For the first time in a long time, fans left a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight without a clear-cut impression that "Money" was a winner.

Mayweather indeed emerged with a majority decision over rugged Marcos Maidana in their WBA/WBC welterweight unification match, but a loudly partisan crowd whistled its displeasure when announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. read the verdict -- and cheered Maidana when he insisted he'd deserved the decision.

Mayweather won by comfortable 116-112 and 117-111 margins on two scorecards, while the third was even at 114-114.

Win or lose, it was no easy night for Mayweather, who was repeatedly bulled to the ropes in the early going and was cut by an accidental headbutt over the right eye in round four.

He credited his cut man, Rafael Garcia, and suggested that mid-fight adjustments were the key to him controlling the late going of the fight.

"A true champion can make adjustments," he said. "It was a tough fight. I decided to stay in there and give the fans what they wanted to see."

On the topic of a rematch, he said, "If the fans want to see it again, let's do it again."

Punch stats indicated Maidana threw 858 punches to Mayweather's 426, but was nonetheless outlanded, 230-221. Still, it's the most shots ever landed by a Mayweather opponent.

Maidana was ahead, four rounds to two, on the ultimately even scorecard of Michael Pernick before Mayweather rallied to win the seventh, ninth, 10th and 11th on his card.

The other two cards had Mayweather up, 4-2, after six. Dave Moretti gave Mayweather five of the final six as well, while Burt Clements awarded him four of the last six.

"I definitely think I won this fight," Maidana said. "He did dominate some rounds, but the majority of them, I dominated.

"I'm not scared of him, why not give him a rematch. I have to give him a rematch because I won the fight."

Opera singer Ben Heppner is stepping away from the stage, the world-renowned dramatic tenor has announced.

The singer — known for his signature Tristan as well as other roles in Wagner's challenging operas, along with Verdi's Otello and Berlioz's Aeneas — revealed the news this morning.

"After much consideration, I've decided the time has come for a new era in my life. I'm setting aside my career as an opera and concert singer," he said.

"I'm going to be making a transition to new things," he told CBC News Thursday morning in Toronto, adding that stepping down is a decision he has pondered for some time.

"I thought I would keep singing part time ... but I found that being a part-time singer just doesn't work. It's a full-time job. No matter how often you sing, if you're going to sing at a good level, a quality level, you've got to keep it up all the time. And I was finding that to be a little bit difficult. So that, plus the fact that I've been experiencing a little bit of unreliability in my voice — and that causes some anxieties — I decided it was time."

Though considered among the world's top tenors, British Columbia-born, Toronto-based singer has on occasion suffered from vocal strain that affected his performances or forced him to cancel engagements.

Regarding the unreliability of his voice, "everybody noticed it — it was quite obvious to hear," he said.

"It would just show up, surprising me in the middle of a phrase, and I would go "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that.'"

With the impressive vocal feats an opera star can achieve, and especially with taxing dramatic roles like the ones for which Heppner became known, we can forget that singers are simply human, noted Alexander Neef, general director of the Canadian Opera Company, which recently featured Heppner as Tristan and Peter Grimes.

"There's no singer in the world who wouldn't have had a vocal challenge at some point or another in his or her career. I think this has been hugely overplayed...I don't think he has had more or less issues than other famous singers," Neef added.

"[With his retirement], we lose one of the most generous performers: someone who has just given all of himself in a performance and that is really something that has grabbed our audience, like very few singers can."

International artist from B.C.

Heppner, 58, studied music at the University of British Columbia and shot to fame as winner of the CBC Talent Festival in 1979. Nearly a decade later, he gained even greater stature when he won the Metropolitan Opera auditions.

He has also earned both Grammy and Juno Awards and, in 2010, was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada — the honour's highest level.

Over his career, Heppner has performed with the world's top orchestras and at the most acclaimed opera venues — including New York's Metropolitan Opera House, London's Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera — both in stage productions as well as in concerts or recitals. He has also released a host of recordings.

"I wish to thank the countless people who inspired me, supported me and encouraged me to embark on a fantastic journey over the past 35 years," Heppner said.

"A million thanks to those who hired me. Most importantly, I want to thank everyone who ever bought a ticket."

Last fall, Heppner took on hosting duties for two CBC Radio programs: the iconic Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and Backstage with Ben Heppner.

He said Thursday he has been enjoying his time as a radio broadcaster, finding it "very fulfilling" and that he's also looking forward to a new slate of non-singing gigs.

"I've got radio, that's going to continue. I've got other things that are coming up: I've got master classes and role-coaching. I've got being a jurist on a voice competition in Finland later on this year — it's a very prestigious voice competition. I want to do more of all that," Heppner said.

"The best thing is to be remembered well ... I always thought it would be a cool way to go out on top," he added.

"I'm not sure if I've done that, but sticking around just for somebody else's satisfaction just doesn't seem like the right thing to do."

[readon1 url="http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/ben-heppner-star-tenor-announces-retirement-from-singing-1.2619650"">http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/ben-heppner-star-tenor-announces-retirement-from-singing-1.2619650"]Source:www.cbc.ca[/readon1]

The Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe (NMC) Concept unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show may preview a stylish production sedan that will compete against the Mercedes-Benz CLA, claims a report from Autonews.

The new four-door study is said to closely preview a future VW Jetta-based model that will be positioned as a smaller, cheaper alternative to the VW CC from 2016. According to VW design boss Klaus Bischoff, the New Midsize Coupe is an “avant-garde protagonist for a new compact sedan class.”

The production version of the NMC study is expected to be built at Volkswagen’s plant in Puebla, Mexico, as well as in China, at a joint-venture factory. The model will be based on VW’s modular MQB architecture.

Since the New Midsize Coupe may be assembled in Mexico, it would be logical for the production model to be offered in the United States, although the VW Group already offers a CLA competitor there, the Audi A3 Sedan. VW has to be careful though that the NMC doesn’t steal sales from the Audi A3 Sedan, and the pricing strategy will be key in this respect.

The NMC study showcased in Beijing looks production-ready, continuing the current VW design language that is defined by crisp lines, horizontal detailing and extensive surfacing. The New Midsize Coupe features a simple grille continued by LED headlights for a familiar VW face. The car also gets a touch of sportiness from the heavily curved roofline, frameless doors and notchback-style rear – all inspired from the VW CC.

[readon1 url="http://www.carscoops.com/2014/04/vw-nmc-concept-could-be-produced-as.html"]Source:www.carscoops.com [/readon1]

Spain and Italy may have dominated this year’s New York International Olive Oil Competition, but some newcomers as well as stalwarts from Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Argentina showed they have what it takes to compete on the world stage.

One of the big surprises this year was the success of some outstanding producers from Mexico and Peru, countries that are generally less known for olive oil than others in the region like Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

Peru boasted an exceptionally high success rate of 75 percent with three out of its four submissions receiving awards, including two in the “Best in Class” category. Oliperu SAC won both of them, with their Del Prado (South Hemisphere Organic Blend Medium) and Zumaq Organic (South Hemisphere Organic Monovarietal Robust). Oasis Olives received a Silver Award in the South Hemisphere Non-organic Blend Robust category.

Mexico had a strong showing with three Gold Awards given to its own Bodegas De Santo Tomìás. The winning olive oils were Mision (North Hemisphere Non-organic Monovarietal Robust), Manzanilla (North Hemisphere Non-organic Monovarietal Medium) and Ascolano (North Hemisphere Non-organic Monovarietal Robust).

Three different Uruguayan olive oil producers took home awards this year. With a total of four awards, the small country increasingly recognized for its high quality oils won more prizes than any country in Latin America. Both the Olivares de Rocha blend and picual by Nuevo Manantial Sa La Loma Alta won Gold Awards, while Colinas De Garzón – Trivarietal (Agroland S.A.) and O’ 33 Jose Ignacio received Silver Awards.

Of Chile’s 19 entries in the contest, just two received NYIOOC recognition this year, giving the country the lowest rate of success among countries that received at least one award. 8 Olivos Blend by Agricola Y Forestal Don Rafael Limitada earned a “Best in Class” distinction (South Hemisphere Non-organic Blend Medium) and Deleyda by Olivos Ruta Del Sol S.A. was awarded the Silver in the South Hemisphere Non-organic Blend Robust category.

Argentina was represented by just one olive oil this year, Miditerra Grand by Miditerra S.A., which received a Gold Award in the category South Hemisphere Non-organic Blend Robust.

Olive Oils

[readon1 url="http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-basics/13-olive-oils-latin-america-awarded-nyiooc/39449"]Source:www.oliveoiltimes.com [/readon1]

At the start Monday, as competitors stood shoulder to shoulder, the race announcer shouted to them, "Take back that finish line!"
Lee Ann Yanni told CNN before the race that she planned to run wearing a necklace with a silver stingray charm that her father gave her before he died of cancer. The force of the blasts as she ran in 2013 along Boylston Street failed to tear the memento from her body. She would not be stopped then, and she wouldn't be stopped Monday, she vowed.

Unable to walk for five and a half weeks, she eventually got back to training and finished the Chicago Marathon in October in 5 hours and 44 minutes.

"I'm running for those who can't," she told CNN. "I don't run very pretty ... but at the finish line, everybody is going to be represented."
Krystle Campbell, 29; Lu Lingzi, 23; and grade-schooler Martin Richard, 8, were killed in the 2013 bombing. Some of the wounded lost limbs.
J.P. Norden and his brother Paul recently recounted the confusion and horror of April 15, 2013, with CNN at the Forum Restaurant on Boylston Street.

"Where we are right now where we got hurt, lost ... (it) changed our lives but, I don't know. ..." J.P. said, struggling to find the words.
Each brother had his right leg amputated, and they now walk on prosthetic legs.

"It was such a tough journey and stuff," J.P. said, "but we got so much help from everyone that it's weird, it seems like so long away and ago and quick at the same time."

A year later, survivors are defiant and resilient
Another survivor, Marc Fucarile, also lost his right leg. He's undergone numerous surgeries, but shrapnel is still lodged in the inner wall of his heart. If it moves, he could die. Recently, the 35-year-old went to a court hearing for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who allegedly, along with his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were responsible for the bombing.

Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police; Dzhokhar is facing numerous charges and could be sentenced to death. His trial is set to begin in November, and he has pleaded not guilty.

"Whatever he gets," Fucarile told CNN, "he deserves."

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev awaits trial
On Tuesday, April 15, a moment of silence was observed at the finish line on the one-year anniversary of the bombings. Church bells rang and a flag was raised as a steady rain fell. The mantra "Boston Strong" was heard loud and clear.

On race day, a tweet apparently from President Barack Obama appeared @WhiteHouse. "Congrats to @runmeb and @ShalaneFlanagan for making America proud! All of today's runners showed the world the meaning of #BostonStrong. -bo."

Massachusetts native Shalane Flanagan was leading the pack of female runners for part of the race. According to the Boston Athletic Association's web site, she finished seventh among the women with a time of 2:22:02.

This year's race has 9,000 more runners than last year's, and an unprecedented crowd was expected to gather, officials have said.
CNN affiliate WBZ in Boston showed images on its website of the race as it unfolded.

Security was expected to be very tight. Backpacks were not allowed on the course this year, said Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Costumes that cover the face, containers with more than 1 liter of liquid and bulky clothes such as vests with pockets were also prohibited.

The course this year would be "very safe," Gov. Deval Patrick told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, adding, "Somebody said it may be the safest place in America."

Boston Marathon

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/us/boston-marathon/"]Source:www.cnn.com/ [/readon1]

(CNN) -- If a teen carrying nothing but a comb can do it, who else could breach airport security and hop on board the bottom of a plane?
That's the question many are asking after a 16-year-old boy snuck into the wheel well of a Boeing 767 and flew from San Jose, California, to Maui, Hawaii.

Many immediately pointed the finger at the Transportation Security Administration.

While TSA does play a part in an airport's overall security, their role is largely limited to the inside of the airport building -- the checkpoint security.

Local and airport police handle the outside -- the perimeter security.
"Perimeter security is a shared security," John Sammon, a top TSA administrator, said during a congressional subcommittee hearing in 2011. The TSA depends on local police and airport personnel to play the lead role, he said.
Against this backdrop, Sunday's incident has one California state lawmaker calling for better safety measures.
"I have long been concerned about security at our airport perimeters," state Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted. " #Stowaway teen demonstrates vulnerabilities that need to be addressed."

'No system is 100%'
In the case of San Jose International Airport, security responsibilities lie not just with the TSA, but also with airport and city police.
Six miles of chain link fence enclose the airport. Much of it, according to CNN affiliate KGO-TV, is only six feet high topped with barbed wire. Security cameras offer added surveillance, and "many eyes and ears" monitor the grounds, airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said.
Yet surveillance footage shows the boy hopping the fence at the airport. There's also footage of him walking across the ramp toward the Hawaiian Airlines plane.

"No system is 100%," Barnes said. "And it appears that this teenager scaled a section of our perimeter and was able to proceed onto our ramp under cover of darkness and into the wheel well of an aircraft."

CNN aviation expert Michael Kay said it was a "physical feat" that the boy got past all sorts of people, apparently unnoticed.
"Clearly there's a big security breach here, which in the post 9/11 world order is a concern."
Reevaluating protocols
The boy landed in Maui on Sunday and told authorities he ran away from home in Santa Clara, California. He didn't have any ID; all he had was a comb.
The boy told investigators he crawled into the wheel well of the plane and lost consciousness when the plane took off.
An hour after the plane landed at Kahului Airport, the boy regained consciousness and was captured on security footage crawling out of the left main gear area of the plane.

Officials at Kahului said they were re-examining their safety protocols to avoid a repeat.
Maui airport district manager Marvin Moniz told CNN affiliate KHON that people have scaled the barbed wire fence and on to the tarmac before -- but no one ever got on a plane.

"We went out, we did our rounds, did our checks, and it did not appear at any one point that there was entrance onto the airfield," he said.
The airport has multiple levels of security, he said: more than 200 cameras, a private security firm, airport police and the TSA.

It's actually not difficult to climb inside the wheel well, said Jose Wolfman Guillen, a ground operations coordinator at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

"What we can't catch with cameras, we do vehicle patrol. We do foot patrols," he told reporters.

Not the first time
Plenty of people have hitched a ride on a plane by holing up in the wheel well. Most don't survive.
In February, crews at Dulles International Airport in suburban Washington found the body of a man inside the landing-gear wheel well of an Airbus A340 operated by South African Airways.

In 2010, a 16-year-old boy died after he fell out of the wheel well of a US Airways flight bound for Boston from Charlotte.
A report detailing his death found there were not enough security officers at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the fastest growing airports in the country.
The most recent known case of someone surviving was on a short domestic flight in Nigeria. A 15-year-old boy snuck into the wheel well of a flight from Benin City to Lagos -- thinking it was a flight to the United States, according to an FAA report. The ride lasted only 35 minutes.

Stowaway risk
Apparently, some airports have a greater risk of stowaways than others. Many incidents involve people desperately trying to escape their countries.

After speaking with some Boeing 767 captains, Kay said, "There are airports around the world where airlines designate certain airfields as a stowaway risk."

"What that means is that when the aircraft lands or when the gear cycles from an aircraft, the doors actually come back up. So you've just got the legs protruding," Kay said.
"Now when they go to these airports such as Accra and Ghana in West Africa, what the engineers will do is they will actually drop those doors when the pilot does the walk around. So the pilot can get a really good view up into the undercarriage bays to actually physically check the stowaways." But those checks aren't mandated worldwide.

Physical feats
It's actually not difficult to climb inside the wheel well, said Jose Wolfman Guillen, a ground operations coordinator at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

"You can grab onto the struts and landing gear assembly kind of like a ladder, and you just jump on the tire and climb into the wheel well."
But after takeoff, a whole slew of scenarios could kill a stowaway hiding in the landing gear wheel well.
Inside, there's not much room -- even less than in the trunk of a car, Guillen said. A stowaway would need to guess "where the tire is going to fold in when it closes after takeoff. There's a high risk of getting crushed once the gear starts going in."
The boy's survival is "dumb luck, mostly," said Dr. Kenneth Stahl, trauma surgeon at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital. The temperature outside the airplane could have been as low as 75 or 80 degrees below zero, said Stahl, who is also a pilot. "Those are astronomically low temperatures to survive."

The boy was likely so cold that "he was essentially in a state of suspended animation," Stahl said. Being young likely worked in his favor, too. "No adult would have survived that," Stahl added.

The boy could face permanent brain damage from the experience, in fact, it's "more likely than not," Stahl said. He could face neurological issues, memory problems or a lower IQ.
The teen also could have frostbite or a kidney injury because when the body freezes, particles of muscle enter the blood stream and damage the kidneys, Stahl said.

Concerns about safety
The FBI dropped out of the investigation once it was confident the teen didn't pose a threat.
But the boy wasn't the only lucky one on this journey; so were the passengers and officials.

"If someone can climb inside here, then someone can put something a little more sinister in there," Kay said.
"And that's the connection that security officials need to make."

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/22/travel/plane-stowaway-security/index.html?hpt=hp_t1"]Source:www.cnn.com [/readon1]

Thanks to the six journalists invited on a FAM trip by the Riviera Nayarit CVB there are now articles being published in the most important media in Cali, Medellín and Bogotá.

The perseverance of the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau’s public relations office is already bearing fruit in Colombia, an emerging market that is of prime importance to Mexico’s Pacific Treasure.

On this occasion, representatives from six of Colombia’s major media outlets had a chance to immerse themselves in the destination (the majority are from Bogotá, with a few from Cali and Medellín): El Tiempo, El Espectador, La República, Hola Colombia, Colprensa, El País and El Colombiano.

The tour enjoyed by these journalists who are already publishing pieces on the Rivera Nayarit was quite extensive and in-depth. They were here from March 21 – 25 and visited the coastal towns and hotel developments of the region, seeing firsthand the synergy present between nature and luxury.

The first article to emerge from the FAM trip was published in March by La República, with 170 thousand readers. If we add together the impressions displayed by each media they reach around a million readers, all of them potential visitors.

“Each country has its uncharted landscapes lush with greenery, sunsets brilliant with colors and, every once in a while, sun, sand and sea. This is Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit, an undiscovered treasure that has yet to appear on the radar of millions of tourists who choose Cancún, Playa del Carmen or the Riviera Maya,” states La República.

The Colombian publications speak of the whales, the turtles, the golf, the celebrities, the hotel accommodations, the surf, the art and the culture of the Riviera Nayarit.

Thus the Riviera Nayarit has a constant presence in this Andean country, thanks to the promotional efforts together with the public relations representation the destination has in that market.

Another plus: the excellent commercial relations the destination has with retail and wholesale agencies around the country, which are key to the development and growth of the Colombian market and to obtaining ROI within a shorter time period.

Of course, the very real possibility of Avianca and Copa Airlines initiating flights to the Vallarta-Nayarit Airport is just as important; if they become a reality, the increase in visitors from Colombia

Christians celebrated Easter around the world Sunday, but with reminders of violence and politics.

In his second Easter message since becoming pontiff, Pope Francis prayed for an end to conflicts in Iraq, Israel, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Ukraine.

He delivered his speech from the central balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica.

"We pray in a particular way for Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive needed humanitarian aid and that neither side will again use deadly force, especially against the defenseless civil population, but instead boldly negotiate the peace long awaited and long overdue," the pope said.

Jerusalem: Tight security
Security was tight in Jerusalem on Sunday, a day afater tensions escalated when Israeli security forces halted Palestinian Christians who took part in a pre-Easter procession in the Old City.

Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, was among the group trying to walk together on what was Holy Saturday.

"I call on all parties to respect the right of religious freedom, granting access to holy sites for worshippers of all faiths and refraining from provocations, not least during the religious holidays," Serry said.

But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor called the incident a "non-event." He told the Jerusalem Post that police were trying to limit the number of those packed into the church and the narrow streets around it.
Boston: A blessing before the marathon

In the United States, Cardinal Sean O'Malley will offer a blessing for runners in the Boston Marathon at the end of Easter Sunday Mass at the Cathedral, CNN affiliate WJAR-TV said.

Though an annual part of the race buildup, the Cardinal's blessing will have extra meaning this year. The city is marking the one-year anniversary of the bombings that killed three people and wounded at least 264 others.

This year's marathon is Monday. Other Boston churches will offer special blessings.

British royals, Obama celebrate Easter
Queen Elizabeth II will attend Easter Mass at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue their tour of Australia.

President Obama wished the American people a happy Easter on Saturday in his weekly address.

"For me, Easter is a story of hope -- a belief in a better day to come, just around the bend," he said. "So to all Christians who are celebrating, from my family to yours, Happy Easter. And to every American, have a joyful weekend."

He celebrated Passover earlier this week with the fifth Seder at the White House. Obama is the first president to host a Seder dinner while in office.

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/20/world/easter-roundup/"]Source:www.cnn.com[/readon1]

The annual event will feature the world of male models with a host of ripped Adonises, beguiling beaus, wild boys and sensual charmers, strutting their stuff in the first Male Fashion Show of the Life Ball, presented by L’Uomo Vogue.

Under the aegis of Franca Sozzani – Editor of Vogue Italia, L’Uomo Vogue, Condé Nast Italy Editorial Director and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Fashion4Development – a manifold of tuxedo-looks by seven of the most renowned designers: Givenchy, Viktor & Rolf, Lanvin, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Etro and Dsquared2, are on parade, leading the way to fashion paradise with masculine elegance and sexy chic. Appearances by legendary female fashion-, music-, and stage divas, in haute couture by the seven designers, literally combine “Adam” with “Eve”.

“It’s such an honor to be once again partner of this praiseworthy initiative, representing Italy, where, next June, we will hold the 21st edition of Convivio, thus supporting HIV/AIDS research. It is so important that we all share our efforts for a disease that unfortunately still affects millions of people around the world”, Franca Sozzani said.

Life Ball 2014 is also particularly pleased to welcome Ricky Martin for his first live appearance on Austrian soil. For many years he has been active under the auspices of the red ribbon, and says: “I’m honored that Life Ball invited me to come to Vienna for such an important cause that truly matters”.

One of Life Ball’s partners, President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States and founder of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, will deliver keynote remarks, supporting the way towards an AIDS-free generation.

Lust, as a driving force for human action, will be perceptible and omnipresent at the Life Ball and should find its expression in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in all related deeds.

Those who want to stroll through the “Garden of earthly Delights” and experience the Life Ball with all its virtues, may still, for a limited time, secure themselves VIP-Tickets for EUR 750, with seats on the VIP grandstand for the opening show, access to the VIP area of the City Hall Ballroom, culinary delights and all beverages (from champagne to spirits, wine and beer), all inclusive. Owners of VIP-Tickets may also function as hosts, with their own Lounge Table for EUR 3.000, to which they may invite up to twelve VIP-Ticket holders, for friends, business partners or clients.

Only a limited quota for both VIP categories is still available. For information and reservations, please visit www.lifeball.org.

Life Ball in Vienna, Austria, was the first AIDS charity event worldwide to take place in a political building: The Vienna City Hall. Ever since its premiere in 1993, Life Ball raises funds for people living with HIV/AIDS, supports organizations and projects in the most affected regions around the world and contributes to remove the taboos of AIDS in our society. The charitable organization behind Life Ball, AIDS LIFE, which was established in 1992 by Gery Keszler and Torgom Petrosian, decides about the allocation of the proceeds. Beside national initiatives like the Austrian AIDS Helps the majority of the funds raised goes towards international partner organizations such as amfAR – The Foundation for AIDS Research, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and UNAIDS – the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

[readon1 url="https://www.looktothestars.org/news/11852-ricky-martin-to-perform-at-life-ball-in-vienna"]Source:www.looktothestars.org [/readon1]

An amazing new video shows two oarfish swimming just offshore in Mexico to the delight of ecotourists on a kayaking tour. The video, taken last March, shows the pair of fish possibly about to beach themselves. Oarfish are rarely sighted and legend associates their apparition near the surface with earthquake prediction.

Ecotourists kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, have captured an incredibly rare scene on video which was uploaded to YouTube yesterday. The tourists caught a pair of 15 foot-long oarfish swimming at the shore off Isla San Francisco in Baja California Sur in Mexico.

The video, which was uploaded by the Shedd Aquarium, in Chicago, was posted to the internet yesterday and already rumors abound of the oarfish's reason for swimming so close to shore. According to Japanese folklore, oarfish are sighted at the surface or beach themselves in advance of an earthquake. Some speculate that the deep-sea fish, which can inhabit depths of up to 3,000 feet, are highly sensitive to tectonic movements within the earth's crust.

In the video, delighted kayakers observe the oarfish approach the beach, only to turn away at the last moment. It is unclear if the oarfish were trying to beach themselves, or if they were disoriented. Oarfish normally inhabit deep waters where they feed on zooplankton and small crustaceans. The usually swim vertically, as opposed to horizontally, and they are notoriously bad swimmers. They can grow over 50 feet in length.

Their long serpentine bodies may be the reason behind legends of sea serpents.

Japanese folklore attests that oarfish beach themselves in the months before large earthquakes occur. In October 2013, two oarfish were found beached in southern California. Now, two living specimens have been filmed in Baja.

Perhaps coincidentally, two earthquakes recently struck the Los Angeles area in California, relatively near where the beachings occurred in October. Those quakes were the first noteworthy events since 2005, ending a nine-year long "earthquake drought" in Los Angeles.

Do the oarfish in Baja portend something similar?

Scientists say that's very unlikely and point to other oarfish beachings. Although oarfish are rarely sighted, they do occasionally show up at the surface, usually battered by currents or crippled with injury or illness. Since they are weak swimmers, the outlook is grim for oarfish that end up in these predicaments.

[readon1 url="https://www.catholic.org/news/green/story.php?id=54857"]Source:www.catholic.org [/readon1]

(CNN) -- Military dive teams worked the dark, cold waters of the Yellow Sea on Wednesday night in a desperate effort to find nearly 300 people who remained missing after the ferry they were taking to a South Korean island resort sank with breathtaking speed.

Officials said four people were known dead and at least 164 had been rescued after the ferry Sewol swiftly listed and then capsized off the southwest coast of South Korea.

Nearly 300 others are missing, authorities said, but the exact number of passengers aboard the ferry was unclear amid the confusion of the rescue effort.

The bulk of those aboard were students and teachers from Seoul's Ansan Danwon High School heading to a four-day trip to Jeju, a resort island considered the Hawaii of Korea. More than 300 students and more than a dozen teachers from the school were on board, according to officials.

I was not immediately clear if the dead -- three males and a female -- were students, teachers, part of the crew or other passengers from the ferry.

The ship sank within two hours of its first distress call, which came just before 9 a.m., the semiofficial Yonhap News Agency reported. It's not known what caused the incident.

Helicopters, military vessels and fishing boats swarmed to the scene to help rescue passengers.

Survivors told CNN affiliate YTN that announcements on board the ferry, which also carries cars and shipping containers, ordered passengers to remain where they were after the ship began to violently list.

Others told passengers to jump into the 40-degree waters. Rescued student Lim Hyung Min was among those told to jump.

He told CNN affiliate YTN that he heard a loud bump just before the ship began to list and several off his classmates were flung off their feet. The crew ordered them to don life jackets and jump into the ocean, he said.

"I had to swim a bit to get to the boat to be rescued," he said. "The water was so cold and I wanted to live."

Passenger Kim Seung Mok said that despite his efforts and those of others, he couldn't get to several passengers on one of the decks.

"I stayed till the last to rescue people at the hall," Kim told YTN. "But the water was coming in so fast (that) some didn't make it out."

Water temperatures, swift currents and low visibility appeared to be complicating the massive rescue operation, which involved dozens of South Korean military divers, sailors, marines and police officers.

The U.S. Navy ship USS Bonhomme Richard, on routine patrol in the area, dispatched its helicopters to aid in the rescue and was headed to the scene, the U.S. Navy said.

Divers from the South Korean navy searched three of the ship's compartments but found no survivors or bodies, Yonhap reported. Another dive team was expected to continue the search shortly, the news agency said.

At Ansan Danwon High School, parents clutched their cell phones in an agonizing wait for a call from their children. Officials posted a list of names. Once a confirmation of a rescue came, they circled that name.

At one point, the school announced that all students had been rescued but soon backtracked, to the parents' wrath.

What could have caused the ship to sink so rapidly remained a mystery. The weather was clear at the time of the accident.

Peter Boynton, a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, said the speed with which the ship sank suggested it had sustained "major damage." He also said that if the ferry's car deck had been breached, it could have quickly swamped the ship.

Battling against darkness, cold, swift currents and trying to find their way through a damaged, upturned ship, rescuers are "up against every sort of obstacle," said David Gallo, director of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

"It's just an absolutely, positively horrific situation," he said. "It's nightmarish."

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/16/world/asia/south-korea-sinking-ship-students/index.html?hpt=hp_t1"]Source:www.cnn.com [/readon1]

Vice President Joe Biden swore in Maria Contreras-Sweet, the founder of a Los Angeles community bank, as head of the Small Business Administration on Monday.

Contreras-Sweet is the third Latina ever to hold a Cabinet position.

Before the vice president swore in Contreras-Sweet, President Barack Obama praised her as someone who “knows first-hand the challenges that small businesses go through.”

He said: “Maria understands that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.”

Contreras-Sweet, born in Guadalajara, Mexico is now the second Hispanic in the Cabinet in President Obama’s second term. The other is Labor Secretary Tom Perez.

Biden said Contreras-Sweet was a living example of the American Dream, “the promise that anything is possible in the United States of America.”

He spoke about how she had always remained mindful of her immigrant roots and of helping others in the Latino community achieve their dreams of getting ahead.

“You’ve known the business potential in the Hispanic community and you’ve nurtured it at every turn,” Biden said to her from the podium.

He says the Hispanic business community is "absolutely central" to economic growth in the U.S.

Contreras-Sweet reflected on her mother, who “worked so hard her entire life to give her six children opportunities she would never have.”

“We didn’t have much,” she said, “but what we did have was an abundance of hope.”

The Senate easily approved Contreras-Sweet last month on a voice vote. The Mexican-born Contreras-Sweet immigrated to the U.S. when she was five years old.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/04/07/maria-contreras-sweet-sworn-in-as-us-small-business-administration-secretary/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]