Business owner: Parking, weather, construction slowing sales ...

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- Tourist season usually ushers in a new crowd of out-of-towners looking to spend a few bucks in downtown wilmington. But business owners say profits are down.

"I think it has to do with this weird weather we've been having this year," Hardwire Tattoo owner Justin LaNasa said. "It took a while to warm up, and now it's raining like crazy. And then it rained. Also, I feel that the gas prices has something to do with tourists not wanting to travel real far."

LaNasa and other downtown business owners say parking is also to blame for slugging sales in the central business district.

"The little bit of money (the city makes) off parking is damaging the merchants, and that's what keeps the bars and restaurants and the night activity high and the day activity less, because people don't want to pay that parking fee when they could go somewhere else," LaNasa said.

Earlier this year the city increased rates in its parking decks and changed the way it charges to park in them. Records show that about 2,700 fewer cars parked in city decks in May compared to the same month last year. Revenue is down in comparing those months, too, by nearly $2,700. But one tourist we spoke with says that's not the cause of the slump in business.

"I don't believe it's the parking rates. They're more expensive in other towns," tourist Vern Moody said. "I mean five dollars for a day is, to me, reasonable."

He says the economy is the real culprit.

Jade Edens, who works, at Penders Caf? disagrees. She says it is the parking.

"I think it's the cost, and I think there's not been enough on-street parking," she said.

Business owners we spoke with say that although things are slow right now, with 4th of July just around the corner, and the weather clearing up, they're hopeful that business will pick back up again, too.

Business owners say other factors affecting sales may be downtown construction and the fact they're seeing more in-state visitors and fewer out-of-state tourists.

Source: http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/06/27/business-owner-parking-weather-construction-slowing-sales-downtown

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New emir: Qatar will pursue its 'independent behavior'

By Regan Doherty

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's new emir said on Wednesday the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state would not "take direction" from anyone, in an accession speech suggesting the young leader would pursue the assertive, independent-minded foreign policy pioneered by his father.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's first address as head of state coincided with a cabinet reshuffle that saw Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, a force behind Qatar's support for Arab Spring revolts, replaced as premier and foreign minister.

Sheikh Hamad is expected to retain his powerful post as vice chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, (QIA), a globally active sovereign wealth fund that is worth between $100 billion and $200 billion.

Sheikh Tamim, 33, handed power by his father on Tuesday in a rare example of an hereditary Arab ruler stepping down, added in his speech that sectarianism threatened to weaken Arab unity at a time when Syria's war has sharply raised communal tensions.

From the same desk where his father announced his abdication after 18 years in power, Sheikh Tamim struck a businesslike tone in a 15-minute speech that was broad in nature and focused on domestic issues. He vowed to follow his father's "path".

"We don't take direction (from anyone) and this independent behavior is one of the established facts," Sheikh Tamim, said in the speech broadcast on Qatari state television.

"As Arabs we reject splitting countries on a sectarian basis ... and because this split allows for foreign powers to interfere in the internal affairs of Arabs and influence them."

The emir added that his country, long seen as an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, should not be identified with any particular political trend and respected all religious sects.

"We are a coherent state, not a political party, and therefore we seek to keep relationships with all governments and states," he said.

"We respect all the influential and active political trends in the region, but we are not affiliated with one trend against the other. We are Muslims and Arabs who respect diversity of sects and respect all religions in our countries and outside of them."

NO BIG CHANGE IN POLICY

Analysts said the speech aimed to show there would be no sudden change in Qatari policy.

"The new Emir needed to strike a balance between his domestic audience and the strong regional and international interest in his accession," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.

"He didn't give too much away but generally sought to reassure people that while there may be a change in leadership style there will be continuity in the underlying substance of Qatari policy-making," he said.

The new emir steered clear of any mention of Syria, a conflict in which Qatar has taken the lead in arming Syrian rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, to the consternation of some allies who fear weapons may be falling into the hands of more extremist Islamist fighters.

He instead focused on the safer topic of the Palestinian issue, saying Qatar was committed to their struggle with Israel.

David Roberts, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute based in Doha, said the speech had a "down to business tone, indicating that the country has work to and he is eager to get on with it".

"It strongly suggested that Qatar will continue on its path with regard to foreign policy; there was no attempt to backtrack or rein that in. There was certainly no equivocation," he said.

"HBJ" OUT

Qatar has been ruled by the al-Thani family for more than 130 years, but the handing over of power to Sheikh Tamim, marked a rare move in a region where monarchs usually rule for life.

A cabinet list released on the state news agency confirmed the new prime minister as Abdullah bin Naser al-Thani and the new foreign minister Khalid al-Atiyah, posts previously occupied by veteran politician Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim.

The reshuffle included Ali Sherif al-Emadi as finance minister, who held the post of group chief executive officer of Qatar National Bank.

The energy minister of the OPEC state and world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, remained unchanged.

The replacement of Hamad bin Jassim, or HBJ as he is known, marked the end of a two-decade tenure in government in which he drove the Gulf country's rise to global prominence.

In his time as foreign minister, Qatar began hosting the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East but also cozied up to America's foes Iran, Syria and Hamas in pursuit of leverage. The Afghan Taliban opened an office in Doha last week.

Named prime minister in 2007, Sheikh Hamad played a personal role in facilitating Qatar's numerous efforts to resolve violent tensions, brokering talks in conflicts ranging from Lebanon to Yemen and from Darfur to the Palestinian territories.

(This story is refiled to fix typo in paragraph four)

(Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi, Amena Bakr and Mahmoud Habboush; Writing by Yara Bayoumy, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/qatar-change-premier-foreign-minister-under-emir-125607917.html

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Activists say death toll in Syria now tops 100,000

BEIRUT (AP) ? The civil war in Syria has now killed more than 100,000 people, a grim new estimate Wednesday that comes at a time when the conflict is spreading beyond its borders and hopes are fading for a settlement to end the bloodshed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been tracking the death toll through a network of activists in the country, said most of the 100,191 killed in the last 27 months were combatants.

The regime losses were estimated at nearly 43,000, including pro-government militias and 169 fighters from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group ? a recent entrant in the conflict.

The Observatory said 36,661 of the dead are civilians. Recorded deaths among the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad reached more than 18,000, including 2,518 foreign fighters.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said he suspected that the toll actually was higher, since neither side has been totally forthcoming about its losses.

The United Nations recently estimated that 93,000 people were killed between March 2011, when the crisis started, and the end of April 2013, concurring with Abdul-Rahman that the actual toll is likely much higher.

The Syrian government has not given a death toll. State media published the names of the government's dead in the first months of the crisis, but then stopped publishing its losses after the opposition became an armed insurgency.

Abdul-Rahman said that the group's tally of military deaths is based on information from medical sources, records obtained by the group from state agencies and activists' own count of funerals in government-held areas of the country. Other sources are the activist videos showing soldiers who were killed in rebel areas and later identified.

The new estimate comes at a time when hopes for peace talks are fading. The U.N.'s special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said Tuesday an international conference proposed by Russia and the U.S. will not take place until later in the summer, partly because of opposition disarray.

Regime forces are pushing into rebel-held areas in an attempt to secure the seat of Assad's power in the capital of Damascus and along the Mediterranean coast in the heartland of the Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.

The offensive, along with new reports that Assad has used chemical weapons in 10 different incidents in the conflict, also prompted Washington and its allies to declare they have decided to arm the rebels.

On Wednesday, the Observatory said the regime drove rebels out of the town of Talkalakh, along the border with Lebanon. The town, which had a predominantly Sunni population of about 70,000 before the conflict, is surrounded by 12 Alawite villages located within walking distance of the Lebanon border.

The government takeover will likely affect the rebels' ability to bring supplies, fighters and weapons from Lebanon.

The town also lies on the highway that links the city of Homs to Tartus, in the coastal Alawite enclave that is home to one of Syria's two main seaports.

Syrian state TV showed soldiers patrolling the streets of Talkalakh, inspecting underground tunnels and displaying weapons seized from the opposition.

The governor of Homs, Ahmed Munir, told the private Lebanese broadcaster al-Mayadeen that some rebels in Talkalakh handed their weapons over to authorities. He said the town was a major area for infiltrators from Lebanon.

"Talkalakh is clear of weapons," Munir said.

Southeast of Talkalakh, government forces also took control of the village of Quarayaten on a highway that links the rebels to another supply route from Iraq, according to an activist who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.

The regime victories are likely to help it advance on rebel-held areas of the city of Homs, he said. The activist, who is connected to rebels in Homs, spoke by Skype.

The main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, urged the U.N. to help civilians in Talkalakh open routes to facilitate the rescue of women, children, the elderly and the wounded.

The fighting has increasingly taken on sectarian overtones. Sunni Muslims dominate the rebel ranks while Assad's regime is dominated by Alawites, and has been backed by Hezbollah fighters, particularly in towns near the Lebanese borders.

The conflict has also polarized the region. Several Gulf states, including Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, back the rebels. Shiite powerhouse Iran is a major Assad supporter.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi lashed out at Saudi Arabia after that country condemned Damascus for enlisting fighters from its Lebanese ally in its struggle with rebels.

The remarks by al-Zoubi were carried late Tuesday by the state agency SANA after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Jiddah and condemned Assad for bolstering his army with fighters from Hezbollah. Prince Saud charged that Syria faces a "foreign invasion."

Al-Zoubi fired back, saying Saudi diplomats have blood on their hands and are "trembling in fear of the victories of the Syrian army."

___

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activists-death-toll-syria-now-tops-100-000-201432503.html

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Study ranks social contacts by job and social group in bid to fight infectious diseases

June 25, 2013 ? In the light of Novel Corona Virus, concerns over H7N9 Influenza in S.E. Asia, and more familiar infections such as measles and seasonal influenza, it is as important as ever to be able to predict and understand how infections transmit through the UK population.

Researchers at the University of Warwick and University of Liverpool have mapped the daily contact networks of thousands of individuals to shed light on which groups may be at highest risk of contracting and spreading respiratory diseases.

These scientists used an anonymous web and postal survey of 5,027 UK residents to collect information on the types of social contact likely to lead to the transmission of respiratory infections.

The study, Social encounter networks: characterising Great Britain, was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B

The survey is believed to be the largest national study of its kind to date and allowed the scientists, for the first time, to quantify social contact patterns and how these varied with age and job.

Although it is common sense that some jobs may be associated with more social contacts, there is huge value in possessing hard data on the number and duration of social contacts as it allows the complex interactions of the UK population to be analysed mathematically in the event of an outbreak.

According to the study, children were top of the table for social contacts, making them most at-risk for catching and transmitting infection.

A social contact is defined as a face-to-face conversation within two metres or skin-on-skin physical touch with another person.

Among adults, those working in schools, in the health sector and in client-facing service jobs such as shop workers or commercial roles had among the highest number of social contacts.

Students, unemployed people and retired people had among the lowest levels of social contacts.

According to the data collected, during a working day a teacher sees on average 62.1 different people, whereas a retired person only sees around 19.3.

The length of time a person spends with a contact is an important risk factor in transmitting infection, so the results were converted into total contact hours, the sum of the durations of all contacts in one given day.

Most people have an average of around 26 social contact hours a day but a small number have up to 50 contact hours a day since people can spend time with more than one individual simultaneously.

For example, children have an average of more than 47 contact hours, a health sector worker has on average just less than 33 contact hours a day, a teacher has 32 contact hours whereas retired people have slightly more than 19 contact hours.

The researchers also found that sociability tends to decline as people get older, with school-age children having the most social contact hours and people of retirement age having the fewest.

However there is a noticeable rebound in social contact hours in people aged between 35 and 45, which the researchers suggest may be down to ?school-gate? contacts among parents with school-age children.

Dr Leon Danon from the Mathematics Institute at the University of Warwick said: ?People working as teachers or health professionals are no doubt already aware that they have higher risks of picking up bugs like colds and flu.

??But before this study there was very little data mapping out the contact patterns humans have in their daily life.

?By quantifying those social interactions, we can better predict the risks of contracting and spreading infections and ultimately better target epidemic control measures in the case of pandemic flu for example.?

?Professor Jeremy Dale, Professor of Primary Care at Warwick Medical School, commented:

?This study provides light on why some groups may be at greater risk of being exposed to respiratory and other infections that are linked to close social contact.

?It should not however cause people in these groups undue concern.

?There are many sensible measures people can take to cut down on the risk of catching or passing on these kinds of infections. These include regularly washing your hands with soap and water, keeping surfaces clean and using tissues when you cough or sneeze.?

Transport workers, such as taxi and bus drivers, also featured very high on the league tables but researchers were cautious about reading into this because of the small number of respondents in this group.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/IgJn42Rko6w/130625192549.htm

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DOMA: Supreme Court Rulings On Defense Of Marriage Act, Prop 8 Irk Haters

Anti-gay groups were immediately up in arms after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, claiming that this decision will change life in the United States for the worse and that "God's judgment" will be upon us.

American Family Association spokespeople Fred Jackson and Sandy Rios expressed dismay over the DOMA strike-down, Right Wing Watch notes. Rios said the phrase "DOMA's dead" is "metaphorical" because "marriage is dead, too."

"Not a good day," Jackson said, adding, "There is no question that as a country, as a country, if God's judgment has not been upon us before this, God's judgment will be."

AFA mouthpiece Bryan Fischer thinks the worst is yet to come.

The Westboro Baptist Church thanked God for the decision because it means "USA's doom." They seem to think there is no quicker way to bring about the "destruction of this nation" than to allow this equal right.

Meanwhile, the Family Research Council, which released a statement on the decision, seems to be quite concerned about what will happen to all the country's florists.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that DOMA, which bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages even in states where the union has been legalized, is unconstitutional by a 5-4 vote. Justice Anthony Kennedy explained in the majority opinion that "treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others" is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

In a statement released after the ruling, President Barack Obama applauded the Supreme Court's decision to strike down DOMA saying it was "discrimination enshrined in law."

"This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents? marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better," he said.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/doma-supreme-court_n_3454838.html

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Market rises: less on Fed chatter, more on economy

NEW YORK (AP) ? Wall Street got back to focusing on the economy instead of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, sending stocks higher.

Four reports showed a brightening U.S. economy. Housing and manufacturing continued to improve, and consumer confidence hit its highest level in 5 1/2 years.

The major U.S. stock indexes closed higher. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 100.75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 14,760.31. The Standard & Poor's index rose 14.94 points, or 1 percent, to 1,588.03. The Nasdaq composite climbed 27 points, 0.8 percent, to 3,347.89.

The triple-digit rise in the Dow continues a bout of market volatility caused by investors and traders who are worried about the Fed ending its economic stimulus. Last Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he expects the Fed to end its bond buying by the middle of 2014 if it feels the economy can manage without that stimulus.

The Dow then plunged by triple digits on three of the next four trading days, with investors worried that the market would struggle without the Fed propping it up.

Some investors concluded that the recent sell-offs were overblown.

"This is the day where the dust appears to be settling," said Jonathan Lewis, chief investment officer at Samson Capital Advisors in New York.

Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial, guessed that shorter-term traders bought stocks Tuesday because they judged that parts of the market were "oversold."

Among the biggest gainers were big dividend payers like phone and power companies. These are stocks that have been hit the hardest by the recent sell-off.

Long-term investors were likely still sitting on the sidelines, waiting for further signs that markets are becoming less volatile, Krosby said.

The stronger economic news for the U.S. led investors to sell U.S. government bonds, a sign that they're more comfortable putting money in stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for many types of loans, rose to 2.6 percent from 2.54 percent late Monday.

The big economic reports Tuesday revealed.

?Orders for durable goods rose 3.6 percent in May, matching April's gain. The gauge is important because U.S. manufacturing has generally struggled this year as demand for American exports slows in other parts of the world.

? U.S. home prices jumped 12.1 percent in April compared with a year ago, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. That was the biggest year-over-year gain since March 2006. For a fourth straight month, prices rose from a year earlier in all 20 cities in the index. Twelve cities posted double-digit price gains.

? The Conference Board's consumer confidence index jumped to 81.4 in June, the best reading since January 2008. The May reading, however, was revised down to 74.3 from the original estimate of 76.2.

? Sales of new homes rose in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000, the Commerce Department said. That was the fastest pace since July 2008. Though sales of new homes remain below the 700,000 annual rate that most economists consider healthy, the pace has jumped 29 percent from a year ago.

Chris Baggini, senior portfolio manager at Turner Investments in Berwyn, Penn., said investors had used Bernanke's statements last week as an excuse to get out of the market ? something they wanted to do anyway, given its steady run-up for most of the year.

The S&P 500 is up 11 percent for the year. But at its peak last month, it was up 17 percent.

Among stocks making big moves:

?Walgreen, the nation's largest drugstore chain, slipped after reporting earnings and revenue that missed analysts' expectations. Walgreen's stock fell $2.83, or nearly 6 percent, to $45.22.

?Barnes & Noble plunged after reporting a loss that more than doubled in the latest quarter. The bookseller struggled to compete with online retailers and its Nook e-book continued to lose money. The stock fell $3.21, or more than 17 percent, to $15.61.

?Clothing chain Men's Wearhouse rose after saying it had fired executive chairman George Zimmer, the company's founder and star of its TV commercials, because he had advocated for "significant changes that would enable him to regain control," according to the company. The stock rose $2, or nearly 6 percent, to $37.13.

__

AP Business Writer Steve Rothwell contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/market-rises-less-fed-chatter-more-economy-192535225.html

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This Brilliant Subway Hack Guarantees You'll Never Fall

The only thing worse than getting on a full subway car where there's no place to sit, is getting on an even fuller subway car where there's no place to brace yourself. But here's a brilliant hack that not only guarantees you've always got something secure to hold onto, but also something no one else has put their dirty hands on: a toilet plunger.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/VlQpHa2RhjA/this-brilliant-subway-hack-guarantees-youll-never-fall-561567857

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New Biology Catalog! - Princeton University Press Blog

Be among the first the check out our new biology catalog!

Of particular interest is The Princeton Guide to Evolution, a forthcoming comprehensive, concise, and authoritative reference to the major subjects and key concepts in evolutionary biology, from genes to mass extinctions. Edited by a distinguished team of evolutionary biologists, with contributions from leading researchers, the guide contains some 100 clear, accurate, and up-to-date articles on the most important topics in seven major areas: phylogenetics and the history of life; selection and adaptation; evolutionary processes; genes, genomes, and phenotypes; speciation and macroevolution; evolution of behavior, society, and humans; and evolution and modern society.

For further reading, check out John Tyler Bonner?s Randomness in Evolution. In this concise, elegantly written book, he makes the bold and provocative claim that some biological diversity may be explained by something other than natural selection.

Also be sure to note Daphne J. Fairbairn?s Odd Couples: Extraordinary Differences between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom. While we joke that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, our gender differences can?t compare to those of other animals. Looking at some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, Odd Couples sheds astonishing light on what it means to be male or female in the animal kingdom.

We?ll also see you at the Society for the Study of Evolution?s annual meting June 21-25 in Snowbird, Utah at booth 14. Please join us Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. for a reception in celebration of the publication of Odd Couples: Extraordinary Differences between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom and our forthcoming The Princeton Guide to Evolution. Meet the authors and editors, and enjoy wine and cheese!

Source: http://blog.press.princeton.edu/2013/06/17/new-biology-catalog-3/

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Remittances could be as sustainable as international development ...

The Lough Erne golf resort in Northern Ireland, the venue for this year's G8 summit (Getty Images)

What shall we be wearing this summer when the G8 comes to town? When the UK last hosted the summit in 2005, we wore white. Everywhere I looked, I saw people wearing white. Those rubber wristbands declared our commitment to ?make poverty history?. Since then, we?ve experienced a double dip recession, mounting redundancies and rising youth unemployment, bringing us closer to the degrading and painful effects of poverty.

For the 2013 G8 summit, the major UK NGOs have launched the IF campaign to end hunger. Perhaps post-recession, policy makers shall have greater empathy and understanding of the compounded problems faced by developing countries. As for migrants and diasporas, the awful stench of poverty and deprivation continues to occupy their senses as they manage their new lives. They strive daily to enrich families and communities in poor countries across the world. This is done without fuss or fanfare, by cleaners and clinicians, builders and bankers alike, making them the hidden heroes of international development.

The nexus between migration and development began to gain formal recognition in 2006, when the UN convened a High Level Dialogue on Migration and International Development (UNHLDMID), with a Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD) having taken place annually since 2007. As the G8 complete their meeting at Fermanagh on 18 June, the formal sessions of the second UNHLDMID starts in New York, culminating at the UN General Assembly on 3 ? 4 October.

One of the most substantial contributions the diaspora is the money they send to their countries of heritage. In 2012, remittance flows to developing countries was $400bn, of which $30bn went to Sub-Saharan Africa. Total remittances to Africa are estimated to be over $60bn annually.

In the UK, private international donations are estimated at ?1bn, compared to formal remittances estimated at ?2.5bn. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in 2011 Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries was $136bn, with $50bn going to Africa. In the same year, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to developing countries was $336bn, with Africa receiving $21bn. Private international donations from the UK are ?1bn, compared to formal remittances estimated at ?2.5bn.

In May, the Global Forum on Remittances (GFR) convened in Bangkok. Remarkably, there is still resistance from policymakers to provide remittances with the fiscal and regulatory advantages accorded to FDI, ODA or charitable donations. In 2006, I ?proposed a remittance tax relief and matching scheme to the UN ? RemitAid?? comparable to the UK?s Gift Aid. The Finance Ministers of the world?s poorest countries adopted a resolution on RemitAid, however the global economic crisis of 2008 prevented OECD governments from adopting the appropriate tax relief policies.

Remittances as sustainable international development finance

Remittances are particularly important for sustainable development because the process is based on a continuous mode of self-help. In many poor countries, the volume of remittances is several times that of ODA and FDI, accounting for 10-15 per cent of the national income of many medium-sized developing nations.

The World Bank describes remittances as anti-cyclical, reflecting the fact that inflows are on a steady and growing pattern, with the tendency to increase further in times of both natural and man-made crises. Remittance inflows in poor countries are not countered by outflows in the form of interest, debt, dividend and expatriate payments.

Funds circulate more times in the recipient economy and are made directly to the households of ordinary citizens, thus improving the multiplier effect and increasing financial and civil empowerment. ?Studies have confirmed that remittances contribute to the relief of poverty and amelioration of human welfare in poor countries because the inflows are spent on food, shelter, education, health services, community projects and other activities in line with Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In February Cass Business School published a report stating that households ?remitting? money overseas are more likely to make donations to ?per centdomestic UK charities: 42 per cent amongst remitters compared with 29 per cent of households in the general population.

Community tax relief similar to Gift Aid for Remittances

Like any other method of investment, remittances need the attention of progressive public policies. RemitAid?is a scheme which mitigates the current imperfections and optimises the developmental benefits of remittances. However, unlike other tax incentives such as Venture Capital Trust, Enterprise Investment Scheme and even Gift Aid, RemitAid would be a fully-fledged ?community tax relief?, whereby the full tax rebate or match funding is collected and pooled together in a common fund ? instead of it being paid directly to individual remitters.

This pooling of rebates or match funds eliminates motive, means and opportunity for abuse and creates resources substantial enough to fund effective and innovative development activities missed out by remittances, ODA and FDI. RemitAid will work in a simple way, helping to make development more effective and sustainable, fit for the demands of the 21^st century.

Gibril Faal is chairman of AFFORD which works to expand and enhance the role diasporans play in Africa?s development. He is the founder of RemitAid, board member of DFID?s Global Poverty Action Fund and director of GK Partners, a UK-based company specialising in socially responsible entrepreneurship and ethical finance.

Tagged in: g8, G8 2013, G8 summit, Global Forum on Remittances, international development aid, millennium development goals

Source: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/06/15/remittances-could-be-as-sustainable-as-international-development-finance/

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DACC center to host seminar for small business owners | News ...

DANVILLE ? The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Danville Area Community College will host a financial seminar for prospective and current small business owners in all stages of business.

The Obtaining Financing seminar will be offered from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday or 8 to 10 a.m. Thursday at Vermilion Advantage, 28 W. North St., Danville.

The cost is $10.

Offered in partnership with Downtown Danville Inc., the seminar will include presentations by a panel of local experts followed by a question-and-answer session.

To register, call the center at 442-7232 or sign up online at http://www.dacc.edu/sbdc.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center at DACC ? located in the Village Mall, 2917 N. Vermilion St., Danville ? provides free one-on-one counseling to assist potential and existing small businesses in the area. The center also performs business planning, loan application development, financial analysis, marketing plan analysis, legal structure and business registration assistance and expansion advice.

For information, call Director Carol Nichols at 442-7232 or email her at sbdc@dacc.edu.

Presentations include:

Wednesday

? Credit scores and their impact on your new business, by Diana Valdez-Wilczynski of First Midwest Bank.

? Financial information needed for a business loan application, by Jeff Fauver of the First National Bank of Catlin.

? Small business administration loan programs, by Valerie Ross of the United States Small Business Administration.

? Crowdfunding, by Eric and Patty Woller of MeMe's Treat Boutique.

Thursday

? Angel investors, by Tim Hoerr of the Urbana-Champaign Angel Network.

? Financial information needed for a business loan application, by Travis Miller of Old National Bank.

? Small business administration loans/Vermilion County CDC, by Jeff Fauver of the First National Bank of Catlin.

? U.S. Department of Agriculture programs for small businesses, by Susan Petrea, area director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

? Regional Planning Commission programs, by Kathy A. Larson, economic development specialist for the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission.

Both days

? The grant myth, by Linda Bolton of Vermilion Advantage.

? Small business programs through the city of Danville, by John Dreher of the city of Danville.

Source: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-06-15/dacc-center-host-seminar-small-business-owners.html

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