its own 2GB monthly cap, according to the report, with each additional gigabyte costing another $20. Coach Handbags Previous Verizon tethering plans cost $30 but delivered 5GB of data, in addition to the user's data plan. That means the unlimited plan with tethering will cost a total of $50, with 2GB for tethering and unlimited use of mobile data. AT&T's $20 tethering plan currently only supports USB or Bluetooth tethering to a single device at once, and rather than offering a separate data pool, the plan counts use against the user's plan. That means the 2GB data plan with tethering costs $45 total, but still only offers 2GB of data per month. Verizon earlier announced that its new CDMA iPhone 4 would only be offered with an unlimited data plan costing $30, with no option for a limited use data plan as the company now allows its current smartphone users to choose. In the future, Verizon says it will phase out the unlimited data plan, Gucci Outlet following AT&T toward tiered service plans. It has not detailed when it will do this, nor how much it will charge. AT&T also announced earlier this month that it would be simplifying its texting plans to two options: 1000 messages for $10, or unlimited texts for $20.

Cocoa may climb to the highest price since the late 1970s as political unrest disrupts supplies from Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer. Hedge funds have more than quadrupled bets on a cocoa rally since early December after a disputed election left Ivory Coast with two rival presidents. Alassane Ouattara, recognized internationally longchamp handbags as the winner, yesterday ordered shipments halted to cut off funds to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. The ban may send prices to as high as $3,720 a metric ton, a Bloomberg survey of six analysts showed. That would be the highest since January 1979. Cocoa has jumped 9.1 percent this month, the biggest gain after cotton among the 19 commodities tracked by the Thomson/Reuters Jefferies CRB Index. Cargill Inc., the largest closely held U.S. company, said yesterday it temporarily suspended bean purchases in Ivory Coast. Climbing prices may mean higher costs for Hershey Co., Mars Inc., Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s biggest maker of bulk chocolate. “Exports are being cut back, so there is a lot of uncertainty,” said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps oversee $17 billion at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. “Anytime there is a disruption in supply, whether it is politically generated or weather related, prices will be pushed on the upside.” Gbagbo, who was declared the victor by the country’s Constitutional Council, refuses to recognize Ouattara as the winner. Cocoa has risen 20 percent in New York since the Nov. 28 elections. Ivory Coast’s production is valued at about $3.9 billion at current prices, Bloomberg calculations show. Hedge-Fund Bets Hedge funds and money managers have increased net-long positions, or bets on rising prices, to 7,892 New York futures and options contracts in the week ended Jan. 18, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. That’s up from 1,586 on Dec. 7. “It is certain that the ban will lead to speculators taking longer positions and, as not many are interested in selling in these circumstances, prices will rise until the situation calms down,” said Javier Almela, the chief purchasing manager at Spanish cocoa buyer Natra SA. Sic-Cacao, Cameroon and Barry Callebaut cocoa-processing unit in the central African nation, said grindings fell 4.9 percent to 6,050 tons in December. The venture, based in the port city of Douala, processed 6,360 tons a month earlier, it said in the statement yesterday. ‘Seeking Clarification’ “We are currently seeking clarification of the situation in cooperation with the relevantLongchamp Messenger Bags industry associations,” Raphael Wermuth, an external communications manager for Barry Callebaut, said in an e-mail. Ivory Coast’s cocoa production represents a third of global supply, and is forecast to expand 1.9 percent this year, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. Shipments by farmers to the country’s ports from the latest harvest are about 2 percent below last season, the bank said Jan. 19. “People are worried about the ban,” said Spencer Patton, the Chicago-based chief investment officer for Steel Vine Investments LLC. “The next fear is that they may attack the crop, and that means that not only will this year’s crop by damaged, but the nation will lose harvest for the next few years.” Cocoa for March delivery jumped $128, or 4 percent, to $3,312 a ton yesterday on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the price rose to $3,393, the highest since Jan. 26, 2010. U.S. Support The U.S. supports the proposed month-long ban on cocoa imports from the Ivory Coast, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said on Twitter yesterday. Gbagbo “needs to get the message and step down,” Crowley said in the message. The U.S. also welcomes Cargill’s decision to temporarily suspend cocoa-bean purchases in the Ivory Coast, Crowley told reporters in Washington. Archer Daniels Midland Co. Longchamp Le Pliage said in a statement yesterday it is “assessing the situation,” while remaining “committed” to cocoa farming in the country. “People are getting very nervous about supplies,” said James Dailey, who manages $185 million at TEAM Financial Asset Management LLC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “There is this pent up demand for commodities including cocoa, so for 2011 it’s one of the most explosively poised commodities.”

The Palestine papers appear to confirm what many have feared – that the so-called Middle East peace process has been dead for far longer than just the last few months longchamp outlet (Israel spurned Palestinian offer of 'biggest Yerushalayim in history', 24 January). So how can Britain's policy be explained? Did it know that the PLO had offered such deals, including on Jerusalem, while getting nothing but persistent rejection? For years, prime ministers and foreign secretaries have unequivocally backed these talks, pledging support for a two-state solution – a solution it appears the last two Israeli governments are not the slightest bit interested in. The international community must make clear that the mega-settlements Israel has built on Palestinian land are illegal, including those in Jerusalem, and that the occupation of Palestinian land has to end. Britain should declare its total support for the draft UN security council resolution on settlements as part of a zero-tolerance policy towards these colonies. We should abandon the charade of these talks for an international approach that puts international law at its heart and not the whims of settler-led Israeli coalitions basking in the air max unstinting support of every US government. Had the Israeli government been willing to accept the extraordinary offers made by the Palestinian negotiators, that would not have delivered peace because it would not have delivered justice. Israel refused to negotiate with the Arabs at the 1949 Lausanne conference and has behaved consistently ever since. The leaked documents confirm that there never was a peace process – and there never will be until there has first been a justice process. The two-state solution favoured by the UN and the EU is still possible – just – but only if Israel will acknowledge the historical facts of 1947-49 and subsequently accepts the rule of law. Discussion must start with the situation in 1947 when the UN approved the partition, not with the situation now – nor even the situation in 1949. Unfortunately the evidence is clear that Israel will never do this voluntarily. An alternative solution is the creation of a single democratic secular state for all the citizens of Palestine/Israel, but that seems to be even less acceptable to Israel. Either solution will require very strong pressure from the west, which is urgent if further war is to be avoided. chance "Israel has to accept that a state created on 1967 borders, not around them, is the minimum price of an end to the conflict". But no foreseeable Israeli government will accept this premise without concerted pressure from complaisant allies, principally the US but also the EU and UK. In Jerusalem last week, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt was reported as rejecting early recognition for a Palestinian state on the grounds that it makes no sense to recognise a state without borders or capital. He also suggested that a UN resolution against settlements might delay direct negotiations. In other words, our government refuses to endorse the minimum legal framework for a two-state solution, preferring to start from illegal facts on the ground: an illegally occupied West Bank, an illegally annexed East Jerusalem and the redoubling of illegal settlements (up from 200,000 to 500,000 during the 18 years of so-called peace talks).?UN security resolution 242 does not require Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders. It states that Israel has to withdraw from "territories"Coach Outlet Online (not "the territories") occupied in 1967, "to secure and recognised boundaries". The vast majority of Israelis support the principle of the territorial compromise. The only solution to the conflict remains the two-state solution, with the border following the 1967 line with minor modifications and land swaps. That border will be decided during negotiations between the parties.

Investment advisers and stockbrokers should be subject to the same fiduciary standard of conduct — putting a customer’s interests above their own — rather than the different governance regimes that currently apply to the two groups, Longchamp Backpack the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended on Saturday. In a report closely watched by Wall Street, the commission’s staff said retail investors “generally are not aware” that stockbrokers and their firms are subject to a lesser legal standard, one that requires brokers to make sure the products that they sell are suitable for their clients. Investment advisers are already subject to the higher fiduciary standard. The recommendation that the higher standard of fiduciary duty apply to both groups is intended to “increase investor protection and decrease investor confusion in the most practicable, longchamp outlet least burdensome way for investors, broker-dealers and investment advisers,” the report said. Wall Street groups and investor advocates generally applauded the recommendations. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a brokerage firm trade group, said it also supported beefing up examinations of financial advisers, which generally are subject to less rigorous oversight than brokerage firms. The five S.E.C. commissioners did not vote on whether to adopt the study’s recommendations, but the two Republicans issued a statement criticizing the study, saying it “fails to adequately justify its recommendation” and “lacks a basis” to conclude that a uniform standard would enhance investor protection. The study and report to Congress were required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the regulatory overhaul passed last year to address the causes of the financial crisis. Most of its recommendations could be accomplished through rule changes by the S.E.C. Whether the commission has the resources to enforce its recommended changes is uncertain. In a separate report to Congress issued on Wednesday, the S.E.C. concluded that the agency lacked the money and staff needed to conduct timely and effective examinations and oversight of registered investment advisers. The agency’s acknowledgment of its own shortcomings has broad implications. A failure by the S.E.C. to adequately examine the books of Bernard L. Madoff’s investment advisory business contributed to the losses suffered by investors in that Ponzi scheme, longchamp sale the S.E.C.’s inspector general concluded in 2009. The study on adviser examinations recommended that Congress take action to strengthen the investment adviser examination program, including possibly imposing user fees on investment advisers to pay for examinations or authorizing an industry self-regulatory organization to take over examination of the firms, under S.E.C. oversight.

Four police officers in Detroit’s Northwestern District were shot this afternoon when a gunman came in and opened fire, the Free Press has learned. According to Sgt. Gucci Todd Eby, the gunman walked in at about 4:20 p.m. with a pistol grip shotgun. Unprovoked, he just started shooting, said Eby, who was sitting at his desk when the gunfire erupted. ? Photos: Detroit cops shot in precinct Eby said officers in the building returned fire, killing the man. Shot were Commander Brian Davis, Sgt. Ray Saati and Officer David Anderson,Cheap Nike Shoes Eby said. A fourth person, a female sergeant whose name was not released, was also hit. The four have been transported to Sinai Grace hospital in Detroit. Eby called the incident “absolutely horrifying.” Michigan State Police are at the scene blocking traffic. Tina Taylor, a spokeswoman for Sinai Grace hospital said no information was being released about wounded officers and that all details would have to come from Detroit police. Chief Ralph Godbee was expected to release information during a news conference later tonight, said mayoral spokesman Dan Lijana. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was on his way to Sinai Grace tonight, Lijana said. This is clear to congressional veterans such as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the new House Budget Committee chairman, who hopes to persuade his GOP colleagues to adopt some of the dramatic entitlement reforms that he first unveiled two years ago. But House Republicans have yet to embrace Ryan's ideas, instead focusing exclusively on paring back non-security appropriations, longchamp sale which account for only about one-seventh of total federal spending. The resolution on the House floor Monday would instruct Ryan to cut non-defense spending immediately to 2008 levels, a demand that would require slashing 30 percent from most agency budgets over the next seven months. Ryan and other veteran Republicans have called that goal too ambitious.

As the Sundance Film Festival kicked off on Thursday, fest founder Robert Redford gave his annual state-of-Sundance press conference – “and as usual,” says Gregory Ellwood, “it was a mostly dry affair.” Redford’s spiciest quote came in response to a question about whether he had plans to retire from the festival or the Sundance Institute: “No, I have not thought about retiring,” he said. “I am gonna die, but I haven’t thought about retiring.” Cheap Jordans Festival programming chief John Cooper, meanwhile, predicted a big, crowded festival, and a revival of what he calls the “riff raff” of celebrity gifting suites and nightclubs. (Hitfix) The independent film market is reviving and buyers are more enthusiastic about this year’s Sundance, reports Brooks Barnes – who then cautions that we won’t be seeing anything like the glory days when “Little Miss Sunshine” sold for $10.5 million and the flop “Hamlet 2” for $10 million. “This essentially means that dals with get done but that prices will be confined to the mid-seven figures or less,” he says, with movies that once would have fetched “$1.5 million in minimum guarantees … now looking at about $250,000.” Among his list of likely deals in the making: “My Idiot Brother” with Paul Rudd, “The Details” with Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney and Ray Liotta and “Margin Call” with Kevin Spacey (above) and Demi Moore. In other words: this may be the indie showcase, but buyers still want movie stars. (The New York Times) Breaking: So far, Coach Bags the fest’s hot ticket has been to the press & industry screening of “Margin Call,” which took place on Friday morning. Even before the screening was supposed to start, Twitter was deluged with notes that the line was enormous and the screening “hijacked by buyers, publicists and sales agents,” with more than 150 turned away. But hey, Harvey Weinstein got that last seat. (Twitter) Want to change your image? Sundance can help. That’s what John Horn and Chris Lee say as they follow the cases of actors Patrick Dempsey and Pierce Brosnan, director Lee Tamahori and actors-turned-directors Vera Farmiga and Michael Rapaport, all of whom are using this year’s festival to showcase different sides of themselves. “I knew I couldn’t play the romantic comedy card again,” says McDreamy. (The Envelope) John Horn also says that the fest kicked off in a fitting manner on Thursday night with “The Guard,” a black comedy starring Brendan Gleeson as a crooked Irish cop and Don Cheadle as an FBI agent who comes to Gleeson’s town in search of drug traffickers. After a screening that attracted “representatives of every distributor of specialized film,” plus Disney chief Rich Ross, Horn predicts a sale shortly. (Awards Tracker) Kim Voynar’s Sundance preview lists nine movies she really wants to see,longchamp outlet including the global YouTube compilation “Life in a Day,” the Liberian-set documentary “The Redemption of General Butt Naked,” Kevin Smith’s “Red State” and “Man on Wire” director James Marsh’s “Project Nim,” a documentary about a chimpanzee who was taught sign language.