Building wealth may seem somewhat impossible, but it is actually quite simple.
In fact, you don’t have to earn six figures to turn this dream into a reality.
However, there are habits, behaviors, and “rules” essentially, that will allow you to get rich and grow wealth.
No matter how old you are, you can amass wealth as long as you’re determined.
Keep in mind that building wealth is not an overnight process, its a journey.
There are potentially thousands of ways to earn income, and you need to find the most that you can do and get to work immediately.
Below are a few things I believe you can do to get rich and grow your wealth — over time:
1. *Have multiple streams of income:*
You have multiple stream of expenses, isn’t it beneficial to own multiple stream of income too?
*You cannot invest without saving money, and you can’t save money without a regular income*.
It is only fair to yourself to agree that being financially self-sufficient is not something you can achieve by just only one stream. Therefore, You will need to build your retirement nest egg with other types of investments during your working years in order to generate an adequate income stream after you stop working.
2. *Put Your Money to Work For You*:
You need your money to work over time to grow wealth for you, not against you.
Hence, it is important that you identify wealth building opportunities.
You can put your money to work by having the appropriate asset allocations (a mix of Stocks, Bonds, Cash and other assets) to make reaching your wealth goals more realistic. So make the early decision to start setting aside some funds for investment.
3. *Keep Learning and growing:*
“Everyone has the ability to build a financial ark to survive and flourish in the future,” said Robert Kiyosaki, business magnate and author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. “But you must invest time in your financial education to build an ark with a solid foundation.”
As you make it a habit to find ways to better yourself, you’ll also find new potential ways to build wealth faster than ever.
Entrepreneurship is not just an act of building a business, its also an act of knowing the right investment package to build wealth by Awele Akunwa.
There are three (3) different kinds of shares in the stock market.
1. *Growth Stocks:*
As the name implies, growth companies by definition are those that have substantial potential for growth in the foreseeable future.
Every sector of the market has growth companies, but they are more prevalent in some areas, such as technology, alternative energy, and biotechnology.
Most growth stocks tends to be newer companies with innovative products, that are expected to make a big impact on the market, in the future, though there are exceptions. For example; Amazon, when they started.
2. *Value Stock*
A value stock trades at a price below where it appears it should be, based on its financial status and technical trading indicators. It may have high dividend payout ratios or low financial ratios such as price-to-book or price-earnings ratios.
The stock price may also have dropped due to public perception regarding factors that have little to do with the company’s current operations.
For example, the stock price of a well-run, financially sound company may drop substantially for a short time period, if the company CEO becomes embroiled in a serious personal scandal.
Smart investors know that this may be a good time to buy the stock, as there is a chance that the public will eventually forget about the incident and the price will possibly revert to its previous level.
3. *Income or Profit Stocks*
Investors look at income stocks to bolster their fixed-income portfolios with dividend yields that typically exceed those of guaranteed instruments, such as Treasury securities or CDs.
Although income stocks can be an attractive alternative for investors who are unwilling to risk their principal (funds), though their values can decline when interest rates rises.
*#Pause*
“Do you want a share of the *GROWTH*, or do you want a share of the *PROFIT?*”
This is one of the first questions I was asked by an advisor on the Stock Market. I was initially quite surprised because I did not know there was a difference!
“Think of it like this,” he explained. “Imagine you go to the Market where they sell live animals. You can buy a mature cow that will give you milk every day—that is what we call *DIVIDEND*, or you can buy a young calf that will increase in value as it grows—that is a *GROWTH Stock*..?”
He continued: “Dividend Stock is milk with no growth. It is for conservative types, and widows, but Growth Stock gives you a chance of making bigger money by selling the calf even as it grows up, and it can still produce many young, and milk later, but then again it can die on you, which is the risk.”
There is really no complication to these things, when you understand the underlying principles.
Nigerian Stock Exchange operates on basically the same principles as our domestic Markets!
Now I am NOT going to tell you whether you should or should not invest on the Stock Market or which Stock you should pick. That is your job to do.
Meanwhile, Mtn public shares openings are closing today, incase needs be for interested investors.
I am telling you this, just to equip you with financial education and the language of business.
*As a serious #Entrepreneur, you must learn the language of business.
Welcome to the second quarter of the year. How is the year so far?
This is the time of the year, when everyone has developed a goal, a plan, a dream and a vision, for the year, which is so wonderful.
But, because no one knows for sure what tomorrow will bring, you need to do everything you can to improve your ability to plan for the future while being prepared to handle any curveballs that get thrown your way.
Whether it’s preparing for big life milestones, such as starting a family, or navigating through difficult periods, when you face financial setbacks, such as no rent, car repairs, losing your job or poor health.
While you can’t predict most of these events, having a ‘plan B’ can take the worry off you.
Future-proofing your finances can help you feel more secure about what lies ahead, in this new year.
One of the effective ways to do so is by taking control of your money; from tracking spending to paying off debts and managing bills.
I have designed some brief points to consider this year while taking the steps for financial management and wealth creation.
1. *Take stock of where you’re at right now financially*:
It’s time to take a deep dive into your financial status by assessing what’s coming in and going out.
Most people saw a major impact to their incomes and finances because they were just spending and not taking stock.
Sort your needs from your wants. What are the real essentials, and what can wait until later? Doing this will help create a realistic budget to help you move forward.
2. *Build up your Savings/Investments:*
It’s a good idea to have enough in a rainy-day fund to cover your household expenses for at least three to six months.
starting the culture of saving early on, in your business or career is the best way to ensure you’ll have sufficient funds to support your lifestyle in retirement or financial journey.
3. *Don’t let debts pile up:*
It’s often better to clear any outstanding debts before you try to save.
Most people have some form of debt and that’s okay, but don’t let them get out of hand. Treat saving/Investing as another bill that has to be paid, rather than an optional extra.
A day will come when you’ll leave the workforce — either by choice or by necessity. When that day arrives, you may find you’ll have to rely on your own savings to keep up with your day-to-day living expenses.
Make the smart choice to start saving & investing now.
Most SMEs (Small Businesses) don't consider a merger as part of business strategic models.
The question is; Would you consider merging your business with that of another entrepreneur?
A merger is when you combine your business with one created by another entrepreneur.
Most people think that Mergers only happen between large businesses, but that is not true.
A lot of SMEs has done some really cool mergers in the past, and most businesses would not be as big as it is, if they had not mastered the power of merging.
Mergers have always given them an opportunity to make their businesses bigger, and faster. Which is called *SCALE*.
You still need to understand the two key formulas of the entrepreneurial playbook:
*INNOVATION PLUS MARKETING-COST=PROFIT*.
A business that has identified and reaches out and solves a human need, Scales as a result of the “3Ps”, and nothing else!
*Product.*
*People.*
*Process.*
You might have a good *#Product* that solves a customer problem in an *#Innovative* way, but you don’t have the *#People* who can drive the other pieces, such as *Marketing*, *Process*, *Cost Management* and more.
This is when a merger comes in, to compliment the company with other elements that scales a business.
When you “merge” two companies, you are not looking for 1+1=2, but rather 1+1=4 or even 5!
There are seven (7) top questions to ask, when considering a merger.
1. *The Products*
2. *The Market* [customers] and the Marketing
3. *Innovations* going forward to create better and more *Products.
4. *The People*
(a) Who is going to be doing what, in the new company?
(b) What is their caliber?
(c) What is our ability to get access to the best people out there?
(d) Who are the top specialists that drive this business going forward?
(e) Leadership and management—Who will run it?
(f) How do you accommodate the founders, if they are still around?—Tough one!
(g) What about the board of directors?
5. *The Processes*
A bigger company requires more sophisticated management processes, from IT, to distribution, to HR, to financing!
6. *The Costs*
By combining the two companies, we must be more efficient. This means some people will probably have to leave, whilst new ones come on board.
7. *Finance*
This is a major *Skill*!
Many people don’t access money because they lack skills to raise capital, and it might be a good way to solve this problem by merging with someone else who has that skill.
*Conclusion*
In a merger there is usually no exchange of money. The owners of each company must agree on a valuation procedure to be followed.
These are quite straightforward for a qualified Accountant to execute.
Let’s say business *A* is valued to be worth $25,000 and business *B* is worth 30,000, then business *C* the merged company is now worth $55,000.
The owners of *A* own 25/55=45%, and those of *B* own 30/55=55%, of the new company.
The owners of the merged company must agree in advance who will be CEO, and who will be chairman of the board of directors.
This is captured in a proper agreement called a *Shareholders Agreement* (SHA)
Once signed, the courts will enforce that agreement, if there is a dispute between the parties.
The new owners must agree in advance how the company will be organized after the merger, including who initially occupies key positions.
Mergers can be easily destroyed if the founders have big egos, as they require an acceptance that no one can now make decisions about the company on their own, this is usually the challenge of mergers.
An employment contract is written to define the relationship between the employee and the employer legally. Both parties have to agree and sign a written agreement before the new hire can start working.
This document ensures employees follow the company as per rules and regulations. A well-defined contract sheds light on expectations and protects employers in resignation, termination, or salary disputes.
An employment contract is essential because every action taken in an organisation should always be written and put on paper. An employer can use this document to prevent the employee from using confidential information during and after the employee ceases to work for the employer.
Need some help? Don’t worry; we have got you covered – once you’re done with this article crafting an employment contract can be as easy as a handshake.
Applicable Law
Employment and employment agreements are subject to Federal laws as issues relating to employment and labour matter in Nigeria are within the exclusive purview of the federal legislature.
An employer must give the employee a written contract within three (3) months of the commencement of the employment according to Section 7 of the Act.
The Federal laws applicable to this agreement include:
Labour Act, 2004.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 199 (as amended).
Employees’ compensation Act, 2010.
Factories Act, 2004.
National Health Insurance Scheme Act, 2004.
Personal Income Tax (Amendment Act), 2011.
Trade Disputes Act, 2004.
A written contract of employment must contain the following:
Employer details – Name of the employer or group of employers
Employee details – Name and address of the employee, the date and place of his engagement
The nature of the employment (Internship, Full-time, Freelance, Part-time, Contract, etc) – Some of these details can even include the job description and the team or department with which the employee will work.
Performance expectation and requirements – This section would specifically mention the candidates’ employment role, title, responsibilities, and state clear expectations.
State the date the contract expires – If the contract is for a fixed term, the contract should clearly state timelines.
Probation period details – This section should cover probation period details and critical performance indicators – also terms on which the company will confirm the employee.
Performance reviews – This involves framing an overview of the employee’s performance, work, punctuality, and honest feedback from the senior employees.
The rate of wages/salaries and the manner and periodicity of payment of wages – This section should cover salary agreements and payment timelines – how much and when the employer will pay the agreed wages. It should include the hourly rate or annual salary information about raises, bonuses, or incentives offered to the employee.
Employee benefits – This section should explain what the compensation plan includes — dental, health insurance, quarterly bonus, etc. if offered by the employer.
Any terms and conditions relating to; hours of work; holiday and holiday pay; incapacity to work due to sickness, injury and provisions for a sick day if any and insurance, etc
Define Clear Protocols for Staff Leave, holidays, and exits – This section should contain rules that guide vacation and explain employee expectations regarding sick days, family emergencies, or paid/unpaid leave.
Termination – State the amount of notice each party is required to give to terminate employment. This notice can be based on employment periods or can be at will.
Non-Competition – This clause prohibits the employee from engaging in any activities that directly or indirectly compete with the employer’s business and other clauses based on the company’s work attributes.
DALLAS (AP) — A Texas nurse who contracted Ebola while caring
for an infected Liberian man graduated from nursing school four years
ago and was certified in critical care procedures two months before the
disease arrived in the United States.
Nurse Nina Pham understood the risks of working so
close to one of the world's most feared viruses and tried to reassure
her family that she would be safe.
When Pham's mother learned her
daughter was caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, Pham told her: "Mom, no.
Don't worry about me," family friend Christina Tran told The Associated
Press.
Pham's infection raised new questions about whether
American hospitals and their staffs are adequately prepared to contain
Ebola.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged
Tuesday that Pham might not have been infected if a special response
team had been sent to Dallas immediately after the Liberian patient was
diagnosed.
CDC Director Tom Frieden said the agency is creating an
"Ebola response team" and bolstering training nationwide on how to
respond to an Ebola case.
Pham, the first person to contract the
disease within the United States, was among more than 70 staff members
at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas involved in Duncan's
care. The 26-year-old Texas Christian University graduate remained
hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition and said in a statement that
she was "doing well."
Protect Environmental workers move disposal barrels to a staging area outside the apartment of a hea …
Duncan's medical records, which the family shared with The
Associated Press, show that Pham helped care for Duncan throughout his
hospital stay, including the day he arrived in intensive care and the
day before he died.
The records make numerous mentions of
protective gear worn by hospital staff, and Pham herself notes wearing
the gear in visits to Duncan's room. But there is no indication in the
records of her first encounter with Duncan, on Sept. 29, that Pham
donned any protective gear.
Pham got her nursing degree in 2010. A
spokeswoman for the Fort Worth-based school said infection prevention
was part of the nursing curriculum. A classmate of Pham's said they had
studied microbiology and discussed Ebola in detail, even reading "The
Hot Zone," the 1994 book about the origins of Ebola. The classmate spoke
on the condition of anonymity, saying she did not want to infringe on
Pham's privacy.
Two nurses from Emory University Hospital in
Atlanta with special training in Ebola care are helping to train staff
at the hospital where Thomas Eric Duncan died last week, Frieden said.
"I've
been hearing loud and clear from health care workers from around the
country that they're worried," said Frieden, who also said the CDC is
considering whether Ebola patients should be transferred to one of four
hospitals with specialized bio-containment units.
Though the CDC
said a breach in protocol was probably to blame for Pham's infection,
the man's illness was so complicated and rare that the risk of
transmission would have existed at any hospital, experts said.
This Texas Christian University yearbook photo shows Nina Pham, 26, who became the first person to c …
"Even in the best of hospitals following all the protocol, we
can minimize the risk to hospital personnel, but we can never eliminate
it," said Dr. David Weber, an epidemiologist at the University of North
Carolina's hospital.
What's more, staff in Atlanta and another
containment unit in Omaha, Nebraska, would have trained and drilled for
years for the possibility of such an occurrence, and they had advance
warning of an Ebola case heading their way.
"They were notified in
advance, 24, 48 hours — they had plenty of time to prepare, they were
met at the door by people all garbed," Weber said. "That's a more
controlled situation than a patient walking through the door that you
think may or may not have Ebola."
The isolation unit at the
Nebraska Medical Center has been working since it opened in 2005 to
perfect routines to protect medical staff against infection, said Shelly
Schwedhelm, nursing and training director of the unit.
The most
important difference in the Nebraska unit and some hospitals, she said,
are protocols for putting on protective equipment and safely taking it
off.
Martha Kuhl, a pediatric nurse in Oakland, California, and an
officer with National Nurses United, said the same training and gear
that helped safeguard nurses at Emory and in Nebraska must be offered
everywhere.
Kuhl said she simply received a lengthy email about Ebola, but no other training.
"Most
nurses have not been properly prepared," she said. "You never know when
you're going to be approached by a patient or family member who meets
the criteria."
Back in Texas,
people who know the Pham family said they were part of a closely knit,
deeply religious community of Vietnamese Catholics in Fort Worth.
The
Rev. Jim Khoi, pastor at Our Lady of Fatima Church, said Pham appeared
to be in good spirits when she spoke to her mother, Ngoc Pham, via video
chat.
Pham's mother is "calm," Khoi said. "She trusts in God. And she asks for prayers."
___
Associated Press Writer Alex Sanz in Dallas and Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
Photo captures split-second moment jet breaks the sound barrier. Photo by Joe Broyles/Caters news
A photographer spent five years attempting to photograph the moment a
jet breaks the sound barrier and finally succeeded, capturing the
split-second moment the aircraft reached “transonic velocity,” or the
speed of sound at 766 mph.
Joe Broyles, 61, attending an air show at the Oceania Naval Air
Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia, picked a spot in the sky and
snapped eight images in less than two seconds, hoping he’d get lucky,
“They move so fast it’s near impossible to time when to start pushing the shutter button,” Broyles told Caters.
Luck was on his side as Broyles captured the moment an F-18 Super
Hornet 2 jet broke the sound barrier, forming a vapor cone around the
jet that lasted tenths of a second.
Broyles had been to several air shows in the past attempting to get
his tough-to-get photo. Not only is it difficult because of the speed of
the aircraft but so is judging the height that the jet will pass
overhead.
“I didn’t know if he would come in high, low, or somewhere in the middle,” he said. “I have experienced all three.”
Now he’s finally experienced success.
“When I saw the photograph, I was absolutely ecstatic,” Broyles said.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for at least five years, so when I
saw the image I raised my arm with a closed fist—I finally got it.”
A Brooklyn cop who was caught on camera stomping on a man's head while
he was being subdued has been assigned to desk duty, according to the NY Daily News.
Joel Edouard, 36, also waved a gun toward Jahmil-El Cuffee's head
while he was on the ground being arrested on suspicion of marijuana
possession at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Edouard was ordered to surrender his gun
and shield as well.
*****
A new video
showing a NYPD officer pointing his gun at an unarmed man who is being
restrained has surfaced online and is putting the city's police
department in further controversy over its arrest tactics.
This comes only a week after footage of the choking death of Eric Garner by officers in Staten Island, New York, surfaced and spread across the Internet.
The latest incident took place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of
Brooklyn. The video shows two officers restraining and holding a man up
against a vehicle on the property where the man lives, according to the
voice of the man recording the video.
The officers tell him to stop resisting arrest. "I didn't do s--t," the
man being held down repeatedly says. One cop then pulls out his weapon
and points it at the man's head to threaten him and then places it back
in his holster. Seconds later, the same officer stomps on the man's head
as other cops gather to restrain the man and arrest him.
Videos showing alleged police misconduct continue to surface more and
more as witnesses look to expose these incidents. This also comes following the arrest of a man being held in a chokehold by officers in Harlem, which was recently posted online. Follow Natelege Whaley on Twitter: @Natelege_
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Jay Z was under attack by his wifeBeyonce's younger sister,Solange Knowles as the trio departed the 2014 Met Gala after-party in New York last Monday.
A
surveillance camera caught the 27 year old singer lashing out at her
brother-in-law, 44, with her arms and legs flaring up while Queen Bey
watched helplessly.
The famous family were in an elevator
descending from a soiree that followed the annual fashion fest at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
According to TMZ sources, Solange was screaming at her family member when the fight erupted. In the footage, a man who looks to be a bodyguard tries to hold Solange back but she manages to reach the rapper several times.
The cause of the fight is still under wraps but from the footage, Jay Z grabs her foot to block a kick but never attempts to retaliate. Beyonce
tried to muster a showbiz smile as the threesome left but then departed
with her sister in a car while her husband left separately.
Watch the fight below:
Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.
An incredible image of a "firenado," a combination of (you guessed
it) a fire and a tornado, appeared on the Web this week and quickly
inspired many to wonder if the otherworldly image could possibly be
real.
It is indeed. The photo was taken near Chillicothe, Mo., by Janae Copelin and then posted to her Instagram account.
She wrote, "Had such a wonderful
weekend, but this had to be the coolest/scariest thing I've ever seen. A
farmer burning off his field and as we stopped so I could take a
picture the wind whipped up this fire twister."
There were
no reported injuries.
Firenados can occur when strong
ground-level winds connect with fire, propelling the flames into a
twisting vortex that sucks in debris, accuweather.com explains.
While unusual, firenados aren't
unheard of. Back in 2012, Chris Tangey, an Australian filmmaker,
captured footage of a firenado while scouting locations. He then shared
the clips with ABC News. Tangey remarked that it sounded like a "jet
engine."
“Tadpoles” Gold in Compact Cameras; Best in Show Bert Willaert, Belgium Location: Lovendegem, Belgium Comment: Sort of looks like aliens flying overhead.
You wouldn’t think that an underwater photo taken with a
point-and-shoot camera would produce an award-winning photograph, but a
nature photographer from Belgium proved otherwise.
Bert Willaert was snorkeling in a small canal in Lovendegem, Belgium,
and encountered a huge school of tadpoles of the common toad. Using his
compact camera, Willaert took a photograph from a unique angle.
“From below it looks like they are flying overhead,” he wrote in a blog post about the photo.
The distinctive photo not only won the gold for compact cameras but was the Best of Show for the entire 2014 DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition, the results of which were released in the past week.
It is the first time in the history of the eight-year series that a
compact camera winner has won the Best of Show, “so it’s pretty
unusual,” said Matt Weiss, owner of DivePhotoGuide.com, which hosted the contest with Wetpixel and DEEP Indonesia.
More than 5,000 photos were entered from more than 30 countries, with
photographers from 18 countries winning more than $40,000 in prizes.
Here’s a variety of the winning photos, courtesy of 2014 DEEP Indonesia International Underwater Photo
“Red Sea at Sunset” Bronze in Reefscapes Theresa Guise, Indiana Location: Red Sea Comment:
The Red Sea, located between Africa and Asia, is known for its
spectacular recreational diving sites, and its sunsets, too, apparently.
By Siva Govindasamy and Swati Pandey
KUALA LUMPUR/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - A
Chinese patrol ship hunting for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner
detected a pulse signal in the south Indian Ocean on Saturday, the state
news agency Xinhua reported, in a possible indicator of the underwater
beacon from a plane's "black box".
Australian search authorities said such a signal would be "consistent"
with a black box, but both they and Xinhua stressed there was no
conclusive evidence linking the "ping" to Flight MH370, which went
missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard shortly after taking off from
Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.
A
black box detector deployed by the vessel Haixun 01 picked up the "ping"
signal with a frequency of 37.5kHz per second - the same as emitted by
flight recorders - at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees
east longitude, Xinhua said.
Xinhua also reported that a Chinese air force plane had spotted a number of white floating objects in the search area.
Dozens of ships and planes from 26 countries are racing to find the black box recorders before their batteries run out.
Up to 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships are scouring
a 217,000-sq-km (88,000-sq-mile) patch of desolate ocean some 1,700 km
(1,060 miles) northwest of Perth, Australia, near where investigators
believe the Boeing went down.
"The characteristics
reported (by the Chinese vessel) are consistent with the aircraft black
box," Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the Australian
agency coordinating the operation, said in a statement.
"However, there is no confirmation at this stage that the signals and
the objects are related to the missing aircraft," he said, adding his
agency was seeking more information from China.
SONAR EQUIPMENT
Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as a cause of the
plane's disappearance, but say the evidence, including loss of
communications, suggests it was deliberately diverted thousands of
kilometers (miles) from its set route.
Sonar equipment on two
ships joining the search may help find the black box voice and data
recorders that are key to unlocking what happened on the flight.
Australian authorities said the so-called Towed Pinger Locator would be
pulled behind navy ship HMAS Ocean Shield, searching a converging course
on a 240-km (150-mile) track with British hydrographic survey ship HMS
Echo.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force Commander Hidetsugu Iwamasa is pictured in front of one of t …
Experts say the Towed
Pinger Locator may be of little use unless investigators can get a much
better idea of exactly where the plane went into the water because its
limited range and the slow speed at which it must be pulled behind the
ship mean it cannot cover large areas of ocean quickly.
"I won't even call it an area. What we are doing is we are tracking
down the best estimate of the course that the aircraft was on," U.S.
Navy Captain Mark Matthews told Reuters. "It takes a couple of days on
each leg so it's a slow-going search."
Britain is also sending
HMS Tireless, a nuclear submarine with sonar capabilities, and a
Malaysian frigate was due to arrive in the search area on Saturday.
"If we haven't found anything in six weeks we will continue because
there are a lot of things in the aircraft that will float," Australia's
Houston told reporters.
Dozens of flights by a multinational taskforce have failed to turn up any trace of the plane in the past four weeks.
The Boeing 777 was briefly picked up on military radar on the other
side of Malaysia and analysis of subsequent hourly electronic
"handshakes" exchanged with a satellite led investigators to conclude
the plane had crashed far off the west Australian coast hours later.
INVESTIGATION
Malaysian authorities have faced heavy criticism, particularly from
China, for mismanaging the search and holding back information. Most of
the 227 passengers were Chinese.
Malaysia said on Saturday it had launched a formal investigation into
the plane's disappearance that would include experts from Australia, the
United States, China, Britain and France.
Normally, a formal air safety investigation is not launched until
wreckage is found. But there have been concerns that Malaysia's informal
investigations to date have lacked the legal standing of an official
inquiry convened under U.N. rules.
Under International Civil Aviation Organization rules, the country
where the aircraft is registered leads the investigation when the
incident takes place in international waters.
Malaysia's Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the investigation
would comprise three groups: one would examine maintenance records,
structures and systems; an "operations" group would study flight
recorders, operations and meteorology; and a "medical and human factors"
group would look into psychology, pathology and survival.
(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris, Niluksi Koswanage in
KUALA LUMPUR, Jane Wardell in SYDNEY; Writing by Siva Govindasamy and
Mark Bendeich; Editing by Nick Macfie and Gareth Jones)
Given the pedigree of previous South Park games, there was very valid
reason for gamers to be worried about South Park: The Stick of Truth.
The game's multiple delays did nothing to assuage those fears. But as the game hits stores today,
critics say there's actually a lot to love. It is, however, absolutely
not for the faint of heart. South Park: The Stick of Truth, which currently boasts a Metacritic average
of 84, is being called one of the funniest titles in years -- and
that's being credited to the direct involvement of series creators Trey
Parker and Matt Stone. "The Stick of Truth makes one thing
abundantly clear: I never want to play another South Park video game
made without Trey Parker and Matt Stone's direct, intimate involvement,"
says IGN's Ryan McCaffrey
in a 9/10 review. "With a controller in your hand, you are almost
literally -- gloriously -- playing a 14-hour episode of South Park.
There’s much, much more here for series fans than the uninitiated, but
it’s a light but good quality role-playing game in its own right. ... It
is funny, shocking, self-effacing, and pretty much everything I could
ask for from a South Park game."
Francesca Reyes of Official Xbox Magazine agrees, adding:
"[Stick of Truth] is absolutely not for the meek of heart, the
un-indoctrinated, or the underage set. But good god is it a hilarious
marvel when it hits its target." Reyes also rates the game a 9 out of
10.
While the jokes are getting a lot of critical love, the RPG gameplay isn't receiving quite as much praise.
"If you're looking for a solid RPG first and a South Park game second, this isn't it," says Sam Prell at Joystiq
in a 3.5/5-star review. "If you can also forgive the repetitive nature
of combat and some uninspired quests, it's worth taking up arms – or
dildos – for The Stick of Truth's hilarious, disgusting adventure."
The
frustrations don't outweigh the game's highlights, though, meaning if
you can handle three lifetimes worth of fart jokes and are able to find
humor in some very politically incorrect scenarios, South Park: The
Stick of Truth might be for you.
"It's a testament to The Stick of Truth that my enthusiasm for the game didn't dim in the face of those hiccups," says Polygon's Justin McElroy,
who awards it an 8.5/10. "Despite them — and the jokes that
occasionally run out of steam — this is an experience that even the most
casual fan of South Park is going to get something out of, and one of
the truest translations from screen to game I can recall. ... Other
games treated the world Matt Stone and Trey Parker have crystallized
over the past two decades as a prison they have to escape from. The
Stick of Truth happily confines itself to that world, and manages to
build a comfortable, hilarious home of its own."
Kristoffer Von Hassel, 5, discovered a security flaw in Microsoft's Xbox One (Credit: KGTV)
It's not uncommon for kids
to break things. It is, however, pretty special when what they break is
the security of a hi-tech video game console.
Kristoffer Von Hassel from San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood is
the wunderkind who discovered a security loophole on the Xbox One, reports local news station KGTV.
It happened just after Christmas,
when Kristoffer’s father Robert Davies walked in to find his
five-year-old son not playing family fave Minecraft, but a more mature
game that he wasn't supposed to be able to access as it was tied to his
father’s account.
Like most kids who just got busted by dad, Kristoffer's first instinct was dread.
“I got nervous. I thought he was going to find out,” said Kristoffer.
But lucky for Kristoffer, dad
happens to work in computer security. He asked his son how he managed to
access dad’s Xbox account, so Kristoffer showed him. After entering the
wrong password on his father's account, the Xbox defaulted to a
password verification screen. Kristoffer simply typed in a bunch of
space keys and hit ‘enter’, unwittingly opening up a back door that
Microsoft had previously been unaware existed.
"How awesome is that!" said
Davies. “Just being 5 years old and being able to find a vulnerability
and latch onto that. I thought that was pretty cool.”
Definitely cool, but surprising?
Not really. Kristoffer, it turns out, has a history of finding back
doors in technological gadgets. At the ripe old age of one, he got hold
of his father's cell phone and bypassed the toddler lock screen by
holding down the home key.
Microsoft has since issued a fix
for the error, but not before publicly thanking the boy by listing him
as an official security researcher on the company's website. He'll also
receive four free games, $50 cash and a year-long subscription to Xbox
Live. Not a bad haul for a few minutes work, though Kristoffer figured
something much worse was going to happen when his dad reported the error
to Microsoft.
"I thought someone was going to steal the Xbox," he said.
Family members of victims of
the GM recall failure arrive to hold a news conference on the U.S.
Capitol grounds in Washington April 1, 2014. General Motors has not yet
reported to federal regulators the "vast majority" of 133 cases of
safety concerns about ignition switches, House of Representatives
Democrats said on Tuesday ahead of congressional testimony by General
Motors (GM) Chief Executive Mary Barra. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED
STATES - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS)
A moment of reckoning
arrives this afternoon for General Motors, as America's largest
automaker will face intense questions from Congress about why it delayed
and denied a deadly defect existed in some 2.6 million vehicles.
The hearing in front of the U.S.
House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on investigations will feature GM
chief executive Mary Barra, who has said the company isn't sure why it did what it did,
along with regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration who blame GM for withholding key details that they say
could have spurred the agency to act earlier. Since launching a review
of its safety process last month, GM has recalled some 7 million
vehicles worldwide.
Last night, Barra met with family
members of people who had died or were injured in crashes from the bad
ignition switches; many of them later turned up outside the Capitol this
morning. GM acknowledges at least 13 deaths linked to the ignition
switches in Chevy Cobalts and other GM cars; safety advocates say the
number could be far higher. "This car was surely a death trap," Samantha
Denti, of Toms River, N.J., told USA Today. "Driving this car was like playing a game of Russian roulette."
You can watch the hearing live
starting at 2 p.m. EDT below; we'll have running updates on the key
moments from the hearing as well; refresh this page for the latest.
1:45 PM: For those who want to skip ahead a bit, here's Mary Barra's prepared testimony and that of David Friedman, interim cheif of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
1:50 PM: The Center for Responsive Politics has the numbers on GM's
campaign donations to the House committee asking questions today
Twenty-one members, or more than 40 percent of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee -- which today will question Barra on the company's
previous knowledge of the faulty technology that has been blamed for 13
deaths -- have been helped by cash from GM's PAC in the 2012 or 2014
election cycles, according to an OpenSecrets Blog analysis. The company
has given $72,000 to the committee's members from 2011 through 2013, or
about $3,500 to each member who received donations.
2:05 PM: Subcommittee chairman U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Penn., runs
through the history of GM's igntion problem — how it passed on a recall
in favor of telling consumers to take off heavy keychains, and how NHTSA
investigated the problem twice without ordering a recall.
"The red flags were there for GM and NHTSA to take action," Murphy
said, "but for some reason it didn't happen." He adds: "To borrow a
phrase, what we have here is a failure to communicate, and the results
were deadly."
2:10 PM: Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., holds up a defective GM switch
assembly and demonstrates how the keys turn. "If you had a heavy
keychain like my mom keychain, or if you were short and your knee bumps
the key, you can easily switch it off," she says.
"Time and time again, GM did nothing. The company continued to sell cars knowing they were unsafe."
2:15 PM: Rep. Fred Upton,
R-Mich., notes he oversaw the committee hearings into the Ford-Firestone
defects, which led to tougher laws requiring automakers share defect
data with federal regulators to help spot problems early. Two of the 13
deaths linked to the problem happened in his district. "It's deja-vu all
over again," Upton says.
2:25 PM: Barra is sworn in, and reads her statement, apologizing to
the victims and saying GM is not sure why the recall took so many years
to launch. She says GM has already loaned 13,000 vehicles to people who
are getting their cars fixed. Sitting behind her is Mark Reuss, head of
GM's global vehicle development, and GM's top lawyer.
2:33 PM: Barra reveals that GM
has hired Ken Feinberg, the attorney who's overseen settlements from
Sept. 11, the Boston Marathon bombing and the BP oil spill among others
as a consultant to work on compensation for owners. This move comes
after some lawmakers had pressed the company to set up a multi-billion
fund for victims. (Feinberg also served as the special master for the
U.S. Treasury setting executive pay for bailed-out companies in 2009 and
2010 — including at General Motors.)
2:38 PM: Under questioning from
Murphy, Barra says she finds the idea that the ignition switches weren't
fixed becuase of cost "very disturbing." When asked how the automaker
balanced cost and safety, Barra says: "We don't. If there's a safety
issue we take action...We've moved from a cost culture after the
bankruptcy to a customer culture."
2:47 PM: Upton asks Barra why GM
changed the igntion switch without changing the part number — a key
mistake that made the problem much harder to track. Barra admits that
was a mistake, but says it's not clear why that happened. As for why
complaints never led to a recall: "There was information in one part of
the company and the other part didn’t have access to that."
2:57 PM: Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., draws out from Barra that
GM's senior leaders didn't know about the problem until Jan. 31 of this
year, and that her predecessor as CEO, Dan Akerson, was not aware of it
either. Barra declines to answer Blackburn's question of whether "it was
a cover-up or sloppy work," or if it had any connection with GM's $50
billion bailout, saying GM's investigation was looking into those
questions.
3:09 PM: Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, asks an engineering question: "Why
in the world would a company with a stellar reputation as GM purchase a
part that would not meet its own specifications?"
"I want to know that as much as you do" says Barra. "That's not how we work today."
Barton presses, and Barra says
there are exceptions to when a part might be accepted after testing if
it didn't meet GM's specifications. Barton, flashing the first temper of
the hearing, calls her response "gobbledygook," adding "there's no
reason to have specifications if you don't enforce them."
Barra says, again, that GM's investigation was looking into those questions.
3:15 PM: Rep. Bruce Braley,
D-Iowa, pulls out a tiny screwdriver and cap that he said was a
promotional item GM gave out two decades ago, emblazoned with the slogan
"Safety Comes First At GM." He uses the part in an attempt to explore
whether GM's past promises were truthful or mere marketing blather:
"Hasn't the core values of GM always been that safety comes first?" Braley asks
"I've never seeen that part
before," Barra replies. "All I can tell you is that today's GM is
focused on safety," and she lists the safety aspects of current models.
"But we're talking about these vehicles (under recall) and what's changed," Braley replies.
"This incident took way too long,
that's why we're making radical changes...we will continue to make
process changes and people changes," Barra replies.
Now that Crimea has
“voted,” the Obama administration has unveiled sanctions against Russian
and Crimean leaders who are linked to what the West is calling Russia’s
invasion and subversion in Crimea. But with a fragile ceasefire set to
expire by Friday, the sanctions are unlikely to work in time to head off
a conflict.
There are signs that the short-term measures, which include
asset freezes and visa bans for Russian government officials and
business leaders, will not be biting enough to really put pressure on
Putin and his friends.
According
to one independent analysis being studied by the Kremlin and reviewed
by The Daily Beast, such measures could be a drag on the Russian economy
over time and an embarrassment for the Russian government, but would
only be an “inconvenience” for the Russian economy in the near term.
More drastic measures would include going after Russia’s ability to
interact in global financial markets, which the analysis calls
“disruptive,” and restrictions on Russian energy exports or trade
sanctions, which the analysis says would be “catastrophic.”
The
analysis by Macro-Advisory, an investment firm operating in Russia,
predicts that the West, especially European countries, will not move to
impose “disruptive” or “catastrophic” sanctions on Russia until Putin
crosses another red line, such as the outright invasion of Ukraine.
“The
key risk [for Russia] is Stage 3, i.e. a ban or restrictions on
Russia’s interaction in global financial markets and/or any selected
restrictions on trade or investment with Russia,” the report stated.
“Investors assume that Stage 4 [catastrophic] sanctions are not yet on
the agenda simply because these would also have a negative contagion to
several EU countries, and many high-profile companies, as well as
indirectly on the global economy.”
President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about Ukraine, Monday, March 17, 2014, in the James Bra …
Meanwhile, the crisis in Crimea continued to unfold Sunday, when a reported 95.5 percent of voters opted in a near-choiceless referendum
to leave Ukraine and join Russia. President Obama called Vladimir Putin
shortly after the results were announced to reiterate that vote would
never be recognized by the United States and the international
community. It was a violation of the Ukrainian constitution, Obama
added, made under duress of military intervention.
“He
emphasized that Russia’s actions were in violation of Ukraine’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity and that, in coordination with our
European partners, we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia
for its actions,” a White House read-out of the call said.
The
Obama administration's plan to impose those additional costs was set
last week. Secretary of State John Kerry revealed, perhaps accidentally,
that the U.S. had no intention of waiting for the results of the
Crimean referendum and was planning a “very series of serious steps on Monday” against Russia.
Also on Sunday, the Ukrainian government announced
that it had struck a truce with the Crimean government and the Russian
foreign ministry (which still doesn’t acknowledge that Russian troops
have taken over Crimea) that will avoid attacks on Ukrainian bases
inside Crimea until March 21. A leaked document reported to spell out
the Russian position on Ukraine sets terms the West is not likely to accept as an offer to stave off war
Pro-Russian people celebrate in the central square in Sevastopol, Ukraine, late Sunday, March 16, 20 …
A senior State Department official said this weekend that the
administration is not predicting that the coming sanctions will be
enough to change Putin’s calculus on Crimea and reverse course the
“I
would simply say that there have already been significant costs. Just
take a look at what’s happening to the Russian stock market. Look at
what’s happening to the Russian ruble,” the official said. “So as both –
as the United States, Canada, the European Union, others exact further
costs, we’ll just have to see what cost-benefit analysis President Putin
makes.”
The administration is
also bracing for Russian retaliation to the limited sanctions being
rolled out Monday. Michael McFaul, who served until last month as U.S.
ambassador to Russia, said he expected the Obama administration to
announce sanctions against Russian officials in the coming days and that
the Kremlin would respond--as they have done in the past--with a
sanctions and travel ban list of their own. "They will have their own
list and their own people they will sanction in terms of travel and
assets in Russia," the former ambassador said "I fear someone like me
could be on that list." s
McFaul
as ambassador was demonized by Russian controlled media and harassed by
the country's intelligence service. His private schedule as ambassador
in the past would be shared with Russian media, who would ambush him at
public events. In more ominous moves, anonymous videos appeared on the
internet accusing McFaul of being a child molester. Because of his work
on civil society, Russian hardliners have portrayed him as an agent of
influence seeking regime change in Moscow.
Last
year, in response to the U.S. creation of the Magnistky list, a list of
Russian human rights violators subject to sanctions, Russia created its
own list of Americans banned from traveling to Russia.
The list included Bush administration officials including John Yoo, a
former US Justice Department official, David Addington, the chief of
staff for former vice-president Dick Cheney, and two former commanders
of Guantanamo Bay.
Toby
Gati, the White House senior director for Russia during the Bush
administration, said that broad attacks on the Russian economy are not
practical but well crafted, targeted sanctions against Russian elites
can have the effecting of placing pressure on Putin if implemented
smartly.
“Remember this,
unless we are coordinated with the Europeans, the Russians are going to
get missed signals,” she said. “The question is how do we want to hurt
them. You want to isolate them, you want to make it more difficult for
the people who have been getting a free ride on the Western economic
system.”
One of Oklahoma's biggest
man-made earthquakes, caused by fracking-linked wastewater injection,
triggered an earthquake cascade that led to the damaging magnitude-5.7
Prague quake that struck on Nov. 6, 2011, a new study confirms.
The findings suggest that even small man-made earthquakes,
such as those of just a magnitude 1 or magnitude 2, can trigger
damaging quakes, said study co-author Elizabeth Cochran, a seismologist
with the U.S. Geological Survey.
"Even if wastewater injection only directly affects a low-hazard fault,
those smaller events could trigger an event on a larger fault nearby,"
she told Live Science.
The Prague earthquake was the largest of
thousands of quakes that rattled Oklahoma in late 2011. Three were
magnitude-5 or stronger. The 2011 quakes struck along the
Wilzetta fault, a fault zone near Prague. Earthquakes break faults like a
boat plowing through thick ice — the fault zips open as the earthquake
ruptures the fault, and then seals itself shut behind. Each of the three
biggest quakes tore apart a different part of the Wilzetta fault, the
researchers said. [Image Gallery: Deadly Earthquakes] Triggered foreshock
The magnitude-5.7 earthquake near Prague was preceded by a 5.0 quake
that hit a day earlier, on Nov. 5. This "foreshock" occurred near an
active wastewater disposal well. The wastewater injection triggered the Nov. 5 earthquake,
researchers concluded in a study published in March 2013 in the journal
Geology. However, the Nov. 6 earthquake was farther from the wells.
"Just because two earthquakes occur close to each other in time and
space doesn't necessarily mean they are related," said Cochran, who also
co-authored the 2013 Geology study. "We wanted to look one step further
and determine whether the stress change from the foreshock actually
pushed the main shock rupture plane [the fault] to failure."
Earthquakes linked with fracking are rarely triggered by the actual
oil-and-gas extraction. Rather, these quakes are caused by fluid
disposal in deep wells. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing,
involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into the Earth to crack
open rock and remove oil and gas. The millions of gallons of waste
fluids are usually pumped back into the Earth via deep "wastewater
injection wells." The wastewater can lubricate or jack open fractures
and faults, triggering earthquakes.
Fault primed
In the new study, the researchers modeled the stress added to the
Wilzetta fault by the Nov. 5 earthquake (the foreshock). The findings
suggest that the first earthquake primed the fault for another, larger
earthquake, which, in this case, hit the next day. The study was
published March 7 in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
"When you have an earthquake, the stress goes up in some places and
down in other places," Cochran said. "We determined that the mainshock
[the Nov. 6 Prague earthquake] occurred in an area that had an increase
in stress."
The boom in fracking
in the central United States has paralleled an uptick in seismicity,
with moderate-size earthquakes increasing in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma,
Ohio and Arkansas. The number of quakes in the central United States has
jumped 11-fold in the past 30 years, according to the March 2013
Geology study.
